We arrived at the boat without any difficulty – looking into the harbor in Cesme, they are pretty hard to miss. We entered the Ulusoy office and the staff there processed our tickets. While we waited, we asked if anyone wanted to try out the bikes. One of the guys from the office was brave enough to give it a try, much to the amusement of everyone else in the office and the customs police too.

Several of the customs police in Cesme remembered us from our arrival in Turkey back in November. We guess our funny looking bikes provide a pretty good memory aid!

After clearing customs, we were escorted onto our ship, the Ulusoy 10. The ship had not started loading yet, so boarding was easy. One of the crew helped carry our gear up to the crew lounge while our cabin was being prepared. Originally they were going to give us two cabins, as the bed is only a single bed. Upon seeing the cabin (the 3rd mates cabin), which had a sitting room with a couch and a separate bedroom, we decided that we did not need a second cabin – there is plenty of room in this one for the two of us.

We have since learned that the Ulusoy 5 is better outfitted to take passengers, as it has extra cabin space for 10 additional people. The Ulusoy 10 only has 1 passenger cabin with 3 bunks. Given the economic downturn the ship is running with a skeleton crew of 19. Her normal crew compliment is 30. As a result, there is no 3rd mate, which is why we were given the spacious 3rd mate’s cabin rather than the smaller passenger cabin.

The ship did not start loading until after dinner. At 2 am, while we were fast asleep, it left the port of Cesme – so we missed a ceremonious departure from Turkey.

When we awoke, the ship was loaded and under way, with semi trailers filling about half of the main deck and fire trucks in the covered deck aft keeping our bikes company. The lower deck and the bilge deck are apparently full, but we haven’t been down to check.

By the afternoon of our first full day at sea (Thursday) the waves picked up. We passed through a few storms (wind, rain, hail) early in the afternoon and the waves continued on into the wee hours of the night. Both of us spent most of the afternoon reading and relaxing. We do wonder if we would have noticed the waves as much if we were still on the MSC Alessia – it is 300m long compared to the 200m of the Ulusoy-10. It reminded us of how lucky we had been on our Atlantic crossing with such beautiful weather. We can only hope our trip from Italy to Singapore will be so calm!

One of the biggest joys with being on the freighter is the ability to take a long hot shower. It may sound trivial, but after staying in so many budget hotels where the water may be solar heated or the heat only turned on for selected hours during the day, hot water is nice. Also, the shower head is not clogged or damaged and is affixed to the wall at a height that allows each of us to stand up straight and enjoy the hot water pouring over us. It is quite a luxury. There is no shower curtain, but we have become so accustomed to this that it isn’t a big issue. We just lift the toilet seat so it stays dry, and sweep the water off the floor into the shower basin when finished.

Like the MSC Alessia (and virtually all other large ocean-going vessels), waste heat from the main engine is used to run an evaporator, creating fresh water from sea water. It typically isn’t used for drinking, but provides virtually unlimited (18 tonnes per day) hot and cold fresh water for personal use. Large volumes of fresh water are use for cleaning, especially when pressure-washing the decks and other exposed surfaces.

On Friday with some calmer weather, we explored a little more. We were quickly invited onto the bridge and subjected to Turkish hospitality – coffee, tea, and interesting conversation. In the afternoon, the steward knocked on our door to let us know that cake was being served. Unsure where to go (the message involved the words Captain and cake), we went to the bridge where the steward brought us tea and some delicious banana, nut, carrot cake – yummy!

We also got a chance to see the campaign brochure from the AK Party candidate for mayor of Cesme. One of the crew had brought it on board, and it was quite interesting. The AK Party is the Islamic party in Turkey, and currently holds both the presidency and a majority of parliament. Municipal elections are coming up, and they are pushing hard to win in many places where they are not yet in power, especially in the coastal areas like Izmir and Cesme. The mayoral candidate for Cesme is a wealthy local architect, and has produced a 40 page glossy brochure with his vision for Cesme in 2015. It is filled with fanciful high rise buildings, glorious monuments and floating holiday islands – like Dubai on steroids, all up and running 6 years from now! We had a good laugh about this with the crew, but later Scott wondered how a candidate for a mainstream party could produce something so off-the-wall, and whether it would help or hurt his chances of election.

On Saturday, we arrived at 1330, but did not clear customs and immigration until 1500. This did not mean much, as our bikes were blocked by the fire trucks being shipped to Italy, so they needed to be unloaded before we could depart. By 1730 boat time (1630 local time) the upper deck was clear and we could proceed into Trieste. With darkness soon approaching and no Internet in sight , we found an inexpensive 2 star hotel for the night – it was quite the luxury to have heat, two sheets, unlimited hot water, and an enclosed shower stall all in the same hotel room! We were surprised at the comforts that we had become accustomed to doing without over the past several months.

The unexpected warm spell lasted throughout our visit to Izmir. For the most part, the rain also stayed with us throughout our visit. It seems every time we come to Izmir it rains!

Looking back, we didn’t actually do that much, just relaxed and enjoyed spending time with friends. In both Aleppo and Izmir it was surprisingly comfortable to be back someplace we understood, even if it wasn’t home. Even knowing where to buy groceries, or how to get around is a big deal!

Saturday evening we were taken out to dinner and traditional Turkish music. The band played many songs that our friends knew well. It was especially amusing to watch Metin and Mustufa belt out a song or two with the band. Scott caught the band’s attention with his vigorous drumming along with the music, and they were greatly entertained. The girls enjoyed a little bit of dancing at our tables. All-in-all it was a really enjoyable evening – Becky enjoyed a little too much Raki, making the next morning a little less fun (oops).

Sunday evening we were invited to Gul’s parent’s home for a traditional southern Turkish dinner. They made an adaptation to the meal to not have lamb so that Becky could enjoy it. The raw meat ball dish (Cigkofte (Cheekufteh)made with potato rather than lamb) was particularly yummy. The other specialty was Lamachun (pitas with spread made of peppers, meat and onions?) with lemon drizzled over top, and wrapped around various greens. It was neat to meet Gul’s family, although with our limited Turkish Gul and Metin were stuck translating much of the time. Becky also enjoyed playing with Gul’s brother’s new puppy.

On Monday, Becky cooked a traditional Canadian dinner of Hungarian Chicken Paprikash (it is traditional at our house anyway), and baked chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were especially delicious.

On Tuesday, Mehmet came back from another interview in Istanbul, so we got a chance to visit with him as well.

Tuesday evening after work, we went out for goodbye beers at a local pub in downtown Izmir with many of the friends we made in Izmir. It was so nice of everyone to come out and say farewell. We really enjoyed meeting everyone and are so grateful for all the help we received throughout our time in Turkey. We will definitely plan to come back sometime in the future. We also extended invitations to come visit us in Canada, and hope that they will come visit sometime and let us return some of the hospitality.

Smoking on buses in Syria is not only allowed, and the rule is enforced – unlike many other places we’ve been – even on the local buses. On our small bus from Palmyra to Homs, someone lit up a cigarette. Our initial thought was that this was just like Turkey, Greece and Italy where a table with ashtrays might be located right below a no-smoking sign. We were surprised when seconds later the bus attendant came over and talked to the person smoking. This quickly escalated to shouting back and forth and it was clear that the attendant was prepared to have the driver stop the bus and kick the smoker off in the middle of the desert, miles from anywhere. Fortunately, the smoker extinguished his cigarette and put it away. It was truly delightful to see the rule actually enforced!

The first lesson about taking a bus in Syria, is to arrive early at the station (Karajat – sounds like garage) and take your time. Inevitably someone will try to rush you, because their bus is leaving in 5 minutes. This of course means that you are not looking at any of the other buses who may also be leaving in 5, 10, 15, or 20 minutes. If you have the flexibility to take a smaller bus, then you will have a lot of options and no need to rush to the first people that you see. That being said, the smaller buses are often filled beyond capacity, so you may get a seat but there may also be people standing or sitting in the aisle.

The bus we took from Palmyra to Homs was arranged by our hotel. The bus (a minibus) stopped right in front of the hotel to pick us up. The attendant evicted two people from their seats, so that we could sit down – since the hotel had reserved a seat for us, it was ours. We were also paying a tourist premium (likely of 25 SYP), which we guess a portion will go back to the hotel somehow. The bus was full enough that 3 younger men stood for part of the trip and sat on the floor for part of it. The ride from Palymra to Homs was about 2 hours.

Unfortunately, the minibus from Palmyra arrives at a different bus terminal than the large (Pullman) buses that leave for Aleppo. This meant we needed to take a taxi across Homs. We did have a couple of offers of a minibus ride to Aleppo, or possibly a service taxi, or perhaps just a ride to the other terminal for 100 SYP each. We couldn’t quite tell what they were offering, but have gotten wary of people approaching us as we get off the bus to offer something. Scott wanted to take the 2.5 hour journey in a Pullman bus, so we decided to take a taxi to the other terminal. We have gotten wise enough to not take a taxi directly from the bus terminal – rather we walked out of the terminal and then flagged down a taxi. We found a taxi that used a meter and he took us across Homs to the right bus terminal, pointing out some key sights in Homs along the way. It was a rather long ride, but with the meter running, we felt we got a fair deal.

Upon arriving at the second Homs terminal, just outside the doors someone in a rather plain uniform claimed to be police and demanded our passports. Scott complied. He checked the passports, then asked where we were going and if we spoke Arabic. When we said we did not speak Arabic he gave our passport to his friend who ushered us to a desk and stamped out tickets for us and asked for money – 300 SP each, too much for the bus fare. We said no, that he wanted too much for the bus tickets. The person with our passports put them down for a minute and Becky immediately snatched them back. Once we had our passports it was easy to walk away from this scam. We quickly found the washrooms (a priority at the time) and then found a quiet place to sit, have a tea, and strategize about how to get our tickets from Homs to Aleppo. We decided to talk to Al-Alihah, a company mentioned in our guidebook, and whose buses looked both good and plentiful. Without any pressure, Scott was able to get us seats on a Pullman (full size) bus for 140 SP each, which felt downright luxurious after our last two bus rides.

The bus from Aleppo to Antakya turned out to be another challenge. We asked many companies at the Aleppo International bus terminal, and coincidentally all the buses left at noon (all the big buses that is). One of the companies told us that they are all actually selling tickets for the same bus. You don’t actually buy the tickets until the bus arrives, and we found out why. The bus never came! Apparently this is a Turkish bus company, and they only run the bus when it looks to be full enough to be worthwhile. We waited for an hour after its scheduled arrival time, and eventually realized it wasn’t coming. There was a mini-bus from another Turkish company (HAS) leaving, but they could not easily take our bikes. They suggested that they could strap them to the roof, and would charge us a 1000 SP fee for doing so, on top of 250 SP each for the ticket. We opted for a taxi and with the help of Dani and Fadi, managed to get one for a reasonable price, 2000 SP. This made the drive to Antakya less than 3 hours including the customs and duty free stops. As we travelled we saw at least two other Turkish buses headed to Damascus, so it may be easier to get a full-sized bus directly from Damascus to Antakya.

Scott made good use of the Turkish-English dictionary given to us by Wendy and Peter, since the driver only spoke Arabic and Turkish. We managed a few conversations over the course of the drive, and the driver drilled us on our Turkish numbers. Unfortunately, we still can’t count past 5

The area between Aleppo and Antakya was much greener than when we were here in December, with plants sprouting in the fields, and even the hills of no-man’s land were green. Quite the contrast from our ride last month.

