Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

I was warned before arriving in turkey to dress very conservatively, to be careful of what I said, who I talked to, and where I went so much to the point where I started to feel a little nervous, but after being there I quickly realized that I was worrying too much. In fact I felt completely comfortable there. while yes there were some pretty pushy men, and shop keepers, and it was defiantly more than a good idea to have one of the boys with you if you went out at night, turkey was like any other place where there are always good things as well as bad.

We started off in Kusadesi where we stayed for two nights and while we were there went on a guided tour of the temple of Artemis and the ancient city of Ephasus. There wasn’t much left at the temple of Artemis but just being in the place where such a magnificent temple used to be was amazing. Ephasus was the exact opposite of the temple of Artemis. A good portion of the city is still being excavated but you would never be able to tell from the fact that it took us around two hours to get a brief tour of the place and explore what was left of the ancient library tunnels leading to secret brothels, and ancient toilets.

That night karaoke was the name of the game, “Fergalicious”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, "Total Eclipse of the heart" and having “Friends in Low Places” provided a lot of fun for everyone before heading off to Istanbul where despite the torrential down pour of rain we were able to see the blue mosque, the Hagia Sofia, and Topkapi Palace. After the palace a group of us decided to get dinner at a traditional Turkish restaurant where they sat you down on pillows placed on the floor, played live music and a woman made the bread you ate right in front you. The food was delicious, the band taught me how to belly dance and even though no one else from our group would dance with me I seemed to be pretty good judging from the applause I got from the restaurant.


On our last day in turkey a group of us decided to go off on our own and see what it would be like to be bathed by someone. That is… we went to a Turkish bath, which was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had.

So if you ever get the chance to be put into a cocoon of bubbles and soap then be scrubbed thoroughly by an old Turkish woman I recommend you be the fist in line.
1. I have never felt so clean in my life
2. There is no two I will never be that clean or relaxed again in my life.


One of the boys in the group once told me that he wanted to find the place that he loved most and go back there someday, I feel like Turkey might be that place for me. Like I said there are ups and downs to any place, and for me I enjoyed it way more than I can describe despite the pushy shop keepers, and men.

Adventures of Turkey

We just arrived back in Athens from Turkey yesterday and it was one of the most memorable trips we have been on so far. We started our trip in Turkey where we traveled to see Ephesus on Friday. We spent the entire day going to both locations of Ephesus. (The first location was not as interesting as the second because pretty much everything there was ruined except for one pole in the middle of the field. The second location of Ephesus was filled with tons of ancient ruins to look at. They had the ancient bathrooms, the amphitheater, a money room where people would toss in offerings and on the outside of the building a carving of Medusa was over the doorway. We also saw a brothel building which had tunnels that led to the library so that the men could tell their wives they were going to the library, but really go to the brothel through the tunnels so their wives would never know! The library was the most breathtaking of all of the ruins we saw at Ephesus. It stood two stories high and was filled with incredible detail in the stone carvings of the entrance ways.

We also went to a potter place where we met the "master potter" and he showed us the older techniques of making pottery. Afterwords we went inside and saw how all of the artists made the designs on the pottery as well. All of their pieces were absolutely beautiful. The Turkish Indigo was my favorite of the colors they used on their pottery.

When we made it to Istanbul my favorite part of being there was the Turkish Baths. Once you get past the awkwardness of being naked in front of many women (and by naked I mean topless because you had the option of wearing bathing suit bottoms or not) it was quite relaxing. You lay down on a large heated marble slab while water from the ceiling drips down on you until you get hot. When you get hot you are able to get up and grab a bowl, fill it with water, and poor it over yourself to cool down a bit. Then the Turkish women call you over and make you lay at the end of the Marble slab on your stomach. They scrub you down with exfoliates and then flip you over and do the front side of your body. Then they pour water over you to rinse off all of the dead skin. After that you lay back down and the women take a pillow case drenched in water and soap, fill it up with air, and as they squeeze the air out of the pillow case tons of bubbles and soap come out and cover your body. The women then rub in all of the soap, scrubbing you down on both sides, and then rinse you off. After all of that they then bring you over to the fountain where they wash your hair and rinse you off for the last time. Then they bring you back to the hot marble slab where you can lay down for as long as you would like. It was the most relaxing thing I have ever done and beats a trip to a spa in America any day!

Turkey has been my favorite place I have been to yet and I would go back there in a heart beat!

Turkeeyy gobble gobble

Turkey was amazing! I definitely will go back sometime!

