i mean, i know i start from the beginning, but wow- this trip out east has been the highlight of all turkey so far. with one tragic exception (i lost something very special to me, grandpa's hat, and i'm trying to track it down at the bus station, but hopes are dwindling and i'm slowly making myself feel okay about it), the trip has been utterly amazing.
so, from the beginning, this will long:
the long train ride on the doğu expresi terminated for me at divriği last saturday morning, where i went to the ulu camii (mosque). it is one of turkey's world-heritage sites, and rightfully so. the carved exteriors are stunning. i can't say more than that about it, since i'll have to rely on pictures to get it across (which, by the way, i've given up on posting before i get back. so you'll have to wait until i show them to you in person or get around to putting them on facebook a few weeks from now).
after this, the next bus was several hours away. i wanted to go to malatya, but that was even later, so i decided to go back to sivas. in between, i met a really cool guy hakkan, who had lived in london for four years and therefore spoke flawless english. it was a real pleasure to pass the time with him. we hiked up to the castle, he beat me at backgammon while we drank tea, we wandered around the city and chatted (he's also a galatasaray fan, oh yea!), had some soup, and were on our way to sivas.
i stayed the night in sivas, where the entire town was crazy over preparations for the sivasspor-galatasaray match which was basically to decide the championship.
the next morning, i wandered around sivas a little, and really enjoyed the town. i snapped pictures of a few of the old mosque and other selçuk complexes, as well as the sivas congress, one of the important sites in the foundation of the modern turkish republic (as i've admitted, i'm a secret atatürk fan due to my studies of nationalism), had a tea, and made my way to malatya. in malatya, i went through the bazaar and bought some dried apricots, which is what the town is famous for. also, i found a really atmospheric place with chairs lined in front of a television charging 2 lira to watch the game. it was a very exciting match, with galatasaray winning 5-3. this weekend is the last game of the season, at home, and all they have to do is tie to clinch the title outright. go galatasaray!
monday, i took the bus to the town of kahta (well, first i stopped in a dusty half-way point whose name i don't remember). at the halfway point, i made the aquantaince of two guys from hong kong. i ended up being the organizer and translator (scary, considering how bad my turkish is, but they didn't know a lick, and had just come from syria) for our new group of 3 as we made it to kahta and then up to the town of karadut. i really enjoyed the karadut pension. the owner was really friendly, and i seemed to be able to have something that resembled a conversation with him in turkish. his son spoke fine english and was our driver up to the summit of nemrut daği (mt. nemrut), the point of this leg of the journey. some may have seen pictures of the giant statues of kings and gods up at the top of the highest mountain in the area, as they are the iconic picture of eastern turkey. these things are seriously cool. some egocentric king of the kingom of commagene, right before the roman takeover of the area, had them built. and you're on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere and can see probably to syria. in addition to the two guys from hong kong (i never got their names), a group of kurdish guys were wandering around the top and wanted to take a picture with us. it's an interesting addition in my pictures to the collection of lions, eagle heads, kings, and zeus statues.
we made our way back down the mountain and had a nice pension dinner before calling it a night.
tuesday, we went all the way down the hill to kahta, where i parted ways with the two guys from hong kong. and here is where i threw my itinerary to the wind and went to the real southeast at the advice of the people from the pension, who said it would be quicker to get to van via (şanlı)urfa. urfa is known as the city of the prophets. in the hour and half i had before my bus to mardin, i saw the cave where job suffered and the well that God sent to ease his pain. the mosque there is utterly beautiful, and i had myself a drink from the sacred waters. from there i rushed to the area where abraham was born, and although i didn't get down to the cave, there is this strange story about abraham where he is supposed to be tortured by king nemrud, and the hot coals are turned to fish and he is flung from the mountain onto a bed of roses. so there is now a park with roses and a beautiful pool with carp. interesting, to say the least, and i loved being in the 'city of the prophets' if only for a little and even if the taxi driver overcharged me.
from urfa, i took another bus to mardin. as my travelbook says, 'everyone loves mardin!' and so did i. in all honesty, the reason for going there was a restaurant which the book raved about. it's called 'cercis murat konağı' run by a woman who has almost single-handedly made it okay for women to work outside the home in mardin, as well as opening the first licensed restaurant in the southeast, and being the head of the mardin tourist group. i had a pommegranate salad, quince with lamb (before coming to turkey, i didn't even know what quince was), some very tasty wine, and an orange-flavored dessert: yum! after this, i made my way to the hotel for the night.
wednesday morning i wandered around mardin, photographed the fortress and syrian orthodox church, putzed around the bazaar, and found my way to the minibus station intending to go to van via diyarbakir. instead, i took a minibus to midyat, then another to batman, and finally a bus to van, thereby swinging around in the southeast, which is a completely different landscape. while i would have liked to have gone to diyarbakir, it's probably better i didn't... also, there was a guy who wanted to talk to me the whole way from midyat to batman, and again, my little turkish managed what could be called a conversation. he was very adamant about how bad bush was for the region. coming along the south of lake van, the view is spectacular. the mountains were beautiful and i caught my first glimpse of the church of the Holy Cross on the island of akdamar. once at van, i checked into my hotel, had dinner, and wiped out pretty quickly.
thursday i started my day with a typical van breakfast, which is one thing van is famous for. in addition to the usual cucumber, tomato, and feta, there was this other semi-sweet, very creamy cheese with honey and walnuts, which was really good. after this, i made my way to the van museum. it houses a whole lot of urartian artifacts, which i duly photographed, including lots of cuneiform stelae. i'm a textual junkie, and love cuneiform. additionally, there were artifacts from the nearby site of tilkitepe, which i once wrote about in a paper about 'early armenian connections to the middle east.' most famous of these are the 'redware' pottery, which i was very excited to see (yeah, i guess i'm an anthropologist/archaeologist getting excited about pottery). there was supposed to be a one-sided thing on the 'genocide of the turks by armenians' which i didn't see, probably for the best.
after the museum, i took two minibuses to get to the akdamar harbor. on the boat there was a couple from japan and their kurdish companion who worked at the van museum. okay. this is the singular highlight of my entire trip, even after today's excursion. watching the beautiful church of the Holy Cross get closer and closer as the boat covered the distance between the harbor and the island, i definitely teared up a little. the church is beautiful. i mean, its perfect. its done in the really round manner that is seen also at ani, but not really throughout modern-day armenia. there are hundreds of reliefs all around the church, for which it is most famous. the frescoes inside are relatively well-preserved, and, being recently rennovated, its just plain beautiful. i sang a couple hymns inside, and the acoustics were tremendous. additionally, almost every rock on the island has a cross of varying levels of intricacy etched into it. superb, superb, i love it, i sat on a rock just staring for probably 20 minutes. it was honestly hard to get back on the boat and leave, but it did start raining a little...
i should have gone with the japanese couple to hosap castle, a little further south, but i wasn't sure i wanted to take that much time. instead it took me awhile to flag down a bus and get back to van. luckily, it was only sprinkling.
upon returning to van, i made my way to the castle, which is huge! i played and climbed around for awhile. i missed the few cuneiform inscriptions, which is too bad, because, like i said, i'm a bit of a text junkie. but it was fun to climb around on the ancient urartian fortress and capitol of their empire, imagining all the history. and, it started raining a little heavier and it had been a long day.
i made it back to the hotel and slept soundly.
friday i woke up early, decided i didn't need to see hosap castle (a kurdish castle to the south) or çavuştepe, another urartian site, and got on a minibus to doğubayazit. getting of the minibus, a french couple whom i had seen at the van museum the day before approached me about sharing a taxi to the ishak pasha palace, the reason for stopping in doğubayazit. i told them there were minibuses up, and we made the journey together. so, the travelbook describes this as the 'perfect fairy-tale palace' and it didn't dissapoint. the rounded mosque dome in the center of the palace with beautiful engravings and a beautiful hue of stone made it very breathtaking indeed. again, the pictures will have to do in place of my inadquate description. the french girl (melanie) decided it was her favorite place in turkey.
we had lunch together (the guy's name is adrian) at the recommended (from the guy at the karadut pension) urfa kebab salon, and had some nice conversation. they are working on a master's thesis dealing with turkish nationalism. best of all, when i mentioned that my roomate was a french phd student working on a thesis dealing with the '70s in turkey, melanie said, 'oh my gosh! nicolai?' so yeah, the world is yet again proved very small. she had met nicolai a few months before. apparently he goes to a very prestigious school and they were quite impressed by him. a really cool encounter! we parted ways, as they were going back to van, and i was on to kars.
the bus ride to kars included me snapping a picture of ararat since it was mostly shrouded in clouds when we had been at the palace, and alternating rain and snow depending on our altitude. made it to kars in the evening, and in being rushed off since i wasn't sure where i was going exactly, this is where i managed to leave the hat. again, i've visited the bus company office a couple times, but i'm losing hope- but again, also being okay with it. i wrote a poem or two and decided the level of reflection on various things brought about by the loss of the hat made it okay. checked into the 'otel kent,' had a pide, and read to about midnight.
phew, today. woke up, wandered around kars, went to the bus company office, bought some börek from a really friendly woman who told me the price in english after asking where i was from. she told me 'goodbye!' and brightened my mood a little.
