So they say it's my birthday and I thought to myself 'This calls for an overdue blog post'.
First off, thank you so much to everyone who has been sending me letters, cards, and packages! My room is becoming cluttered with all the love!
We had a birthday celebration this afternoon in my Turkish class-- cake, candles, the works. The weather outside is spectacular, short-sleeve, chaco weather! On my home to eat some of my favorite mercimek çorba (lentil soup). Then I'll head out to celebrate with my friends!
This past weekend I traveled with my fellow adventurers, Riley and Sev, to Amasra. It was about a 5 hour bus ride to the town of Bartın, where we caught a dolmuş to the town of Amasra, a small town with two harbors on the Black Sea (Karadeniz). I didn't sleep at all on the bus because I was so preoccupied by the scenery-- rolling green hills to snow-covered pine trees as we crossed over a pass, logging roads, and muddy creeks. We had the name and telephone number of a pensiyon (bed-n-breakfast style accomodation), called when we arrived, and ended up with a room overlooking the Black Sea. The pensiyon itself was located in the Amasra kale, surrounded by 3000-year-old crumbling Roman walls. I woke up just as the sun was rising, and wandered out onto our balcony, wrapped in a big blanket, camera and journal in hand, and soaked up the early morning gazing out at the Karadeniz. We did quite a bit of wandering around the city, saw countless stray dogs and cats compared to the number I run into in Ankara, bartered with shop keepers selling wooden handcrafts, and walked out on a crowded boardwalk to get a better view of the town. We met a woman with 8 chubby puppies and she saw us eyeing them, so she invited us into her front yard to sit and hold the darlings. We found out how small the town really was when we ran into the same woman with her friends at a cafe we had sat down to eat at. I had read about a few islands that you can get to from Amasra, one we could see from our pensiyon, but only birds seemed to hang out there. We ended up finding the bridge to the other island and climbed up to the top of a ridge, past wild flowers and even over a few boulders, where we watched the sun set, and listened to akşam ezan (the evening call to prayer) coming from the local mosque. The words echoed through the valley. From the top of the ridge I could see all of Amasra, the surrounding mountain valley, and the Black Sea stretching as far as the eyes can see into the horizon. If this would have been my only experience in Amasra, I would have left simply stunned and speechless.
Since you probably don't know, my previous weekend excursions earlier this month include a day-trip to Eskişehir, a visit to the Ankara Zoo, and the Roman Baths in Ankara. We took the hızla tren (fast train) to Eşkişehir and spent the afternoon with Riley's host sister's cousin, a student at one of the two universities in Eskişehir. It poured most of the day, but the visit was worth it just to gain a different perspective of another area of Turkey. A canal runs right through the city center, colorful mozaics dot the walkways, and there are even a set of lightrails. The zoo in Ankara cost 2.50 lira to get in (insanely cheap by American standards). We weren't expecting to see cages of dogs at the zoo. The dogs looked pretty miserable. I stood a few feet away from the dirtiest and biggest camel I have ever seen. I could have touched him and he could have spit on me. The Roman Baths are in a gated off plot of land near a busy intersection in the historical district of Ankara called Ulus. We spend the afternoon wandering around all of these ancient stone pillars and blocks dating back to the Roman and Greek empires.
I hope this will suffice for a post. İyi akşamlar! Görüsürüz!
Tuesday, March 31
Friday, March 13
Merhabalar!
This past weekend Riley and I ventured to Beypazarı, 1 ½ hour bus ride away, west of Ankara. Leaving our houses in the early hours, I wasn’t entirely sure we were going to make it to Beypazarı, because we had to first find Ankara’s old bus station, then we had to get on the right bus. Luckily our Turkish mothers drew maps for both of us, and we made it to the bus station no problems.
When we arrived in Beypazarı it was still relatively early so we had beaten the noon-time crowds. Wandering up the cobblestone streets, we met local men and women setting their hand-made jewelry, dried herbs, vegetables, nuts, havuç lokum (carrot-flavored Turkish delight), colorful textiles, and knitted booties out to sell. One notable difference from Ankara was the prevalence of headscarves in Beypazarı. The woman also wore very loose-fitting pants, with the crotches of the garments sagging nearly past their knees. Throughout the day, we got to practice our Turkish with men, women, and young children alike. Two young boys captured our hearts in a photo shoot. They were so patient with us, hanging on each other in brotherly-fashion, while Riley changed lenses. I gave them each a quarter. When they found out the coins were from America, they took off running down the street, shouting “Amerika! Amerika!”. We were sitting down at a table in a crowded restaurant for some afternoon grub, when an older woman came over to us, kissed me on both cheeks, and gave us the tasty baklava from her meal.
Sitting outside a café, we got to talking with a very nice Turkish couple. They invited us to come with them to hıdırlık tepesi, a high-overlooking hill in the center of Beypazarı where one can see the city and surrounding areas. We had been planning on walking there ourselves, but the car ride saved us a good sweat up the steep and winding road. It was a wonderful string of adventures!
This past weekend Riley and I ventured to Beypazarı, 1 ½ hour bus ride away, west of Ankara. Leaving our houses in the early hours, I wasn’t entirely sure we were going to make it to Beypazarı, because we had to first find Ankara’s old bus station, then we had to get on the right bus. Luckily our Turkish mothers drew maps for both of us, and we made it to the bus station no problems.
