Whenever I take a trip, I tend to keep a journal. It's really the only time I do. It's one of the only reasons I take my laptop with me. I don't like the extra weight, but I need a full keyboard. Before my next trip, though, I may buy a folding bluetooth keyboard for my iPhone. We'll see.
I usually keep these journals to myself, but since I don't get to share my stories in person with my close friends and family now, I thought it might be nice to change it up. Pardon any mixing of tenses below.
I intended this trip to be part of an easy summer. Last summer, I spent the entire time
wandering the British and Irish countryside and I spent a good deal of money on
my wanderings. This EF Turkey convention
was going to be my way of saving money, traveling for only 2 weeks in the
summer, and relaxing the rest of the summer away at home. Oh, how plans change. As it is, this Turkey convention is now an
interlude between the craziness of moving out of the USA and the craziness of
moving into the UK. Relaxation is a
challenge, but . . . challenge accepted.
Istanbul (7/9 – 7/10)
Delta airlines is pretty subpar, but it got me to
Istanbul. I successfully packed all my
stuff into carry-on luggage, and it reminded me again just how quickly and
efficiently I can get off the plane and through customs. In fact, I got through so quickly that the EF
representatives weren’t ready to meet me.
I was slightly worried when I saw no EF sign, but I remained calm and
patient, and they showed up in a few minutes.
It did make me realize I had been relying on EF completely for my travel
plans and hadn’t prepared nearly as much for this trip as others. Normally, I spend lots of time throughout the
year researching stuff to do, booking tickets way in advance, and exploring
Google Earth for fun routes to walk. However,
I spent all my time and energy sorting out my move. I am justified there, but still, I’m not used
to being a dependent traveler.
I met Cristiano (EF staff from Lucerne), Melanie (EF
Toronto), and Mehmet (Tour Director from here in Turkey) at the airport and
transferred to the Titanic Hotel. Seriously,
it was called “The Titanic.” Our
arrivals were staggered, and I was in the first group to arrive, so we had
several hours to kill. I couldn’t sleep
on the plane (I so rarely can), so I didn’t want to do too much. I ended up wandering down a shopping street
with a couple fantastic Canadian ladies named Tannia and Lisa. I can’t help but meet Canadians on every trip
I take, and my life is happier because of it.
They had already been in country a few days, so I hung out with the two
while they were shopping (and I survived, chaps!). Actually, I made an interesting discovery
that the store hid their checkout counter downstairs. Seriously, how many places have you ever been
that you had to search for where to pay, and it was nowhere near the exit? Afterwards, we had a Turkish tea and some
Turkish delights before I headed back to the hotel for a shower and a nap.
That evening, we had a dinner cruise on the
Bosphorus. Istanbul is a city straddling
two continents (map), with the Bosphorus Strait running North-South and separating
the European from the Asian part of the city.
At the North end of the straight is the Black Sea, and on the South end
is the Sea of Marmara, which leads down to the Mediterranean. Istanbul was established thousands of years
ago as Byzantium (later Constantinople) to control this sea traffic bottleneck. There’s also an inlet on the European side of
the Bosphorus called “The Golden Horn” because it’s deep, calm, and easy to
make into one of the world’s best ports.
Istanbul has always been important because of the water it controls, and
it still is. Cruising up and down the
Bosphorus, I got to see bridges spanning two continents, old palaces that are
now fancy hotels, lots of homes, and every type of boat imaginable. Plus, I got to meet more people on the trip,
though I was way too tired to be good conversation. The food was great and came in wide variety,
but what sticks in my head is that there were Pringles set out as
appetizers. I don’t know why that seemed
noteworthy, but I did consume many a Pringle.
