TURKEY
Trip Start
Mar 23, 2009
1
Trip End
Apr 07, 2009
Istanbul, Turkey
Monday, March 23, 2009
Arrived in Istanbul in the late afternoon and began our series of transportation stints heading to the house of our Turkish host, Hakan. Found Hakan on the couch-surfing site a few weeks prior and arranged our stay in Istanbul with him. His directions were great and after a nice bus ride through the city, a walk around Takim Square and a metro ride to Levent 4 we were standing in front of Bambinos waiting for our host. He arrived a few minutes late, all apologetic about his tardiness and then took off toward home as we followed behind. That night we were treated to Turkish Ravioli (which his mother had sent him from his home town hundreds of miles away). The stuff was pretty darn good except for that it was swimming in some kind of sour yogurt which we would later learn was definitely a Turkish favorite.
Hakan is 36 years old and an attorney. He speaks Turkish, English, Persian, Uzbek and dabbles in German in French. He is a voracious reader and a very inquisitive person. I found conversations with him were always interesting and educational. He loves hosting people from other countries and has hosted dozens of folks. So we were in good hands.
We spent 5 days in Istanbul and I have to say that if we had to do it all over again I would have done less of Istanbul. I don't think everyone would agree but I was a little bit disenchanted with the city myself. Mostly because it suffers from the same drawbacks all large cities do...waaayyyyyy too many people (16 million in its case), pollution, dirt, traffic, insane driving habits, etc. Having said that Istanbul is also very unique for obvious reasons, being the gateway between Asia and Europe. Crossing the Bosphorus strait you can actually say you have gone from Europe to Asia in a matter of minutes. The fact that it is a Muslim country with a secular government also made Turkey a new and unique experience for us. There are many contradictions and surprises. While many women preserve traditional dress and behavior many others are more western in their lifestyle. We would see groups of girls walking down the streets together, some covered from head to toe and their friends wearing tight-fitting designer jeans and heavy make-up. It seems Turks are very tolerant for the most part and that of course made our time there a bit easier than perhaps it had been in Morocco or Egypt as two single western women traveling alone. In fact, despite the call to prayer (heard anywhere and everywhere no matter how isolated you may think you are), and obvious signs of religion and ancient tradition throughout, Turks are amazingly tolerant of non-Muslims. In fact, it seemed to be that it was more taboo to criticize Ataturk than to behave as a non-Muslim. I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that Ataturk is idolized in Turkey. He is of course responsible for secularizing Turkey's government. He is considered responsible for the fact that there is a "Turkey" at all. He had a vision to see his country among the modern nations of Europe. He is considered an enlightened despot. I was careful when asking questions about him as I immediately sensed that it was offensive to question his powers or benevolence. Indeed, I believe it is illegal in Turkey to criticize him. He definitely succeeded in bringing Turkey closer to the west as he is responsible for giving the nation the Gregorian calendar (different from other countries in the Middle East), adopting the Roman alphabet as opposed to Arabic script and also ordered that Turks use surnames which was something that had not done before. There are pictures of him in every shop, restaurant, home, etc. His face is on money, stamps, statues, you name it. In a Muslim country where idolization of any figure, especially in written/picture form is prohibited I couldn't help but find it a tad ironic.
The old part of Istanbul, the part that tourists frequent, is called Sultanhamet. It is in this part of the city where you can find the world known Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya, Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar and others. These were the ones that we chose to see and I would argue the most visited places in Istanbul. I was especially impressed with Aya Sofya, which is now known as a museum but over the course of history has been a religious temple both for Christians as well as Muslims. It was completed in 537 (created by the Emperor Justinian) and was once known as the greatest church in Christendom. Mehmet the Conquerer converted it into a mosque in 1453 and the infamous Ataturk declared it a museum in 1935. The interior of this place is spectacular and architecturally incomprehensible. Taking pictures inside was something like trying to take a good picture of an enormous mountain and it not fitting in the frame in the slightest, thus not doing the subject any justice. I was duly impressed. Aya Sofya is the most famous monument in Istanbul. The Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace were also beautiful. However, once again, our time in Istanbul was spent mostly in anticipation of leaving the city. We realized not long after our arrival that we were ready to move on and see some of Turkey's natural beauty, thus we weren't terribly energetic or enthusiastic in Istanbul, probably also due in part to our 7 days of nonstop tourist activity with mom and dad prior to our arrival in the ancient city.
