So these are some of the more candid videos...
Monday, August 17, 2009
Travels with LP
Here are a few videos on the Pyramids, Abu Simbel and Philae. Did you really think that I would let LP show up to Egypt and not video tape every movement.
Pyramids
Abu Simbel
Philae
Pyramids
Abu Simbel
Philae
My house
Yes, we live next to a cemetery. It was built by the British after WWII. No, I'm not scared and no I've never seen anything or heard anything stranger...other than my stomach when I'm hungry.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Egypt Weeks
The Egypt Weeks:
Week One in Egypt-
So I have not been blogging as consistently as I did when I was in Turkey. This is true. The problem is that most of Egypt is still using dial-up and only a few of my cousins have cable. We would have cable in my house, but we’re only here maybe one or two months of the year so we’ve never invested in it. I’ve never had a blog, so worrying about internet connections was never an issue. I thought for sure that the Nile Cruise and Resort in Sharm El Sheik would have wifi. They are, after all, five star locations. Nope, not in Egypt. You either pay out of your ears to use the wifi, or go to Starbuck down the road. Welcome to third world.
So the first week in Egypt was my laziest week of the summer. It will probably be the only lazy week that I get. I was so exhausted from Turkey that I used my first week back home to sleep and spent time at home with daddy, helping here and there…and of course eating like it was my job. Any other time outside of that was spent in preparation for LP’s arrival. None of my USA friends have ever come to visit me in Egypt and LP is my best friend so this was a special moment. It was also going to be the first time that Egypt was going to have to deal with the both of us within its borders. That’s big stuff.
LP made the arrival on Sunday August 2. Dad and I waited for her at the airport and it was a great reunion, I have to admit. Having multiple nationalities sounds really cool, and it is, but it also means that I’m split between multiple roles and responsibilities. It means that I have to share my life on opposite ends of the globe and that I don’t always get to spent time with the ones I love. That’s a hard role to play. LP finally saw that this year. She’s always had an idea of the role, but she finally understood the struggle to balance family and friends on multiple continents.
Week 2 & 3 in Egypt-
LP’s arrival meant that I wanted her to see as much of Egypt as possible, the good, the great and the fabulous. I wanted her to see all the touristy things, but also meet my family; the aunts and uncles, and endless number of cousins. I wanted her to see Egypt with my eyes and understand why I feel so attached. In the end, I wanted her to love Egypt for the same reasons I do. Most foreigners have a love-hate relationship with Egypt, and by that I mean you either love it or hate. There is no middle. So I had to make sure that LP loved.
LP’s first few days in EGYPT were spent in Cairo, the heart of Egypt and the Middle East. 17 million people, one of the largest cities in the world, bigger than New York, and the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. Big stuff. Of course, we took her to the pyramids and the sphinx. Only Anthony Bourdain shows up to Egypt and doesn’t visit the pyramids, but not my best friend. That was the first thing she got to see from Cairo. She also experienced our crazy traffic. LP got a chance to visit Cairo museum, which carries one of the largest collection of antiquities in the world…so more old stuff…and she visited our Royal family in their mummified state. Yep, she saw the mummies. You can’t come here and not see them either…its royalty.
For lunch, I took her to Abu Tarek, a restaurant that specializes in Koshary. This is an Egyptian dish through and through. No other Arab country makes it and Abu Tarek is world famous for it. When we got into the restaurant, my dad told the waiter that he’d brought two American girls to Abu Tarek to taste his koshary because we’d seen it on TV. SO…we got VIP seats on the top floor of the restaurant that only celebrities get to eat in, and we met Abu Tarek himself. Yes…I took our picture with him. That’s going on facebook, baby.
LP was suffering from jet lag big time so we went back for a nap and later that evening went to Khan El-Khalily, the largest bazaar in the world. We also took a quick look around the inside of the Mosque of Hussein. It’s said that this mosque was named after the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) because when Hussein was killed in Karbala, the head was brought to Cairo and placed in this mosque. Why he was killed? Who killed? When? Long story, I’ll go into it later = basically the Shia/Sunni split. Most importantly it was LP’s first time inside a mosque so why not take her to a controversial one! Who got VIP treatment? Oh yep, LP did.
LP’s next day in Cairo was spent at the Mohamed Ali Citadel, where Mohamed Ali massacred the ruling Mamluk tribes of Egypt in the Castle and officially made Egypt a part of the Ottoman Empire. She also got a quick visit of Al Azhar Park, and Qauy, a very fancy restaurant on the Nile. Yep. LP ate her kebab and kofta on the NILE! I was sure to take LP to City Stars, which is one of the largest malls in Egypt, with 8 towers of condominiums, and 6 floors, and 5 blocks of shopping. When we do things in Egypt….we do them on a big scale. Did I mention that the “Mall of America,” can fit inside, twice?
On LP’s third day we flew out to Aswan to begin our Nile Cruise. We had a chance to see the Aswan High Dam, the Island of Philae, and the statues of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. We were roughly an hour’s drive from the Sudanese border. LP got to visit the temples at Edfu and Kom Ombo as well as the huge temples from Egypt’s ancient capital, Luxor and Karnak. Needless to say, we took tons of pictures, and I made sure that almost every moment was captured on video or in picture format. We got to see the best that Ancient Egypt had to offer and more, all while cruising down the Nile. LP was also lucky to see a Papyrus factory, Alabaster factory (I went on a crazy shopping spree in both places. Someone please take my wallet away from me!) and the mother of it all…the Valley of the Kings! We saw three main tombs from Pharaohs Tutmoses, Ramses and one more guy I can’t remember right now, but I swear I have a picture of it. I also made the tour guide stop off at Hatshepsut’s Tomb, which was near the Valley of the Kings. That was a huge deal to me. Man, I need to make my own discovery channel.
More than anything though, I really have a much better idea of what I want my kids to see when they come here. I hadn’t been to this part of Egypt in 8 years. When I come, I come to visit family. I see the history when I can, but I have to visit my family before we become history. It was a great refresher course and I’ve got a set schedule for what needs to happen. I’m convinced the kids will love it….simply because they’ll be in my presence.
After a 3 day cruise, I flew LP out to the Las Vegas of the Middle East, our Sin City (no joke) Sharm El- Sheik. If you were a royal prince, president of USA or had tons of extra cash and didn’t know what to do with, where would you go? Paris? Rome? Madrid? Greece? No honey…they go to Sharm El-Sheik. The Arab Summit is held here, the Saudi Princes party here as well as half of Europe, and Asia. That’s where LP and I are now. We’re only a few hours drive from Israel and the rest of the Middle East, but you’d never know. We’ve spent 3 days here and tomorrow will be our last day then its off to Cairo again to pick up the car and drive to visit my family and show LP my roots. We’ll stay in my house there, go to our family’s beach and hopefully show her the Suez Canal.
Do not worry kids. I promise to have pictures of everything. LP and I will fly back together, God willing, on Friday. So be ready. Friday, folks, 1:30 pm at Metro Airport. I’ll be jet lagged, so please call off the parade. Maybe on Saturday. After 2 months outside the USA, I’ll finally be back. I thought for sure that I was ready to come home, that it was time to go back. I thought that was the case 3 weeks ago, but now I see things differently. I think two months wasn’t enough. There are some things that only time can take care of and clearly two months wasn’t it. I was hesitant at first to leave the USA and leave so many responsibilities behind for so long, but now I see that regardless of my presence those things, people and places and I valued have worked just fine without me. Some things have worked out better than others and some have changed completely, but they’re still ok. There is no excuse now. Now I can travel, 2, 3, or 4 months. Things will go on as they always have and everything will be fine. Doug said it best when we started this trip and he reiterated it again when his mom died during our 4th week in Turkey. “Monica,” he said, “what are you worried about? The things that you love in Michigan will still be there. The people that you love will still be there….if you really love them and if they really love you. What you love will be waiting for you when you get back.” I know his mom was waiting for him when he went back home too. I’ve already waited two months to go home. Doug’s right. One more month won’t make a different. What I love will still be waiting for me. I’ve traveled enough to know that by now. I just needed to hear it from someone else. I’ve just added country number 27 to my listed of countries that I’ve visited, lived, studied and worked in. There are 190 countries in the world. I’ve still got a lot more ground to cover and I can’t do that sitting in Michigan.
Week One in Egypt-
So I have not been blogging as consistently as I did when I was in Turkey. This is true. The problem is that most of Egypt is still using dial-up and only a few of my cousins have cable. We would have cable in my house, but we’re only here maybe one or two months of the year so we’ve never invested in it. I’ve never had a blog, so worrying about internet connections was never an issue. I thought for sure that the Nile Cruise and Resort in Sharm El Sheik would have wifi. They are, after all, five star locations. Nope, not in Egypt. You either pay out of your ears to use the wifi, or go to Starbuck down the road. Welcome to third world.
So the first week in Egypt was my laziest week of the summer. It will probably be the only lazy week that I get. I was so exhausted from Turkey that I used my first week back home to sleep and spent time at home with daddy, helping here and there…and of course eating like it was my job. Any other time outside of that was spent in preparation for LP’s arrival. None of my USA friends have ever come to visit me in Egypt and LP is my best friend so this was a special moment. It was also going to be the first time that Egypt was going to have to deal with the both of us within its borders. That’s big stuff.
LP made the arrival on Sunday August 2. Dad and I waited for her at the airport and it was a great reunion, I have to admit. Having multiple nationalities sounds really cool, and it is, but it also means that I’m split between multiple roles and responsibilities. It means that I have to share my life on opposite ends of the globe and that I don’t always get to spent time with the ones I love. That’s a hard role to play. LP finally saw that this year. She’s always had an idea of the role, but she finally understood the struggle to balance family and friends on multiple continents.
Week 2 & 3 in Egypt-
LP’s arrival meant that I wanted her to see as much of Egypt as possible, the good, the great and the fabulous. I wanted her to see all the touristy things, but also meet my family; the aunts and uncles, and endless number of cousins. I wanted her to see Egypt with my eyes and understand why I feel so attached. In the end, I wanted her to love Egypt for the same reasons I do. Most foreigners have a love-hate relationship with Egypt, and by that I mean you either love it or hate. There is no middle. So I had to make sure that LP loved.
LP’s first few days in EGYPT were spent in Cairo, the heart of Egypt and the Middle East. 17 million people, one of the largest cities in the world, bigger than New York, and the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. Big stuff. Of course, we took her to the pyramids and the sphinx. Only Anthony Bourdain shows up to Egypt and doesn’t visit the pyramids, but not my best friend. That was the first thing she got to see from Cairo. She also experienced our crazy traffic. LP got a chance to visit Cairo museum, which carries one of the largest collection of antiquities in the world…so more old stuff…and she visited our Royal family in their mummified state. Yep, she saw the mummies. You can’t come here and not see them either…its royalty.
For lunch, I took her to Abu Tarek, a restaurant that specializes in Koshary. This is an Egyptian dish through and through. No other Arab country makes it and Abu Tarek is world famous for it. When we got into the restaurant, my dad told the waiter that he’d brought two American girls to Abu Tarek to taste his koshary because we’d seen it on TV. SO…we got VIP seats on the top floor of the restaurant that only celebrities get to eat in, and we met Abu Tarek himself. Yes…I took our picture with him. That’s going on facebook, baby.
LP was suffering from jet lag big time so we went back for a nap and later that evening went to Khan El-Khalily, the largest bazaar in the world. We also took a quick look around the inside of the Mosque of Hussein. It’s said that this mosque was named after the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) because when Hussein was killed in Karbala, the head was brought to Cairo and placed in this mosque. Why he was killed? Who killed? When? Long story, I’ll go into it later = basically the Shia/Sunni split. Most importantly it was LP’s first time inside a mosque so why not take her to a controversial one! Who got VIP treatment? Oh yep, LP did.
LP’s next day in Cairo was spent at the Mohamed Ali Citadel, where Mohamed Ali massacred the ruling Mamluk tribes of Egypt in the Castle and officially made Egypt a part of the Ottoman Empire. She also got a quick visit of Al Azhar Park, and Qauy, a very fancy restaurant on the Nile. Yep. LP ate her kebab and kofta on the NILE! I was sure to take LP to City Stars, which is one of the largest malls in Egypt, with 8 towers of condominiums, and 6 floors, and 5 blocks of shopping. When we do things in Egypt….we do them on a big scale. Did I mention that the “Mall of America,” can fit inside, twice?
On LP’s third day we flew out to Aswan to begin our Nile Cruise. We had a chance to see the Aswan High Dam, the Island of Philae, and the statues of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. We were roughly an hour’s drive from the Sudanese border. LP got to visit the temples at Edfu and Kom Ombo as well as the huge temples from Egypt’s ancient capital, Luxor and Karnak. Needless to say, we took tons of pictures, and I made sure that almost every moment was captured on video or in picture format. We got to see the best that Ancient Egypt had to offer and more, all while cruising down the Nile. LP was also lucky to see a Papyrus factory, Alabaster factory (I went on a crazy shopping spree in both places. Someone please take my wallet away from me!) and the mother of it all…the Valley of the Kings! We saw three main tombs from Pharaohs Tutmoses, Ramses and one more guy I can’t remember right now, but I swear I have a picture of it. I also made the tour guide stop off at Hatshepsut’s Tomb, which was near the Valley of the Kings. That was a huge deal to me. Man, I need to make my own discovery channel.
More than anything though, I really have a much better idea of what I want my kids to see when they come here. I hadn’t been to this part of Egypt in 8 years. When I come, I come to visit family. I see the history when I can, but I have to visit my family before we become history. It was a great refresher course and I’ve got a set schedule for what needs to happen. I’m convinced the kids will love it….simply because they’ll be in my presence.
After a 3 day cruise, I flew LP out to the Las Vegas of the Middle East, our Sin City (no joke) Sharm El- Sheik. If you were a royal prince, president of USA or had tons of extra cash and didn’t know what to do with, where would you go? Paris? Rome? Madrid? Greece? No honey…they go to Sharm El-Sheik. The Arab Summit is held here, the Saudi Princes party here as well as half of Europe, and Asia. That’s where LP and I are now. We’re only a few hours drive from Israel and the rest of the Middle East, but you’d never know. We’ve spent 3 days here and tomorrow will be our last day then its off to Cairo again to pick up the car and drive to visit my family and show LP my roots. We’ll stay in my house there, go to our family’s beach and hopefully show her the Suez Canal.
