Van

An account of the peak of my time in the east,
the beautiful and glorious city of Van,
is to come...

What happened after the east

After spending the day in Urfa, I had only one goal: eat some Urfa kebap at Iftar. I met a man who was a Malatyalı tour guide in Urfa for the first time, also with my goal. We quickly found a good place. It was an old Ottoman home that had been converted into a fancy restaurant. The two of us were shown to a private air conditioned room where we sat down at an Ottoman-style table as a feast was laid out in front of us. The food was of course, excellent, but I ate way too much. When I was done I wanted nothing more than to sleep. The exhaustion from the heat and the hiking all that day as well as the huge meal, had hit me. We split the bill. It was the most expensive meal I had on my whole trip, costing 17 TL (~12 bucks). My new friend owed me 2 lira after we paid which I said I didn't need but he insisted on finding change. We walked outside where a bus had just stopped. The driver made change and my friend handed me the 2. Just then I noticed that the bus was going to the Otogar, which was where I needed to go to catch a bus to Ankara. So I handed the driver one of the liras and said goodbye to my friend. I dreaded my arrival at the bus station just wondering how long it would be that I would have to wait for a bus. Two hours? Three? I decided to expect to wait 3 hours. I was not feeling good. My trip to the east was ending, I was feeling drained, and I didn't know my plans for the rest of my time in Turkey.

When I got to the bus station, to my joy I saw a bus that was leaving just 20 minutes later. I bought a ticket and boarded. The first thing I noticed was that the bus was considerably older than any of the buses I had been riding between all the cities. I also noticed a sign hanging near the driver's seat that read "Maaşallah". I thought that's stupid and pointless and won't keep this bus going. I was in a bad mood. My anger was directed toward religion and I am pretty sure it was because I had abandoned fasting for Ramadan. Sure it was nice to try it for a couple of days, but I almost collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration earlier that day and broken the fast to chug a bottle of water. I had seen tired and angry people. I saw a verbal fight erupt on one of the city buses in Van the day before. I heard people swearing in the street. Ramadan came at a cost and it was the happy society of energetic people I had seen just days earlier. I thought about how steadfast people all over the world are with their religious practices and how they all think they are right. And I thought about how people can be convinced to do anything no matter how illogical. Even now as I recall being in that mood, I can sense it surfacing. Maasallah! Maasallah! Yes, that's it... pray for continuity of the bus's functionality!

The bus broke down the following morning about 120 km short of Ankara. We were stranded for one and a half hours or maybe two. It was the start of a terrible day.

The bus breaking down did do two good things for me. First, it gave me a chance to use the bathroom. The bus hadn't stopped once since the hour stop for breakfast at 3:30 in the morning. Don't get me started on the Ramadan thing again. I used the bathroom and my mood got slightly better. The other nice thing about the bus breaking down was that I no longer had to endure my seat getting kicked by the loud little boy sitting behind me. When our rescue bus came, I sat toward the back and closed my eyes. Thank Allah I thought. Then it happened. That same little boy... of all the places his mom decided to sit on the whole Allah-condemned bus was right behind me. The kicking soon commenced. I meditated until the whole world disappeared.

In Ankara I had a terrible time. I was trying to get to the place where I had left my luggage. I needed to call my friends so I went to an internet café. The microphone didn't work. I went to a different internet cafe and again it wasn't working well enough to make a phone call. I decided to walk to the bus stop where I needed to go and then figure things out. Instead I got lost. I walked and walked. It was hot and I felt frustrated and tired. How had I so successfully navigated my way all across the east of Turkey but couldn't seem to handle Ankara. Just then I realized something that gave me great joy. I was standing in front of Kuğulu Park. I had not seen the park since the first time I came to Ankara to surprise my friend Bürin. I stood in the park for a few minutes.I decided to take a trip down a seemingly old memory and so I walked the street of Tunalı again looking in the shops and thinking about getting some ice cream. Then I came to a point that looked familiar. It was the start of Kennedy Caddesi where Bürin lives, but I had only seen it in Winter. The whole place just looked so vibrant now. I walked down her street and came to the door where the great surprise had happened nearly two years ago. I sat there for 10 minutes or so and then walked over to ring the doorbell. I paused. I didn't want to bother anybody. Then someone else was entering the apartment and held the door for me. I hesitated and explained my hesistation. The woman let me use her phone and I called Burin. She was home and so I came up. I flopped down on her couch and just breathed for a minute. I was so stressed out. I hadn't wanted to bother her, I needed to call my friends with the luggage, I was exhausted, and my mind was in several different places. But I was so happy and relieved to see Bürin. She made coffee and we had baklava. We talked and I wanted to be nowhere else. We called Ro from the computer and for the first time in 6 years, the three of us talked where we could all see each other. So Bürin saved the day. In the evening we ordered a pizza and then had an apple. Later, I left after a heart-felt goodbye.