but what really did it was ani. i had to pay the full fare by myself since there were no other tourists that had e-mailed the driver, but it was totally worth it. ani was the capitol if the bagratuni armenian dynasty from around 890-1100 (very apprx.), known as the 'city of 1001 churches,' had a population of around 100,000 people rivalling constantinople at the time in terms of size and cultural importance, and it gives it name to more armenian girls than i can count. this was a very, very close second to akdamar. you walk through a gate passing the massive city walls into an open expanse of grass that was the city, without a half-dozen or so churches in various states of disrepair on the plain. the starkness of the whole place was really incredible, with one round church having exactly half of it left. the church of tigran (not the great ancient king, the church's benefactor) was the most spectacular, completely full of very well-preserved frescoes. i had to sing a hymn and record it while panning the frescoes, even if it took up around 100 pictures in the card. another round church is perched on the edge of the gorge- which, by the way separates turkey from armenia, and you can see the armenian-russian watchtowers that mark the border. it was interesting throughout this whole portion of my trip (van to ani) to contemplate how close i was to armenia, with yerevan just on the other side of ararat. the cathedral is absolutely huge and still stands, albeit without its dome. another round church was also stunning. more partial ruins of three other armenian churches, including one cut into the rock are on the western part of the city. in addition to the armenian churches, there were excavated bazzar streets, houses, a couple selçuk mosques, a selçuk bath area, and the one remaining wall of a georgian church. i can't really convey the size of the site (again, without the pictures), but think 100,000 people. this was really the pinnacle of armenian architecture and early medieval civilization, and ani holds such an important part in the collective memory (one patriotic folk song about yerevan calls the new capitol 'mer nor ani' -'our new ani'). for awhile, i sat on a rock looking around, almost in disbelief that i was at ani. what a wonderful experience!
upon returning to the city, i snapped a shot of the kars castle, but didn't hike up because i wasn't in the mood for fighting the rain that has started coming down. i also took a quick visit to an old armenian church in kars which has been converted to a mosque, as well as an old selçuk bridge- before ducking into the internet cafe for an update.
okay, phew, i am spent writing this, and my eyes hurt. although its probably still raining, its time to have a pide or döner. most likely, i'll take it easy this afternoon, reading in my room, before heading to trabzon tomorrow. after i make my way to the sumela monastery near trabzon, i have no more particular sites to see, so i'll slowly make my way back to istanbul via some of the pretty and small towns between central anatolia and the black sea. would you believe me if i said i was counting down the days to home?
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
istanbul interlude
so, i have set my new date to come home: may 19. i have to say i'm ready. dare i say i may even be truly homesick for the first time in my life. what a thought. this means, among other things, that i won't see the mediterranean, which is kind of a weird thought considering that's all some people in turkey, but i'm working on the assumption that i will be back. probably sooner rather than later. ongoing issues of secularism and my idealism of a world where there is an open border between armenia and turkey ('open borders' was the name we produced our collaborative film with an armenian, a turk, and a jew under) mean that i'm sure i'll find myself here again soon, except i'll have seen most of the major sites and will be free to explore random and less-travelled parts of the country. and relax on the med.
since i decided against a whirlwind trip to the med before i leave tomorrow on my final adventure out east, i've had quite a nice time in istanbul. saturday night nicole and i went out for ice-cream-cake to celebrate her birthday after i spent all day sleeping and recovering (see last post).
sunday, after heading back to church in the rain and relaxing in the afternoon, i had a great experience. nicole and i had tried to get tickets to the big galatasaray-fenerbahçe game, but we ended up not being able to. instead, we met up with the two australian girls i had met in göreme (michelle and danielle) and we watched the game at a bar on istikal. the screens were great and we got there just in time to see galatasaray score the only goal of the game and pull ahead of fenerbahçe in the standings- first place! but the real kick was that we wandered out of the bar just in time to join a crowd of deliriously happy galatasaray fans celebrating the win. we crouched down and jumped up, shouted cheers, marched down istikal, and generally enjoyed the revelry. afterwards, danielle, michelle, and i had a nice dinner.
on monday, after reading in the morning i met up with danielle and michelle. we took a ferry over to the asian side, to kadiköy, where we wandered around a bit and had lunch. then we returned to europe to tackle the spice and grand bazaars. this was a lot of fun, and i made a purchase. it was especially fun tasting lokum (turkish delight) in the spice bazaar (i'll be bringing a lot back, especially the pomegranate). also, danielle is a superb bargainer, and it was a treat just to watch her haggle. we then went over to their hostel in sultanhamet, where i sat in the terrace bar writing and drinking while they settled in and packed up, and where one of their friends tony eventually joined us. we went out for a good meal (danielle, michelle, and i always seemed to end up with good choices in food). it was generally a really enjoyable day. again, meeting people randomly and getting to see them again during the course of travels is a really cool experience, and worth spending some time in hostels just to make the friends!
tuesday, after another good morning of reading, nicole and i went up the golden horn to the 'western districts.' in fener, we saw a beautiful orthodox church (both inside and outside were great). it was actually built in vienna, shipped down the danube, and assembled in istanbul. then, we hopped on a ferry (it was a beautiful day) and went to eyüp. i need to go back to see one of the holiest mosques in islam, but our activities were fun. we went to the 'pierre loti cafe' where a famous french writer apparently came for inspiration, and where the views of the golden horn and istanbul are incredible. you can make out the hagia sofia from the other end of the horn. before ferrying back, we noticed the paddle boats and couldn't help ourselves. paddling around a couple small islands on the horn was a great touch to a very lovely day.
later that night nicolai and i went off to watch the barcelona-manchester united match, where we were disappointed to watch a terrible defensive mistake result in an all-england european cup final. yeah, i've become a bit of a football (soccer) junkie.
wednesday, i wandered around the north part of the bosphorus on my own. i took a bus as far north as sarıyer, strolled along the shores for awhile, hopped back on a bus, and intended to visit both the european and asian fortresses. the european fortress museum is closed on wednesdays, so i snapped a few shots, decided i didn't care enough to cross to asia, took some ugly digital zoom pictures of the asian fortress and the oldest yali (wooden house) on the bosphorus directly under the fatih bridge in the asian side.
this was also the day i changed my ticket, and due in part to this, my failure at visiting the fortresses, and too much time thinking on my stroll, i was in a bit of a strange mood. so i went to homers (my favorite bookstore here) and spent money on books, which is usually what i do when i feel too contemplative. the evening was a relaxing and unproductive night at home with uğur playing instruments and music from the internet while i drank way too many cups of tea.
today, thursday, is may 1, labor day for the rest of the world and really big deal. i really had no idea. it actually commemorates massacres after an anarchist-communist demonstration for worker's rights in chicago in the mid 1800's- this is part of why the us has shunned the day in favor of our september labor day. well, here especially, its a big deal. worker's days are long, and union rights are not exactly the best. moreover, a demonstration on 1 may 1977 in taxim square left around 30 dead. since then, demonstrations at taxim have been banned, and every year the unions try to stage something there. this year, rhetoric surrounding the use of the square was high, and today, many demonstrators tried to get to taxim. there were 100's of police. no, i didn't join the demonstrators. the main street right around the corner from our apartment provided enough excitement, and our crew had enough sense to stay away. this became true when a tear-gas bomb flared on the other side of the street from where we were watching and a crowd ran. we went home and ventured out about an hour later to watch demonstrators and police give and take ground right at our intersection. there were young leftists throwing rocks, more tear-gas, and police tanks shooting water. all-in-all pretty incredible, and nicolai and my eyes stung two hours later when everyone had dispersed and we wandered out. it leaves me thinking about 'democracy' and 'activism' in america and what we take for granted. it also makes me laugh at bored berkeley students sitting in trees like its the end of the world- but then i'm not always pleased with berkeley activists and find many going to a protest just to go to a protest (not that i never went to a protest, but... well anyways, the point is that demonstrations here are the real-deal, politics spill onto the street, being a leftist takes on more than just a way to be young, cool, and radical...)
so, i'm pretty glad i stayed in istanbul this week. yes, i missed the beaches of the med. but they'll still be there next time i'm in turkey. instead, i got some real taste of turkey (ha ha ha).
okay, tomorrow i leave for big trip out east, which i will probably blog in portions to break it up. then, i get back to istanbul, have a weekend, and am on my way home. see everyone soon!
since i decided against a whirlwind trip to the med before i leave tomorrow on my final adventure out east, i've had quite a nice time in istanbul. saturday night nicole and i went out for ice-cream-cake to celebrate her birthday after i spent all day sleeping and recovering (see last post).
sunday, after heading back to church in the rain and relaxing in the afternoon, i had a great experience. nicole and i had tried to get tickets to the big galatasaray-fenerbahçe game, but we ended up not being able to. instead, we met up with the two australian girls i had met in göreme (michelle and danielle) and we watched the game at a bar on istikal. the screens were great and we got there just in time to see galatasaray score the only goal of the game and pull ahead of fenerbahçe in the standings- first place! but the real kick was that we wandered out of the bar just in time to join a crowd of deliriously happy galatasaray fans celebrating the win. we crouched down and jumped up, shouted cheers, marched down istikal, and generally enjoyed the revelry. afterwards, danielle, michelle, and i had a nice dinner.
on monday, after reading in the morning i met up with danielle and michelle. we took a ferry over to the asian side, to kadiköy, where we wandered around a bit and had lunch. then we returned to europe to tackle the spice and grand bazaars. this was a lot of fun, and i made a purchase. it was especially fun tasting lokum (turkish delight) in the spice bazaar (i'll be bringing a lot back, especially the pomegranate). also, danielle is a superb bargainer, and it was a treat just to watch her haggle. we then went over to their hostel in sultanhamet, where i sat in the terrace bar writing and drinking while they settled in and packed up, and where one of their friends tony eventually joined us. we went out for a good meal (danielle, michelle, and i always seemed to end up with good choices in food). it was generally a really enjoyable day. again, meeting people randomly and getting to see them again during the course of travels is a really cool experience, and worth spending some time in hostels just to make the friends!
tuesday, after another good morning of reading, nicole and i went up the golden horn to the 'western districts.' in fener, we saw a beautiful orthodox church (both inside and outside were great). it was actually built in vienna, shipped down the danube, and assembled in istanbul. then, we hopped on a ferry (it was a beautiful day) and went to eyüp. i need to go back to see one of the holiest mosques in islam, but our activities were fun. we went to the 'pierre loti cafe' where a famous french writer apparently came for inspiration, and where the views of the golden horn and istanbul are incredible. you can make out the hagia sofia from the other end of the horn. before ferrying back, we noticed the paddle boats and couldn't help ourselves. paddling around a couple small islands on the horn was a great touch to a very lovely day.
