Bergama

Since we missed the bus to Capadoccia, we decided to sleep in a bit and show Aili and Gisela the town (since they were in the conference the whole time. We took a local bus down to the city center and wandered around the clock tower before diving into the maze of streets looking for the old bazaar. Finally, we found it and split up to do some window shopping and stopping for tea on the picturesque second floor.

That night Aili and I set out for a nice dinner for two. We found a great seafood restaurant recommended by the Crown Plaza. There were no menus – they just wheeled the wine cart out so we could pick a bottle, then asked, “Meat or fish?” – and when we answered “fish” they responded “Grilled or fried”. They ended up bringing out a platter of fresh fish – four smaller ones and one large bass-like fish – to get our approval, then took them back into the kitchen to cook. They fried the smaller ones and grilled the big one, splitting it between the two. The service was impeccable as they even de-boned the fish for us right at the table. The heads were still on and I had to name the poor fish with the big under bite “Eugene” – then proceeded to eat him.

The next day, we took a city bus to the Konak area in the center of Izmir, the a cab to the huge Otogar (bus station) on the far end of town. We bought tickets to Bergama, another ancient city that is still populated today and is only a two-hour ride away. The bus had assigned seats and initially I sat next to Aili, with Gisela across the aisle. Then, another man boarded and had the seat next her but when the porter came by to take tickets, he made me switch seats with Gisela - presumable so that a man and woman who didn’t know each other don't sit together! Ah, the strange subtleties of a Muslim country.

We arrived at the Metro Bus station in Bergama and were pleased to see we were right next to the Red Basilica. According to our guide book, the structure was originally built as a temple to Egyptian gods but later, Christians constructed a basilica inside it because the building was so large. According to Revelations, it is one of the “seven churches of the Apocalypse” and was once considered the “throne of the devil.” Whoa!

The rain started to fall as we began our hike up to the ancient acropolis. It seemed like the ruins were just ahead but the road kept winding around the hill and it began to rain harder. About 45 minutes later, we reached the top, soaking wet. We huddled in a little souvenir shop and drank tea for a bit before exploring the two thousand year old city. The highlight is the Temple of Trajan with its giant columns, but the city is also home to the Alter of Zeus, and the Temples of Athena and Dionysus. Now, completely soaked to the bone, we hired a car to take us down to town were we grabbed a bite to each and had some more hot tea. Gisela ran across the street to buy a warm, dry sweater and stuffed her wet one in a bag before we scooted off to the Metro Bus station for our ride back to Izmir in the rain. Back in Izmir we decided against the multi-mode transportation option and just cabbed it back to the Guest House on the far side of town – 75 Turkish lira – yikes! That’s a $60 cab ride – more than all three of our round-trip bus tickets to Bergama combined!

For more photos, click here to check them out on Kodak Gallery: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=qb9zdg5.56oers79&x=0&y=zahx4l&localeid=en_US

Ephesus

Day two of the conference included more police escorts around town and a ferry across the bay to another more modern shopping district. I skipped out on the afternoon tour to watch Aili and Gisela’s presentation which went over really well.

The next day we woke up ready for the trip to Ephesus – the ancient city first founded in 300 B.C. Many of the ruins from the Roman era still exist (most dating from around 100 A.D.) but people have been living in this area since 3000 B.C.! We drove through the sound Selcuk, past several mountain top fortresses built over the last few thousand years. Before arriving at Ephesus, we stopped at the shrine of the Virgin Mary. It is purported that that St. John was charged by Jesus to take care of his mother and that St. John took her to this spot to live until she died. The little chapel is a reconstruction but there is proof that St. John did live in the area. It is definitely a new experience seeing all these ancient historical sites so close to each other - Greek, Roman, Christian, Byzentine, Ottoman and that's just nameing the major players!

We took the bus to the valley below and entered the ancient city of Ephesus. Since it’s off season, there were only a couple other small tour groups so at times we had the ruins to ourselves! We walked past the congressional theater, then past the site of ancient shops to the famous library of Ephesus. It’s said that Egypt cut off supply of papyrus to Ephesus in fear that its library would rival that of Alexadria – the worlds largest library of the time. The crafty Romans just figured out a way to scribe onto animal hides and kept publishing. We continued our walk down the marble streets to the colossal amphitheater and we pleased to be the only ones in the giant structure. We enjoyed some peaceful time along with the stray cats roaming the ruins before heading off through the agora and finally back to the bus for the ride to Izmir.

