International Night

Except for in the smallest of American cities, towns, and hollers is it probable that one can venture very far without hearing a language other than other English. Yet, even these smaller areas seem unable to exist without a minimum of pair El ____'s and La ___'s, a Beijing Buffet, and a nice helping of Indian-owned gas stations and Subways (stereotypical, I know). So, at the very least, contact with Spanish, Mandarin, or one of the many languages of India is not even far-fetched for those who don't live in larger, more international cities. Living in Memphis brought me into contact with many more speakers of a variety of languages, especially at the university. And, while I've been in Europe, it is has become a daily occurrence to hear speakers switch from one language to another in the same breath. However used to this I've become, I still find it extremely fascinating. Last night was something special though, even for me. Generally when I hear several languages spoken at once, it is by individuals from various countries who are grouped together. But, dinner with a Belgian family presents one with the same experience, without needing to travel throughout Europe to find those different languages. The family with whom I'm now living is Belgian, and last night the parents of Sarah (the mother here) came to visit. Officially, there are three languages in Belgium: French, Dutch, and German. Not all citizens speak all three languages, but French and Dutch are spoken by many. At home this family speaks French, though English with me. The parents that came to visit, while able to speak French, normally speak Dutch. Therefore, the medium for much of the conversation between Sarah and her parents last night was Dutch, while the children were addressed in French, I in English, and periodically a pinch of German was tossed in for flavor. I have a better time understanding Dutch than French, but even then, I can catch only words and small phrases. For this family it was absolutely normal behaviour, and though I've been with groups of people where everyone speaks a different language, sitting and eating with six members of one family and hearing four languages before finishing by meal was truly a memorable experience.

Land of the Turks

Although my trip to Turkey was several weeks ago, due to my acute illnesses of laziness and procrastination, I’ve yet to mention one word about it. While perusing through my pictures probably paints a more accurate picture than my words alone ever could, with nothing else to do at the moment, I felt compelled to write something.

Turkey has long since been a destination that I’ve wanted to add to my list of countries visited. Even when I first came to Europe, I wanted to make a short detour to see exactly what it was like. This craving hadn’t subsisted when I arrived in March, despite my dad’s prediction that if I were to travel there, I would be the unfortunate victim of a drug smuggling scheme operated by airport personnel, inevitably finding myself locked away in a bleak Turkish prison. Always up for an adventure, however, my yearning continued. Upon the end of the semester in Mainz, I found myself midway through summer, without the sunshine and weeks of blissful weather that I’d been longing for. Urged by the unrelenting presence of an overcast sky and scattered showers, my mind’s eye put on its sunglasses and dreamt of exotic beach oases. Charlotte, too, wanted to get away from the premature autumn Germany was witnessing. So, the search through internet travel agencies and travel services began. There really was no particular destination in mind. The only requirements were a beach, the prospect of sun, and a place to sleep that wouldn’t burn a whole in our wallets. Greece, Spain, southern France, Tunisia were on every site, yet the prices were just too unreasonable. Finally, after several days of intense, nerve-racking searches through travel databases, it was decided that Turkey was probably the cheapest place to be visited.

While much closer to Europe than the States, the trip to Alanya, Turkey was anything but short. It’s still well over 1,000 miles from Frankfurt. Touching down in Antalya at midnight, following a 3.5 hour flight, we stepped outside into the humid night to find the shuttle to out hotel. Locating a bathroom outside (couldn’t seem to find any in the airport), I passed by a windowed room full of prayer rugs, with a worker from the airport kneeling unaccompanied for his prayers. Then it was off to Alanya, which lay still another 100 miles, or 2 hours east. Finally, we reached our hotel at 2 a.m. and were accompanied to the room by someone from the hotel, who proceeded to demonstrate the obscure art of turning on the television, display how to open the closet doors, and uncover the location of the bathroom. After such loyal service, it would have been insulting not to have given him the tip for which he stood waiting in our room to receive. With no Turkish money, I gave him 2 Euros and forced a smile. Oh, and this is when we discovered that we had a peeing toilet. Sounds confusing, but check out the pictures.

