Fethiye, Lake Köyceğiz, and the missing Kareta Kareta's

Another weekend trip means another long delay in posting. We left for Fethiye at around seven in the morning on Saturday and didn't make it back until after nine on Sunday night, leaving me to play catch-up with my homework and sleep for the rest of the week. The trip itself was great though so I'll start with that. We started off with about a seven hour bus ride from Izmir to Fethiye on the Mediterranean coast. This was our longest trip so far but well worth the discomfort of the bus ride. As we approached the city we were coming down from a tall mountain range and saw the city and the beaches laid out below us. The transition from the mountains to the seashore is dramatic with a noticeable change from the fir trees and rocks in the mountains to the olive trees and pebble beaches on the coast. We spent around three hours enoying the salty water and rocky mediterranean shores before piling back on the bus to head to our hotel. This hotel was not quite as nice as the last one (really an unfair standard) but still very comfortable. We checked in, had a quick dinner, and then headed back into the city center to relax for a bit. Tony and Lorena and I broke off from the group and enjoyed a few beers at one of the many patio restaurants that every city seems to have. We've been told that in Turkey if there is a choice between eating inside or in a garden-like patio atmosphere 90% of the people will choose the latter. I have to say I agree with the decision. However, as we didn't make it back to the bus until a bit after eleven it did make for a long day. Luckily, I slept pretty well and was energized for our boat trip the next day. We headed about an hour and a half to the northwest to the town of Dalyan on Lake Köyceğiz. It's a largely freshwater lake that connects to the Mediterranean via a stretch of marshlands that makes for a very interesting landscape. It's also the site of a turtle sanctuary that is very popular around breeding times when the beaches are full of newly hatched baby turtles (Kareta Kareta's in Turkish). Unfortunately, we missed the hatching season and I didn't see any turtles during the tour. But we did enjoy another all-day boat trip with a quick thermal mud bath, swimming in the lake, another delicious fish lunch, and another trip out to the Mediterranean coast for an afternoon swim in the sea. The beach was much sandier this time and shallow enough that I was able to swim out pretty far and just float in the water. I apparently had so much fun that I completely forgot to take pictures of the last area. Luckily there are some others of the lake and the ancient Lycian tombs carved into the cliff face. We have another two-day excursion this weekend to Assos on the northern Aegean coast line that I'm sure will feature more beach time and possibly boat tours. It's hard to tell sometimes whether this is meant to be a language program or a Carnival cruise, but I'm learning a lot and having fun at the same time, so I guess I shouldn't complain. After this weekend there are only two weeks left in the program and then Amanda and I will be meeting up in Antalya to begin our honeymoon. The time has gone fast but I'm really looking forward to this next part of the trip. I will try to post pictures earlier next week around my preparations for finals, etc.

Tea and Dinner at Asansör

I just returned from our mid-week trip and there's not much to update. We were treated to a great concert by a Turkish singer and instrumentalist yesterday which I really enjoyed. Today we headed downtown to a spot known as Asansör, or "the elevator", where we enjoyed a great view and a small dinner. The elevator was built by a businessman to grant access from one neighborhood to another that are separated by a large hill to those that were unable to make the climb. Today there is a great little patio restaurant at the top offering panoramic views of the bay and the city's waterfront. The food was surprisingly cheap for a place known for their unique view. We're winding down the week and preparing for our trip to Fethiye this weekend. It will be another big two-day event with swimming and a boat tour in the Mediterranean as well as a trip to the turtle sanctuary. It should be great!

