I was blessed to be able to travel to Turkey in December 2010 for 10 days. It was a pre-trip to a winter session study abroad class in Greece. I was also blessed to be able to travel with 8 other wonderful people (one being my professor and the other being the Vice Provost of the University). We grew close over the ten days and dubbed our group the “Turkish Elite:” Amber, Alia, Stephanie, Jenn, Matt, Jonathon, Dr. Hood, Cecil, and myself. I am so happy that I got to know them! This blog is about my travels in Turkey, the people I met, and my observations on the country as a whole.
We left LAX on December 17 (just hours after my last final) to Frankfurt. From Frankfurt we flew to Istanbul, Turkey. The total flying time was more than enough for me; being cramped in economy class seats for so long, but the food (and free wine) was great! We landed sometime in the evening on December 18. At the airport, our Professor needed to take money out of the ATM, but the machine did not return his card or give him money. Also, two of the girls, Amber and Alia, had their luggage lost by the airline company. The situation was very stressful. After acknowledging the situation, we just wanted to get to the hotel. We were escorted to the Lady Diana Hotel (named after the late Princess Diana of Great Britain) in a large van. We went through Istanbul in the dark and drove past ancient Byzantine walls that had a strange orange light on them that gave a mystic quality to them. After settling in the hotel, we went to the upstairs restaurant where we were entertained by “live music” and had expensive food and drinks. Our live musician knew we were Americans so he entertained us with “Hotel California” and other pop songs. During dinner our eyes were drawn to the magnificent sight of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia just a half mile away from the hotel. We went out onto the cold balcony to get some great pictures of the two beautiful buildings.
The next day we walked through the Hippodrome of Constantine and saw the fountain of Kaiser Wilhelm and the stolen monument from the battle of Plataea (at least, what was left of it). By this point we were right in front of the Blue Mosque and we went in. We took off our shoes and the women covered their heads. Walking into one of the largest mosques in the world was amazing. Muslims from all over the world were there to worship. Next, we visited the Hagia Sofia built by Emperor Justinian as a cathedral. It was later converted to a mosque, but is not preserved as a museum. Then we went to the Turkish National Archaeological Museum. We were able to see the Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great and other priceless artifacts.
Early the following day we drove southwest to the Hellespont with our driver, Murat, who stayed with us for the next 5 days. We took a ferry across the Hellespont and drove on to the city of Cannakale, which is a proverbial stone’s throw away from the ancient city of Troy. At Troy, we walked along the same walls mentioned in Homer’s Iliad. Although we do not know whether the historical Trojan War occurred, the city of Troy was no doubt a wealthy trading city, strategically located at the tip of the Hellespont. However, over the centuries the coastline of Turkey has changed. Troy declined because it was no longer located by the sea. The current coastline is miles away from Troy. This was the first real archaeological site that I have ever visited. It was fascinating to see how real places of the past have been carefully excavated to expose the buried past. Also at the site is a recreation of the infamous Trojan Horse, but it is merely a tourist attraction not of historical significance.
The day after visiting Troy, we set out for the modern city of Bergama, which sits just below the ancient Hellenistic city of Pergamum. On the way to the site, Dr. Hood again needed to take some money out, this time with traveler’s checks. Our driver Murat parked the van illegally on a street and escorted Dr. Hood to a bank. They were gone about 30 minutes. In the meantime, a police officer arrived blowing his whistle, but he discovered that there was no one in the van, some of us were just standing around outside and it was a very awkward 15 minutes before Dr. Hood and our driver arrived. I thought the van was going to be towed or we were going to be arrested; of course, fearing the worst. But after Murat arrived he sweet talked the officer and we drove off like nothing happened. The bank did not take his traveler’s checks. We rode a gondola up the mountain to get to the main city of Pergamum. Here we saw the Temple of Trajan, a well preserved theater with very steep seating, some Roman baths, and the ruins of the library of Pergamum, second only to the Great Library of Alexandria. Perhaps my favorite moment of the entire trip was looking west from the very top around mid-afternoon. The city of Bergama erupted with the sounds of mosques calling worshipers to prayer. I could see the various minarets piercing the skyline as a mild haze hovered above the city with the sun setting in the background. The sounds of the call were not synchronized, but this added to the effect. It put me into a trance-like state for the entire duration; a good 10 minutes. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. After Pergamum, we went to the Asclepion, a holistic healing center named after a Greek cult-hero, Asclepius. It is located in lower Pergamum right next to a modern Turkish military site that you are not supposed to take pictures of… right. Here we cleansed our foreheads in a spring and walked underneath the theater in complete darkness. There were also ruins of a bathroom facility. After this site, we went to the hotel and I saw what I thought to be a few guys from a Turkish Cross Country Team. I am not sure if it was a university team or national or what. It made me miss home and running a little.