We decided to team up with Wendy and Peter for our ride between Antakya and Aleppo. From our various discussions, it appears that we move at about the same speed (that is in km per day), and they were willing to take the ride to Aleppo slowly to account for our time off the bicycles. This is the first time since our ride into Trois Rivieres that we have ridden with other cyclists. We were looking forward to the company.

Our ride from Antakya to Aleppo began late in the morning. Since we did not wish to cross the border today, we only needed to ride for a few hours. Our plan was to camp one night, get up early the next morning, cross the border and ride into Aleppo. We were looking forward to cycling and camping again, but Becky was afraid that it might be too cold. With the early darkness, the nights are very long.

Once we were on the bikes, it did not take long to receive our first offering of Chai (tea). Since we were eager to get on the road, we respectfully declined that offer and a couple of others that happened while we were riding. When we stopped at a gas station to get fuel for Peter and Wendy’s stove, we were delighted to accept the chai that was offered. It did not take long for us to see the attraction of riding around Turkey with a fully loaded bike!

At about 1 pm, we were looking for a place to stop for lunch. Becky was starving and in need of something to eat. She noticed a road with a couple of nice cement blocks for leaning bikes at the bottom of a big hill, so we stopped. With a quick look around, we noticed that the land on both sides was military. Becky grabbed a quick chocolate bar, and even before she could finish eating it a person in military uniform carrying a large gun told us to go – we could not stop there. With the energy from the chocolate bar, we climbed the first big hill of the day, which brought us to the town of Reyhanli.

We had heard of a hotel in Reyhanli and decided to check it out, just in case we could not find a place to camp – with all the military around, wild camping would not be easy. We looked into the hotel, but it was a real dump. It would do if we couldn’t find anything else, but we still had an hour and a half of daylight left, so we decided to continue down the road looking for other options.

After another 5 km, we saw a place where transport trucks were parked with a restaurant. We stopped on the side of the road to converse. Within about 30 seconds we heard whistling and were being motioned to move along from someone in a military lookout tower on the other side of the road. We quickly turned into the transport truck terminal. Wendy and Peter had a note in Turkish asking if we could camp on the land there. The drivers were very friendly and welcomed us. They said we could camp anywhere within their large compound. They also invited us for tea and offered us use of their shower.

The truck drivers

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After a tea, as the sun was beginning to set, we found a good place and setup our tents. As we were enjoying a warm drink at our campsite, one of the drivers came over with his cell phone. Wendy and Scott had an opportunity to speak to his 13 year old daughter on the phone. Her English was not bad, but the connection was poor, so it wasn’t much of a conversation.

After supper, Wendy, Scott, and Becky went to the restaurant for a cup of tea and a brief visit with the drivers. The news was on, so we were able to watch as a journalist from Iraq throw a pair of shoes at George Bush. Showing the soles of your shoes is very rude in this area of the world, so this was intended as a significant insult. A comparison was drawn between today and five years ago, when the head of the giant Saddam statue in Bagdhad was dragged through the street and beaten with shoes. Wendy had her trusty Turkish-English dictionary so we were able to ask a few questions about driving trucks in Turkey and the drivers were able to ask us questions about us and our trip. The dictionary was a handy tool and allowed us to have a much more meaningful conversation than we would have had without it. We plan on finding a similar small dictionary for Arabic when we get to Syria.

By 8 pm, we were all tucked into our sleeping bags. It was too cold for reading, so we were soon fast asleep.

Becky, Wendy and Peter, huddled around our cookstoves

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We hopped on our bikes for a quick 30km ride today, and both felt great, so we’re looking forward to riding again. We’ll see how it goes!

Our current plan is to ride to Reyhanli (about 50 km) on Monday. Reyhanli is within 10 km of the Syrian border. On Tuesday, we plan to ride to Aleppo. Once we reach Aleppo, we will have a better sense of what shape we are in for riding and what it is like riding with the cooler days.

Reports from other touring cyclists who have crossed the border in the last few days indicate that the crossing is quite easy and quick. Since we already have our Syrian visas, it should be even easier.

Our first hotel in Antakya (the Seker Palas Oteli) tested us. It was clean and we asked what we thought were all the important questions – the one question we forgot however was “do you have heat?” The answer apparently was no! They also did not have Internet, and all the Internet cafes in town closed at 6 pm. As a result, we climbed into our sleeping bags and were fast asleep by 8:30 pm.

Cabbage and Kufeke desserts

We had planned on a couple of nights in Antakya to rest (Scott has a bit of a cough and cold), and to allow all the Bayram traffic to subside before heading to Syria. Since the room was just too cold to be habitable, we decided to move to our second choice hotel (slightly more expensive), the Hotel Saray – which is clean but also has Internet and heat (but apparently not until after 7 pm – which means it is chilly from 4:30 pm when the sun sets until the heat kicks in at about 7:30 pm). The first room they sent us to was on the uppermost floor backing onto the hamam. Unfortunately, this meant that the smoke from the hamam chimney went directly into the room – the room also smelled badly of cigarette smoke – probably because the window could not be opened for fear of hamam smoke. We were then relocated to a room on the second floor (North Americans would call it the third floor). The room we are in is small, but it does not back onto the hamam and it is clean and mostly scent free.

The lack of regular hot water does help to explain why there are many hamams in town. In our wanderings, we have seen at least three in the downtown area. If the majority of affordable hotels do not have regular hot water, and many homes only have solar hot water, than the hamam would be your only source of a hot bath during the winter months.

A less busy spot in the market

Antakya does not feel like any of the other places we have been in Turkey. The city is a tourist destination, but not so much for Europeans as for those from the Middle East. The primary reason people come here is for shopping (the ocean is 80 km away). The market is so large that when we exit it, we are lost and need to re-establish our bearings. It is at least 5 streets wide and 8 streets long, with lots of little alleys! The items being sold are primarily textiles and housewares. Unlike the Izmir and Istanbul, there are very few touts shouting at you trying to separate you from your money. The prices seem to be fixed, such that Becky has been completely ineffective at bargaining – that being said, the prices are also so low that there is no reason to complain either. Bargaining doesn’t seem to be as much a part of the culture / game as it is in Southeast Asia.

In the first couple of days, it appeared to Becky that more than 80% of the women were wearing Hijab. Interestingly, Scott did not have the same impression. We think this is partially because Becky was walking around the markets on her own – in a different part of town. The area closer to the first hotel is much more conservative than the more central area near the second hotel. There may also have been more women dressing conservatively whilst doing family visits for Bayram. As are stay progressed, we saw less and less women wearing Hijab.

Becky modelling her new headscarf

What has been a real difference here compared to Goreme is that we are seeing women. Even in the more conservative shops in the market, the women are present. Becky had a fun time (with Scott’s help and encouragement) picking out a head scarf. We went into one of the shops where the sales staff were mostly girls in their late teens / early twenties. Becky was totally nervous about doing this, and had passed by the shop earlier in the day when she was on her own. Once we entered, we selected a scarf and one of the girls dressed Becky up and then given a lesson on how to dress herself. It was rather amusing given that there was very little shared language. Becky’s lack of colour coordination and some of Scott’s scarf selections were a source of many giggles.

Antakya also has some special foods that are influenced by its proximity to the Arab countries. In particular we have enjoyed more of the sweet pastry with cheese (Kufeke) and we tried a new dessert that is a candied cabbage with tahini drizzled over it.

We made a quick stop at the Antakya Archeology museum. Neither of us are very interested in archeology, but our guidebook mentioned that this museum has one of the best collections of mosaics in the world. We definitely enjoyed seeing the mosaics. We were also amused with the common practice of posing behind one of the headless statues. Becky couldn’t resist making Scott pose.

Scott as a Roman statue

On Friday night, we heard a knock on our door. A couple of other touring cyclists from the UK, Peter and Wendy, had pulled in and planned to spend a couple days in Antakya. We have had a few discussions with them and have learned a few key tricks from their experiences (like how to cook your own dinner in a hotel room). They too are heading to Aleppo, and are also taking their time to experience various locations along the way. Their final destination is Australia in about two years time. I suspect our paths may cross a few more times before leaving the Middle East.

Spinning dough for Kufeke

Interesting Roman sarcophagus

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Metin’s parents have a beautiful apartment in Kayseri. The ceilings are over 3 meters high, and every room has beautiful crown moldings. With such high ceilings it is possible to have chandeliers that don’t look overwhelming and are high enough that there is no risk of banging one’s head into them. Quite the contrast from typical apartments and apartment-condos in North America. We are beginning to understand why living in an apartment block is so much more popular in other parts of the world.

When we arrived, Scott shouted up “Iyi Bayramlar” to Metin’s mother (rough translation: Happy Bayram), much to her amusement. People in Turkey are happy for any attempt by foreigners to learn Turkish, so our limited attempts almost always result in a smile or giggle.

Bayram slaughter site in Kayseri.

We were invited to their home to join the family for their Kurban Bayram celebration. Fortunately, Metin’s father took care of the morning excitement (the actual animal sacrifice). Our only responsibility was to enjoy the plethora of great food that was place in front of us, and smile and nod when people came to visit.

Kurban Bayram is the Festival of Sacrifice or as our friend Mehmet likes to call it “The Victim Festival”. It is also translated as the “Feast of Sacrifice”. In Arabic it is Eid Al-Adha. In Turkey, it is a 4-day holiday. This year, because the entire holiday occurs during the week, most people had a 9-day holiday (including the weekends). The festival celebrates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac to God (Genesis 22:1-24). A key part of the festival is the sacrifice (slaughter) of either a sheep or a cow. People join together to purchase an animal (always an odd number of people). Each person’s portion of meat is divided into three – one for the poor, one to be shared among neighbours and friends, and one for the family. Often this provides the family with meat for several months. The other important part of the festival is the opportunity for families to visit one another. Both the first and second day of the festival are filled with visits between family and friends. Each visit involves an update on how everyone in the family is doing.

Shortly after our arrival, Metin took us on a drive around Kayseri. When we drove by one of the sacrifice locations, we insisted on stopping to take a few pictures. Scott was braver than Becky and got a little bit closer. In Kayseri (as in other cities), it is not permissible to sacrifice animals in your yard or garage, you must do this at a designated slaughter location. In Goreme, being a small town, we saw several people chopping up sheep on their front lawns. The most common time for slaughter is the morning of the first day of Bayram, but some people are slaughtering on the second day as well.

Metin, Gul, Mehmet, and Becky with the Whirling Dervish.

As we were driving, we passed a large fiberglass whirling Dervish. We had to get out of the car and have our picture taken – since it was unlikely we were going to see real Whirling Dervishes while in Turkey, Becky just had to have her picture taken (and do a quick whirl) with the fiberglass one! It turns out the Dervish was at the entrance to the graveyard that housed the tomb of Seyyid Burhaneddin, one of Mevlana’s teachers . Mevlana is more commonly known in the western world as Rumi – poet, philosopher, musical composer, and founder of Sufi sect, including the Whirling Dervishes. It was supper cool to go and visit his tomb.

Our evening was topped off with a wonderful Bayram dinner – unfortunately it did not occur to us to take a picture (oops). Both of Metin’s parents are excellent cooks, with Metin’s father specializing in meat and sweet desserts. The cooking and baking had been completed before we arrived, or Becky would have spent the whole time in the kitchen trying to learn from the experts.