later that night nicolai and i went off to watch the barcelona-manchester united match, where we were disappointed to watch a terrible defensive mistake result in an all-england european cup final. yeah, i've become a bit of a football (soccer) junkie.
wednesday, i wandered around the north part of the bosphorus on my own. i took a bus as far north as sarıyer, strolled along the shores for awhile, hopped back on a bus, and intended to visit both the european and asian fortresses. the european fortress museum is closed on wednesdays, so i snapped a few shots, decided i didn't care enough to cross to asia, took some ugly digital zoom pictures of the asian fortress and the oldest yali (wooden house) on the bosphorus directly under the fatih bridge in the asian side.
this was also the day i changed my ticket, and due in part to this, my failure at visiting the fortresses, and too much time thinking on my stroll, i was in a bit of a strange mood. so i went to homers (my favorite bookstore here) and spent money on books, which is usually what i do when i feel too contemplative. the evening was a relaxing and unproductive night at home with uğur playing instruments and music from the internet while i drank way too many cups of tea.
today, thursday, is may 1, labor day for the rest of the world and really big deal. i really had no idea. it actually commemorates massacres after an anarchist-communist demonstration for worker's rights in chicago in the mid 1800's- this is part of why the us has shunned the day in favor of our september labor day. well, here especially, its a big deal. worker's days are long, and union rights are not exactly the best. moreover, a demonstration on 1 may 1977 in taxim square left around 30 dead. since then, demonstrations at taxim have been banned, and every year the unions try to stage something there. this year, rhetoric surrounding the use of the square was high, and today, many demonstrators tried to get to taxim. there were 100's of police. no, i didn't join the demonstrators. the main street right around the corner from our apartment provided enough excitement, and our crew had enough sense to stay away. this became true when a tear-gas bomb flared on the other side of the street from where we were watching and a crowd ran. we went home and ventured out about an hour later to watch demonstrators and police give and take ground right at our intersection. there were young leftists throwing rocks, more tear-gas, and police tanks shooting water. all-in-all pretty incredible, and nicolai and my eyes stung two hours later when everyone had dispersed and we wandered out. it leaves me thinking about 'democracy' and 'activism' in america and what we take for granted. it also makes me laugh at bored berkeley students sitting in trees like its the end of the world- but then i'm not always pleased with berkeley activists and find many going to a protest just to go to a protest (not that i never went to a protest, but... well anyways, the point is that demonstrations here are the real-deal, politics spill onto the street, being a leftist takes on more than just a way to be young, cool, and radical...)
so, i'm pretty glad i stayed in istanbul this week. yes, i missed the beaches of the med. but they'll still be there next time i'm in turkey. instead, i got some real taste of turkey (ha ha ha).
okay, tomorrow i leave for big trip out east, which i will probably blog in portions to break it up. then, i get back to istanbul, have a weekend, and am on my way home. see everyone soon!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
classics and aussies
so, i covered the istanbul stuff beforehand, and all i can say is that 360 was a great restaurant and atmosphere/we had a fun night, but we ended up not going to the bob dylan movie so i went to church.
nicole came over for tea monday morning, and then i set about getting a bus (since i was too late to make the bandırma ferry/train to izmir and i still would have had to take a bus) direct to selçuk in the most inconvenient fashion, namely going all the way out to the otogar (bus station), buying a ticket, coming back, resting, going back for my night bus. but i saved a night's hotel and all would have been good if i hadn't left the illiad on the bus (and achilles was just about to join the fight!).
i got off the bus with my backpack and started walking straight to ephesus (about 2 km). so, okay wow. i know, im not a classicist, yes, i prefer armenian and even old anatolian sites, but ephesus was great. there are lots and lots of standing structures, statues, reliefs, etc. the church of St. Mary, where the council of ephesus was held is there. and i absolutely loved the greek theater that seats about 25,000. a really, really enjoyable site, classicist or not, archaeologist or not.
what made this part of the trip really cool were all the things around ephesus and selçuk (the modern town where i stayed). the temple of artemis (one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world), although left with only a column standing, is still very green and foundations remain. the ephesus museum houses a lot of great stuff, including a famous statue of priapus, the phallic god of fertility (it was also fun to see the 60 year old americans making jokes about it) as well as a giant statue of artemis from the nearby temple. but the Christian sites were a real gem, because i wasn't expecting them. namely, the basilica of St. John, built by the emperor justinian where St. John the gospel writer is supposed to be buried. the ruins of the basilica are pretty impressive. finally, after a stay in a very friendly pension where i ate dinner there and chatted with some of the other guests, on wednesday morning i went to the house of St. Mary, where the mother of Jesus is said to have lived out her days. a very legitimate pilgrimage site visited by each of the last three popes, there was a mass going on as i slipped into the house, lit a candle outside, drank from the sacred well, and tied some string to the wall to make a wish. after making it back down the hill, i moved on.
after my bus ride from selçuk to izmir and izmir to bergama (ancient pergamon) i set up shop in another great pension, a converted ottoman house, called odyssey (i had just come from homeros). i was the only person there most of the day, except for a frenchman convinced of the worthlessness of formal education whom i talked with in the evening. the real draw was the books. i wish i had some to trade. in addition to the great selection of greek tragedy and travel books, there was even a copy of susan sontag's on photography. way cool.
anyhow, i trekked up the hill to visit the acropolis that afternoon. while not as extensive or extant as at ephesus, the setting way up the hill made the acropolis of pergamon incredible. additionally, the red poppies and the grass with the wind just made it a wonderful experience. and finally, pergammon's library (very little left standing) is said to have rivaled the famous library of alexandria (ah, if only...) and in fact the town's name is related to the latin word for parchment, which was invented there.
on thursday, i went to the red basilica, a huge structure singled out by St. John in Revelations. it was formerly a temple to egyptian gods and goddesses before being converted into a church. then, i went to the ascplepeion, the medical center. notable things include the snakes carved into a column, other medical imagery and temples to medical gods, and the healing fountain. the ascplepeion's most famous resident is the ancient galen the physician.
phew, no rest for the weary. by noon i was on my way to çannakale, the main city on the south dardanelles, and the jumping off point for both troy and gallipoli. i decided to make the anzac day dawn ceremony, so i bought a blanket, ferried over to ecebat, took a shared taxi to kabatepe, and laid my blanket out on a picnic table at the campgrounds before watching a gorgeous sunset. i was up by 3:30 and at anzac cove by the 4:30 dawn service friday.
so, anzac day. april 25 (1915) is the day the allied (mainly australian and new zealand) forces landed on the gallipoli peninsula. as you may know, gallipoli was a disaster for the allies, and helped pave the way for atatürk's unrivaled command of turkey. for some reason (supposedly a unifying event in the histories of the young, newly independent countries of australia and new zealand), aussies and whatever you call people from new zealand flock here every year. the place was packed! the new zealand foreign minister was there, the australian cultural minister too. its like a really big deal. it was a very nice service that allowed me to reflect on 'the follies of war' as my guidebook puts it. after the dawn service, i hiked up the hill to conk bayır, the famous hill that atatürk held. it was a fairly intense hike, but the views and my love of following the cult of atatürk made it worth it. after hiking all the way back to kabatepe (i put in at least 8 miles on friday) i got back to çannakale and took a bus to troy.
ah, troy. a great story, a very confusing archaeological site (at least 9 levels corresponding to different times and settlements, overlapping and built over everywhere), and very few actual exciting ruins. compared to ephesus or pergamon, the ruins at troy are a letdown. mostly just walls and foundations. with that said, the boards and organization of the site did a pretty good j0b entertaining me. that, and the giant trojan horse replica. plus, as it was a nice windy day, i couldn't help but think 'these were the winds that screwed odysseus over.' after almost completing the illiad, it was a great site to be at, even if there wasn't a whole lot going on.
and that concludes my classics/aegean trip. i got stuck in çannakale for awhile, took a night bus back to istanbul, managed to miss my stop in istanbul, wandered around the asian side for a bit (despite being exhausted it was nice since i never do this), and made it to the internet cafe to tell my tale. now, plans include buying another copy of the illiad, pondering my plans for the rest of my time in turkey (including my long trip out east and if i can see a football match before the season ends), a taksim burger, and a long afternoon nap.
nicole came over for tea monday morning, and then i set about getting a bus (since i was too late to make the bandırma ferry/train to izmir and i still would have had to take a bus) direct to selçuk in the most inconvenient fashion, namely going all the way out to the otogar (bus station), buying a ticket, coming back, resting, going back for my night bus. but i saved a night's hotel and all would have been good if i hadn't left the illiad on the bus (and achilles was just about to join the fight!).
i got off the bus with my backpack and started walking straight to ephesus (about 2 km). so, okay wow. i know, im not a classicist, yes, i prefer armenian and even old anatolian sites, but ephesus was great. there are lots and lots of standing structures, statues, reliefs, etc. the church of St. Mary, where the council of ephesus was held is there. and i absolutely loved the greek theater that seats about 25,000. a really, really enjoyable site, classicist or not, archaeologist or not.
what made this part of the trip really cool were all the things around ephesus and selçuk (the modern town where i stayed). the temple of artemis (one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world), although left with only a column standing, is still very green and foundations remain. the ephesus museum houses a lot of great stuff, including a famous statue of priapus, the phallic god of fertility (it was also fun to see the 60 year old americans making jokes about it) as well as a giant statue of artemis from the nearby temple. but the Christian sites were a real gem, because i wasn't expecting them. namely, the basilica of St. John, built by the emperor justinian where St. John the gospel writer is supposed to be buried. the ruins of the basilica are pretty impressive. finally, after a stay in a very friendly pension where i ate dinner there and chatted with some of the other guests, on wednesday morning i went to the house of St. Mary, where the mother of Jesus is said to have lived out her days. a very legitimate pilgrimage site visited by each of the last three popes, there was a mass going on as i slipped into the house, lit a candle outside, drank from the sacred well, and tied some string to the wall to make a wish. after making it back down the hill, i moved on.