I picked up my luggage from Ayhan-Teyze's. She and Muhtar asked me to stay the night. I would have loved to, really. A part of me was quite tempted to say yes, but I has a rendezvous planned with Hazal in Istanbul early the next morning. I left and felt into a thought-filled sleep on the night ride to Istanbul. The great trip was over. It was time now to relax and see some friends and then leave.

Şanlıurfa

I totally skipped over my amazing time Van, but I will have to insert that later. With time to upload just a couple pictures I have chosen the most recent ones. In this picture I am at the site of Balıklı Göl in Şanlıurfa. If I had a car I could drive to Syria or the Euphrates river in probably 20 minutes. And shown here is the main part of the Balıklı Göl (fishy lake). Very fishy but not very lakey in my opinion.The weather here is at least 30 degrees. I tried to fast like everyone else, but the really devoted ones here are not tourists hiking everywhere in the heat with a backpack. So a tthis internet café, I chugged a bottle of water. Still holding off eating til I get some Urfa Kebap at İftar.

My first impressions of Urfa:

1 - very diverse. so far I have seen tourists here from Germany, East Asia, and Syria. Also there is a large Kurdish population living here.

2 - gorgeous. The city has an enchanting old feel. Buildings made of stones instead of concrete, old looking streets and religious structures.

3 - very friendly. But that is true for every place I have been in this country so far.

Ağrı

My goodness I love this city. The streets are wide, the people are all very social, and the city has a magical kind of old feel to it. Every now and again, a horse drawn cart passes by on the road. After walking the streets for 20 minutes slowly building a map of the city in my head, my thoughts were interrupted by a gentleman asking if I was a tourist. I responded in Turkish and he offered me a seat next to him in the dooryard of a tea cafe. He ordered us each a tea and we talked for a while. Turns out he owns the tea place. Every time one of his friends walked by, he would say something like "Look! this guy's an American!". Then he would attempt to speak some English and introduce me to his friend. After a while he asked what I wanted to do in Ağrı. I told him that I would like to see the mountain. He immediately waled me over to a bus that would take me there. An hour or so later, I was there.

Mt. Ararat.

Known to the Turks as Ağrı Dağı, the 5100 meter high dormant volcano dwarfs the surrounding peaks.

To tell you the truth, I am still there now. And I feel guilty as hell inside this internet café when I could be out in the sun having a nice time looking at the mountain and taking a few more pictures. Also it is getting to be time for lunch and I could use some pide.

Just a note before I go. This is as far east I will be going. The truth is that I really can't go any more to the east than this. This same mountain dominates the skyline of Yerevan, Armenia. From this point onward it will be a slow trek back to İstanbul.

Rize

This is the most beautiful city I have ever seen.

But first, a couple more notes about my time in Trabzon. I went out for some fish because it was my top goal while in Trabzon. The fish was perfect. The meal was great. My only wish is that I could have shared it with someone. I dont mean my food; I ate all that myself and loved every bit of it. I mean I wish someone could have joined me for the meal.I felt a bit like I was in the movie theater alone or on a roller coaster by myself. It is fun but you want someone to glance over to, to smile to, to hang on to...

After dinner I skipped the bar and went to the seaside to set up camp. I thought I saw others setting up camp to but I guess they left. Relaxing on a rock and listening to my ipod I completely relaxed. Then a couple of guys who were leaving came over to me and said a bunch of stuff that I didn't understand. They seemed to be warning me about some reason for not staying the night on the beach. When one of them talked he glanced over my shoulder as if some imminent danger would come any minute. When they realized that I couldn't understand them, they decided to give up explaining and walked off. I tried to shrug it off but I couldn't. So I left. I walked to the highest point of the city which is saying something. It was like hiking a small mountain. When I got to the top there were places to drink tea and watch the football match on tv. It was Fenerbahçe and Sivasspor. I drank a couple teas and watched the first half. Fener was playing much better and ultimately won the game. I didn't stay to see though. I needed a place to sleep. I walked for a long time, down the mountain and toward the eat side of town. I found a hotel and asked if they had an empty room. Of course they did. I have yet to have found a full hotel in this country. No sleeping under the stars tonight I thought, feeling a bit disappointed. The feeling wore off when I found out how cheap a night in the hotel was. In the morning, I got ready and asked a guy near the bus stop how I could best get to Rize. Within 2 minutes I was on a bus to Rize. The ride only took an hour. I took the picture above as we were approaching the city. I was delighted when I got off the bus. It was hard not to be. It seemed like everyone in the city was outside, walking around, working, shopping, and drinking tea. I felt like I was at a fair ground minus the rides, sketchy people and smell of fried food. Ok so maybe not the best example. The point is, it was a happy atmosphere. The sky was party cloudy and 26 or 27 degrees. Just perfect.