For every Kurban Bayram the local news is filled with the same three stories:
1 – A cow gets loose and runs through traffic. Many men run around chasing the cow until it is caught.
2 – The emergency rooms of full of men that have either been stepped on or kicked by an animal or who have cut themselves while butchering the animal.
3 – Car accidents caused by too much traffic.
We got to observe #1 and #3 on television, but #2 we also got to see first-hand experience. One of the Bayram visitors to Metin’s parents had cut himself rather badly during his sacrifice.

On Tuesday we drove up to the hills just outside of Kayseri where Metin’s family has a house. This house is treated similar to how we would treat a cottage in eastern Canada. The family spends most of their summer up at the house, which has many gardens and several fruit trees. We were even able to sample some of the wonderful produce.

The twins - Scott and Metin.

During our visit we walked around the hills that have many memories for Metin. We had to get a picture of Metin posing at his favourite rock, and another with his “twin”. Upon arriving in Kayseri, Metin’s mother commented that Scott and Metin looked like twins (minus the glasses and hair colour). As a result, we had to get a picture of the twins together.

Our dinner up at the house included a tradition dish of Kayseri called Manti that is a small pasta with an envelope of meat (like a really tiny ravioli) in a tomato sauce on which you add yogurt. This was followed by freshly barbequed Kebabs.

Shortly after dinner, the decision was made to get home quickly. While we were eating it had begun to snow pretty heavily. We wanted to get home before the roads closed. Fortunately, snow is not foreign to Kayseri, so both Metin and his father knew how to drive in it. As we were going down a hill towards the city we saw an overturned van. We guess that he must of hit some black ice on the way down. We were glad to get home safely.

Our evening ended with being dropped off at the bus station, at the last moment as usual. We said our good-byes and hopped on the bus to Antakya.

Mehmet, Metin, and Gul – thank-you so much for all your hospitality. You have helped to ensure that we really enjoyed our time in Turkey. We hope to visit you again in January – and we hope that someday you can visit us in Canada. It will be a challenge for us to show you the same hospitality you have shown us, but we’ll try!

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Our plan for the day was a trip up to Derinkuyu to see the underground city. It is the most thoroughly excavated underground city (there are many underground cities in the area), and you are able to see parts of the 8th floor (underground) and much of the upper floor. Getting to Derinkuyu involved taking two Dolmuses (mini buses), one to Nevsehir and then a second onto Derinkuyu. While waiting for the bus in Goreme, we met an America lady, Lee, who asked if she could join us for the day. Of course we said “no problem”, and had an great day travelling around with her.

Lee is a business librarian from Atlanta on a six week exchange through work, teaching some courses at university in Istanbul and exchanging information with librarians. Because of the Bayram holiday, she has a week off and so decided to come and see Cappadocia.

Upon arriving in Derinkuyu we noticed a large bustling market, so we walked around to check it out. The market had everything from fruits and vegetables to blue jeans and shower curtains. On the outskirts of the market there were lambs and cows – a special bonus because of the upcoming Sacrifice Festival. We were amused because at this time of year at home, you would see Christmas trees on the outskirts of markets. Here you have live animals. Who knew that on this adventure of ours we would be trading in Christmas Trees for animal sacrifice?

Walking through the market we noticed that the town is much more conservative than the cities. Most of the younger women that were out where dressed conservatively and wearing Hijab. What we notice in Goreme is an absence of women. There are women present, but the proportion is much less than the number of men we see. At our Pensiyon we see the father, his son, and grandson, but we never see any of the wives.

After walking through the market, it was time for our adventure to the bottom of the world. The underground cities date back to at least 1000 B.C. and some say even earlier than that. The caves were known to be inhabited at least 6-months at a time, as a refuge against persecution. We paid the fee and entered the cave at about 12:00. Our guidebook told us to arrive before 11:00 to avoid the tour buses – however, we just don’t move that fast. With it being winter, we have not found the tour buses to be too bad and are usually able to completely avoid the crowds. According to the people at our hotel, now the buses start appearing at 9:30 anyway, so no matter what we wouldn’t have avoided all of them.

We entered the cave and began working our way down. Becky was definitely feeling a little claustrophobic and kept trying to “forget” about the amount of rock and earth above her head. She led Scott and Lee down – with the thought that the sooner we got to the bottom, the sooner we could move back up again. We came upon a room which had a staircase going down. Not long after we entered, a tour group started coming up. The stairwell was technical bi-directional, but really there was only room for people in one direction. The first guide told us it was crowded down there and we should wait. We were happy to let the group clear out before we went in. In the end, it turned out that there were three tour groups down at the bottom level at the same time – we could only imagine how packed it must have been. When we got down there, there was only us and another small group of about 7 or 8 people.

The bottom cave had a church. It did not really look like much, except that the cave was shaped like a cross. Also from the bottom level, there were several smaller caves that were accessed by narrow one-way stair cases. We were glad there was not a large group down there with us. The whole time we were on the lowest level, Becky was paranoid that we would get stuck in one of the small caves at the end of a staircase because a large group of people would block access to the exit. Fortunately, that never happened, and soon enough we were on our way back up to the higher levels.

We also explored various caves that involved climbing through poorly lit tunnels, fortunately we had our headlamps with us. We found one passageway which was completely unlit, and low enough that entry was only possible completely bent over, and followed it for a few meters. After some twists and turns, the light reappeared, and we had a quiet area of caves all to ourselves. We sat there and chatted for 20 minutes or so, and when we emerged there were no signs of other visitors. The tour bus group which entered just after us must have bypassed us while we were hidden away in our quiet corner.

As we climbed back up, Scott was thinking “that’s it?”. It really did not seem like much, but as we worked our way towards the exit, we found many more cave rooms, including the stables, wine press, dining hall, and a school room. It felt like we could get lost in the maze of caves; however, they have blocked off various areas, so you generally do not end up back where you were without retracing your steps. Several times we thought “have we been here before?” only to discover a whole new room that we clearly had not seen yet. Becky ensured that we systematically explored each nook and cranny, going clockwise around every cavern that we entered.

Once we had thoroughly explored the caves, it was time to re-emerge to the light of day. We found a nice bench and enjoyed our snacks (buns and oranges) before hoping back on the Dolmus to Nevsehir. Since we still had daylight left, we decided to check out the rock formation that sticks out above Uchisar (the Uchisar Castle). The formation can be seen on the horizon from many places in the Cappadocia valleys.

We arrived in Uchisar just in time to find the castle and make our way to the top just before sunset. The view was spectacular! We could see many of the valleys throughout Cappadocia. At the top, there was a group of women sitting and holding their hands in a prayer position. At sunset they began to chant. We did not recognize the language they were speaking, and could not tell if their chanting was Christian or Southeast Asian (although they were Caucasian women, so Becky’s guess is Christian). They were still meditating when we left, so we were unable to ask them.

As we climbed down from the castle, the muezzin made the adhan (Call to Prayer). Being on the hill, you could hear the call echoing in the various valleys below. It was beautiful.

We decided to look around Uchisar a bit and possibly find a restaurant for dinner. Lee wanted to see some of the hotels as the guidebook recommended Uchisar as an alternative to the backpacker haven that is Goreme. We found that many of the recommended restaurants and hotels were closed for the season, but we did stumble upon the Cappadocia Cave Resort. It looked quite luxurious, so decided to go in and ask if we could see a room. This was mostly Lee’s influence, she and Becky were much more enthusiastic about the idea than Scott, although he came around eventually. They obliged us with a complete tour of the facilities. It is quite a beautiful hotel with an amazing view down into the valleys of Goreme. Apparently, they get many Japanese customers as they even had a small Karaoke lounge and a sushi restaurant. The spa was interesting too – in addition to the normal pool, hamam and steam room, they also had a snow room (with ice machine) and a salt room where walls were covered in salt and a machine atomized the salt (good to help Asthma apparently). Upon departing we asked about the price for the standard room – a whopping 330 Euros per night! We could not believe the excessive price tag. The place was nice, but really we could not see anything that warranted that much of a difference from the prices in Goreme. We’re paying 50 Lira (approximately 25 Euros), and the CCR isn’t anywhere close to 10 times as nice.

Since we did not find any place interesting to eat in Uchisar, we decided to head back to Goreme for dinner. Upon reaching the Goreme road, we were told that the Dolmus was finished for the night – the same person also offered to give us a ride for 10 Lira. He refused to bargain on the price – we offered 8 Lira. So, we decided to walk a bit and then hitch a ride. We walked about a kilometer to a bus stopped and hitched a ride from there (Goreme is only 6 km from Uchisar). Upon arriving in Goreme we saw the last dolmus arrive – so the person who told us they were finished had lied and was clearly looking to make a few Lira from stranded tourists!

We had a lovely dinner at the Orient Restaurant. Having three people instead of two opened up our options for sharing Meze and a bottle of wine.

After dinner, we needed to find a way to get Lee back to Urgup where she was staying. We confirmed that the dolmuses had stopped for the day. It was only 8:30 pm! At this hour, the taksis (taxis) know that there are few options, so they charge a fortune (30 YTL for 6km). Lee decided she wanted to try her luck hitching a ride. We walked her to the intersection of the Urgup road and waited with her while several cars went by. Eventually someone did stop. He thought he was picking up all three of us – which is probably good. We hope that Lee got back to her hotel safely.

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Uchisar castle in the distance.

We had a pretty slow start to the day, mostly sleeping in, and figuring out what we want to do with the rest of our time in Goreme. We decided that we would try renting mountain bikes in the afternoon and check out some of the valleys near Goreme.

We got some decent bikes, but both felt rather uncomfortable at first. It took a while to relearn the different balance on the bikes. Becky originally led us to a path that was much too technical for us, such that we were “taking the bikes for a walk” more than mountain biking. Fortunately, after a few kilometers on less challenging terrain, we were able to get the feel for the bikes and tackle some of the smaller ups and downs.

Scott biking through a tunnel.

Riding through the fairy chimneys and cave dwellings makes you feel like you are riding through the land of hobbits, especially when you consider the short doors and low ceilings inside the caves. Eventually, we found some signs that led to a cave church (we were actually trying to get to Rose Valley, but we never actually made it that far before we ran out of daylight and energy).

The fresco in the cave church.

We followed a trail that led to a café and a church. Once we arrived (after climbing a few sets of stairs carrying the bikes), we paid the small fee to see the church. If we had arrived earlier in the day, we would have enjoyed a cup of tea at the café; however, after seeing the church we really needed to get down out of the hills before darkness fell. Becky was amazed at the church which seems like it is in the middle of nowhere, high up in the hills, but if you think about how people lived throughout the hills in the various caves, you can see that the church would have been close to some dwellings.

In the end, we were reminded that we both enjoy mountain biking, but the muscles used are very different from riding a recumbent. Also, Becky was reminded that her recumbent biking shorts do not provide adequate padding for a regular bike (ouch) – if we do it again, she’ll need to borrow a pair of Scott’s shorts!

View from the cave church.

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Nunnery at Goreme open air museum

We began the day with a walk up to the Goreme open air museum , one of the best collections of cave churches in Cappadocia. The first set of dwellings you see upon entering are the nuns quarters. This large multi-storey cave structure looks an awful lot like Disney’s Magic Mountain. Unfortunately, due to instability, we were not permitted to enter the building.