We were warned before going, and told to be fully dressed. Many girls have had problems with store owners trying to trick them in their back room, etc. The guys are definitely creepy, always trying to convince you to buy something, or using cheezy pickup lines. But, if you just pretend you're deaf and mute, it is an easy thing to get used to.

We had a grand old time.

We took a plane to our 7th Greek Island Samos, and then took a ferry into the Asian part of Turkey. We spent 2 nights there, in a hotel with a view overlooking the ocean. Swweeet!

They use the lira there, which is worth 1/2 the euro. So if something costs 30 lira, its only 15 euro! Cool right! They even accept half euro cash and half lira! Except we have been noticing on our online banks that they charge more to withdraw money, those darn Turks!

There were markets there and we thought that everything would be cheaper once we get outside of the tourist port, so we should have bought more than what we did. I did get a cool skirt with 10 euro's off, bargain! We looked at quite a few ruins crazy there too that I’m sure everyone else will blog extensively about.

From there we took a bus to Izmir, which used to be called Smyrna. We read a book about it for class, and in 1922 the Turks took over and massacred all of the Greeks and Armenians living there. The Turks refer to it as the Conquering of Smyrna! CRAZY!

There is the biggest market in the world there! But the tour guide brought us through a corner of it, twisting and turning, and it took around 35 minutes! To get through a corner!

Then we went to Istanbul. Massive beautiful mosques, sweet grand bazaar, and…

WONDERFUL TURKISH BATHS!
I am soooo clean!

Definitely recommended to all… although prepare for the workers to be pretty naked. Big breasts, bouncing everywhere, eeek!

Perfect

Today we went to the Acropolis for the first time since we have lived here in Greece in our Athens Around the Ages class. I thought I was mentally prepared for what I was about to see once I climbed to the top since I had gazed upon it from the streets in passing, or from the rooftop of our apartment. I have seen thousands upon thousands of pictures of the Parthenon either online or in my textbooks throughout my high school and college career. How wrong I was. When we finally got to the top I was looking down for most of the time to be sure I didn't trip over any protruding rocks from the ground or slip and fall on the smoother rocks we were walking on. I heard our Professor start to go into the explanation of the Parthenon and then I looked up. It was absolutely incredible, intimidating, and breath-taking. I stood there staring for a good ten minutes not once taking my eyes off of it and suddenly I realized that my eyes were beginning to tear up a bit. I couldn't believe I was staring at this masterpiece that has been standing over all of Athens for thousands of years. I had flashbacks to when I was in my World Civilizations class in my sophomore year of high school where I looked at tiny pictures with captions underneath it and I thought that was enough. The pictures will never do the Parthenon justice. It towers over you in a way that you want to enter it and see whats inside but you are almost to nervous. The history that took place there just boggles my mind. Not once in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be standing in front of the Parthenon and there I was. Tears welled up and I was nothing but thankful that I was here, and that I was able to experience something so incredible.

Our professor asked us in her lecture what it was that we first thought of when we looked at the Parthenon. So many words came into my mind but none would give it justice. Suddenly a girl next to me blurted out "perfect." It seemed so simple of a word to use for such a complex architectural masterpiece, and yet it described every aspect of the Parthenon to a 't.' Our professor agreed with what she had said describing how the architects knew exactly what they were doing and knew exactly what tools to use and mathematical equations to give the Parthenon the illusion of perfection.

Although we didn't go to see the Acropolis until a month and a half into our stay here, it made the experience that much better because the anticipation mixed with all that we had learned about it in our classes made it much more fascinating and easier to truly understand and respect the significance of the ancient ruins and the culture of Greece today.For any person given the opportunity to travel or study abroad I strongly suggest coming to Greece and seeing the Parthenon because it will change your life.

Rain!

Today we had our 20th Century final! Two finals down! Yay! Last night was a rather entertaining night, full of facebook creeping, gossiping about boys, and of course studying, at the Sina Street Apartment. Hopefully all of our hard work will pay off when Professor Marra grades our tests (hint, hint).

Tomorrow is Wednesday. Wednesdays in Greece have a very special meaning to us. I will forever remember the only time in my life that my teacher pays me when I arrive in class. Payday is wonderful! Afterwards there’s usually a trip to the market, and at night we all feast on our hearts delight.

