July 2-8, 2009 – Istanbul

If Ankara is modern Turkey, Istanbul is everything else. We come to the city on a “Feribot” across the Sea of Marmara, arriving at dusk – a stunning approach. It is the perfect way to arrive; as the city’s monuments ease into view you have time to appreciate how different this skyline is from our own. Pencil thin minarets and domes are silhouetted against a dusty pink sky. The waters surrounding the city frame it in a shimmer of ink blue water. Our drive to the hotel is along the ancient sea wall, across the Golden Horn and up the Bosporus. Making Istanbul the last stop has made it even more enticing and its silhouette even more exotic.

Old and new come together here in a glorious stew. In the daytime it is hot, noisy, colorful, crowded, and chaotic. At sunset, however, the breeze picks up and the heat of the day leaves the streets to strollers and cafés. We are staying in the Beşiktaş area, across the Golden Horn from Sultanahmet. It is very European here, perhaps less foreign, but we are only a tram ride from the soul of the city. Every language drifts up around you and this makes me wish I had been a better student of languages. In addition to Turks, we have met Iranians, Spanish, and British; rubbed elbows with Japanese, French, German, Austrian, Canadian, and Dutch. People try to guess our nationality. So far we have been tagged Dutch, Italian, but mostly British or American. It is fun to play these games with the guesser, usually a vendor wanting to sell you something. The vendors here are very playful, sometimes asking: “How can I take your money today.” We have had fun bargaining for things although I am lousy at it. Ted, however, can play their game superbly, and I have mastered the ability to walk away as though completely disinterested. Istanbul is a trip in itself.

In the small world department, the concierge at our hotel, Cem (pronounced “Jim”), spent a summer working at Port Royal on Hilton Head. We have become fast friends and he has taken over our planned itinerary for the city. By shuffling our plans he creates a much more creative approach to what we want to see laced with local color he thinks we should not miss. The highlights are many, but I will try to restrain myself.

Having read 1453 we want to see the landmarks mentioned in the book. We start with the Galata Tower built in 1348 in the Genoese section of old Constantinople. It offers a view of from Seraglio Point (including Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia) all the way to the Theodosian Wall. While Hagia Sophia is my personal highlight, climbing the steps to the top of the Theodosian Wall and surveying the area on both sides of the wall is like reaching back in history to Mehmet II and Constantine XI. Another day, at the Military Museum and the Naval Museum, we see one of Mehmet’s cannons and the huge Byzantine chain that “protected” the Golden Horn. We hear the Mehter, the Ottoman military band which led the Janissaries into battle ~ its unusual horns sounding a discordantly disturbing noise to western ears that no doubt sounded like approaching doom to the occupants of Constantinople. In the words of Roger Crowley:
“They [the Janissaries] pressed toward the stockade propelled on a huge wall of sound, the ultimate psychological battle weapon…, so loud that it could be heard on the Asian shore… The sound of drums and pipes, the shouts and exhortations…, the thunderous roll of the cannon, the piercing cries of the men themselves calculated both to liberate their own adrenaline and to shatter the nerve of the enemy.”
Still later in the week we cruise by Mehmet’s “Throat Cutter,” Rumeli Hisari Fortress on the Bosporus.

The most transcendent place we visited was the Sultanahmet Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque. We had peered through a window in the top of Hagia Sophia across the square at the cascade of domes which seem to flow from the large central dome of the mosque. It was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I in 1609 AD as an Islamic counterpoint to Hagia Sophia. Whether it was the hush inside the mosque that muffled the cacophony of the streets outside, or the breathtaking leap of the central dome from its massive columnar supports, or the thousands of blue and white tiles that line everything and are responsible for the mosque’s popular reference, our immediate sensation was that we were in a hallowed space. So calm and peaceful was the interior that we just wanted to sit for awhile. Here I must note that the Muslims we talked to made a point to say that the Taliban are not Muslim and do not represent the faith.

The most exotic architectural space for me was not as I expected, Hagia Sophia, but the Yerebatan Cistern. It was built in the 6th century during the reign of Justinian I, the Byzantine emperor. There was no fresh water source within the city so drinking water had to come from springs outside the walls. This made it easy for an enemy to choke Constantinople, thus the decision was made to build a series of cisterns throughout the city that could sustain it in times of siege. The largest of these is Yerebatan and if you are a James Bond fan, you might remember a scene from From Russia with Love, where James Bond is rowing through a forest of columns. It was filmed here. I know my sensibilities were being manipulated by the lighting of the cistern and by the music which plays softly in the background, but the drip of water from the ceiling, the reflection of the columns in the water, the height of the arches supporting the street above, and the fish swimming in the water are so out of the ordinary that we drift along the walkways not believing our eyes. This is unlike any place else on earth.

