TravelStream™ news feed for member medgrl413 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/medgrl413 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:13:20 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246481947/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246481947/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246481947/tpod.html Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:13:20 -0400 Jive Turkey

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Istanbul, Turkey

Day 2 and maybe 3



Oy. Well, as I've probably made clear, internet access has been inconsistent and up to this point, I've been either too tired or too busy to write. So today is technically, Day 4.



On actual Day 2, the first thing we did was go to the Underground Cistern. This is like a large underground cavern/room filled with water. It was created as an emergency water supply in case the city of Byzantium (Istanbul) was under attack. There were 1200 cisterns in ancient Byzantium, and modern archaeologists have only found half of them.



The cistern was my first big surprise. First of all, it's pretty hot out (80s and sunny), so going down stone stairs into this wet cavern with gorgeous columns was a very comfortable way to spend the first half of the morning. The water had many fish swimming around in it, mostly carp, and that was unexpected as well. Our guide didn't point out the fish right away, so when I first saw a foot-long, fat, gray carp in the water, it was a little startling. The silliest thing was the muzak that was playing on hidden speakers: a Turkish instrumental version of Barry Manilow's "I Write the Songs." I guess this is their idea of what kind of music American tourists would like to hear. I was the only one in the group to pick up on it, which says something about this group.



So let's talk about that: the group. They are a very different group from the people I traveled to Rome with 4 years ago, more cerebral and certainly less humorous. This doesn't make it a bad group, just different. Among us, there are 5 high school teachers (mostly science), me, the guidance counselor, a retired elementary school teacher and his wife, who is an elementary school psychologist (and who felt it should be ILLEGAL that BHS counselors ever did intelligence testing - just had to throw that in there if any of my colleagues are reading) and two administrators from the University of Texas at San Antonio. It's a pretty intellectual bunch.



There are only 8 of us, including our guide, who are in the 30-40 range. Everyone else is absolutely in their 50s and one couple is traveling with their teenage daughter. Two couples, the women of which are sisters, are from Ottowa. There are two older women, Darlene, a ranch owner from Montana, and Jan, who are complete and total hot tickets. Jan made me laugh last night, when she said, totally deadpan, "Oh, look. Another minaret."


BTW, viewing mosques and minarets in Istanbul is like viewing churches in Rome. There definitely is a "seen one, seen'em all" quality to it.



After the Underground Cistern, we went to Hagia Sofia (pronounced "highah" like higher but with a Boston accent.) Later on that afternoon, we went to Chora Church, which was lovely. There is a series of murals in this church that tells the story of Mary from when she was a little girl until her death. It was interesting to see her portrayed in art this way. Clearly, Istanbul, and I'm sure other regions of Turkey, is where all the religions merge, maybe even crash into each other. Paganism/Greek, Islam, Christianity and Judaism all meet in this city, and they seem to respect each other very well.



At the end of day 2, we went to The Grand Bazaar. I would label this as a "must-miss." It is awful: hot, crowded with thousands of stalls all pretty much selling the same mass-produced merchandised. It's like Turkey's version of Times Square, only indoors and hot, and the harassment is of a pushy sellers' nature and not necessarily of a sexual one. The rugs, bags, bookmarks, evil-eye key chains, cheap beaded bracelets and boxed teas are the same at every stall. Do NOT pay any attention to the vendors. If you even acknowledge them by saying, "No thank you," they still don't back off. One vendor told one of the women in our group that her purse was ugly and she should buy a new one. If you're a remotely young and attractive-looking woman, they will also make kissy noises at you. (Is it anti-feminist of me to be relieved I still got the kissy noises?)


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1247951150/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1247951150/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1247951150/tpod.html Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:12:12 -0400 Jive Turkey

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Malden, Massachusetts, United States

Some odds and ends:

The entire country of Turkey will be going non-smoking on 7/19/09. Lots of loopholes in the law, but it's a start. Every Turk I saw smoking was smoking Marlboros in the red box. Good luck with that.

The watermelon in Turkey has seeds, as it should, and it tastes much sweeter than watermelon here. As we continue to genetically modify food in the U.S., you know, because watermelon seeds pose such a hardship to our way of life, we ruin its taste as well. Trust me, there's nothing more fun than sitting on the front of a boat eating watermelon and spitting the seeds into the Mediterranean Sea.