after my bus ride from selçuk to izmir and izmir to bergama (ancient pergamon) i set up shop in another great pension, a converted ottoman house, called odyssey (i had just come from homeros). i was the only person there most of the day, except for a frenchman convinced of the worthlessness of formal education whom i talked with in the evening. the real draw was the books. i wish i had some to trade. in addition to the great selection of greek tragedy and travel books, there was even a copy of susan sontag's on photography. way cool.
anyhow, i trekked up the hill to visit the acropolis that afternoon. while not as extensive or extant as at ephesus, the setting way up the hill made the acropolis of pergamon incredible. additionally, the red poppies and the grass with the wind just made it a wonderful experience. and finally, pergammon's library (very little left standing) is said to have rivaled the famous library of alexandria (ah, if only...) and in fact the town's name is related to the latin word for parchment, which was invented there.
on thursday, i went to the red basilica, a huge structure singled out by St. John in Revelations. it was formerly a temple to egyptian gods and goddesses before being converted into a church. then, i went to the ascplepeion, the medical center. notable things include the snakes carved into a column, other medical imagery and temples to medical gods, and the healing fountain. the ascplepeion's most famous resident is the ancient galen the physician.
phew, no rest for the weary. by noon i was on my way to çannakale, the main city on the south dardanelles, and the jumping off point for both troy and gallipoli. i decided to make the anzac day dawn ceremony, so i bought a blanket, ferried over to ecebat, took a shared taxi to kabatepe, and laid my blanket out on a picnic table at the campgrounds before watching a gorgeous sunset. i was up by 3:30 and at anzac cove by the 4:30 dawn service friday.
so, anzac day. april 25 (1915) is the day the allied (mainly australian and new zealand) forces landed on the gallipoli peninsula. as you may know, gallipoli was a disaster for the allies, and helped pave the way for atatürk's unrivaled command of turkey. for some reason (supposedly a unifying event in the histories of the young, newly independent countries of australia and new zealand), aussies and whatever you call people from new zealand flock here every year. the place was packed! the new zealand foreign minister was there, the australian cultural minister too. its like a really big deal. it was a very nice service that allowed me to reflect on 'the follies of war' as my guidebook puts it. after the dawn service, i hiked up the hill to conk bayır, the famous hill that atatürk held. it was a fairly intense hike, but the views and my love of following the cult of atatürk made it worth it. after hiking all the way back to kabatepe (i put in at least 8 miles on friday) i got back to çannakale and took a bus to troy.
ah, troy. a great story, a very confusing archaeological site (at least 9 levels corresponding to different times and settlements, overlapping and built over everywhere), and very few actual exciting ruins. compared to ephesus or pergamon, the ruins at troy are a letdown. mostly just walls and foundations. with that said, the boards and organization of the site did a pretty good j0b entertaining me. that, and the giant trojan horse replica. plus, as it was a nice windy day, i couldn't help but think 'these were the winds that screwed odysseus over.' after almost completing the illiad, it was a great site to be at, even if there wasn't a whole lot going on.
and that concludes my classics/aegean trip. i got stuck in çannakale for awhile, took a night bus back to istanbul, managed to miss my stop in istanbul, wandered around the asian side for a bit (despite being exhausted it was nice since i never do this), and made it to the internet cafe to tell my tale. now, plans include buying another copy of the illiad, pondering my plans for the rest of my time in turkey (including my long trip out east and if i can see a football match before the season ends), a taksim burger, and a long afternoon nap.
Friday, April 18, 2008
poem/couple things in istanbul
here's the poem i wrote on the way back from kayseri:
barbed-wire barricaded churches
broken, crumbling walls
winds whispering through forgotten hills
roads un-traveled, fields un-tilled-
in many ways the trip is about loss:
confronting it, facing it, staring it down
and refusing to forget.
loss, made tangible
provides the impetus for memory.
only a place, a building, or a mountain
we bring the meaning to it,
and loss, bare, ravaging against us
shades and colors lines sketched by history and other tales.
villages where there were Armenians
vacated patriarchates
grand cathedrals growing grass,
the painted saints their only worshipers.
basically didactic bookended by a bit of imagery, but it gets at my thoughts after going to çomaklı.
and, here for your pleasure is the 'what i'm up to in istanbul' in order to make the next post much shorter:
the museum i went to after the last post was the museum of turkish and islamic arts. lots and lots of carpets, with a smattering of tiles and other interesting things. in addition to the usual anatolian rugs/carpets, they also had a collection from persia (iran) and the caucuses, although im pretty sure things from karabagh (which they mentioned on a display panel) were labeled as azerbaijan. oh well, what can you say.
that was wednesday, and that night, i went to see a relatively famous turkish/folk/gypsy artist whose name i am blanking on. i went with nicolai and some of his friends, including mustafa, whom i had met before. we were a pretty eclectic group (three french, one italian, one american, one turk, one german-born turk) and we really enjoyed the music (which sounded a lot like richard hagopian's band, for those that are familiar). we ended up going to a couple bars after, and i'll leave it at 'we had a great time' and the fact that there is nothing to note from thursday and let you make you're own inferences.
today (friday) i went to the istanbul archeology museum. wow. i think i took over 100 pictures. extensive, three buildings, some incredibly exciting things. im not usually one to really get excited about classical era things, but man, some of the sarcophagi and statues of gods were really incredible. maybe its because i've started reading the illiad in order to prep my trip to troy. i spent about 3 hours there, and really just breezed by the last collections on byzantium. really, really, cool.
plans for the weekend: nicole and i are headed to 360, a very chic restaurant/bar that comes highly recommended from the 'istanbul encounter' guide (its one of the top 10 things to do in istanbul apparently), with some night-life after, and the new bob dylan movie as part if the istanbul film festival on sunday.
okay, home with me- nicolai showed me a park near our apartment, and i swear im going running today.
barbed-wire barricaded churches
broken, crumbling walls
winds whispering through forgotten hills
roads un-traveled, fields un-tilled-
in many ways the trip is about loss:
confronting it, facing it, staring it down
and refusing to forget.
loss, made tangible
provides the impetus for memory.
only a place, a building, or a mountain
we bring the meaning to it,
and loss, bare, ravaging against us
shades and colors lines sketched by history and other tales.
villages where there were Armenians
vacated patriarchates
grand cathedrals growing grass,
the painted saints their only worshipers.
basically didactic bookended by a bit of imagery, but it gets at my thoughts after going to çomaklı.
and, here for your pleasure is the 'what i'm up to in istanbul' in order to make the next post much shorter:
the museum i went to after the last post was the museum of turkish and islamic arts. lots and lots of carpets, with a smattering of tiles and other interesting things. in addition to the usual anatolian rugs/carpets, they also had a collection from persia (iran) and the caucuses, although im pretty sure things from karabagh (which they mentioned on a display panel) were labeled as azerbaijan. oh well, what can you say.
that was wednesday, and that night, i went to see a relatively famous turkish/folk/gypsy artist whose name i am blanking on. i went with nicolai and some of his friends, including mustafa, whom i had met before. we were a pretty eclectic group (three french, one italian, one american, one turk, one german-born turk) and we really enjoyed the music (which sounded a lot like richard hagopian's band, for those that are familiar). we ended up going to a couple bars after, and i'll leave it at 'we had a great time' and the fact that there is nothing to note from thursday and let you make you're own inferences.
today (friday) i went to the istanbul archeology museum. wow. i think i took over 100 pictures. extensive, three buildings, some incredibly exciting things. im not usually one to really get excited about classical era things, but man, some of the sarcophagi and statues of gods were really incredible. maybe its because i've started reading the illiad in order to prep my trip to troy. i spent about 3 hours there, and really just breezed by the last collections on byzantium. really, really, cool.
plans for the weekend: nicole and i are headed to 360, a very chic restaurant/bar that comes highly recommended from the 'istanbul encounter' guide (its one of the top 10 things to do in istanbul apparently), with some night-life after, and the new bob dylan movie as part if the istanbul film festival on sunday.
okay, home with me- nicolai showed me a park near our apartment, and i swear im going running today.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
göreme=amazing, kayseri=suck, and a (scooter) stroll down (collective) memory lane
first, the usual 'what i did in istanbul before i left on a trip:' saturday i relaxed; sunday i failed to find the church i wanted to go to, and ended up walking around the bosphorus around bebek (not a bad morning); monday i went to the rüstem paşa camii (mosque), which is freaking amazing- its small by comparison, but covered covered covered in those beautiful blue iznik tiles; tuesday i had a great day with nicole that included seeing 'the darjeeling limited' as part of the istanbul film festival, a bazaar on the asian side of istanbul, and nargile (hookah) with some of her exchange friends. finished off the night watching round 2 of the fenerbaçe-chelsea match (chelsea won 2-0) with nicolai.
next, let's get it out of the way: i hate kayseri. not one good thing happened to me there, and i officially hope that kayserispor looses the rest of their games, i'll be rooting for galatsaray from here on out. i got into kayseri late (not kayseri's fault, but still), the caretaker of the armenian church didn't let me in (okay, i didn't speak armenian to him, but still), and on the return end i paid way too much for taxi's to the bus station, either had a terrible miscommunication or was intentionally screwed over in my attempt to get a bus to go to sivas (i ended up just going back to istanbul and postponing that part of my trip), and had a really awkward encounter with the guy at the hotel that i stayed in for 5 hours (he wouldn't leave the room and kept shaking my hand and saying 'good morning'). so, screw kayseri, i'm never going back there.
