Let’s talk Turkey!

Hi Everyone! Sorry it’s been a little while. We were without Internet on the ship for a few days, so folks had to find different ways of entertaining themselves. Right now I am watching a tourism video about Croatia, which looks absolutely beautiful, so I’ll have to get my brain out of Dubrovnik and the islands of Croatia, and rewind to our experiences in Turkey.
Coming into the port of Istanbul was an incredible sight. It was the first time that we stepped out from the interior of the ship into VERY chilly weather. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. I absolutely loved it! I’ve been missing that chill of fall weather that makes one want to put on a fuzzy sweater, drink hot coffee, and cuddle up in a blanket. Everyone was busting out their puffy jackets, stocking caps, gloves and scarves. It was a pretty quick transition from the sweltering warmth of Viet Nam through India to the mild temperatures of Egypt to seeing our breath out in the streets of Istanbul.
The picture I had of Turkey in my mind’s eye was nowhere near what it represented in reality. I had not imagined that we were entering into the western, very European-feeling, world quite yet. Istanbul and western Turkey have a very European feel, which I had not expected. To be honest, it was almost a little disappointing to emerge into a more familiar, western environment. That is not to take anything away from our experience in Turkey, but – again – it is marking the transition to the final stages of our voyage. I'm not ready yet!
Istanbul and western Turkey have a unique feel because of their European setting amidst a predominantly Muslim culture and texture. Turkey’s history and the story of Turkey’s national hero, Kemal Ataturk, are incredibly fascinating. I did not know much about Turkey until this voyage, but the tensions and controversies surrounding Turkey’s bid to become a member of the European Union have put Turkey’s history and culture under a magnifying glass. If you haven’t done so already, I would encourage you to research Turkey’s struggle with the European Union from multiple perspectives; particularly seek another viewpoint than the western viewpoint.
Anyway – Istanbul is a fascinating city. Joe and I spent many hours just walking through the cobblestone streets of the city, exploring the sights. On our first day we ventured to the Grand Bazaar in the old city, which is among the largest public market places in the world. It was fun to venture through all of the shops, the spice market, the quaint cafes serving Turkish tea & coffee, and seeing the Turkish “Evil Eye” everywhere!!! The evil eye is a symbol, in the likeness of an eye, which is traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits. We learned from our guide that the eye also represents a solar eclipse, which was something to be feared in ancient times, marking the eye as “evil.” At first I thought the evil eye seemed like a tourist trinket or souvenir, but the more we ventured around Turkey, I saw the evil eye embedded into walkways and hanging above doorways in restaurants & homes. So, don’t worry – you’ll probably get one of your very own when we return!
One of the other highlights of our first day – and definitely one of the highlights of our voyage, too – was stumbling upon this wonderful restaurant in the middle of the old city. Our friend J.B. had noticed a few rooftop bars, but most of them had looked closed and dark. However, there was one that had lights shining from above. J.B. and Joe both said, “Hey, this place looks open,” and simultaneously an attendant of the hotel/restaurant beckoned us to follow him upstairs. All I can say is “WOW.” We were ushered up seven or eight floors to a rooftop that was higher than all of the other rooftops around, nestled between the gorgeous looming sights of the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque, both absolutely beautiful in architecture and grandeur. As if that wasn’t enough, we were the only people on the rooftop, so we had our own private 5-star dining experience. My favorite part was right around sunset when the speakers of Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque rang out with their calls to prayer. Both calls to prayer echoed back and forth between the two religious sites, and it is really indescribable how beautiful, alluring, and spiritual it was to be standing up there. Luckily, Joe took a video of it, so you can experience it, too!
The following morning, Joe and I left on a Semester at Sea trip to Western Turkey. Joe was the trip leader for this adventure, along with 27 other faculty, staff and students. We had a really great group of people – very mellow folks who were interested to learn about the ancient sites of Western Turkey. As one student so poignantly put it: “There were no douche-bags on our trip.” Ha! What this comment is referring to is that there can sometimes be a select group of students who end up partying too hard during the trip, ignore the guide, arrive late for everything, and are generally a pain in the butt. We didn’t have any of that.
