Redefining 50 as a Solo Female Traveler

I could feel my heels digging into the ground as I said the words, “I’m turning 50 this year.”

It felt ominous. Being single at 50 as a woman has many negative connotations- words like spinster, old maid, lonely, and washed up come to mind.

But as the world is changing, we are redefining womanhood. Gen Z kids, raised to truly embrace who they are (they/them), to advocate for themselves and demand their rights, are my role model now. I don’t have to look like anything, do anything, be anything, for anyone, except myself. I have a job that pays me good money. I can choose what I want to do with my life and I get to enjoy it.

For my fiftieth, I chose to make real a reminder I have set in my phone to spend a month abroad, once a year.

This year, it was to journey to Turkey and Jordan.

I’ve always been curious about the silk road, and the journeys so many people made throughout history to travel the great distance between Asia and Europe.

I treated myself to a group trip in Jordan, with Wanderful, a travel community for women who love travel. This trip was going to be for women and led by a woman from Jordan as our guide.

Since I was going so far, I decided to add Turkey to the trip, and visit a friend of mine from college who now lives in Turkey with her husband and children.

I traveled through Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Fethiye, walked on the Lycian Way, saw the eternal flames on Mount Olympus, and went back to Istanbul before I flew out to Jordan.

I arrived in Jordan a few days before the tour started to get grounded and acclimated to a different culture.

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This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.