PEMUKKALE TO KONYA, TURKEY--Friday, May 10, 2013

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Pemukkale to Konya, Turkey--Friday, May 10, 2013

Herakles Thermal Hotel in Pemukkale

Valerie and I have had this discussion, after seeing all these ancient ruins, I wish to share with you. We are not sure exactly what the problem is, but for lack of a better phrase let’s call it a “disconnect between our education and reality.” We both consider ourselves above average in our book learning, but if you had asked either one of us, where the ancient city of Troy or for that matter the Biblical Ephesus was located on the modern world map, we both would NEVER have named Turkey. Nor would we say that both the Apostles Paul and John lived and worked in Asia Minor/Turkey. This trip opened up our view of those times and places and how much people in the old world traveled from coast to coast and along the various seas as well as moving huge armies overland to conquer and create vast empires---Greek, Roman, and Ottoman.

This morning was a 7:30 departure as there was a full day of bus traveling planned. Our first stop was the ATM machines in the modern town of Pemukkale near the town park and water center. While some people got money, several of us headed over to the park to get a bottom’s up view of the thermal baths and calcium layers.

When we left town, we started through high valleys and the landscape looked like Eastern Oregon or Wyoming with wheat fields growing and mountains surrounding them. One of the things that I find very different is that I have seen almost no raptors over the wheat fields as you do in our wheat growing areas. This is so strange, since hawks of one kind or another can be found in the air or sitting on a fence post every ¼ to ½ mile all along the roads and freeways in NB or Kansas or other wheat growing states. I asked Aykut about it, since I know there has to be mice in those fields, and the only explanation he had was the proliferation of cats---they are wild everywhere especially, in the ruins. A mystery to me?????

We are now seeing very small fields of both white and pink poppies growing around small farms. They are mainly grown for poppy seeds and according to Aykut are tightly regulated. We traveled through a number of smallish communities and are seeing many granite/marble quarry scars on the hillsides.

Raining when we had lunch so we all got a wee bit wet heading into the roadside restaurant. In front of the restaurant was a large statue of Nasreddin, a Sufi philosopher, who was thought to live in this area in the 13^th century. He was a little like Aesop telling stories that were somewhat witty with a moral or learning point. He is often pictured sitting on a donkey, often backwards, which represents one of his most popular stories. This statue has him holding cherries, a significant crop in the area.

As today was primarily a travel day, we were pleased to see lots of farm land and orchards and pretty wildflowers on the sides of the roads--some seem the same as at home. One looks like a California poppy, but I think it is a color variation of the famous red poppies, as in “In Flander’s Fields the poppies grow, among the crosses row on row---.”



Konya

Arrived at Konya, a more traditional, read “fundamental” city, according to Aykut and from what we can observe out the bus window of the women’s dark dresses (if you do even see any women out and about). You sure don’t see anyone but men out after night fall, mostly small groups sitting at sidewalk cafes talking and drinking coffee.

Konya is the 5^th largest city in Turkey and is the home of the man who started the Whirling Dervishes, which is a sect of the Islamic faith. There is a museum about this sect near the mosque about 5-6 blocks away from the hotel and some of our group walked over to take a look at it. We stayed in and rested before dinner. My notes say, “nice room, lousy food.” At this point, I don’t recall either well enough to comment further. (Note from Valerie: see the picture for a look at our room. The problem with dinner was it was a fixed menu and the hotel offered only one main dish and it was so filled with peppers, it was barely edible to us. On a high note, we had birthday cake for one of our fellow travelers and wished her well.)

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