The most interesting thing that happened to me this week was the rain on Sunday. Leanne and I were out for a stroll, and decided to try a delicious baked potato mixture with cheese sauce and tomatoes at a random restaurant. We had just completed our meal when it began to sprinkle. Then it began to rain hard. Then it went to a full out down pour. It was absolutely hilarious. The Greeks do not know what to do in the rain. They all huddled under the massive tarp/canopy covering the tables. Slowly the tarp began to fill up with massive pools of water, which began to drip! It was a great sight watching the waiters stand on chairs with broomsticks trying to push the water off the tarps. After about 45 minutes of watching this spectacle we decided that we were just going to pay and leave. So we paid, rolled up our pants, took of our flip flops, and to the amazement of all of the restaurant’s guests, ran into the rain! The looks on their faces, it was as though they were expecting for us to drown. We ran through the streets, laughing at all of the people huddled under any cover available. The streets in the markets were flooded, rivers of water were flowing down the streets; it was extremely entertaining. As we got closer to our apartment we were soaked entirely. Then, random street salesmen tried to convince us to buy umbrellas, we were already soaked! Why would we want an umbrella now?!? Those crazy Greeks! hahaha

20/10/08

This is close to the half way point of the trip. We still have a lot of places to go before we leave though. The weekend coming up we are going to Turkey to visit Izmir (Smyrna) and Istanbul (Constantinople) which I am excited for because we have been learning about Turkey and Greece’s histories together and it will be interesting to see the places that are still argued about as “should have been part of Greece.” There is also a lot more of Greece to see before we leave which I am excited for because it will take us out of the city.
Ry and I have finished up our own plans for Thanksgiving break in which we will be visiting seven different cities. We start of flying to Berlin a few hours after class gets out on Thursday the 20th and stay there until the 22nd. Then we fly to Budapest and stay there until the 23rd. After Budapest we fly to Paris and stay there until the 26th. We fly into Cologne, Germany on the 26th for a show by one of my favorite bands, Gogol Bordello, which should be an awesome time. Then on the 27th we fly to Prague for a night. On the 28th we fly out to Amsterdam for the rest of our trip into December 1st. It all sounds like a lot and I know we will probably be wiped out after it but I think it will be worth it. We also do not plan on sleeping that much, except on the planes, and having a lot of caffeine. We plan on seeing as many sites as we can. I even got a nice new 75 liter backpack that I can use as a carry on for the planes so that I do not have to check my any bags. Everything that we have left to do on this trip is exciting and I cannot wait for any of it.

Hello. My name is Myste and I have an addiction (step one...admitting you have a problem). Only after recent comments received from my comrades in the Study Abroad Army, however, have I acknowledged the full scope of my issue.

Now, before Patty and Dennis - aka Mom and Papa- pick up the phone to schedule me for an episode of Intervention in which I can be seen throwing Ramen noodles at my sister while she attempts to convince me that crack is indeed “wack”, please allow me to explain myself.

Most mornings as I mosey my way to our 10:30 am class a couple of blocks away at HAU, I am in possession of several things that have morphed into additional appendages on my body. First, in an attempt to shield my bleary, tired eyes from the taunting and sickeningly cheery rays of morning sunshine, I place my bright green Kanye-esque sunglasses on my face. These are accompanied by my headphones which I use to universally block out the world and escape to a place full of melodic and soothing musical bliss. A morning cigarette is a must, of course. Which leads us to the drug in my life more potent than nicotine or Stavros’ house wine. Caffeine. The morning stop to Kono-man for a double espresso aside, most days I clutch onto a can of Diet Coke as though I opened a Wonka Bar to peek at that shiny gold wrapper that will lead me to my sweet candy dreams come true.

Let me intercede here to correct myself. Diet Coke does not exist in Greece. Instead those glimmering delightful silver cans are labeled as Coca-Cola Light. The taste remains as quenching and refreshing as ever, yet the name now resonates a comforting and some what more sophisticated edge.

All this being said, it has now become my mission to find the cheapest can of Cola Light in Athens. The introduction of the kiosk into my life has propelled this mission into the “shock and awe” stages. Kiosks here in Athens are similar to Dunkin Donuts in New England. You honestly cannot finish your delicious Cola Light that was purchased at one kiosk before you run into another. Now every time a kiosk is passed, I glance into the cooler with the familiar red advertising to check prices even if my Cola fix has just been satisfied.

Different neighborhoods boast better prices than others. Forget about finding anything under 80 Euro cents in Monistraki or Kolanaki. Omonia not only is home to some of the most interesting derelicts in Athens but also to some of the cheapest Cola Light. It was not until last week, however that I hit the big time in the Cola Light department, and this religious realization did not even occur at a kiosk. I saw the bright lights of a 53 Euro cent can of Cola-light at our local grocery store. My hands immediately thrust into the cooler and grabbed as many as could be crammed into my purse. I joyfully skipped back to Sina St., feeling a completion in my life that was represented by several 330 ml cans of cold, dark, bubbly happiness. Life is good.

Ok. So maybe Patty should call Intervention…..

