Te-Shakira-Durham (teşekkür ederim), Turkey
Thank you, Turkey (that’s how I remembered how to pronounce it: te + Shakira + (Bull) Durham)
I’m sad to see you leave, but I love to watch you go… err, somethin. Despite the suicide bombing and imminent threats of more terror, I wanted to stay longer. That’s love right there. I really, really Love Istanbul.
A few other things on Turkey:
- How to eat baklava: When sharing baklava with our waiters one night, we learned from a former baklava chef that the proper way to eat baklava is upside-down, one bite. I guess when you put it in your mouth upside-down, the syrup that has collected on the bottom drips down on the whole piece, and so you can taste all of the flavors at once. I feel like a pro. I wish I could make a living being a professional baklava eater😃. Anyone hiring? Anyone?😕
- When you look different, most people think it’s okay to comment about how you look. I’ve never dealt with this before, but on the trip it’s been a constant thing. Example: At Gap store in Istanbul, guy who works there asks me, “Are you from Germany? Or if not, Russia?” Me: “No, U.S.” Him: “Oh, okay, I thought maybe Germany because you have nice, small face.” WTF. First of all, No. Secondly, I’m not asking you to describe what my face looks like. Then he continues the awesome conversation: “How old are you? 25 or 26? I think 25 or 26.” WTF x 2. I mean, really? Are we really going to do this? No. I’m fuckin’ old, dude. Real old, okay? So don’t make me tell you how old because then you’re going to say, “Wowwwww, you don’t look THAT old.” And then what do I say? “Thaaaaaaaanks” (fake smile), (biggest eyeroll EVAR). DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE BEEN ASKED HOW OLD I AM BY STRANGERS ON THIS TRIP…………………………………………………… ……………..…….. I had someone close to me who looks different and would always get total strangers commenting to him, and he didn’t always like it. I kinda understood him feeling like that, but part of me was thinking, ‘What’s the big deal?’ Now I know how it feels. It’s this weird amalgam of feelings: uncomfortable + violated + flattered. My ego likes the attention, honestly, and talking to anyone who knows english makes me happy. But it’s so awkward. Overall, if I could choose to take it or leave it, I would leave it and not feel like I’m being stared at for being different all of the time. Life lesson, I guess. Something about not staring at weird looking people. Rant complete.
- Pics of more Isti stuff:
taksim square at night
istanbul from plane
honesty! yay!
cicek pasaji – istiklal street
flower passage = cicek pasaji
best durum istanbul (tony bourdain thinks so too?)
$3
lamb durum
crossfit taksim😍
totoro started playing with stuff in my bag when he got bored
gone turkish: lentils w/garlic yogurt…
lentils cooking😆
final baklava
bestttt
the Golden Horn
view from my room
view of golden horn from room @ night
I could survive on this.
cute street
walls of constantinople? not sure. going out of istanbul, over kennedy avenue, on the way to the airport
some wall?
this is dedicated t… you know who you are
random pic of baklava love
Next up: Old stuff (or is it new stuff?) in Skopje
Really, Really Old Stuff
Ancient ruins of Ephesus
I flew from Istanbul to Izmir, then rented a car and drove one hour from Izmir to Ephesus. It felt good driving again, although I can’t say that I missed it too much. It’s easy to forget how much work driving is when you never have to do it! NOTICE TO ALL TURKISH DRIVERS: USE EXTRA CAUTION WHILE ON THE ROADS WHILE STEPHANIE IS DRIVING. The guy at the rental car place in the airport was Turkish, but he went to school at A&M – Corpus Christi😍 He met his Turkish wife there, and they moved back to Izmir after school. He was really nice, talking about how much he loved Corpus. I asked him if there were a lot of Turkish people there, and he said, “Yeah, there were. Probably like 50!” Super cute.
driving!
an izmir street
roadside
Ephesus is an ancient city that was established in the 10th Century B.C. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list just last year (not sure why it took so long). This is the description from UNESCO:
Located within what was once the estuary of the River Kaystros, Ephesus comprises successive Hellenistic and Roman settlements founded on new locations, which followed the coastline as it retreated westward. Excavations have revealed grand monuments of the Roman Imperial period including the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre. Little remains of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the “Seven Wonders of the World,” which drew pilgrims from all around the Mediterranean. Since the 5th century, the House of the Virgin Mary, a domed cruciform chapel seven kilometres from Ephesus, became a major place of Christian pilgrimage. The Ancient City of Ephesus is an outstanding example of a Roman port city, with sea channel and harbour basin.
Ephesus was truly amazing. I’m so glad that I decided to go (thanks for the info, Matt!). It was a long day, and I had to hurry a little, but it was amazing. It started being built in the 10th Century B.C….!!!? It was a large port city, with one of the largest centers of commerce in the ancient world. At one point, it was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire, with over 250,000 people. Ephesus was an important city of Christianity, and it is mentioned several times in the Bible. Other than just being amazing and breathtaking, it has loads of other religious and historical significance.
My camera got a little wonky, so I don’t have a lot of pictures, but here are some of the ruins:
entrance
gymnasium, theater in the distance
theater
theater
harbour street
harbour street
kitty guard
kitty standing watch
library of celsus
library of celsus
library of celsus
archways
I also visited the Ephesus Museum. It was a really nice museum – great lighting and the artifacts were displayed nicely (probably b/c it was renovated recently).
column
i finally found one
cool pitcher
unfinished carving
sarcophagus
view from the museum
goddess artemis
goddess artemis
The Ephesus Museum is in Selcuk, and it’s a super cute little town.
street
selcuk house
selcuk town
selcuk street
rainbow steps
tile fountain
The House of the Virgin Mary is located about 10 kms from the Ephesus site. It is supposed to be the house that Mary lived in until her Assumption. The house and the location was described in the 1800’s by a nun, following visions she had seen of the house. She explained the location to an author, who later published a book about her. In the late 1800’s, following the descriptions in the book, a priest found the house. Since then, people have made pilgrimages to the site, which they still do now (I saw two people walking up the road when I was driving). The Catholic Church hasn’t officially recognized this at all, but several Popes have made visits, most recently Pope Benedict. Standing in the space, it had a definite energy that I felt inside it.
house of the virgin mary
house of the virgin mary
pictures aren’t allowed inside
making offerings
virgin mary statue
view of ephesus
pano
I also checked out Alacati, a town near the coast. Adorable!!
an alacati street
alacati windmills
It was great to see the countryside and such amazing ruins. I love Istanbul though. I really, really love it, and I really, really hope it can get better here.
Next up: Macedonia
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