It must be remembered, despite its never-ending desire to join the European Union, that when traveling to Turkey, one is embarking on a world totally different from the West. Considered part of Asia, it is a nation located on the edge of the Middle East. Fun fact: Istanbul, the capital of Turkey, is the only city to be located on two continents- Europe and Asia. Though quite secular when compared with other Muslim nations, one cannot walk through the streets without realizing the obvious difference. That’s not to say one should be afraid because Islam dominates the scene. Rather, the ubiquity of head coverings, mosques, and the prayers broadcasted from loud speakers five times a day is something unique and, far from frightening, very fascinating. It must be said, however, that no matter how splendid the prayers did in fact sound, hearing them howled every morning shortly after 5 a.m. was no treat.

The beaches of Alanya were amazing. Up and down the coast were nothing but stunning rocks and mountains jutting into the sky. The calm waters of the Mediterranean were as warm as a bath and clear enough to see your feet. The sun, whose faced rarely saw the cover of cloud, pounded down relentlessly, but was a welcomed changed from the gray of Germany. Left and right one is beholds old men sporting Speedos, while ladies of all ages (and physical constitutions ;) bear their ladies to the world. Quite opposite to culture of skin were the more devout of the native women, who donned both head and body coverings as they plunged into the ocean.

No matter where one went, it seemed that Russian and German were spoken. Closer to the beach and the tourist area of Alanya, all signs were in at least Russian, German, and English. While English is the international language, the lack of English-speaking tourists in this area makes a knowledge of German or Russian much more valuable. Everywhere, and I mean at every tacky little souvenir shop or beach restaurant, you are attacked by a young Turkish man with shoutings of “Guten Tag”, “bitte schön”, or “Jaghshemash”. If you were brave enough to enter these shops, you would be followed by an employee who makes a comment and gives a price for practically every object that falls into you line of sight. This, perhaps, was the worst part of the whole experience. Eventually, you learn to just ignore their advances or to give them a more forceful NO, but never does the prospect of being followed down the street or through the shops become welcomed.

Now, instead of trying to deliver every nuance and happening of the trip, I will focus shortly on the more interesting occurrences.

Bus ride- anyone who has grown accustomed to the reliability and organization of public transportation in countries like Germany would find the system in Turkey chaotic. Stops are located throughout the city, though barely visible, and come equipped with no time tables or route information. The result being that you never know how long you will have to wait for the next bus or really in which direction you may find yourself going. The second day on the vacation, following the advice of a hotel clerk, we jumped aboard a bus and set off in search of the old town of Alanya, which was supposedly a ten minute ride. About 30 minutes later, when there was only one person remaining on the bus and after realizing that we had been practically the only non-Turkish passengers, the bus driver began asking us in Turkish where we were trying to go. After showing him a map and pointing out our destination, he continued driving and finally dropped us off in what appeared to be a war zone, telling us in his funny tongue where we needed to go. If you ever in Turkey, just jump aboard a bus and ride for a while. It was by far one of the most interesting things of the trip.

