Wanderlust Heaven!

‘The only one smiling is the one who hasn’t heard the latest news.’ — Bertolt Brecht

As I sat on the bus from Cannakale to Ayvalik, I mulled over my time in Cannakale.  I’d had a good time with Christian and with the Scottish lasses, including an odd but satisfying half-hour drunkenly reprising the greatest hits of the film classic Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang (‘Toot Sweet’ came out particularly well).  The walk through the farmlands outside ancient Troy with Christian also stood out, back in the moment I probably didn’t appreciate fully the richness of that experience.  At the same time, it was good to be solo again.  I hadn’t exercised, or relaxed, or written anything, in Cannakale, and the three days seemed, in retrospect, like a marathon.  I had enjoyed Christian’s lawlerly conversation style…but at the same time his Teutonic smugness and intensity dıd wear on me.  I’ve met lots of cool Germans on my travels – they’re much more relaxed than their elders, for sure…but with many of them, I’ve also found that they feel strongly that Germany is better than other countries (better, at least, at least the third-world country you meet them in, and perhaps your own country too) and they aren’t shy about telling you that.   There’s nothing wrong with being happy about being born in a first-world country, but I do think it’s not great form to walk around being so obvious about it.

So it was good to be able to sit and think without distraction.  The bus ride to Ayvalik was a bit choppy, had to switch from large bus to minivan after a while, and finally wound up at a bus station outside Ayvalik.  I threw in the towel and just took a taxi to my pension, Bonjour Pension, down near the harbor.  Dumped my stuff and wandered around town for a while.  I was dying to get in some diving, and Ayvalik is famed for its red corals, down about 40 meters a ways out to sea.  The pension owner made a call and found out that the Koftez Diving boat would be back in the harbor around 6:30 p.m.  I surmised that there was either no formal dive shop on land, or that there was but that it was enough to simply show up at their boat and take care of business there. 

Ayvalik the site of the first battle of the Turkish War of Independence, a war you’ve likely never heard a single thing about.  After WWI, the Allies picked over the carcass of the defunt Ottoman Empire and pretty much screwed the Turks out of everything.  Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and other Turkish leaders didn’t take that sitting down, and proceeded to fight for their homeland, eventually defeating the cheeky Greeks and convincing the British and French to vacate premises.  By 1923 they had recovered what is now Turkey, and proclaimed a republic.  There’s your history – and it started in Ayvalik, a little port city on the Aegean.

The dive boat returned, as advertised, at 6:30 p.m.  Spoke with the boys on the boat and signed up for their trip the next day.  Two dives, lunch, etc. for 80 lira – decent price, assuming good diving.  They do have a little shop, but it’s some ways off and most business takes place on the boat itself, which is massive and which has all the necessary equipment on board.  Pretty good system.  I was excited to break out my dive computer get under the waves, it had been around 5 months since my last dive.

Had dinner that night at a kofte (meatballs) place.  They bring out a salad of white beans, tomatos, and onions with olive oil, then the main event, a plate of grilled chunks of meat with bread, onions, and a few other things, including some terrific red hot sauce.  You don’t leave hungry.

Finished ‘The Book of Fathers’ that night.  I’d been working through this book, by Miklos Vamos, for a few weeks, it’s about the generations of a family, the first-born of which in each generation has the gift of clairvoyance.  Fairly depressing book, but sweeping and evocative as well – it takes you through 6 generations (I believe), from the 18^th century all the way through to current times.  Different sort of book – if you’re looking for something by an author you’ve never read, give it a try.  I’m sure you can pick it up on Amazon.com.

Next morning, got up early and had breakfast at the pension.  I’d met a very nice older Aussie couple, Ray and Bev, the day before when I checked in, and they were already at table when I got there.  Ray and Bev are veteran travelers and they were grilling another couple on Egypt and Syria.  I couldn’t be that helpful there, but when discussion turned to India I was able to chime in.  I do like these little sessions comparing notes – often much more helpful than gushing guidebook descriptions and outdated logistics.

Went to the dive boat, hoping for a great day of diving.  Met an Anglo-South African couple, Lee and Ika.  Lee used to work in TV and was endlessly entertaining…Ika is from the Cape and we exchanged stories about that place.  I haven’t been back to SA in 7-8 years and I think in 2009 I’ll finally return.

