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Turkey Travel Report, Part 1
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Failure
as a Tourist
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Spent a week in
Istanbul, but I'm an abject failure as a tourist. Found it
hard to get around
to visiting famous sites. First several evenings I
found myself
wandering the streets of poor neighborhoods, engaging people at
their homes, sitting on their steps, or in chairs in the street.
Communication is hard, me
not knowing Turkish, them not knowing English. But
smiles, pocket dictionaries, nods, and shakes carry us through. I
especially like engaging
kids and old people. I love seeing those oldweathered faces, with
ravines mimicking roads on a map. There was12-yr-old Ebryson, along
with her younger sister Lemon, making me a crown out
of some local vines. We snapped a photo of that, and they saw it and
giggled. Amazing how much
kids are alike in all countries.
And there was Erkan
Eken, who sat me down on the steps of his ramshackle house and offered
me tea. And Kanber Demir,
a middle aged woman sitting with three old
women in the street, chuckling at the photo I took of the three of
them.
And the 3 old women embroidering silk scarves, while a man
hangs
out a window and
says to me 'America? My
brother is in Boston'. Happens
often that such a
connection is made.
The last 3 nights
in Istanbul I stayed with a Servas host. Servas is a
world-wide
organization of 10,000 or more members, all interested in
peace, swapping
homestays. I hosted a couple of people in Seattle. Free
lodging, plus
meeting wonderful people.
Then a week on the
Greek island Samos. My Norwegian second cousin Anne
comes there every
year, so I joined her this year. Paradise, quite quite
wonderful. If I
could be convinced Heaven is anywhere near this nice, I'd
quickly repent and
re-convert. (Fortunately, I'm a hard sell on that
point.) Swimming
in the Aegean a couple of times a day, schmoozing over
din din. Gawd, I
loved it. And at the request of my Istanbul host
Dorothea, I
checked out a nudist beach on another part of the island.
Complex, demanding
work, but I was up to it, and didn't shirk my duty.
While on Samos I
also visited Ano Vathy, the 'old city.' Mazes of streets
meandering the
hillside. Again, talking to locals. Fotis Zeginoglou runs a
dinky cafe and
served me sausage in tomato sauce made by his mother.
Delectable, not to
mention cheap.
After Samos, back
to Turkey, visiting the ruins of Ephesus, walking the
streets where once
Saul of Tarsus, later to pen an epistle to the
residents. He's
the cat, you know, who destroyed Christianity, turning it
from its focus on
love and tolerance to one that's rule-bound,
guilt-producing,
and intolerant. (Ok, that's a broad generalization, and
there are tons of
exceptions, but allow me that little rantlet :)
Then down the
Aegean coast, with 5 days in Fethiye. Hostel with stunning
views of the
harbor, dorm room for 17 Turkish lira, which is about 13
bucks. Not too
hard on the budget. Found a simply superb restaurant, run
by a Turkish woman
who went to cooking school in Melbourne. Shepherds
Kebab with lamb
that melts in your mouth. She made me a sampling of mezes,
the Turkish
appetizers--haydari (yogurt with mint or garlic), stuffed
peppers, semizotu,
(onions, rice, and tomato). Five
meals there in 5
days--stick with a
winner. The highlight of
my Fethiye stay was hiking a
portion of the
Lycian Way trail. Strenuous
hike, hot, but thoroughly
delightful.
The Lycian Way trail is said by some to be one of the 10 best
long hikes in the
world. Much of it hugs
the sea, with mountains on the
other side of the
path. It goes through
traditional villages and
spectacular
scenery. I'd love to come
back just for that.
Then on around the
Mediterranean coast, hugging the water, staying two
nights in Kas. Got
a room directly overlooking the sea, which beautifully
cool evenings and
hot days. My favorite weather recipe.
I've got one more
week in Turkey. Not
enough for this vibrant, engaging
country.
Such a mix. Ataturk
built a secular state here in the early
20th century, but
virtually all Turks are Muslim. Modern
country suffused
with traditional
customs. and values. Women
on the street showing a high
proportion of
breast, walking along with women with head scarves and
completely-covered
bodies in the traditional style.
There is a women's
movement here, but
my understanding is that it's small and hasn't built
the kind of
momentum yet that would ignite significant change.
The
26-yr-old woman in
the Fethiye restaurant is typical, I suspect--still
under the thumb of
her father and mother, reluctant to abandon the family
business and lead
a free and independent life, which she longs to do.
Kudos to you if
you got this far without hitting the Delete key.
And I
can just hear Alan
asking, Is this all going to be on the final?
Cheers
Lee
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