According to Mine, when Iranian women get to Turkey, the first thing most of them do, generally, is take off their veils.

White bread is served at every meal. It's kind of like a baguette but without as crunchy a crust. I think the Turkish people should consider whole wheat.

While walking through a remote village in Cappadocia, I heard the Michael Jackson song, "Bad," playing through a window.

You don't really understand how much water you use brushing your teeth until you're pouring it from a half-full bottle and it has to last you the rest of the night.

Waxing one's armpits is becoming more and more de rigeur - for women AND men. As Mine's boyfriend explained, "We live in a stinky country." Not to label myself as too picky or anything but I could never end up with someone who waxed under his arms. That would be a dealbreaker.

If I had it to do over again, I'd bring one less pair of capris, one less pair of shoes and three fewer shirts. The Merrills held up just fine, as did the Keds and I loved my new Teva flipflops. I hated schlepping the electric steamer but it was really helpful to have. I would not bring a hairdryer, but I would bring a travel clothesline. I would bring half the toiletries, since I didn't use them all up. I would only bring moisturizer that was SPF 15. I would bring just one ring, one watch and one pair of 14k gold earrings with a safety and wear them 24/7. Period. The Turks, btw, write 7/24. I'm so glad I brought a second ATM card. If one didn't work for whatever reason, the a second one did. I did not wear the money belt. I hate money belts. I just carried backpack as if I still lived in Times Square. Most of all: I should have bought the damn Kindle. Next time, for sure.

Do yoga in the hotel room every day whether you think you need it or not. After all those trains, planes and automobiles, trust me, you need it.

Eat the yogurt. Eat bananas. When in doubt, take half an Immodium.

Dried apricots make a great mid-morning snack. Take them from the hotel buffet and wrap them in a napkin, as if you were your own grandmother.

The pomegranate tea was from a mix; it was tasty but not actually tea. The juice is the same: it's Tang.

Coke is everywhere. Pepsi is not. Bummer.

If you want a deal on spices, go to Topkapi Saffron in the Spice Market. They'll help you pick what suits you and will demonstrate the difference between different types of saffron, including Iranian, which you can't buy in the U.S.

Always use the word, "inderim" to get a discount. It works like a charm.

One little piece of Turkish delight contains 50 freakin' calories.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246944923/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246944923/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246944923/tpod.html Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:21:41 -0400 Jive Turkey

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Cappadocia, Turkey

Day 6 - Up, Up and Away

Cappadocia is a lovely region of Turkey with a gorgeous, yet wackadoodle, landscape. Over the millenia, the currently dormant volcano spewed a specific kind of volcanic rock that formed the odd shapes that cover the landscape. The rock was such that you could (and maybe can? I have to admit I wasn’t really paying attention) dig into it with a shovel, and once the dug out area is exposed to the air, it will harden. One of the main reasons to see Cappadocia is its regional cave dwellings. Now, we’re not talking cave people here; we’re talking about people from the times after Christ and in some cases, there are absolutely people whose properties still have cave aspects to them. It depends on the region and how developed it is.

The absolute best way to view the region is from a balloon. Yes, I, who have been afraid of heights for as long as I can remember, went up in a freakin’ hot air balloon. It was amazing and totally worth the 4:05 a.m. wake-up call. Balloons fly in the early a.m. only, in order to catch a good wind and also so that we can see the sun rise.

Riding in a balloon is a very comfortable way to experience heights, even if one is, like me, innately afraid of being in the air. Despite the fact that I’ve been slowing growing out of this phobia over the last 7+ years, through flying more, riding on Ferris wheels, doing height-related things that scare me, etc., I would still recommend ballooning as an activity for people who are afraid of heights, maybe even especially for people who are afraid of heights. Yes, you’re up in the air, but you’re barely moving and the basket is incredible stable and cozy.

Once the balloon is inflated and righted (which takes, like a half an hour), we all climb in one by one. There is no ladder or step, just a few small foot holes woven through the basket. When someone in the group asked the best way to get in, I said that my preferred method would be “ass over teakettle.”