Do not worry kids. I promise to have pictures of everything. LP and I will fly back together, God willing, on Friday. So be ready. Friday, folks, 1:30 pm at Metro Airport. I’ll be jet lagged, so please call off the parade. Maybe on Saturday. After 2 months outside the USA, I’ll finally be back. I thought for sure that I was ready to come home, that it was time to go back. I thought that was the case 3 weeks ago, but now I see things differently. I think two months wasn’t enough. There are some things that only time can take care of and clearly two months wasn’t it. I was hesitant at first to leave the USA and leave so many responsibilities behind for so long, but now I see that regardless of my presence those things, people and places and I valued have worked just fine without me. Some things have worked out better than others and some have changed completely, but they’re still ok. There is no excuse now. Now I can travel, 2, 3, or 4 months. Things will go on as they always have and everything will be fine. Doug said it best when we started this trip and he reiterated it again when his mom died during our 4th week in Turkey. “Monica,” he said, “what are you worried about? The things that you love in Michigan will still be there. The people that you love will still be there….if you really love them and if they really love you. What you love will be waiting for you when you get back.” I know his mom was waiting for him when he went back home too. I’ve already waited two months to go home. Doug’s right. One more month won’t make a different. What I love will still be waiting for me. I’ve traveled enough to know that by now. I just needed to hear it from someone else. I’ve just added country number 27 to my listed of countries that I’ve visited, lived, studied and worked in. There are 190 countries in the world. I’ve still got a lot more ground to cover and I can’t do that sitting in Michigan.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Suez Canal
Hey, Hey, Hey! Today was a lot of work! Phew I haven't done that in a while. I got things ready around the house because my dad leaves a week before I do and I don't want him to have to worry about cleaning up the house before LP comes. I washed some clothes and folded some things. I packed my dad's suitcase, and by pack I mean, I put all the things that I bought in Turkey and don't want to lug around for another 2 weeks in Egypt in his suitcase. So now my suitcase is free. He doesn't have that much to pack. You know how guys are about packing. 1 pair of pants, 2 pairs of underwear, maybe 3, and a few shirts, if you're lucky. Men...its so easy to be a guy...but not fun at all.
I've really appreciated having this week at home. Packing up his suitcase and getting mine ready for another two weeks of adventures made me realize how much I miss being home. At home you don't have to live out of a suitcase. At home, your toiletries are just that, by the toilet. I can spread out in my home. Hang my clothes in my closest, throw the dirty laundry in the laundry room, wash clothes when I need to, take a shower and have all my lotions and potions right there. I like being home and sleeping in my own bed. I finally realized why I was so tired when I got here. I'd been sleeping in strange beds that, God knows how many other people have slept in...and I don't even want to think about it, and not I finally get to sleep in my room. Its nice to have that. When I'm in Egypt, I don't feel like I'm traveling or like I'm a stranger. Its home away from home and I love it.
Today Dad decided that he was tired of my sitting around the house, watching Opera on TV (I totally got into CSI: New York since being here too) and took my too the Suez Canal. Its not far from the house, but he took to a better location where the ships are closer. He wanted me to be familiar with the roads so that when LP comes I'll know how to take her there.
So here are the few pictures with my cousins that we took there and a video as well as a video of our house. That's really just so my mom can see what additions my dad has done....the new counter, air conditioning etc....
Cairo tomorrow night!
I've really appreciated having this week at home. Packing up his suitcase and getting mine ready for another two weeks of adventures made me realize how much I miss being home. At home you don't have to live out of a suitcase. At home, your toiletries are just that, by the toilet. I can spread out in my home. Hang my clothes in my closest, throw the dirty laundry in the laundry room, wash clothes when I need to, take a shower and have all my lotions and potions right there. I like being home and sleeping in my own bed. I finally realized why I was so tired when I got here. I'd been sleeping in strange beds that, God knows how many other people have slept in...and I don't even want to think about it, and not I finally get to sleep in my room. Its nice to have that. When I'm in Egypt, I don't feel like I'm traveling or like I'm a stranger. Its home away from home and I love it.
Today Dad decided that he was tired of my sitting around the house, watching Opera on TV (I totally got into CSI: New York since being here too) and took my too the Suez Canal. Its not far from the house, but he took to a better location where the ships are closer. He wanted me to be familiar with the roads so that when LP comes I'll know how to take her there.
So here are the few pictures with my cousins that we took there and a video as well as a video of our house. That's really just so my mom can see what additions my dad has done....the new counter, air conditioning etc....
Cairo tomorrow night!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Egypt
Here's the update...
I went shopping yesterday in the city that's most local to our suburb. See, just like Macomb, there has to be a bigger "city." For us, its Rochester or Detroit. Warren or Sterling Heights. We are from a suburb called Fayid. Look it up on Google Earth. Ismailia, is the monster city that's about a 20 minute drive from us. That's where all the awesome shopping takes place. I didn't do too bad. Got most of the stuff my sister wanted. I'll take pictures and post them when LP gets here, which is on Sunday. You'll see all the trouble that we can get into.
Now, I've already been arrested once at the Egyptian airport (long story, I didn't do anything, I swear, it was all on my cousin when we were coming from Italy. I tell it another time.) So to make a long story longer, if you hear that two Americans were arrested in Egypt while on vacation this summer, pay no attention to it. Its just LP and I've had to bail her out. I can't leave my best friend like that.
I'll be here at our house in Fayid until Friday when I go to Cairo to hang out for the weekend and wait for LP. Weekends here are Friday and Saturday. So, I'll let you all know when LP gets here safely.
I went shopping yesterday in the city that's most local to our suburb. See, just like Macomb, there has to be a bigger "city." For us, its Rochester or Detroit. Warren or Sterling Heights. We are from a suburb called Fayid. Look it up on Google Earth. Ismailia, is the monster city that's about a 20 minute drive from us. That's where all the awesome shopping takes place. I didn't do too bad. Got most of the stuff my sister wanted. I'll take pictures and post them when LP gets here, which is on Sunday. You'll see all the trouble that we can get into.
Now, I've already been arrested once at the Egyptian airport (long story, I didn't do anything, I swear, it was all on my cousin when we were coming from Italy. I tell it another time.) So to make a long story longer, if you hear that two Americans were arrested in Egypt while on vacation this summer, pay no attention to it. Its just LP and I've had to bail her out. I can't leave my best friend like that.
I'll be here at our house in Fayid until Friday when I go to Cairo to hang out for the weekend and wait for LP. Weekends here are Friday and Saturday. So, I'll let you all know when LP gets here safely.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
In Egypt!!
Ok, as you've already hear from LP (thanks sweetie) I'm in Egypt and things are going well. Its hot, but that's totally my climate. Its also very humid. Today we were lucky as it was only 104, but that's not going to last long. I'll be headed down to Sinai, and eventually Aswan and Luxor which are horrible this time of year. The temps are already in the 110s and on the rise as the month of August draws near.
I was in Cairo yesterday, city of 17 million and a place that never sleeps. I ate at the best restaurant with home boy. It was great. Its called Studio Misr (Egypt) and the food was off the hook. The best kebab, kofta, hommus and taboli that I've had in a long time. Note to self, when I bring my students to Egypt that's where we'll be eating! There's a party in my tummy, yummy, yum, yummy!
Other than the heat, nothing new. Tons of cousins are coming to visit me and I've been a stay at home girl for the past few days, with the exception of yesterday. I hope to go do a little shopping in the city tomorrow.
Internet is an issue. This is our summer home so we don't have it cable internet. It would be a waste when we're only here a few months out of the year, although I'm convincing my dad to add the cable and have almost got him to say yes. A few of my cousins have cable though so I am depended on them for my internet use. I apologize in advance if I'm late in replying to emails or posts.
Ok, love you all! Have fun...in Michigan. HA!
I was in Cairo yesterday, city of 17 million and a place that never sleeps. I ate at the best restaurant with home boy. It was great. Its called Studio Misr (Egypt) and the food was off the hook. The best kebab, kofta, hommus and taboli that I've had in a long time. Note to self, when I bring my students to Egypt that's where we'll be eating! There's a party in my tummy, yummy, yum, yummy!
Other than the heat, nothing new. Tons of cousins are coming to visit me and I've been a stay at home girl for the past few days, with the exception of yesterday. I hope to go do a little shopping in the city tomorrow.
Internet is an issue. This is our summer home so we don't have it cable internet. It would be a waste when we're only here a few months out of the year, although I'm convincing my dad to add the cable and have almost got him to say yes. A few of my cousins have cable though so I am depended on them for my internet use. I apologize in advance if I'm late in replying to emails or posts.
Ok, love you all! Have fun...in Michigan. HA!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Last Blog from Turkey
That's it folks. 5 weeks gone just like that. There were ups and downs along this road, but its safe to say that I've met many amazing people and that it was all totally worth the trip and experience.
I will try to blog from Egypt, but there's no promise that the internet will be reliable where I'm at.
Take care everyone...
I will try to blog from Egypt, but there's no promise that the internet will be reliable where I'm at.
Take care everyone...
Monday, July 20, 2009
Day 28, 29, & 30....has it been a month already?
Last night I didn't get nearly enough sleep. I thought I would crash from the long day driving and the added cold medicine, plus allergy medicine I took to fight my runny nose (hmm....overdose?) but I still didn't fall asleep until about 1 am. When I finally did fall asleep I ended up having a weird dream about a plane flying over my house and then landing in the old airport on 22 or 23 and Romeo Plank. Weird. It also didn't help that my bed made strange, suggestive noises when I moved in it to get comfortable. It makes me shiver just to think about it. Gross, Gross, Gross.
After a not so restful night we rose early to at Efes (the local beer favorite of Turkey is named after this city) so that we could be there by 8 am and avoid the crowds of tourists who go there and also the heat. We never escaped the heat though. It was 110 degrees when we left at about noon. Efes is one of the largest displays of Roman houses, baths, latrines, theater, and library in the world. I've heard that not even Pompeii compares to this city and that says a lot. It was, for a lack of better terms, amazing. I won't even try to describe it. I'll leave that to the pictures. Save to say, I was in awe. The best part was the reconstructed library that had crumbed in the 3rd century from earthquakes. In the 1990s it was put back together in an amazing attempt to restore history. Four statues would have stood at the very front of the library; wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and friendship. Man, those Romans were were smarter beyond their years. Wisdom, the art of being insightful, knowledge, the art of learning and wanting to learn more, understanding to know how to use the wisdom and knowledge to benefit mankind, and friendship, to help spread wisdom, knowledge and understanding....sharing. I could keep learning all day and never get tired of it. There are just too many things I want to do and see and understand. Romans....deep stuff. Of course, they stole all of it from the Egyptians. I'm telling you...all these "ruins," in this country and around the world, but you don't see that in Egypt. There isn't a Great Pyramid of "ruins." Tisk, tisk. Someone wasnt using their knowledge wisely.
After the ruins we took a quick bus ride further up the mountain to visit the supposed home of the Virgin Mary. Now religion is something that fascinates me. There is no solid proof that the Virgin Mary lived here because no one has found her tomb, which should be in the area if the legends are true and she really did die here. Unless, you believe the DaVinci Code (all my good Catholics turn away now) and then you believe that she is buried under the Louve in Paris. However, ther are other factors that make this story more likely.
A) The Bible tells us in The Gospel of John 19:25-27, "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing near by, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman, here is your son' and to the disciple, 'here is your mother.' From that moment the disciple took her into his home." Translation - When Christ was on the cross the Bible says that he left his mother in the care of John the Baptist.
B) We know for a fact that St. John did in fact come to Turkey and lived in Ephes. We know Paul was chased out of this very city. If John was living here and was suppose to be taking care of the Virgin Mary then its a possibility that she could have lived her.
C) There is a Church not far from the "home" that is called the Church of Mother Mary. No Church was ever declared a church in the name of a Saint or holy figure unless they had lived in the area. It was an old Christian tradition.
SO...basically the Catholic church believes that this information is sufficient to declare it a pilgrimage point for Catholics and Christians alike. Pope Paul VI was here, Pope John Paul II celebrated mass here and declared it a house of worship and even the current Pope, Pope Benedict XVI was here and celebrated mass.
Whatever version you believe, it was cool to be there, watch the pilgrims, walk though the house, see people pray and light candles at possibly the place the Mother of Christ spent her final days in. Now, I didn't light a candle, its no secret that I'm not Christian, but I did take one. They were free and we were allowed to take two. So I took one. A candle from the home of the Virgin Mary. Maybe I'll keep it, or maybe I'll give it to one of my Catholic friends. Either way, it was healthy to be there.
Quote of the Day: A not so Holy one...sort of...
"Eww...there's a spider in my hole! I mean my toilet hole. That sounded better in my head." - After I found a spider in its web in my latrine at the Roman ruins after the pictures.
After a not so restful night we rose early to at Efes (the local beer favorite of Turkey is named after this city) so that we could be there by 8 am and avoid the crowds of tourists who go there and also the heat. We never escaped the heat though. It was 110 degrees when we left at about noon. Efes is one of the largest displays of Roman houses, baths, latrines, theater, and library in the world. I've heard that not even Pompeii compares to this city and that says a lot. It was, for a lack of better terms, amazing. I won't even try to describe it. I'll leave that to the pictures. Save to say, I was in awe. The best part was the reconstructed library that had crumbed in the 3rd century from earthquakes. In the 1990s it was put back together in an amazing attempt to restore history. Four statues would have stood at the very front of the library; wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and friendship. Man, those Romans were were smarter beyond their years. Wisdom, the art of being insightful, knowledge, the art of learning and wanting to learn more, understanding to know how to use the wisdom and knowledge to benefit mankind, and friendship, to help spread wisdom, knowledge and understanding....sharing. I could keep learning all day and never get tired of it. There are just too many things I want to do and see and understand. Romans....deep stuff. Of course, they stole all of it from the Egyptians. I'm telling you...all these "ruins," in this country and around the world, but you don't see that in Egypt. There isn't a Great Pyramid of "ruins." Tisk, tisk. Someone wasnt using their knowledge wisely.
After the ruins we took a quick bus ride further up the mountain to visit the supposed home of the Virgin Mary. Now religion is something that fascinates me. There is no solid proof that the Virgin Mary lived here because no one has found her tomb, which should be in the area if the legends are true and she really did die here. Unless, you believe the DaVinci Code (all my good Catholics turn away now) and then you believe that she is buried under the Louve in Paris. However, ther are other factors that make this story more likely.
A) The Bible tells us in The Gospel of John 19:25-27, "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing near by, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman, here is your son' and to the disciple, 'here is your mother.' From that moment the disciple took her into his home." Translation - When Christ was on the cross the Bible says that he left his mother in the care of John the Baptist.
B) We know for a fact that St. John did in fact come to Turkey and lived in Ephes. We know Paul was chased out of this very city. If John was living here and was suppose to be taking care of the Virgin Mary then its a possibility that she could have lived her.
C) There is a Church not far from the "home" that is called the Church of Mother Mary. No Church was ever declared a church in the name of a Saint or holy figure unless they had lived in the area. It was an old Christian tradition.
SO...basically the Catholic church believes that this information is sufficient to declare it a pilgrimage point for Catholics and Christians alike. Pope Paul VI was here, Pope John Paul II celebrated mass here and declared it a house of worship and even the current Pope, Pope Benedict XVI was here and celebrated mass.
Whatever version you believe, it was cool to be there, watch the pilgrims, walk though the house, see people pray and light candles at possibly the place the Mother of Christ spent her final days in. Now, I didn't light a candle, its no secret that I'm not Christian, but I did take one. They were free and we were allowed to take two. So I took one. A candle from the home of the Virgin Mary. Maybe I'll keep it, or maybe I'll give it to one of my Catholic friends. Either way, it was healthy to be there.
Quote of the Day: A not so Holy one...sort of...
"Eww...there's a spider in my hole! I mean my toilet hole. That sounded better in my head." - After I found a spider in its web in my latrine at the Roman ruins after the pictures.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Professor Paul
Although he's not our professor, we could be. If you believe what he's saying then you need to have your head examined.