The Temple of Trajan overlooking Bergama
The next place we stayed was a quaint little town called Selçuk. We stayed there for three days. One the first day we drove to three sites: the Temple of Apollo at Didyma (a significant oracle in the eastern Mediterranean), the city of Miletus, and the city of Priene. Didyma is located in the southwest corner of Asia Minor and was the first of our stops for the day as we drove north back to Selçuk. The temple at Didyma was very impressive. The floor, stairways, and lower level were well preserved and many of the massive columns are intact. At Miletus, we saw one of the best preserved theaters in the Greek world. Most of what remains of the city is under about 8 inches of water because the water line has risen in the past 2500 years. We got sort of lost in the ruins, but a nice Turkish guy with a horse led us out. In the distance, we could hear the clanging of bells on the necks of nearby sheep grazing in the small valleys. Then we went into the Baths of Faustina, a Roman empress. As we continued to drive north, we stopped at the city of Priene, located on a plateau on the side of a mountain range, hidden from view. Priene has the best preserved Bouletarion, which is where the elected people of the Boule (the upper house of the legislature) would assemble. I also had the chance to hang my feet off the edge of the city walls with my friend Alia and look over the farmland of southern Turkey. Later that night in Selçuk, we wanted to go out to a bar, but our professor warned us that the nearby bar was only a front for a brothel. So we went, but just to see if it was true. It was very true. The men inside were very welcoming and the atmosphere was enjoyable. Shortly after our first round of beers, the “ladies” of the establishment went upstairs to change into something more “comfortable.” We knew exactly what they were trying to do. The men inside turned up the music, put on the dance lights, and shot off party poppers. They tried to get us to dance, but we declined. We ordered a second round just to make them think we were staying. After a while, things calmed down and we went to pay our tab. Ironically, they charged us 6 Turkish Lira instead of the advertised 5 Turkish Lira. I guess it is because we did not actually “buy” anything.
On December 23rd, we drove about 5 minutes to the ancient city of Ephesus. Due to laws on groups having official state tour guides, we had to enter this popular site in pairs of twos so as to not appear like a group. We did not want our professor to be deported! Ephesus was an interesting site. The stone roads through the city were very recognizable. There were various ruins of temples near the entrance. Further along were the ruins of a bath complex, a public bathroom, and an ancient prostitute den. Near the end of the city were the Roman Library of Celsus and the Theater of Ephesus which could hold about 25,000 people. In between the two was the Gate of Augustus, which has a notable typographical error, pointed out by our professor. Away from the site was the stadium which we did not visit, but could see in the distance. Later that day in Selçuk, we went strolling through the town after a great lunch on the main boulevard. One shop in particular had a tremendous effect on our trip. A man named Ali owned three little shops on the corner, a cloth/garment shop, a souvenir shop with pottery, backgammon boards, etc, and lastly a Turkish Carpet shop. He was extremely friendly and gave us tea and chatted with us. He had nice things and we purchased gifts to bring back home. However, he was especially enamored with one of our girls, Amber (with her red hair and bright blue eyes, every man in Turkey wanted her). Once he found out that it was her birthday, he gave her a gift and invited us to come over to his carpet shop around 9pm for some hookah, beers, and an opportunity for us to celebrate her birthday. We felt more than welcomed. We pre-gamed at the brothel (with our professor, just for laughs) and at 9pm we went. Ali made Amber wear an engagement robe. We brought our own beers and we had some apple flavored hookah (yes, even I tried hookah… don’t act so surprised). He invited his 3 cousins over and now it was a party. They were all super nice guys. One of his cousins taught our friend Matt how to play backgammon. Another cousin tried to teach us some Turkish. The last cousin they called “Turkish Tyson” was a former boxer (you could tell by how jacked up his nose and face were). I will admit, at times I thought that the whole thing was a bit sketchy, but I just went with the flow and enjoyed myself. We signed his guestbook with the thousands of other foreigners who have done so in the past 8 or so years. By that time it was too late to go to the bars we had planned to visit (not the brothel again), so we went back to the hotel.