Guns, Dogs, and Beggars: A Stroll through Athens

            Lately we have been in the city and haven’t ventured on any excursions.  This has allowed me to once again get settled into a routine here in Athens bustle through the city a lot more.  I am again noticing many of the things that astounded me during my first few days in the city, and am noticing that I have a completely different perspective on them now.

            My first day in Athens, as we all lugged our luggage to our apartment, I embarked upon my first venture through the city’s streets.  I found myself, on this first walk, very frightened of the large, uniformed, Greek men with automatic weapons slung carelessly over their shoulders.  This is very common, and it is virtually impossible to walk from one place to another in Athens without spotting a man with a gun.  Though this was a very shocking thing for me to take in, it is much to my surprise that I don’t even really think about it anymore.  I have walked around enough and adjusted well enough that I simply smile and walk by the large armed men.

            As if the sight of these guns wasn’t enough this walk was host to another frightening Greek normality.  With the exception of the taxi driver from the airport my first Greek welcome to the city came from a pack of stray dogs, that I have now learned are the “sort of “ pets of the city.  As we all walked don the street with our bags a pack of dogs began to run at us barking.  If this happens in the U.S. one would get the feeling that they were about to be bitten, so it is apparent why I found this so frightening.  The dogs just barked at us as we continued walking and none of the other pedestrians even seemed to notice what was happening.  That is because this is a very normal occurrence in Athens, which is home to thousands of stray dogs and cats. 

            At first I was turned off by the idea of strays everywhere, but a rainy day (only the second we’ve had since we’ve been in Athens) today made me realize how much Athens’ pets have actually grown on me.  I sat and stared out the window wondering where the dogs were going to stay warm and dry.  This made me realize how the Athenians are ok with the large stray population.  The dogs find a warm spot inside of people and become a pleasure to pat on the street corned or feed at an outdoor taverna.

            Beggars, I did not run into until a few days into our abroad adventure.  They are one of the few things in the city that I still haven’t been able to get used to.  Every time I stumble onto a beggar sitting with his/her cup out, and often times empty, I think back to a question that arose in class early in the semester: What makes these people get up every morning and go back to their spot on the sidewalk?  It seems almost useless to the passerby who, when looking in the cup, sees a minimal amount of change at best.  I simply can’t shake the ill feeling I get when I think about a day in the shoes of one of these beggars.

            Reflecting on all of this, I am realizing that this city is becoming comfortable to me.  I don’t feel quite so foreign anymore, and the clarity of what was originally very scary and new to me has allowed me to get at a deeper level of my submersion into the semester abroad. 

 

A pretty quiet week

This week has been kind of slow and not much has been happening. Ioanna is travelling around Greece with students from Italy so we have not gone to any new museums. We had our final for Mythology so studying for that has taken up a chunk of time. Last weekend I went shopping in Monastiraki with Jill which was fun. I was especially happy that I was able to finish all of my Christmas shopping for my family when I went.
I think the biggest thing that happened this week was when Kaitlyn told us that she was flying home because she needed to be with her family. I miss her a lot because she was my roommate so my room feels really empty and quiet without her here. I have a really big bed now though which is nice. We have had several house meetings since she left to make sure that there is no break down of law and order in the house now that there is no enforcer to make sure that things get done.
Absentee ballots are starting to come in which is a really good thing. Everyone seems really excited when they get theirs in the mail. The people here in Greece really love Barack Obama and have strong words of criticism for President Bush. It is great to talk to the Greeks about American politics because most of them know more about American politics than most Americans do.

REM and the Cyclades Museum

Normally I do not like MTV but this past weekend they out did themselves with a free concert in the old Olympic stadium so they could launch MTV Gr which is the new MTV for Greece. The shows were all really awesome. There were four acts from around the world: the first act was Greek, the second was Australian, the was British, the last was REM, who are Americans. The beset act by far was probably the third one which was the Kaiser Chiefs and they were really intense. I watched the concert from the front row and he was climbing the stage scaffolding right in front of me.
REM was really great too. They did not play for as long as I expected that they would but it was still a good show. The worst part of the show was the vjays from the different European MTV stations be cause they were terrible at doing interviews so they were just kind of there. It was really cool to think that we were on live television in something like five countries all over Europe though.
The week was pretty dead after the excitement of the weekend. The most interesting thing that we did was go to the Cyclades Museum with Ioanna. We went to see an exhibit called “A Day in the Life of Athens” and it had a collection that was different from the other collections that we had seen before. It was really interesting and the movies that the museum had the reenacted scenes from daily life were interesting to because it was like watching history come to life in front of you.