When we entered the first church, Becky commented that the holes in the floor looked very much like coffins/tombs. Scott did not believe her, but eventually discovered that they were indeed coffins. Becky found it pretty creepy that we were walking over the remains of people as we entered most of the churches.

Another beautiful fresco - repeated in many of the churches

After seeing the first couple of churches, we were not too impressed. The simple red drawings on rock seemed look like the art work of a child. Where were the amazing frescos that we had heard so much about? We then discovered the Dark Church. This was an additional 8 Lira to enter, but was well worth it. The frescos were painted on plaster rather than on rock, and were much more impressive. These frescos had been restored, but other churches with similar plaster frescos were also quite beautiful.

In the churches, all the faces in the frescos have been scratched out. When we first saw the scratched out faces, we thought it had to do with the rise of Islam and a prohibition against the depiction of the human form for purposes of worship. Becky asked a tour guide who happened to be in the Dark Church at the same time as us. She said that in the 1920s the towns people felt that they were being watched by daemons. As a result, they scratched out the eyes and faces of the murals in all the churches in the area. It had absolutely nothing to do with Islamic prohibitions. There goes another compelling theory!

Scott, Becky and a fresco in the Apple Church

After our adventure in the museum, we got organized and went for a bike ride. This was our first real bike ride since leaving Italy, so we were both feeling rather rusty. The colder weather also poses a bit of a challenging, Becky had a hard time getting her layers just right. Given the hills and the uneven pavement, we did not too bad. We did realize that loaded riding to Kayseri on Monday is an unrealistic plan, we need to get back into shape before trying a 60km ride through the hills with a deadline. The scenery around here is awe inspiring, but also steep. We plan to do some more biking around while we are here, so we can see more of the stunning rock formations and start getting back into biking shape.

Scott stopped in a bike lane - the first we

After our ride, we were both starving, and decided to try a set menu at “Kale Terrace Restaurant“, which promised a clay pot dinner. We had clay pot a few nights ago, and it was quite good – a stew, cooked in a clay pot, then broken with a hammer at our table. Unfortunately, tonight the “clay pot” meal was reheated in the microwave, and the sauce was both greasy and contained lamb, despite promises of “all beef”. Given Becky’s allergy to lamb, this has been our worst meal in Turkey. Our lesson for today – don’t eat the set menu if it’s really cheap, and you can avoid it.

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Bikes and gear squeezed into the short bay on the bus.

Since our three friends were all unavailable to guide us to the bus, Haktan was recruited to take us and negotiate the bike loading with the bus driver. He’s another cyclist, and we’ve met him a few times during our various visits here. He is PHD student in Izmir researching more efficient air conditioning. It was great he was able to come and guide us – riding in the dark and during rush hour to the bus station would have been much more challenging otherwise.

We have observed that we end up paying extra for the bikes when our Turkish friends help us get organized at the bus station. We wonder if this is because the driver or assistant has someone they can communicate effectively with in order to ask for the extra money. Both times we travelled with our bikes on our own, we did not need to pay the extra fee – perhaps a language barrier is saving us a little cash?

We arrived in Goreme at 9 am after a long 13 hour bus ride. Since Goreme was not a major stop, the unloading process was rushed. We quickly climbed out of the bus, unloaded our bikes, and ensured we had all of our bags. We then began loading our bikes as the bus drove away. It did not take us long to realize that we left our helmets on the bus – oops. Upon discovering this, Scott talked to the agent for the bus company and they said, no problem, the helmets will come back with the bus in about an hour. The hour turned out to be in the evening at about 8 pm, but that’s OK. We got them back, so we are very happy.

Incredible view from in front of our Pansiyon.

Since we arrived early in the day, we decided to do a tour of various accommodation options before making a decision on where we would stay. Since it is not a busy time, everywhere we checked had lots of space. We discovered that the prices at this time vary dramatically, and there is not necessarily relationship between cost and quality. In a lot of cases, I think they look at you and decide what the cost will be. We learned that if they quote in Euro, we are likely paying too much. Also, the places listed in the guidebook are invariably more expensive than the places that are not, even if they are of lower quality. When we stopped to get are bearings, someone asked if we wanted to see their pension. Scott asked “how much”? He said “50 Lira”. So we said, sure we will look (we were not in a rush). We were glad we looked because of the five places we saw, it was by far the best value. We did see one other place that was nicer, but the cost was significantly more. We think we may be the only guests at this time, but the place is clean, the water is really hot, they have Internet in the lobby, and the people seem really nice. Oh ya, and we have a million dollar view from our front porch!

We were quite amused by the number of places that are named after the Flintstones (Flintstone Café and Bedrock Hotel). Someone clearly has a sense of humor.

After finding accommodation, we took a nap and ate. Then we did some Internet and reading, went for a short walk, and ate again. Now we are ready for bed. Goodnight.

Scott checking out the fairy chimneys.

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Turkish Flag

On Sunday morning we took the bus back to Izmir for a short visit with Gul and Metin, to do some chores, and to pick up our bikes. We had planned to stay until Wednesday night, but Metin checked for us and discovered that all the buses to Goreme in Cappadocia were full starting Wednesday through Bayram (the Eid Al-Adha Sacrifice Festival starting December 8th). Our only option was the overnight bus on Tuesday, so with the help of Metin, Scott bought us tickets.

Monday and Tuesday were spent doing bicycle maintenance and making a couple of purchases. With the help of Gul, Becky finally bought a new pair of pants, and was able to visit a Salon for KUAFÖR (similar to waxing for hair removal). With the help of Metin, Scott was able to buy us a mobile phone, so now our friends can contact us while we travel.

Becky says:

On Monday after work, Gul and I went out to buy me a new pair of pants. On our walk back, I noticed that there was a planet near the moon, such that the night sky looked like the Turkish flag. Amusingly enough, Metin’s father phoned later that night to make the same comment.
Scott subscribes to NASA’s Astronomey Picture of the Day, and they have had several great photos of the scene, including the one here.

Venus and Crescent Moon

The trip to the Salon for kuafor was a definite cultural experience. In Canada, waxing is a common method for hair removal, and that is what I had expected in Turkey. I had heard that rather than a was a warm sugar is used, which is actually less painful that wax. However, when I asked for my eyebrows to be treated, no wax was used. Instead, the esthetician used something that looked like dental floss and felt like a razor. Once she was finished with this tool, she used tweezers to pluck out any stray hair. It was horribly painful. Fortunately, the waxing of the under arms used a similar process to at home and was less painful.

When all was done, and it was time to pay, I pulled the money out of my pocket. Fortunately, Gul had told me exactly how much it was to cost. Then a lady there returned the money to my hand and motioned for me to drop it onto the floor. Once I did this, everyone smiled and all was done. I asked Metin about this practice, but he had not heard of it before. I’ll have to wait until I see Gul again to see if she knows why this was done.

We had a quick, and delicious dinner at home with Omer, his mother, and two year old daughter Ilke. At dinner, Omer’s mother asked if we were married. Becky said “yes, for six years”. Her reply was “Where is the product?” We were amused and were able to use Friedel and Andrew’s suggested “Inshallah” (Allah/God willing) response. It is a much more effective response here than anything we’ve used back in Canada.

Band in Istanbul.

After dinner we were off to a performance of traditional Turkish music from the Black Sea region. Omer’s wife Evren was working late, but we picked her up on the way. The trekking and mountaineering group Omer and Evren belong to was doing a cultural meeting – for the first time getting together someplace other than a trail or mountain.

We were expecting some sort of club or similar venue, and were quite surprised when we arrived at a banquet hall. White table cloths, covered chairs, munchies on the table – it felt more like a Canadian office Christmas party than anything else. Fortunately people were not dressed up in fancy outfits, since we do not own any dressy attire. The room was full and two tables were reserved for the trekking group. We chatted with a few people, but only in English. Scott wishes his Turkish was better, but hasn’t succeeded in getting very far with it.

Ilke posing for a photo with mom Evern in the background.

Included in the admission price was two drinks. We continue to be surprised at casual drinking in Turkey – it really is no different than at home. The stereotype of Turkey as a strict Muslim nation is clearly not true. We were also surprised that it is common to bring your children with you to these outings – there were many children at the party, mostly they sit with their parents and are exceptionally well behaved. We have friends in Ottawa from the Ukraine who do the same with their kids, and so we were not unfamiliar with the practice of just bringing the kids along when you go out.

The music was an interesting mix of modern and traditional instruments, with Tulum (like bagpipes), Saz (like a long-necked lute) and another bowed instrument mixed with guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. Not quite traditional folk music, but a recognizable derivative. Sort of like Spirit of the West during and after the Save this House album…

It was a late night, we did not get to bed until after 1 am, and we got up late on Saturday morning. We had both woken up early (7:30 am), but the house was still fast asleep, so we went back to bed and did not reappear until 10 am. Unfortunately, getting up late meant that we missed an opportunity to visit with Evren and Ilke as they were departing for a family visit in Bursa. Had we realized this, we would have gotten up shortly after they did to enjoy a short visit. Becky had a great time getting to know Evren a little bit at the party on Friday night.

The plan for the late morning was to go for a walk in the woods. Omer’s mother (who lives with them and provides childcare for Ilke while they are working) is an expert with local herbs. While we walked in the forest, she collected a variety of edible greens, some of which we enjoyed with dinner.

Muddy car, safely parked on the grass.

Our trip to the woods was not without adventure. There had been a fair bit of rain in Istanbul on Thursday. The path up to the woods was normally hard-packed dirt; however, when we approached it was soft rutted mud. It did not take long for the car to be stuck – attempting to climb a soft mud hill with two wheel drive and summer tires was somewhat ineffective. After several attempts at pushing, Becky got behind the wheel and helped to reverse the car out of the rut, down the hill, and park it on the grass. Driving on wet mud is a lot like thick snow with a layer of ice! Once this was done, we were able to enjoy a nice walk in the woods.

The walk in the woods was a similar tradition to at home; however, the woods had a lot of garbage in it. We were happy to see Omer bringing along a garbage bag, and Scott helped collect some of trash as we walked. After about an hour, it began to rain, so we made our way back to the car. We were both nervous about the ride out of the muddy fields, and we both felt a sigh in relief as Omer successfully navigated the car off of the muddy trails and onto pavement.

Wild strawberries.

After the walk in the woods, we drove back across the Bosphorus to the Europe side. Omer was part of a football (soccer) team competing in an tournament against other HSBC teams. This was one of the elimination games. It was a 7 on 7 game, on a reduced-size field, and both teams were quite skilled to our Canadian eyes. (Scott played intramural soccer at Newbridge one year, but isn’t very good). The soccer field was covered, which was nice since it had started to rain. Unfortunately, it did not have full walls, so it was rather chilly sitting and watching. Becky went to get some tea, and she was successful in ordering three teas (oh-ch chai), although the folks behind the counter were amused with her pronunciation!

The soccer game turned out to be on the other side of Istanbul – north west of where we stayed on the Europe side. Unfortunately, the traffic was terrible on the drive home. It took us at least two hours to cross the bridge back to the Asia side of Istanbul. By the time we got home, we were all tired and hungry, but especially Omer, who got stuck with all the driving.

