The First Two Months

I cannot believe that we are already going on our third month in Turkey. The time has flown by so quickly that I have hardly taken any time to sit down and reflect on everything. Tonight I find myself processing all the little lessons learned and discoveries made over my time here in Turkey so far. Here is some of my list:

1. The food here is delicious, but I would give my left arm and maybe even one of my dogs for some mediocre Thai food right now.
2. Turkish people will be the first ones to push you out of the way to get onto the train, but also the first ones to help you if you actually fall down.
3. I get frustrated easily when I can’t use language to communicate what I want to say.
4. I love listening to people speaking Turkish. I find it fascinating even though I can only understand about 20 words.
5. The bakery down the street will give you a free sample of something fresh out of the oven every time you stop by just to look in their case. I walk by for no reason very often.
6. Being scrubbed down by a hot, steamy, barely-clothed fat Turkish woman is not as bad as it sounds.
7. The mountains are only a one hour car ride away, and the beautiful Mediterranean is only a 30 minute train ride away. Even though I don’t make it to either of these places too often, I just like knowing it is a possibility.
8. I thank God every day for a little slice of “America” within our TAC walls. The campus community helps keep me sane on a daily basis.
9. I also thank God everyday for internet downloading. No need to live without Glee, Grey’s Anatomy, and Dexter. And Skype is a modern miracle!
10. My mantra lately has been a little song I learned as a kid in Bible school. “Have patience. Have patience. Don’t be in such a hurry...” Everything here takes at least twice as long as you would expect...from trips to the eye doctor to getting shower doors fixed to getting a stupid filing cabinet for your office.
11. I am constantly amazed at the amount of history that surrounds me. I even sometimes stop while I’m walking down the street and ponder about what could be under my feet.
12. I am a very social person, and I drive myself crazy having my own gigantic office. Sometimes I miss my cramped little closet of an office I shared with Marianna at Harding.
13. Thinking of all the awesome trips I have planned this year helps get me through the tough days.
14. I am still trying to figure out my job here. It frustrates me to no end that I don’t feel settled in it yet. I just keep reminding myself....one day at a time....

Ahhhhh...Antalya

The end of August was marked with a holiday because of the end of Ramadan celebration, Eid ul-Fitr. As you can tell from my previous posts, we have not been doing too much “work” to need a vacation, but it was nice for Josh and I to get away and explore a bit of Turkey by ourselves. We decided to head for the western Mediterranean city of Antalya.

Since the month of September marks Josh's birthday and our wedding anniversary, we decided to splurge a bit and booked a room at the Alp Paşa Hotel. It is a boutique hotel in Kaleici (Old Town) that inhabits several of the old Ottoman mansions that were originally built in the mid-18th to early-19th centuries for wealthy merchants. While it was a bit expensive, it was definitely a beautiful place to make as our home base for our adventures in the city.

The streets of the Kaleici are charming and whimsical--very narrow, cobblestoned with beautiful flowers and plants everywhere. There are little shops around every corner selling everything from carpets, scarves, spices, and nargiles (aka hookah or water pipe) to modern clothing and knock-off name-brand bags. The shop keepers did get a bit relentless, and some even followed us down the street shouting “Yes, Please!” even though we kept saying “No, Thank you!” 

The Old Town winds its way down to a beautiful marina backdropped by rugged mountain cliffs. It is definitely a stunning site, and made for some spectacular sunsets.

One thing that has been particularly striking to me since arriving in Turkey is the centuries of history that surround me on a daily basis. This is particularly true for the Antalya area. Archeological finds in some of the caves in the region date back to the Paleolithic period with the skull of a neanderthal child. 

Josh and I spent a good portion of one afternoon in the Antalya Museum immersing ourselves in the history and archeological finds of the region. It is a very beautiful and extensive museum. I highly recommend to anyone.

Now for the history lesson portion of this blog:

Hadrian's Gate

The city of Antalya was founded in the 1st century BC by Attalus II of Pergamum. It became a Roman city when the Pergamene kingdom was bequeathed to Rome not long thereafter. Roman Emperor Hadrian visited the city in 130 AD, and Hadrian’s Gate was built in his honor, which is still standing today.

We decided to do a side trip to Perge, Aspendos, and Side on one of our days in the region. These 3 cities hold some of the most spectacular ruins I have ever seen (aside from Ephesus). 

Perge was one of the most important towns in ancient Pamphylia, and it experienced its “golden age” during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC under the Romans. The town was surrendered to Alexander the Great in 334 BC. 

Large fountain and central cooling system. The water ran through
the fountain and into the canal structure. This running water cooled
the city during the hot summer months.

I am amazed at the level of engineering that occurred in these ancient cities. They had everything from shopping malls to beautiful fountains and central cooling systems. Archeological excavation began in the 1940s and still continues to this day with only 22% of the city being uncovered.

Side (pronounced see-duh) means “pomegranate” in Greek and was pirate haven in the early centuries AD. 