Day 26 & 27....oh the things you will see
I didn't blog yesterday because I didn't feel the need to. We left the hotel extra early, (shocker that one) to go to our next destination, Pammukale, eight hours away. So my blog would have given you specifics on our bus ride and the oh so boring journey that it is. Actually, we'd gotten really bad at traveling, which is sad considering that our group is full of experienced travelers and we're almost done with the trip. That's the problem. We've seen more of our tour bus than we ever dreamed of. We have nicknames for it. Its fondly referred to as the, "Oh I hate that bus," "I think we need to burn that bus," "if I never see that bus again I'll be happy," and my favorite, "This bus reeks like BO and feet." We often have to turn the air off when going up hill so that we don't over work the engine. Those days are ugly. We've all purchased way more than we needed to so our bus is not crammed with all our merchandise and we're getting on our last nerves. Doug got hit in the head twice by falling items from the over head compartments, one of which scratched him. The whole thing is a fiasco. That's exactly why I didn't blog about it. And if another person starts singing, "the wheels on the bus," I'm going to push them right off and over a cliff if possible.
So after a whole day wasted on driving, we reached Pammukale. Ahhh, Pammukale. This city is famous for its thermal springs and iron deposits as well as the ancient city of Hieropolis. People came from all over the ancient world, as the do today, to sit in the rich thermal spas and springs to help with arthritis, nerves, muscles, joints, digestive issues, and anything else that makes people sick. In fact, many people from ancient times came here on their death beds hoping that this place with its majestic springs and spas would be a sort of fountain of youth. Yeah, right, like we've never heard that before. So the pictures that you're about to see with old ruins in the background, that's Heiropolis. The largest acropolis (its Greek, it means high city, so like a fort) in the world. Its not the most famous, just the largest. Basically, you'll be seeing a lot of graves because as people came here for the fountain of youth, they died and were buried there. I don't know about you, but if I'm going to a place that claims to be the fountain of youth, but is surrounded by a bunch of tombs, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it doesn't work. Not that I'm hating on anyone who went. Just a thought.
We had the afternoon to ourselves, which gives me the impression that even our professor is sick of us and needed a break. Plus the weather is super hot. I made the mistake of spending the morning at Heirpolis in a tank and my shoulders burned. Who'd have thought that Africans burn, but apparently this one does. Its that European blood from my mom's side. Gets me every time.
Adrienna, Kristin and I headed down to the thermal springs where we steamed like vegetables for some time and just before we turned into hard boiled eggs we jumped into the cool pool. Tell me again why I was feeling sick? We then decided that it was time for little special treatment. We are, afterall, the best looking women on this trip, no disrespect to all the other ladies here, and we signed up for another Turkish bath. A good man, by the name of Mehmet, gave me the great scrub, washed my hair, and gave me one of the best massages of my life. Thank you Mehmet. And to all you disturbed minds out there..I was wearing a bathing suit. Take any other thoughts out of your heads. He was such a gentleman and kissed my hand when he finished my massage. Ahhhhh....relaxation is great.
Tomorrow we're on the move again, going to another very touristy destination...Ephes. So it'll be another long bus ride..I'll spare you the details and then hopefully blog again on Sunday just before the biggest bus ride of my life when we head back to Istanbul. 13 hours on the bus..I can't wait. Can we bring Mehmet?
Quote of the Day:
"Oh, I'm sensing my cosmic energy. I must have been here in a past life!" - Adrienne after she got dizzy from standing up too quickly at the Camel Caravan. Past life, my foot.
So after a whole day wasted on driving, we reached Pammukale. Ahhh, Pammukale. This city is famous for its thermal springs and iron deposits as well as the ancient city of Hieropolis. People came from all over the ancient world, as the do today, to sit in the rich thermal spas and springs to help with arthritis, nerves, muscles, joints, digestive issues, and anything else that makes people sick. In fact, many people from ancient times came here on their death beds hoping that this place with its majestic springs and spas would be a sort of fountain of youth. Yeah, right, like we've never heard that before. So the pictures that you're about to see with old ruins in the background, that's Heiropolis. The largest acropolis (its Greek, it means high city, so like a fort) in the world. Its not the most famous, just the largest. Basically, you'll be seeing a lot of graves because as people came here for the fountain of youth, they died and were buried there. I don't know about you, but if I'm going to a place that claims to be the fountain of youth, but is surrounded by a bunch of tombs, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it doesn't work. Not that I'm hating on anyone who went. Just a thought.
We had the afternoon to ourselves, which gives me the impression that even our professor is sick of us and needed a break. Plus the weather is super hot. I made the mistake of spending the morning at Heirpolis in a tank and my shoulders burned. Who'd have thought that Africans burn, but apparently this one does. Its that European blood from my mom's side. Gets me every time.
Adrienna, Kristin and I headed down to the thermal springs where we steamed like vegetables for some time and just before we turned into hard boiled eggs we jumped into the cool pool. Tell me again why I was feeling sick? We then decided that it was time for little special treatment. We are, afterall, the best looking women on this trip, no disrespect to all the other ladies here, and we signed up for another Turkish bath. A good man, by the name of Mehmet, gave me the great scrub, washed my hair, and gave me one of the best massages of my life. Thank you Mehmet. And to all you disturbed minds out there..I was wearing a bathing suit. Take any other thoughts out of your heads. He was such a gentleman and kissed my hand when he finished my massage. Ahhhhh....relaxation is great.
Tomorrow we're on the move again, going to another very touristy destination...Ephes. So it'll be another long bus ride..I'll spare you the details and then hopefully blog again on Sunday just before the biggest bus ride of my life when we head back to Istanbul. 13 hours on the bus..I can't wait. Can we bring Mehmet?
Quote of the Day:
"Oh, I'm sensing my cosmic energy. I must have been here in a past life!" - Adrienne after she got dizzy from standing up too quickly at the Camel Caravan. Past life, my foot.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Day 25…uneventful and the way we like it….
Being an archeologist is not glamorous work. People think its like Indian Jones or National Treasure, but the true is…its really boring. Don’t believe me? Spend a day here clearing our dirt.” – Geoffrey Summers, British archeologist at Alachoyuk.
That’s exactly how today began…archeology. We went to Catalhoyuk, which is about an hour drive from Konya. I used the driving time to read the fourth book of the Twilight series. I have to admit that I’m very proud of myself. I’m not an avid reader at all. In fact, the only thing I’m avid about is soccer and food, but on this trip, I’ve read two huge books and am on my third. That’s a book a week. Not bad at all. Tomorrow we have an eight hour drive to Pammakale…only more time to read. Its actually…relaxing…huh. Who’d have thought? Anyways, at Catalhoyuk we got to experience what real archeologist go through to bring out the dead to the living. We saw one of the oldest civilization sites in history, dating back to 9,000 years ago! This small city is rumored to have housed close to 8,000 people at its height, unheard of for the time period, and might possibly be older than Sumer and Ur in Mesopotamia (Don’t tell the Iraqis).We also got to see how unglamorous archeological work really is. It’s the truth. We met several American students there who were helping to excavate the site as part of their research as well. It helped up appreciate the painstaking detail involved and give credit to those rarely receive it. Archeologists are truly those who enjoy what they do, knowing that they’ll never make any money or get any credit, but love every minute of it.
After the site we had the afternoon off. So what do girls do when they have the afternoon off….well, shop of course! That’s what we did! We headed back to the famous Konya mall and this time I was in a much better mood to shop and picked up a couple of great items. I’ll be sure to wear them so that you can see pictures to my find.
Not a bad day. I’m heading off to bed because guess what kids…??? I’m sick. I think. Running nose is setting in and I’m suffering from complete exhaustion. I’m pooped!
Quote of the Day:
"I just want to play hide and seek." - Adrienne
That’s exactly how today began…archeology. We went to Catalhoyuk, which is about an hour drive from Konya. I used the driving time to read the fourth book of the Twilight series. I have to admit that I’m very proud of myself. I’m not an avid reader at all. In fact, the only thing I’m avid about is soccer and food, but on this trip, I’ve read two huge books and am on my third. That’s a book a week. Not bad at all. Tomorrow we have an eight hour drive to Pammakale…only more time to read. Its actually…relaxing…huh. Who’d have thought? Anyways, at Catalhoyuk we got to experience what real archeologist go through to bring out the dead to the living. We saw one of the oldest civilization sites in history, dating back to 9,000 years ago! This small city is rumored to have housed close to 8,000 people at its height, unheard of for the time period, and might possibly be older than Sumer and Ur in Mesopotamia (Don’t tell the Iraqis).We also got to see how unglamorous archeological work really is. It’s the truth. We met several American students there who were helping to excavate the site as part of their research as well. It helped up appreciate the painstaking detail involved and give credit to those rarely receive it. Archeologists are truly those who enjoy what they do, knowing that they’ll never make any money or get any credit, but love every minute of it.
After the site we had the afternoon off. So what do girls do when they have the afternoon off….well, shop of course! That’s what we did! We headed back to the famous Konya mall and this time I was in a much better mood to shop and picked up a couple of great items. I’ll be sure to wear them so that you can see pictures to my find.
Not a bad day. I’m heading off to bed because guess what kids…??? I’m sick. I think. Running nose is setting in and I’m suffering from complete exhaustion. I’m pooped!
Quote of the Day:
"I just want to play hide and seek." - Adrienne
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Day 23, but really day 24. Somehow I lost a day.
I’ve come to the conclusion that half the buildings in this country were built by one man…Sinan. That seems to be a way of guaranteeing your fame. Just build lots of buildings. Architecture was somewhat of a fascination for me in my younger years. I’ve already designed my own house, now how many people can do that? It would have been built by now too, except its more that 7,000 square feet and I haven’t married that gazillioaire Arabian Prince yet….but there’s still time. I like the buildings that Sinan has built. They’ve lasted a couple hundred years, which is not bad at all. Durability is a must. No one is famous for buildings that aren’t standing anymore. Gotta have buildings that last. Note to self: When I finish designing my own country I will need a Sinan to build marvelous buildings.
Today was a day of architecture. We visited old madressas and observed their architecture, purposes, foundations, fantastic tiles and artifacts. The two Madressas of choice were Minareli and Karatay Museum and Masressa. Contrary to popular belief madrassas were not built as terrorist centers. These here higher education centers that today would sit between high schools and universities. People learned to read and write, create poetry, not bombs, learn recite the Qur’an and study Islamic law. In fact, the Arabic word for school is Madressa. When people ask me where I work, I tell them, “in a Madressa.” They don’t look at me with strange eyes or call the CIA either. Bad media has once again hurt Middle Eastern image in the Western World.
After the madressas we then took a stroll to the Alaadin Mosque and Palace built in the Seljuk period around 1274 AD or the 13 century. What was unusual about this mosque was the fact that they used local columns from old Roman temples. Once the pagans were pushed out or forced to convert there was no longer a need for the temple so the Muslims took the columns and used them inside the mosque. Reuse, Reduce, Recycle people. It’s great…if you’re the victor. If you love Roman history then this stinks. This is very common in history. Why go out and look for new stones or carve your own column when there’s perfectly good one chillin right here and no one’s using it. Makes sense to me. Smart people. Of course, bad news for others. This is one of the reasons for the dilapidated state of the pyramids in Giza. Lots of people who needed homes that were made of nice stone. Now where can I get stones locally? Hmm…I know! There’s a huge pile of them in Giza! Hence, why many people in Egypt can claim a little bit of the pyramids in their living room!
Our next stop was at a Sufi order of the Haci Bektas led by a famous poet, Rumi. Most Westerners know Rumi for his beautiful poetry studied in many college classes. We saw the dervish lodge, the museum and Rumi’s Tomb.
We had the rest of the afternoon off which gave us a chance to go to the local mall. It was no different than being in Lakeside, really. Food courts, play area for the kids and tons of shopping. I’m keeping it on budget though. I’ve been good about spending since I’ve gotten here. Fulbright gave us $450 in cash for spending money and $150 to buy items for our classroom, so I haven’t needed to dip into my cash at all. With one more week left, I’m going to make Fulbright money stretch as much as possible. I did see a few things that I’d like so I might hit the mall tomorrow, just in case.
We had dinner on top of the 43 floor of the local skyscraper Sini. It was a revolving restaurant and the food was delicious. Nice way to spend a free day!
Today was a day of architecture. We visited old madressas and observed their architecture, purposes, foundations, fantastic tiles and artifacts. The two Madressas of choice were Minareli and Karatay Museum and Masressa. Contrary to popular belief madrassas were not built as terrorist centers. These here higher education centers that today would sit between high schools and universities. People learned to read and write, create poetry, not bombs, learn recite the Qur’an and study Islamic law. In fact, the Arabic word for school is Madressa. When people ask me where I work, I tell them, “in a Madressa.” They don’t look at me with strange eyes or call the CIA either. Bad media has once again hurt Middle Eastern image in the Western World.
After the madressas we then took a stroll to the Alaadin Mosque and Palace built in the Seljuk period around 1274 AD or the 13 century. What was unusual about this mosque was the fact that they used local columns from old Roman temples. Once the pagans were pushed out or forced to convert there was no longer a need for the temple so the Muslims took the columns and used them inside the mosque. Reuse, Reduce, Recycle people. It’s great…if you’re the victor. If you love Roman history then this stinks. This is very common in history. Why go out and look for new stones or carve your own column when there’s perfectly good one chillin right here and no one’s using it. Makes sense to me. Smart people. Of course, bad news for others. This is one of the reasons for the dilapidated state of the pyramids in Giza. Lots of people who needed homes that were made of nice stone. Now where can I get stones locally? Hmm…I know! There’s a huge pile of them in Giza! Hence, why many people in Egypt can claim a little bit of the pyramids in their living room!
Our next stop was at a Sufi order of the Haci Bektas led by a famous poet, Rumi. Most Westerners know Rumi for his beautiful poetry studied in many college classes. We saw the dervish lodge, the museum and Rumi’s Tomb.
We had the rest of the afternoon off which gave us a chance to go to the local mall. It was no different than being in Lakeside, really. Food courts, play area for the kids and tons of shopping. I’m keeping it on budget though. I’ve been good about spending since I’ve gotten here. Fulbright gave us $450 in cash for spending money and $150 to buy items for our classroom, so I haven’t needed to dip into my cash at all. With one more week left, I’m going to make Fulbright money stretch as much as possible. I did see a few things that I’d like so I might hit the mall tomorrow, just in case.
We had dinner on top of the 43 floor of the local skyscraper Sini. It was a revolving restaurant and the food was delicious. Nice way to spend a free day!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Day 22...right?
These travel days are truly the more obnoxious parts of our trips. They just take forever. Why does Turkey have to be such a big country? In reality it’s not as big as I’m making it seem. Turkey is slightly larger than the state of Texas. So compared to USA its not that huge, but compared to Luxembourg it’s gianormous!
We’re completing our circle around the western part of the country. Again, we can’t touch the eastern half because of security issues, like Iraq to the southeast, Syria to the Southwest, Kurds in the East, Armenia to the East and Russia slightly to the Northeast. So after leaving Urgup Goreme and our Ottoman house, we then made the four hour journey to Konya. Of course, we got up at the crack of dawn and left the hotel at 9 am, so why on God’s green earth did we arrive at our next hotel (the nicest that we’ve stayed in by far) ten hours later??? Because of the numerous stops that we made along the way. Yep. How do you make a long trip longer? Stop frequently.