On Christmas Eve morning, we drove about 3 hours to the ancient city of Aphrodisias, in the interior of the country. We went to the site museum first which was partially underground and extremely cold. Outside was slightly better as it warmed up. We walked the city in a counter-clockwise direction. The two most impressive buildings were the tetrapylon or 4 gates, which was a formal entrance to the agora (market place), and the stadium of Aphrodisias, which could seat 50,000 spectators. I had the opportunity to run in the stadium (the first of several on the trip). It was surreal. Another important building was the Temple of Aphrodite Aphrodisias, which was converted into a Christian church. It is important to note that many of the temples that have survived the ages have done so because they were converted into churches (or even mosques in the post Byzantine era). One particularly insignificant memory, but surprisingly vivid was on the drive back to Selçuk. We stopped by a restaurant near the site and went inside for some lunch. We sat down and everything, but Dr. Hood wanted to know the prices before we ordered anything. The owner showed us the menu (by taking us to the kitchen and showing us plates of food, a common practice in Turkey and Greece). Sadly, we did not order anything. I felt bad for him and the other workers because we were probably the only patrons that they had seen all day. The place was interesting though; they had peacocks and parrots. I guess to attract visitors. After not having lunch, we desperately needed food in Selçuk. The day before we had gone to a Turkish pizza place that was delicious. We went back for more. This time I ordered something different; an egg and cheese Turkish pizza. This was probably the best thing that I ate in all of Turkey. Most importantly after taste was price; it only cost 3 Turkish Lira, which is about $2.30 American. My friend Jonathon said that a similar type of Turkish pizza in the United States cost $12.00. After lunch we visited St. John’s basilica, which is now just an outdoor museum. After leaving the basilica, Jonathon, Matt, and myself decided to treat ourselves to a real Turkish shave (so we could look nice for Christmas Eve dinner). It was the best shave experience I have ever had. For 5 Turkish Lira ($3.00) we got a hot lather, straight blade shave, a string treatment to remove the small hairs on the upper cheeks, a flaming stick treatment to remove the tiny hairs on the earlobes and eyebrows, a shoulder, neck, and arm massage, and they even cracked our knuckles for us. That is one hell of a deal. It was unforgettable. That night our hotel offered to make us a “special” Christmas Eve dinner, which was especially nice because they were Muslim and knew we were Christians (or maybe they assumed). It was trout, a whole trout, head, scales, and bones. Along with more of their dill pie thing that we had had every night that we stayed there. The fish bones in my mouth were not pleasant, but the meal was still good.
Christmas morning (my birthday) we had to wake up early to drive to Izmir in order to catch our 10am flight back to Istanbul. That afternoon Dr. Hood bought me a drink for my birthday at the hotel bar. For dinner, we found a really cheap (“well priced” in the words of Dr. Hood) eatery that had a huge pasta plate for 4 Turkish Lira ($3.00). After dinner I received my best birthday gift from Stephanie, who searched far and wide for a Long Island Ice Tea that I had wanted so badly. She found it at an El Torito (yes, in Istanbul). It was not a very good Long Island, but still a very thoughtful gift. It was my first birthday away from home, and definitely my first birthday in a foreign country! It was memorable.
On our last full day in Turkey, we loaded up on breakfast at the hotel and went out, yet again, into the city. That day we visited Topkapi Palace, the former seat of power of the Ottoman Empire. It was truly magnificent; fit for a Sultan, literally. They had clothing of past sultans (large baggy outfits), swords, the second most expensive diamond in the world, bits of the prophet Muhammad’s beard, and Moses’ staff (I am skeptical about this one). The view onto the Bosphorus was striking. The last thing we visited was the Circumcision Room, the name implies everything. For a quick lunch we had the roasted corn on the cob that street vendors sold. It was terrible. If you ever go to Turkey, do not ever buy the roasted corn on the cob. It smells one hundred times better than it tastes. Same goes for the roasted chestnuts. After that, we strolled through the Great Bazaar, which was full of shops, mostly jewelry and watches. It was crowded and there were armed guards at the entrances and walking around inside. In the late afternoon Dr. Hood, Matt, Stephanie, Alia, and Cecil all visited the famous Turkish Baths (the men separate from the women). For 55 Turkish Lira ($37.00 + tip) you get to bathe just as millions of Turks have for centuries. The one we visited was from the 17th century. First you change into a towel in your own personal changing room, then you go into the hot room where you see a large marble stone (about 20 feet in diameter) that is flat and round. You lay on it for about 15 minutes. Then your “washer” taps you and you go to the edge of the stone. They do not speak much English. They douse you with warm water and lather you up. They scrub you with a special course glove, then they rinse you off and wash your hair. Lastly they give you a massage (a rough one at that; it was not very good). After that, you go into a small room on the edge of the larger hot room and there are two small fountains with hot and/or cold water. You can sit there as long as you like rinsing off with cold or hot water (cold is best). Then you go out and a large half-naked man puts a new dry towel on you (awkward) and you go to your room and change. Then you go outside and your “washer” is waiting there for you to tip him. It was a very unique experience. We went to dinner at the same place and I got “well priced” pasta again. After that we stopped by a McDonalds for an ice cream cone that cost 1 Turkish Lira ($0.66) because Alia needed to get rid of some cash. Then we walked back to our hotel for the last time. We got up around 2:30am the next day to eat a small, pre-made breakfast at the hotel before we drove to the airport. We left for Athens on December 27. We took the metro from the airport to Monastiraki Square and we walked to the Plaka Hotel. The next day, the rest of the class arrived from LAX and we embarked on our three week study abroad program in Greece.