We only took time to see the ruins of the Temples of Apollo and Athena which date from the 2nd century BC. These beautiful white marble ruins are located right by the harbor.

Aspendos was my favorite stop of the tour, and for one reason only--the beautiful Roman amphitheater still standing in near perfect condition.  

It is considered to be the best preserved Roman theatre of the ancient world. Many of the ancient ruins were used for building materials after WWI, the Turkish Revolution, and WWII. 

In fact, many ancient temples that historians know to exist from ancient writings are no where to be found because they were dismantled and used in bits and pieces elsewhere. Very sad if you ask me! 

The theatre at Aspendos was constructed by the Romans during the reign on Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180) and was restored during the 13th century. 

It was restored again in the 1930s by Ataturk and is still used to this day for concerts and plays. How awesome it must be to experience a performance in this venue!

Upon leaving Aspendos and as we were returning to our hotel, we drove by an ancient Roman aqueduct used to supply water to the city of Aspendos. This is another example of awe-inspiring Roman construction. 

How in the world did the Romans build such massive structures with such heavy building materials with the tools they had available to them?! It boggles my mind.

Our trip to Antalya was the perfect balance of exploring history, shopping, eating, and relaxing on the beach. While very touristy (there were throngs of German, British and Russian tourists while we were there), I am glad we paid a visit the gateway of the Turkish Riviera. 

Orientation Whirlwind

Since arriving in Turkey, Josh and I have been kept busy with orientation of the culture, town, and school community. We decided to arrive a few days early to give ourselves some time to settle ourselves and our pups into a new apartment and time zone. Thank goodness we did! Once the other new teachers arrived, we were kept busy most of the days from breakfast until after dinner.

We’ve been shown the local markets, taken shopping at a mall in nearby Mersin, and given a history tour of the city of Tarsus. (Did you know that this is not only the birth place of the apostle Paul, but Tarsus also claims to be the burial place of Daniel and where Cleopatra met Antony?) 

Outside the Aya Sophia

I and the other new teachers quickly filled up the school van on a trip to Metro (the local “Costco”) with supplies for our apartments. We were flown to Istanbul where we had our first language lessons, learned about Turkish history and culture, given a tour of the major historical sights of the city, and were wined and dined on an amazing dinner cruise along the Bosphorus. 

The Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque

Inside the Aya Sophia--one of the oldest churches in the world

Basilica Cistern

Dinner Cruise on the Bosphorus

Dinner Cruise on the Bosphorus

Window of Sweets

We have learned how to use the train to get to the major cities that surround Tarsus, explored an American market in Adana where we bought our favorite deodorant for a mere 15 TL ($9US), and were fed copious amounts of food at various restaurants around the city. 

And as if all of that wasn’t enough, we were whisked away to a hotel on the Mediterranean for 2 days of rest and relaxation. 

Lounging on the beach

View from my beach chair

One of these days, I just might have to work...

Merhaba Turkey!

I can’t believe it’s been nearly a week since we arrived in Turkey. The time has gone so fast. After an exhausting plane trip (who can sleep on a plane anyway?), we landed in Tarsus around 8:30pm. We easily got all of our luggage through customs. The only question asked to us was: What is in these bags? Our response: We’re moving to Turkey. It’s stuff we need to move here. And we were waved through.

Since we have been here, the other teachers have really taken us under their wing. We have been shown the best places around town to shop, taken to the Roman Road, brought out to various restaurants and bars, and we even visited a local mall. There have been downs: jet lag, Turkey Tummy, and the sudden arousal from deep slumber by the 2:30am Ramadan cannon, but the more we do and see and meet--the more realize we will really like living here. The people are so friendly and patient with the lack of language ability. They are ready to do anything to help you and get you anything you need.

The food is amazing! So many fresh fruits and vegetables that my fingers itch to start cooking. Fresh bread on every corner. The most amazing honey you have ever tasted. And please don’t get me started on the baklava. I think I’ll have to do a blog in the future just on the food here in Turkey. 

Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for 3 days of culture orientation in Istanbul. In the mean time, enjoy these pictures of some our first experiences here in Turkey.

Almost to Turkey

First View of Turkey from the Airplane

Shopping with Filiz for cheese

The Roman Road. This ancient road is the "Road to Damascus" from the the story of St. Paul from the Bible. I can't believe the history I am experiencing.

Roman Road

Landscape from the Road Road

Roman Road

Yes. They do have "real roads" in Turkey.

Sabanci Central Mosque in Istanbul

Women have to cover themselves to enter the mosque.
They provide skirts and scarves if you need them.

Interior of the Mosque. It is gorgeous!

Interior dome. Full of reds and blues and golds.

What a beautiful building! It is a new mosque that was completed in 1998.

Shopping in Tarsus

Shopping in Tarsus

One of the many fruit/veggie stands

Street view of Tarsus

Tarsus Waterfall--view from our restaurant table

Tava--a yummy Turkish entree comprised of chicken, tomatoes, mushroom, peppers, and cheese.

Tarsus Friends