There were five of us in our fourth of the basket, and the balloon can hold up to 19 people, fewer if there are fat Americans. (I’m not kidding.) During the balloon ride, I found the first truly funny person in the group, Jason, who is a teacher from Fort Worth, traveling with his wife and a young girl and former high school student of theirs who appears to have been “adopted” by them in some way. Anyway, Jason was our stand up comic during the ride, throwing out one-liners about the balloon pilot and talking from the horses’ perspective from the ground. It’s nice that someone on the trip is actually funny. There are a couple of people, OK, two older men, who think they’re funny but, um, aren’t. Their senses of humor are in the “take my wife, please” vein. It’s really annoying. But I digress...

At the start of the ride, the pilot asked who was riding in a balloon for the first time, and then responded, “Me, too.” Jason’s quiet comeback was, “Pilot Joke 6, check.” As we took off, however, it really did appear we were heading for a rock formation. Erica (one of the “single girls” I’ve rotated rooms with and with whom I’ve bonded) and I got a little nervous. When I said, “Iceberg, right ahead!” in a Cockney accent, it also got a nervous laugh. But of course we went right over the rock and continued our ascent.

So the balloon ride went along uneventfully, and if I can say so, even got a bit boring toward the end. It took our pilot some time to find a place to land. Balloons, btw, have no mechanism for steering so basically the pilot just sends it up or down, in order to get it over a hill or down to the ground. We finally “landed” on a hill, parallel to the ground, with one side of the basket touching the hill and a small army of “balloon guys” holding it up on the other side. They then guided the balloon, as the pilot gave it more air, up the hill and onto the wagon of a small truck to transport it back to the parking lot. For the record, the balloon guys and the pilot were all very good-looking.

After the ride was over, we all got champagne as well as a certificate with our names on it. I think if you’re ever going to go up in a balloon, you should fly in the most scenic, unusual place possible. For instance, after having ballooned over Cappadocia, I don’t think I would ever opt to fly in one at a state fair, or something like that. Definitely a "must try experience" - worth the money and the pre-dawn wake up call.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246309109/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246309109/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246309109/tpod.html Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:16:00 -0400 Jive Turkey

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Istanbul, Turkey

Day 1 - internet access is not all it's cracked up to be and this is Istanbul. I can imagine it only gets worse from here (gee, ya think?)

The flight(s) were uneventful except that Liz Walker was at my gate at Logan. She was with a ton of other religious people, so I assumed they were headed to either Barcelona or London for some event having to do with religion. (Liz Walker, for those of you who don't live here or don't remember, was a news anchor on the local NBC affiliate. In the 1980s, she was single and got pregnant and was considered the model for the storyline that was later created on Murphy Brown.) Also, while I was at Logan, the Aer Lingus paged Brenda Fricker to the gate, and I wondered if it was the actress. Instead of sitting around for an hour waiting to sit on plane for six, I did go in search of her, even though I couldn't remember what she looked like. I did see a woman who struck me as "Brenda Fricker," but who knows. If I could get internet access, I could look her up but that's not a priority right now.

I sat next to a "tool" on the flight from London to Istanbul. I think his name was something like Shek Al-Ahmed, but I will now call him Shek Tool Ahmed. I was at a window, as I always am, over a wing, which I realized I always am when I fly British Airways. He was in the middle. The woman on the aisle was a veiled Muslim woman with a baby girl, about 1.5. The baby was adorable and very good-natured. The stewardesses referred to her as, "Such a clever girl!" Anyway, the woman asked if there wer any empty seats for her to move with the baby. And though, she only paid for one seat w/her baby in her lap (too bad), it was not an unreasonable request. The stewardess agreed to look for something and a few minutes later came back and asked the guy next to me to move to another seat. He said, "yes," or so we thought. I mean, who wouldn't trade their middle seat for an aisle seat? But he didn't move because we were taking off. When it occurred to me that he wasn't going to move (30-45 min.later), I figured I would move and right then, they brought the food. And then the baby fell asleep (on her mum) and then it all became to late. But my instincts were that this Amed was simply not going to move and that there was some sort of passive aggression going on. He was pretty obnoxious anyway, in his bright pink Polo with lime trim and his shiny shorts, wiggling his lower body as he sat and listened to his iPod. What a tool. Oh, and he definitely spoke English. He read every word of The Daily Mail's Michael Jackson coverage.