And the week continues...Boat trip in the Turkish Aegean

Everyone was pretty drained after the two-day trip last weekend, making the rest of the week pretty rough. I know it sounds ridiculous to say that a weekend of swimming and hot springs is exhausting but the long hours of always being on the go do take a toll after a while. We came right back into classes (and a chapter test) on Monday and had lectures on Turkish cinema and foreign relations in the Black Sea on Monday and Tuesday. By the time Wednesday rolled around and we were faced with a five hour excursion to the other side of the Bay of Izmir some of us were just ready to be done. All of these activities are great but when they begin only fifteen minutes after our four hours of class it doesn't leave us much time for relaxation, studying, homework, etc. Luckily they allowed some of us to beg out of the Wednesday trip and I got a chance to catch up on my studies. We have two more two-day trips coming up in the next couple weeks so hopefully we'll be able to adjust better next time. However, this weekend we were limited to a day trip to the island of Cunda about three hours north of Izmir. We went straight from the bus to our boat tour of the Turkish islands in the Aegean. The islands and the water are unbelievably beautiful. The water alternates between a bright blue and being so clear that you can see to the bottom. We were apparently not too far from the Greek island of Lesbos but had to stick to the Turkish side for various visa issues. We alternated between laying on the roof deck enjoying the sun and occasionally stopping in some shallow areas to swim in the sea. The water was very warm most of the time and so salty you could just lay back and float without any effort. They also treated us to another wonderful fish lunch with the whole fish on a plate like we enjoyed at Ceşmealtı last week. The seafood in this part of the country is amazing! After about five or six hours of enjoying the sun and water we headed back to Cunda and Ayvalik to get some dinner before heading back to the bus. Tony and Lorena and I wandered into the city and found a great little cafe tucked away into an alley where we had some fresh-cooked chicken soup and apple tea that was better and cheaper than anything I've found in our area of Izmir. It was nice to get a chance to see these two areas because there is an Ottoman program that I am looking into for next summer that is located there. Maybe I'll get a chance to return pretty soon. We capped off our trip with a refreshing sour cherry ice cream sandwich and then piled back onto the bus for our long trip home. It was a pretty late night but a very enjoyable day overall. I'm looking forward to a relaxing Sunday of studying and getting ready for the next week. We have some more music sessions planned for the next couple days and another big two-day trip next weekend (with an eight hour drive to the Mediterranean!).

Aphrodesias and Pamukkale, Ctd.

Here are some more pictures! I just couldn't capture the whole weekend in their five picture limit. So, does anyone want to take bets on whether I'm posing in the third one or trying to cover the fact that I can't keep my feet on slippery stone?

Aphrodesias and Pamukkale

Thanks to our two day trip without internet access last weekend and a long week of studying and outside activities it has been a while since my last post. Everything is going great but free time is scarce and free time when my brain is working well enough to write coherently is even more so. We have been very active since my last update so I will try to recap everything as best I can. Early last Saturday morning our group piled onto the bus for a 4 hour trip eastward to the ancient Greek ruins at Aphrodesias. They were beautiful and much less crowded than some of our previous stops. We were able to wander through the site almost entirely by ourselves which made for a more leisurely pace. After that tour we headed closer to our primary destination of Pamukkale to check into our hotel and enjoy the evening. Pamukkale is the current name for the ancient Greek and Roman site of Hierapolis and is known for the natural hot springs that are abundant in the area. At the main site you can wander through some of the ruins before making your way to a hillside where volcanic activity has created a series of thermal pools lined with travertine. They are apparently not what they were thirty years ago, but in the main area the effect is still remarkable. The other benefit of being in an area with natural hot springs is that our hotel had a heated pool and a series of thermal mud baths that we took full advantage of during our stay. I'll try to post as many pictures as I can and then tell all about the boat trip that we had yesterday.

Bon Apetit!

Our cultural activities have been focused heavily on the food this week, for which I have been thankful. We had a Turkish cooking lesson at a local restaurant on Monday and last night headed back out to the coast for a seaside fish dinner. Some great food all around. Unfortunately my camera batteries were dead on Monday so I can only treat you to one picture of me in a hairnet provided by my classmate Lorena. Luckily there are a few more of the most complete fish dinner I have ever eaten. They listened to us this week about how tired we all are from the packed schedule so there has finally been some time off to relax and catch up on our school work. This weekend we have a two-day trip to a center of some local hot springs and an old Greek settlement so I will be out of internet range and unable to post until Monday. Fortunately, the pictures should be worth it. For now, here's a taste of the local cuisine.