Izmir Conference - Day 1

Aili’s conference started today so Suzel and I joined the other spouses for the ‘Accompanying Persons’ tour of İzmır. We started at the Kadifekale castle built by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. with amazing views of the city and adjoining bay. Next, we headed down the hill to the Agora – an ancient site built by the Romans with arches and columns still be excavated today. Our group of ten in a little tour bus has a full police escort the whole way – with a motorcycle cop flashing his blue light and stopping traffic in front and a chase car following us. At each stop, our group has four policemen in suits with earpieces and walkie-talkies on our parameter at all times. I’m not sure if they were watching us or watching out for us but we get quite the looks from the locals!

Views from Kadifekale

The Ancient Agora in Izmir

After lunch with our significant others at the conference, we were off to the market in the old part of Izmir. Like a mini-Grand Bazaar, there were shops selling carpets, nagiles, lamps, jewelry and all sorts of antiques. Little cafes surrounded the market and dominated the middle square and the locals were all sitting, drinking their little glasses of tea. Suzel and I wandered up stairs and peeked into several artisan shops were tiny men worked away on jewelry. The building looked several hundreds years old, but our secret service escorts couldn’t give us much historical background (at least not in English). That evening we again joined the conference participants for an elaborate four course Turkish diner with authentic folk music and speeches by the conference administrators and local politicians in both Turkish and English. I think I’ll be skipping breakfast in the morning.

To Izmir...

Today’s our travel day to Izmir. We wanted to take the ferry across the Sea of Marmar then the bus to Izmir but apparently that only runs in the high season after May. The alternatives were a 10 hour bus ride or an hour flight for $20 more. So the flight it was! We planned an hour and a half for the cab ride to the airport since we have no idea about traffic, but on this Sunday morning it only took us 12 minutes (plus a few more when I thought the driver was asking if we were on an “Internal” flight and said yes, when he really asked if we were on an “International” flight and therefore took us to the wrong terminal. Luckily, I figured it out before we got out and made him circle again and drop us at the right building.

We landed in Izmir around 2pm and arrived at the “Brand New” Izmir Turkish Police Guest House. The staff was all VERY excited to check us in as our group was the ‘first ever’ guests in this new building. They brought us coffee, then after checking in, offered us wine and cheese. At the reception, I met Aili and Gisela’s colleagues from around the world – Tinus form South Africa, Hank from Sweden, George from the US as well as researchers from England, Canada and Australia – plus the Director General of the Turkish National Police (and, yes, we hit it off fabulously! – we’ll at least that’s what his interpreter said and she rolled her eyes).

The best part is that the guest house was full so had to put Aili, Suzel and I all in the same room – the only hotel room I’ve ever seen with three single beds! I think I may need some of that special ‘mother-in-law’ tea! (I joke, but traveling with Suzel has been nothing but pleasant – and no, I’m not just saying that because I know she’ll read this!)

A Bazaar World

I slept through the morning call to prayer which was amazing to me since it seemed so loud yesterday. At least I got a full night sleep and am fully recovered from any lingering jet lag. After a breakfast of a Nescafe and sticky buns, Aili and I , her mom, Suzel, and her colleague, Gisela cabbed it to Eminonu station just over the Galata bridge across the Golden Horn into Istanbul. The Eminanu area is a transportation hub linking trams, ferries and roads in the heart of the city. It’s also the home of the famous Spice Bazaar.

The colors and smells were amazing as we strolled through the arched walkway. I bought 100 grams of “Love Tea” – the merchant insisted it was a cure for any “mother-in-law” problems, and since Suzel is traveling with us, I figure it a good purchase just in case!

We continued up the winding alley-ways through a commercial district with shops selling clothes, shoes and fabric which was delightfully devoid of tourists and we weren’t hassled a bit!. Eventually, we found ourselves at the back entrance to Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar – were we were again left alone since most tourists come in the main gate and never make it this far into the Bazaar (which, after all, has over 1,000 shops). We turned one corner after another, pursuing the colorful glass lamps, exotic nagiles (water pipes), silver, amber, and ceramic jewelry, brass antiques, and beautiful Turkish carpets. We spent some time in a quaint carpet shop where the proprietor had his assistant lay out one amazing rug after another in front of us. He didn’t even seem upset when we said thank you (‘tesekkur ederim’ in Turkish) and walked out without buying one.