The next day, we had a full walking tour of Istanbul,
which I found absolutely fascinating. We
toured Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, and an old Ottoman
Palace. Hagia Sophia was, of course, my
favorite. It is huge, beautiful, and yet
another testament to the engineering genius of the Romans. So many major Roman sites are in ruins only
because they were intentionally quarried or destroyed. The Pantheon and Hagia Sophia show just
what’s possible when the building remains in use. For some reason, walking around Hagia Sophia
(which means “holy wisdom”), I thought about Three Rivers Stadium. It had nothing to do with the construction,
but with the fact that the stadium was dismissed as a relic that was falling
apart and needed to be replaced 30 years after it was built. I started to think whether it was even
possible anymore to build something that would still be standing 1500 years
later. Somehow, I think finances and
impatience would derail any such grandiose ideas. The Blue Mosque is the first mosque I ever
entered, so I removed my shoes and hat and covered my legs to do so. The women had to cover completely head to toe
to enter, and it made me think of a quote from George Carlin, “What is this
religious obsession with head gear?” The
building was impressive, though an intentional copy of Hagia Sophia, at least
it looked that way. In fact, all the
large mosques of the city looked that way.
It made it quite difficult to tell them apart. The Blue Mosque is quite plain on the
outside, but it’s fantastically ornate inside.
I find that interesting. The
Basilica Cistern is another compliment to the Romans for their engineering
capabilities. It’s just a large place to
store city water, but it’s so beautiful that it has been mistaken for a
basilica.
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| Hagia Sophia |
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| Blue Mosque |
Izmir (7/11)
This was a long day of traveling with a stop off in
Troy. Troy was incredible to walk
around. It’s the oldest city I’d ever
explored, and certainly the most legendary.
Some of the oldest sections of the wall are mud brick, with straw coming
out of it. I hadn’t realized that the
importance of Troy was that it controlled the entrance to the Dardanelles,
which is the South link between the Sea of Marmara to the Mediterranean. It’s all about geography. The story of Helen is wonderful and romantic,
but the Greeks did not need any other motivation than the control of the Dardanelles
to attempt to conquer Troy. Gallipoli is
a place nearby that is the location of a major battle of World War 1, also
fought to control that seaway that the Trojans once did. It was one of the first major battles to
involve troops from Australia and New Zealand.
They ultimately lost, but they fought so bravely that the opposing
general (Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern country of Turkey) set up
a memorial to those soldiers that is still there today. On a lighter note, the Trojan horse from the
movie “Troy” is also right there. “Troy”
wasn’t filmed in Turkey, but the producers decided to give the horse to Turkey
as a gift. That’s right, they gave it as
a gift. And the Turks took it.
On a side note, we had a fabulous hotel, called
Swissotel. I felt quite pampered
here. EF made me feel quite important,
and it does make me sad that I won’t be working with them in the near
future. I liked my long term plan of
organizing student trips every year, traveling with my points in the summer,
and eventually perhaps even getting to be a veteran like Steph Risius. Life in Britain will give me plenty of
opportunities to travel, but I do like taking students abroad. It’s been one of my favorite things I’ve done
as a teacher.
Kusadasi (7/12-7/13)
After our 2-hour conference involving some great
discussion on how to improve EF, we drove a good deal more on 7/12, stopping to
explore the ruins of Pergamum, which is perched on the top of a huge hill. We actually had to take a cable car up to the
top, which was a nice experience. The
ruins of Pergamum were more intact than Troy, and there are remains of a great
Parthenon-like temple. Being around such
old stuff is always inspiring to me, and it’s making me realize just how
historical and complex the relationship between Greeks and Persians/Turks
is. We got to Hotel Kumar in Kusadasi,
which is a port city that attracts many huge cruise ships. This has been my favorite hotel so far. The room wasn’t nearly as fancy, but I had a
balcony overlooking the Aegean Sea. The views
of the sunset from my room were spectacular.
Ephesus was even more intact than Pergamum, and it was
far more crowded. However, Mehmet is a
great TD and got us there right as it opened to avoid the worst of the
crowds. The library of Ephesus was
incredibly intact, and it made a great backdrop for our group shot. The theatre was also quite intact, both from
the Greek days and the later Roman days.