We are lucky to be in Istanbul during a full moon. To endear the city to us, Cem, our concierge, insists we visit Ortaköy, thirty minutes up the Bosporus from our hotel. The name means “middle village” and it was called that because during the Ottoman period it was a small fishing village mid-way up the Bosporus. Even though now it is part of Istanbul, it has not lost its village atmosphere. We have not had the obligatory Bosporus cruise so Cem recommends the moonlight cruise that sails up the Bosporus from Ortaköy. We go up to Ortaköy early to walk around the area and have dinner before the cruise.

One of our favorite things about Turkey is the nightlife. In America we all seem to retreat to our air conditioned spaces when the sun goes down. In Turkey, in every place we visited, everyone goes out to their town squares, neighborhoods or sits on their front steps after dark to visit. Ortaköy’s harbor area is crowded with cafés and a large square, both of which are filled with families and tourists from the time we arrived around 6 pm ‘till the time we leave at 10:30 pm. Couples with young children and grandparents, teenagers, young couples, and elderly men playing backgammon are everywhere. Our dinner is loads of fun because one of our favorite pastimes when traveling is imagining the lives of the people around us.

The absolute highlight of the evening, however, is the cruise. The air and the breeze are light. We take off just before the Bosporus Bridge and ease into the shipping lane. The moon rises casting a glistening path across the water. As the sky darkens, the palaces and villas that line the Bosporus light up like chandeliers. We come to Rumeli Hisari on the European side, called the “Throat Cutter,” looking for all the world like a medieval castle. Across on the Asian shore is the Anadolu Hisari. Together they were used by Mehmet the Conqueror to control the traffic from the Black Sea.

We sip tea and reminisce about our three weeks. They have been so filled with the most amazing sights we never imagined we would get to see. We have loved our time here. The Turkish people are so gracious and are eager for us to get to know their country. They are very proud of their history and the country’s progress toward a modern democracy. There are tensions to be sure. The current conservative ruling party wants to re-write the constitution and this alarms the more western-leaning citizens who want to sustain the separation of church and state insisted on by Ataturk in 1923. We know from one of our guides who is Kurdish that there are terrible tensions between the Turkish government and the Kurds. As Jan Morris puts it:
“For centuries [Turkey] was the terror of Christianity; for generations it was the Sick Man of Europe; today it stands formidably on the edge of Asia surrounded in the universal mind, as always, by an aura of mingled respect, resentment, and fear…The echoes of historical quarrels, old and new, still swirl around the name of Turkey: accusations of Greeks, the recriminations of Armenians, the clash between a secular state and a reviving Islam.”

Turkey has an extremely long and convoluted history into which we have only dipped our toes. What is most impressive to us is how much the Turks we met know and value their history. They are proud of their country, excited by the scope of its history, and enthusiastically show us the Turkey they love, warts and all. Even with all its conflicting dynamics, Turkey is a vibrant country with a population that is determined to see it take its place on the world stage.

Çok teşekkür ederim (thank you very much) does not begin to express my gratitude for the opportunity to visit and become more familiar with this extraordinary country. I hope in some small way I have been able to whet your appetite so that you will want to discover more about this blend of Europe and Asia, the Republic of Turkey.

June 30, July 1-2, 2009 – Ephesus, Pergamon, Assos, and Troy

The story of Ephesus is the story of many of the maritime cities on the western coast of Asia Minor. The cities, established because of their proximity to rivers with access to the Aegean, sealed their fate from the beginning. These were silting rivers which would eventually cut most the cities off from the sea. For example, at Ephesus, the sea has receded almost seven miles from its original port, drying up the trade that kept the city alive. Prior to the silting, the city had a rich history. The original city is thought to date back to 3000 BC and is located to the west of Ephesus today. The one we visit is actually the third location of the city, and it was Lysimachus, one of Alexander the Great’s generals, who forced the citizens to this new location which became the capitol of Asia Minor until the 3rd century AD. Most of the ruins we see today are Roman.

