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When the Rooster Crows, it is Time for Bed
Entry 3 of 15 | show all | print this entry |
Greetings once again from Turkey! I apologize in advance if this looks a bit funny when you read it because I am using a Turkish keyboard and some of the letters are different.
We typically won`t be posting this frequently, but we have some more time here in Olympos than originally expected, so I am taking advantage of a lazy morning to give an update. However, due to continued technical difficulties, we still can`t post pictures.
First, we want to assure everyone that we know about the bombings in Istanbul and Ankara and are deeply saddened by the news. We are safe and very far from any major cities along the Mediterranean coast. When we arrived in Istanbul last week and learned of the upcoming NATO conference, we wisely decided to leave the city. However, our hearts go out to the victims, their families and all the Turkish people. We have grown quite fond of this country and its people. Tourism is a huge industry in this country and the Turkish people are eager to dispell the fear that has kept people from visiting. When they learn that we are American, they are so happy to hear that we have chosen to visit their country. It`s terrýbly unfortunate that the malicious acts of extremists continue to hurt people all over the world.
Now onto lighter subject matter, picking up where Mark left off. 12 hours, one large bus and two mimi buses later we arrived in Olympos Thursday mornýng a bit weary, but happy to be near a beach. Thýs area ýs known for Tree House hostels and pensions - quite literally, the "rooms" are built on stilts and in trees. Driving down the road we felt like we were heading to summer camp and it turns out to be not far from the truth.
We originally thought about staying at one of the places up the road, but were warned by some travellers we met that unless we wanted to party until 3am, we should consider staying elsewhere. So we ended up at the Turkmen Pension in a comfortable bungalow. (Think grown-up tree house with a bathroom). What we have come to learn after 2 nýghts here is that there is no way to really escape from the loud music as this area is ýn a canyon so the music from the live bands bounces off the canyon walls and echoes far and wýde. When traveling, ýt ýs very important to keep a sense of humor, so we have tried to look beyond the downsýdes to really appreciate what I like to refer to as the charms of places like this. For example, we are getting a good deal here, only paying $30 U.S. for lodgýng, breakfast and dinner. However, dinner is served promply at 8pm and we must line up quickly to compete with the hungry 22 year olds. Again, it reminds us of summer camp. Another charming characteristic is all the chickens running around the place. They are here to eat the bugs. They just wander around all day cluckıng and eatıng to their hearts content. One of the funniest things about this place is the roosters. We realized that no matter what time the music stops and the young, drunken backpackers head to bed, the roosters immediately start crowing. The first night this happened at a more respectable rooster hour of 4:30am. Last night the roosters were thrown off a bit when the music stopped at a more respectable human hour of 2:30am. Sure enough, within 5 minutes of silence we heard a couple roosters start crowing only to quickly stop once they realized they were a bit too early!
While Mark and I consider ourselves fairly cool for soon-to-be 32 year olds, our age and marital status makes us much more the exception than the rule here. As an old married man, Mark has become regarded as Yoda among his now devoted young male Turkish followers as they eargerly await some morsel of wisdom that will help them pick up one of the many Aussie women here. This suits Mark quite well since he gets some free beer out of the deal. Basically, for those of you who have ever been to Dewey Beach, this is the Turkish version. Or think Daytona, Cancun or any other popular spring break destination. Fun for a couple of days, but we are ready to seek the relative tranquility of a sail boat when we set out on our 4 day cruise on Monday. Then we will make our way to the Greek Isles, with getting to Paris to see the end of the Tour de France still the goal for the end of July.
Cheers for now!
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| 3. | When the Rooster Crows, it is Time for Bed - Olympos, Turkey Jun 26, 2004 |
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![[03] Olympos ruins](/travel-photo/el_condor/asia_2005/1148208360/picture_020.jpg/tpod.html "[03] Olympos ruins")
![[05] Olympos Valley](/travel-photo/el_condor/asia_2005/1148208360/picture_022.jpg/tpod.html "[05] Olympos Valley")
