Kusadasi Kudos

When you had it and then lost it you miss it because it’s convenient. We are dependent on the wonders of modern technology. Yes, Wi-Fi does not exist in Topaz Village No. 4. No signals here. (Luther said, “You are definitely not receiving any signals.” I thought that was an odd comment.) That means a walk to the beach for a Wi-Fi cafe. But when you get there’s distractions galore. Store owners love cruise ships as about four or five come to port every day. It seems that people spend so much on their cruises that the tourists cannot afford clothing. Beach goers wear only scraps of cloth. (Luther said, “Those are called bathing suits.” I replied...I forgot as I was having trouble paying attention to the conversation. Luther commented, "They don't have enough fur and their arms are too short for their torso. How would they ever swing?")

Store owners stand outside of their shops and cafés wanting you to just take a look. They’ll shove business cards in your hands and say "free Wi-Fi. Not only is that good business practice it also shows how the numbers are down. Cafés and many rentable flats and apartments sit empty until a little nightlife. The caretaker, Ebrehim, his two dogs, a couple skinny cats are the only ones in our complex. That means the pool is ours!

A bit of recent Turkish political history (Skip if you don’t like history to “Driving is a video game.”): In 1923 Turkey changed from an Islamic state to a form of secular democracy and became a member of NATO in 1954. They’ve helped the US in conflicts with troops since the Korean War. Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, trying to take it from Greece. The result left Cyprus partitioned into Turkish and Greece sides. Later Kurdish peoples raised their voice for some form of statehood and the uprising slid into armed conflict. When the Kurdish leader of their Worker’s Party, Abdullah Ocalan was captured in 1999, things settled down. A store owner and many others we ran into were Kurdish. (I told the Kurds thanks for inventing cheese. I asked how they got it to curd so well. Luther slapped the back of my head with his pillow-like hand.)

The Sunset Café owner/worker said, “We love Americans because we are the only country in the world that supports us.” (Luther told me later he stopped himself from saying, “Most Americans love Turkey too especially with mashed potatoes and gravy.”)

When their inflation rate hit 100% in 2005 their banking system collapsed. The “AK’s” commitment to becoming a part of the European Union is a popular idea, however, the prime minister also wants more Islamic values incorporated into law. This has sparked the recent conflict in Taksim square which then spread to most major cities.

With the rule of law the prime minister vowed to take down the trees and build a mall. He said his patience will wear out. It’s already violent in Izmir (Where our airport is located) not far from Kusadasi (Luther noticed there’s a thingy sticking out of the bottom of some “S’s” and some “C’s.” The first “s” in Kusadasi has that thingy, making it a “sh” sound. The thingy stuck to a “c” makes a “ch” sound.) An Islamic leaning political party named “Justice and Development” a. k. “AK.” gained 2/3rds majority. They promised and accomplished new policies that brought down inflation to single digits. (Luther believes conflict is brewing and keeps asking when we are going to join. I told him, “We are on nobody’s side because nobody is on our backs except for one irritating monkey.” He left our party in a huff to wander around on his own.)

Driving is a Video Game because of all the twists and turns and near misses. This isn’t a place for, “Driving Miss Daisy.” Lanes don’t seem to matter nor do directions. Motorcycles and cars come at you in their lane as well toward you on your shoulder. (Luther often complains about getting a turn at this “video game” named, “Driving near-miss-crazy.” I keep thinking we aren’t in Nebraska anymore. Our rental diesel Volkswagen van with manual transmission takes a bit of practice especially on all the hills and mountains when the locals are so close you can see the variety of bug juices on their vehicle’s brand emblem. Things really are closer even when you look. Sometimes I look in the rear view mirror and want to rub their emblem clean with my elbow but I usually gun it and pop the clutch. (Luther volunteered to lick them clean. I think he’s hungry for protein.)

You got to love the speedometer in kph rather than mph. It makes you think you are going very fast. The highest number I’ve seen on the signs with a red circle around a number is 90. (Luther is certain it’s the minimum limit) So not knowing what it means in mph we target 120 on the open road just to be unsafe. So far we managed to keep it down to one scratch and a dent. (We bought the insurance.)

People squeeze through the tightest places. (Luther fights over the wheel and keeps howling, “Faster, faster!”) The other adults grab whatever they can find with wide eyes. They offer helpful comments about two turns later after their breath returns. We are very happy to have a phone with GPS.

The toll roads have two kinds of automatic pay lanes. The first try at the right lane started some siren and flashing yellow lights. (Luther said, “Gun it!” Like a slingshot we went faster.) On the second toll road we tried the other orange signed lanes and received a green light as we passed. We took that as a hopeful sign. (Luther keeps mumbling something about extradition laws and how much automated violation tickets costs. I don’t know what he’s talking about. He said “You’ll find out when they check your passport as you try to leave the country.” I said, “Whatever.”)