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.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
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.
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