It was a fine day at sea, there was a bit of rain at first but it cleared up.  But the diving was just so-so – because of rough seas, we had to scrap the first two preferred dive spots and go for two different ones, and there wasn’t much red coral, or marine life.  I had my camera and waterproof case with me, and took some shots, but nothing was all that impressive.  To boot, I wasn’t thrilled with the equipment on hire – the divemaster strongly advised me to use 12 kilos of weights, whereas I usually use 6.  Part of the reason is that we were wearing wetsuits, and you need more weight to compensate for the buoyancy of these…at the same time, 12 kilos seemed excessive.  But everyone seemed to be wearing a lot of weight, so I went along.  When I descended, I found that I needed to constantly adjust my BCD (vest), usually adding a lot of air, and I felt heavy the entire time.  I understood the logic for erring on the side of having too much weight – I wouldn’t accidentally shoot to the surface and get the bends.  Still, it wasn’t a great call.

But I was better off than poor Lee, who had a leak in his BCD and eventually had to be taken by the hand by the divemaster and brought up to the surface.  Ugh.  It was the end of the season, and the equipment was in sore need of repair…still, I thought that Koftez Diving should have done a better job prepping everything, and ensuring that we ‘fun divers’ had working stuff.  Fun divers aren’t paying huge bucks for a dive course, so they’re generally left to their own devices – in this case, we were left too much alone.  I suspected that my BCD was also dodgy, so exchanged it, and also dropped my weights to 10 kilos, but my second dive only felt a bit better.  Oh well.  The day out was still worth it, but I wouldn’t recommend Ayvalik as a world-class dive spot.

A few photos from the day, above and below the waves – the guys caught a small octopus and were a little rough in handling it, IMHO:

Got back to shore.  Lee and Ika were racing off to the next town, Bergama – they had a tight timetable for their holiday.  I was going there the next day, and we said we’d meet (somehow) for a sundowner.  They didn’t know where they were staying, and I hadn’t arranged anything, except that I recalled a pension from my guidebook which had wireless – I’d probably try that out. 

Was starving – diving makes me hungry, and that goes double for diving while wearing too much weight.   Tried the famed Ayvalik Tost, which is two grilled pieces of bread stuffed with local sausage (not pork, not sure what it is), cheese, mayo, etc.  Better than it sounds – very filling. 

Found an internet café and watched the VP debate between Biden and Palin.  Palin held up fairly well, but it still came across like an exchange between an adult and a high school girl.  Colossal difference in knowledge and composure – Palin succeeded in that she didn’t stutter or make a huge gaffe, and was feisty.  She was obviously heavily coached and often was seen referring to her notes for various zingers…but no blood was drawn.  Palin pronounces ‘nuclear’ like W. does – mildly amusing. 

I thought that Biden was able to make lots of good points for his ticket, and to refute various mistruths that Palin (and McCain) had raised – I hope that Obama is using him fully and effectively, because he is a fairly impressive guy.  He must have had to hold himself back throughout the debate, and not appear to be piling on poor overmatched Sarah…who on 3-4 occasions completely blew off the moderator’s question and switched to energy policy or other non sequiturs.  Setting low expectations is a good strategy, it appears – only by doing so could one judge Palin’s performance as adequate.  Of course, hard-core GOP voters were thrilled – which only goes to demonstrate their own lack of cranial capacity.

Sad to imagine that after a 2-3-year presidential campaign that will probably cost $1 billion in total, we may just be a heart attack away from a President Palin.  Why does the American political system so often yield these unimpressive figures?  I’ve met countless people in work and in other settings who would make much better leaders than nimrod Sarah Palin (or John McCain).  Maybe they don’t want the job.

I finally got to see what commentator Gwen Ifill looks like, as she moderated the debate, quite ably I think.  I get the podcast ‘Washington Weekly’ and she’s the moderator of that session as well, it brings together 5-6 journalists each week to review the political goings-on.  Great 25-minute podcast, I learn a lot from it and highly recommend it.  You can get it on iTunes or from the PBS site.  Are any of you surprised that I’m a PBS fan??

Took it easy that night, even though it was Friday.  Was tired from the diving and lack of sleep in Cannakale.  Plus, I was moving on to Bergama the next day, and might be facing a big Saturday night in Bergama if I found Lee and Ika. 

Got up Saturday, went to breakfast and again sat with Ray and Bev.  Gave Ray ‘The Book of Fathers,’ thought he might enjoy it, and was happy to get the largish book off my hands.  Then checked out and walked to the bus stop to catch a dolmus (minivan) for Bergama.  The bus that eventually came by was full-sized, got on that and in an hour or so was in Bergama.  I love the way these Aegean and inland towns are so close together, it makes for simple bouncing from town to town and you can see quite a few places quickly.  Oftentimes I dislike traveling every other day, it seems too fast, but around here it seems just right.

The hills come close to the Aegean coast, the effect is rather dramatic and overall it’s a beautiful area.  No wonder the Turks fought so hard to get it back!