Ephesus is remarkable today, thanks to the excavations of dedicated archeologists. What makes the experience here so unique is that what has been left behind gives the visitor the experience of walking through history. The Stoa may be absent their roofs and the Library of Celsus may be only a façade, but the mosaic walkways are still beautiful – Oh, what a façade! Walking through the Terrace Houses with their frescoes and mosaics gives free rein to your imagination. Ephesus is truly the crème de la crème of Greco-Roman antiquities.

Pergamon is next. With fewer ruins, but two important contributions. The library at Pergamon was one of the largest in the world at the time. Parchment was discovered here after the Egyptians cut off the supply of papyrus. Legend has it that Anthony gave all 200,000 scrolls from this library to Cleopatra as a wedding gift. Unfortunately, they were placed in the library at Alexandria which later burned, destroying all of its contents.

The Aesclepion, the hospital at Pergamon, was a remarkable facility in its time, one which applied a holistic approach to curing illnesses. There was a small theatre for concerts, and a “Sleep Center” to which patients gained entry by way of a most “therapeutic” underground tunnel, complete with intermittent skylights and calming, babbling water courses running alongside. Indeed, this approach to treatment seems to be more closely related to our modern-day health spas.

Assos is our last Greco-Roman city. It is visited today primarily for the Temple of Athena and the view of the nearby island of Lesbos. It was also home to Hermiae, a student of Plato. Hermiae established a school of philosophy here, with the help of Aristotle who lived at Assos for three years. Peaceful, lovely, and no tourists!

Our final stop before Istanbul is Troy. Simply being there… We read about it; we study the Iliad and the Odyssey; and we know Homer’s works as foundation of Western Literature. Very little is left of Homer’s Troy – a foundation here, a wall there – nevertheless, it is here where our stories begin.

Sunday, June 28 and Monday, June 29, 2009 – Nysa, Aphrodisias, Priene, Miletis and Didyma

The Greek and Roman city plans are so similar in that one would think they would quickly become very monotonous. Each one has its Acropolis or Temple on the hill with the Agora, the Stoa, the Bouleuterion, stadium and theater down below. Later add the Roman bath complex, an occasional Byzantine church, Seljuk or Ottoman mosque and you have the layout of practically every ruined city in Turkey, if not Asia Minor. The unintended consequences of time and accidents of nature, however, have served to create unique features for each site that sets one apart from the other. Each site reveals an elegance in the art and architectural refinement or sophistication in engineering that is stunning to the modern traveler.

Nysa’s unique feature is its two story tunnel built beneath what was once the main square, but is now the road and parking area for the site. It is the length of a football field with two enormous arches the lower arch serves as a channel for a stream. The upper arch served as support for the square above and the arch below. Were it not for this tunnel the stream would have split the city which straddled two hills. This feat of engineering is remarkable because it is on such a immense scale.

Aphrodesias is famous due to the work of Professor Kenan Erim of New York University who is now buried there next to one of its most spectacular ruins. He worked at the site for 30 years and is responsible for seeing to its preservation as it was a major sculpture center. The Sebasteion, a temple to the deified Roman emperors, was an unusual and dramatic piece of architecture. The second and third stories, a double colonnade, were decorated with friezes of the Greek myths and the emperors. About a third of the original friezes still exist and are now housed in a museum on the site, but part of the Sebasteion is being reconstructed to give the visitor an idea of its original appearance. The other building I found particularly interesting was the Bouleuterion which is almost completely undamaged. Bouleuterion is a word I was unfamiliar with, but my understanding is that it was the chamber for the “city fathers” or representatives of the people of the city. It is designed on the same plan as the theaters, but in miniature by comparison. It is an pleasing space and one today’s city government would enjoy. The real jewel of Aphrodisias, however, is the Tetraphylon, a group of columns and a pediment that is so much more than the sum of its parts. Here is where architecture, time, and the elements have combined to create a sublime vista for the modern traveler.

Priene is perhaps my favorite so far. Much of Greek and Roman architecture is created to make an impression. In Priene the space is personal and intimate. Standing in the theater one feels a part of the time and place. The pine trees at the top of the theater whisper with the breeze and the whisper dips down to touch the spectator in the orchestra. Alexander the Great lived here for a while even though it was smaller and less important than surrounding cities because he found it agreeable and secure. Its Temple of Athena is even decoratively strewn with sections of columns creating a field of fluted stones to frame the five remaining standing columns. Considered much less important than the surrounding cities, Priene was not inhabited and rebuilt by successive cultures so it has kept much of its original charm.

