A Second Trip to Antioch

If you don't recall, I took my first trip to Antioch in November of 2007. I absolutely loved it, and found an excuse to go back this last week. I'm so glad I went! It was a wonderful opportunity to soak up some extra history before I leave, as well as spend time with dear friends in a beautiful setting. I also got to go to the Archeological Museum, which we ran out of time to do last time I went. I particularly wanted to go there because it is known for its collection of mosaics, and boy were there a lot of mosaics! There were 2 large rooms and 3 small rooms full of mosaics, and more in the courtyard outside. Most of them were recovered from that region, though certainly there are mosaics all over Turkey.


Even though I went for the mosaics, I enjoyed the last 2 rooms as well, which featured ancient artifacts from as early as the 3rd millennium BC up through coins from the 17th century. I just love walking through 4000 years of history, knowing that it was all found in the region that I'm standing in. Antioch itself was founded by Seleucus, one of Alexander the Great's four generals who inherited part of his vast empire. The area overall has been in the possession of many empires, including Akkadians, Amorites, Hittites, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Seljuks, Byzantines, and Ottomans. The lion below adorned the steps into an ancient temple, and that blue Egyptian-style bowl was just one of the prettiest ancient artifacts I've seen in a while.



In addition to the museum, we visited some of the sights I saw before, such as the Roman aqueduct and Peter's church, and along the way enjoyed much of the unique Turkish scenery. Some sheep (a common sight here) were kind enough to pose for a picture, a man was selling handmade bayberry soap from the back of his mule, and the sunset on the Med was gorgeous. One of the towns in the area is named Daphne from ancient times because, according to local legend, it was where the river nymph Daphne was changed into a bay tree to escape the unwanted affection of the god Apollo.

Two more weeks of Turkishness

I have just 2 weeks left here in this country, and I'm still in denial. I keep telling the people around me how much time I have left, in order to remind myself that I'm leaving. It's not that I don't want to go back to the US. It's just that I haven't seen the US in almost 2 years. I've gotten used to this place. Since my old roommate left, I spend considerably more time with Turks than I do with Americans. In the last month, I've especially found myself becoming more comfortable being myself in my "new" language, and more Turks have commented how I've learned to communicate more naturally. I love learning, and every day I learn new words or phrases from every day conversation. I've even mastered 2 new Turkish dishes! Several months ago I wrote about learning in class how to make a bulgur pasta-like dish with a garlic tomato sauce (see previous post). Tonight I made it all by myself, with the help of a friend to chop and grate and form. She said it turned out great! Two weeks ago I made Turkish beans and rice and had my neighbor (who is an excellent cook and a good friend) taste it for me. She said the only thing I needed to change was to add more salt to my rice (I didn't salt it). Next week I think I'll try soup. I'm trying to soak up every moment of my cross-culture experience, drinking as much tea as possible, and stopping to sit and talk with an aquaintence for a while or have dinner at their house when asked even though I was originally on my way home.

Adventures in language learning

Tomorrow I have an exam in DNA class, so of course I feel the need to procrastinate from studying by doing things like updating my blog. (I got a lot more cleaning done during exam time in grad school!) Since my exam tomorrow will be in Turkish, it seemed appropriate to blog about my experience I had in language learning this week. I read an article once about acquiring a second language, and it said that when you are learning a new language, the language you are speaking is not really the language you are trying to learn (for example, Turkish), but instead a language you invent based on the building blocks of language you have learned. Eventually, when you become fluent, you will really be speaking that other language (such as Turkish).