Streets of Istanbul; Blue Mosque in the background
Turkey is a wonderful place! Everyone there is extremely welcoming and polite. People who own restaurants or shops stand out front and welcome passers-by into their business. Perhaps it is because they want your money, but perhaps it is because their culture is less rude than ours. Life in Turkey is just different than in the United States. It is customary for merchants to give free tea to customers, even if they do not buy anything (take a hint America). Also, throughout the day you can see many men, from age 40 and up, just sitting outside playing backgammon and smoking cigarettes. I guess there is not much to do in the off-season. Dogs and cats roam the city. They are very friendly and some look nice enough that you might want to even take one home! When a dog finds you, it stays with you for a while and it even grets protective, even without feeding it. These free dogs and cats are more like a public good rather than a nuisance. There are no suburbs like in southern California. Most people live in 3 or 4 story apartment buildings. There is no trash collection; people burn their trash just as Americans used to do. Around 5:30pm every night, a steady smoke would rise up from all the apartments in the city. Breathing it was not very pleasant. Trash in the countryside is also not collected. Homes that are visible from the highway just pile up their trash next to their homes, so it looks rather “3rd worldish.” Driving through the countryside revealed that many people still live an agricultural life. Quite possibly their families have lived on the same plot of land for generations. This shows that people today have been doing the same thing for thousands of years. Sure, the technology is better, and society has changed, but the role of humans to the land has not. It was awesome to see the flocks of sheep and goats being led by shepherds right next to the highway. Speaking of highways, driving in Turkey is also very different than in America. There are designated lanes, but most people do not follow them. Passing on the left is the rule and pedestrians DO NOT have the right-of-way. Crossing the street is also an interesting experience; J-walking is the norm and you had better be quick or learn how to be patient. The streets of cities are very narrow and the locals are excellent at maneuvering the streets. So if a car or motorcycle zooms past you, do not be too alarmed. Beware of people selling black market products in the streets. On one occasion in Istanbul, a guy tried to sell me colognes and perfumes which he admitted openly came from the black market. Chances are that they are not even good knock-offs.
Food, everyone wants to know about the food. Turkish cuisine is delicious. Breakfasts are simple; usually just bread cheese, yogurt, fruits, and eggs. One egg dish in particular, Menemen, captured my heart (or rather, my stomach). It is essentially scrambled eggs with onion, peppers, tomatoes, and feta cheese. It looks something like a spaghetti sauce, but is way better. Lunches we had were mostly street kabobs: lamb or chicken wrapped in a sort of tortilla with red onion, fried potatoes, and sauce. Dinners at the hotels started off with bread (with no butter), then a salad (usually a Mediterranean salad, sometimes cabbage), then a appetizer (like a cheese-stuffed pastry), followed by a main course (chicken, beef, lamb, or fish served with potatoes or rice), and finished off with a dessert (cut apples and oranges or a honey cake, which was often too sweet). With meals you can drink water, but you are charged for it since it is bottled. A better choice is wine or beer. The national beer, Efes, is named after the city of Ephesus (Efes in Turkish). It is remarkably similar to a good light beer in the US. It is served by the pint, none of this 12 ounce nonsense. I highly recommend Efes. Wines are also good, but are not very memorable.
Turkey is a great place to visit and I would highly recommend it to anyone, not just history nerds like myself. There are more than just ancient ruins to go visit. 90% of the people speak English, so it is easy to get around and communicate. I plan on visiting Turkey again in the future.