Books

After a few years of thesis research and writing we have finally found the time to read novels. So far on the trip we have really enjoyed:

Amin Malouf, Leo the African, a great novel about the Arab and Muslim world between the time of the fall of Granada to the Ottoman expansion. We also read and enjoyed Samarkand by the same author (this one is about Persia at the time of the Seljuk and Mongol empıres). The writer has an impressive understanding of Middle East history.

Yashar Kemel, Memed My Hawk, an exciting novel about peasant revolts at the time of the transitıon to agrarian capıtalısm in southern Turkey. The author does a great job of taking up the issue of polıtıcal leadershıp through the actıvities of the main character, Memed.

Goats

Today we went kayaking to see an old Lycian city that slid into the sea during an earthquake. I ended up taking only a few pictures, and somehow they were all of goats. Here some goats pose with the kayaks, before making a beeline for our backpack to investigate a bag of pretzels.

Tomorrow we take an overnight bus to central Turkey.

Adventures with Baris the Fine

Last week we hung out with my friend Baris from Toronto, originally from Istanbul. We went to Ephesus, the best preserved and one of the most important ancient Roman cities. Then we became beach bums at Akyaka, a chill beach town on the southern coast known for its Ottoman architecture. We had a good time swimming, so we decıded to go to the infamous Bodrum peninsula, which attracts about a million European tourists a summer, and stayed at another friends beach house. Baris played a lot of Civ 4 on his laptop when we werent at the beach. I gave him bad advice to attack the Germans and, after losing the battled his ranking dropped to Baris the Fine. As a host and a guide, though, he was Baris the Great!

Baris the Fine.


The famous library facade in Ephesus.


When in Ephesus, drink Efes beer.



Bodrum Sumer House Pool Jumping Contest between Jerome and Baris.

Ode to Turkish buses

We had to mention the bus services at least once. At Istanbul alone there are 150 bus companies all leaving from the station, going everywhere and anywhere. On most buses, there is a complementary tea and coffee service, and snacks!

The roads are a different story... although they are well-maintained (at least in western Turkey where we've been), there are a distinct lack of guard-rails and hard shoulders present at the many sharp corners with 300 foot drops onto rocks and the sea.

Kabak

Hey everyone. We spent the last few days hanging out in Kabak, a really neat and unspoilt spot (a bit rare) on the southern coast. We stayed in tree houses nestled between three big mountains surrounding an emerald green beach. Very few people, lile maybe 50 in the whole area. I read and finished the new Harry Potter. We swam a lot. In the evenings we stretched out on cushıoned platforms, drank tea, and watched the moon. We met some friendly Turkish lefties, hippies and yoga types and managed to survive the knuckle-whitening bus trip along the mountain coast to the site. Kabak was great and we highly recommend it. Sorry for the non-rotated pics but I cant figure out this computer.

The tree houses.


One of the platforms.

Bergama

We spent on night in a city called Bergama, and visited the Acropolis on top of a huge hill. Most of the good stuff now sits in a museum in Berlin.

Assos

After Bozcaada, we headed off for two nights in a pretty village beside some ruins. Aristotle lived here for a few years.

Jerome as a column.

Lost

Today: in a seaside place called Kas, on the Mediterranean. It is hot here, as it has been for days and days. Can't wait for Syria...

Today we lost both our Lonely Planet (left on a bus) and my sunglasses (left on a beach). This success has only been approximated by our departure from Tuscany, where two pairs of underwear and my only long-sleeved shirt (never worn) were sent out to be washed with the sheets.

On the Med

We're back. Sorry for disappointing our legions of loyal fans (Mum + Dad + Dawn... ?) but we've been sans internet for the last 2 whole weeks as we made our way down the coast of Turkey. No, this isn't the last place on Earth to get internet cafes, we just were staying in a few small places and also at a friend of a friend's summer house, with no internet. Here are a few updates of the places we've been.

stay tuned

we have seen a lot of hot styles in different cities and have been noting them down to share on this blog. stay tuned. the next post i promise.

