Blink

Time flies when you're having fun. Over the past couple of days I traveled through Göreme and Konya. I've been moving quickly, as I decided to try and get to Alalakh a little early. Don't worry, I'll have updates on Göreme and Konya soon.

Yesterday I took the bus from Konya to Antakya, then tracked down a minibus that ran through the town next to the site. It was the longest single trip I've made in Turkey. I left from the Konya Otogar at 7:00 AM, arrived at Adana after about seven hours. It was quite scenic. The highway runs along the coast for some distance. I convinced myself I could see Cyrus just beyond the waves.

I was in Adana for about ten minutes, nigh immediately catching a bus to Antakya. We weaved in and out of mountains for about two hours before entering an immense open plane. You get an excellent view of the basin as your bus climbs down from the mountains... an agricultural checkerboard of tan and green fields fills the plains all the way to the horizon, obscured slightly by the smoke from local swidden agriculture and the dust kicked up by the winds from Syria.

Stay tuned...

Hattusha

Take the bus to Sungrulu from Ankara and track down a dolmus to take you to the village of Bogazkale. There, stay at an amazingly clean and inexpensive hotel while taking a day or two to soak up the magnificent bronze age site of Hattusha.

Hattusha was once the capital of the Hittites. To the everyday visitor it is a grassy matrix of stone building foundations stretching up along the Anatolian hills. Most of the site is surrounded by the ruins of a thick stone wall supported by a substantial earth berm at its southernmost tip. Most impressive is the tunnel used by Hittite guards that runs under the berm. I essentially walked in their footsteps.

Hattusha is a feast for the eyes. Following the road that runs along the side of the wall, I climbed higher and higher. At Sphinx Gate (location of the awesome guard tunnel), I could see well beyond Bogazkale, the village that was renting me a bed. I could also see the Temple Complex at the entrance of the site... much more impressive from above than from the ground.

While wandering around Bogazkale, I encountered serpentine carvers who were making souvenirs for tourists. I talked with them awhile... the Turkish love of discussing politics goes a long way, breaking through even the most daunting language barriers. I drank so much tea I didn't think I'd be able to sleep for a week.

Ankara

You'll have to forgıve me for beıng brıef. Thıs ıs the fırst cıty where I couldn't fınd a wıfı connectıon, so I'm usıng a Turkısh keyboard at an ınternet cafe. It's not so bad, but ıt's much longer than I'm used to, and the commas and i's are ın dıfferent places... hence the lıttle ı used ın thıs update.

I arrıved at Ankara vıa bus yesterday afternoon. Ankara has the half-century old staıned concrete look that many cıtıes that rapıdly expanded durıng the 20th century seem to pıck up. I encountered ıt over and over travelıng ın Indıa; boxy modern conrete structures extendıng for mıles around much older monuments or house clusters. Accordıng to Lonely Planet, Ankara was home to 30,000 when Attaturk declared ıt the capıtal of the new republıc. Now ıts populatıon ıs around 5 mıllıon. The result ıs a concrete cıty that ıs buılt to accomodate cars ınstead of foot traffıc. Whıle I'm sure thıs helps ease traffıc problems, ıt also makes Ankara a much trıckıer cıty to navıgate by foot.

As dusk approached, I clımbed the long hıll near my hotel ın Ulus. Atop the hıll was an old cıtadel, surrounded by old, gently agıng houses... a stark contrast to the rest of Ankara. A paır of kıds were more than wıllıng to show me the way ınto the castle, where other kıds from the neıghborhood were playıng football and hangıng out on the castle's tower. Some dangled theır legs over the edge of the cıtadel... nothıng but aır between them and a couple hundred feet to the closest houses. Whıle takıng pıctures of the Ankaran horızon, a couple of adolescent gırls started fıghtıng on one of the walls behınd me. I'm not sure what the scuffle was about, but they were perılously close to the edge of the tower. Before I coule move, an adult appeared and separated the brawlers. It was a bad spot for fıstıcuffs.