So on Saturday I went to my friend's house for dinner and had a lovely time chatting with her and her family for a long time even after dinner. She made a TON of food for us, I think I counted 9 different dishes. Lentil soup, beans and rice, fried cauliflower, stuffed grape leaves, salad, potato salad...you get the idea. And of course she insisted I eat a considerable amount of EVERYTHING. After dinner, we had tea, as is the custom. After I had finished my tea, they asked if I wanted dessert. I said I didn't want it just yet because I was full. My friend asked, "how could you still be full, it's been a while since we've eaten." I replied by gesturing towards my empty mug of tea and saying literally, "yes, but I'm continually filling." The meaning I was hoping to convey was "I'm full because you keep giving me more to put in my stomach!" But in Turkish, the object (for ex, "stomach") is not always necessary like in English, which is convenient for a lazy language learner like me who prefers to stick to simple sentence that can be formed quickly. Well, when I formed this sentence from the building blocks I had acquired, my friend's family started laughing. I didn't ask why (I never do), so my friend offered an explanation. "In Turkish when a baby eats a lot and there's stuff in it's diaper, we say 'the baby is filling...'" So apparently I was implying not that I was stuffing my stomach, but that I was wearing a diaper and it needed to be changed. Ah, the joys of language acquisition.

What I'll miss the most

The focus of this blog has been new things I have seen and experienced in Turkey. Since I have been here for almost 2 years, there's not a lot left that's new anymore. Now I am getting ready to leave in less than a month. Someone has asked me what I'll miss the most from this place, and the answer was easy: the people. But I haven't talked much about the people on this blog, so today I wanted to show you some of them. Some of them I've only met once, or seen in passing. I Others are good friends. The good friends I'll miss very much, but I'll also miss the warmth and uniqueness of the many people I don't know (or know well) who I see here every day. I hope it gives you a glimpse of these people that I love.

Winter Wonderland on the Silk Road

This weekend I took a trip to the mountains near one of the cities that was significant on the Silk Road. We stopped to do some silk shopping in a caravansarai (a large building used as an inn/rest stop for caravans traveling on the Silk Road) that had been converted into a small bazaar. In the center of the caravansarai was a small building used for prayer, both in previous eras and today, and an outdoor cafe area. Then we headed into the modern shopping mall next door for some Starbucks! As we wandered around, we saw the ruins of sultans' tombs and an old city gate that was originally used by politicians.

After we had our fill of sightseeing we headed up the mountain. When we got there, we were disappointed by the lack of snow, but when we woke up the next morning, there was a foot of snow waiting for us with more on its way! We went out and played in the flurries--snow ball fights, sledding (or sliding around on trash bags in our case). Unfortunately my time in the snow didn't last very long. My high-heeled leather boots, while very warm, have no tread in snow. I didn't get very far up the hill before I was forced to slide down. The drive away from the hotel was beautiful, though. Everywhere there were trees covered with snow. We took a minibus from the hotel to the teleferik, something like a giant ski lift. We took the teleferik down the mountain and enjoyed the eagle's-eye view above the trees, even if we didn't have much visibility. It was the closest I've ever come to a white Christmas.

Bloody Holiday

After living here for almost 2 years, I've gotten pretty used to this place. The extent of my culture shock now is the mild annoyance that I don't understand everyone all the time. I don't have a lot of new cultural moments anymore. Yesterday was a new experience for me here. I went to my friend's house to watch her family sacrifice sheep.

Last year my Turkish teacher had invited me to go to her house to witness this, for my learning. In a round about way, I explained I probably wouldn't be comfortable with that. Now she's not my teacher anymore, but we're still good friends. This year she invited my new roommate, who's still taking classes with her, to come see and take pictures. Since I'm the roommate and friend, I also was invited by extension. So I went to spend time with my friend, who I hadn't seen in a while, and provide moral support for my roommate. And besides, I should see it once while I'm here, right?

I went there early and they served us breakfast. As we finished breakfast, they let us know that the men had returned with the sheep. My friend lives next door to 2 other homes full of aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins. Since they all share a garden area, it's a perfect place to do the sacrifice. So the men came back with 7 sheep, one for each household, as well as for the friends who came to use their garden. The sheep stayed in a makeshift pen while they waited, and one by one the head of the household recited a short prayer, cut the throat of the sheep, and drained the blood into a hole in the dirt. They hired a butcher to take over after that, and he made quick work of turning the animal into a fresh supply of meat. I watched them carry the live sheep to the prepared sacrifice place, and I watched the butcher work, but I couldn't bring myself to watch the actual killing of the animal.