Efes, Şirince, Ruins and Wine

The weekend has come and gone and I'm mostly recovered and ready for another week of classes. We had a late Friday night, an action-packed day of traveling on Saturday, and a very quiet and relaxing Sunday so there is quite a bit to catch up on. One of our Turkish tutors invited us for a night out at her apartment near campus on Friday. The party was a lot of fun but ended pretty late and made our early departure on Saturday a bit rough for me. In our latest weekend trip we set off about an hour south of Izmir to Selçuk and Efes. Our first stop was a house that was reportedly the final resting place of the Virgin Mary after she was brought here by Saint John the Evangelist. It was interesting to see but I've always been fairly skeptical of these types of religious tourism sights (I believe there are roughly eight heads of John the Baptist in various places at last count). The house was very small but contained gifts from Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI left during their visits there in recent years. Our next stop was a bit more exciting for me and more in line with the sites that I was hoping to see on our trip. We toured the ruins of the Greek and Roman settlement of Ephesus (Efes in Turkish; incidentally, also the name of the local beer). The entire complex is only about a mile long, much smaller than Petra in Jordan, but in some areas it is still very well preserved. The highlights were the old library and the amphitheatre, pictures of which are included. I have now seen Roman amphiteatres in Italy, Turkey, and Jordan and it's remarkable how distance really does nothing to change the design. I don't think I realized previously how great a reach the Roman empire had at its height and how widespread their cultural influence would have been. Amanda and I will be back this way on our honeymoon and we're looking forward to a more leisurely tour without the large group of fellow students. After the ruins we stopped off for some lunch and then headed into the hills to tour the village of Şirince. It was an old Greek village that was largely emptied following the war of Turkish independence and has recently undergone some restoration sponsored by the Turkish Ministry of Culture. We toured a couple of the 19th century Greek Orthodox churches, sampled some of the local wine (way too sweet for my taste), and wandered through the narrow streets to see some of the local handicrafts. For Tony and I that was topped off with about an hour and a half spent at one of the cafes enjoying some tea and fresh-squeezed orange juice. As nice as the smaller shops and mountain vistas are, it just doesn't compare to relaxing in an outdoor cafe and enjoying the afternoon in the shade. Our day was capped off with a visit to the ruins of the Temple of Artemis. There was remarkably little left of what was apparently a very impressive site. There was only one column still standing and there was a family of storks or egrets or something nesting on the top. In the background we could see a large mosque from the Seljuk era of around the 14th century and a castle from roughly the same period, but the tour guides hadn't worked that into our agenda. I'm hoping Amanda and I will be able to see those a bit closer when we come back this way. After our whirlwind tour I was happy to have a day off to relax and catch up on some reading and homework on my own schedule. The campus is starting to fill up as the Turkish students begin their summer session, but it was very quiet today. I enjoyed the rest and I'm going to need it as we head into a very busy week. We have classes every day, cultural activities every afternoon but Friday and a two-day trip to Pamukkale next weekend before coming right back into classes on Monday. They are certainly keeping us busy!

My tour in the Turkish Navy

I haven't updated for the last few days because school has kept us very busy and there wasn't much new to report. After our great trip to Çeşme we were all very happy to have a day off on Sunday to just rest and get ready for the next week of classes. Monday and Tuesday were pretty packed with our typical 4 hours of Turkish lessons followed by Turkish dancing lessons and a sociology lecture, respectively. Things have also been a little tense due to the possibility that a couple of our classmates may have contracted a certain porcine flu that's been in the news a lot lately (don't worry, I'm perfectly healthy!). Luckily, we heard today that they both tested negative (unlike some classmates in Alanya and Istanbul) so our program is in the clear. Unfortunately, they had to spend a couple days in quarantine, but they should be on their way back to us as early as tomorrow. Our schedule today stayed busy with the usual lessons followed by a trip to İnciraltı to visit a ship and submarine visiting from the Turkish Navy. The ship was formerly part of the US Navy but was given to Turkey in 1994 and incorporated into their fleet. The guide was very nice and informative and seemed perfectly happy to spend the last couple months of compulsory military service showing people around a decommissioned ship rather than in some other engagement. I completely understand where he's coming from. It was interesting to explore both ships but I would not want to spend any length of time on there with dozens of other people in a high stress environment. The bunks and showers are way too cramped. We finished the visit with a walk along the waterfront and a quick dinner (frustratingly overpriced!) at a little outdoor cafe. The schedule they have us on is a little rough at times. We would love to take advantage of all of these trips and enjoy our time, but are often also preoccupied with the copious amounts of homework and exams awaiting us at home. I'm looking forward to having a free day tomorrow after classes end at 3. It will give me a chance to rest up a bit before our trip to Selçuk and Efes (Ephesus) this weekend. I've included a few pictures of the ships and our walk along the water. Hope you enjoy!