Getting through the airport was very easy. Everything is in English. You go to Visa (buy your Visa $20 then to passport control (I always have to resist the urge to say, "I declare I have nothing to declare!" a line which goes on forever and is full of, how do you say, wretch refuse. J BTW, in the airport I saw a Saudi in white robes with the black rope around his head, and several women veiled in black from head to toe (they were not together - or maybe they were, just 20 yards apart) with nothing showing but their eyes. It's rather disturbing to see in person. Fashion fun fact: the veiled women put sequins, etc. on their veils. I find this hysterical! Way to express your identities, girls! Oh, and someone needs to tell the Japanese tourists that those stupid flu masks are worthless.

The best way I can describe Old Istanbul at this point is that it reminds me of the Caribbean. Lots of lush, green areas and palmy trees. You can tell why competing sultans would build palaces here. All of the roads - for the cars - are cobblestone. The cars drive like maniacs. They sneak up on you and don't honk. Crosswalks are non-existent.

I am having a lot of trouble with the language, as is mostly everyone in the group. It's just not made up of sounds we are used to, even though it's very beautiful and makes a lot of sense grammatically. The guy from the hotel who picked me up at the airport tried to give me some lessons but was very, very fussy about my pronunciations. I was like, dude, I'm a first-timer here.

After the language lessons, he asked me if I was married and then, upon hearing the answer, why not. It's clear that he had some trouble wrapping his mind around like "independent" and "spend my own money." He was 32, married with two little daughters - and very proud of himself! Like one of Bridget Jones's "smug marrieds." After the marriage conversation, he asked me about Michael Jackson. Seriously.

OMG - the imam is calling everyone to prayer as I type this! It's 4:38 (?) and since I got a solid 7 hours of straight sleep, I decided to get up and type. More later...hopefully. Internet access is even sketchier now than it was when I wrote this and we're not even in the countryside yet.

PPS. It is now Thursday and I'm at Starbucks Ankara and FINALLY have an internet connection. Who knows when I'll be on again. So glad I publicized the blog when I can't post to it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246568396/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246568396/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246568396/tpod.html Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:14:40 -0400 Jive Turkey

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Istanbul, Turkey



Day 3

Topkapi Palace

This morning, we started out from the hotel and went right to Topkapi Palace, aka the palace of the sultans. Know this: all I know about Sultans I pretty much learned from Kismet, I Dream of Jeannie and Ali Baba. There were 36 sultans, not all related. The sultanate was abolished by Ataturk in 1923. Within the sultan’s palace were people like Viziers and the harem.

Ironically, the harem was not like the brothel we in the West think it was. It was a section of the palace where the women of the sultan’s life lived. As the empire expanded, particularly attractive women in the conquered countries were given the “option” to remain, most likely as slaves, in the conquered country or become “favorites” in the sultan’s palace. The word “harem” means forbidden in Arabic, so these women were only seen by the sultan. It’s not like visiting diplomats got to “party in the harem,” so to speak. (Sorry, fellas.) These 200 or so women lived in apartments in one entire section of the palace. I found it to be rather dark and in some spaces, it reminded me of the prison where Marie Antoinette was kept before her execution. The sultan’s mother ran the harem, as opposed to a head or first wife. Ickily enough, there is a whole section of the harem called “baths of the sultan and the queen mother.” Not to read too much into that but, ewww.

It’s hard to describe the palace, but it was stunning, maybe because it’s so vast but also because of the climate and views. Several of us women decided that given the option to be living as Puritans in Plimoth Plantation or to live as concubines in the Sultan’s palace, we’d choose the harem. I was disappointed that the kitchens were closed for renovation. The entire wall of one of the three courtyards was the kitchens. On any given day, up to 3000 worked on the palace grounds, and they were all fed. For a festival or large event, one meal might include twenty roasted cows.