on to the incredible part of my trip: göreme, one of the main jumping off points to explore cappadocia. the landscape here is utterly amazing- these odd rock formations resembling mushrooms, chimneys, etc. i stayed at the traveller's cave inn in a cave room! waaaay cool! while the town itself is geared toward tourists, its not really annoying. the people are incredibly friendly, and since most people there are touristy-tourists (like the italians that couldn't figure out teşekküler and kept saying gratsi, gratsi!) i got some compliments on my turkish (its really not that good, but i am pretty good at ordering food), and generally enjoyed myself.
my first full day i went to the göreme open air museum, which is essentially a monastic complex cut into the rocks and 'fairy chimneys' as they are called. st. basil, an early church father important to the armenian church is actually from kayseri and spent most of his days at this rock-monastery. i visited 'st. basil's chapel' there among other churches with incredible amazing frescoes in some of them. utterly beautiful, and very exciting to contemplate the history of early Christianity.
in the afternoon, i geared up for the next day by renting a scooter. soooo much fun! i had an incredible time driving around cappadocia, finding some very cool rock formations, riding around off the main road a little, visiting a little church tucked back off the main road- i was the only one there, and generally enjoying the freedom of the road and feeling very pleased with myself. something completely new, and boy was it fun!
that evening, as i was trying to read (unsuccessfully, really) i took a picture for a couple australian girls, and they invited me to play cards. danielle and michelle and i ended up going out to dinner, hanging out a little the next day, and are now facebook friends- i'm looking forward to hanging out with them in istanbul and possibly around ephesus when i go. this is what makes the hostel experience fun- meeting good people. that, and its plain nice to have some company every now and then, as much as i enjoy my solitude.
so, saturday. in many ways, it was the point of the whole turkey trip. i went back to 'silk road' and got outfitted with a little bit bigger of a scooter, and hit the road for a much longer trip. after a couple hours of riding, some wonderful views, often the only thing on the road for miles (kilometers?), and lunch in develi with some people that were pretty excited for a tourist, a wrong turn and a ride up the mountain for a ways, i ended up on the other side ericyes dağı from kayseri, in the village where my family is from çomaklı (chomaklou). i have a poem i wrote on the ride back to istanbul that sums up my thoughts a little better that i'll post later. basically, its a village in the truest sense of the term- very little around it. many of the houses and walls are in disrepair. i didn't get to see the etchings of the church (but saw the building) because the owner of the property told me 'the janderma (military police) will come take us away'- i guess i did say i was armenian and that my family was from çomaklı 90 years ago. as i've mentioned before when i first saw pictures, i can see why the chomakloutsis chose yettem. the landscape is very similar, although the proximity of ericyces mountain makes for a much more striking backdrop. i took a little side trip to tomarza, another, slightly larger town that many california-armenians are from, before heading back to göreme (via ürgüp to get some cappadocian wine). so, as i express better in the poem, really, much of the trip is about loss, facing it, and choosing remembrance against forgetting.
saturday night, michelle, danielle, and i joined two israelis (they were headed back to the army, they both shaved their heads in prep, one of the guys had dreadlocks and made my cutting my hair feel like nothing), and a german to 'the flinestone's cave bar' for a beer. again, very fun meeting people in the hostel setting.
on sunday, i took public transit to a massive underground city at kaymaklı (one of a couple dozen in the area). it was pretty cool to imagine a whole community living underground, with living spaces, churches, and all. i made it back to kayseri with the intention of going to sivas, and, because kayseri sucks, i ended back in istanbul monday night where i've been reading and relaxing and hanging out with nicolai and nicole a little. very glad to have a room and a set place in istanbul to come back to- its a big relief and it feels good to not have to stare at a map just to wander out and a get a bite to eat!
next trip next week to the aegean and classical sites like ephesus and troy, i'm off to buy a copy of the illiad and go visit an istanbul museum or two!
next, let's get it out of the way: i hate kayseri. not one good thing happened to me there, and i officially hope that kayserispor looses the rest of their games, i'll be rooting for galatsaray from here on out. i got into kayseri late (not kayseri's fault, but still), the caretaker of the armenian church didn't let me in (okay, i didn't speak armenian to him, but still), and on the return end i paid way too much for taxi's to the bus station, either had a terrible miscommunication or was intentionally screwed over in my attempt to get a bus to go to sivas (i ended up just going back to istanbul and postponing that part of my trip), and had a really awkward encounter with the guy at the hotel that i stayed in for 5 hours (he wouldn't leave the room and kept shaking my hand and saying 'good morning'). so, screw kayseri, i'm never going back there.
on to the incredible part of my trip: göreme, one of the main jumping off points to explore cappadocia. the landscape here is utterly amazing- these odd rock formations resembling mushrooms, chimneys, etc. i stayed at the traveller's cave inn in a cave room! waaaay cool! while the town itself is geared toward tourists, its not really annoying. the people are incredibly friendly, and since most people there are touristy-tourists (like the italians that couldn't figure out teşekküler and kept saying gratsi, gratsi!) i got some compliments on my turkish (its really not that good, but i am pretty good at ordering food), and generally enjoyed myself.
my first full day i went to the göreme open air museum, which is essentially a monastic complex cut into the rocks and 'fairy chimneys' as they are called. st. basil, an early church father important to the armenian church is actually from kayseri and spent most of his days at this rock-monastery. i visited 'st. basil's chapel' there among other churches with incredible amazing frescoes in some of them. utterly beautiful, and very exciting to contemplate the history of early Christianity.
in the afternoon, i geared up for the next day by renting a scooter. soooo much fun! i had an incredible time driving around cappadocia, finding some very cool rock formations, riding around off the main road a little, visiting a little church tucked back off the main road- i was the only one there, and generally enjoying the freedom of the road and feeling very pleased with myself. something completely new, and boy was it fun!
that evening, as i was trying to read (unsuccessfully, really) i took a picture for a couple australian girls, and they invited me to play cards. danielle and michelle and i ended up going out to dinner, hanging out a little the next day, and are now facebook friends- i'm looking forward to hanging out with them in istanbul and possibly around ephesus when i go. this is what makes the hostel experience fun- meeting good people. that, and its plain nice to have some company every now and then, as much as i enjoy my solitude.
so, saturday. in many ways, it was the point of the whole turkey trip. i went back to 'silk road' and got outfitted with a little bit bigger of a scooter, and hit the road for a much longer trip. after a couple hours of riding, some wonderful views, often the only thing on the road for miles (kilometers?), and lunch in develi with some people that were pretty excited for a tourist, a wrong turn and a ride up the mountain for a ways, i ended up on the other side ericyes dağı from kayseri, in the village where my family is from çomaklı (chomaklou). i have a poem i wrote on the ride back to istanbul that sums up my thoughts a little better that i'll post later. basically, its a village in the truest sense of the term- very little around it. many of the houses and walls are in disrepair. i didn't get to see the etchings of the church (but saw the building) because the owner of the property told me 'the janderma (military police) will come take us away'- i guess i did say i was armenian and that my family was from çomaklı 90 years ago. as i've mentioned before when i first saw pictures, i can see why the chomakloutsis chose yettem. the landscape is very similar, although the proximity of ericyces mountain makes for a much more striking backdrop. i took a little side trip to tomarza, another, slightly larger town that many california-armenians are from, before heading back to göreme (via ürgüp to get some cappadocian wine). so, as i express better in the poem, really, much of the trip is about loss, facing it, and choosing remembrance against forgetting.
saturday night, michelle, danielle, and i joined two israelis (they were headed back to the army, they both shaved their heads in prep, one of the guys had dreadlocks and made my cutting my hair feel like nothing), and a german to 'the flinestone's cave bar' for a beer. again, very fun meeting people in the hostel setting.
on sunday, i took public transit to a massive underground city at kaymaklı (one of a couple dozen in the area). it was pretty cool to imagine a whole community living underground, with living spaces, churches, and all. i made it back to kayseri with the intention of going to sivas, and, because kayseri sucks, i ended back in istanbul monday night where i've been reading and relaxing and hanging out with nicolai and nicole a little. very glad to have a room and a set place in istanbul to come back to- its a big relief and it feels good to not have to stare at a map just to wander out and a get a bite to eat!
next trip next week to the aegean and classical sites like ephesus and troy, i'm off to buy a copy of the illiad and go visit an istanbul museum or two!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
ankara, konya, çatalhöyük
after completing 9/10 'things not to miss in istanbul' in the lonely planet istanbul guide my mother got me, i decided it was time to take my first trip away from what might just be my favorite city in the world (not that i've been to many of the western european great cities...).
first, a quick mention of things i did in istanbul before i left. saturday, nicole and i went to a show at a club called 'ghetto' and saw 'el plumo band.' it was latin-cubano-jazz and it was awesome. the singer/percussionist had an incredible stage presence. yet another fun activity with nicole.
i also went to the süleymaniye camii (mosque), considered by some to be the finest mosque. commissioned by sultan süleyman the magnificent, it was built by his architect mimar sinan, famous in his own right. the interior was cut off due to renovations, but the outside is magnificent. finally, the other renter showed up monday night before i left- a frenchman nicoloai (i can't spell french crap) who is working a phd in history and studies the turbulent '70s and '80s in turkish history. cool guy, looking forward to getting to know him better.
okay. phew. i ran from the kadıköy ferry stop to the haydarpasha train station on the asian side of istanbul, stubbed my toe, and sat down 2 minutes before the train started moving. typical chris start to my first time leaving istanbul. turkish trains=nice. seats are more comfy than amtrak, and the meals in the kitchen car are not only good, they're reasonable priced. thumbs up to tcdd.
i decided to head to ankara, the capitol. first, i figured i would find more english speakers here than in other random parts of the country i will visit later. as my turkish is progressing very very slowly, i thought this made sense. secondly, i was just about done (finished now!) with the biography of atatürk, founder of the republic who moved the capitol to ankara and whose massive mausoleum is there. so, ankara.