I have to say though that these stops were actually enjoyable. After being on the bus for a hour and a half we stopped at the Ilhara Valley. This is Turkey’s Grand Canyon and a popular tourist stop for hikers. I’ve never been hiking. I climbed Mount Moses once in Egypt at 2am, but nothing after that. Why hike? It’s ridiculous. I hate nature. I mean sure it was beautiful, the stream that lead to the great river (and made such an annoying sound. I felt like I had to pee every time I heard it), the trees, the birds, the cliffs, the whole scenery….and then the bugs, the snakes, the spiders, gross, gross, gross. Dust, dirt, and rocks. Blah! Where’s the enjoyment. Look people, I don’t mind bugs in their natural habitat. In fact, I enjoy them there. I don’t like it when they invade my habitat, and by that I mean my house or current dwelling. Do that, and I’m afraid Mr. Spider is going to die, one way or another. Therefore, I’ve come to the simple conclusion that since they cannot live in my space, or not for very long that is, then I can’t live in there’s. So it gives them every right to want to kill me. Anyways, it was nice. I climbed the rocks, splashed in the water, sucked in the stinky fresh air and then had some lunch.
We drove for another 2 hours and stopped again to take some pictures of two famous volcanoes in Turkey before heading on our way again. So far on this trip I’ve taken my picture with Volcanoes, Canyons, Earthquake and flood devastated regions. For a person who’s not into nature…I’ve seen a lot of her face around.
We then continued to the largest camel caravan in Turkey. Camel Caravans, if I didn’t explain earlier, were used greatly on the Silk Road during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Ottoman periods. The caravans brought spices, silk, and any other goods from Asia to Europe on camels, and since Turkey sits in the middle of that route, it only made sense that there would be multiple stops along the way. People driving these herds would stop to eat, sleep or catch up on gossip before continuing on their way. Primitive pit stops.
We finally arrived in Konya, a Southern city in Turkey, which really isn’t far from Egypt and my daddy, but I’ll be there around this time next week. It is very different from any of the other cities we’ve been to in that Konya is the most conservative city in Turkey. I expect every woman will be covered and most Muslim men don’t wear shorts as its considered disrespectful. No alcohol in this city either. It’s dry. My kind of city. So we’ve come here to study the religious side of Turkey a little more and hopefully tomorrow we’ll get a chance to look at some of Turkey’s famous religious leaders and poets and visit a few more mosques. Its official. Only one more week in Turkey. Can you believe 4 weeks have gone by? Ewww…
We’re completing our circle around the western part of the country. Again, we can’t touch the eastern half because of security issues, like Iraq to the southeast, Syria to the Southwest, Kurds in the East, Armenia to the East and Russia slightly to the Northeast. So after leaving Urgup Goreme and our Ottoman house, we then made the four hour journey to Konya. Of course, we got up at the crack of dawn and left the hotel at 9 am, so why on God’s green earth did we arrive at our next hotel (the nicest that we’ve stayed in by far) ten hours later??? Because of the numerous stops that we made along the way. Yep. How do you make a long trip longer? Stop frequently.
I have to say though that these stops were actually enjoyable. After being on the bus for a hour and a half we stopped at the Ilhara Valley. This is Turkey’s Grand Canyon and a popular tourist stop for hikers. I’ve never been hiking. I climbed Mount Moses once in Egypt at 2am, but nothing after that. Why hike? It’s ridiculous. I hate nature. I mean sure it was beautiful, the stream that lead to the great river (and made such an annoying sound. I felt like I had to pee every time I heard it), the trees, the birds, the cliffs, the whole scenery….and then the bugs, the snakes, the spiders, gross, gross, gross. Dust, dirt, and rocks. Blah! Where’s the enjoyment. Look people, I don’t mind bugs in their natural habitat. In fact, I enjoy them there. I don’t like it when they invade my habitat, and by that I mean my house or current dwelling. Do that, and I’m afraid Mr. Spider is going to die, one way or another. Therefore, I’ve come to the simple conclusion that since they cannot live in my space, or not for very long that is, then I can’t live in there’s. So it gives them every right to want to kill me. Anyways, it was nice. I climbed the rocks, splashed in the water, sucked in the stinky fresh air and then had some lunch.
We drove for another 2 hours and stopped again to take some pictures of two famous volcanoes in Turkey before heading on our way again. So far on this trip I’ve taken my picture with Volcanoes, Canyons, Earthquake and flood devastated regions. For a person who’s not into nature…I’ve seen a lot of her face around.
We then continued to the largest camel caravan in Turkey. Camel Caravans, if I didn’t explain earlier, were used greatly on the Silk Road during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Ottoman periods. The caravans brought spices, silk, and any other goods from Asia to Europe on camels, and since Turkey sits in the middle of that route, it only made sense that there would be multiple stops along the way. People driving these herds would stop to eat, sleep or catch up on gossip before continuing on their way. Primitive pit stops.
We finally arrived in Konya, a Southern city in Turkey, which really isn’t far from Egypt and my daddy, but I’ll be there around this time next week. It is very different from any of the other cities we’ve been to in that Konya is the most conservative city in Turkey. I expect every woman will be covered and most Muslim men don’t wear shorts as its considered disrespectful. No alcohol in this city either. It’s dry. My kind of city. So we’ve come here to study the religious side of Turkey a little more and hopefully tomorrow we’ll get a chance to look at some of Turkey’s famous religious leaders and poets and visit a few more mosques. Its official. Only one more week in Turkey. Can you believe 4 weeks have gone by? Ewww…
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Day 20 and 21....
Okey Dokey! Yesterday was a super long day, but what's new? Because we got back to late, I couldn't update my blog and the pictures. I need to do that today because we are leaving tomorrow morning for a new city called Konya. That's suppose to be a very Turkish city that practices very conservative Islam. Nothing I can't handle. AND...our tour guide leaves today (YAY!) so we'll be free!
Yesterday was a blur. We tried to go as early as possible to the Open Air Museum in hopes to escape the heat, but its foolish to try to run and hide from the sun. Besides, I like the sun. I don't know why everyone gets so fussy when the heat gets turned up a smidgen. Yesterday was about 93 degrees. What's the big deal people?!?!
The open air museum holds a huge collection of volcanic formed mounds that Greek Christians used as monasteries and convents and then eventually open churches for the community. Some of those churches date back to the 10th and 11th century while others from the 12th and 13th. More than 700 years old. We climbed like the little tourists that we are, in and out of all the shapes, bumping out heads, tripping on broken steps, marveling at old frescos and paintings. It was great to see a culture preserved in such a fashion. However, with all antiquities, something has to get destroyed. Silly tourists are always looking for a way to make their mark on history, usually in a bad way. I hate seeing beautiful antiques destroyed by, "Bob was here." and "Katie loves Anthony."
After the Museum we went to a Pottery house to watch traditional Turkish pottery made in the old fashion way, with a push wheel and hand paintings. The stuff was super expensive and was totally calling my name. Seriously. I wanted into the room and every pot or vase or plate kept saying, "Buy me. I'm expensive, but I'll look great in the new house you don't have yet." So my buddy Adam and I went out for the hunt. We both found pots that we loved. They have a huge hole in the center because that's what the Hittites would use to pour wine out of. They'd throw the pot over their shoulder and pour. There's a picture example. So we bought one. Never mind the price. It was great and it’s being shipped home as we speak!
After the pottery shop we went for dinner and then to a late show of the Whirling Dervishes. The Whirling Dervishes are officially titled Sufism or Islamic Mysticism. I’ve seen them before in Egypt, but these are different. They weren’t as upbeat as the Sufis I’d seen in Egypt. They did a lot more praying too. I’m going to try to find out why this was. Is it because one was giving me the tourist experience or they are just different schools of thought. I’m working on that one.
The next day was more nonsense touring by our lousy tour guide. We had to go to the hospital again for another member of our group who was sick. We took her again today to get some more tests done and she seems to be getting better.
We went to visit another mosque early in the morning and those typically tend to be the most peaceful parts of the day. This is one of the largest mosques in Cappadocia and well, it’s really not that big especially after you’ve been in the Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia. We also went to go visit the old Greek city, now renamed, Mustafapasa, a Turkish name. During WWI the city’s Greek population moved out and the city became Turkish. The old Greek buildings were pretty much abandoned during the war or the transition of people from one city to the next and its basically become a ghost town. It was neat and sad to walk past the old buildings, some in use and others in ruins. Although the Greek population is gone, their heritage is still somewhat alive in this city by what they’ve left behind and what hasn’t been changed by the Turks.
Being Turkish isn’t easy. It’s like being…me, in a sense. I’m never Egyptian enough for the Egyptians or Slovak enough for the Slovaks, and even though I was born and raised in the USA, I’m still considered an outsider by standards. I have to be more Egyptian than the Egyptians, more Slovak than the Slovaks and more patriotic than the most patriotic American to prove that I belong or fit in. For the Turks it’s the same thing. You have to be more Turkish than the more patriotic of Turks in order to prove your loyalty, in essence. That’s a remedy for disaster. No wonder its difficult for Turkey to enter the EU.
A country with so much history, so twisted, Hittites, Seljuks, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and Muslims, how do you keep a national identity when you had no country, but suddenly do, when you had no leader and then did and then he was gone, when you thought you had a clear plan that is now not so clear. This is why the Turks are so confused. Now I have to take that confusion and teach that to a class of 30 plus students, half of whom don’t know the capitals of the 50 states and think that Turkey is something that belongs on their plate come November. Ish!
Yesterday was a blur. We tried to go as early as possible to the Open Air Museum in hopes to escape the heat, but its foolish to try to run and hide from the sun. Besides, I like the sun. I don't know why everyone gets so fussy when the heat gets turned up a smidgen. Yesterday was about 93 degrees. What's the big deal people?!?!
The open air museum holds a huge collection of volcanic formed mounds that Greek Christians used as monasteries and convents and then eventually open churches for the community. Some of those churches date back to the 10th and 11th century while others from the 12th and 13th. More than 700 years old. We climbed like the little tourists that we are, in and out of all the shapes, bumping out heads, tripping on broken steps, marveling at old frescos and paintings. It was great to see a culture preserved in such a fashion. However, with all antiquities, something has to get destroyed. Silly tourists are always looking for a way to make their mark on history, usually in a bad way. I hate seeing beautiful antiques destroyed by, "Bob was here." and "Katie loves Anthony."
After the Museum we went to a Pottery house to watch traditional Turkish pottery made in the old fashion way, with a push wheel and hand paintings. The stuff was super expensive and was totally calling my name. Seriously. I wanted into the room and every pot or vase or plate kept saying, "Buy me. I'm expensive, but I'll look great in the new house you don't have yet." So my buddy Adam and I went out for the hunt. We both found pots that we loved. They have a huge hole in the center because that's what the Hittites would use to pour wine out of. They'd throw the pot over their shoulder and pour. There's a picture example. So we bought one. Never mind the price. It was great and it’s being shipped home as we speak!
After the pottery shop we went for dinner and then to a late show of the Whirling Dervishes. The Whirling Dervishes are officially titled Sufism or Islamic Mysticism. I’ve seen them before in Egypt, but these are different. They weren’t as upbeat as the Sufis I’d seen in Egypt. They did a lot more praying too. I’m going to try to find out why this was. Is it because one was giving me the tourist experience or they are just different schools of thought. I’m working on that one.
The next day was more nonsense touring by our lousy tour guide. We had to go to the hospital again for another member of our group who was sick. We took her again today to get some more tests done and she seems to be getting better.
We went to visit another mosque early in the morning and those typically tend to be the most peaceful parts of the day. This is one of the largest mosques in Cappadocia and well, it’s really not that big especially after you’ve been in the Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia. We also went to go visit the old Greek city, now renamed, Mustafapasa, a Turkish name. During WWI the city’s Greek population moved out and the city became Turkish. The old Greek buildings were pretty much abandoned during the war or the transition of people from one city to the next and its basically become a ghost town. It was neat and sad to walk past the old buildings, some in use and others in ruins. Although the Greek population is gone, their heritage is still somewhat alive in this city by what they’ve left behind and what hasn’t been changed by the Turks.
Being Turkish isn’t easy. It’s like being…me, in a sense. I’m never Egyptian enough for the Egyptians or Slovak enough for the Slovaks, and even though I was born and raised in the USA, I’m still considered an outsider by standards. I have to be more Egyptian than the Egyptians, more Slovak than the Slovaks and more patriotic than the most patriotic American to prove that I belong or fit in. For the Turks it’s the same thing. You have to be more Turkish than the more patriotic of Turks in order to prove your loyalty, in essence. That’s a remedy for disaster. No wonder its difficult for Turkey to enter the EU.
A country with so much history, so twisted, Hittites, Seljuks, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and Muslims, how do you keep a national identity when you had no country, but suddenly do, when you had no leader and then did and then he was gone, when you thought you had a clear plan that is now not so clear. This is why the Turks are so confused. Now I have to take that confusion and teach that to a class of 30 plus students, half of whom don’t know the capitals of the 50 states and think that Turkey is something that belongs on their plate come November. Ish!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Day 18 & 19...funny how things can get out of hand
We woke up relatively early this morning to begin our long drive to Cappadocia. This is an old Byzantine city that was later taken over by the Greeks and finally the Turks who came rolling in. Its about a 5 hour drive from Ankara, but before we left we made a stop at the European Union Embassy. This was such an important part of the trip that it makes me sick!
The EU delegation was so welcoming and the building was so huge. It was a huge difference from the American Embassy. I mean, the American Embassy was a fort, but the EU building was a 12 story tower! It was so out in the open, so inviting, so friendly, that it made me worried. Not about safety, good heavens no. People are scared of me, not the other way around. Erock does not fear people. The security was the very tight. They wanted passports just like the US embassy. There were still the background checks, the ID cards that we had to wear and the surveillance, but it was not nearly as humiliating as walking into the US embassy. That hurt. Low blow fo sho. Think about it. It was easier for me as an American to walk into the EU Commission Building, the same building that is determining Turkey's fate on entering the European Union, than it was for me to walk into my own embassy! That's not cool. Think of the message that it sends to the Turks. Here is the EU building out in the open, inviting, and attractive, compared to the US Embassy, behind high walls, gates, armed guards and heavy security. If I were Turkish, and I'm not, but if I was, I would be thinking..."Europeans = friendly, America = not."
Any who, the EU representative, Diego (I know, fine name, for a fine looking man. He's Spanish. You know how I feel about dark skinned Spanish men. Holy Guacamole!) He was great. I mean not just to look at, but he was great. He was so knowledge about the situation in Turkey and the current political crisis. He answered all of our questions with sincerity. The guy really wanted to do his job, but let us know that he liked doing it to. He didn't seem bothered that 20 Americans had just shown up to poke and prod at his work. We like Diego and the EU!
After we left the EU (sniff, sniff) we continued on our way to Cappadocia. About two hours before the city are the famous salt lakes of Turkey. Its no joke. This is some mean salt too. It was everywhere, just like the Dead Sea, but it hurt to walk on. Let's just say that Erock got some free exfoliation for my toes. They're so pretty now!
