Blogs from Central Anatolia, Turkey, Middle East - page 38

Trying to sleep last night was kind of difficult; not because of the sleeping surface, but because of how sunburnt my arms were! We actually had really comfortable cushions to lay our sleeping bags out on, so that was no problem, but I could not get comfortable with my burns . Inside the sleeping bag, my arms felt like they were on fire, but outside the sleeping bag, they were freezing cold! It was not a fun night. Anyway, I guess that’s what I get for being such an idiot. So, we got up this morning around 9 and neither of us really felt like moving right away. Luckily we did have our bag of food and fruit pretty close by, so we had a breakfast of kiwis, leftover raviolis, Viva snacks and dry cereal ... read more

Underground Protection When foreign armies moved through the area people needed a place to hide. The soft rock in Cappadocia provided, if not the perfect place, at least a good place but only after a lot of digging was done. There are several underground cities in Cappadocia. The one we visited has 7 levels and everything that was needed to wait out a passing army was available. There are living quarters, animal stables and mangers from which to eat, dining areas/cooking spaces, churches, and even a temporary grave. I am not sure about others in our group, but I was thankful for electric lights. With only candles and torches for light the underground city must have been a hazardous place for the people. I wondered about broken bones, concussions, scrapes and bruises from falls. I ... read more

So now we are in a town called Pamukkale. We are only here for a night and then we are heading for Cappadoccia early tomorrow morning. But yesterday we went to a few more ancient ruins... the ones Priene, Didyma, and Miletus. Those were all really cool, especially Didyma because there were huge pillars and they were all standing. It reminded me a lot of the Temple of Karnak in Egypt. We ate at a little local place along the way and had an ok buffet there. But they had strawberries, which were amazing, so that made the meal amazing! I ate so many strawberries! And then today we stopped by a local stand and they were selling strawberries for 3 lira (about $2.25) a kilo (2.2 pounds). So we all bought a lot of strawberries, ... read more

Travels through Turkey continue as I am currently making my way east from the coast of the Aegean and Mediterranean area. Since I left Istanbul, the first stop was the ancient city of Pergamon which once boasted one of the largest libraries next to Alexandria until it was moved to Ephesus. I have seen more Roman era ruins since entering Turkey than Hellenistic sites. At least one exception however would be the Homeric city of Troy. There are actually nine different cities built upon the ruins of the one before it. I have seen the church of St. John the Evangelist, the house of the Virgin Mary where she lived after the death of Christ, the city of Miletus, the temple of Artemis (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world) the green marble columns ... read more

It was the begining of the semester and I showed up for my Turkish class. The professor had not arrived yet and there were only two other students waiting in the room: a young woman from Baghdad, and a young man from Basra. Never before have I felt so ashamed to admit that I am an American. It was a brand new experience for me, a very unexpected and emotional surprise. What exactly does one say in this situation?... Thankfully, the teacher showed up before too much time had passed, coming to my rescue, sort of. I learned that the young man had come to Turkey four years earlier and that is all I found out about him. He left during the break and didn't come back - must've dropped the course. Zainep, I've since grown ... read more