Konya & Antalya!

The cliffside patio at my new hotel here in Antalya. This time I'm not sorry at all.
My room at the Marmara Hotel in Antalya!
The seaside garden in front of the hotel has beautiful gardens... and a canal for canoeing!
Our guide Ali explains the Roman baths found here at Perge to the group.
Why shouldn't I have my own pedestal?
We had a new member of the group today when touring Perge. The roaming wild dogs here are really something... although this one seems far from "wild." I think he just wants a sandwich.
We stopped to see structures left from the aqueducts, and I found this old man staying cool in the shade. Is it the year 209, or 2009?
This woman seems to represent the "traditional" image of rural Turkey, winding her yarn and selling her wares. But I saw another such woman get into her hybrid car, talking on her cell phone. This is world of contrasting images!
I've found me a new man...
... at the theater at Aspendos, the most well-preserved Roman theater in existence. 89 steps to the top (not bad, really) - and there's such a nice breeze. And the acoustics!
A look at Aspendos theater from the top.
Just so everybody knows, camels are hard to come by in Turkey. And these poor guys better be getting overtime for wearing those hats. Stupid American tourists. (Not Andrew - he's lovely.)
Yesterday we went to see the Mevlana Museum, home to the former school for the Dervishes and the famous poet Rumi's grave. Cameras are not allowed in the mosque, but the courtyard is filled with people preparing to pray inside to Allah and for Rumi's inspiration. The center pavillion has fountains at which Muslims wash their hands, feet and face in order to pray.
Between Cappadocia and Konya, we stopped at a caravanserais, an ancient stop along the Silk Road! This is the inner courtyard where merchants would spend the night in order to trade with other travelers the next day. The innermost building is a small mosque for the merchants.
At a touristy stop for pictures, I found this tree littered with broken pieces of Turkey's answer to the tourist-trap souvenir: the evil eye. This bright blue token represents the eyes of Medusa which would turn onlookers to stone. This eye can be found absolutely EVERYWHERE, and it's used (superstitiously, only) as a talisman of sorts to ward off evil spirits. I'll be bringing home enough of these to choke a camel.

OMG - WOW!!!!!!

Doesn't this just say it all?

Days 5,6 & 7: Cappadocia

OK, hold on to your hats, folks (not your fez... that's not actually Turkish) - it's going to be a big post! The last three days have been the first leg of our road trip. We drove southeast of the capital Ankara to the Cappadocia region, where I've seen some of the most beautiful landscapes and natural wonders I've ever seen in my life!

Our first stop was at Salt lake which has such a high salt content that you can "walk on the

water." Actually, it means you can sludge through thick salt-sand under a mere two inches of water across the entire lake... all the while getting the best pedicure of your life!

Then we had lunch at an underground/cave restaurant where we were treated to seasoned meat slowly-cooked in terra-cotta pots and rice and traditional music on some sort of dulcimer.

Next we stopped at a famous local artisan - one of Turkey's finest pottery makers.

This is a family who has been making pottery in the same "cavernous" studio for

seven generations.

We got to see the artists at work at the kiln and when painting, and we saw a demonstration

of throwing the clay using an old-fashioned kick

wheel. What is unique about this family's work is that they use a quartz-based

clay and produce some of the best quality in the

country. So, of course I bought a piece! If you look at the picture of Julie holding a beautifully decorated bowl, you will get a sense of my purchase - a framed tile of the same family design.

So after a FABULOUS evening of traditional turkish dancing, costumes, and

all-around

tourist silliness,

we made our way back into the valleys of Cappadocia today in Goreme (see the "Luke I am your father pictures? Guess where the Tattooine secenes were filmed?!?!). This time instead of walking up into the monastery caves high above, we hiked down into the valleys to see the famous fairy chimneys from below.

This afternoon we went to see a demonstration of Turkey's famous carpet weaving.

We were led into a small room with 4 women working at a feverish pace at looms, knotting silk and wool on looms. The final product is absolutely gorgeous. We were brought into a large so room, served pide and chay, and shown carpets one by one, ranging in style, price and design. All I can say is WOW.

No, I didn't buy one of these (as much as I wanted to). Maybe next time. If only I could talk to one of those women to ask them what they would like to share with us about the carpet-making industry... I just might have to go renegade at the next "demonstration." according to the digital design in front of them. This was the viewing place only; there were apparently 800+ employees working somewhere, and the employer was quick to tell us that the women worked for 45 minutes at a time with every 15 minutes off because of the strain to their backs and fingers. I hope that's true...

And then, just when I thought we wouldn't fit another thing into our day (we are pushing ourselves really hard - I'm exhausted!), we went out to see the Whirling Dervishes! Yes, they are real! A particular Sufi sect of Islam, the Dervishes follow the philosophies of Rumi and

twirl as a way to reach a meditative, enlightened state that is most natural since "all things in nature spin." The show is actually a religious ceremony, so there is no photography, video, talking or applause until they come back out for a 30-second photo opportunity. So here's a taste - I'll look to copy a short video before I come home.

Whew! Well, that's it for now. Tomorrow is the big day - the hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia! Check back - I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

By the way - these are the views from my first two hotels. Sorry. :)

Days 3 & 4: Politics, economics, and culture... oh my!

(Pic #1 - our neighborhood in Ankara)

OK, it's story time!