Ottomania

Safranbolu is a scenic town nestled in the valleys some 200 km north of Ankara. In 1992 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the thoroughly restored Ottoman mansions that make up the market district of the town. Çarsi is a maze of remarkable Ottoman houses that extends from two central open spaces… one is the closest thing Çarsi has to a downtown and boasts an old mosque and older hamam, the other is marked by a silk road caravansary and slightly newer mosque.

I spent most of the day wandering the narrow, angular alleyways that run between the charming, boxy Ottoman structures. There is an excellent park/plaza structure at the top of the largest hill overlooking the district. While snapping pictures from the park, I met a Taiwanese tourist who had the same idea. He informed me that the park’s toilet was the nicest he’d seen in Turkey. We hung out for most of the day, hunting for bargains in the shops that line the streets between the mosques. He got a kick out of the big straw cowboy hat I bought to protect my complexion from the evils of the sun. After all, as a friend of mine reminded me, skin cancer would be a lousy souvenir.

Istanbul and Away

"It's about 15 minutes walk up a very steep hill... but it's only ruins, not a whole castle..." a slightly disappointed tourist informed me and a pair of South African journalists I met on the ferry traveling up the Bosporus. Pfft, only ruins.

It was way more than "only ruins." We entered the broken down kale or fort after climbing a steep road for about ten minutes. Several of the villagers sat along the pavement selling pillow cases and charms to ward off the evil eye. Broken brick and limestone littered the entrance to the fort, and several military signs warned us not to go through certain doors. Several dozen Istanbulus were hanging out around the ruins. A teenage couple had climbed on top of the broken wall and were gazing out over the Bosporus.

The South Africans and I found a shady spot on the far side of the kale where we took some photos and took in the view. To our right the last reaches of the strait gave way to the Black Sea, which stretched toward the blue-gray horizon. On our left we could see the European side of the straight which was speckled with houses, some old and in the Ottoman style, some new and concrete. They stood out against a green backdrop not unlike the forested foothills of the Appalachians.

It doesn't get much more scenic than that. Or so I thought. Today I took a bus from Istanbul to a town called Safranbolu. Safranbolu is a UNESCO town; it boasts tons of original and restored Ottoman houses. Nestled in the green hills of north-central Anatolia, the town springs up from a meeting of several valleys. So far it's amazing, but it seems to lack Istanbul's cats.

Not Constantinople

I know it's been awhile, but I'm much better at this when I'm not bunkered down doing research, preparing for conferences, or writing papers... the activities that dominate my life during the semester. I'm much more inspired to update everyone when I'm traveling, and right now I'm making my way across central Turkey toward the site I'll be working on for the next two months or so. So here I am in Istanbul, hammering out an update by my laptop's glow. My guesthouse has wireless internet. Life is good.

Istanbul, or at least the parts of it I've seen over the past two days, is awesome. Public transportation gets you close to walking distance of wherever you want to go. The streets radiate around the main centers, so although few of them are labeled, attentiveness and a good map suffice to for finding most places. So far I've trounced around Sultanahmet, the Great Bazaar, and Tatahnate... all on the European side of the city.

Yesterday I followed the Topkapi Palace wall around the Marmara Sea shortly after I arrived at my guest house. A narrow street runs along side the wall down toward a train station. It reminds me vaguely of some of the Italian highways I had to dart across in Rome. The street was clear for the most part, though the sidewalk stopped and picked up on the other side, so I had to cross back and forth as I made my way up and down the hills. This brings me to my next point; Istanbul is hilly. It was built along 7 hills, some say for luck. It's also chock full of cats. This I don't mind so much. As I sat listening to folk music and watching a dervish show, several cats joined me at my table. Most were disappointed that I didn't have any food and left, but one stuck around to get his neck scratched. As I walked along the side of the Great Bazaar, I saw a man dressed all in white, with golden spectacles and a cat perched on his shoulder like a parrot on a pirate. Awesome.

Of course there are downsides to tons of cats. Last night, as I tried to sleep off the jet lag, a couple got in a fight outside the window. Cats fight very loudly.