From Istanbul we headed to the unspectacular town of Denizli on a 10 hour bus ride that left Istanbul at 10p.m. on a Friday night. The reason for going to Denizli is that it is the base point from which to visit a very famous place called Pamukkale. We met our next Turkish host, Gokhan, at the bus terminal in Denizli. On our way "home" we stopped at a Turkish bakery where they bake this bread that I dubbed "circle bread" which you see all over the place. We bought fresh circle bread and headed home where Gokhan prepared us a delicious traditional Turkish breakfast of circle bread, tomatoes in olive oil and some kind of white cheese also unique to Turkey. It was delicious. We spent our first day in Denizli mostly napping as our 10 hour bus ride was less than pleasant (shocker), partly because we didn't sleep a wink, partly because the Turks LOVE LOVE LOVE their heaters and we were on the verge of passing out from heat exhaustion and partly because for some strange reason we were of utmost interest to the passengers around us as well as the "bus boy" who had absolutely no qualms about staring at us unblinkingly for hours on end two feet from our face. It was the strangest thing. The woman in front of us would literally turn her torso so as to shove her face in the space between the two seats and just STARE. She would occasionally talk to us in Turkish which she continued to do throughout the ride despite our obvious inability to comprehend a word she was saying. The woman behind us, an elderly Muslim woman in traditional dress (layers and layers of cloth covering her body and I swear it was 96 degrees Fahrenheit in that bus) moaned and cried for most of the ride. I have no idea what the cause of her pain was but needless to say she shared it with me and the other passengers.
So a day of rest in Denizli was in order. When we finally woke up from our nap we spent some time getting to know our second host and I just couldn't get over how smart and warm and friendly these people were! Gokhan is a civil activist. He studied International Relations and works in conflict zones throughout the region. He had recently returned from Armenia, a country Turkey has a conflicted history with and told us about his work. I can pretty much attest that Gokhan does almost exactly what I dream of doing when I think of a dream job (other than being a host on a television travel series of course). He speaks Turkish, English and some Russian. He is humble beyond need and gracious and generous. I don't know if Bonnie and I just got lucky as we seem to tend to do, or if Turkish people all around are as kind and generous as our hosts were.
Gokhan and his friend Umut drove us to Pamukkale the following morning. Pamukkale, which appears on the list of World Heritage UNESCO sites, is a beautiful and bizarre landscape of natural springs. There are calcium rich pools all over the hillside and unique formations called travertines that are created when warm mineral water cascades over the ledge of the pools and deposits its calcium. The hillside of turquoise spring waters in white calcium pools is beautiful enough but the region is also covered in beautiful red, yellow and white flowers, not to mention that it is the site of the ancient city of Hierapolis. Guidebooks tell you that the city was mostly destroyed by earthquakes, particularly a major one in 1334 which was the cause of the locals finally packing up and abandoning the city. However, I was impressed with the remains and I thought they were complete enough to evoke a vivid image of life in the ancient city. It was founded in 190 BC and became a cure center (the natural spring waters were said to possess many healing powers) and was an important city to the Romans and later the Byzantines. There are many, many graves, a Roman theater that held 12,000 spectators, a church, an antique pool (remodeled today of course for tourists to swim in). Negligent tourism practices have rendered the travertines nearly dry and it is now prohibited to swim in the natural waters though there are parts where you can take your shoes off and walk through the pools. Many people say Pamukkale is not what it used to be and it seems that the Turks are making a big effort to restore it. Having said that, Bonnie and I thought the place was magnificent and we spent the entire day with our fingers pressed on our shutter buttons or lying in the flower fields or wading through the calcium rich waters (or drinking beer by the pool) while our gracious hosts sat back from a distance and just let us soak it all in...
Our time with Gokhan in Denizli/Pamukkale was short but thanks to Gokhan we took an unplanned trip to a wonderful place called Butterfly Valley on the southwestern Turkish coast, near a city called Oludeniz. Butterfly Valley is secret valley hidden between two large mountains and inaccessible by land. The only way to reach it is by boat as by foot it requires a serious hike that no one does. For this reason it is a quiet place and one we had nearly all to ourselves for three days. Apparently in the summer it is invaded by young partyers and hippies alike which I can't imagine because it really isn't very big and the accommodations are modest to say the least. Lucky for us we were there in low season and aside from the very first night which we shared with three really cool Spanish folks, we had the valley to ourselves. We spent three days hiking, sunbathing, reading, hanging out in our tree house (no electricity and water only in the outhouse a hundred feet away). At night the place became downright primal and I swear I have never heard so many animal/critter/bug/monster noises in my life. I felt like I was in the heart of the jungle. When the critters would finally settle down for the night (or we became used to the noises) all we could hear was the sound of the waves crashing on the beach mere feet away, the sound amplified I believe due to the fact that we were in a narrow valley. At night I would brush my teeth with spiders and frogs and stare up at a sky sprinkled with stars. It was rough living but we were grateful for the peacefulness and the sun. On our third day, the day we should have left, we got sidetracked on our way to the bus station to catch a bus to head up north. We were packed and ready, had taken our boat ride to shore at Oludeniz and decided that we just had to paraglide in this beautiful place (Gokhan had strongly suggested we do this). Being as it was that the last bus left at 1p.m. in the afternoon and we were cutting it close, our paragliding adventure forced us to stay in the Valley yet another day (secretly, I had NO problem with this but it did cost us a visit to another ancient city in Turkey). Our paragliding adventure was absolutely beautiful. Heading up the mountain (to well over 1,000 feet) on a narrow dirt road driven by an overly confident and excited Turk, us in the back with a strange mix of pumped up Turks, Germans, Russians and who knows what else, we climbed up the mountainside occasionally catching a glimpse of the ever shrinking coast below while these crazy paragliders worked themselves into a frenzy with their portable boom-box that was blaring hardcore electronic tunes. One had the feeling we were about to hop on a motorcycle and ride like mad in one of those large spheres or something the way these guys were acting. Bonnie and I kept glancing at each other with worried expressions having an entire conversation with one another without saying one word ... I can't believe I let you get me into yet another one of these situations (Bonnie) and me retorting I swear this was a really peaceful experience the last time I did it...