Bozcaada

We're on a small Turkish island (pop 2500) called Bozcaada in the Aegean. Most tourists here are Turkish. Spent the last 2 days at the beach and we leave tomorrow. I haven't been in the Sun so much since I became a school nerd, circa 1988. Now I have what even might be considered a tan, well... in Ireland perhaps.

(Pleasantly) stuck in Istanbul

Due to our lack of planning and full buses and hotels, we are in Istanbul for 2 extra nights. We leave tomorrow. Here are some of our latest shots.


A visit to the big Ottoman Palace: home to the Sultan for centuries.

A popular activity is fishing off the Galata Bridge.

We took a boat up the Bosphorus yesterday as far as the Black Sea (the Ukraine is somewhere back there).

A little piece of Jerome's home town (Altona) in the form of an Istanbul doner stand.

Our nice little hotel

We're staying in a nice hotel in Istanbul, the Sultan's Inn, with great views. Here's the Blue Mosque from our breakfast terrace.












And here is the view the other direction.... out to the sea.












And our bed with a canopy!

Turkey

We are liking Istanbul very much. Our hotel is fantastic, and so are the sites in the city. There is a fantastic night life here: everyone goes out on the town after work in the evening. The parks are jammed pack with families and teenagers hanging out and eating street food. There are some incredible pedestrian-only streets with tonnes of shopping and restaurants. The food is very good, and our friend Baris from Toronto has been a great tour guide. We will be sad to leave here on Friday, but the beaches and mountains of the Medeterrannean are calling! First stop will be a Turkish island just down the coast from Istanbul.

Having just complained about digital camera tourism...Here we are!

In Naples, Italy, with Mt. Vesuvius in background.



Jerome at the Marx and Engels monument in Berlin. The whole monument is very interesting, but can't fit into a single shot.


Holocaust Memorial, Berlin. You get lost in the aisles between the stacks of concrete coffins.


The Rosa Luxemburg memorial in Berlin, under the bridge where she was murdered. Monthly Review Press has a new collection of her writings that I highly recommend. If the German revolution had succeeded after WW1, maybe fascism and Nazism would not have emerged and (probably) neither would have Stalinism in Russia.



Our hotel/villa in Tuscany. An old convent cum winery cum tobacco farm cum villa. Very nice for chilling in the Tuscan countryside.

Photo issue

We have really slowed down the picture taking, because of all the annoying habits of digital camera tourists. At almost every site we have visited there have been thousands of tourists and tourist groups rushing through the sites, blindly taking photos without stopping to think about or experience the object being photographed. Rome was the worst for this, especially at all the Catholic sites. The situation is more chill in Istanbul, but the digital camera tourists are still here, flashing away, creating a spectacle of a spectacle.

Clothing Fatigue

I've been wearing the same three T-shirts for four weeks and it's finally starting to get to me. We'd better go shopping soon, and not just for tea sets and backgammon boards!

Various Pics

The Blue Mosque, Istanbul


Jerome's Birthday Supper in Istanbul -- great fish and seafood at Cinaralti!


Cooking class in Tuscany!


Duomo, Milan (had to take this shot angle to avoid scaffolding).



Best pizza in the world, with Rick the laser physicist in Napoli, Italy.

We are in Istanbul, having a very good time. We have a great hotel, wıth a roof-top terrace wıth views of the Blue Mosque and sea. The breakfast is fantastic, a buffet of olives, cheeses, yoghurts, Turkish breads, watermelon, fresh cherry jam, eggs and other great things for which we do not have names. Last night we walked around the parks and squares near the hotel and today we went to the gigantic Old Bazaar in which you can buy just about anything. We wıll try to post more pictures from Tuscany and Turkey in a few days. Tonight is my 30th birthday so we are going to a restaurant recommended by our friend Baris, who arrives tomorrow.

Off to Turkey

On Thursday we wrap up our time in Italy with a quick visit to Florence and Milan before catching a flight to Istanbul. We spent the last four days in Tuscany, biking around, reading, visiting medieval towns, and enjoying the wine and food. Earlier we were in Naples, eating the best pizza on the planet and trying to avoid being killed by the crazy couples on scooters on the sidewalks. More updates and a few pics when we get to Turkey and find an internet cafe.