honestly, while i had a great time here, i found ankara to be mostly just an equally fast-paced istanbul with a fraction of the character. that being said, the four museum visits in two days were great: the museum of anatolian civilizations, housing plenty of urartian artifacts (urartu being an empire centered on lake van occupying much of what becomes 'armenia' and therefore very important in armenian history), as well as artifacts from çatalhöyük (more on this site later); a small art museum which i enjoyed very much (call me orientalist, but i love paintings of village life with people in 'traditional' dress); the ankara ethnography museum (lots of cool reconstructions of mostly late ottoman life, and a decent sampling of those beautiful isnik tiles); and atatürk's mausoleum with accompanying museum. of these, i'll comment more only on the mausoleum and museum.
first, the complex is huge. a long, long walkway with lion statues, buildings around a courtyard with a huge turkish flag, and the imposing mausoleum/tomb area itself (done is a semi-classical-ish style with lots of columns). ismet inönü, atatürk's supporter, prime minister, and the republic's second president is also buried there. the tomb area was rather bland inside (its not like lenin's or mao's where you can see them perfectly preserved), but the museum deserves mention. we're talking full-size reconstructions of the three famous battles from the end of the war to the defeat of the greek's and the security of the republic including whisting shell and machine gun noises. all the captions are blatantly nationalist- as someone who spends his time thinking about this topic i was struck by how well the turks inculcate visitors into the collective of the nation. maybe its been awhile since i've been to, say, the jefferson monument, but i don't remember it quite like that.
additional cool things about ankara: staying with burcu's mom (burcu being the turkish woman i made my film with, remember?)! how fun! she made me feel so welcome, i had pide (turkish pizza, like lamajoun) and a homecooked meal of meatball soup (köfte sulu, meatballs with water). yum! also, her... partner? and his bridge partner came over and we watched the big fenerbaçe-chelsea football match. as promised, i've been getting into turkish (and thus in general) football (soccer, for us americans)- and this was a huge game. fenerbaçe is currently the first-placed team in the turkish 'super league' and if they hold the british club chelsea to at a least a tie in the UK they will have gone further than any turkish team in the 'european cup.' good stuff, although i'm rooting against them tonight when they play kayserispor, the team from kayseri (near chomaklou) that i've decided to support.
phew, this is long. too many details, perhaps? oh well, that's what line breaks are for, come back to it if you're bored or tired.
so i decided i had seen most of the things i wanted to see in ankara, and that instead of going to see smaller museums, my interest in çatalhöyük was enough to warrant a trip. to get there, i had to take a bus to konya, an interesting place in its own right for the mevlana museum. i spent thursday night in konya after a meal of their signature dish fırın kebap (basically greasy mutton on pida bread-mmmmm it was good), woke up, and made my way to çatalhöyük.
çatalhöyük is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, and is considered to be one of the oldest village settlements. there was no sign of governmental structure, just perhaps as many as 8000 people crammed in close-knit houses (no governmental structure, really? an anarchist's dream...). i first encountered çatalhöyük when i drew a picture of the village on a crumpled-up paper bag in mrs. carless's 6th grade class, so going there was pretty exciting. the museum at the site is pretty basic, with many more artifacts at the museum of anatolian civilizations in ankara and the archeology museum in konya (which i went to later). the highlights were instead the 'experimental house,' a reconstructed mud-brick house used to do experiments to shed light on how people at çatalhöyük lived. also, one part of the extensive excavations were visible. waaaay cool for me.
after taking the taxi back to the çumra and the bus back from çumra to konya, i set about konya. first, the mevlana museum. the mevlana is first a person (namely rumi, mevlana means 'our guide')- a sufi muslim mystic of the 13th century and then a mystic order- the mevlevi. these are the famous whirling dervishes. i would have liked to have seen a ceremony, but it would have meant not getting back to istanbul until this time monday, and i just don't think i could have entertained myself in konya that long without buying a rug (which i almost did anyways- but big purchases need to come at the END of the trip). the museum is housed in a very iconic building is istanbul with a turquoise-blue dome (again with the whole, 'i'll post pictures soon...'). also in konya, i went to the allaadın mosque from the 13th century and the konya archeology museum, which once i found, was great. in addition to artifacts from çatalhöyük, there was a great number of classical artifacts (konya is the iconium of the Bible visited by paul and barnabas) including really cool roman sarcophagus(es, aii whaaatever).
after that, i walked to the train station where i was lucky to have one ticket left on the train to istanbul. although it was a sleeper seat, which turned out to be pretty cool- another new experience.
so, now i'm back in istanbul, happy to have a home base at which to rest for a few days before i head out again. go kayserispor!
i'll end this long post from rumi mevlana's most famous quote:
come, whoever you may be,
even if you may be
an infidel, a pagan, or a fire-worshipper, come.
ours is not a brotherhood of despair.
even if you have broken
your vows of repentance a hundred times,
come.
first, a quick mention of things i did in istanbul before i left. saturday, nicole and i went to a show at a club called 'ghetto' and saw 'el plumo band.' it was latin-cubano-jazz and it was awesome. the singer/percussionist had an incredible stage presence. yet another fun activity with nicole.
i also went to the süleymaniye camii (mosque), considered by some to be the finest mosque. commissioned by sultan süleyman the magnificent, it was built by his architect mimar sinan, famous in his own right. the interior was cut off due to renovations, but the outside is magnificent. finally, the other renter showed up monday night before i left- a frenchman nicoloai (i can't spell french crap) who is working a phd in history and studies the turbulent '70s and '80s in turkish history. cool guy, looking forward to getting to know him better.
okay. phew. i ran from the kadıköy ferry stop to the haydarpasha train station on the asian side of istanbul, stubbed my toe, and sat down 2 minutes before the train started moving. typical chris start to my first time leaving istanbul. turkish trains=nice. seats are more comfy than amtrak, and the meals in the kitchen car are not only good, they're reasonable priced. thumbs up to tcdd.
i decided to head to ankara, the capitol. first, i figured i would find more english speakers here than in other random parts of the country i will visit later. as my turkish is progressing very very slowly, i thought this made sense. secondly, i was just about done (finished now!) with the biography of atatürk, founder of the republic who moved the capitol to ankara and whose massive mausoleum is there. so, ankara.
honestly, while i had a great time here, i found ankara to be mostly just an equally fast-paced istanbul with a fraction of the character. that being said, the four museum visits in two days were great: the museum of anatolian civilizations, housing plenty of urartian artifacts (urartu being an empire centered on lake van occupying much of what becomes 'armenia' and therefore very important in armenian history), as well as artifacts from çatalhöyük (more on this site later); a small art museum which i enjoyed very much (call me orientalist, but i love paintings of village life with people in 'traditional' dress); the ankara ethnography museum (lots of cool reconstructions of mostly late ottoman life, and a decent sampling of those beautiful isnik tiles); and atatürk's mausoleum with accompanying museum. of these, i'll comment more only on the mausoleum and museum.
first, the complex is huge. a long, long walkway with lion statues, buildings around a courtyard with a huge turkish flag, and the imposing mausoleum/tomb area itself (done is a semi-classical-ish style with lots of columns). ismet inönü, atatürk's supporter, prime minister, and the republic's second president is also buried there. the tomb area was rather bland inside (its not like lenin's or mao's where you can see them perfectly preserved), but the museum deserves mention. we're talking full-size reconstructions of the three famous battles from the end of the war to the defeat of the greek's and the security of the republic including whisting shell and machine gun noises. all the captions are blatantly nationalist- as someone who spends his time thinking about this topic i was struck by how well the turks inculcate visitors into the collective of the nation. maybe its been awhile since i've been to, say, the jefferson monument, but i don't remember it quite like that.
additional cool things about ankara: staying with burcu's mom (burcu being the turkish woman i made my film with, remember?)! how fun! she made me feel so welcome, i had pide (turkish pizza, like lamajoun) and a homecooked meal of meatball soup (köfte sulu, meatballs with water). yum! also, her... partner? and his bridge partner came over and we watched the big fenerbaçe-chelsea football match. as promised, i've been getting into turkish (and thus in general) football (soccer, for us americans)- and this was a huge game. fenerbaçe is currently the first-placed team in the turkish 'super league' and if they hold the british club chelsea to at a least a tie in the UK they will have gone further than any turkish team in the 'european cup.' good stuff, although i'm rooting against them tonight when they play kayserispor, the team from kayseri (near chomaklou) that i've decided to support.
phew, this is long. too many details, perhaps? oh well, that's what line breaks are for, come back to it if you're bored or tired.
so i decided i had seen most of the things i wanted to see in ankara, and that instead of going to see smaller museums, my interest in çatalhöyük was enough to warrant a trip. to get there, i had to take a bus to konya, an interesting place in its own right for the mevlana museum. i spent thursday night in konya after a meal of their signature dish fırın kebap (basically greasy mutton on pida bread-mmmmm it was good), woke up, and made my way to çatalhöyük.