I was very hungry and so I stopped at a place and had Adana kebap and Ayran. It was the best I have had and it cost me only 7 TL. My original plan was to spend the day here and leave late tonight. I am reconsidering it now. I think I will stay an extra day here.

The following day was more cloudy and it did finally rain at night just as I left for Ağrı.

Turkey, Chapter 2

As you must realize by now, it is quite difficult to keep these posts up, but i assure you i will fill in the gaps eventually.

I do not have a lot of time right now, but I will try to quickly catch you up. I went to Konya (see some friends), Aydın (for the second wedding), and then Ankara (to see some friends). Then I
did something unlike anything I have ever done. I left 2/3 of everything I brought to Turkey at a friend's house and left with just my backpack and took a night bus to the other side of Turkey.

Trabzon. A luscious green city, eyes open to the Black Sea. The city took Sunday for rest, fishing, and swimming. My bus arrived at 07:00 and the day was just starting to warm up. I walked for 2 hours all over town and finally rested by the sea. By 'rested', I mean I actually cat napped on a rock with the waves splashing softly 5 feet away. It was a nice sleep. When I awoke, I walked around and met some tourists and some locals. We went together for a swim.

I'm the guy on the right standing up, heading toward deeper water in my shorts.


I'll be sleeping under the stars tonight by the sea. But first I will go out to a fish restaurant and then find a bar.

The wonderful things that happened in İstanbul 1

I arrived in İstanbul on the morning of the 3rd of August and took a bus to Pınar's place. I was comforted by being in a familiar place, however one thing was quite different. It was really warm! The weather in Turkey now is vacation weather and so everyone from northern Europe is on vacation here. Anyway, a picture of the underside of one of the bridges that connect İstanbul:I spent a lot of time with Pınar in the first couple of days...
We went swimming. It was really enjoyble, of course. It was just us at the pool that day.
On Friday came the big day: the wedding of Kahraman and Merve
Many people I knew were there, including Bürin
I took a picture of the Moon rising over the first bridge. This is a typical view from Ortaköy.
So with that, many congratultions to Merve and Kahraman on their wedding. I am very glad that I got to be at their wedding. It was an incredibly beautiful event and a unique experience for me.

Farewell to Denmark

My last couple of days in Denmark had three major highlights. The first was my visit to Frilandmuseet, where I had conducted a school project for two months a year and a half ago. It was nice to see the place in summer. There were lots of people there and there was more going on. I saw demonstrations and entertainment for the kids happening all over the museum. I also noticed that the picnic area that was being constructed while I was there was completed. Shown below.
Being Saturday when I visited, there weren't very many of the folks I knew from the museum there. Still, it was nice to be back.

The second highlight was the RAW 2009 festival/rave. There were tons of people and the scene was just crazy. There were seven enclosures with thumping music of various sorts being scratched and mixed by some of the better Danish and Scandanavian djs. I didn't take many pictures there, and besides it wasn't very picturesque. Stig and I left early because we didn't want to be to tired the next day, which was to be my last in Denmark.

Sunday was the third highlight. During the morning and afternoon, I walked around the city to see some of the places I missed and some of the people I would miss. I said goodbye to Henrik and Tanja and thanked them for their part in making my vacation there excellent. When I left, I returned to Valby where I met Stig and we departed together in the direction of Brøndby. Our Blue and Yellow were to play FC Midtjylland for the third game of the season. Brøndby's record up until then was 0-1-1 and so they were looking for their first win of the season. Well, they won 3-1 and it was epic. You can watch the highlights of the game here.

That evening, I boarded the night plane to İstanbul, just as I did the last time I said goodbye to Denmark. Just as I did then, I wonder now when it is I will next return.