The beaches of Çeşme

After a long day in the sun I had to put up a post, but I'm not sure how much I can bring myself to write. We finished out the week of classes and had our first weekend day trip. We loaded onto the bus early this morning and headed west for a trip to the market in Alaçatı and the beach at Çeşme. After a long trip getting to Turkey and an intense first week of classes, the chance to just relax on a beach sounded great. I never could have imagined how great the beach would turn out to be. It combined the white sand and clear blue water of the Caribbean with the surrounding mountains and cute market towns of the Mediterranean. It was great to set my things down and head off into the water for a few hours. The town is on the outer edge of the peninsula on the Aegean Sea with the Greek island of Chios visible on the horizon. The water was warm and so salty that you could easily float on your back without trying to keep yourself up. I may be a little sunburned but it was a small price to pay for a day of swimming, sunbathing and beach soccer! We also had a trip planned for the Çeşme castle at the end of the day but we arrived just a half hour after it closed. Luckily Amanda and I are planning on traveling back this way on our trip in August so maybe I will have some better pictures then. For now I hope you enjoy the shots of the beach and the little town around it. I'm off to bed.

Bu akşam çay ve nargileh içiyorum (Tonight we are drinking nargileh and tea). I'm finally learning some things...

We had a long day today but one that was satisfying in the end. I overslept and missed breakfast and then made my way through a long day of classes. The material is interesting and we're learning a lot pretty quickly, but it's still very exhausting. And to add to that we were given a hefty pile of homework to do around the excursion they had planned for us between 4:30 and 9:00 tonight. Luckily, I was able to finish most of my homework before our trip and the destination was well worth it. We finally made it to downtown Izmir and got to see the bazaar and wander around the beachfront. I had seen some pictures of the waterfront before I left but they really don't do it justice. The bay is perfectly flat and ringed on every side by high mountains. The view is beautiful. We started out by wandering through the old bazaar and exploring some of the shops. I finally felt like I was back in a city like Damascus. The food and tea looked great and the variety of merchandise and shopkeepers who were eager to sell it to you were very familiar. On the advice of Ersin, one of our language tutors, I tried something called midye dolma. They are fresh mussels stuffed with cooked rice and some spices and served right out of the shell. They were delicious and very cheap. He said they're best when served with lots of beer at a seaside restaurant so I figured I would take up his challenge sometime this weekend. After we finished at the bazaar we wandered over to see the old Ottoman clocktower that is the symbol of Izmir. It was a gift to the Sultan (Abdelmejid? Abdelhamid?) from Kaiser WIlhelm II and stands in the middle of a square near the waterfront. Then we walked down the promenade next to the bay enjoying the sights and ended up in the area known as the Kordon where there were lots of restaurants and coffee shops with seating areas next to the water. Ersin, Tony and I separated from the rest of the group and capped off the day with some apple nargileh and tea at the Osmanli Kahveyi (Ottoman Cafe). A very relaxing experience and a welcome reminder of what I loved about being in this part of the world. Coming back to the dorm to finish homework wasn't my ideal way of ending the night, but it is the reason the government paid for me to be here so I guess I can make the sacrifice. Overall, it was a great day and a nice preview of how our day trip to the beach will be this saturday. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Campus Tour, Dinner and First Day of Class

The semester has started and my writing has fallen behind as a result. Yesterday we had a very long day with a campus tour and orientation most of the morning and afternoon and a long welcome dinner in the evening. The school is much larger than I thought and they have very nice facilities for entertainment, sports, fashion design, translation, and many more areas. We were introduced to our language teacher and given our schedule and course materials. We are in for a very busy and hopefully productive two months. Courses are roughly four hours a day with additional tours and cultural activities in the afternoon. We had our first day of classes and, though it seemed somewhat slow-paced at the time, we really covered a lot of material. We had about an hour off to do homework and then joined our language tutors in the auditorium for a performance by the school's rhythm club (which of course included a period for our participation). Overall it was a lot of fun. However, between that and finishing my homework at the dorm I have been busy all day and I'm already exhausted. I'm sure I'll find my rhythm soon (though if the drums today were any indication that is meant to be strictly metaphorical). We have some more activities planned after classes tomorrow when we will explore downtown Izmir and the shops at the outdoor market. I will be sure to bring my camera. Plus, there are many more trips planned for the weekends so I'll have a chance to see a lot of the surrounding area. I included some pictures of the sunset from my room, the view from the school's library and a view of the dinner we were treated to last night. They really took care of us with several courses of meat, bread, salad and individual Baked Alaska's for dessert. It was all very nice. I doubt I will be as skinny after this trip as I was after Damascus. I guess it could be worse.