Mmm Turkey

Day 59

In what is becoming a tradition, this recounting is about 2 weeks overdue. Meh.

So Yarmouk U gave us a long weekend for the 'Eid break after Ramadan. And believe me, I was ready to get out of Dodge (and actually out of Jordan) for a little while. But my initial plans to visit Yemen were scrapped after uncertainties about getting a visa in time, so I decided to stretch the break to 10 days to take advantage of a decent airfare to Turkey. Why Turkey?

Why not? A little reprieve from Arabic; a nice European flavor to my usually very Eastern travels (which probably sounds funny to people that have traveled in real err 'Western' Europe); and honestly, it was just a good section of my Lonely Planet Middle East guidebook (shukran to my big bro Tim).

Istanbul



Awaking bleary-eyed at 4am, I hunted down a taxi and caught an early Amman-Istanbul flight with a lot of fellow holiday-makers. Istanbul's refreshingly European aspects struck me immediately as I boarded a metro/tram combo (public transportation?!) passed old stone buildings, parks, and huge mosques to the touristy Sultanahmet district downtown along the Boshporous. My charming hostel was a constant source of activity, from the ever-changing and motley crew of international backpackers I shared dorm space with right down to the young ADD Turkish-American caretaker Mustafa. It made a good base to explore the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, and the sites across the Golden Horn (my favorite being a mile+ long pedestrian mall on Istiqlal Cadessi that is replete with good restaurants and a vibrant night-life crowd). I tagged along with a group of Brown U grads on their 'Eid break from teaching English in Ankara as we visited some open air markets, and I did my best to glean from them some survival Turkish that would serve me well down the road. I had a great first three days in Istanbul, and probably could've easily spent a week there if it wasn't quickly devouring my travel budget. So I third-wheeled it with a couple from New Zealand and we bought a bus package to the coast to see Gallipoli and Troy.

Chanukalle




















Our bus turned out to be filled with Aussies and Kiwis (not surprising considering the ANZAC memorials at the WWI battlefields of Gallipoli--Wikipedia that shit...). I did my best to represent the Yanks and the under-25 age bracket. Gallipoli was impressive and full of history, no less moving even if you aren't from one of the participating countries. We saw the ill-fated beachhead, opposing trench systems less than 10m apart, and a number of grave yards and memorials that told the tragic and very human story of the little peninsula. It was dreadfully cold (well, for Turkey in October--high 40's) and windy on the exposed hilltops, and my Adidas running jacket wasn't quite making the grade. After a short night in Chanukalle, a short ferry boat hop away from Gallipoli, we set out for a guided tour of the ruins of Troy. I was thankful for the informed and articulate guide, or else we would have been at a loss to differentiate the remnants of each of the 9 historical cities of Troy or make sense of the historical-mythical connections of the unearthed ruins. I bid farewell to Mark and Sara as I pressed on by bus south down the Aegean coast.

Selcuk and Ephesus



Selcuk is a quaint little town nestled in the mountains not far inland from the sea, and I hunted around 'til I found an equally-quaint family run hostel. I paid a few more Lira for it, but the free use of bikes, complimentary glasses of wine, and unlimited coffee/tea were well worth it. More than that, the family feel of the two-house complex set a few streets back from the small downtown shopping and eatery district couldn't have been a better fit. I was already feeling a bit travel-weary only 4 days into the trip (lots of walking and bus rides, a trend which would continue), and Selcuk's relaxing atmosphere easily convinced me to stay an extra day. The hostel was run by a very hospitable owner who shared wine and good stories, his gracefully aged mother who spoke little English but extended a warm welcome through fresh sheets/towels and smiles, and his sister who was always offering fresh nuts and pomegranate as she cooked up something delicious in the kitchen right outside my room. A communal breakfast in the large dining hall proved to be a great place to connect with the other travelers and trade stories over fresh fruit and bread.

Selcuk's main tourist draw is the incredible Roman city of Ephesus, the most complete set of urban Roman ruins outside of Southern Europe. Ephesus was the major trading hub of the Eastern Roman empire, and in its late stages played host to the apostle Paul (and his letters to the Ephesians, naturally). I biked the 3km to Ephesus mid-morning but not quite early enough to avoid the throngs of obnoxious Americans and other Westerners who are bussed in from larger towns on the coast. Nevertheless, they couldn't dampen the atmosphere of the place as I traipsed though colonnades, ancient libraries, amphitheaters, and detailed (if cheesy) reenactments of gladiator bouts--surprisingly the loser was always pardoned by the gracious Roman governor no matter how many of the half-hourly duels I caught...

Other local attractions included the Byzantine remains of St. John's basilica, as well as a pleasant pedestrian strip of cafes and eateries. Again, I could've wiled away another day in Selcuk, but my travel days were quickly running out and I knew I had several longish bus rides to string together to get to my last destination in southern Turkey, a small fishing village along the Mediterranean.

Kas

I took the Selcuk hostel owner's recommendation for a place in Kas (pronounced Kash, and incidentally not the Kurdish border town described in Orhan Paluk's beautiful novel Snow). He proved to be spot on; it was a charming family establishment with good connections to the small town's self-ascribed hub of adventure tourism. I befriended a Danish gent, over I found lounging in one of the hostel's hammocks, over dinner. He had been coming to Turkey on and off for 10 or so years, and knew a good bit of Turkish. We were both interested in a sea kayak trip over sunken Lycean ruins so we bought tickets and made it happen. Our small group early the next morning included a four Aussies young and old (they are everywhere), an American couple in their 30s, and our very capable guide John, a master's student in astrophysics at a nearby university. The Dane and I were the only two with kayak experience (ok he has actually been in a kayak club in Denmark and I had taken my brother's kayak out in Maine a couple times ha), and as such we were the only two with single kayaks besides the guide. Thankfully the weather in Kas was much warmer than Chanukalle and I was comfortable in a t-shit and running shorts, and a bit tanner for it by the end of the day. The trip included about 2.5 hours of kayaking across the glittering and calm Mediterranean to two coves where we disembarked for a swim and self-exploration of an old Ottoman castle. The real draw was the sunken ruins, and although they don't make for good pictures, they didn't disappoint in person as we glided a few meters above foundations of harbor walls, mosaics and broken pottery, and sarcophagi.

Exits

I left Kas that evening for a very long overnight bus ride (15.5 hours) back to Istanbul for my last day before my flight home. All travel, outside of trains to eastern Turkey and domestic flights between a few small airports, functions by bus there. As such, the Turks have developed a nice system of relatively-comfy coaches between all major cities, offering complimentary snack and beverage service from the ground-equivalent of a flight attendant to ease the journey. Still, almost 16 hours is a heck of a spell to while away on a bus, no matter how much (read: very little) sleep one manages to steal between the occasional rest stops. I returned to my familiar hostel in Istanbul for a day of R&R, not venturing far from Sultanahmet to drink in some last culture. Actually, I was pretty much guaranteed another night at the place to collect the 20L I had lent to Mustafa nearly a week before.

Many Lira, 250 pictures, and 10 days later, I was content to board the plane back to Amman. Note: signs of 'Eid in secular Turkey were almost non-existent. And I couldn't have been happier for it. It was nice to get out of the Arabic-speaking Middle East for a little while, but I was also ready to get back to Irbid for my classes and language study. I guess that's a good sign, that's what I'm here for. ; )