Hammam- Finally we broke down and allowed one of the pesky salesmen to tell us about possible excursions and day trips for tourists in the area. One of these was a visit to an authentic Turkish bath. This is a must for anyone wishing to experience something of Turkish culture. For 15 Euros we were picked up from the hotel and taken to a Hammam a few miles away. Our driver, not wanting to be late with his carload of passengers, bypassed a small traffic jam on a back street by whipping his van onto a sidewalk and driving along as if this were the usual method of getting there. Ok, upon arrival, men and women are shortly separated, strip down the bare minimum (not crazy-underwear/Speedo for men, bikini for women). You’re then covered with this little towel and directed to a ridiculously hot sauna for 10 minutes, followed by another 10 minutes in a steam room. If you’re still alive, you jump in a ice-cold Jacuzzi for to relax and recover from the heat. Sounds unpleasant, but it was anything but. Then, you spread out your little Turkish towel and lay down on heated marble slabs, waiting for your exfoliating body scrub. The body scrub is down with a special sponge and solution, after which the uppermost layer of your skin is removed. This was not painful at all, but rather invigorating and relaxing. Following a few splashes of frigid water to clean us off once again, we then went to other heated marble slabs and received foam massages. Finally, we went to receive real massages and one of those hilarious looking facial masks. This was my first experience with a professional massage and, honestly, parts of it were painful. Several small bruises on my back were testament to that. Overall, however, when the big masseuse’s belly wasn’t hitting me in the head, it was well worth the time and money. If you visit Turkey, you have to visit a Turkish bath. It is a unique experience and 15 Euros for 2.5 hours of relaxation, it’s one of the best deals you can find.

Boat tour- Alright, you can do this at most beach destinations. But, again, for 15 Euros, you receive a boat tour of around 7 hours, including food and entertainment. I won’t go on and on about the trip. Suffice it to say that we rode up and down the coast, had several breaks during which we could jump plunge from the boat and swim in the ocean, climbed into a cave and walked without any source of light for 15 minutes, after which jumping off of 30 foot cliff into the waters below, swam to another cave and covered ourselves with mineral-rich mud, and enjoyed the presence of one of the most exceptional persons I’ve ever seen (for more information, please see pictures of the blonde Russian in red G-string below).

Trek in the mountains- during our last day in Alanya, Charlotte and I decided to hike up the tallest mountain on the coast to visit the old ruins of the castle situated at the top. Well, we didn’t really hike, but walked up streets, but easy as this may sound, it took around 2 hours and 1.5 liters of water to reach the top. This probably wasn’t a good time to try out my new sandals, either. But, I digress. Halfway up the mountain, we were greeted by three guys telling us the way, one of which decided to show us personally. He kept trying to rush us up a very rocky, off the road path into the castle, providing us with the dumbest of commentary his broken English could muster. After reaching a certain point about 15 minutes later, pretty much a desolate area, he told us we could keep walking on our own to reach the castle. Then, he began demanding money for his “services”, claiming that he was a tour guide working for the castle and that we now owed him 22 lire (about 15 Euros). I knew he was out to make some money, but thought he’d probably asking for a Euro or two. This was outrageous. After arguing with him for 10 minutes and finally deciphering that he wanted us to pay for his “legitimate” tour, I told him that we had no money and if we did we wouldn’t be paying him. No signs, no uniforms, and a crap tour deserve no money in my book. Frustrated, he made a call to his other “associates” and dropped the price to 20 lire (almost no change whatsoever). More arguing followed during which he told Charlotte and I how troublesome German tourists are (I told him I was German because no one believed I was American). He said Russian tourists are much nicer, but I think that most of the German tourists that he had previously tried to scam called his bluff and refused to hand over money to the little con. Finally, after I told him I’d rather argue with him and his partners rather than being alone in the mountains, he escorted us down the mountain and went back for other “customers,” leaving us on our way to the castle. When we reached the entrance and paid the real fee, we realized that there would have been no way for us to enter from the way he was leading us. Furthermore, the price for both of us together was 10 lire, over half of what his “tour” would’ve cost. The lesson from this is that you must always be on your guard when traveling, for tourists will always be targeted. Use common sense and don’t be afraid to say no (or Hell no!)
**Pic to right is view from the the castle**

So, all in all, Turkey was an awesome trip. If you go don’t expect the most lavishly furnished hotel rooms or the most developed location of your life. Turkey is still relatively poor and much beyond Western standards, but if you are willing to rough it and no complain about everything imperfection, you will enjoy a cheap and truly unique vacation that other tourist hot spots can’t deliver.