Initially Omer told us of a plan to go over to a neighbour’s house and watch a football match on TV after dinner. Immediately after dinner, we went upstairs to use the Internet to call and try to activate Becky’s new credit cards – a task in which we had limited success. By the time we had finished and returned downstairs to visit, Omer had fallen asleep on the couch, exhausted after not enough sleep on Friday night, and many hours of driving on Saturday. Not wishing to disturb him, we returned to our room to do some Internet tasks and reading. We were happy for the quiet night, but felt awkward not having communicated any plans. Since we were already on the Asia side of Istanbul, we decided to return to Izmir on Sunday.

Throughout our visit, we often felt a little lost and uncomfortable. We had several interesting conversations and a few cultural exchanges, but at the same time we were often unaware of what was happening or what was expected of us. At times, there was a lack of invitation that made us feel uncomfortable – this could be a cultural thing as well. We are discovering more and more about our Canadian behaviours – sit quietly and wait for an invitation, don’t ever ask for something you might need! We wonder if there was a cultural cue that we missed? In our reflections of our time with Omer and family, we noted that we were not questioned nearly as much as usual about our trip and our adventures or about our culture in Canada. Sharing our experiences and culture through stories is the only way we have to give back to our hosts (washing dishes doesn’t count in our eyes), so we left feeling like we were not able to contribute. We were often unsure if we were in the way or if we were doing something that was offensive. When we checked with Omer shortly before leaving, he assured us there was nothing he felt we should have been doing differently, so we hope we were able to leave the family with a good impression.

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Fancy domed ceiling in the Hamam.

We began our tour with the Harem in an attempt to avoid any crowds. The Harem is the part of the palace where the Sultan, his family, and concubines, lived. The Harem had many incredible domed ceilings with amazing tile work that the pictures do not show well. When the sun shone just right, the gold in the designs shone.

Other than many groups of school children, the palace grounds were quite empty. We even had a few rooms in the Harem to ourselves – quite the contrast with what the guidebook told us to expect. A definite benefit to visiting on a cold day in late November!

We were very glad we had rented the audio guides (20 YTL for two). Scott felt a bit silly walking around with headphones on, but we found the explanations added a lot to our understanding, and the occasional music provided extra ambience.

Scott wearing goofy audio guide headphones.

After viewing the harem and walking around a bit, Becky was in need of a rest and we were both a little hungry. We did not really expect there to be so much to see, so we had not planned on being in the palace over lunch. Our visit to the palace kitchens and the explanation of the meals cooked for 10000 or 15000 people whetted our appetites even more.

We headed to the cafeteria to find a cup of tea and a snack. We were shocked by the prices (14 Lira for a donair which is usually 2-4 Lira on the street, and 4 Lira for tea which is usually 50 cents). Added to the horrible prices, the food was also pretty bad. We recommend that anyone planning a trip to the Topkapi Palace to bring along a picnic.

Huge pots in the palace kitchen.

Our guidebook says that the treasury is an additional fee, but when we approached it was free. We were glad to be seeing the treasury with so few other people, as it is the habit here for people to stand as close as possible to the glass windows to view the items. This means that only one or two people can view them at a time. If you step back to allow more people to see them, someone inevitably just steps in front of you, blocking your view. Becky tried to be a polite Canadian, but found this to be rather frustrating! Scott quickly gave up and crowded up to the glass with everyone else.

Our vote for the most amazing thing we saw in the treasury were candle sticks made to sit outside the tomb of Mohammed. These did spent some time in Medina (Saudi Arabia) but were transported back to Turkey for protection during the first world war. They are about five feet tall and one foot in diameter and made of solid gold. If these items were in the Smithsonian in Washington DC, you would see armed guards very near. The security here seemed to be rather subdued given the value of the items on display.

Our second to last stop was the Sultan’s Palace containing holy relics of the Islamic faith. These include the turban of the prophet Joseph (Old Testament, Joseph and the coat of many colours – made famous in pop culture in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), the staff that Moses used to part the Red Sea, various vials of Prophet Mohammed’s hair, and an imprint of Mohammed’s foot. Adding to the ambiance of the holy relics, the Koran was being read and piped through this section of the museum. When read aloud in Arabic, the Koran sounds very poetic. We aren’t quite sure what to think of many of the relics – many seem to Scott like all the fragments of the “True Cross” which are found in Christian churches around the world. Prophet Mohammed’s relics seem most likely to be authentic, since Islam was a well-established religion by the time he died. Then again – what is real and authentic in this context? It was surprising to us to find all of these here, but Turkey is the successor to the Ottoman Empire, which was for many years the center of Islamic faith in the world. Perhaps it shouldn’t have surprised us.

Becky standing in front of some fancy tiles in the Summer Pavillion.

Our final stop was the Summer Pavillion, built in 1640 by Sultan Ibrahim and used for circumcision ceremonies for the crown princes. Becky took great delight in calling it the Circumcision Room, and watching Scott cross his legs. The whole area is decorated with beautiful tile works and we took lots of photos.

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Since we did not like our motel, we decided to move to one that was listed in our Rough Guide, the Hurriyet Hotel, that was close to the train station but still within walking distance to Sultanemet.

Before leaving the hotel, we made a stop to a couple of English bookstores in the Sultanemet. We were surprised at the number of books for sale on political Islam, secularism in Turkey and other political/religious topics. Since both stores had the same owners, they had the same selection of books.

Our chore for the day was mailing a couple of packages home for Christmas. This first required finding boxes and tape, which turned out to be more of a chore than we expected. The boxes were easy, but the tape required that we find an appropriate store. After much walking around, we entered a fishing store and asked. They did not have any, but they directed us to the general small appliance store next door, where we were able to get both packing tape and a permanent marker.

The funicular cable, with a reflection of Scott and Becky on the glass.

Once we had the boxes packed, we visited several different couriers. The cost quoted for mailing was much more than we were willing to pay (about 144 Lira – $120 Canadian), so we went in search of the government postal system, the PTT (equivalent to Canada post). There we learned that the larger of our parcels was over 2 kg, and so we had two options – split it into two or send it cargo (for around 50 Lira). The guy at cargo recommended that the box be split into two and he gave us two new boxes. Our other box was small enough, so Becky went to the kiosk she was led to and mailed the box. The box was just under 2 kg (the maximum for post) and cost 14 Lira to mail to Canada. After re-packaging, we sent the other boxes using the same method. We have no idea when or if they will arrive, but we have succeed in getting them posted.

For dinner, we decided to leave the Sultanemet area and check out Beyonlu – the neighbourhood that is popular with expats in Instanbul. We took the tram and funicular up to Beyonlu and walked from there to Taksim. We were surprised by the number of Starbucks and coffee shops along the pedestrian street. We stopped into another bookstore that has some English books. They also had a great selection of English magazines. We were amused that they had a section on “Islam” and another on “Other Religions and Myths”.

A typical hotel bathroom - note the lack of a shower stall.

We discovered that Istanbul train systems are disjoint and challenging. To get from one place to another often requires different forms of transit (tram, subway, and funicular). You pay for each segment of your travel rather than paying for a length of time like most cities. For some areas this makes it less expensive and certainly less confusing to take a taksi (taxi).

Our room in the Hurriyet hotel has a funny smell. We are learning to leave the bathroom door closed, which reduces the smell but doesn’t make it completely go away. Possibly a combination of moth balls and stale smoke in the carpets.  The room is at least clean and free of visible mould, which makes it an improvement over the other guesthouse. Scott enjoyed the nice firm pillows. We were surprised at how quiet the place was given its proximity to the railway station – we did not hear any trains.

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it’s Turkish delight on a moonlit night

Blue Mosque with ugly cables holding up the chandeliers

We began the day with a trip to the Blue Mosque. When entering the mosque proper, the first thing we noticed was that the view of the domes is obstructed by the dark cables holding up the chandeliers. Unfortunately, that really takes away from the awe of the building. We also noticed many female tourists that did not cover their heads. Becky thinks that she would feel naked in a mosque without a head scarf. Fortunately, the buff (a tube shaped elastic scarf) that she bought in Patra works perfectly as a head scarf (as well as a neck warmer, head band, and light toque).

As we exited the mosque, there was someone collecting donations for its maintenance and upkeep. Scott put down a couple of coins, and he was handed a couple pieces of paper that looked like tickets. When we examined them, we discovered that we were give receipts for the exact amount we donated. We were rather amused with the process.

The tomb of Sultan Ahmet

After we excited the mosque we made a stop at the tomb of Sultan Ahmet. Within were the tombs of many sultans, not just Sultan Ahmet. We were surprised to see the many small tombs (infant or toddler sized). Scott enjoyed seeing the tomb Murad IV (also known as Murad the Mad) – the sultan who reigned during the time of the 1632 books.

Our next stop was Aya Sofya (Haghia Sophia) “The Church of the Divine Wisdom”, originally built as a Christian cathedral in the sixth century and then converted to a mosque, and finally to a museum by Ataturk. From The Rough Guide to Turkey: “For almost a thousand years Aya Sofya, or Haghia Sophia, was the largest enclosed space in the world.” The 30-metre dome containing a tile mosaic was an amazing feat of engineering and architecture.

When we first saw the entrance fee: 20 YTL, we debated whether or not it was worth the price. We were surprised by it mostly because the mosque and tombs did not have any fees, and since Aya Sofya was a church we did not expect a fee – however, it is now actually a museum, so it makes sense. After a brief discussion and validation that we would regret not doing it (the regret test), we paid the fee and entered. We did not regret our decision, the Aya Sofya was Becky’s highlight of Istanbul.

Glowing Jesus mosaic at Aya Sofya

At the Aya Sofya, the mosaics with gold glow when the light is just right. This is typical of Byzantine mosaics, which were designed to be viewed from flickering lantern light, and give the illusion of motion. As we were standing under the front dome mosaic with Mary holding a baby Jesus on her lap, the baby glowed. It was quite a spectacular site, that we would have been missed if the sun was not just right. We recommend seeing the church on a sunny day, and watching.

There is a large scaffolding in the main dome, which is in place as the mosaics of the dome are restored to their original glory. We like the suggestion to “Look at it from another point of view: over 120 generations of men and women have seen the interior, but very few have seen it this way.”

Scott was reminded of Guy Gavriel Kay’s “Sailing to Sarantium”, a fictionalized account of the building of the Aya Sofya by Byzantine Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora, through the eyes of a mosaicist. Reading and loving that story made the architecture and mosaics of Aya Sofya much more meaningful and real for him. It’s unfortunate that we’re travelling to so many places that we couldn’t read the stories of each place before arriving. We have read some, and all the stories we have read have enriched our visits.

The Hippodrome, which also features prominently in the life of the Byzantine Empire would have been another high point for Scott, but unfortunately there’s nothing left but three columns and a park. The rest of the massive stone structure was used to construct other walls, houses and monuments in Istanbul. Recycling of stone in other structures is common, and much more noticeable here than in Canada – a much longer history!

After so much walking around, Becky was in need of a break. We had noticed a Starbucks, so we decided to indulge in a coffee. We have found that Starbucks provides a full size American style brewed coffee at a price much less expensive than the Turkish cafes. They also provide herbal tea at a more reasonable cost. Becky was extra delighted to learn that she could get her favourite Soy Chai Latte – and it even tastes the same as at home. In some ways it seems wrong to enjoy a taste of home while away, but when you have been travelling for many months, it is nice to enjoy an occasional comfort of home – and when that comfort is actually less expensive than the local equivalent, then it is a real bonus.