We finally arrived at Cappadocia and will be spending the next four days in an old Ottoman House that was converted to a hotel somewhat recently. Its nice. There are three of us in the room this time and the added company is great. Kristin is a nice addition so Adrienne and I don't mind having her along for the ride. Having Kristin here helps to keep us in our place. Adrienne and I have gotten so use to be in hotel rooms together and sharing the tiniest bathrooms in the world that we can be a little too much. A short from going to the bathroom with the door open and using the sink in the bathroom while someone else is in the shower, nothing bothers us any more. However, Kristin is not accustomed to our barbarity so its good that she's here otherwise I'd go back home and continue my absurdity.
Our first day in Cappadocia was very unusual. There seems to be a stomach flu going around or something because everyone has been sick. Everyone in the group, with the exception of Adrienne, Kristin, our professor, Marianne and myself, have had at least one round of diarrhea, while some are on their second or third round. Some have driven themselves to the point of dehydration that they've had to spend days at a time in the hotel room. There also seems to be a regular flu going around as well. People are beginning to complain of soar throats and nausea. Jeff was our latest victim. After spending 2 days in the hotel we decided to take him to the hospital today. Patricia may be next to go. I checked on her twice today and she hasn't improved. She's also complaining of new symptoms. Its tough when you're in a foreign country because everyone has heard of hospital horror stories in other countries, but when you're sick, you're sick. No excuses.
After the trip to drop Jeff off at the hospital the tours had to continue. Cappadocia is a small city, but famous worldwide for its underground cities and dome rock formations. Most of these were built right out of the mountains because they were cheap, cool and easy to maintain, but the underground cities were built out of necessity. People who needed to hide, mainly early Christians when Christianity was the minority religion during the Roman and Greek Gods era, built the underground cities sometimes 6 stories underground! The are huge tunnels that have bedrooms, churches, cemeteries, kitchens, and living rooms. Others are a little less useful, like a wine room for example. I'm not much for subterranean living, but I gave it a try. It was just gross honestly. Something else that bothers me is the fact that Turkey sits on moving tectonic plates. Yep! The kind that produce earthquakes and they happen frequently. The usually are very violent as well. The issue is that Turkey hasn't had one in almost ten years so the time is ripe for another one...soon. So being 4 stories underground in rock caves on moving tectonic plates...call me crazy...but I'd have better chances with terrorists. I know...I sound like a Greek Chorus right now "Gloom and Doom...Gloom and Doom."
Well, that's enough adventures from this Indiana Jones. I'm going to dinner shortly and then we should be ready for some craziness in the morning!
Quote of the Day:
Tour Guide in the underground city: "After the pagans had left, the Christians then had to hide from the invading Turks and sometimes Arabs who came through the land. Look at how many doors there are in here. They are not secret escape doors. This is one purpose. Those hiding down here, Christian or not, would let their enemies come in, down the first level, the down the second level. Then they would lock the doors on the first and second levels and on the fourth levels, trapping their enemies on the third to kill them. I'm telling you, if I was an Arab, I would not want to come down here."
EROCK:"Is he saying I shouldn't be down here?"
Frankie: "Yeah, I'm getting that impression too."
EROCK: "Huh. Good to know." Shall we continue?"
The EU delegation was so welcoming and the building was so huge. It was a huge difference from the American Embassy. I mean, the American Embassy was a fort, but the EU building was a 12 story tower! It was so out in the open, so inviting, so friendly, that it made me worried. Not about safety, good heavens no. People are scared of me, not the other way around. Erock does not fear people. The security was the very tight. They wanted passports just like the US embassy. There were still the background checks, the ID cards that we had to wear and the surveillance, but it was not nearly as humiliating as walking into the US embassy. That hurt. Low blow fo sho. Think about it. It was easier for me as an American to walk into the EU Commission Building, the same building that is determining Turkey's fate on entering the European Union, than it was for me to walk into my own embassy! That's not cool. Think of the message that it sends to the Turks. Here is the EU building out in the open, inviting, and attractive, compared to the US Embassy, behind high walls, gates, armed guards and heavy security. If I were Turkish, and I'm not, but if I was, I would be thinking..."Europeans = friendly, America = not."
Any who, the EU representative, Diego (I know, fine name, for a fine looking man. He's Spanish. You know how I feel about dark skinned Spanish men. Holy Guacamole!) He was great. I mean not just to look at, but he was great. He was so knowledge about the situation in Turkey and the current political crisis. He answered all of our questions with sincerity. The guy really wanted to do his job, but let us know that he liked doing it to. He didn't seem bothered that 20 Americans had just shown up to poke and prod at his work. We like Diego and the EU!
After we left the EU (sniff, sniff) we continued on our way to Cappadocia. About two hours before the city are the famous salt lakes of Turkey. Its no joke. This is some mean salt too. It was everywhere, just like the Dead Sea, but it hurt to walk on. Let's just say that Erock got some free exfoliation for my toes. They're so pretty now!
We finally arrived at Cappadocia and will be spending the next four days in an old Ottoman House that was converted to a hotel somewhat recently. Its nice. There are three of us in the room this time and the added company is great. Kristin is a nice addition so Adrienne and I don't mind having her along for the ride. Having Kristin here helps to keep us in our place. Adrienne and I have gotten so use to be in hotel rooms together and sharing the tiniest bathrooms in the world that we can be a little too much. A short from going to the bathroom with the door open and using the sink in the bathroom while someone else is in the shower, nothing bothers us any more. However, Kristin is not accustomed to our barbarity so its good that she's here otherwise I'd go back home and continue my absurdity.
Our first day in Cappadocia was very unusual. There seems to be a stomach flu going around or something because everyone has been sick. Everyone in the group, with the exception of Adrienne, Kristin, our professor, Marianne and myself, have had at least one round of diarrhea, while some are on their second or third round. Some have driven themselves to the point of dehydration that they've had to spend days at a time in the hotel room. There also seems to be a regular flu going around as well. People are beginning to complain of soar throats and nausea. Jeff was our latest victim. After spending 2 days in the hotel we decided to take him to the hospital today. Patricia may be next to go. I checked on her twice today and she hasn't improved. She's also complaining of new symptoms. Its tough when you're in a foreign country because everyone has heard of hospital horror stories in other countries, but when you're sick, you're sick. No excuses.
After the trip to drop Jeff off at the hospital the tours had to continue. Cappadocia is a small city, but famous worldwide for its underground cities and dome rock formations. Most of these were built right out of the mountains because they were cheap, cool and easy to maintain, but the underground cities were built out of necessity. People who needed to hide, mainly early Christians when Christianity was the minority religion during the Roman and Greek Gods era, built the underground cities sometimes 6 stories underground! The are huge tunnels that have bedrooms, churches, cemeteries, kitchens, and living rooms. Others are a little less useful, like a wine room for example. I'm not much for subterranean living, but I gave it a try. It was just gross honestly. Something else that bothers me is the fact that Turkey sits on moving tectonic plates. Yep! The kind that produce earthquakes and they happen frequently. The usually are very violent as well. The issue is that Turkey hasn't had one in almost ten years so the time is ripe for another one...soon. So being 4 stories underground in rock caves on moving tectonic plates...call me crazy...but I'd have better chances with terrorists. I know...I sound like a Greek Chorus right now "Gloom and Doom...Gloom and Doom."
Well, that's enough adventures from this Indiana Jones. I'm going to dinner shortly and then we should be ready for some craziness in the morning!
Quote of the Day:
Tour Guide in the underground city: "After the pagans had left, the Christians then had to hide from the invading Turks and sometimes Arabs who came through the land. Look at how many doors there are in here. They are not secret escape doors. This is one purpose. Those hiding down here, Christian or not, would let their enemies come in, down the first level, the down the second level. Then they would lock the doors on the first and second levels and on the fourth levels, trapping their enemies on the third to kill them. I'm telling you, if I was an Arab, I would not want to come down here."
EROCK:"Is he saying I shouldn't be down here?"
Frankie: "Yeah, I'm getting that impression too."
EROCK: "Huh. Good to know." Shall we continue?"
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Day 17....how'd that get there?
Well, after yesterday's huge venting festival I decided to move on to bigger and better complaints. We've acquired a new tour guide in Ankara because apparently its the law. You have to have one travel with your group. Up until now, our professor had been giving us the big tours or bringing other professors from local universities, but not in Ankara. This was not cool. At first we thought he was cool, but as time went on, we learned he was not a part of our group. I first noticed that he needed to be voted off the island when he talked for 3 hours straight on a road trip to the Hittite capital on Monday...on the bus microphone! That was the last straw.
So Ertan, that's his name, took us to the Ankara Museum. Its a nice museum, the design is great, an old Bazaar building that was redone, the artwork is great, the artifacts are amazing and it is organized perfectly. The only downside was our tour guide. I watched other tour groups come in a look at the important pieces then leave within an hour. How long were we there? 3 1/2 hours!!!! That's because someone likes to hear themselves talk! Lord have mercy!
We then went for a big lunch, which is the last straw for me. I need a diet. I'm afraid to step on a scale when I get back home. Its embarrassing. Kids, remember that when you look at the pictures, the camera adds ten pounds....and there are a lot of cameras on me. We went to the old city walls of Ankara that were built by the Byzantines, using all Roman temples, and then visited an Old Roman temple that was converted into a church and then later a mosque. It was super cool.
We got back to the hotel early, which gave us a chance to pack because tomorrow we go to Cappadocia. We went to walk around the town a little and then came back to the hotel to watch a movie and relax. I'm going to get eight hours of sleep tonight and there will be no question about that. Exhaustion has hit in and I still have 2 more weeks in Turkey and 3 more in Egypt. This is just the beginning of the trip!
Quote of the Day:
"Huh? How'd that get there?" - ME after Doug and I noticed that an old Roman Temple looked just like Ataturk's tomb. Or maybe it was the other way around.
So Ertan, that's his name, took us to the Ankara Museum. Its a nice museum, the design is great, an old Bazaar building that was redone, the artwork is great, the artifacts are amazing and it is organized perfectly. The only downside was our tour guide. I watched other tour groups come in a look at the important pieces then leave within an hour. How long were we there? 3 1/2 hours!!!! That's because someone likes to hear themselves talk! Lord have mercy!
We then went for a big lunch, which is the last straw for me. I need a diet. I'm afraid to step on a scale when I get back home. Its embarrassing. Kids, remember that when you look at the pictures, the camera adds ten pounds....and there are a lot of cameras on me. We went to the old city walls of Ankara that were built by the Byzantines, using all Roman temples, and then visited an Old Roman temple that was converted into a church and then later a mosque. It was super cool.
We got back to the hotel early, which gave us a chance to pack because tomorrow we go to Cappadocia. We went to walk around the town a little and then came back to the hotel to watch a movie and relax. I'm going to get eight hours of sleep tonight and there will be no question about that. Exhaustion has hit in and I still have 2 more weeks in Turkey and 3 more in Egypt. This is just the beginning of the trip!
Quote of the Day:
"Huh? How'd that get there?" - ME after Doug and I noticed that an old Roman Temple looked just like Ataturk's tomb. Or maybe it was the other way around.
Day 16...what a mess...
Ankara is a very different from Istanbul. I like Istanbul better. Maybe I said that already in an earlier post. Our hotel in this city is decent, not the worst that we’ve been in, but the internet is extremely slow. That’s what gives all the other hotels an edge over this one. Its painful to not have that, especially when we’ve been traveling as a group for the past three weeks and still have two more weeks to go. I need other people to talk to out of sheer necessity.
After breakfast this morning, a very good one by the way, we made our way to Ataturk’s tomb. This was the last big thing that I wanted to see in Turkey. Everything else is just icing on the cake and all the other big things that I wanted to see were in Istanbul and Troy.
The tomb as the video will explain is huge. Something like 36 acres. It was strange to see the connection between the Hittites and ancient Egypt to Ataturk’s tomb. Every culture does this. Its been copied from other cultures for centuries and slightly changed to adapt new ideologies. It always revolves around elevating someone, a hero or central character, into a god like symbol. That’s how fascism works at its best. We do it in the USA too, but it is way more subtle. Think of the Washington Memorial, LINCOLN MEMORIAL and the Jefferson Memorial. All of them make someone look god like. So it was no shock that we had to pass several huge statues at the beginning of the mausoleum with female statues on one side and male statues on the other. Then we had to pass through 24 lion statues, 12 on each side, which lead to an open courtyard that had the tomb of Ataturk on the left side. This could have been a tomb anywhere…Egypt, Iraq, Greece, Spain, or Chine. The design and layout would have been same but the statues and lions would have been changed for the customs of that culture. It was very Russian like, I have to admit. Lincoln memorial has columns as well with a huge courtyard and pool. The Washington Memorial has flags, not lions.
Now, I’m not obsessed with Ataturk. I’ve been to many tombs. I simple wanted to see if I’d have the same reaction like other tombs that I’ve visited, from Sadat to Tutankhamen and others. Would I get that chill? Would I feel an emotional connection to them, stand and see the world and how they influenced it? I did with Ataturk, but it was not like all the others. It was cool, but I cannot admire him the way the Turks do. He’s great and all, but I won’t look up to him as they do. So nice trip, glad I saw the tomb and had my moment, but well, you’ll see it in the video. No huge shock. Not a huge connection. Sorry Ataturk, just not feeling it brother.
We moved on to an early lunch, which is killing me. One day we eat lunch at 3:30, the next day 1:30 and then today at 12. I can’t keep up. I need consistency people! Anyways, we ate and then went to the U.S. Embassy to speak to three representatives of the U.S. State Department on US-Turkish affairs from political, military and economic affairs. Just to get to the embassy was an issue. I noticed that the U.S. embassy is right in the middle of the military district of Ankara. The Navy, Air force, Army and Marines of Turkey all have their headquarters there. That’s on purpose. The U.S. Embassy is one of the most difficult to protect. If there were an attack of some kind then Turkey would be able to respond to it immediately. So who would attack in the first place, right? Makes sense to me. Getting inside was a battle. We had to submit a list of all the Americans who would be going, give them our passports ahead of time, couldn’t bring any cameras or cell phones, and no bags. There was airport security in the main gate entrance where we were all give ID cards. Then we followed workers to the next security check point further inside the complex. Tough stuff. Once inside we were greeted by pictures of Biden, Clinton and of course, Obama. Glad to see that they’ve already redecorated.
Our speakers were great. They were super informative on Turkey and US relations,, Turkey and the EU, Armenia, Greece (eyes rolling) and Cyprus (big sigh), but I learned a heck of a lot. They didn’t give us the boring political garbage. They told us openly what they though and there was very little cover up. They didn’t insult US policy but they answered our questions truthfully. It was much appreciated.
We then went to meet with an Islamic scholar at the Divinity School of the University of Ankara. He was a nice man, but an extremely boring lecturer. His English was weak and I personally found it insulting. I wish these “scholars,” would be picked more carefully. When we went to the synagogue we met people who spoke perfect English even though there are only 30,000 Jews in Turkey! You’re telling me that in a country that is 99% Muslim that there isn’t one scholar who speaks better English to properly explain my religion to 18 other American teachers!?!?!? Not acceptable. He tried hard, but jumped around and struggled with this language stills to the point where no one got complete answers to their questions. I understand that religion is complicated to explain, but people do it everyday. I do it everyday and on top of that the guy is Muslim! Come on!