Outing

Stig, Henrik, Tanja, and Thomas, and of course myself piled into a couple of cars and drove to the other side of this island of Sjælland. That is where a lot of Danes have a summer cottage and we went to visit Henrik's and Stig's folks' summer places. Basically, throughout our time there we were either preparing food, horsing around, having a beer, sleeping, or going for a walk. Such an itinerary as that could not be beat. There were a couple of highlights among those events. One was mowing the lawn. It was just funny because while Tanja read a book, each of us had either a lawn mower, a rake, or a pair of scissors, and we were going around the yard with until the place looked like a golf green. After that we played a kind of soccer-golf game which was a lot of fun. Another highlight was on the first night when we went for a night walk to the beach. That was very relaxing and also memorable. Outside of those default things that we did, there were also a couple of highlights. We went to visit Stig's parents' place that was maybe a 15 minute drive away. We had an absolutely amazing meal of smørrebrød consisting of mackerel and these fish meatball things with all the toppings. The meal was interrupted occasionally by celebratory shots of a sweet Danish liqueur. After the meal, Stij's dad, Jorgen, took us on a walk to the beach. I really wasn't expecting anything much, but went we got there I was nearly blown away. The wind was so strong it was difficult to keep my eyes open. Also, the view was like a painting. The ocean was three or four different shades of blue. The weather was different in each direction. There were only a handful of people on the beach. Clothing was optional. The high winds made shimmering ripples of sand race along the beach, and the tall grass on the dunes waved as they passed. The air was warm, the water was cold. We lingered a bit and then walked for a ways along the beach with the wind at our face.After the beach, we returned to the house for coffee and dessert. The next day, before leaving, we went to a town called Rørvij where there was a wharf-side seafood eatery and a couple of ice cream places. After ordering the food, I walked outside and and then stopped in my tracks. Squinting for a bit, I confirmed that the guy standing near me was in fact Bernd from the boat concert. I approached him and he said "small country, eh?" I guess so.

I had a kind of fish burger that did not resemble a burger like those in the States. The fish was topped in the Danish tradition with tons of shredded lettuce and Remoulade. It was awesome. The fries were crisp, salty, and delicious. We got some ice cream and stood by the docks as a large-ish ferry came into port. The wind was relentless. As we walked back to the car, I noticed a sign that I still get a kick out of: Stop Her! heh heh

On the ride back to Copenhagen, I took a picture of some wind turbines and then I lay across the back seat and slept. When I awoke we were back in Valby, at Stig's place. As I write, it is the next day and I have several exciting things planned for these last couple of days before I leave this beautiful country (and go to yet another beautiful country).

Leaving Berlin and Arriving in Copenhagen

Those last times in Berlin were especially nice. Sebastian took me out to meet some of his friends and we had some beer in some very unique and chill places. On Sunday, we went to a park where a festival-like flea market event was taking place. The Sun was shining and the place was crowded. Sebastian and I met up with some of his friends and we got some beer and watched the karaoke. I should explain. Some guy had set up a mic and some speakers and people took turns singing along. Most of them were ok, but occasionally when someone was really bad, the crowd would sing along to help them out and applaud them greatly for their effort. It was a very happy and relaxed atmosphere.

The next morning, Sebastian and I got up early. He had to go to his second-to-last day of work in Berlin and I had to catch the 8-hour bus ride to Copenhagen. I thanked Sebastian for his hospitality and as he got off the train I already started missing him. It was a short stay in Berlin, but it was packed and very fun. I never thought while he lived with me in Worcester that one day I would stay with him in Berlin, but that's what happened. I rode the train another 20 minutes by my lonesome and found my way to the bus station. There, I purchased the ticket and waited at the gate. Then I had a moment. I suddenly heard someone near me speaking Danish and it suddenly occurred to me that I would be going back to that place I lived for a couple months last year. After listening to German being spoken all weekend, the soft ooglie-schmooogli-ness of Danish lulled me in a relaxed content state which was what I would need to last the long trip.

I was last in Denmark from March-May 2008 doing a project for school. During that time I made a friend, Stig, and I met his friends, and we all hung out when we could. I was certainly looking forward to seeing them again and I wanted to see what Copenhagen is like in the summer. Denmark is a country that I greatly admire for its intellectual and laid back culture. The Danes have created a society that is healthy, modern, safe, and welcoming to outsiders. To some extend the Germans and the Italians have, too, but for me Denmark is more familiar and so it was with great enthusiasm that I watched the sea and the countryside go by as the bus and ferry and another bus carried me to Copenhagen.