Miletas, though more important than Priene, is a sad remnant of its former grandeur. Now mostly marsh, its theater and Roman bath are the buildings most undamaged. The theater is quite noteworthy because of its Vomitorium, a term made for middle schoolers! The Vomiorium is a tunnel which runs behind the diazoma (walkway between seating levels). We use it today to leave any football stadium at the end of the game. In Greek times spectators trickled into theaters throughout the performances, but they all left at once. The Vomitorium served as a quick exit thus the name.

Didyma, instead of being on a hill is built in a slightly sunken depression. The location is now exaggerated by the village which has built up around it. The resulting approach is not terribly impressive, but you will not be disappointed for making the trip. Didyma is not a city, but a sanctuary for an oracle who was perhaps connected to the Oracle at Delphi. As you walk down to the temple the site looms over you. It was built on such a colossal scale that it was never finished. Indicative of its scale is the entrance to the temple. The threshold is one solid block of marble at least four feet tall, perhaps fifteen feet long. and three feet deep. Not a threshold for any human. Only two of the original 108 columns remain standing. At 5’8” I am only as tall as one section of a 17 section column. We figured the two columns that are standing are about the height of a 10 story building! What made the whole experience especially pleasing was the pungent fragrance of the fig trees surrounding most of the site.

Thursday, June 25, 2009 – Lycian Way, Olympus and Phaselis

We opt for an easier day after all our hiking yesterday. Ted was interested in the Lycians and their trading path. They are thought to have been related somehow to the Hittites, but settled along the Mediterranean coast west of Antalya where their spectacular tombs and unique language still exist. The Lycian Way is their ancient roadway which still skirts the edge of the mountains from Antalya on the Mediterranean to Fethiye on the Aegean. We drive a ways along the road in hopes of catching site of the early tombs, but alas, must turn off before seeing any. Our destination is the old Mt. Olympus of Turkey. It seems every country of the ancient world had its Mt. Olympus. Today, the mountain is named Tahtali, and it is the highest peak (approximately 7,100 ft.) on this coast though not the highest in Turkey. Recently, a cable car has been constructed that takes visitors to the top. Our trip up begins at the base which is 1000 feet and takes only about 10 minutes. The views all around are spectacular – up over the craggy rock face, atop an alpine forest, through clouds to the bare, rocky summit. These are considered young mountains pushed up by some tectonic event around 2 million years ago. From the top we survey the coastline, its sandy beaches, rocky outcrops, and a contour as irregular as the coast of Maine. The weather is windy and cold, at least 40 degrees colder than the plains below. We have another stop before the end of the day so back down we go, and on our way we stop for lunch.
Lunch turned into the highlight of the day. We wanted to try gözleme, an ancient “fast food” here that is made from a paper thin pancake filled with cheese, spinach, or meat, or all three. We lucked onto a small roadside stand where the gözleme is made fresh while you wait. I must have taken 25 pictures of the process, but the woman making the dish was very patient with my questions. Literally, you can read through the pastry. The pastry is a staple of Turkish households even today, because it can be made, baked on a griddle, cooled to a crisp, and then stored until needed. For the gözleme, however, it must be rolled, shaped, stuffed, and cooked just before you eat it. Yummmmmm.
Our final stop for the day is Phaselis. Here the tourists have only been allowed in on foot and the original coastal town, supposedly colonized by migrants from Rhodes, holds much of its ancient charm. The story of its earliest inhabitants goes something like the naive traveler to New York who buys the Brooklyn Bridge, but in reverse. When the citizens from Rhodes arrived they bought the area from the local inhabitants for the price of a few fish. Needless to say, these citizens from Rhodes were renowned in the area for both their guile and their lack of scruples.
We have come here as our final stop in Antalya so we can swim in the Mediterranean among the ruins of antiquity without the intrusion of modern architecture. In fact, we arrive with a flood of tourists with the same idea. We work our way across the rocky beach to wade in the clear water, but must quickly retreat to our shoes. Our South Carolina feet cannot tolerate the unforgiving, pebble-strewn, Mediterranean coast.