çatalhöyük is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, and is considered to be one of the oldest village settlements. there was no sign of governmental structure, just perhaps as many as 8000 people crammed in close-knit houses (no governmental structure, really? an anarchist's dream...). i first encountered çatalhöyük when i drew a picture of the village on a crumpled-up paper bag in mrs. carless's 6th grade class, so going there was pretty exciting. the museum at the site is pretty basic, with many more artifacts at the museum of anatolian civilizations in ankara and the archeology museum in konya (which i went to later). the highlights were instead the 'experimental house,' a reconstructed mud-brick house used to do experiments to shed light on how people at çatalhöyük lived. also, one part of the extensive excavations were visible. waaaay cool for me.
after taking the taxi back to the çumra and the bus back from çumra to konya, i set about konya. first, the mevlana museum. the mevlana is first a person (namely rumi, mevlana means 'our guide')- a sufi muslim mystic of the 13th century and then a mystic order- the mevlevi. these are the famous whirling dervishes. i would have liked to have seen a ceremony, but it would have meant not getting back to istanbul until this time monday, and i just don't think i could have entertained myself in konya that long without buying a rug (which i almost did anyways- but big purchases need to come at the END of the trip). the museum is housed in a very iconic building is istanbul with a turquoise-blue dome (again with the whole, 'i'll post pictures soon...'). also in konya, i went to the allaadın mosque from the 13th century and the konya archeology museum, which once i found, was great. in addition to artifacts from çatalhöyük, there was a great number of classical artifacts (konya is the iconium of the Bible visited by paul and barnabas) including really cool roman sarcophagus(es, aii whaaatever).
after that, i walked to the train station where i was lucky to have one ticket left on the train to istanbul. although it was a sleeper seat, which turned out to be pretty cool- another new experience.
so, now i'm back in istanbul, happy to have a home base at which to rest for a few days before i head out again. go kayserispor!
i'll end this long post from rumi mevlana's most famous quote:
come, whoever you may be,
even if you may be
an infidel, a pagan, or a fire-worshipper, come.
ours is not a brotherhood of despair.
even if you have broken
your vows of repentance a hundred times,
come.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
settled and comfortable
so being in an apartment is a thousand times better than being in a hostel. sure, there aren't any argentinians obsessed with walt whitman running around, but i have my own space with my books organized on the low table at the foot of my bed, a sitting room- aaaaah.
additionally, uğur is currently in germany, so i actually have the place all to myself. breath of fresh air.
tuesday i mostly just wandered around taksim/beyoğlu. when i say this, don't imagine my day was uneventful. as burcu told me in a facebook message: 'in fact, don't leave beyoğlu. i wish i was there right now.' its quite the place. the highlight of tuesday was the 'homer' academic english bookshop. seriously, it competes with my favorite place in berkeley, university press books. its dangerous, and i haven't been back since.
wednesday i went back to sultanhamet area and went to the hagia sofia. as the guidebooks say, don't be fooled by its drab exterior. it is one of the most incredible buildings in the world, for sure. one of the little plaques on the upper balcony area read 'this is where the empress would celebrate the mass.' one thing i've been trying to do wandering around in all these incredible places is to imagine the now-empty (or at least tourist-filled) buildings in the height of their glory. i have to say it was hard to fathom the hagia sofia full of people celebrating a Christian liturgy.
after the hagia sofia, i went to the topkapı palace, the main palace of the ottoman sultans. i'll have to go back because i skipped out on the treasury (because of long lines) and the harem (because i spent way too much on lunch at the palace cafe- note to self: do not eat in touristy areas), but the place is pretty cool. the view overlooking the rest of istanbul (the palace is on a little cape portion of the city) itself makes it worth it, but the blue isnik tiles really take the cake. when i stop being lazy i'll post pictures, but i highly recommend a wikipedia article or something on iznik tiles- sooo beautiful.
thursday, i took care of little things. electricity, a new pen, a pencil sharpener for my sacred orange pencils- it's amazing what an effect the little things have. additionally, i finally got over to asia and had yoğurt and turkish coffee (i won't debate the merits of calling it 'armenian coffee' since im in turkey) with nicole. taking a ferry across the bosphorus- starting in europe and ending in asia- is pretty freaking sweet. i read the english language newspaper, the 'turkish daily news,' on my way across and felt like one of the thousands of people that commute by ferry across the bosphorus daily.
friday was a trip to the istanbul modern art museum. it was fun, but nothing mindblowing- although the retrospective of a turkish painter, cihat burak, was highly enjoyable. i couldn't bring myself to pay the 60 lira for the book though- ebay anyone?
finally, a couple side comments. on wednesday and thursday, before uğur left, his whole family was around the apartment. i got several family style meals, and weds night we stayed up drinking rakı while they all played guitar, drums, and sang. quite the experience for only using craigslist- i feel really lucky to get a glimpse into turkish life a little. glad i chose to rent a room and not an apartment (so is my pocketbook).
also, i have found my little cafe. many know i love being a 'regular,' and there is this cute little cafe right around the corner from my apartment. the first day i had tea and soup, the next day there was tea on my table and he was telling me what today's soup was. they are really friendly, and it makes my day start really well when i wave and shout 'günyadın!' (good morning!) when i leave the apartment in the morning.
in other words, im finding a niche in my little area, getting a better feel for public transit, and if i could just figure out if there is a drying function on the washer...
pictures soon, honestly! iyi günler! (good day!)
additionally, uğur is currently in germany, so i actually have the place all to myself. breath of fresh air.
tuesday i mostly just wandered around taksim/beyoğlu. when i say this, don't imagine my day was uneventful. as burcu told me in a facebook message: 'in fact, don't leave beyoğlu. i wish i was there right now.' its quite the place. the highlight of tuesday was the 'homer' academic english bookshop. seriously, it competes with my favorite place in berkeley, university press books. its dangerous, and i haven't been back since.
wednesday i went back to sultanhamet area and went to the hagia sofia. as the guidebooks say, don't be fooled by its drab exterior. it is one of the most incredible buildings in the world, for sure. one of the little plaques on the upper balcony area read 'this is where the empress would celebrate the mass.' one thing i've been trying to do wandering around in all these incredible places is to imagine the now-empty (or at least tourist-filled) buildings in the height of their glory. i have to say it was hard to fathom the hagia sofia full of people celebrating a Christian liturgy.
after the hagia sofia, i went to the topkapı palace, the main palace of the ottoman sultans. i'll have to go back because i skipped out on the treasury (because of long lines) and the harem (because i spent way too much on lunch at the palace cafe- note to self: do not eat in touristy areas), but the place is pretty cool. the view overlooking the rest of istanbul (the palace is on a little cape portion of the city) itself makes it worth it, but the blue isnik tiles really take the cake. when i stop being lazy i'll post pictures, but i highly recommend a wikipedia article or something on iznik tiles- sooo beautiful.
thursday, i took care of little things. electricity, a new pen, a pencil sharpener for my sacred orange pencils- it's amazing what an effect the little things have. additionally, i finally got over to asia and had yoğurt and turkish coffee (i won't debate the merits of calling it 'armenian coffee' since im in turkey) with nicole. taking a ferry across the bosphorus- starting in europe and ending in asia- is pretty freaking sweet. i read the english language newspaper, the 'turkish daily news,' on my way across and felt like one of the thousands of people that commute by ferry across the bosphorus daily.
friday was a trip to the istanbul modern art museum. it was fun, but nothing mindblowing- although the retrospective of a turkish painter, cihat burak, was highly enjoyable. i couldn't bring myself to pay the 60 lira for the book though- ebay anyone?
finally, a couple side comments. on wednesday and thursday, before uğur left, his whole family was around the apartment. i got several family style meals, and weds night we stayed up drinking rakı while they all played guitar, drums, and sang. quite the experience for only using craigslist- i feel really lucky to get a glimpse into turkish life a little. glad i chose to rent a room and not an apartment (so is my pocketbook).
also, i have found my little cafe. many know i love being a 'regular,' and there is this cute little cafe right around the corner from my apartment. the first day i had tea and soup, the next day there was tea on my table and he was telling me what today's soup was. they are really friendly, and it makes my day start really well when i wave and shout 'günyadın!' (good morning!) when i leave the apartment in the morning.
in other words, im finding a niche in my little area, getting a better feel for public transit, and if i could just figure out if there is a drying function on the washer...
pictures soon, honestly! iyi günler! (good day!)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
hoş geldiniz
after finding the armenian patriarchate in the southern part of the bazaar district, i wandered in to the church (St. Mary). as i was saying the 'Hayr mer' ('our Father') and lighting a candle, the muslim call to prayer began.
yesterday, i read stories from salman rushdie's 'east, west' while sitting in the park between the hagia sofia (aya sofya) and the blue mosque (sultanhamet cami).
yes- hoş geldiniz (welcome) to istanbul!
since its been almost a week, i wont plod through details, but a few highlights are worth mentioning:
day 1 (weds): after deciding to take public transit to get to the hostel (in the rain), a young couple helped me get to taksim square. they rode with me on a dolmuş (shared taxi) and paid my way. what a welcome! right after, another man helped me find the hostel. after, we went for drinks, and, at the end of the night i was brought a bill for 2300 lira (ca. 1800 dollars). i got out of most of it, thankfully because 4-5 beers didn't turn me into an idiot. what a welcome!
day 2 (thurs): mostly i wandered around taksim area in a semi-hungover-very-ticked-off-about-the-attempt-to-be-screwed-over state. taksim has great shopping, and all the best night life. its also incredibly crowded. to imagine istikal street on friday night, berkeley people could imagine telegraph ave packed to the brim on game day, except the street is full of people too.
day 3 (fri): left taksim and bought my akbil, the little device used for transportation- very cool. san francisco doesn't even have fully integrated transport like this. the cityscape is utterly incredible. i'll get pictures up soon, but they won't do it justice. this is the day i found the patriarchate after lots and lots and lots of wandering around the bazaar district. i ate at a nice seafood restaurant and wandered back through the grand bazaar. the walk back over galata bridge is also incredible. that night, i went out with a couple people from the hostel, including one of my roomates who studies political science at the university of london.
a few words about the hostel: chillout was, well, an experience. the staff was full of characters, often there was no toilet paper or power in the middle of the night, but for 35 bucks for 4 nights, im allright with it. the people that i met were amazing. in addition to my roommate, noteables include the young man who was a university of chicago undergrad now doing his phd at oxford and the argentinian who quoted walt whitman.
day 4 (sat): went out with nicole pay, a girl i met last summer in hopes of convincing her to go to berkeley instead of some other crappy bay area school (i told her brown was okay). she is studying in istanbul, and has been for this academic year. it was nice to see a (even if only somewhat) familiar face. she took me to bekek and beşitas areas north of taksim to walk along the bosphorous. to stare across a strait of water not that wide and say ' im standing in europe, that's asia' is pretty freaking cool. we had dondurma (ice cream, yum!) and she took me to another small armenian church in the bebek area (Holy Cross). it was a nice, relaxing day. and, again, its nice to have someone familiarish to hang out with.
