29 September 2007
International Night
25 September 2007
Land of the Turks
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.
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.
21 July 2007
Free At Last, Free At Last!
15 July 2007
A small taste of home
- Liters of Dr. Pepper
- Sweet Tea
- Biscuits
- White beans
- Pinto beans
- Mixed beans
- White beans w/ chowchow
- White beans w/ white cheese from Shelbyville
- White beans with green onions
- My parents´fried "tatters"
- Fried cabbage with peppers (if you haven´t had this, my dad can give you the recipe :)
- Country Ham
- Chocolate oatmeal cookies
- Chili-cheese fries (especially from Backyard Burger)
- Creamed corn
- Hoe cakes (not sure if that is the correct spelling)
- Mexican food
- #6 Spicy chicken sandwhich from Wendy´s
- BBQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! from the BBQ shop and Central BBQ
- Half of a slab of dry-rub ribs with fries, beans, and sweet tea from Corky´s
- Cracker Barrel
- Pancakes
- Little Debbie Brownies
- Mac and Cheese
- Donuts after 11 p.m from Gibson´s with Turner´s Dutch Chocolate Milk
- Extra spicy Dorritos
- Momma´s vegetable soup
- Garribaldi´s BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Reese´s and Watchamacallit´s
- Hamburger Helper
- Zataran´s Spanish Rice
- Zataran´s Dirty Rice w/ Cheese (use spicy sausage instead of beef)
Now, I know this is a short list that could be easily expanded, but for now, that´s all I have ;) Perhaps before I return home, I will lose 20 lbs. so that I might enjoy these delicacies without shame!
19 June 2007
Frightful Discovery at 4 a.m.
12 June 2007
Luxemburg (not Lewisburg)
The capital city of Luxemburg is Luxemburg, the target of day tour of the country. Beginning with a visit of and dazzling power-point presentation concerning the European Court of Auditors, the watchdog of spending within European Union. Though the European Union is a deeply fascinating political community, the Court of Auditors left me somewhat…unsatisfied. Afterwards, we were left to our own devices for several hours. I spent the remainder of my time in the capital wandering with three Italians, which proved to be the most interesting part of the trip. It also had its advantages. Currently, Luxemburg boasts three official languages: French, German, and Luxemburgish. While I have only briefly consulted Wikipedia for my information, I’ve heard that education in the country begins in Luxemburgish before switching to German and later on to French. Each language has its own sphere of relevance (for instance, most public writings are in French). Nevertheless, natives to the country theoretically have a good grasp on at least German or French, if not all three. It was interesting to hear so many individuals switching from one language to the next.
Sadly, much of the city was blocked off due to a visit by Russian president Vladimir Putin. The occasion, however, brought numerous armed soldiers to the city, thus adding some spice to the cityscape. The architecture of the area seemed too modern and unimpressive, lacking the history and character that can be seen in the buildings of other cities throughout Europe.
So, after walking through the insanely clean and expensive streets of Luxemburg, we boarded the bus back to Germany, stopping in a small village of the Mosel Valley, an area known for wine. Here, we had a small wine tasting and tour of a wine distillery. This portion of the trip lasted just long enough for a student to knock a bottle of wine on the floor. Then, armed with a bottle of Riesling Spätlese and a finely-tuned tan, I jumped on board of our charter bus and traveled back to Mainz.