Wednesday, June 24, 29009 – Termessos and Karain

We will not forget this day. Driving deep into the rocky and rugged mountain terrain behind Antalya, we speed toward the remains of a fierce culture, the Pisidians, and their precipitous city. Hairpin curves and switchbacks climb the ridge that leads to the entrance up to Termessos, their immense city built across a mountain top at the back of a gorge. Even Alexander the Great decided not to mess with them. We park and begin the mile long hike up the gorge to the city. The Romans have left their mark here too, but not because they conquered the area. They made peace with the Pisidians, accepting their wish to remain independent.
Nearing the top, we walk through an alpine forest, scrambling over rocks, columns, and stones to reach many parts of the city. Giants must have hurled the great stones strewn across this city of massive scale still, in spite of its decay. There are few identifiable buildings, but we locate the baths, the gymnasium, the forest-covered colonnaded street, and a senate type building. Another large building remains unidentifiable, but it has windows, and at one time, it had bars in the windows. The water system is remarkably complex to our modern eye. We come across a series of five enormous cisterns housed under an open area, possibly the Agora. The hike to the very top brings you to the upper most seats of the Theatre of Termessos. You look down to the theatre’s stage, across to another sheer mountainside, then across gorges on either side of the theatre to plains thirty miles away. All of the construction is dramatically precipitous – sheer drop-offs – sensational.
Our next exploration takes us to the Paleolithic caves of Karain. Don’t ask me why I am so fascinated by these earliest inhabitants, but I find their ability to survive in their world remarkable, and I want to see that world for myself. This is the “raw material of history” we are about to see. The caves themselves are estimated to be 2 million years old. Remains in the caves indicate inhabitants have lived in them for over 25,000 years. There were Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age dwellers. The remains of a Neanderthal child have been found here.
The hike up from the valley floor is steep, but doesn’t take as long as the hike up to Termessos. Imagining that this is a path possibly followed for 25,000 years is spine-tingling. As we hike up we begin to appreciate one reason the cave was a good location for early man. The acoustics of the mountain make it possible to hear the cow bells and the sheep in the valley way below. You can see for miles around. These early humans had found themselves the perfect observation perch.
When we are about two thirds of the way up the mountain, we arrive at a small grassy plateau that serves as a “terrace” for the cave entrances. There are three openings. One is a little too dark and small for us to feel comfortable crawling in. The other is blocked, but to the right of that is a huge opening with the abandoned trash pit at its entrance. Archae-ologists are excavating the trash pit which has proven to be a treasure trove of information and artifacts. Today, though, we are alone.
Around to the left of the trash pit is the entry to the larger cave. We walk in to what must have been the main gathering area of the cave – a sort of communal hall. Leading off of this area are many smaller openings to other parts of the cave. Huge stalactites hang down from the ceiling which has sooty areas spotted across it. The floor of the cave has a pebbled texture. There are sections which seem to drop off into oblivion, but on closer inspection, they lead down to other openings. Just so you don’t think Ted and I have lost our minds, the gate keeper at the base of the mountain has turned on a string of lights in the cave that provide very good visibility. We drink in the surroundings, trying to imagine what life must have been like. Outside the cave the day is hot and dry. Inside, the cave is cool. The large opening admits a decent amount of light into the main chamber, but the recesses had to have been very dark, but for modern illumination. The atmosphere must have been acrid, dim and cool on a summer day like today. What an experience. We reluctantly climb down, but return with a new appreciation for 21st century conveniences.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 – Antalya