Later, we went to a carpet maker, which was interesting, but the first
demo/sales pitch of the trip. I can skip
those. Our lunch was in a great place
that felt like just a large kitchen with a patio. I discovered that Turkey does have decent
beer, called Efes Dark. I was getting
tired of the pilsner. Lastly, we did
some wine tasting (I bought Bias), and we returned to the hotel to take full
advantage of the facilities.
I went down to swim in the Aegean, but the saltiness and
choppiness of the water made that dip a relatively short one. I headed up to the pool to relax in the water
(and oh, was it relaxing) and lounge in a chair. I don’t normally take beach vacations. Really, the only ones I’ve taken have been those
with family. I find exploring cities and
wandering around to find beautiful vistas to be quite relaxing, but it’s nice
to be reminded that lying down in the sun can be nice from time to time. I have been doing plenty of exploring in Turkey,
so I was quite ready for a break. It
reminds me of how relaxed I was taking a break from very long walks with my
backpack by chilling on the beaches in Brighton and Nantucket. Both times, I just needed to rest, and there
is no better place to get rest than next to the ocean on a warm, sunny day.
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| Library of Ephesus |
Pamukkale (7/14)
Pumakkale is a formation of natural travertines (pools)
formed by spring water flowing over a hill, eroding some of it, evaporating,
and leaving calcium deposits that turn the entire place bright white. That part is gorgeous, but the water flow is
far below what it used to be for some reason, and very few of the travertines
are actually full of water. It was a bit
disappointing, as this was the sight I was looking most forward to seeing
besides Hagia Sophia. The national park
there diverts the remaining water to each section in turn so it doesn’t
degrade. Still, I was able to find my
rock. I got a good chunk showing several
layers of calcium deposits with the porous underlying rock as well. It will make a good addition to my
collection.
Our hotel was a step down from Kusadasi, but it was
comfortable enough for me to sleep quite comfortably. I missed out on the pool and massages that
everyone is raving about, but apparently I was more tired than I thought and my
body decided to shut down. I had a
wonderful dinner and drinks following. I
talked to a farmer from Saskatchewan named Ron who was very knowledgeable. It was a fascinating talk about wheat, corn,
canola, farm equipment, and Monsanto. I
also spoke with a couple from Manitoba named Grant and Kelly who are quite
happy to have the Winnipeg Jets back, but they’re actually bigger NFL fans than
anything.
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| Travertines of Pamukkale |
Antalya (7/15)
We woke up at 7:00 on 7/15, and it really felt like
sleeping in. It’s fun how these tours
put me right back into a school-year sleep schedule. It was a long bus ride to Antalya, so we got
there around lunchtime, and we had a seafood-heavy meal that everyone raved
about. As someone that really doesn’t
like seafood, I must say I enjoyed the meal.
It wasn’t my favorite, but it’s nice to enjoy stuff I don’t normally
enjoy. The food has been pretty good on
this tour, though I still see so clearly how unhealthy my general food choices
are. Still, I feel like having prepared
meals, or even the buffet set ups we’ve generally had here, gets more variety
onto my plate than normal. I also think
I’m eating less than normal. I don’t
have a scale to see if that’s the case, but it feels like it.
Upon checking into the hotel, a group of us went down to
the hotel’s section of the beach. Even
though the hotel wasn’t on the water, it owned and operated a section of the
beach. Apparently, that’s how it worked
with all the hotels there. We took a
hotel shuttle down to the beach, and I got a chance to swim in the
Mediterranean for the first time in my life.
It was glorious water and a rocky beach.
I used to adore swimming as a kid, and every now and then (like when I’m
in the Med on a sunny day), I remember just how great the water can be.
