To Taksim Square in Istanbul

On our way to Taksim Square.  This is a main shopping area with shops of all kinds flanking both sides of a paved street about 25 feet wide.  Progressively more crowed the closer we came.  Cindy was hard pressed not to stop and sample each delicacy along the way.  We have decided that each country we visit must include a thorough investigation of the traditional desserts otherwise we are not doing our duty.   

 

Here is the front line of a group of protester's marching up to Taksim Square.  We were early in the evening on Saturday, June 6th before any of the stronger protests took place and the day before the planned demonstration event.  

 

Hierapolis & clothing thoughts

Yesterday we went to Hierapolis to visit the ruins and to see the white travertine terraces at Pamukkale. Unfortunately, do to its popularity as a tourist destination these spectacular limestone deposits are suffering damage.  So instead of a bright white color there are spots of red/orange and black/green.  An area is still open to tourist to walk and bath while a portion is for viewing only. 

Stunning!  Breathtaking.  So glad we made the 3 hour drive from our lodging. 

After our stay in Istanbul, where we tried to be cognizant of the local traditions, choosing to wear, long shorts or pants, tea shirts instead of spaghetti straps, and the girls put away the short shorts.  Around us occasionally we saw burka.  Now we are in Kusadasi where tourists dominate.  At Hierapolis where bathing is a prime consideration we saw many "speedo's" and bikini's all of which also meant very red and tanned skin.  There is a freedom here, no worries about your current state of physique!  All are comfortable regardless of size. 

So why do the "white's" wish to be brown and the "brown's" cover up their glorious dark skin?  All this begs one to wonder, what do the clothing signify?  Throughout time, people have always attached a meaning to clothing.  What value or meaning does it have?  What does it say to the wearer or the observer?  There is certainly a purpose to clothing I am noticing especially here in the hot sun!  We avoided sun burns for the most part, but I haven't been this tan since high school! Staying cool and covered is the trick!


Having trouble with the internet, so will download photos later. 

“Do you know why they call it the Blue Mosque,” a friendly local asked, letting us know we’d better see it today because it would be closed in the next three days for a religious festival. Practicing his English he became our “friend” hoping we would visit his family’s shops (which we did and it was fun—introduced to curious little glass cups for tea and apple cider.) It’s the second largest Mosque in Turkey and third largest next to Mecca. At the time it was built it was controversial because it had more spires than Mecca. From a distance on the base of two of the six spires roofs was adorned with blue paint but that’s not it either. The courtyard where some five to six thousand will gather for special events didn’t have any sign of blue. It was pretty much all marble stone and concrete. Our “friend” took us past the long line where the hundreds of people from the cruise ships would wait to get inside. We had to remove our shoes and put them in little plastic bags to carry inside under the dome. For those women who didn’t have a head covering, a blue cloth was given at the doorway. But that’s not the reason. Inside the red carpet has a special pattern for where one places their feet, hands and face for prayer. The four columns of stone were as wide as red woods. Eyes drawn upward, you could see the reason. I thought it was due to the blue in the stain glass windows or how blue people felt when loved ones died. But no, seven thousand soldiers worked day and night shifts in the 1609 to 1616 building from the ground up at the height of handmade ceramics. Over 20,000 handmade tiles in ancient Nicaea displayed different designs. The blues on white tiles closest to the bottom were flamboyant flowers, fruit and cypresses. But as the sultans decreed an ever higher price for their tiles they became cheaper with tulip designs. I couldn’t help but to think in my bare feet that we were all with Al Dubin, “Tip Toeing Through the Tulips.” The area around the equivalent to a pulpit was sectioned off for the local Muslim members to pray facing Mecca. Shops line in the buildings where the horses were once kept. Not much different as the horse left overs are now replaced with tourist stuff. As the sultans learned a lesson about economics. We learned about the prices of handmade silk carpet. Each carpet takes about six months or more to make, tying one thread at a time.

 

 

 

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.”)