The weather for Topkapi was particularly terrific, and it doesn’t hurt that you’re going in and out of dark, stone rooms either. Despite having options for company to stroll the grounds, I chose to wander them alone. I think I took about 75 of my 200 pictures there. Someday I'll be able to upload them.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246696066/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246696066/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1246696066/tpod.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:52:15 -0400 Jive Turkey

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Ankara, Turkey

Day 4 began the evening of Day 3, when we all hopped on the overnight train to Ankara. I have never ridden overnight on a train. It was quite an experience. After having had a hotel room to myself for two nights - Oh my God, I forgot to mention I'm getting my own room for four out of the twelve nights because there is an extra solo woman. Rather than give one woman a 2-week single, they give all of us a third. Sweet!

In any case, my first roommate experience of the trip was sharing bunks with "Other Stephanie." Like a complete and total retard, I said I'd take the top bunk. Not a problem except that that night, my body decided that I would need to get up to pee three times. Nancy, if you're reading this, I should not have been quite so dismissive of the idea of Depends. Seriously. If you're ever on the top bunk on an overnight train and don't want to climb up and down the teeny, tiny ladder and then go out to a fluorescently-lit hallway to the icky, icky lav, consider it.

Oh, and while we're talking about going to the bathroom, Turkish plumbing is very "developing world." When you go to the bathroom, you use toilet paper, but you are not supposed to throw it in the toilet. You throw it in a little canister right next to the toilet. It does have a lid, but that only makes it slightly less gross. The plumbing cannot handle paper. It is rather bizarre.

Anyway, I survived the train and the ladder, but got so little sleep that I felt like I had jet lag all over again. Fortunately, all of the bright sunshine and the strange new activities of each day help me to stay awake. BTW, I have not yet had Turkish coffee. I've had coffee made in Turkey but not the kind with the grounds in it. Instead, I've been opting for tea at breakfast. It's very strong and does the job. It's kind of like drinking Irish or English tea.

So we got off the train and went into downtown Ankara. Big deal. Then we went to the Anatolian Civilizations Museum, which was voted "Best Museum in Europe" in 1997. Mine is always quick to point out with things are the "best" or "top of the line." It ain't necessarily so, but I can always play along. In some ways, she reminds me of the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, except that with her it's along the lines of, "You know who invented that? The Turks!" Turks, for the record, did invent coffee, left it behind while retreating from an attempt to conquer Vienna. They also invented the croissant, money, writing, and tulips.

Anyway, I have to admit the Anatolian Civilizations Museum was very boring. You've seen one cave drawing, you've seen'em all. I did, however, win the prize for finding the urn with the sex scene on it. (I had some practice on Mother's Day when Alicia and I scoured the Greek vase room of the MFA looking for the "sexy vases.")

After the museum, we drove to Cappadocia (pronounced Cappadokia) a six-hour drive, broken up by a couple of rest stops. Rest stops are actually pretty nice and have very nice food. One rest stop had this amazing garden with a fountain in the center. I just can't imagine that a McDonald's along Rte.95. The long bus ride was helpful to make up sleep lost on the train.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1247111412/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1247111412/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1247111412/tpod.html Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:43:10 -0400 Jive Turkey

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Konya, Konya, Turkey



Day 7, 8, 9 - I’ve Lost Track of Time

OK, so we did a couple of one-nighters in a row, and I’ve completely lost track of what day it is and where we are. In some ways, it’s all I can do to keep my shit together, literally and figuratively. Mine suggests that we pack overnight bags on the one-night stay,s, but I find that’s even more difficult, because I just have too much stuff out of the suitcase and spread out. Those of you who know me may find this hard to believe, but I have left something behind at three hotels. I was going to write “so far,” but I’ve been very careful since the third and hopefully final, time.

After Cappodocia, we went to Guzelyurt and stayed at the very lovely Otel Karballa, which is a converted monastery with an infinity pool. Guzelyurt was really just a pit stop on our way to Konya. While in Guzelyurt, we had the opportunity to have a private group chat with an imam, who is the “head” of a mosque. Even a teeny, tiny town like Guzelyurt has three mosques. In Islam, there is no congregation. The people basically just go to the mosque (up to) five times a day to pray. There is no social base at the mosque, and the imam really doesn’t do any counseling, as priests or rabbis would.