Ok. I’m done venting. No more of that, just positive energy now. Only good thoughts. He did speak Arabic and Turkish, which is cool. He was also very hospitable and had had tea made for everyone. There, that’s my good deed for the day!
Quote of the Day:
“Listen, you’re a mental giant!” – Doug to Frankie. Frankie was showing his doctoral side and wouldn’t respect Doug’s thoughts or see the other side of the debate over Ataturk’s tomb.
After breakfast this morning, a very good one by the way, we made our way to Ataturk’s tomb. This was the last big thing that I wanted to see in Turkey. Everything else is just icing on the cake and all the other big things that I wanted to see were in Istanbul and Troy.
The tomb as the video will explain is huge. Something like 36 acres. It was strange to see the connection between the Hittites and ancient Egypt to Ataturk’s tomb. Every culture does this. Its been copied from other cultures for centuries and slightly changed to adapt new ideologies. It always revolves around elevating someone, a hero or central character, into a god like symbol. That’s how fascism works at its best. We do it in the USA too, but it is way more subtle. Think of the Washington Memorial, LINCOLN MEMORIAL and the Jefferson Memorial. All of them make someone look god like. So it was no shock that we had to pass several huge statues at the beginning of the mausoleum with female statues on one side and male statues on the other. Then we had to pass through 24 lion statues, 12 on each side, which lead to an open courtyard that had the tomb of Ataturk on the left side. This could have been a tomb anywhere…Egypt, Iraq, Greece, Spain, or Chine. The design and layout would have been same but the statues and lions would have been changed for the customs of that culture. It was very Russian like, I have to admit. Lincoln memorial has columns as well with a huge courtyard and pool. The Washington Memorial has flags, not lions.
Now, I’m not obsessed with Ataturk. I’ve been to many tombs. I simple wanted to see if I’d have the same reaction like other tombs that I’ve visited, from Sadat to Tutankhamen and others. Would I get that chill? Would I feel an emotional connection to them, stand and see the world and how they influenced it? I did with Ataturk, but it was not like all the others. It was cool, but I cannot admire him the way the Turks do. He’s great and all, but I won’t look up to him as they do. So nice trip, glad I saw the tomb and had my moment, but well, you’ll see it in the video. No huge shock. Not a huge connection. Sorry Ataturk, just not feeling it brother.
We moved on to an early lunch, which is killing me. One day we eat lunch at 3:30, the next day 1:30 and then today at 12. I can’t keep up. I need consistency people! Anyways, we ate and then went to the U.S. Embassy to speak to three representatives of the U.S. State Department on US-Turkish affairs from political, military and economic affairs. Just to get to the embassy was an issue. I noticed that the U.S. embassy is right in the middle of the military district of Ankara. The Navy, Air force, Army and Marines of Turkey all have their headquarters there. That’s on purpose. The U.S. Embassy is one of the most difficult to protect. If there were an attack of some kind then Turkey would be able to respond to it immediately. So who would attack in the first place, right? Makes sense to me. Getting inside was a battle. We had to submit a list of all the Americans who would be going, give them our passports ahead of time, couldn’t bring any cameras or cell phones, and no bags. There was airport security in the main gate entrance where we were all give ID cards. Then we followed workers to the next security check point further inside the complex. Tough stuff. Once inside we were greeted by pictures of Biden, Clinton and of course, Obama. Glad to see that they’ve already redecorated.
Our speakers were great. They were super informative on Turkey and US relations,, Turkey and the EU, Armenia, Greece (eyes rolling) and Cyprus (big sigh), but I learned a heck of a lot. They didn’t give us the boring political garbage. They told us openly what they though and there was very little cover up. They didn’t insult US policy but they answered our questions truthfully. It was much appreciated.
We then went to meet with an Islamic scholar at the Divinity School of the University of Ankara. He was a nice man, but an extremely boring lecturer. His English was weak and I personally found it insulting. I wish these “scholars,” would be picked more carefully. When we went to the synagogue we met people who spoke perfect English even though there are only 30,000 Jews in Turkey! You’re telling me that in a country that is 99% Muslim that there isn’t one scholar who speaks better English to properly explain my religion to 18 other American teachers!?!?!? Not acceptable. He tried hard, but jumped around and struggled with this language stills to the point where no one got complete answers to their questions. I understand that religion is complicated to explain, but people do it everyday. I do it everyday and on top of that the guy is Muslim! Come on!
Ok. I’m done venting. No more of that, just positive energy now. Only good thoughts. He did speak Arabic and Turkish, which is cool. He was also very hospitable and had had tea made for everyone. There, that’s my good deed for the day!
Quote of the Day:
“Listen, you’re a mental giant!” – Doug to Frankie. Frankie was showing his doctoral side and wouldn’t respect Doug’s thoughts or see the other side of the debate over Ataturk’s tomb.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Day 14 and 15 were adventures
We left the university yesterday to move to the capital city of Ankara. The bus ride would have been long enough except we kept stoping every hour! No joke. It was ridiculous. We did get a little break at an old Turkish village that is still inhabited. This was cool because we could see people still living in old Turkish dwellings. The old street bazaars were still there and in use. The houses were still the same except with some newer additions like plumbing and electricity. Take those away and it could have been 15th century Turkey. It was amazing.
We got to the capital late on Sunday night and our bus driver, Ufuk, had a hard time finding our hotel. That’s his name, no joke, except its pronounced ooo-fook. That’s the kind of Turkish name that gets you in a lot of trouble in and American school. I can see his parents naming him now. “What name could we give our son that will get his butt kicked every day in school? Hmm…I know! Ufuk!” Wow.
Our first day in Ankara wasn’t even in the city. We drove three hours out to go to the Hittite ruins and their old capital. It was great to see such old ruins. 3,000 years old and to walk among them! Fantastic. I’m going to upload the pictures ASAP.
The most interesting facts about the Hittites were that they were so closely connected to the Egyptians. I mean, I learned more about Egyptian than the Hittites. Although the Hittites used cuneiform instead of hieroglyphics like the Egyptians, their art was almost identical and their places of worship, gods and idols were almost in complete unison. The first political treaty in the world, in human history, was recorded between the Hittites and the Egyptians. It would be very superficial to think that the Hittites got everything from the Egyptians, because when groups of people are so close together there is bound to be an exchange in cultures. However, the Egyptians have always said it, and it would be rude to turn my back on my ancestors. The Egyptians are recorded as being around longer than the Hittites, by almost a thousand years. So the saying it true. Egypt is the mother of the world!
It was exhausting to walk through those ruins though. There was no shade. We had to wear heavy clothing because ticks are a common problem in that area so we had to protect our skin. That meant jeans and running shoes and even a long sleeve shirt in 90 degree weather. Tough stuff, but I’m African, its cool. The hardest part was going from the heat to a hot bus and back and forth, back and forth, up the mountain, in the bus, down the mountain then into the bus. It was tiring in.
Quote of the Day:
“As long as he learns to fill our mouths more than our heads, we’ll be ok.” – Kristin, when we learned that we’d have a new tour guide for the day.
We got to the capital late on Sunday night and our bus driver, Ufuk, had a hard time finding our hotel. That’s his name, no joke, except its pronounced ooo-fook. That’s the kind of Turkish name that gets you in a lot of trouble in and American school. I can see his parents naming him now. “What name could we give our son that will get his butt kicked every day in school? Hmm…I know! Ufuk!” Wow.
Our first day in Ankara wasn’t even in the city. We drove three hours out to go to the Hittite ruins and their old capital. It was great to see such old ruins. 3,000 years old and to walk among them! Fantastic. I’m going to upload the pictures ASAP.
The most interesting facts about the Hittites were that they were so closely connected to the Egyptians. I mean, I learned more about Egyptian than the Hittites. Although the Hittites used cuneiform instead of hieroglyphics like the Egyptians, their art was almost identical and their places of worship, gods and idols were almost in complete unison. The first political treaty in the world, in human history, was recorded between the Hittites and the Egyptians. It would be very superficial to think that the Hittites got everything from the Egyptians, because when groups of people are so close together there is bound to be an exchange in cultures. However, the Egyptians have always said it, and it would be rude to turn my back on my ancestors. The Egyptians are recorded as being around longer than the Hittites, by almost a thousand years. So the saying it true. Egypt is the mother of the world!
It was exhausting to walk through those ruins though. There was no shade. We had to wear heavy clothing because ticks are a common problem in that area so we had to protect our skin. That meant jeans and running shoes and even a long sleeve shirt in 90 degree weather. Tough stuff, but I’m African, its cool. The hardest part was going from the heat to a hot bus and back and forth, back and forth, up the mountain, in the bus, down the mountain then into the bus. It was tiring in.
Quote of the Day:
“As long as he learns to fill our mouths more than our heads, we’ll be ok.” – Kristin, when we learned that we’d have a new tour guide for the day.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Day 13...finally relaxing!
It was great to get a day off from start to finish. A group of us decided that we would go to the Prince Islands off the coast of Istanbul. The boat ride took about an hour and then another ten minute ride on a smaller boat to get a more private side of the big Island. It cost us only about 20 Lira, which is about $12, for the whole day. We had a beautiful beach. The sand was only in the water, clean and white sand. The water was a deep blue and clear as ever! I could see straight through it, which is great because I hate going into water when I can't see the bottom. Gross and super creepy. There had also been reports of brown jelly fish in the area. Tons of them, so they put nets around the far edges of the beach to prevent people from swimming too far off as well as prevent the jelly fish from entering. It was great. We laid out and got dark. That only took me about 15 minutes. From there we proceeded to play the beach game. The beach game is all about sun bathing, going into the water for about 20 minutes, play splashy, splashy, then get out and sun bath long enough to dry completely, then repeat and get back into the water! Wow! Love it!
It was a great way to spend out 4th of July. You truly appreciate it more when you're not in the country. It carries such a profound meaning at home, no doubt, but when you represent your nation abroad and on its independence day, there's nothing else like it. As we were preparing to leave, a couple of Turkish women sitting next to us started a conversation with us in English. This was both good and bad. Good because it made for easy conversation, but bad because we had just spent 8 hours on this beach next to them, talking about everything from the weather, water, things we liked and didn't like about Turkey, and about the people around us. "Eww...he's ugly. What is she wearing? They are too weird." It is possible that we severely embarrassed ourselves and possible insulted them. They were very sweet and asked us a lot of questions about where we were from and how we liked it. They reminded us that it was the 4th of July...also a good feeling when other people from other countries know your independence day (no one in USA would know Turkey's!).
As we got back on the boat and headed to the university for our last night, we stood by the railing over looking the water and our little island of refuge for the day, watching the sun lower into the sky. Here we were, four Americans, with a great view. It wasn't home, but as we watched the sun sink we knew that it was still floating high in the sky in our homeland.
When we got back to the university Adrienne made a startling discovery. When we first got to the university four days ago, the food and cleaning staff had been dressed in traditional uniforms, but by day five more and more of them were wearing face masks. These were the kind you often saw people in China wearing to protect from the pollution. Why were they wearing them all of a sudden? Was the plague in town? Turns out the masks are meant to protect the Turks from something bigger than the plague...18 teachers traveling from the US of A. Yep, they're worried that we're carrying swine flu so they aren't taking any chances. Its true that tourists have been largely responsible for the spread of this illness, and hopefully none of us have it, but we felt very...isolated by this. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, after all they don't want the flu, but it made us socially aware. Its the same social awareness people get when they start smelling their armpits after someone else has shouted, "Do you smell that?"
Anyways, we take off for the capital, Ankara, tomorrow morning. Relaxation short lived. I'm one step closer to Ataturk's grave. Big stuff.
Happy 4th of July everyone, I miss you.
Quote of the Day:
"Hey are we going to start moving of what?!?!? Yellah, Yellah, people!" - EROCK, as we wait for our ferry to move to the island. We sat on the boat for 20 minutes before anything happened.
It was a great way to spend out 4th of July. You truly appreciate it more when you're not in the country. It carries such a profound meaning at home, no doubt, but when you represent your nation abroad and on its independence day, there's nothing else like it. As we were preparing to leave, a couple of Turkish women sitting next to us started a conversation with us in English. This was both good and bad. Good because it made for easy conversation, but bad because we had just spent 8 hours on this beach next to them, talking about everything from the weather, water, things we liked and didn't like about Turkey, and about the people around us. "Eww...he's ugly. What is she wearing? They are too weird." It is possible that we severely embarrassed ourselves and possible insulted them. They were very sweet and asked us a lot of questions about where we were from and how we liked it. They reminded us that it was the 4th of July...also a good feeling when other people from other countries know your independence day (no one in USA would know Turkey's!).
As we got back on the boat and headed to the university for our last night, we stood by the railing over looking the water and our little island of refuge for the day, watching the sun lower into the sky. Here we were, four Americans, with a great view. It wasn't home, but as we watched the sun sink we knew that it was still floating high in the sky in our homeland.
When we got back to the university Adrienne made a startling discovery. When we first got to the university four days ago, the food and cleaning staff had been dressed in traditional uniforms, but by day five more and more of them were wearing face masks. These were the kind you often saw people in China wearing to protect from the pollution. Why were they wearing them all of a sudden? Was the plague in town? Turns out the masks are meant to protect the Turks from something bigger than the plague...18 teachers traveling from the US of A. Yep, they're worried that we're carrying swine flu so they aren't taking any chances. Its true that tourists have been largely responsible for the spread of this illness, and hopefully none of us have it, but we felt very...isolated by this. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, after all they don't want the flu, but it made us socially aware. Its the same social awareness people get when they start smelling their armpits after someone else has shouted, "Do you smell that?"
Anyways, we take off for the capital, Ankara, tomorrow morning. Relaxation short lived. I'm one step closer to Ataturk's grave. Big stuff.
Happy 4th of July everyone, I miss you.
Quote of the Day:
"Hey are we going to start moving of what?!?!? Yellah, Yellah, people!" - EROCK, as we wait for our ferry to move to the island. We sat on the boat for 20 minutes before anything happened.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Day 12....where to begin
I've been very lucky that I could blog for 2 weeks stright while in another country. That's not what I was expecting at all. Pretty cool.
This was another day of long lectures and I learned so much that my brain hurts really bad. We learned a ton on the Armenian Genocide and I can honestly teach this subject a heck of a lot better than I had in the past. I've got tons of facts that will really help my students further understand this sensitive subject. I learned about Turkish literature and historical cities and well as religions. It was so beneficial. This is what makes these trips awesome. I love the learning. That's not something that I could say often. I couldn't say that when I was in high school...no way. I liked the social aspect of school only. The learning part? What learning part? However, now its such a different story. I love learning, not because I have to, like in the past, but because I can't learn enough. I want to absorb everything. I'm thinking about applying for this grant to study Turkish. I've realized that my languages skills here could be a lot better and I want to fix that. So, I'm going to learn Turkish. It's really only useful in Turkey, but hey, why not.
My professor asked me to participate in a program next summer with Harvard. Did you read that just now? Yeah, Harvard. Holy Shish Kabob! Harvard! Harvard will be doing a joint program with Sabanci University, where I am staying right now, to take a couple of Turkish history classes and possibly a language class for seven weeks next summer. I'm so blown away by that. I won't do it since I have my doctorate program, but the fact that I would even be considered is huge. I'm still shocked. U of M wants to going in with the program too. Amazing. How did any of this happen?