I was happy to find Stig waiting for me at the station in Copenhagen. We immediately began talking about our plans for the next day. Sebastian told me about a concert that his cousin, Kwamie, would be performing at in Copenhagen. Stig said he wanted to go visit the venue (a boat) and so we both looked forward to going. That night, we made tortillas for dinner and then went out for a walk in the park nearby and had a couple beers. I was glad to enjoy Grøn Tuborg again after a year or so.

When Tuesday came we had breakfast and went out to Fælledpark, which I often visited, near where I used to live. We kicked a ball for a bit and then Henrik came. It was good to see him again. He joined us for some football and then we had lunch. After that, Henrik's girlfriend Tanja arrived. We hung out together for a little while and then I left to go visit my old neighborhood. I went to Classensgade, where the WPI students stay when they are here. I'm not sure why I wanted to walk past there. There really isn't anything to see but the building. Anyway, I liked remembering when I lived there and it was cold and I had my project to work on. I suddenly missed greatly my project partners, Krista and Peter. As I stopped in the cafes that I used to frequent, it occurred to me that a lot of people I know in the states would be really jealous of my presence back in Copenhagen (my apologies if you are reading this now). I thought of Erica H., who first told me about the project site and got me interested in doing my project in Copenhagen. Of course I thought of my project partners and my advisor, as well as some of the other students. I thought about my friend, Tom C., who recently returned from Denmark but didn't want to leave. I realized how fortunate I am to be back here. I also realized that each one of those people I mentioned will come visit this place again if they haven't already.

At night, we went to the boat to see Kwamie. The party boat was called Stubnitz and comes in from Germany every summer to host concerts and whatnot. There were going to be 5 or 6 bands followed by an open mic session. Stig and I really enjoyed each of the bands, including Kwamie's. After the show, we went out on deck to mingle and chat with the other folks there. I talked a bunch with a nice bloke named Bernd, and some pleasant friends of Kwamie. Stig joined the circle and we shared stories and laughs. Later, we watched fireworks from the Out Games which were taking place in Copenhagen all week. Even later, Stig and myself and a couple others went out for a beer at an Aussie bar before heading home.

Our big plan of the week would commence on the morrow, when we would depart to Nykøbing, Sjælland. I have marked its general location on the map below with a green square that has a blue dot in the center and a grayish-blue outline. Shown in red, of course, is Copenhagen. As I write this now, I have already returned from that 2-day trip, and believe me it was awesome. More on that very soon.

Berlin

My flight to Berlin was short. I had a window seat and I slept for a bit with the window shade open and so my dream was bright and real. I spent a long time at the airport learning the public transportation system and then I spent a long time getting to Sebastian's office. Sebastian is a friend of mine who lived with me in Worcester for a stint while he was at WPI. Now I am living with him for a stint in Germany. One of the first things I happened to see were some remnants of the Berlin Wall.

Since my arrival there has been a focus on experiencing the night life in Berlin. Two nights ago, Sebastian showed me a fun part of the city and we had fun. I met a very nice Finnish couple and enjoyed a couple beers with them. Yesterday was mostly for R&R. I reserved my bus ticket to Copenhagen for Monday. I really cannot wait to be in a familiar country again and to see my friends there. In the meantime, it is all about getting the Berlin weekend experience. Last night, Sebastian and I had a couple social events attend. Later, we went to a really nice outdoor techno club/bar on the water and with a lot of different places to chill. So we chilled. On the way home, we continued the tradition of getting a kebab for breakfast. It is nice for me because all the time Sebastian is doing the talking for me, but when we go for kebab I can order my own food by practicing some Turkish.

Some observations about Berlin: 1. It is very very diverse. 2. It is huge, but it doesn't feel threatening because the buildings are of a tolerable size. 3. Germans are a very friendly people and the language, though it sounds harsh in movies, sounds gentler when I hear it spoken here. 4. Turks and kebab stores everywhere 5. Young people (like my age) are in the streets everywhere, spending time with friends and having a good time.

Tonight it will be early to bed for a change. Sebastian has work in the morning and I have a bus to catch. I decided to take the bus to Copenhagen because it is about 4 times cheaper than anything else and I will get to see the German countryside. So normally I would dread an 8-hour bus ride, but I'm actually looking forward to this one. I am looking forward to so many things about Denmark that I have been missing, but that's for a later post.