"Everything I missed so bitterly, my whole Turkish life ended forever: and the unique skyline was stamped inside my eyes in a way that can never be erased".
It had taken some time to get to
Turkey, but as I was finally there I counted my luck among the luckiest. After traveling so many times by myself and
having the task of meeting others along the way, this time I had the good
fortune of being part of a tour group from Boston. And though this meant that I had to behave
like a tourist, I did not mind it much.
If you look hard enough and scrape away the layers of obliviousness, some
tourist’s can be tolerable.
We arrived
in Istanbul after a nine hour flight, and immediately got to eating. This would prove to be a major theme and a
major occurrence on our trip. Never in my life have I eaten so many 4 course
meals over the span of only 7 days. Turkish
people take as much pride in their food as any other nation I have visited;
even China. Both these countries would
sacrifice a limb if only to defend the reputation and the honor of their
food. I ought to think Americans would
do the same for hamburgers but know that, unfortunately, they would not. As it was, we began by walking to the
Bosphorus Straight and eating Kumpir by the water, followed by Turkish waffles
and Turkish coffee; the latter of which I would indulge in frequently
throughout the course of the trip. We spent
much of the night there – eating in Europe but looking at Asia - and only went
to the hotel after we had satisfied our appetites as best as we could for the
time being.
We did not
stay in Istanbul the next day, but instead took a very early flight to Denizli
where we were scheduled to see everything the city had to offer in a ferocious
one day jaunt. The city is mainly known
for two things, and two things only: Pamukkale and their roosters. It is said that the latter has the longest
cock-a-doodle-do in the world, and after hearing some audio of them, I would
have to agree. We did not have the
pleasure of seeing them first hand, but had to guess what they looked like
based on all the monuments made in their honor.
This is the first and last time I think I shall ever see a monument of a
rooster. I hope it is anyway.
Next, we
headed toward the famous travertine terraces of Pamukkale, and after a bath in
a hot spring filled pool lined with ancient roman ruins, we were fresh on our
way down the limestone hill. There is no
doubt that Pamukkale is a beautiful place, and that it has what is unique to
only a handful of places on earth; but I simply cannot agree with the way Turkey
chooses to disregard its fragility and allow tourists to molest it daily. Everywhere one looks, he sees it being abused
and taken advantage of. In fact, the
only thing stopping a tourist from falling off the edge and into the depths is
a security guard with frail lungs blowing into a whistle that he most certainly
fished out of a box of cereal that morning.
This same security guard has no objections to the tourist taking rocks
from the natural wonder though, or stomping his feet all over un-solidified
deposits of travertine, and keeps his plastic whistle holstered when he sees
it. I say let the tourist fall off the
side and save your breath for the rocks; but that is only me.
After
Pamukkale, we went into Denizli to shop for textiles; of which Denizli is a
huge exporter of. I have never been much
of a shopper, so Kelsey and I went for a walk outside among the mosques,
minarets, and stray dogs of the city.
Nothing is more special than being in a foreign country and not knowing
the language. We talked to some book
sellers and shop owners using hand signals mostly, listened to the call to
prayer, and went back to meet the rest of the group.
We finished
the day by eating dinner with a family of whom our guide knew from some
previous employment or other. The family
was as gracious as hosts come, and as hospitable too. They greeted us with the kindest words and
then served us enough food to last a hungry man a month. Finally, they let us go by adorning us with
handmade towels and other thoughtful gifts.
My first impressions of Turkey are good ones, and if the rest of the
country is anything like Istanbul and Denizli, then I anticipate only a
wonderful time.