found an armenian church much closer to beyoğlu (bey-oh-loo), about five minutes from the hostel, and went there for saturday night services. it was really moving to be at badarak in turkey.
day 5 (sun): Easter! Christ is resurrected from the dead! Blessed be the resurrection of Christ! went back to church in beyoğlu, which was packed. again, i can't stress how incredible and moving it is to see a packed church with a bishop and 15 altar servers in turkey. i never cease to be amazed at the resilience of armenians.
i moved out of the hostel on sunday, and into my new room in an apartment. uğur (from whom im renting the room- its "uh-ur" or close to it) speaks almost no english, so hopefully my turkish will improve quickly. the room is small, but compared to living out of a bag for four days, its an incredible amount of space, and just as much as i could need. uğur is very nice and accommodating- he took care of dinner on sunday and cooked last night...
day 6 (mon): got moving slowly and headed out of taksim to sultanhamet, the main touristy district. museums (the hagia sofia was turned into a museum by atatürk, the founder of the modern republic) are closed on mondays, but mosques are in full operation. as i mentioned, i sat in the area between the aya sofya and the sultanhamet cami (blue mosque). inside the blue mosque is pretty much beyond words. i just sat and marveled for probably half an hour. the pictures will give you a hint, but certainly cannot do it justice.
ooooookay. sorrrry, very very long post. but now we're up to speed, and i should have internet in my apartment starting today, so it will be more convenient to post, as well as pictures. hope all is well, please leave me comments here or myspace or facebook- its much less daunting being on the other side of the world when i hear from my friends and family!
yesterday, i read stories from salman rushdie's 'east, west' while sitting in the park between the hagia sofia (aya sofya) and the blue mosque (sultanhamet cami).
yes- hoş geldiniz (welcome) to istanbul!
since its been almost a week, i wont plod through details, but a few highlights are worth mentioning:
day 1 (weds): after deciding to take public transit to get to the hostel (in the rain), a young couple helped me get to taksim square. they rode with me on a dolmuş (shared taxi) and paid my way. what a welcome! right after, another man helped me find the hostel. after, we went for drinks, and, at the end of the night i was brought a bill for 2300 lira (ca. 1800 dollars). i got out of most of it, thankfully because 4-5 beers didn't turn me into an idiot. what a welcome!
day 2 (thurs): mostly i wandered around taksim area in a semi-hungover-very-ticked-off-about-the-attempt-to-be-screwed-over state. taksim has great shopping, and all the best night life. its also incredibly crowded. to imagine istikal street on friday night, berkeley people could imagine telegraph ave packed to the brim on game day, except the street is full of people too.
day 3 (fri): left taksim and bought my akbil, the little device used for transportation- very cool. san francisco doesn't even have fully integrated transport like this. the cityscape is utterly incredible. i'll get pictures up soon, but they won't do it justice. this is the day i found the patriarchate after lots and lots and lots of wandering around the bazaar district. i ate at a nice seafood restaurant and wandered back through the grand bazaar. the walk back over galata bridge is also incredible. that night, i went out with a couple people from the hostel, including one of my roomates who studies political science at the university of london.
a few words about the hostel: chillout was, well, an experience. the staff was full of characters, often there was no toilet paper or power in the middle of the night, but for 35 bucks for 4 nights, im allright with it. the people that i met were amazing. in addition to my roommate, noteables include the young man who was a university of chicago undergrad now doing his phd at oxford and the argentinian who quoted walt whitman.
day 4 (sat): went out with nicole pay, a girl i met last summer in hopes of convincing her to go to berkeley instead of some other crappy bay area school (i told her brown was okay). she is studying in istanbul, and has been for this academic year. it was nice to see a (even if only somewhat) familiar face. she took me to bekek and beşitas areas north of taksim to walk along the bosphorous. to stare across a strait of water not that wide and say ' im standing in europe, that's asia' is pretty freaking cool. we had dondurma (ice cream, yum!) and she took me to another small armenian church in the bebek area (Holy Cross). it was a nice, relaxing day. and, again, its nice to have someone familiarish to hang out with.
found an armenian church much closer to beyoğlu (bey-oh-loo), about five minutes from the hostel, and went there for saturday night services. it was really moving to be at badarak in turkey.
day 5 (sun): Easter! Christ is resurrected from the dead! Blessed be the resurrection of Christ! went back to church in beyoğlu, which was packed. again, i can't stress how incredible and moving it is to see a packed church with a bishop and 15 altar servers in turkey. i never cease to be amazed at the resilience of armenians.
i moved out of the hostel on sunday, and into my new room in an apartment. uğur (from whom im renting the room- its "uh-ur" or close to it) speaks almost no english, so hopefully my turkish will improve quickly. the room is small, but compared to living out of a bag for four days, its an incredible amount of space, and just as much as i could need. uğur is very nice and accommodating- he took care of dinner on sunday and cooked last night...
day 6 (mon): got moving slowly and headed out of taksim to sultanhamet, the main touristy district. museums (the hagia sofia was turned into a museum by atatürk, the founder of the modern republic) are closed on mondays, but mosques are in full operation. as i mentioned, i sat in the area between the aya sofya and the sultanhamet cami (blue mosque). inside the blue mosque is pretty much beyond words. i just sat and marveled for probably half an hour. the pictures will give you a hint, but certainly cannot do it justice.
ooooookay. sorrrry, very very long post. but now we're up to speed, and i should have internet in my apartment starting today, so it will be more convenient to post, as well as pictures. hope all is well, please leave me comments here or myspace or facebook- its much less daunting being on the other side of the world when i hear from my friends and family!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
quick london trip
okay, since i havent written a thing, im going to break it up a little, especially because typing on a turkish keyboard is taking some getting used to.
ill start with a very short description of my day in london, where i managed to leave the airport and see the city for a little. i hopped on the rail/subway/whatever the heck its called in london, and made it to the british museum. as an anthropologist, i figured the one thing i wanted to see was the rosetta stone- so i did. additionally, there is an incredible collection of ancient near east reliefs, many of which i studied in my class on the art and archaeology of ancient syria. essentially, i walked around saying ´wow!´for about an hour. mostly, this story is told through pictures which i will hopefully post on facebook, and also have many to see upon my return.
thats pretty much all there was to my day in london. more on my first few days in the incredible city of instanbul soon!
ill start with a very short description of my day in london, where i managed to leave the airport and see the city for a little. i hopped on the rail/subway/whatever the heck its called in london, and made it to the british museum. as an anthropologist, i figured the one thing i wanted to see was the rosetta stone- so i did. additionally, there is an incredible collection of ancient near east reliefs, many of which i studied in my class on the art and archaeology of ancient syria. essentially, i walked around saying ´wow!´for about an hour. mostly, this story is told through pictures which i will hopefully post on facebook, and also have many to see upon my return.
thats pretty much all there was to my day in london. more on my first few days in the incredible city of instanbul soon!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
why turkey?
okay, so i'm prepping to leave for turkey. i have absolutely nothing ready, including a place to stay yet. yes, i'm a little freaked out- but mostly i'm excited.
as with armenia, i expect to blog once or twice a week, depending on where i am and how things go. sometimes, i'll probably wax theoretical about secularism or something else that interests me. mostly, i'll stick to travel highlights and a few pictures. more pictures will be posted on the almighty facebook.
so, before i go, a quick answer to the most common question: "why turkey?"
1) historic armenia: eastern turkey is western armenia. van, ani (although i most likely won't get there), cilicia, and chomaklou (the family village). my anthropology work focuses on armenian identity, and therefore i want to see as much of "armenia" as possible. the modern republic and caucausian armenian culture does not exhaust all what it means to be armenian.
2) istanbul: one of the most cosmopolitan, interesting, ancient cities in the world. orhan pamuk's my name is red sold me on the city.
3) turkish and ottoman history: fascinating in its own, see point 1. to understand all things armenian, turkish and ottoman history much be understood. i consider it impossible to fully understand the "armenian psyche" without understanding its relationship with the "turkish psyche."
4) secularism: turkey is one of the most fascinating countries in terms of one the focuses of my work, namely secularism. when atatürk founded the modern republic of turkey, he made it avowedly secular. he abolished the use of the arabic script for writing turkish and founded the republic on a very strict "separation of church and state." the recent outrage over the new law allowing headscarves to be worn in universities is just the most recent example of this legacy. as such, turkey will be highly interesting for my future research goals.
so, these are the basic answers to the "why turkey?" question, leaving out of course, the most simple: adventure.
as with armenia, i expect to blog once or twice a week, depending on where i am and how things go. sometimes, i'll probably wax theoretical about secularism or something else that interests me. mostly, i'll stick to travel highlights and a few pictures. more pictures will be posted on the almighty facebook.
so, before i go, a quick answer to the most common question: "why turkey?"
1) historic armenia: eastern turkey is western armenia. van, ani (although i most likely won't get there), cilicia, and chomaklou (the family village). my anthropology work focuses on armenian identity, and therefore i want to see as much of "armenia" as possible. the modern republic and caucausian armenian culture does not exhaust all what it means to be armenian.
2) istanbul: one of the most cosmopolitan, interesting, ancient cities in the world. orhan pamuk's my name is red sold me on the city.
3) turkish and ottoman history: fascinating in its own, see point 1. to understand all things armenian, turkish and ottoman history much be understood. i consider it impossible to fully understand the "armenian psyche" without understanding its relationship with the "turkish psyche."
4) secularism: turkey is one of the most fascinating countries in terms of one the focuses of my work, namely secularism. when atatürk founded the modern republic of turkey, he made it avowedly secular. he abolished the use of the arabic script for writing turkish and founded the republic on a very strict "separation of church and state." the recent outrage over the new law allowing headscarves to be worn in universities is just the most recent example of this legacy. as such, turkey will be highly interesting for my future research goals.
so, these are the basic answers to the "why turkey?" question, leaving out of course, the most simple: adventure.
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