After the sacrificing is complete, they prepare a big meal and gorge themselves on mutton. My roommate and I weren't very hungry after watching the activity surrounding the sacrifices, but in this culture, we could leave without eating. So my friend quickly prepared some meat and bulgur pilaf for us, because we hadn't planned to stay long enough for the family feast. The holiday continues through Thursday, and people will celebrate by giving away meat to friends and relatives, and to the poor who can't afford an animal. They will visit each other and eat chocolate, and freeze any meat that is leftover to cook for visitors.

If you want to know more official details on the holiday, wikipedia is a good source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurban_Bayram

So, as promised, here are the photos. They're not the beautiful images I typically aim for, but as this blog is a record of my cultural experience, I wanted to give you the opportunity to see some of this holiday as I saw it.

Engagement with John

I was originally going to title this post "Cappadocia with John," but I know what you all really want to hear about! Our next stop was Cappadocia, which was where we got engaged, but let me tell you the story in order. I've been to Cappadocia several times, and it's one of my favorite places in Turkey. I really wanted to share it with John, and I thought it would be a good place to get away from all our friends and just vacation for a few days. When I went with my mom, we rented a car and spent a lot of time getting lost. I didn't want to do that with John, so I opted for taking the bus to Cappadocia. We found a hotel in Goreme, a town smack in the middle of some of the best rock formations and cave churches in Cappadocia. We picked one with character, while still having a good price (especially since we were paying for seperate rooms). It had a fabulous view as well! The downside of the bus was we had to travel on their schedule, so we really only had a day and a half there. We got in late Sunday night. On Monday morning we walked the one and a half miles to the "museum" in Goreme, a well-preserved collection of cave churches with an admission fee. John seemed to enjoy the history as much as I hoped he would. Then we got some lunch in town at a place where you sit on pillows and eat at a low table, traditional-style. After that, our goal was to get lost together in the valley near our hotel. The paths aren't always clear, but from any high point you could see the hotel, so we couldn't really get lost. I didn't really know the valley, so I let John lead the way, since I had been leading him everywhere all week. We clambered around some hills and fairy chimneys with assorted small ancient caves, until he led us to the highest point in the valley, a hilltop where you could see for miles. I dug in my bag for my water bottle, not noticing that John was trying to get behind me. When I found my water bottle, I turned around to say something to him, and there he was on one knee with a beautiful diamond-and-ruby band. "Will you marry me?" I knew it was coming this trip, but I was still in shock at that moment. I dropped the water bottle and gave him a hug (and a yes). Then he explained that the ring was a temporary ring (though I do get to keep it), and that the "real" ring was waiting for me in America (he brought pictures to show me). We did a little more exploring after that at another beautiful cave church we saw from our hilltop. Then we headed into town to try to buy a Turkish rug, one of my goals for his trip. When we came in the store, the man looked at how young we were and asked if we had a home. I said "no, but we will, we just got engaged today!" He said "well then I will give you the fiancees' price!" After much deliberation, we eventually picked out a smallish rug at a really good price, our first big purchase together :) Then we went back to the hotel to get dressed up for dinner to celebrate. It got really cold, so we talked the hotel into giving us a ride to the restaurant in their service van that they use to get people from the bus station. The driver was excited that I spoke Turkish, so he didn't seem to mind giving us a ride to and from dinner. The restaurant was the nicest restaurant in Goreme, and the only white-tablecloth restaurant I've been to in Turkey, I think! After dinner we came back, lit a fire in the fireplace in his room, and watched a movie on his laptop. It was the perfect end to a perfect engagement day.