Wednesday was a really full day. We went to visit Bilkent University, a private school establish only about 20 years ago, but boy - did they roll out the red carpet for us. We were first treated to a short film (promotional, of course, but hey?) about the school - whose instructional language is English, by the way... as are most universities in the area. Then we listened to a fascinating lecture by an Economics professor about the current economic crisis and its effect on Turkey, questioning whether Turkey's problems are coming from outside (US) or "homemade." It was an incredible lecture, and I felt as if I learned more about what happened on Wall Street here than I have at home. Turkey seems to be experiencing some of the same issues concerning a clear "diagnosis" of the problem and proactive response as we are...

After a tour of the library, ANOTHER delicious four-course meal, and great conversation with employees of the university, we were back to the hotel for two more lectures on art and education. Here are some interesting facts about Turkey's schools/demographics:

• compulsory education goes through 8th grade
• enrollment for secondary ed in 2008-09 is 58.52% for males, 56.30% for females
• high school students sit for a national exam - the Student Selection Exam - to qualify for college entrance; only 1/3 of those who take it, and the colleges accept according to where they rank
• overall literacy rate is 88.1%
• literacy rate gender breakown: 4% of men, 19.36% women
• life expectancy: 71.2 yrs - women, 61.6 yrs - men
• per capita income: $5,723 in 2008.
• 18.56% population live below the poverty line
• unemployment rate in Feb 2009 - 16.1%
• proportion of national budget to education - 10.3%

This may paint a bleak picture, but our presenter spoke at length about curricular reform, and I spoke to her about teacher education. It seems that many are at odds between what we would identify as "best practices" - instructional strategies, and what is a very traditional, state-mandated curriculum. We came away from that lecture again with a sense of how complex this country is.

Wednesday evening we were treated to a very special dinner with the director of the Turkish Fulbright Commission, and it was really a lovely affair! Check out these food pictures and the dining "al fresco." (I don't think I've eaten meal inside yet.) This dinner took over 3 1/2 hours... they follow that European model of many courses and lengthy conversation. Our reservations were for 7:30, and we were just leaving at 11!

The most moving event of these past two days was out visit to a women's center for literacy and vocational training. The director and program participants met us with - what else? -

food and tea. Next a woman performed a song and then a poem she had written. Although we couldn't understand the language, we were moved t

o tears as she recited her poem with such emotion. Afterward we learned that her poem was in the voice of a woman who, once she learned how to read and write, composed a letter to her husband to tell him how she felt.

This center first and formost trains women to have skills that can put them to work, such as embroidering fabric, hairdressing, wood painting, and so on - but it also serves as a center to assist women in transitioning out of the home. While many women are still married (and learning how to both work outside the home and deal with husbands who may not support this change), some are in really terrible circumstances. I met one woman (standing behind the musician) who had been put out of her home by her husband after 19 years of marriage, and she couldn't read, write,

or market a skill to work. This center has done some amazing work, and I am getting a copy of an award-winning documentary that portrays their experiences. After meeting the women, we were taken to their shop where we quickly bought as many arts and crafts as we could in order to support their center.

This is what you don't get from the cruise director, folk

s - the real learning. Stay tuned!

All About Town

Gunaydin! (good morning!) Iyi aksam! (good evening!)

This morning began with our final Turkish lesson. I wish I could tell you that I've mastered enough language to make m way around Ankara like a pro, but alas - I'm a bumbling fool. Fortunately for me, the people here are very friendly and I have 15 other fools with me. We're makingourselves understood, but it will be nice if we can pick up a bit more than "I want that one" and "How much for this?" before we leave! Our instructor, Umut, was wonderful. Tesekkuler, Umut!

Today we had two lectures: the first on culture logics of Turkey, and the second on identity politics. I found both lectures to be highly fascinating, and perhaps just a bit overwh

elming! Our first speaker has been doing research in London with Kurdish asylum seekers and spent a great deal of time discussing his work with the Alevi community. The position of such minority groups and the politics surrounding the issue is quite complex, and I found myself trying to understand the interests of various ethnic and political groups from inside the Turkish political spectrum - difficult to do when its government works differently than our own. Our second speaker spoke at length about the changes in government between 1923 and the 1980s that set up a modern Turkey in which various ethnic and religious groups seek to identify themselves simultaneously as Turkish, as Muslim, and as Kurdish/Georgian/Armenian and/or Sunni/Alevi/Baha'i, for example. She discussed the Islamic code and its influence in modern politics concerning the demonstration of religious observance in public space (the headscarf issue with women at universities) as well as the concept of the "millet system" and Ataturk's true intention for nationalism. I am humbly and appropriately confused... and fortunately I have an entire month to begin to sort all this information out. What I do know is that, according to our speakers and the other participants, if I think I've got a handle on this issue of national, ethnic and religious identity, then I've oversimplified it... and I'm wrong. So I guess "confused and questioning" is a good place to be.

During the afternoon, our group toured the Ankara Olgunlasma Institute (http://www.olgunlasmaenstitusu.com/english/okullar/ankara.html), a governmentally funded school for traditional Turkish art forms, such as ebru painting, embroidery, clothing, and ceramics. We watched a demonstration of ebru as an artist "painted" a silk scarf by dropping paint into a water/oil mixture in a long, shallow pan and then lay the scarf on top of the paint pattern so that the fabric could soak up the paint. The end result was gorgeous - check out the pictures. If you're wondering if I bought one as a souvenir, than you obviously don't know me. Read on!

Jet lag hit me hard today, so tonight was purposfully low-key: a nap, dinner at a nearby seafood restaurant, and a cool night breeze on the hotel patio. The

weather has been unseasonably cool for Turkey, but pleasant for us - 75-85 with some wind and a great thunderstorm yesterday... but the heat-wave is coming! Any takers on how much sunscreen I'll go through on this trip?