I also acquired a new nickname today. Patricia decided that we all needed official nicknames and apparently "Stupid Stuff Police," wasn't good enough for me. My new nickname is Nefertiti. Appropriate it. I would get that name. Ah well, at least I can represent it.
Tomorrow we are going to the Prince Islands and the beach. Finally a truly relaxing day! At least I hope. I'm almost done with New Moon, and honestly, I hate it. Its too depressing, but I started this darn series and I'm going to finish it. Only a few more days until I visit Ataturk's grave! I'm excited...and I'm weird, but its ok.
This was another day of long lectures and I learned so much that my brain hurts really bad. We learned a ton on the Armenian Genocide and I can honestly teach this subject a heck of a lot better than I had in the past. I've got tons of facts that will really help my students further understand this sensitive subject. I learned about Turkish literature and historical cities and well as religions. It was so beneficial. This is what makes these trips awesome. I love the learning. That's not something that I could say often. I couldn't say that when I was in high school...no way. I liked the social aspect of school only. The learning part? What learning part? However, now its such a different story. I love learning, not because I have to, like in the past, but because I can't learn enough. I want to absorb everything. I'm thinking about applying for this grant to study Turkish. I've realized that my languages skills here could be a lot better and I want to fix that. So, I'm going to learn Turkish. It's really only useful in Turkey, but hey, why not.
My professor asked me to participate in a program next summer with Harvard. Did you read that just now? Yeah, Harvard. Holy Shish Kabob! Harvard! Harvard will be doing a joint program with Sabanci University, where I am staying right now, to take a couple of Turkish history classes and possibly a language class for seven weeks next summer. I'm so blown away by that. I won't do it since I have my doctorate program, but the fact that I would even be considered is huge. I'm still shocked. U of M wants to going in with the program too. Amazing. How did any of this happen?
I also acquired a new nickname today. Patricia decided that we all needed official nicknames and apparently "Stupid Stuff Police," wasn't good enough for me. My new nickname is Nefertiti. Appropriate it. I would get that name. Ah well, at least I can represent it.
Tomorrow we are going to the Prince Islands and the beach. Finally a truly relaxing day! At least I hope. I'm almost done with New Moon, and honestly, I hate it. Its too depressing, but I started this darn series and I'm going to finish it. Only a few more days until I visit Ataturk's grave! I'm excited...and I'm weird, but its ok.
Day 11...hey my lucky number!
This was a small "relax" day. I was finally able to sleep in, which after ten hours of sleep was still not enough. Many of those traveling with us are sick or trying to recover from illness...not good news for Erock for as everyone knows, I'm a walking incubator for illness. I will add though that I brought tons of bandages to in case I was to do something stupid like fall while standing, but I haven't had to use them! I've been giving them to the others, most Adrienne. Yay!
We spent the afternoon watching influential Turkish movies, some that I could use in my classroom. We also had a change to meet with 72 Turkish high school teachers, which has been one of the most rewarding parts of this entire trip so far. The number of questions that we had for each other was huge! They wanted to know how we would teach about Turkey when we went back home. Would we show Turkey in a good light? What did we think of their country...and what did we think about the Kurds.
We had been warned, before we left the States, that we were not to mention the Kurdish issue in Turkey, even if we were sitting with people in a coffee shop! Even the most liberal of Turks would be critical of the Kurdish issue. It's like talking about the Armenians. So when 72 teachers are asking you its tough to avoid the question. We ducked the question at first, but after the fourth time we had to have a response. This is when you have to be diplomatic. We finally gave a true politician's answer: we decided to divert the question..."Our position? USA? We respect Turkey and her people....so did you hear about Oprah in Turkey?!?!?!"
That was enough to get them off the question. Phew! Yes, Oprah was in Turkey, on a cruise. Thank God for that!
Quote of the Day:
"Oh sharp scissors!" - Aurelia, a cute 65 year old woman participate in the trip with us. Doug is determined to make her swear at least once on this trip.
We spent the afternoon watching influential Turkish movies, some that I could use in my classroom. We also had a change to meet with 72 Turkish high school teachers, which has been one of the most rewarding parts of this entire trip so far. The number of questions that we had for each other was huge! They wanted to know how we would teach about Turkey when we went back home. Would we show Turkey in a good light? What did we think of their country...and what did we think about the Kurds.
We had been warned, before we left the States, that we were not to mention the Kurdish issue in Turkey, even if we were sitting with people in a coffee shop! Even the most liberal of Turks would be critical of the Kurdish issue. It's like talking about the Armenians. So when 72 teachers are asking you its tough to avoid the question. We ducked the question at first, but after the fourth time we had to have a response. This is when you have to be diplomatic. We finally gave a true politician's answer: we decided to divert the question..."Our position? USA? We respect Turkey and her people....so did you hear about Oprah in Turkey?!?!?!"
That was enough to get them off the question. Phew! Yes, Oprah was in Turkey, on a cruise. Thank God for that!
Quote of the Day:
"Oh sharp scissors!" - Aurelia, a cute 65 year old woman participate in the trip with us. Doug is determined to make her swear at least once on this trip.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Day 10...Teachers make the worst students
On our first day at the university I already feel like I'm back in college. (On a side note, my sister emailed me to let me know that I was accepted into Wayne State University's Doctoral Program.) Anyways, we are staying in the dorm rooms, which are pretty nice and very roomy for dorms. We even have our own bathroom!
The problem with our room is that there is no air conditioning. This isn't a problem for me. For God sake, I'm African, but to Adrienne, this is life threatening. Our room has been closed for a few days since its summer vacation, so we immediately opened the two large windows to let some fresh air in. These are big windows, too big. Other universities learned long ago that windows this big makes it easy for people to sneak in and out very easily, or sneak things in and out! Although our dorms were built only ten years ago, obviously, the constructors didn't get the memo. On top of that there is no screen on our windows!!! That's just asking for trouble.
We left the windows open while we went out for dinner and do to our laundry, but came back just before sunset. That's when I sensed that we were not alone in our dorm. While we were gone and shortly before we returned, we received very unwanted guests.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you'd guessed it. It was horrible. While we were out and the sun was setting, through the open windows on the second floor they came....mosquitoes. My kryptonite. Not only am I allergic to them..they also carry horrible diseases like malaria, yellow fever and probably the plaque that wiped out 3/4 of medieval Europe, and they might as well carry swing flu. Now, I have lots of experience with mosquitoes as Egypt is famous for having them. I knew exactly what to do...just like in the elevator. No, not toe nail clippers either.
Mosquitoes come out big at night because they hate the light. I immediately began to close the windows. Prevent the little vermins from coming in and kill those that were already in our room. This would ensure a peaceful night. Adriennne almost passed out! "You can't close the windows! It'll be hot!! We'll die," she said. "You won't sleep anyhow, " I said. "They'll eat us alive! We won't survive."
She begged me to leave the windows open since they were our only source of ventilation and I threatened to go sleep in the hallway. So we compromised. Essentially she won. The windows would stay slightly open and the gaps would be covered by the curtains. This was false hope and I knew that, but it was only moral support for Adrienne. Of course, I knew we'd never sleep.
The mosquitoes still entered the room and it was still as hot as an oven. I slept in pants and a long sleeve shirt. That was still no good as my feet and face were exposed. Socks took care of the feet, but I had to thrown a handkerchief over my face. It didn't help because they continued to buzz around my ears and I couldn't breathe. If I hadn't been so tired I would have just gone into the hallway.
Adrienne got a taste of her own medicine and the "Stupid Stuff Police" was there to witness the whole thing. She has at least two dozen bites that are as big as quarters. I could hear her scratching her skin off in the middle of the night. She didn't complain when I asked her to close the windows for tonight. :)
Other than our nightly adventure, we've been in lectures all day going over the history of Turkey. Its been great because I'm learning a lot that I can take back to my class. I'm happy.
Quote of the Day:
"Get your tribe on girl!" - Adrienne to me as I started to belly dance to some music in the restaurant.
The problem with our room is that there is no air conditioning. This isn't a problem for me. For God sake, I'm African, but to Adrienne, this is life threatening. Our room has been closed for a few days since its summer vacation, so we immediately opened the two large windows to let some fresh air in. These are big windows, too big. Other universities learned long ago that windows this big makes it easy for people to sneak in and out very easily, or sneak things in and out! Although our dorms were built only ten years ago, obviously, the constructors didn't get the memo. On top of that there is no screen on our windows!!! That's just asking for trouble.
We left the windows open while we went out for dinner and do to our laundry, but came back just before sunset. That's when I sensed that we were not alone in our dorm. While we were gone and shortly before we returned, we received very unwanted guests.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you'd guessed it. It was horrible. While we were out and the sun was setting, through the open windows on the second floor they came....mosquitoes. My kryptonite. Not only am I allergic to them..they also carry horrible diseases like malaria, yellow fever and probably the plaque that wiped out 3/4 of medieval Europe, and they might as well carry swing flu. Now, I have lots of experience with mosquitoes as Egypt is famous for having them. I knew exactly what to do...just like in the elevator. No, not toe nail clippers either.
Mosquitoes come out big at night because they hate the light. I immediately began to close the windows. Prevent the little vermins from coming in and kill those that were already in our room. This would ensure a peaceful night. Adriennne almost passed out! "You can't close the windows! It'll be hot!! We'll die," she said. "You won't sleep anyhow, " I said. "They'll eat us alive! We won't survive."
She begged me to leave the windows open since they were our only source of ventilation and I threatened to go sleep in the hallway. So we compromised. Essentially she won. The windows would stay slightly open and the gaps would be covered by the curtains. This was false hope and I knew that, but it was only moral support for Adrienne. Of course, I knew we'd never sleep.
The mosquitoes still entered the room and it was still as hot as an oven. I slept in pants and a long sleeve shirt. That was still no good as my feet and face were exposed. Socks took care of the feet, but I had to thrown a handkerchief over my face. It didn't help because they continued to buzz around my ears and I couldn't breathe. If I hadn't been so tired I would have just gone into the hallway.
Adrienne got a taste of her own medicine and the "Stupid Stuff Police" was there to witness the whole thing. She has at least two dozen bites that are as big as quarters. I could hear her scratching her skin off in the middle of the night. She didn't complain when I asked her to close the windows for tonight. :)
Other than our nightly adventure, we've been in lectures all day going over the history of Turkey. Its been great because I'm learning a lot that I can take back to my class. I'm happy.
Quote of the Day:
"Get your tribe on girl!" - Adrienne to me as I started to belly dance to some music in the restaurant.
Day 9..."Stupid Stuff Police
Today was a travel day. We left Canakkale to go back to Istanbul where we'll be staying at Sabanci University for the next five days.
We had to get up very early in the morning and get on the ferry that would take us back to the European side of Turkey and then drive the 6 hours back to Istanbul. Sounds easy, but the bus is uncomfortable and its hard to fall asleep on it. We are already on low energy from touring all day, getting back late and having to pack before we leave the next morning. So to say the least, we were walking zombies. Adrienne and I woke up at 6:30am to get our room cleaned, get our bags downstairs and on the bus and eat breakfast (of course). We were actually doing fairly well because by 6:45 we were ready to get our bags downstairs a full 45 minutes early. That's also around the same time that we got in trouble.
Here's the video of Adrienne explaining our story on the bus while we drove to the university. Need I say more.
We had to get up very early in the morning and get on the ferry that would take us back to the European side of Turkey and then drive the 6 hours back to Istanbul. Sounds easy, but the bus is uncomfortable and its hard to fall asleep on it. We are already on low energy from touring all day, getting back late and having to pack before we leave the next morning. So to say the least, we were walking zombies. Adrienne and I woke up at 6:30am to get our room cleaned, get our bags downstairs and on the bus and eat breakfast (of course). We were actually doing fairly well because by 6:45 we were ready to get our bags downstairs a full 45 minutes early. That's also around the same time that we got in trouble.
Here's the video of Adrienne explaining our story on the bus while we drove to the university. Need I say more.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Rugs....
This was interesting and probably one of my least favorite days thus far. We woke up super early to go look at rugs. That's right, rugs. I like rugs and I appreciate the fact that these rugs are hand made, one of a kind, made of wool, absolutely gorgeous and really hard work, but is it necessary to look at them at 9am? Really?
They were beautiful though and extremely expensive. There were a few people from my group who bought them from $250 to $1,300 a rug. Not for the weak hearts. I would buy one except I don't want to pay an addition $400 to ship it to the USA and I'm not lugging it around for the next 6 weeks. Nice try, but I have enough to tote around. The cool part about these rugs was that we got to go to the village where they were made and meet the women who actually made them. We watched them spin the wool, dye it, build the looms and the frame work and watch them construct the patterns. That's hard core stuff. It takes months to finish a decent size hallway runner rug let alone a full size rug for your living room or something. Anyways, I looked at rugs, beautiful rugs, but rugs still.
We had a chance to experience village life in Turkey, which honestly isn't much different than any other village that I've been to. Egypt, Slovakia, and Bosnia all had villages very similar. The ideas are the same: a mosque or church in the center, with people of crafts or skills closest to the middle and then the farm lands on the outside. Nothing extreme and nothing that really looked or stood out as being very different. Just humble people living humble lives and not a life that I would want at all. I can't Shelby Township. I feel isolate even there. Put my in a village in Slovakia for a month and I'm screaming with cabin fever. I just can't do it. And the air? What's so fresh about that? It only stinks of cows, horses and their dung. There is always some stupid rooster who wants to end up on my breakfast plate because of their constant whining in the morning with their cock-a-doodle-stinkin-do. Nope. I totally understand why there are village idiots and its because certain people cannot deal with the village life. I would be the village idiot in no time! I'll take Shelby Township and the MAC any day over a village and that's saying a lot my friends.
Other than annoying villages, I am slightly aggravated with out eating schedule, and you all know how important that is to me. This is not to be taken lightly. Our wake up times are constantly changing, from 6:30am to 7:30, to 6:30 again, sometimes 7. We eat breakfast super early, lunch at around 3! Who east lunch at 3!?!?!? That's more of an early dinner or lunner! That doesn't work for me. Everyday here has seen a later dinner. On our first night it was at 7pm, now we eating dinner 9pm! And its not because the Turks eat dinner late, but because we are traveling so much that we don't even have time to eat! Its tough.
Anyways, I'm disappointed that no one has been telling me what they've been up to in Michigan. Fill me in kids!
They were beautiful though and extremely expensive. There were a few people from my group who bought them from $250 to $1,300 a rug. Not for the weak hearts. I would buy one except I don't want to pay an addition $400 to ship it to the USA and I'm not lugging it around for the next 6 weeks. Nice try, but I have enough to tote around. The cool part about these rugs was that we got to go to the village where they were made and meet the women who actually made them. We watched them spin the wool, dye it, build the looms and the frame work and watch them construct the patterns. That's hard core stuff. It takes months to finish a decent size hallway runner rug let alone a full size rug for your living room or something. Anyways, I looked at rugs, beautiful rugs, but rugs still.