The coastal Plain of Antalya is bordered by the Taurus Mountains on the north and the Mediterranean on the south. It is one of the richest provinces in Turkey due to its tourist industry and its naturally fertile landscape which allows for two crops a year. Everything is grown here, from cotton to bananas, irrigated by 27 rivers. If there is any dissonance in this paradise, it is the rapid growth of the tourist industry which has resulted in the construction of countless, mega hotel resorts which dwarf the old town. The coastline, nevertheless, is bordered by a park which extends the entire length of the city with just two interruptions.
King Attalus II of Pergamon founded the city in 158 BC, but the area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and there are much earlier ruins sprinkled all around the area. It was later handed to the Romans, then to the Byzantines, and then to the Seljuks. It was a staging area for the Crusades in the 1390s, and finally handed off to the Ottomans. As a result of its abundant history and the pragmatism of its ancient cultures, one stumbles over ruins at almost every turn.
Our first day is dedicated to the Roman ruins east of the city, as we visit ancient coastal cities – Perge, Aspendos and Side – in succession. Perge is located close to Antalya, in an area that was a very successful trading center active as far back as the Hittites (1300 BC). Like many Roman cities, it was originally a Greek city, but the ruins that remain are Roman with the exception of a red Hellenistic Gate that still stands almost in its original form. Entering through the impressive gates to the city, one was cooled by a fountain that ran the length of the colonnaded entry street. The baths were off to the right and consisted of a heated inner chamber, a temperate middle chamber, and a cool outer chamber. Not only were the Romans able to heat the floors through chambers under the baths, they constructed chambers in the walls to connect to those in the floors and allow the steam to heat the walls. The Agora, or market, was very large, with forty shops opening off a colonnade surrounding all four sides, and with a central, open slave market with a small temple at its the center. Evidence of Roman daily life can be seen today in the game tables outside shops, and graffiti etched on the columns. Most remarkable is the aqueduct outside the city, I will save that for later.
After a wonderful lunch beside the turquoise waters of the Aksu river that flows near Perge, we are off to Aspendos. One lone structure draws us here. Aspendos has the best preserved Roman theater in the world. In spite of earthquakes and conquerors, this theater has remained relatively unchanged by time. It was designed by a local architect, Xeno, and was constructed during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Its construction and acoustics are legendary. A coin dropped in the stage area can be heard at the top of the 15,000 seat theater. This afternoon the theatre is being prepared for Pucinni’s Tosca, which follows a performance of Carmen two weeks earlier.
We end the day in Side, which until recently was a relatively sleepy fishing village on the coast. Tourists, of course, have invaded with a vengeance, and the new town is built among and around its ancient ruins. You drive into Side on a modern road that runs atop the main entrance into the antique city so you lose some of the awe that must have captivated the ancient traveler. That flaw is ameliorated when you park and walk to the beach. As you round the corner of the last café, the beach stretches out before you, littered with pediments, columns, and capitals, but what arrests your sight just beyond these stones, at the edge of the water where the waves are lapping the beach, are the remains of an exquisite Roman structure, the Temple of Apollo. Set against a background of turquoise water, its white columns stand as a brilliant keepsake of the splendor of Rome.

Monday, June 22, 2009 – Konya to Antalya

Serendipity was the order of the day. My husband has never met a stranger. Yesterday, in Konya he struck up a conversion with a local resident and during their chat, Ted told him we were going to Çatalhöyük today. It turned out that this man knew the assistant director of the site who agreed to give us a tour the next day.
We approached Çatalhöyük across a flat plain that was a lake in prehistoric times. Dr. Shahina Farid, the Assistant Director, greeted us with some archaeology students who would be working at the site for the next few weeks in tow.
She began with an overview of what had been discovered. During the period of Çatalhöyük the lake had become a marsh. The earliest artifacts date from 7400 BC, but a continuous settlement didn’t start for 400 years. The most recent artifacts date to 5800 BC. This is a Neolithic site and what is so remarkable is that it is the oldest known continuously settled community. The site represents 1200 years of continued occupation.
The lifespan of these people was about 40 years; there was a high infant mortality rate. Women averaged 5 feet 1 inch, men averaged 5 feet 7 inches. The houses had a common wall and the only entrance was from the roof. There were no doors or windows, but houses were whitewashed inside to make the interiors lighter. The homes formed a sort of honeycomb of dwellings so the “streets” were from roof-to-roof. There were between 5,000 and 10,000 inhabitants at any one time and they think households averaged about 9 people.
The culture was far more sophisticated than was generally thought. For example, the prevailing winds are from the north in this region so at Çatalhöyük all fireplaces were built on the south facing wall under the entrance from the roof which, in turned, served as a flue. Clearly I could go on and on, but I need to move on to the second half of our day. It was time for lunch and we still had a two and a half hour drive to Antalya.
Our driver thought the back roads would be more interesting – quite an understatement. So off we went, stopping frequently for tea so we could meet local people. (The British have nothing on the Turks when it comes to drinking tea!) Yes, it might take a little longer, but the experience would be worth it.
After a stop or two we came to the small, mountain village of Dere. It was nice mixture of very old and only a little new so that by the time we reached the square we decided it was time for another glass of tea. We had not been sitting for more than five minutes when one of the villagers walked up, introduced himself, and then introduced the mayor. After another round of tea, the mayor took us to his office to tell us more about the village and show us a video of a festival he had arranged for his area. I have the video on my flash drive I explained that I was visiting Turkey for my school and showed him the Hammond website. He, in turn, gave me a booklet on the local school.
After another look around the square, he walked us along the river to the major source of income for Dere – a small factory that makes Tahinleri, or sesame paste, much like our peanut butter. We observed the entire process, from roasting the sesame seeds to grinding them into the paste. Just when we thought we were about to finish, another man arrived with fresh bread so we could taste the sesame paste. It was delicious! Then the mayor’s brother-in-law arrived and we have another round of tea. Finally, as we were leaving we were presented with a quart of sesame paste for me to take back to Hammond for our students. We will see if customs will let us bring it in!
Up to our eyeballs with tea we finally headed for Antalya vowing no more tea!!! It was six p.m. and somehow Antalya was still two and a half hours away…but I would not give anything for this day!