When we met with the imam, we all had scarves, but it turned out we didn’t have to wear them. We all sat out in the courtyard and waited for him to arrive. When we saw two young Turkish guys rounding the corner, we thought they worked for the hotel, but as it turned out, one of them was our “hot imam.” Totally good looking and wearing a polo shirt with jeans and sneakers. He’s 28, married with a son. His wife is at home but if she wants or has to go back to work, he’s totally fine with that. We were all dying. We thought he’d be a gray haired guy in a robe.

We all asked our questions but had been warned not ask any political questions that would imply a link between Islam in general and terrorism. Mine also altered a question about whether it’s OK to have sex before marriage to be worded “living together before marriage.” The answer, btw, is, it’s not OK. As a young imam, he tries to work with younger people to help them follow the Koran.

After the discussion, we all took a walk through town to visit Ismail’s mosque, which used to be the Church of St. Gregory (of the Gregorian chants.) Because he’s a young imam, he gets the smallest mosque. I loved it though. It was tilted, quaint, and very charming. On our way there, we got to watch a major European mountain bike race that was heading through town, past our hotel and up hideously high hills. We cheered the guys on just like Americans would, but no one in the town did. The guys on the bikes really appreciated it.

The town was my favorite small town so far. I’m not sure why. It just felt very friendly and there were a variety of stores. While we walked through town, I saw a bride being led through town to where, I don’t know. The night before, a couple of people went to a pre-wedding party that was being held. When there is a wedding, it is announced through the minaret and everyone in town is invited. The parties last for three days, with the final day being the wedding. When people get married in Turkey, it’s the same as in Europe: a civil ceremony plus a religious ceremony.

We left Guzelyurt too soon for me. I would have liked an afternoon in the pool, but we had to head to Konya.

Konya is the city in which you’ll find the shrine to Rumi. If you’re into Deepak Chopra or Dr. Wayne Dyer, they quote Rumi a lot. Out guide read some Rumi one-liners to us but I don’t think they translated well to English. I have no time to look any up to post, but let’s just say the guy was thoughtful. We had to wear scarves all throughout the shine because Konya is very conservative. We also had to put blue plastic baggies on our feet to cover our shoes. (When entering a mosque, you remove your shoes but there were so many people there, there wasn’t time, hence the baggies). Anyone in a head scarf with blue baggies on their feet is definitely not bringing sexy back…

So the shrine was nice but mobbed and for a “sacred” space, very touristy. The interior of the shrine was beautiful but no pics were allowed.
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Kusadasi, Turkish Aegean Coast, Turkey



Last Day - Ephesus

In true Rick Steves tour fashion, we had a 6:30 a.m. breakfast "call," departed the hotel at 7:30, and arrived at the ruins of Ephesus at 8:15. Again, we were one of the first groups there. I
completely recommend getting to these sites when they open, so as to
avoid crowds and heat. By the time the place started to fill up with
cruise ship groups within an hour, if felt like Ancient Disney World.

Ephesus was impressive, but for some reason didn’t do it for me. I took, like, 75 pictures, but just wasn’t feeling the vibe. Maybe it was the layout of the place, like the fact that, most impressive ruin, the library, is visible from very early on, so by the time you get there, it’s just “the library up close.” That’s not to say it wasn’t stunning, however. The place just didn’t feel “organic” to me. It felt like it was created, even a little fake, rather than sort of rising up from its grave, like Aphrodisias, the Forum or Ostia Antica.

One surprise in Ephesus was the Terrace Houses. These are in an enclosed building and are built into the side of a cliff. There are glass floors for you to walk over, so you can see side to side, up and down. Throughout this area, restoration work is also being done by artisans. The Terrace houses have some of the best frescoes I’ve seen in ruins. Those Ephesians had good taste in paint colors.

Again, it was another hot day, and since Ephesus is basically one long, dusty road we were all pretty much dying by 11. At one point I felt like I was drowning in my own sweat. We were all so beat when it was over, that everyone bagged the tour of a little village nearby and opted to go back to the pool. A few intrepid souls, (the ones I went to the Antalya Museum with) went to another archaeological museum, but by that time, I had had enough of sarcophagi and didn’t join them.

