Delightful Turkey

"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".

  -Pierre Loti

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.