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!