"Home" with John

After our visit in Istanbul, I brought John back with me to my current "home." He pulled out all the Turkish he could muster as I dragged him around to meet all of my friends, neighbors, co-workers, and corner-store cashiers who had been waiting eagerly for his arrival. He definitely got a taste of my life here, including in the culinary sense! He liked almost everything I fed him, except for a few of the local beverages. He loved the tea, though, so he had no problem fitting in. I took him downtown to see the few touristy parts of my city. As a cultural bonus, one of my closest friends here, my old Turkish teacher, decided to get engaged last week! So John had the opportunity to come to the engagement party with me, which is quite an occasion here. He sat nicely while I joined some of the dancing, a necessity for any Turkish party. (Since the genders mostly separate when dancing anyways here, he wasn't abandoning me.) We watched the giving of the rings (both the guys and girls wear an engagement ring here), and the cutting of the ribbon that ties the two rings together. Even though John had never been outside of the US before, he took it all in like a pro. He waited patiently while I talked with my friends who couldn't slow down long enough for me to translate, he followed all the necessary cultural cues, and he learned how to buy some things for both of us using his limited Turkish. He even got the ultimate compliment: "John's like a Turk!"

Istanbul with John

Last Sunday my boyfriend John came to visit! We started our trip in Istanbul. It was a very short trip, and we didn't want to rush around during our first couple of days together, so we hit only a few of the highlights. We started out with a cruise up the Bosphorous Strait. Along the Bosphorous, you can see fishing villages, upscale neighborhoods, and Ottoman palaces. We even stopped at a quaint little neighborhood famous for its yogurt and tasted some. (I love good yogurt!) Our final stop was at a nice little neighborhood where we ate fish at a restaurant overlooking the water and people-watched the plaza below.

The next day we hit the highlights of the central tourist district of Istanbul. We hoped to visit the Topkapi Palace, but it turns out that it's closed on Tuesdays. We walked past the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Then we went inside the Basilica Cistern, an enourmous underground reservoir built by the Romans utilizing old columns to hold up the ceiling, and upside-down Medusa heads to scare off intruders. We passed by one of the original Roman mile-markers before we reached the Grand Bazaar. In the picture below you can find John among the crowds at the entrance to the Bazaar (Kapalicarsi).

Check back soon! There's more stories to come!

Baklava!

My latest cooking adventure was in making baklava. If you can buy all the handy-dandy made-for-baklava ingredients, it's actually not that hard. I bought the special baklava filo dough, and the special crushed baklava pistachios. After that, you just layer the filo dough (carefully, they're fragile), and lots of melted butter, and stop halfway to spread crushed pistachios. Of course, we did use 50 sheets of filo dough, so that's the hard part. At the end, you bake until golden and pour sugar syrup over the top. Serve with crushed pistachios on top. Mmm, healthy. All in all, for our small pan, we used 4 sticks of butter and 5 cups of sugar. No wonder it's so good. Bring on the calories!

Tribute to my roommate

My roommate moved away last weekend. She was here from day 1 of my experience living in this place. It's hard to imagine living here without her, except now I'm doing it. Our friendship will continue, but for now her departure feels sort of like a death. I'm in mourning. And so to help me in this transition, I felt it would be therapeutic to write a tribute to my dearly departed roommate. It doesn't encompass all of who she is or why so many people love her, but for now it expresses what I miss.

She helped me to understand the culture around me because she understood it so well. She seemed to naturally mesh with the heartbeat of our friends here. I remember the first moment I realized while watching her interact with one of her closest Turkish friends, "They're not speaking English, but this Turk understands her better than I do." She was fun and outgoing in ways I only wish I could be. She knew how to throw a party, and she knew how to relax. She was always helping me to get out of the house to spend time with our local friends or see a movie. But don't get me wrong, she also worked hard. She prepared great English lessons and studied and cooked and cleaned with fervor. She loved with fervor, and the proof of that is in how many people loved her in return. She was brave and willing to take risks. She was full of ideas and willing to try them while I was still wondering if they would work. We washed dishes together and learned to cook together and traveled together. We cared for two cats together and cared for friends together. But most of the time I was just trying to keep up with her and help her out as I knew best. She taught me many things, practical and personal. She was there as I went through culture shock and the shock of not understanding or being understood. She was there every day for a year and a half, except for a few vacations she or I took with other friends or family. She was my family. And I will never forget her.