After finding our way out of the Bazaar, we stopped for a lunch of mixed kabobs and Turkish coffee, then let Suzel go back to the Bazaar by herself while Aili, Gisela and I walked back past the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophya where we dead-ended into the old palace walls which now

have strangely out-of-place new homes butting against them. We found the main gate to the palace grounds and meandered through the shady plaza to the National Archeological Museum (after a brief encounter with a crafty rug salesmen befriending tourists and trying to follow him to his ‘wholesale’ shop).

Palace Gates

Stone Quartet - National Archeological Museum

Arabic Tile Museum - National Archeological Museum

Next we met up with Aili’s mom and walked the crowded, windy streets across the bridge and then caught a cab as the rain began to fall.

View of Istanbul from the Galata Bridge

We went for diner just down the street from the police guest house at a café right on the Bosphorus while a soccer game played on the TV above us. Aili and I continued down the street after diner in search of a nightcap and final found a bar with karaoke that served beer. Two choices, Corona or Budweiser! Ugh – I ordered a Corona but they were out! So Bud it is - but how pleasantly surprised was I when I saw Czech Republic on the label – ah, the REAL Budweiser! We hopped to the next restaurant for the Turkish beer, Efes, and a desert (some kind of a doughnut drenched in honey), then headed home to bed.

İstanbul

We awoke at 5:20am to the call to prayers from the mosque down the street. It was strangely beautiful and exotic with its melodic tones and the pre-dawn light seeping through the drapes. We drifted back to sleep and awoke a few hours later to have coffee and biscuits before heading out.

We strolled along the Bosphorus to the Fortress of Europe – a 13th century castle built before the siege of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmet II. The walls and towers are intact with great views of the waterway below and the Asian side of Istanbul across the way. We continued our walk then took a taxi into the old part of town - the Sultanahmet area.

Once in the innter city, we gazed upon the enormous dome and towering minarets of the Blue Mosque and we’re astonished by the 1400 year old Aya Sophia (no, that’s not a typo – its original foundation was build in the 4th century!).

It was originally build as a church by the Byzantines, then was converted to a mosque by the Ottomans. We avoided invites to various rug shops (one guy even guaranteed his carpets could fly!) and grabbed a bite at a little restaurant on a nearby alley. Doner and lamb shish kabobs – excellent!

Next, we went underground to the Basilica Cistern – a vaulted water reservoir build in 532 A.D. After we got tired of being dripped on, we headed above ground to a café for some mint tea, Turkish coffee and a puff on a nargile – a water pipe stuffed with strawberry flavored tobacco. Next we ducked into the Grand Bazaar for a peak just before closing and trammed and cabbed it back to our guest house.

To the Edge of a Continent...

Well, I'll have to admit not knowing much about Turkey... so the first thing I did was look at a map. I was suprised to learn that in addition to Greece and Bulgaria, Turkey boarders Syria, Iraq and Iran - quite the Homeland Security no-go list! It also shares boarders with Armenia and Georgia. Istanbul lies on the Bosphorus - the strait connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmar which drains into the Mediteranian and the official dividing line between Europe and Aisa. We arrived after a ten hour flight from LA to London and then another four hour flight to Istanbul on the ever colorful Turkish Airlines. After realizing the hard-way that few people speak English, we had a passerby at the airport confirm our reservations at the Turkish National Police Guest House (yes, deluxe accomidations await! - and yes, that was sarcasm). We then hired a taxi to drive us the hour across town (with no traffic as it was almost midnight) to the Sayirer neighborhood. After getting lost and turning around, our driver dropped us at the right spot and we managed to check in, again speaking no Turkish and our hosts speaking no English. The rooms are quite alright - tidy and comfortable but with definte signs of wear and tear. It has a certain, well, government feel to it, but at $18 a night, we're not complaining. The location, while a ways from the old city, is right on the Bosphorus with a view of barges passing by and the Fatih Sultan bridge spanning the waterway. Can't wait to explore the area!