When we got back, I received an email from EB Cargo
asking me to fill out a form that would have been far easier to sort out before
I started traveling. Still, I was quite
pleased by the business center at our Best Western. I was able to print out the form (of course
they didn’t have an electronic version), fill it out, take it to the front
desk, and fax it away. After all that
was sorted, I went out for a drink in Old Town Antalya with a few folks. I was tempted to keep to myself that night,
but Abby Schiavello said to me that she received great advice before college to
never turn down an invitation to anything social. I need to take that advice more often. I was afraid I would feel old and in the way
of the younger folks, but I was pleasantly surprised. Eventually, 6 of us found a spot by the water
to grab a drink and share a shishum (a flavored thing that is smoked via a huge
bong). There are few places it doesn’t
seem odd to have a gigantic bong in front of me, and Turkey is one of those
places. The conversation went very well,
with smiles and laughs all around. It’s
a nice reminder to me that sometimes it’s well worth forcing myself to go
out.
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| Jack, Justin, and the shishum |
Cappadocia (7/16-7/17)
Cappadocia is a beautiful region of inner Turkey that has
absolutely stunning landscapes. There
are rock formations that look like sand dunes but are actually solidified
volcanic ash. Into these formations,
people have carved homes, churches, and monasteries. It’s difficult to tell how old they are, as
aging a carving is not like aging other structures. Some go back to the earliest civilizations,
while others date to the first and second centuries AD when Christians were
looking for a good place to hide out.
Some of them are actually still inhabited. It’s fascinating. The place looks like Tattooine. The hotel was right next to some good hiking,
and I partook happily. The second day
was a full one, with tours of the stone churches and dwellings in the morning, a
tour of a pottery-making house in the afternoon (at which I was blown away by
the beauty of the wine pots), a visit to a Hamam (Turkish bath) before dinner,
and a whirling dervish and folk dancing show at night. Besides my visit to Hagia Sophia and the Blue
Mosque, this felt like the most classically Turkish day. The Hamam was definitely worth a visit, but
I’m not dying to visit it again. It’s
really a scrubbing down and bathing, but in a group setting with men and by
men. I found it interesting, but not
really relaxing or even beneficial.
Still, when in Turkey, do as the Turks do.
That night, some of us decided to enjoy a couple bottles of
wine by the pool. It ended up being one
of my favorite memories of the trip. The
winos included: me (the supplier of one bottle) Barb (an ageless beauty of an
art teacher that had the admirable quality of laughing at most of my jokes),
Kelly (a beautiful social worker that hikes mountains, run/swims triathlons,
and leaps tall buildings in a single bound.
Barb’s daughter.), and the aforementioned majestic Manitobans Grant and
Kelly. The hotel (actually called
Tourist Hotel) posted a policy of confiscating any alcohol not purchased from
the hotel bar. So, we all channeled our
inner teenager and found ways to sneak wine bottles, glasses, and openers down
to the pool area after closing. We succeeded,
and killed both bottles under the stars.
There was much rejoicing.
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| Solidified ash with homes carved into the bottom |
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| A rock apartment building |
Istanbul (7/18)
Before heading back to Istanbul, we toured some interesting
underground habitations that struck me as quite an interesting way to escape
from one’s enemy. There were large
structures (pots, gates, etc.) that had to be made or carved while inside the
city as there was no opening large enough to fit them through. There were narrow passages ending in
entrances that could be blocked by large, rolling stone gates. Above the gates in the passages, there were
holes through which spears could be thrust from above by the defenders. It was quite ingenious. I’m not sure how long they could survive down
there, or how difficult it was to block off all the town’s air vents, but it
was certainly the most well-defended cave I’ve ever seen.
With our last day in Istanbul, we made it down to the Spice
Market, which is to say I walked through, got annoyed with salesmen again, and
sat outside reading my Kindle and enjoying the view of New Mosque. When we headed back to the hotel and had our
farewell dinner. Lots of good byes, lots of hugs, lots of exchanging of emails.
Then, everyone went home, and I emigrated to England.
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