Sunday, June 21, 2009 – Konya

I could eat breakfast on the roof every morning as I listen to the clip-clop of a horse down below. I close my eyes, and I am in another time – indeed, another place.
We spend the day visiting mosques and monasteries. Konya has many famous ones from the Seljuk period, the two most famous are the Mevlana Tekkesi, the order to which Celaleddin Rumi belonged, which was founded around 1231 AD, and the Alaeddin Camii (mosque) which is 12th century AD. The Tekkesi is easy to locate because of its exquisite scalloped, turquoise tiled dome.
The major boulevard of central Konya is Mevlana Caddesi (street) anchored by Mevlana Tekkesi (lodge) at one end and Alaeddin Tepesi (hill) with the Alaeddin Camii (mosque) on top. The city’s appeal is the mixture of Seljuk, Ottoman, and modern influences which are more visible here than in Ankara. Here there are more headscarves, men sitting outside smoking water pipes, and young boys going about delivering tea. There are both supermarkets and men pushing carts loaded with vegetables and fruit for sale. A very lively central market, “maze” might be more suitable, sells everything you could possible need, from pots and pans to shoes, and of course, tourist trinkets.
We go first to Mevlana Tekkesi which is now a museum, but in reality it is a shrine. For Muslims and non-Muslims alike, this monastery of Rumi and the Dervishes is the principal reason to visit Konya. It is similar in concept to a western monastery with an entry courtyard, rooms for the most important Dervishes surrounding the courtyard which has a central ablutions fountain. The central building which was enlarged from the original tekke (lodge) is where the museum is located. The sarcophagi of Rumi, his father, and important Mevlanas occupy the entry area where the walls are completely covered with calligraphy. The original Semahane (the hall where the dervishes whirled) contains many superbly illuminated Korans not unlike Christian illuminated manuscripts, antique musical instruments, and other memorabilia. Much later, like the Christian priests and monks of the Middle Ages, the dervishes became very corrupt, exacting large sums of money from patrons and followers for projects. Ataturk found it necessary to close the order in 1925 because of this corruption. Rumi, however, is still held in very high esteem and Konya continues as the pilgrimage center for devout Sunni Muslims.
Next we walk down Mevlana Caddesi to the other end where the Alaeddin Camii is perched on top of the Alaeddin Tepesi. This mosque is set in a lovely wooded area and is not typical of our image of a mosque. In fact it looks more like our early Christian basilicas. It has a flat interior ceiling with columns leading the eye to the pulpit, one of the oldest in Turkey, and intricately carved. After a walk around the exterior courtyard we go to a small museum that houses Seljuk stonework and wooden panels. While Islam prohibits the depiction of animals and humans, the early Seljuk Empire was not so rigid. Dragons, lions, and even an occasional human are carved into their stonework.
After walking through a neighborhood of old Ottoman houses, we eventually reach our hotel for another dinner on the roof.

