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...
Friday, June 13, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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.
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.
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