That's all for now. Tune in sometime in the next couple days for more musings on Istanbul.

another blow

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/us/25raid.html?em&ex=1201410000&en=3e94b0754efe6511&ei=5087%0A

This has been quite a month for antiquity repatriation. It's unfortunate that such heavy-handed tactics are necessary in order to deal with the swelling illegal antiquities market, but this is a victory none the less. The objects will return to their countries of origin, where they can be appreciated by the people whose heritage they represent, as well as visitors to the region who can now explore these countries' past as they explore its present. Ultimately, moves like this shrink the market for illegal antiquities, which is good for preserving everyones' heritage.

repatriation

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/arts/design/11voge.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is returning a famous ceramic vessel to Italy. It's a positive step. Hopefully the other objects from the Cerveteri tomb will be reassembled in time, and researchers will one day be able to study these artifacts in one collection. Context reveals information that objects alone can never provide. Who used the vessel? For what purpose? How was it lost, and why?

faux pas?

My friend was in town. I had rushed back to New York in order to meet him during the tiny window his miserly student budget allowed him to visit. He wanted to see Times Square on New Years Eve. Couldn't blame him... you have to do it once right?

We stood their for hours, arriving early to ensure good spots. Well, as good as any considering there are no bathrooms and the cops coral you into dense people-blocks where everyone has to move and breath as one. Still, it's quite a sight. A million people packed into two(ish?) city blocks. On the asphalt beneath those teaming masses a material record of the event accumulates... first bits of souvenir hats and horns join the normal day-to-day litter of times square. As the night goes on, food wrappings and water bottles full of alcohol-induced urine join the mess... a testament to the biological rigors of celebration without restrooms. Finally, it is all topped by a sprinkling of confetti, marking the conclusion of the event, and forming the most visible debris as the horde of revelers begins making its way back to the subway station.

The event was spectacular, though it was clear that the festivities were organized for the viewers at home, and not for the bajillion people waiting patiently for the (actually quite small) ball to drop. The main stage was behind you (if you were facing the ball), and the screens only selectively showed you what was going on. I was struck by the blaring performance (or, unfortunately, advertising) opportunity that was being missed. Imagine, all those screens projecting portions of a larger art piece. Or, more likely, portions of one huge, mind-boggling advertisement. The first suggestion would have been preferable, but even the latter would have been better than a night of the same 3 commercials looping over and over. Too bad; they had quite captive audience.

On the subway back to my apartment, a woman inquired about our funny hats and balloons. She was shocked that I actually lived in New York. "Don't you know that your broke the first rule of being a New Yorker! Only tourists go to Times Square..." Ah well... don't tell anyone.

tourism

I haven't lived in New York very long. I still have trouble finding everything I need at the store, haven't quite mastered the art of buying just enough groceries to get by, and when it comes to navigating the non-gridded urban labyrinths outside of downtown Manhattan, well, forget about it. I have been here long enough to have out-of-town guests, and I think that simple fact is starting to transform the towering buildings and yellow-traffic-chocked streets into something familiar.

Until I had guests, the hustle and bustle of graduate life kept me hopping around the city, never familiarizing myself with what made New York New York. But as friends and family began visiting, I became a tour guide. And in becoming this de factor teacher, I became a student of the big apple as well. I had to describe what made this street special or that monument interesting, tempering my own impressions with those from my guest. I suppose I became a tourist of sorts, but not just any tourist. Someone much wiser than me said that teaching makes you a better student. So there it is. Sweet.

new years resolution

Here we go again, a second shot.

I started this thing back in July to bring you guys thoughts on whatever was on my mind at the time. Unfortunately, things like moving to a new city, starting graduate school, and beginning research took me away from that most noble endeavor before I ever really got rolling.

Luckily, I'm not easily beaten back. It's another year, and I think it's gonna be a good one. I've found my legs, and I'm ready to hit the ground running. My candidate is doing well in the primaries, research is moving right along, and more so that ever my new city feels like home. So welcome back, readers, for a second iteration of my blog. See you guys shortly....

-Adam