Our flight from Istanbul to Izmir brought us into some phenomenal weather! Our entire trip was full of blue sky and sunshine, with temperatures between 50-65 during the day. Chilly but refreshing. It is more difficult for me to write about all of the ruins we saw because I am by no means a history buff. However, I can say that we were able to walk down the marble streets of ancient Romans and Greeks, climb the steps of ancient amphitheatres from the 4th century, and walk amongst the looming ionic columns and structures of Ephesus. All of this will be better appreciated through the pictures, so I’ll defer to Joe on most of this.
Our experience was similar to that of seeing the ancient pyramids – it is absolutely incredible to see and learn about the histories of these ancient cultures that have literally been unearthed from the ground to tell stories of the past. The only time I had to really stretch my imagination was when we visited the remains of one of the seven ancient wonders of the world – The Temple of Athena – which was – literally – a lone column standing amidst a field of pieces of marble. Much of the ancient temple had been carried away and used to build other structures and buildings, so I had a hard time envisioning this massive temple from one remaining teetering column with a giant bird’s nest sitting on top. Joe found it interesting, so I tried to follow his lead.
Our second day in western Turkey took us to the smaller seaside town of Kusadasi, which is set on the Aegean Sea. A very beautiful town that we imagine is perpetually brimming with tourists in the summer. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to stay there very long before we were off to more ruins and museums.
Have I told you about the food yet? YUM! We got to sample many Turkish treats such as Turkish tea (yummy), Turkish coffee (mudlike), Turkish pizza (yummy), lots and lots of breads and cheeses, lentil soups, hummus, delicious salads, and crepes. Very similar to Greek cuisine in a lot of ways, but unique as well.
We also went to a carpet-weaving factory, as Turkish silk carpets are a hot commodity. While the factory provided a fascinating look at the process involved in making a handmade Turkish carpet, the prices were – um – not exactly in our price range, so we apologize if you were expecting a carpet for the holidays. The silk-on-silk carpets were – no joke – approximately $25,000. Do you have anything smaller?? Oh, yes, that one over there that one could place on an end table? That’s only $4500!!! They were beautiful, but c’mon people.
Once we arrived back at the ship from our trip, we had one more day in Istanbul to explore. Joe and I went inside the Aya Sofya and Blue Mosque which were amazingly massive and intricately decorated with paintings, mosaics, stained glass, beautiful archways and unique lighting. Again, we walked miles around the old city and ventured into the “new” city – the area around Taksim Square. When we arrived there, I felt as if I had been immediately transported into the Times Square of Istanbul. All of a sudden it felt like the Turkish culture had been absorbed into highrise 4-star hotels, McDonalds & Pizza Huts, department stores, and the hustle bustle of a modern city. It was interesting to experience, but I definitely enjoyed the old city feel. Before going back to the ship, Joe decided to go to a Turkish football (soccer) game. WOW. The scene in the stadium could barely be described by the words CRAZILY INTENSE. I’d say the ratio of men to women around the stadium was approximately 100:1, and the testosterone levels were through the roof. There were riot police everywhere, men pounding beers outside the stadium walls (no alcohol inside), and men sprinting to get to the game on time. I felt incredibly uncomfortable and out of place as a female in this particular environment, so my friend Kate & I watched the game from above on a street that overlooked the stadium. You could hear the crowd cheering in unison from many, many blocks away. It was amazing. Joe can tell you more about it.
Well, it’s getting late and I need to go to bed so I can wake up bright and early to see us pull into Dubrovnik. This is one of the most exciting ports for our voyage because the captain of our ship is from Dubrovnik, but his family hasn’t seen him sail into Croatia for over 14 years. So, his plan – at around 0730 tomorrow morning – is to blow the horn repeatedly as we come around the bend by his home on the coast. Hopefully we’ll be able to see his family waving to him!
Hope all is well over in your neck of the world!!
We miss all of you but will see you SOON!