While walking between the Blue Mosque and the tram station, we noticed a new phenomenon – a cooperative call to prayer (Adhan). The muezzin (the guy that performs the Adhan) at the Blue Mosque would start the call, then the muezzin at a nearby mosque would start his call. It was almost like an echo, with each waiting for the other to finish a phrase before going on to the next one. As they progressed through the call, it almost seemed like a competition (Becky’s interpretation), with each adding vocal frills and holding notes longer. Perhaps that was just our western imagination. In any case, we continue to enjoy the musical beauty of the call, even though we don’t understand the Arabic. Similar to a Christian Mass in Latin or German, if it were in English, it likely wouldn’t be so mesmerizing.

In the evening, we decided to go for a walk and check out The Grand Bazaar. It wasn’t as grand or as teeming with people as we expected, probably because we arrived shortly before 5pm on a weekday. We spent most of our time in the indoor section, which is huge. It was very easy to get turned around while walking the twisty streets and narrow alleys. There were several shops where we looked at merchandise and no one came to talk to us – we ended up walking away rather than purchasing something. Eventually, we found a few things we liked and a person at the store to help us, so we were able to complete our Christmas shopping.

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The bus attendant serving drinks - civilized bus travel.

Once we got to Istanbul, Mehmet got off at the first Asian stop, but we were going to Sultanamet, on the Europe side of Istanbul, across the Bosphorus. We had two choices: stay on the bus until the Europe-side bus terminal (Enesler Otogar) and take the Metro, or get off at Kadikoy on the Asian side and take a shuttle. We opted for the shuttle, but it got us only as far as Taksim. It’s on the correct side of the Bosphorus, but across the Golden Horn from Sultanamet. From Taksim we took a taxi, but the driver apparently didn’t know Sultanamet very well, and we weren’t able to convince him to look at our map, where Scott had clearly indicated the location of our hotel. Finally, after asking for directions twice, we just paid and got off – near the other Mavi Guesthouse which Becky had spotted as we passed. We confirmed our directions there, then walked the last 500m.

We’re staying at the Mavi Onur Guesthouse, which is inexpensive, has a simple ensuite bath, and has both heat/AC and hot water, and we are able to use the kitchen – nice features in this weather. Unfortunately, it has had enough water damage in the past that our room is quite mildewy. The mildew is not ideal for either of us, and it’s also not as clean as we’d like – Becky noticed that there was something in the garbage can, indicating that it was not emptied, and the towels that were hung in the bathroom looked used (there were clean folded towels in the room as well, which are the ones we used). We’ll need to be a bit more careful when inspecting rooms.

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We decided to make a quick stop at the carpet / souvenir store prior to taking the bus back to Izmir. We really enjoyed our carpet lesson and felt that Mehmet (2), Ali, and Harry have been very honest so we feel comfortable with making purchases from them. Our brief stop turned into two hours, as Mehmet (the expert salesman) needed to show us all the different options available us. After what Becky felt was a painful negotiating session, Scott was able to get us what seemed to be a good price, with our purchases shipped to Istanbul for us to pick up there. We will mail out our Christmas packages from Istanbul once we complete our shopping.

We decided to ride out to the Otogar in Kusadasi. This decision was based on an assumption that it was only 10-15 km away. The wind was blowing like crazy with gust over 50 km/hr. Mostly it was coming from our rear quarter, but occasionally we would get a cross wind that made it difficult to ride in a straight line. For the first 6 km, we followed a side road (dirt) that was somewhat protected from the wind by tall shrubs. Unfortunately, the side road ended and we needed to get on the main road. The main road was not that smooth – the surface seems to be made of gravel with a bit of tar to hold it together – so our rolling resistance made riding a little more difficult than on smooth asphalt. When we made it to the intersection and needed to turn into the wind, there was a sign indicating that Kusadasi was another 15 km away, and we were riding straight into the wind. It did not take long for us to decide that this was a bad idea, so we headed back to Selcuk to catch the bus from there.

The otogar in Selcuk only had the small Dolmus type buses – minibuses. The moment we arrived on bicycle we had many people surround us to see our bikes, and a couple of touts trying to sell us bus tickets. Once we showed them the bikes it did not take long to determine that they would not fit onto the mini bus. One of the drivers/touts said he could make it fit if we took the wheels off. We decided that rather than disassembling our bikes, it would be easier to call the large bus company and have them pick us up in Ephesus, where we were dropped off on Thursday. So, we headed back to the carpet/souvenir shop, and Mehmet called to make a reservation for us.

Since we had a little bit of time before the bus, and we were getting hungry, Scott went out (with Mehmet) to the Bakery to get some buns and to the market to get some oranges for the trip. Becky was tired from the windy 15 km ride, so she stayed sitting on the couch at the carpet shop relaxing. Scott decided to also get some baklava as a gift for our hosts back in Izmir, which took much longer than expected. Becky started to get nervous about missing the bus, and Scott and Mehmet ran back to the shop with less than 10 minutes before the bus pickup – which was at Ephasus 3 km away, not in Selcuk. So, we quickly said our goodbyes one more time, jumped on our bikes, and raced to the bus stop. At one point, we saw a bus approach, so we changed sides of the highway, so we would be on the correct side to catch the bus. The bus passed – it was a tour bus and not our bus. Scott rode ahead of Becky, and just as he reached the bus stop, the bus approached. Scott flagged the bus down, while Becky was still riding to catch up. The driver wasn’t too happy about loading our bikes, and tried to show Scott that the cargo bay was full, but he just pointed to the other side, and said “no problem”. In fact it was no problem – we’re getting much better at loading the bikes, and the longer, lower profile of the recumbent may even make it a bit easier than a loaded upright bike. We quickly loaded our bikes and hopped onto the bus. Arriving at the bus in the last minute seems to be a theme with our bus rides in Turkey!

Friends at Gul's party

After dinner, we returned to Gul and Metin’s place to a party of work friends from Gul’s hospital. When we arrived, Metin was peppered with questions about our trip. Some of them he answered immediately, and others he asked us to answer. We both felt like our ears were burning several times throughout the evening. We both observed the interactions between people at the party. Becky found herself needed to re-assess the lens in which she saw the different interactions. In Turkey, there is a much higher level of social touch between friends of the same gender. In North America, you would not see male friends put arms around each other on the couch or put a hand on their neighbors knee without it being construed as a sexual advance. Here is it just a sign of friendship and nothing more. It was also interesting to see that the couches were mostly gender-segregated, with women on one couch and men on another.

Sunday

Gourmet meatballs

View of Tire during our walk

Walk in the woods

Neither of us are feeling 100% well and we are wondering if we ate something in Selcuk that affected our stomachs. Scott’s stomach started feeling iffy as we were leaving Selcuk, and Becky started to feel crampy and queasy after dinner on Saturday night, which unfortunately hampered her enjoyment of Sunday’s lunch. We had thought we might go spend a couple of days at the Iluca hotel enjoying the thermal baths and trying to kick Becky’s cold once and for all, but everyone said to us – why do you want to stay in a hotel? You can stay here! We do not want to impose on Gul and Metin for too long – they are such gracious hosts. That being said, with stomach uncertainties, an hour bus ride and soaking in public pools does not make the best plan, so for at least a day or two, we will stay here, relaxing while Gul and Metin go to work during the day. And we will try to ensure they are not worrying over us or feeling that we need to be entertained.

Monday

After a relaxing day of Internet and reading in the apartment on Monday, we decided that if we stayed in Izmir too much longer, we would both end up in sour moods and start to get depressed. We really need to get back to living our nomadic lifestyle, so we planned to head out to Istanbul on Tuesday morning. Not long after making the decision, we received an email from Mehmet (1) that he had a job interview in Istanbul on Wednesday, so he too needed to go to Istanbul on Tuesday. So, we again are travelling with the assistance of our friends from Izmir. It has been nice to not have to worry about how we will get to where we need to be, but we are also feeling that the challenge has been taken out of the experience – things have been too easy with friends to help. So, at least a part of us is looking forward to being on our own and working through the challenges of meeting our basic needs in a foreign country again.

In the afternoon, we went for a short walk over to the grocery store to pick up some fruit and snacks. We had noticed in the morning that Gul and Metin were out of dishwasher soap, so we bought a box of what we thought was dishwasher soap. It had a picture of clean dishes on the box! It turns out what we bought was salt that is used to soften the dishwasher water. This caused quite a few giggles when Gul got home.

Note on names:
Mehmet (1) is the Mehmet we met through warm showers, who has been an excellent tour guide and host in Izmir, and will be going to Istanbul with us.
Mehmet (2) is the brother of Ali and a host at the ANZ guesthouse and salesman at the carpet and souvenir shops.

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Becky and Scott at Ephesus

We actually got moving relatively early on Thursday, but did not leave for the bus until 10 am. Mehmet made the process immeasurably easier. First he guided us to the bus station, then talked to the various people to figure out which bus we needed and the logistics with our bikes. There are many Dolmus (small mini-buses) going to Selcuk, but they cannot take our bikes. The larger buses go to Kusadasi, which is about 10 km from Selcuk. Since the bus actually passes right by, Mehmet talked to them about letting us off at Ephesus (about 2 km from town). They also agreed to pick us up (as long as we make a reservation in advance) for the trip back to Izmir.

Upon arrival in Selcuk, we discovered that they had a lot of rain – the night before and more that morning. It was probably good that we did not come earlier, as the rainy morning likely would have meant that we did nothing. By the time we arrived, the rain had passed. It was not gloriously sunny, but it was nice enough to be out and about.

Running water Latrine

We headed up to the Australia New Zealand (ANZ) Guesthouse, choosing them from our guidebook and a few phone calls. We had the option of a double room with shower or a double room with a Jacuzzi tub for 15 Lira more. Given Becky’s cold, we decided that a soak in the Jacuzzi would be nice – especially after dark when it gets pretty cold. The ANZ Guesthouse is run by Harry, who has spent some years in Australia and speaks fluent English.

After a necessary nap, we headed up to Ephesus, taking advantage of a free ride from the guesthouse. Since it is winter, the site closes at 5:30 pm. We arrived at 3:30 pm, and unfortunately, it was too late for the audio self-tour. We decided the cost of a tour guide was too much at 60 Lira, even after we bargained down to 50 – so we just wandered around the site and read the various placards. The size of the site is quite amazing, more than 2 km long, and formerly one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. The amphitheatre is quite impressive: it would be super cool to see a concert there – although you would need to bring a cushion, as the stone seats would feel awfully hard and cold within the first few minutes. Going near the end of the day, in the winter, meant that there were only a couple of tour buses. The site did not feel overcrowded, which we have heard is a real problem much of the time. The largest group of people were doing team building – rushing around the site in teams, answering questions and collecting puzzle pieces. An interesting idea!

Amphitheatre at Ephesus

After a nice dinner at the Amazon restaurant, we were both ready for bed. We planned on taking on nice hot soak in the tub. We also asked for the control for the heater in our room, as our afternoon nap proved to be quite cold. This turned out to be our saving grace. The hot water at the guesthouse was lukewarm at best – typical of solar hot water a few hours after sunset on a cloudy day. They do have a gas backup system, so Becky asked for some hot water. Unfortunately, the water never heated up.

On Friday morning, we took a walk around Selcuk. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which is just on the outskirts of town. We went to see it, but were really unimpressed. At this time, it is just one pillar that has been resurrected from many small chunks. We can only guess how fabulous it was in the past. It is not much to see compared to the city of Ephesus – but it is definitely a stop on the tour bus circuit. When we arrived there were four bus loads of people looking over at the single pillar, with associated peddlers selling postcards, guidebooks and other trinkets. From the site of the Temple, there is a great view of the Isa Bey Mosque and Castle, so we took many pictures of the view.

Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders

Isa Bey Mosque in Selcuk

After the Temple, we walked up to the Isa Bey Mosque. This mosque was built in 1375, and since then completely lost one of its minarets in an earthquake. The top of the minaret still standing is also missing. When you first walk inside, you enter a large outdoor courtyard. The mosque has a separate women’s entrance to the side of the main men’s entrance. The women’s area is separated from the men’s by a temporary wall. I guess they could easily adjust the size of the areas if necessary. Both the women’s and men’s areas are filled from end-to-end with Turkish carpets. We were there 10 minutes before the noon call to prayer on Friday, so we cut our visit short to avoid imposing upon prayer time.

Baptistry at St. John's Basilica

We then continued walking up to the Saint John’s Basilica. The Basilica was an important church in the sixth century after Christ. If it were to be reconstructed, it would be the seventh largest cathedral in the world. At one point it was converted to a mosque. It is believed to be the burial site for the Apostle John. Today it is a rather impressive set of ruins. Becky was particularly interested in seeing the Baptismal area, which involved a walk in bath, similar to what is found in some evangelical Baptist churches. We were not able to continue up the hill to the castle, as it is closed for excavation work.

Ruins of St. John's Basilica in Selcuk

After lunch, Scott went to check out the Ephesus museum while Becky came back to the guesthouse to rest and write. We both wonder where the ancient ruins are best kept. Many have been moved to museums where they can be kept in a relatively safe environment. Those that are left in their natural state – or restored – are out in the open, subject to the natural environment and erosion. It is definitely more interesting to see them in their natural setting. Scott didn’t find the museum particularly inspiring, although it did have some interesting statues and other artifacts. There was also a special exhibit on gladiators in Ephesus during the Roman Empire, with analysis of 120 skeletons retrieved from the Ephesus gladiator’s graveyard.

Overall, Ephesus and the museum were interesting, but not stunning. Neither of us are finding great rewards in seeing ancient ruins – we’re getting much more out of meeting and talking with people, and learning about their lives and cultures.

On our return to the guesthouse, we passed a family making doughnuts on the street outside of their house. We were each offered one to try, and Scott was able to use some of his very limited Turkish “delicious” and “thank you”. They were warm and coated in sticky sugar – indeed delicious afternoon snack.

After an afternoon nap – still necessary as Becky’s cold is not improving – we went to visit Mehmet at the carpet shop. He taught us about the different types of carpet that are available and how to identify good quality. The shop had many different types of carpet with a variety of qualities – so you could definitely find something that matched your price/quality criteria. We certainly aren’t experts, but we can now identify: natural versus artificial fibers, kilim versus carpet, single knot versus double knot, and know to ask about chemical versus vegetable dyes. (If you’re interested: artificial fibers are sticky when burned, kilim is a flat weave, carpet has pile, double knot has loops visible if you know where to look, vegetable dyes age better).

Mehmet also mentioned that just outside of Ephesus is a “carpet factory” where the tour buses all stop. He said that the carpets there are much more expensive because the tour companies get a commission on everything sold. Also, the factories are not real operating factories, rather they are setup just for the tourists. The folks “making” carpets there are paid to be there only when tourists are coming through. The cost of all the sales people and carpet makers plus the commissions for the tour companies mean the prices are significantly higher (at least double) what is charged at Harry’s carpet shop. He also mentioned that the sticker price (no bargaining) is the price you pay if a guide brings you into the shop, because they must pay the guide 20%. Because we are staying at the ANZ guesthouse, we would get a discount if we wished to buy anything, and likely a further discount related to being here in the slow season. For some of the more expensive carpets, the prices are listed in US dollars, and we were offered the same price in Lira – seems a significant discount, especially with no bargaining on our part. Since we’re on our bicycles and not heading home anytime soon, no carpets for us though.

After another good dinner at Amazon, we tried out the tub again. The hot water was OK for a quick bath to clean yourself, but still not warm enough for a soak. We borrowed an electric kettle and used it to heat up several kettles of water. With the enhancement of some boiling water, we were both able to enjoy a luxurious soak in the tub.

General observations about Selcuk and Turkey

Selcuk is a small town in tourist Turkey, and somewhat similar to Cesme. It is full of little pansiyons and budget accommodations. In the summer time, it is packed with tourists, but in the winter most of the pansiyons are empty. Each evening we noticed an acrid tang as we walked about town, and soon discovered what it was. They use coal here, mixed with wood, to heat the houses. Electricity is expensive, so electric heat is only found in some of the guesthouses – fortunately, ours is one of them. The coal stoves, similar to wood burning stoves, provide a nice heat source, but the fumes from the chimneys are rather unpleasant.

In our wanderings today, we stopped by the grocery store. This was the first time we had been in a grocery store in Turkey – apparently we have been eating out a lot! We discovered that lactose free milk and soy milk are both readily available. Given the amount of smoking here, we were amused that the cigarettes are stored in locked cabinets and that there are signs saying that you must be 18 to buy them. It felt very similar to a small grocery store at home.

We have also found that the pharmacies carry most name brand medications that we can get at home. Becky was happy to discover that she could get the same brand of asthma inhalers here. We have recently discovered that mailing medication to us in Turkey, Syria, or Italy will be difficult (oops, we should have checked that before we left). Fortunately, so far we can get everything we want here in Turkey except Cold FX.

Where ever we go in Turkey, we have noticed a large number of feral cats. This has been especially the case in the smaller towns (Cesme and Selcuk). When you are eating at an outside restaurant or on a patio, they can be a real nuisance. At one restaurant, the owner had a small electronic device that he clicked and the cats ran away – we guess it was similar to a Dog Dazer, which emits an uncomfortable high frequency sound. He was very discrete in using it, but we were happy to not be pestered while trying to enjoy our meal.

Freighter update

The voyage of our ship from Naples/La Spezia to Port Kelang (Kuala Lumpur) has been cancelled. We are guessing that the economic downturn is causing shipping companies to their traffic between Europe and Asia. There are a number of other ships on similar routes and we are now looking into alternatives, which is actually giving us a little bit more flexibility and will likely cost us less than the ship we had originally booked. Such is the nature of freighter travel.

Celsus Library at Ephesus

Model of St. John's Basilica

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How many people does it take to load a bicycle on a bus?

On Monday morning, we packed up to move to Izmir. We had spend enough time in the Pensiyon in Cesme and it was time to move on. Becky still was not feeling 100% so we decided that it was best to take the bus, an 85+ km ride was a little more than she could handle at the moment. We loaded up and headed to the Otogar (the main bus terminal in Cesme). Fortunately, this did not involve climbing any hills. Becky was OK on the flats – although a little slow – but hills would likely have been a real challenge.

Upon arrival at the Otogar, there was some urgency in loading our bikes onto the bus. Five or six men helped Scott put the two bikes into the lower bays and we hopped on. We were confused at first, as we had not bought a ticket. They just shuffled us onto the bus and say later. The bus was empty – us and one other person. We took a nice front seat and we were off.

The first stop was the Cesme town center – just outside of our Pansiyon. We knew this, but figured it was easier with the bikes to go to the Otogar. As we approached, we were told our seats were 5 and 6 – apparently, all seats are assigned on Turkish buses. After 3 or 4 more stops, the bus approached the highway and we were on our way to Izmir. There is a person in addition to the driver, who is responsible for managing all the seats, collecting the fares, and handing out little cups of water. He will shuffle passengers if necessary to ensure that a women travelling alone need not sit next to a strange man. We thought this was all very civilized, especially for a 45-minute ride.

By 1 pm, we safely arrived in Izmir. Just was we were pulling up into the first stop, Scott noticed a cyclist with a helmet and clipless pedals – the first local we had seen with clipless pedals in Europe, and one of the very few with helmets. Upon disembarking from the bus, we discovered that it was our host – Mehmet – who we met through Warm Showers (http://www.warmshowers.org). Within a few minutes we had the bikes back together and we were on our way.

We are staying with Mehmet’s friends Gulistan and Metin. Like Mehmet, Metin is a mechanical engineer and Gulistan is an anesthesiology technician. They have a lovely two bedroom apartment, which is much nicer than most apartments back home.

Upon arrival, we were fed a wonderful assortment of home cooked foods. Our bellies happy, we sat down to visit. Becky was still not 100% and tired from the 20 km ride across Izmir (although it was flat), so she took a nap while Scott explained more about our bikes and our tour plans.

Our hosts brought us out to a wonderful Kebab restaurant (http://www.ramazanusta.com/ ) for dinner that served food that was traditional in the South of Cappadoccia. We had Kebabs that are from Adana and a dessert that was sweet and included cheese from Antakya. Scott really enjoyed the meal, but unfortunately, the primary source of protein is lamb. Fortunately, Becky mentioned that she could not eat lamb soon enough that a special plate of chicken and beef was ordered for her. We tried a drink called Shalgam, which was definitely an acquired taste – to Becky it tasted like the brine from an olive jar. We wonder if this is the same drink that Friedel and Andrew tried: http://travellingtwo.com/492? Scott was not too fussy on it either but he did enjoy the Ayran (a watery yogurt drink with salt). Becky gave up on the cultural experience from the beverage perspective and had a Sprite.

Mehmet at a teahouse in the Izmir Bazaar

On Tuesday, after a lazy morning, we headed out to see the second largest bazaar in Turkey. We took the subway across Izmir and wandered the streets of the bazaar, stopping several times to try out some new treats. We discovered the original dessert restaurant the spawned a chain that can be found throughout Turkey (Ozsut) (http://www.ozsut.com.tr/).

Becky reflects that Izmir feels a lot like a Canadian city, except that all the food kiosks serve Turkish food – in Canada the kiosks would serve food from a variety of different places. Mehmet mentioned that the city is not too crowded, and that might be part of why it feels familiar. We do still see many couples holding hands in the streets, and it is completely acceptable to walk arm in arm with a friend of the opposite gender in Izmir.

Yummy little fish

We had planned to leave for Ephesus on Wednesday, but by the time we got moving, and had consumed the wonderful breakfast Gul prepared, the weather had turned, and heavy rain was expected for the rest of the day. Oh well! We spent a relaxing day catching up on email and reading instead. Ephesus can wait a day…

The gang at dinner

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Who knew that Pizza Pizza was a Turkish company?

The last few days have been spent resting up and venturing out to find meals and Internet access. Becky’s cold got worse before it got better, but she is now on the mend. We have spent enough time in Cesme, so tomorrow we will venture out to Izmir, one way or another. The ride is supposed to be flat and pretty, so we will try riding along slowly. If that does not work, the bus is always an option.

So far the food has been good. We need to work on checking prices. We are not certain but we often feel like we are being ripped off. That might be because we are in a tourist town. The prices listed are confusing or are the lowest prices (bait-and-switch), so it is often difficult to tell if we are being ripped off or paying a fair price. We are pretty sure the ice cream folks were ripping us off. Otherwise, it may be more our paranoia than anything. Either way, the prices are still significantly less expensive than in Greece and Italy.

We have discovered that meal times here are much closer to the times at home. We have also discovered that we can get a solid breakfast at the bakery around the corner. They have an assortment of buns with a variety of savory fillings. The bagel shaped buns are particularly good, even if what Becky first thought was chocolate actually turned out to be black olive tapenade. (Scott remembered Friedel and Andrew getting caught by the same mistake in Turkey, so he wasn’t surprised).