Saturday, June 20 – Ankara to Konya

We are on our way to Konya, the capitol of the Seljuk Empire, 1071-1308 AD, and home of Celaleddin Rumi, the Turkish mystic associated with the Sufi order. On the way we will visit Gordium, the capitol of the Phrygians under the fabled Midas, 800 BC.
As Mary Lee Settle said of Gordium, “…it has gone back to earth, a graveyard of empires in the sun.” Gordium is on an open plain where the sun bakes the earth. Scattered across the plain are the tümüli (tomb mounds) of the Phrygian kings, including the great tümülüs of Midas.
Not far away from Midas’ tümülüs, is the citadel, or city of Gordium, rising out of the plain. What has been excavated of the city is the great entrance gate, but it is only the bottom half. In this case the bottom half is approximately 40 feet tall so it is still impressive. The remaining ruins are a checkerboard of foundations. It is lonely, hot and windy today, in contrast to the cacophony of life that passed through here 2,400 years ago. Here is where a farmer first tied his cart to a pillar with a knot. Legend has it that he became the first king of the Phrygians, and his knot became known as the Gordion knot, which Alexander later severed.
Very near the citadel is where Gordius’ son, King Midas was buried. When Midas’ tümülüs was excavated, it was filled with the necessities of the afterlife and the body of a man of about 60 years of age, but no gold. Our guide, Ismet, chuckles and tells us an old Muslim saying, “Alas, a shroud has no pockets.”
We continue on our way across the dry Central Anatolian Plains to Konya and arrive late afternoon. We check in to our hotel and, as usual, go for a walk. We are in the bustle of the downtown area where there are many tourist shops. Konya is not as smart as Ankara. It is a busy place, but less graceful. Our hotel, the Rumi, is small and pleasant and full of families. Dinner is included, so we go up to the small, roof top restaurant, where we enjoy a typical Turkish dinner of rice, lamb stew and fruit. We are ready for an early night when our guide calls to tell us that he has been told we can go see the Whirling Dervishes at 9 pm. We are off in a flash and go to an auditorium at a local university. The Dervish Order was shut down by Atatürk, but they still whirl for Allah and the tourists. It is a marvelous experience to watch them go through their intricate spinning – circles within circles.

Ankara

Friday, June 19, 2009 – Ankara
A more relaxed beginning to our day in the city of Ankara. The Phrygians (8th cen. BC) were probably the first major civilization to occupy this spot so we began our day at Ankara Kalesi (Ankara Castle), an area which is the location of the original city. The wall surrounding the castle incorporates stones from the Phrygians, those who followed – the Lydians, the Romans and the Ottomans – and was built in the 7th cen. AD. The area took its present shape from the 7th to the 9th cen. AD under the Byzantines. Just inside the gates is the Alaettin Camii (mosque), one of the earliest Muslim buildings in the city. In Ottoman times the Muslim population lived inside the walls. All others lived on the outside very near the wall. We walked up to the Eastern Tower which has panoramic views of the city. Many of the local people who live inside still live the traditional lives of Turkish villagers. We saw lots of children playing in the streets and women beating skeins of wool.
Our next stop was the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. This is the perfect introduction to the civilizations of this country. Many of the artifacts found at the sites have been collected here and the museum is arranged chronologically. The collection is so well organized that it can be toured in a couple of hours. Every culture is represented by pottery, tools, jewelry, furniture (if there is any), and it is easy to see the leaps that each culture made, from Paleolithic points of obsidian and bone, to the cultivation of crops and houses of the Neolithic villages like Çatalhöyük (we go here in a couple of days). Many of the most important artifacts of the Hittite’s are in the Museum, as are those from the Phrygian capitol at Gordion (we go here tomorrow), the Urartian empire and some from the Roman period.
Next we went to the Temple of Augustus which Matt Ramsby recommended. We were unable to go inside and see bronze inscription relating the deeds of Augustus, one of only three remaining, because of restoration work on the site; although we did arrive just as Friday prayers were beginning in the Haci Bayram Camii next door. Our guide, Ismet, suggested we go to a nearby café for tea, and while we watched the service, he explained the sermon and the prayers. This mosque was not large enough for the entire congregation to worship inside, so the men kneeled in a shaded area outside the mosque and the service was broadcast in the courtyard. It was so interesting to watch – a very sacred occasion for us to observe.
No lunch today, just street food! We continued on to Anit Kabir, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s mausoleum. From the moment you enter you begin to grasp the hold this man had over his people. The approach is a long walkway bordered by paired figures and lions (Hittite symbols of strength) reminiscent of the entrance to the Ming tombs in Beijing. This walkway leads to an enormous courtyard surrounded by colonnades on three sides, with the mausoleum anchoring the fourth. The mausoleum is a contemporary re-creation of a Roman temple, massive in scale. The museum in the surrounding colonnades gives details of Atatürk’s life and battle victories. Gilded inscriptions, quotations from Atatürk, are everywhere.