Lucky for us our Turkish pilots were very professional and we had nothing to worry about. I was first to run off the mountainside with my Turkish fellow strapped behind and once airborne it was the most wonderful feeling. Our flights were relatively short as the wind wasn't cooperating but they were beautiful and our views of the coast were stunning. We both had smooth landings after which we hopped back on the dingy to go back to our Butterfly Valley for one more night of critter bonding.
From Butterfly Valley we caught a bus north to the city of Izmir, a very modern city on the upper west coast of Turkey. We were only there one night and we spent it at Gokhan's brother's house. When Gokhan heard that we'd be in Izmir for a night he immediately offered his brother's home (he did not tell his brother, however, that he would have two guests and so when we showed up at his front door with our backpacks, Gokhan's brother had no idea we'd be staying the night!). Something like this might seem strange to us but everyone just went with the flow and it seemed we were graciously welcomed once again. Took our first real shower in four days and slept in a warm, comfortable bed in a room where you COULD NOT hear the roosters crow like mad at 4a.m. It was wonderful.
Next day we boarded a flight in Izmir headed for the city of Kayseri in central Turkey. At the airport we managed to talk a reluctant American couple into letting us ride with them in their rental car to the town of Goreme which is where we were all headed (overheard them talking to the car rental folks and figured we'd try to bum a ride with them). They accepted though not enthusiastically and they also accepted the money we offered them upon our arrival in Goreme. No comment...
Goreme is one of the most unique little towns I have every been to in my life. Bonnie called it Bedrock which I found very appropriate. It is a small village in the heart of the Cappadocia region in central Turkey. The landscapes are otherworldly with entire villages cut out of or burrowed into the rocky cliff sides among valleys covered in the most bizarre rock formations you'd swear could never have formed naturally. Apparently the region was discovered by the Hittites as far back as 1800 BC. After the Hittites Cappadocia was also home to the Persians, the Romans and early Christians who built hundreds of eccentric little churches and monasteries. We must have visited several dozen tiny churches that were literally caves. It was one of the oddest things I'd ever seen. Goreme itself is a town of fairy chimneys. Picture honeycomb mountains and homes carved out of the cliff sides, valleys covered in huge rocks shaped like magicians hats that also serve as homes and today as hotels. Our own hotel in Goreme was a cave, a room carved out of a mountain. We had four days to explore Cappadocia which we mostly spent on foot, hiking throughout the valleys with our little guide map. We hiked through valleys with names like Pigeon Valley, Love Valley, Rose Valley, Red Valley and also rented a car one day (yes, we actually rented a car and drove in Turkey!) and visited the underground city of Derinkuyu as well as Ilhara Valley. Got a little lost for 3 or 4 hours but no harm done, beautiful scenery to gaze upon and wide open two-lane highway to whip along on...
We flew back to Istanbul from Kayseri and spent our last night with our friend Hakan once again, watched a movie, ate a wonderful meal and on our last morning in Istanbul we made our way to the airport to head back to France. It is worth mentioning that on the day of our departure our main man Mr. Obama was in Istanbul which meant that the entire city was up-heaved. What should have been a 45 minute bus ride to the airport was a 2 hour tram, trolley, subway ordeal but we also got to see the normally packed city of Istanbul in a very different light. The entire area of Sultanhamet was a ghost town (our trolley rode through it without making its usual stop to let people off there), thousands of policemen with shields lined the major streets and our president took a little tour of the temples Bonnie and I had stood in days earlier. Upon our arrival at Ataturk Airport we watched live news coverage of Barack gazing at the spectacular dome of Aya Sofya and we couldn't help but smile...
Turkey is not only rich in history and culture which is no secret but also unimaginably diverse, surprising and very beautiful. Minus the expected hassle or two in the big cities, its people were some of the most warm and generous I have encountered. Two whole weeks in the country and I don't think we barely scratched the surface.
Comments
Turkey...WOW!!
Graciela.........your writing never ceases to impress me. The information, history and art that you are able to put into a sentence is amazing. I have not even perused your photos yet. A super report on your travels...TJ