I ended up going to lunch with Erica and we ended up at this little place with the word Istanbul in the name. That’s all I remember except that the food was good and the waiter was kind and flirtatious but not overbearing. After that, I went to the pool with Julie, but it was too hot to stay there for more than an hour. Spent the rest of the afternoon re-packing everything (definitely an art and a science) and went to the “farewell dinner.” The dinner was very good, and I sat with my posse. Everyone seemed to be very upbeat and having a grand old time. Unfortunately, I wish that people had been this way sooner. I don’t think the tour was so “grueling” that we couldn’t have “partied” a little bit more. And BTW, if you know me personally and want to read the blog about the group dynamics, send me an email. Quite a cast of characters on this tour, let me tell you, but I’m not describing them on the ‘net.

Today I fly to Istanbul, then London, then home. One of the girls, Mandy, has a similar layover at Heathrow, so we’re going to hang out there together tonight.

I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed and be back in a country where throwing your used toilet paper in the toilet is the norm.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1247257838/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1247257838/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/medgrl413/1/1247257838/tpod.html Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:05:46 -0400 Jive Turkey

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Kusadasi, Turkish Aegean Coast, Turkey

Day 11 - Aphrodisias & Kusadasi

One day in the 1960’s, a Turkish photographer stopped for a cup of coffee in a small hill town in Turkey. When his coffee arrived, he noticed that they set it down on an upright stone column. He inquired as to where it came from and was told, “Oh, we have hundreds of them.” He immediately called his friend, Kenin Erim, who was an archaeologist at New York University and told him to come to the town to have a look.

Upon discovering significant ruins, an excavation was considered but could not be started because too many people still lived in the town on the site. Soon after, however, an earthquake struck and the townsfolk were then “encouraged” to leave. Once the town’s population was reduced, the excavation of Aphrodisias began.

When we went to Aphrodisias, it was again about 100 degrees and this time a little more humid. We arrived at the site just after it opened at nine to view it at a relatively cooler time of day and to have it mostly to ourselves. (The cruise ship tours don’t really get out until about an hour after these sites open.)

As we meandered through the site (Get it? The Meandros River is right nearby, and because it winds and moves slowly was the basis for the word “meander.”) and it was absolutely beautiful. Around each corner is another surprise. Maybe it was also more beautiful because it really was pretty much deserted except for us.

I didn’t really take any notes on Aphrodisias, but its ruins are touchable and fun to climb on. Maybe this is why I liked it so much. There are few chains telling you keep out and because the ruins are so clearly defined, the town really does have its own personality. It was also founded as a rock quarry and place for sculptors to work, so perhaps it is also more esthetically pleasing on some unconscious level due to the influence of artists who built there.

As I look at my pictures and reflect, I’m sure I’ll remember more. My biggest complaint about this tour, and in fact the number one complaint about Rick Steves tours in general, is that there is almost no processing time. We are given a TON of information, but before we can really absorb it, we’re off to the next place. Those of you in education know that this is an example of poor teaching.

Fortunately, Kusadasi has afforded us our first semblance of downtime on this trip, and by “downtime,” I mean “time to swim in the pool.” We did get a little time to swim in the pool at the hotel at Pamukkale, but this time we’re here for two days and only have one site per day. Most Rick Steves tours don’t include stays at hotels with pools, but I think it would be inhumane to make people trek through ruins at 100 degrees and then not offer them respite from the heat. I couldn’t bring myself to walk downtown yesterday (yesterday? Really? I’m that caught up?) because it was just too hot and I’m not in the market for the jewelry they sell to the people from the cruise ships. So I just lounged by the pool with some other people and worked on my Aegean tan. BTW, a glass of wine poolside is only 7 TL ($4.90) because people don’t generally hang out at the hotels here. I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

Went to dinner with the crew and we ate outside. It was broiling hot because the sun was setting, so we got the waiters to hang tablecloths from the awnings to block it. They used staplers to attach it. Had a really fun time with the people closer to my age. I finally disclosed that I’m 44. It came up when we all started to sing along to a Turkish cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Good times.
　