We have enjoyed the baklava for dessert, but have found that the prices are rather creative. They list prices in kilograms often with a different price for each. When you ask for more than one type, they are all mixed together and packaged before they are weighed. Also, the price is then rounded up. So, if the baklava plus packaging weighs 385 g you pay for 400 g. At one place, we asked for baklava and some squares that were priced per piece. We were charged for the per piece price plus the weight of the entire package! So, we have learned to keep our baklava orders simple and stick to one type – which is absolutely delicious.

After supper on Thursday, we returned to the Pensiyon for a cup of tea and to eat our baklava. We were invited to sit down at the family table while they all watched the news on television from the couch. We learned that in the summer, Ali (the father of the family) is a carpet salesman while his wife runs the Pensiyon. Ali shared with us information about carpet manufacturing in Turkey. He says that the company he works for can sell their carpets for less because they are made by families in Cappadocia. There, the wife and children make carpets in their spare time to help the family. Some of the other companies have manufacturing plants, where they must pay workers to make the carpets, so those carpets are more expensive. It really had us wondering about which way is more socially responsible. Being able to choose your hours and work at home rather than a factory seems like a big plus, but are they being fairly compensated?

The main street in Cesme

On Saturday, Scott ventured out on his bike to check out the different options for Thermal baths in Iluca (pronounce Ill-oo-jah). The family at the Pensiyon recommended the thermal baths when they heard that I had a cold. We wanted to go on Friday, but our investigations reported only the free outdoor pools where the water temperature was only 28 degrees and there were no changing facilities. That would be too cold and too adventurous for Becky with a cold. So, Scott rode out and explored a couple of the hotels – the Sheraton, and the Iluca Hotel. The Sheraton was 50 YTL per person and had 4 different temperature pools as well as a sauna, steam room, and hamam (traditional Turkish bath). The Iluca Hotel was 30 YTL per person and had two less pools than the Sheraton. In the end, we opted for the less expensive Iluca, which turned out to have exactly what we needed.

Getting to the hotel required that we take a local Dolmus or minibus. This turned out to be much less painful that we anticipated as our timing was bang on. We arrived at the Dolmus a few minutes before it left. There were still many seats available on the 12 seat minibus, so we hopped on. As the bus departed, we watched as the various people moved forward to pay, so we did the same. There does not appear to be someone collecting the tariff, so much as the people offering up the fee. It was also nice to see that the driver makes change, so if you do not have exact change, that is OK. As we approached the Iluca Hotel, Scott managed to say the something to get the bus to stop and let us off. He was imitating the last person who got off, saying something like “eeshee terra”. Neither of us know what it meant, but it worked! (According to our phrasebooks, “inecek var” or “musait bir yerde” are the phrases to use)

The Thermal pools consisted of a warm (33 C) swimming pool of very salty water, and a warmer (38 C) pool of heavily mineralized water. Becky was immediately surprised when she climbed into the pool and began to float. The whole time she was conscientious of where other women were and whether or not it was OK to be in the swimming pool with her bathing suit. It turns out that her worries were for naught, as there were several other women in much more revealing bikinis. Also, there was a photographer there taking pictures. He encouraged us to cuddle in the pool so he could get some romantic shots, presumably for a promotional brochure. We are slowly learning that the tourist areas of Turkey are not particularly conservative!

We took a look at the hamam, but it was co-ed and did not feel comfortable. It was a room about 20 foot by 30 foot all done in marble. It had sinks on the outside edge and a large marble for laying on in the middle – although the large marble in the middle was only about 6×6 so it would be difficult for more than two people to use without touching each other. We are guessing that this is something done just for tourists, and will save the hamam experience for someplace a little more authentic with gender segregated areas or times. It was possible to pay extra for access to a private hamam, but quite expensive.

We both luxuriated in long hot showers after the baths and steam room. It’s amazing how nice a shower can be when you don’t need to worry about running out of hot water or spraying water all over the bathroom! Most places we’ve stayed since arriving in Europe have not had shower curtains, or limited hot water, or both.

After about 2 hours at the Thermal baths, we were ready to head back to the Pensiyon. We walked out of the hotel to see the ocean and were amused that they had a thermometer indicating the ocean temperature – a cool 18 degrees. We then walked out to the road to see the Dolmus approaching. We waved and the dolmus stopped to pick us up. Again, we were amazed out how painless the experience was. We now fully understand why the tourist office agent said there was no reason to take an expensive taxi.

Scott is practicing Turkish with the help of some podcasts and a free guidebook given to us by the tourist office, but to little avail. Turkish is nothing like any language we have previously experienced. Scott says it is good that the spelling is phonetic, but Becky points out that many of the letters sound different than in English – for example the c sounds like a j. Thank-you in Turkish (Tay-su-kur eh-deh-reem) is just as challenging as it was in Greek. Fortunately, the Turks are very good at mime, so usually you can get your message across. We have not had much of an issue yet, as we are in a tourist town, so there is always someone who speaks some English close at hand if we run into significant trouble.

Our experiences so far in Cesme have been contrary to most of what we have read about Turkey. Here we see young couples holding hands, rather than people of the same gender. The women are clearly present in the streets and for the most part are not in hijab. Most women are covered in fashionable long pants and warm sweaters, but that I think has more to do with the temperature than anything else – it has been pretty chilly, and even Becky has wondered around with a bandana on her head at times. Our experience in the Thermal baths emphasized that it was acceptable for women to wear bikinis at the beach or in the pool, and the pools were not at all gender segregated.

The author’s definition of an Islamist is someone who believes in the “Islamic nation”. That is, there being only one nation, that of Islam.

The book contains a lot of information about the Islamists in Britain, which I found rather startling. I was surprised that the book gave the names of people involved. At the time of writing, the British government had not declared any of the Islamist organizations as terrorist organizations, but according to the author that is exactly what they are.

The book progresses through the authors struggle to leave Islamism behind and find an Islam that is real for him. His search takes him to Turkey, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. His reflections upon visiting these places are enlightening. It is especially interesting for me, as I read the book in Turkey and will be visiting Syria soon. One of the things it has highlighted for me, is that there are so many misconceptions out there. Until I experience it for myself, I will not really be able to appreciate it.

It also highlighted an observation that we have made in Çesme (the small town we are staying in while I recover from my cold). Çe?me is a tourist town, and at this point the only place we have seen in Turkey – so it is not fair to make generalizations. That being said, the books we have read talked about how it was inappropriate for members of the opposite sex to hold hands on the street, and that public displays of affection could get you arrested. That does not at all appear to be reality here in Çesme. We have seen many young couples holding hands while walking down the streets or along the ocean front. We have seen children of both genders playing video games together at the Internet café, and giving one another a cuff on the head – regardless of gender. So, the stereotype of segregation does not play out in this part of Turkey.

A note on the hijab – In Çesme it is worn mostly by older women and new mothers (there are of course exceptions). The interesting thing is that the older women look very similar to the older women in Italy and Greece who also where head scarves. The book mentions how the tradition is an old Christian tradition, that was adopted by Islam. The book also mentioned that when younger women start wearing the Hijab, especially in the west, it is a sign of the more extreme factions at play. In Turkey, Ataturk (the hero of independence in Turkey) around 1922 made it illegal to display outward signs of religion, including the wearing of Turbans and Hijab in public.

Today the hijab is legal, but still a symbol of the divide between the extremes of secular and Muslims thought in Turkey. Two examples: Prime Minister Erdogan’s daughters attend university in the United States because all universities in Turkey have banned wearing the hijab; in 2007, the Turkish president at the time, Ahmet Necdet Sezer declined to attend the wedding of Esra Erdogan because of the number of headscarves being worn.

After a slow cup of tea, we hopped on our bikes and road around town. It was odd seeing so many people just wandering about at 4:30 am. We were stopped by some young adults that were interested in the bikes. They invited us to a party, but we were too tired and cold to be interested. We found the ferry port for Cesme and then went back for a second cup of tea. By 5:30 am, we were feeling pretty cold, so we moved indoors to the pizza place (there were several people smoking inside the café, making it quite unpleasant indoors at the café and the pizza place was empty). Becky enjoyed an omelet that was shaped like a pizza, and Scott had a nap at the table. Soon enough it was 7:30 am, and we needed to go to the ferry.

At the ferry, we met Randy, Kathy, Sharon and John, an American family who are backpacking to various places around the world. We took the same ferry, so it was nice to chat with them and learn about their adventures. They had a very similar unfortunate incident at the hostel in Brindisi. Kathy had her travel purse stolen. They were at the hostel only 2 weeks before us, and the more we talked, the more we found some aspects of the hostel a little creepy. We would recommend that anyone staying in Brindisi find accommodations elsewhere.

Our first awe-inspiring view of Cesme was of the castle, which dominates the skyline. We stopped to take a quick photo and then found our way to the tourist information centre. When we arrived, we had a brief discussion with the tourist information agent about Canadian tourists. Apparently 90% of Canadian tourists to this part of Turkey are from Vancouver, followed by 5% from Montreal. We have found that many people think that Montreal is the capital of Canada. Not too long after our arrival, Randy, Kathy and family arrived. Randy and Scott went inside with the tourist agent to gather information on accommodations and Cesme in general, while the rest of us waited outside and chatted.

We had two choices for inexpensive Pensyion, 30 YTL or 40 YTL for an ocean view. We opted for the 30YTL (about $24 CAD) as it did not involve riding up stairs – the ocean view was on a street that was accessed by a staircase. We are staying in the Pensyion that is also the home of a friendly family. We are the only guests as they are not usually open at this time of year.

Given our poor nights’ sleep, our first order of business was a nap. We laid down and within 5 minutes both of us had passed out, only to emerge 2 hours later ready for some food. Our Pensyion is a short walk to the main pedestrian street, so we headed out for some food and a walk. We quickly found a place that was mentioned in the guidebook and had the “house special”, a sampling of all the different premade stews. The food was yummy – Becky especially likes the rice. We thought the price was a bit high at 28 YTL, but this was still much less than we would have paid for a full meal in Greece or Italy. We reminded ourselves to ask what the price of food is before ordering it.

Our next order of business was to take a walk along the waterfront and to check out the castle. You could see how the waterfront would be bustling with tourists in the warm season. It had warmed up from the overnight, but was not warm enough for shorts and T-shirts.

The castle was quite well preserved and included some museum displays. Becky was particularly amused by the Byzantine toilet which looks amazing like the squat toilets found throughout southern Europe and Asia. We reached the top of the castle just in time for the afternoon call to prayer. From that viewpoint, you could see several mosques, and we could hear three distinct calls to prayer. It was interesting how they each were done in their own time, not all starting exactly at once. We found the calls to be beautiful music and wonder what people from Muslim countries think of church bells when they hear them for the first time. We were surprised that the mosques in town were all low key. For some reason, Becky had expected that all mosques would be miniature views of the grand Blue Mosque in Istanbul. More reasonably, the local mosques are pragmatic buildings that other than the minarets, blend into the skyline.

By the end of the day, Becky was feeling a cold coming on. The last day in Athens, she had a pretty bad sore throat, but now the cold was moving into her sinuses. Since we were comfortable in Cesme, we decided to hang around for a few days and allow the cold to pass before getting on our bikes.

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