When we arrived in Beypazarı it was still relatively early so we had beaten the noon-time crowds. Wandering up the cobblestone streets, we met local men and women setting their hand-made jewelry, dried herbs, vegetables, nuts, havuç lokum (carrot-flavored Turkish delight), colorful textiles, and knitted booties out to sell. One notable difference from Ankara was the prevalence of headscarves in Beypazarı. The woman also wore very loose-fitting pants, with the crotches of the garments sagging nearly past their knees. Throughout the day, we got to practice our Turkish with men, women, and young children alike. Two young boys captured our hearts in a photo shoot. They were so patient with us, hanging on each other in brotherly-fashion, while Riley changed lenses. I gave them each a quarter. When they found out the coins were from America, they took off running down the street, shouting “Amerika! Amerika!”. We were sitting down at a table in a crowded restaurant for some afternoon grub, when an older woman came over to us, kissed me on both cheeks, and gave us the tasty baklava from her meal.
Sitting outside a café, we got to talking with a very nice Turkish couple. They invited us to come with them to hıdırlık tepesi, a high-overlooking hill in the center of Beypazarı where one can see the city and surrounding areas. We had been planning on walking there ourselves, but the car ride saved us a good sweat up the steep and winding road. It was a wonderful string of adventures!
Tuesday, March 3
Walking out my door, I turn to my left to see this...
Muslim medallions and Christian mosaics in Aya Sofya
Cruisin down the Bosphorus.
View from Galata Tower.
Dogs sleeping in Istanbul, and man carrying tray of simit.
"Mother Goddess" Neolithic figurines
Laughing at Turkish comics.
Jessie and I showing off the scarf we marbled together.
This is a clip from the Shadow Puppet show I saw in Istanbul. It was absolutely hilarious.
Monday, March 2
Meraba!
My anne took me to my first hamam, a Turkish bathhouse. Not just any hamam, either. This hamam was located in a 300 year-old Ottoman building, in Ulus, a 20 minute dolmuş (public transit in the form of a minibus) ride away from my home in Gaziosmanpaşa. We walked through two sets of doorways, and into a large gathering room called the camekan, where women were sitting and chatting. My anne introduced me to the woman who would be giving me my body rub-down and massage. Her name was Kiraz, which means cherry, and her strength and seriousness intimidated me a little bit. We were shown to a cubicle, where we undressed, slipped on a pair of sandals, and gathered our towels, soap, wash saucers and scrubbies. Beyond the camekan, we entered the bathing area, where water was flowing on slick marble floors. We shared a side room with a mother and her young daughter. My anne filled her wash saucer with water from our basin and proceeded to dump water all over the place. It was a way to make sure the area in which were about to wash was clean. At this point in time, I began thinking about the amount of water flowing down the drains at the cost of my cleanliness. When it was time for my rub-down and massage, Kiraz found me and brought me to the great marble slap called the göbektaşı (belly stone) beneath the great central dome. She scrubbed me down with a kese (a course cloth mitten), loosening all the dirt and grime I’ve collected over the years. I think I was dirtier than most, from the funny look my anne gave me. She kept saying “Caitlin very dirty”. Then came the massage, which was absolutely wonderful. You’ll have to get one yourself and tell me what you think afterwards. I have never felt so clean in my life. I gave Kiraz two liras for a tip, she smiled at me, and I decided she’s very good at what she does.
At least in my family, breakfast is a big deal on the weekends. My anne and I went over to her brother’s home Sunday morning. We sat around the table, eating bread and simit (circular bread) with eggs, cheeses, fruit preserves, a spicy tomato-based dish, honey, and vegetables, and drinking çay (tea) for a good two hours. I played for the rest of the afternoon with my anne’s 4 year-old nephew Deren. His name means the base of a mountain, while his brother Doruk means summit. I reverted to making silly faces because I didn’t know what he was saying most of the time. We were best buds by the end of the afternoon.
My anne took me to my first hamam, a Turkish bathhouse. Not just any hamam, either. This hamam was located in a 300 year-old Ottoman building, in Ulus, a 20 minute dolmuş (public transit in the form of a minibus) ride away from my home in Gaziosmanpaşa. We walked through two sets of doorways, and into a large gathering room called the camekan, where women were sitting and chatting. My anne introduced me to the woman who would be giving me my body rub-down and massage. Her name was Kiraz, which means cherry, and her strength and seriousness intimidated me a little bit. We were shown to a cubicle, where we undressed, slipped on a pair of sandals, and gathered our towels, soap, wash saucers and scrubbies. Beyond the camekan, we entered the bathing area, where water was flowing on slick marble floors. We shared a side room with a mother and her young daughter. My anne filled her wash saucer with water from our basin and proceeded to dump water all over the place. It was a way to make sure the area in which were about to wash was clean. At this point in time, I began thinking about the amount of water flowing down the drains at the cost of my cleanliness. When it was time for my rub-down and massage, Kiraz found me and brought me to the great marble slap called the göbektaşı (belly stone) beneath the great central dome. She scrubbed me down with a kese (a course cloth mitten), loosening all the dirt and grime I’ve collected over the years. I think I was dirtier than most, from the funny look my anne gave me. She kept saying “Caitlin very dirty”. Then came the massage, which was absolutely wonderful. You’ll have to get one yourself and tell me what you think afterwards. I have never felt so clean in my life. I gave Kiraz two liras for a tip, she smiled at me, and I decided she’s very good at what she does.
At least in my family, breakfast is a big deal on the weekends. My anne and I went over to her brother’s home Sunday morning. We sat around the table, eating bread and simit (circular bread) with eggs, cheeses, fruit preserves, a spicy tomato-based dish, honey, and vegetables, and drinking çay (tea) for a good two hours. I played for the rest of the afternoon with my anne’s 4 year-old nephew Deren. His name means the base of a mountain, while his brother Doruk means summit. I reverted to making silly faces because I didn’t know what he was saying most of the time. We were best buds by the end of the afternoon.
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