We had a chance to experience village life in Turkey, which honestly isn't much different than any other village that I've been to. Egypt, Slovakia, and Bosnia all had villages very similar. The ideas are the same: a mosque or church in the center, with people of crafts or skills closest to the middle and then the farm lands on the outside. Nothing extreme and nothing that really looked or stood out as being very different. Just humble people living humble lives and not a life that I would want at all. I can't Shelby Township. I feel isolate even there. Put my in a village in Slovakia for a month and I'm screaming with cabin fever. I just can't do it. And the air? What's so fresh about that? It only stinks of cows, horses and their dung. There is always some stupid rooster who wants to end up on my breakfast plate because of their constant whining in the morning with their cock-a-doodle-stinkin-do. Nope. I totally understand why there are village idiots and its because certain people cannot deal with the village life. I would be the village idiot in no time! I'll take Shelby Township and the MAC any day over a village and that's saying a lot my friends.
Other than annoying villages, I am slightly aggravated with out eating schedule, and you all know how important that is to me. This is not to be taken lightly. Our wake up times are constantly changing, from 6:30am to 7:30, to 6:30 again, sometimes 7. We eat breakfast super early, lunch at around 3! Who east lunch at 3!?!?!? That's more of an early dinner or lunner! That doesn't work for me. Everyday here has seen a later dinner. On our first night it was at 7pm, now we eating dinner 9pm! And its not because the Turks eat dinner late, but because we are traveling so much that we don't even have time to eat! Its tough.
Anyways, I'm disappointed that no one has been telling me what they've been up to in Michigan. Fill me in kids!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Day 8...TROY = HECTOR! HECTOR!
Trench Warfare
Today was a day that I had been looking forward to for some time. I had taught western civ at Dakota and the Trojan War was always a favorite among my students. I guess that's why this trip was so special. Today we got to go to the suspected site of Troy. This is the place that Homer writes about. Helen who was kidnapped, the face that launched a thousand ships, the brat prince, his older brother's protection, and of course, Hercules, aka Brad Pitt. Unfortunately, he was not there. I know, he should be, with his village of children along with him, but no Pitt here.
Troy was cool. I mean, its not a real site. We THINK that this is the place, although the evidence has been rough. After all, its 2500 years ago. Not everyone can build things as awesome as the Egyptians, who were way ahead of their time, true engineers and gosh darn good looking, if I do say so myself. There were only a few bits of a foundation left, some columns, a brick house that looked like it was built last month (it had mortar on it for crying out loud. I don't think they had mortar back then!) Either way, real or fake, its nice to hope that this was the site. So many things happened there. A true dream come true. I took lots of pictures and will upload them later.
We also visited the famous WWI site of the Battle of Gallipoli. This is truly amazing. There isn't much that survives WWI and a lot of people don't care simply because there was a much larger war that took place shortly after, maybe you've heard of it? To Turkey, however, this is a big deal and rightly so. Hundreds of thousands died here trying to enter Turkey and steal land from them (British and French, but also the Italians and Russians) and many Turks answered the call to defend their weakening empire, the last Islamic one. This was also the battle that made Mustafa Kemal famous. He was so strict with his troops that when they ran out of ammunition and started to retreat it is reported that he said, "I ordered you to fight. Now, I order you to die!" He was not the surrender type. I got a create video clip of it so check that out. I also took pictures with some of the other teachers, re-enacting a battle scene. This is what a bunch of history teachers do when they're on vacation...its the cool thing to do.
We also visited a few fortresses from the early Ottoman Empire and took great pictures there as well. We're nerds and we know it. This is the stuff that really gets our blood pumping. Its every teacher's dream!
After touring a few museums and being very touristy, we got the chance to go to the beach. Only for an hour, but well deserved. This trip is hard work, but I'm learning a lot, which makes it totally worth it. It also helps that I'm with good people who are just as funny and entertaining as the history itself.
Quote of the Day:
"Not one more bite! Not one more bite!" - Adrienne after she'd decided that she was too full to eat anymore. Her plate was completely clean. She couldn't have antoher bite even if she wanted.
"I feel like we're climbing up a...a..." - Doug
"Hoo ha." -ME, after Doug couldn't explain what exactly what part of the horse we were climbing into at Troy.
"Gross, gross, gross!!!!" - Doug after going to the Port-a-Johns on the mountain of Gallipoli.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Day 7 and the journey begins...
Video on the ferry.
So apparently Michael Jackson died! Geez, I leave the country for a few days and the whole thing goes to hay in a hand basket. Holy Shish kabob! All the TV networks have been playing his videos non stop. Its been great. I've had the chance to watch "Thriller" and "Billy Jean," at least 27 times these past two days.
We woke up really early this morning...like 6 am early because we had to drive to the Asian part of Turkey. We drove across the European side and then took a ferry boat to the other side, across the Dardanelles. It was a long 8 hours of driving and my bottom is killing me. It was good when we finally got to our hotel, which has an amazing view of the straits. Its nice to be in another port city again. This one is much smaller and quiet compared to Istanbul, but every city will be. Istanbul is the biggest!
The ladies and I were exhausted after the trip and really just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep after dinner, but we decided to walk off our enormous stomachs. As we completed our walk and started back to the hotel, I made the mistake of pointing out a very cute dress shop that was getting ready to close. Well, natually, people go out of their way to do things for me and if Erock likes something, well, let's just say that people don't say no and definetly don't close a shop! So they left it open for us and 1 hour later we were the happiest girls in Istanbul! I bought a black maxi dress, while Adrienne picked up a few skirts and a tank and Kristin got a cute skirt. Shopping is every woman's spirit booster. Nothing else gets the job done. We got the sizes and colors of every item we wanted and without a single word in Turkish. How could we accomplish such a feat? Why, I'm Erock...and the people running the shop were Turkish women! Women just understand each other when it comes to shopping. I would point to my dress and they automatically understood that I needed a smaller size. Adrienne would look unsatisfied in the mirror and they knew to bring out a different color. Ladies, when it comes to shopping, we have our own language that is universal and I love it!
Yay for Turkey and yay for shopping!
Quote of the Day:
"I just get so mad at the little munchkins inside of my computer and in my head!" - Adrienne expressing her frustration because her laptop still is not functioning.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Day 6 and it's strange
Synagogue Videos
It's weird because Turkey's becoming a place that I could live in forever really. The food is good, the people are nice and the country is gorgeous. There's only one thing...I don't speak the language, but I'm getting around that.
So here's what we did yesterday... We went to visit one of only 40 or so synagogues in Turkey. The Jewish community is small, about 30,000 or so Jews. Most coming from Spain during the Spanish inquisition about 600 years go. Don't worry I took a video inside. That was huge to me. Very helpful to see how a minority tries to survive, especially a religious minority, their daily routine, their views on politics and even security. The synagogue, although beautiful was a fortress. Jews in Turkey are struggling to survive from attacks from Muslim extremists like al-Qaeda. We had to submit a list ahead of time as to who would attend the synagogue, we needed our passport (imagine going to church with your passport!) there was a bag scanner and metal detector, but all necessary as they try to maintain. The women were great at explaining thing to us and one even say in their traditional Spanish dialect.
After the synagogue we walked through the city with our professor pointing out historic buildings and then went to Galata tower. This was a huge fortress tower built by the Venetians when they were living in the area. The view is amazing!
We came back to the hotel for a quick nap and to pack because were moving to a different part of the city in the morning. Then we went as a group to the famous Turkish baths. Man oh man. Where do I begin? If you don't know what those are then you need to look them up. Turkish baths could be very embarrassing for some, but not for Erock. Since when have I been embarrassed? So here's a step by step guide to a Turkish bath!
#1: Basically, you are striped down to only a towel. If that creeps you out then you're in for a rough ride.
#2: There is a huge marble circle/slab that you have to lie on. Usually you lie on the towel, which means you have to take it off...ummm...you're pretty exposed if you know what I mean. You have the option of bringing a bathing suit, but only if you don't want to wear your birthday suit. You steam up on the marble for a few minutes as though you are in a sauna. Then a Turkish masseuse will crack your bones and massage your muscles. She uses a scrub glove that pretty much scrubs all your skin off! Exfoliation baby!
#3: After a rinse and a quick shampoo you are off to the jacuzzi where you cook like a lobster for a few more minutes. I just wait until my fingers get all wrinkly like the back of my grandma's neck (God rest her soul...sniff, sniff). When that's done you move to step #4.
#4: The oil massage! Best part and totally worth the 95 lira that I paid for a 1 1/2 hour experience!
You can then go back to the jacuzzi or take a shower and go home. I'm telling you that this is awesome! If it wasn't, Erock wouldn't be doing it. I'd tell you flat up that it was too ugly. Plus, people have been doing this for hundreds of years! I know Dani or Stonya will have something gross to say about this, some completely inappropriate response, but honestly it was great!
That was my Friday. I prayed my first Friday prayer in a mosque in Turkey and nothing could beat the experience.
Turkey is cool. Now we head to Canakkale, which is on the Asian side of the country. This is my first trip to Asia so I can officially say that I've been to all the continents with the exception of Antarctica. Are you kidding?!?!?! Michigan is too cold for me so there is no way that I'm going there....that's a death sentence for me. Peace!
More to come... Going to get dinner.
Quotes of the day:
"Just put it in the universe and then it'll come back to you!" - Adrienne
"Could you speak up?"- Adrienne to Doug when she couldn't hear him at the synagogue.
"I have a cold woman!" - Doug
"We were invited!" " Jewish woman in synagogue.
"I love how there's no air conditioning in here. It makes thing more organic, including my armpits." - Adrienne
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Day 5 and the beat goes on...
Where to begin?? After an ok breakfast, which is getting boring now because the hotel is serving the same food every morning, we walked to Sabanci University. They had an off campus location close to our hotel and once we were there we met up with a Zeren Erik. She is a member of EMBARQ, a local think tank group that was hired by Ford to create better, cheaper, safer and reliable transportation for the city of Istanbul. Her lecture was really a huge eye opener, now just on how the city operates, but also on how Detroit could pick up a thing or two from Istanbul. What was also interesting was the fact that a Detroit Company was helping them, while we are in the middle of a crisis ourselves!
We then proceeded to a small district in Istanbul called Eyup. This city was named after the flag bearer of the Prophet Mohammed, Ayyub. Its said that Ayyub was in Istabul as part of the Muslim conquest and died here. The district's mosque claims to house his body in a type of shrine. We saw many Muslims attending this mosque for prayers in hopes of getting his blessings, so to speak. That was a very rare opportunity for us. We got to watch numerous boys, dressed up in very fancy costumes, the way girls would get dressed up for communion, except these boys weren't going for communion....nope...they were going to be circumcised. Poor fellas. Its very customary for Muslim boys to go through these rituals. Its a proud moment of their life. Although their ages ranged from infants to ten and eleven years old they all looked excited. (Guys you can cringe now). This was also a huge teaching moment because it represented a huge assimilation between Muslim and Christian faiths, with the circumcision in comparison to communion or a bar mitzva and the shire in comparison to shrines in churches. Huge blend for a country with Christian roots that later became Muslim.
After the mosque, we traveled to Chora Church. This was another church that later was converted into a mosque and now serves as a museum. The Turks aren't sure what to call it either. One woman from our tour tried to take a taxi to the site and asked the taxi driver to take her to Chora Church. He looked at her and said, "No my dear, its a mosque. You'll need to cover your head." When we asked the buy tickets for the Chora Mosque people continued to tell us that, "its a museum." What the heck?!?!?!
After a long day of walking, some members of our group decided to go back to the hotel to rest while a select group of us stayed with our professor to explore Turkey a little more. I was one who stayed behind. We wandered the city until we found the old city walls that once surrounded Istanbul, or Constantinople. When I say these walls were old, I mean it. 4th Century, to be exact. That's 300 A.D.! We found some old steps that soldiers would have used to watch and guard the wall and that took us right up to the huge watch tower it had! The steps were old, falling a part and highly unsafe....which is exactly why I had to climb them! My fear of heights almost stopped me, but every once in a while, we need a challenge. The view was great and we took some cool pictures. Glad I did it. I climbed 4th century city walls, went to the 4th holiest site in Islam, pretty much visited a saint, went to a Church/Mosque/Museum, and solved the transportation problems of a city with more that 15 million people. What did you do today?
Quote of the Day:
"Once you go into the bathroom, you won't want to come out!" - Kristin, after finding a bathroom with a real toilet and not a hole in the ground.
"You know Doug's on the 5th floor, right?" - Erock
"Wait? WHAT?!?!?!" - Adrienne, after I told her that Doug's hotel room was on the 5th floor. Doug was sick and we wanted to bring him some soup. Adrienne wanted to take the stairs and we'd already pasted the 3rd floor.
We then proceeded to a small district in Istanbul called Eyup. This city was named after the flag bearer of the Prophet Mohammed, Ayyub. Its said that Ayyub was in Istabul as part of the Muslim conquest and died here. The district's mosque claims to house his body in a type of shrine. We saw many Muslims attending this mosque for prayers in hopes of getting his blessings, so to speak. That was a very rare opportunity for us. We got to watch numerous boys, dressed up in very fancy costumes, the way girls would get dressed up for communion, except these boys weren't going for communion....nope...they were going to be circumcised. Poor fellas. Its very customary for Muslim boys to go through these rituals. Its a proud moment of their life. Although their ages ranged from infants to ten and eleven years old they all looked excited. (Guys you can cringe now). This was also a huge teaching moment because it represented a huge assimilation between Muslim and Christian faiths, with the circumcision in comparison to communion or a bar mitzva and the shire in comparison to shrines in churches. Huge blend for a country with Christian roots that later became Muslim.
After the mosque, we traveled to Chora Church. This was another church that later was converted into a mosque and now serves as a museum. The Turks aren't sure what to call it either. One woman from our tour tried to take a taxi to the site and asked the taxi driver to take her to Chora Church. He looked at her and said, "No my dear, its a mosque. You'll need to cover your head." When we asked the buy tickets for the Chora Mosque people continued to tell us that, "its a museum." What the heck?!?!?!
After a long day of walking, some members of our group decided to go back to the hotel to rest while a select group of us stayed with our professor to explore Turkey a little more. I was one who stayed behind. We wandered the city until we found the old city walls that once surrounded Istanbul, or Constantinople. When I say these walls were old, I mean it. 4th Century, to be exact. That's 300 A.D.! We found some old steps that soldiers would have used to watch and guard the wall and that took us right up to the huge watch tower it had! The steps were old, falling a part and highly unsafe....which is exactly why I had to climb them! My fear of heights almost stopped me, but every once in a while, we need a challenge. The view was great and we took some cool pictures. Glad I did it. I climbed 4th century city walls, went to the 4th holiest site in Islam, pretty much visited a saint, went to a Church/Mosque/Museum, and solved the transportation problems of a city with more that 15 million people. What did you do today?
Quote of the Day:
"Once you go into the bathroom, you won't want to come out!" - Kristin, after finding a bathroom with a real toilet and not a hole in the ground.
"You know Doug's on the 5th floor, right?" - Erock
"Wait? WHAT?!?!?!" - Adrienne, after I told her that Doug's hotel room was on the 5th floor. Doug was sick and we wanted to bring him some soup. Adrienne wanted to take the stairs and we'd already pasted the 3rd floor.
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