The Syncretist International » turkey

Guardian Angels in Çeşme

stellar magnet — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:18:51 +0000

I took a bus from Izmir to Çeşme so I could take a ferry to the Greek island of Chios. I was walking towards the harbor and there were two boys, probably around my age, or younger, walking in the same direction while eating ice cream. They think I’m Turkish at first (so it goes) and ask if I want help with luggage. One of the boys was Turkish and the other one looked and spoke like he was American. But I guess he was born in Costa Rica, had just moved to Çeşme two months ago, living in Mexico previously. That’s about all I know about him, am still confused about his family heritage.

The Turkish boy is lugging my luggage, and I am speaking to the other guy about like goth and techno (he commented about my wearing all black, I said I wasn’t a goth that I listen to all types of music and my clothing does not reflect my mood, it’s just easy to wash all dark clothing and easy to match darks with darks). Anyway we get to the ticket office for my ferry to Chios and I find out they only take cash. I don’t have any cash on me and the ferry leaves in 30 minutes and there is no ATM nearby. The American-looking boy gives me 50 Turkish Lira and tells me to have fun. I tell him I’ll pay him back, that I’ll write him a check. But he says no. I go to pay for my ticket and then I turn around and the Turk and the boy who gave me free money had disappeared. (They said they were going to rent motorbikes and go to some beach). I’m a little bit sad that I’ll probably never be able to track down the kind boy and pay him back.

Here in Izmir

stellar magnet — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:08:40 +0000

Walked around the sea in Izmir, drank some OJ, read a book, was hypnotized by the flight of birds whilst listening to some Nurse With Wound.

Steady Diet of Bread, Tea and Cheese

stellar magnet — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:22:39 +0000

Here’s a small sample of some of the food I’ve had in Turkey. I need to post some more pictures soon, when I eat more food.

Left: pasta with spinach & cheese, right: filo dough with spinach

Turkish style pizza (pide) — No sauce

A plate of sweets including some baklava

The Ancient City of Hierapolis

stellar magnet — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:51:15 +0000

Hierapolis was founded as a thermal spa in the second century BC, taking advantage of Pamukkale’s hot springs. Here you see some ancient buildings, a Roman theatre and a sacred pool.

The Travertines of Pamukkale

stellar magnet — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:44:07 +0000

That’s not snow, these are calcium travertines.

Strollin’ Through Karahayit

stellar magnet — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:58:40 +0000

Took a four hour bus to the Pamukkale region and stayed in Karahayit for the night. Lots of hotels in this region. Strolled around town before visiting Pamukkale/Hieropolis.

From Istanbul to Izmir

stellar magnet — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:56:08 +0000

I said never again would I take an overnight bus, but I took an overnight bus from Istanbul to Izmir. This ride was much better: no smoking driver, a shorter ride, a cute and friendly host. The host is like a stewardess that goes down the aisle every once in a while offering you snacks and drinks. The company is Kamil Koç and I recommend them if you are ever in Turkey and needing to take a bus somewhere. I do not recommend the company called Kent, which I took to Cappadocia.

Izmir is nice, my host lives with his mother whose house is right next to the sea. I arrived on Thursday the 22nd and the weather was awesome. Walked around the city, near the coast and then down a street with shops. Ate some dinner, had some dessert and tea, then went back home and slept.

Ditching the Stalkers to Chill in Ortaköy

stellar magnet — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:38:30 +0000

I lied to my stalker and didn’t go back to where I was staying just yet, I went to Ortaköy, a cute little part of Istanbul, on the European side, right next to the Bosphorus Bridge. The Bosphorus Bridge connects European Istanbul to Asian Istanbul. From the interior, Ortaköy has the prettiest mosque I have seen so far (probably the last mosque I will see for now). It was a particularly nice day when I was there, I watched the sunset and then headed back to where I was staying in Kadiköy (on the Asian side).

Basilica Cistern and More Stalkers

stellar magnet — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:35:54 +0000

The stalking does not stop at the Ayasofya. When I exited the Ayasofya I was heading to the Basilica Cistern and this Kurdish-Italian-Turk starts talking to me, asks if we could be friends, etc. He walks with me inside the cistern and is talking to me the whole time and I am trying to be nice and stuff. Then we leave the cistern and I tell him I am going back to where I am staying. Then he is all asking me to dinner. I tell him no thank you and get back on the tram.

Ayasofya From Beneath Her Chandeliers

stellar magnet — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:33:53 +0000

I took one picture and liked how it looked so I decided to take a series.