　
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Pamukkale, Denizli, Turkey


Pamukkale

Pronounced: Puh MOO kah lay (kind of reminds me of the Italian word: mammaluc, whatever that means.)

Pammukale was another stop on our trek East. Everyone was glad to leave Antalya and spend several hours on the bus in the a/c. When we arrived in Pammukale, we went to a farmers’ market. It was amazing, partly because it was so big and also because the food was sooooo fresh. The Turks don’t really eat out of season and their food grows beautifully. I think the poorer people and Nomads still eat really well. As long as you have land, water and a few animals, there is plenty to eat.

The point of our going to the market was to buy food for our lunch at a truck stop later on. It was a place where you could bring your own food if you bought a drink or some small item. Everything I wanted at the market, however, was something to cook: eggplant, garlic, herbs, etc. There really wasn’t anything I wanted for lunch that I haven’t been eating for 11 days already.

Turkey , apparently, is one of the major places to grow pomegranates. They are everywhere and especially in the tea. Unfortunately, they’re out of season so we couldn’t have any and there were none to buy. I did have some complimentary pomegranate tea at the truck stop though. And Alicia was right. Even when the temperatures are soaring, eat like the locals do. Hot tea does the trick, as does spicy lamb in tomatoes. It doesn’t make much sense, but somehow, if you eat “culturally,” it all works out.

I’ve become so sick of feta, cucumbers, tomatoes, cherries and watermelon that I’ve pretty much been ordering lamb at every meal. It’s something I love and rarely eat at home. Some people say that lamb makes them gassy and that can happen, but neither I nor anyone else have had any problems with the lamb. (And trust me, if anyone gets sick in the group, we all hear about it. Lucky us.)

After the market, we went to the travertine pools, where the calcified waters make the cliffs look like they’re covered in snow. Pamukkale means cotton-something in Turkish. It was 100 degrees, but we all made the trip. I found it to be very interesting, especially for people-watching. This is where you see the old guys in Speedos, for sure. Everyone comes to pay 23 TL to swim in the pool where Cleopatra and Marc Antony allegedly had a romantic encounter. Really, it’s just this cheesey “greenhouse” type area with fake turf where all the Eurotrash gathers. Oh, I’m sorry. Did I say Eurotrash? 'Cuz I meant to say Eurotrash. It’s really sad. This is the best they can do. (Alas, I took no pictures because I used the last of my film and had limited space.) Let me describe one guy: He was about 30+ and was wearing a polo shirt with horizontal stripes of white, green, blue and yellow. It was too long for him, which was just as well. It came down juusst to the middle of his black speedo which made his 'junk' appear to be hanging as an afterthought below the hem of his shirt. But the best part was that he had bare legs and sneakers with white socks pulled up to mid-calf. As Tim Gunn would say, “That’s a lotta look.”

I wandered off by myself and went to the old theater. (Yes, there are ruins there) and it was lovely. It was straight up a hill in the blazing sun. When I got there, I looked around, took some pics and then sat on a column in the shade and ate a snack. While I was there, a group of very “not into it” looking Japanese tourists came by and just sat in the shade. Some of them didn’t even go look at the theater. I found that kind of funny. I mean, why walk all that way up the hill only to not look at the reason you made the trek? On my way back, I opted not to put my feet in the travertine pools because with all those people wading ankle-deep, it actually seems a little skeevy, not to mention, I would have had to take off walking shoes and socks and I wasn’t in the mood. Instead, I hiked down, off the path through old columns, etc. It was a very scenic route.

We all survived and got to the Villa Lycus and had some wine by the pool. The pool was great! One thing I love about “Turkish” pools, and this applies to the pool at Stonehedge Spa in Tyngsborough, which is owned by Turks: they don’t over chlorinate the water. They put in just enough. I have to say, the more I travel, the more I get annoyed by the concept of American “overdoing it.” There’s so much chlorine in some American pools I’ve swum in, particularly in gyms, that you would go blind before you ever got any kind of infection.

The next day, we hit the road again and headed for Aphrodias in Kusadashi. I heart ruins.

　
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