Thought a bit more about WWI and Gallipoli.  I’d seen trenches dug by the Aussies and by the Turks – interesting differences.  The Aussie trenches curve, they’re rarely straight for more than a few meters.  The Turkish trenches are simpler and straight.  The advantages of the former, made by the famed Aussie ‘diggers,’ is that if an enemy soldier takes your trench, he can’t mow down your buddies, he can only get a few soldiers at most.  Food for thought.

Got to Bergama, known in Roman times as Pergamum.  Was lucky to spot Gobi Pension from the main road, stopped my minivan and got off.  Great little place, I was met straightaway by Mustafa, the English-speaking son of the non-English speaking owner, and shown to my room.  Mustafa was heading off somewhere for a few days, but he got me settled first.  My room was big and clean, and they did indeed have wireless, so was able that night to do all my laptop tasks without hassle.

Spent a couple hours seeing the easier sights.  First, the Asclepion, an ancient medical center/hospital founded by famed Galen, the Greek doctor/scientist whose work served as the standard until the 16^th century.  Pretty cool.  The Asclepion is a short walk from the town center, and is a strangely compelling set of ruins.  En route, you gaze up and can see the hilltop Acropolis – I’d be heading there the next morning. 

Spent an hour wandering around the Asclepion, wondering about the work that went on there.  Saw a column with the emblematic snake heads:

Other Asclepion shots:

There’s a Turkish military base right next door to the Asclepion – strange location.  You’re not supposed to ‘point your camera towards the base,’ but of course everyone does.  Weird to see a pile of ordnance nearby a set of ancient ruins…

I have to say that my education (and memory, perhaps) is sorely lacking.  I’m not too sure I ever learned about the Asclepion or Galen in school, I did pick up some of this from my own reading.  Oh well, at least I’m curious and want to enhance my knowledge – that will get me somewhere.  But I wish that I’d come in knowing a lot more about ancient Greece and Rome, I feel like we covered those subjects in just a cursory sense in school, and now my aging brain won’t take in much more data…

Saturday night – no sign of Lee and Ika, not surprised.  Bergama is a small city, but it’s not a given that you’ll run into everyone you met in the previous stop.  And they were on a tight timeline, traveling each day to a new place.  Oh well.  Wasn’t unhappy to be able to wander around and do as I pleased.  Downloaded a few podcasts, took a short nap, and went out to eat and drink.  Found a place in town center with a big-screen TV showing some soccer, sat down and had a small feast.  It was a bit chilly, good weather for lying in bed and reading.  Decided to explore a bit more before heading home.  Far uptown, saw a ‘birahaynesi,’ a beerhouse, and went in.  Just when I was thinking that Turkey’s a bit prude (I had passed a place where some party was on, and lots of men were dancing together), this place gave me pause for thought.  I was directed towards a table, I sat down.  Immediately an unattractive middle-aged woman wearing a dress came over and sat with me.  Oh no, I thought, this is like Yalta – the female town drunk is hitting on me.  But no, turned out that this bar was different, the chicks here are working.  I don’t think they’re prostitutes, but they get paid to sit and drink (you pay) with you.  The women approach your table and shake your hand, then you can pick one.  They were all awful and I just drank my beer and fled.  I used to toilet upstairs before leaving…I was wondering what was going up there, but more of the same, nothing better or worse. 

It’s funny what you find when you wander out of the town center a bit.  I’d heard stories about Istanbul’s rip-off bars, where some friendly fellow invites you to join him for a beer, you wind up in a flashy bar, a couple women come over and join you, and then your bill is US$1,000.  This place in Bergama was nothing like that, but it was at least further evidence that there’s more to Turkish nightlife than sitting around puffing on a waterpipe and drinking tea. 

One month till the US elections.  Seems like Obama is pulling away from McCain – national polls have him ahead.  But national polls don’t mean all that much, given that we have the brilliant, contemporary Electoral College – invented in 1785 or thereabouts.  I have to laugh when people hold on so tight to these ossified practices.  The Electoral College, in a nutshell, was created to ensure that ‘proper gentlemen’ (i.e., electors) had the power to make the final presidential selection, and to try to force candidates to visit many states, not just a few.  Today, only 10-15 states are battlegrounds, and the rest of the states are ignored.  If we did away with this outdated practice, then the popular vote would be the deciding metric and states per se wouldn’t matter that much, you could campaign locally and win in micro-geographies. 

Other imperfections I think we should right:

-Americans should be required to register, and to vote.  What kind of ‘democracy’ is it where 50% of people don’t even vote, and a significant percentage aren’t even registered?  Of course, you know which party is against these changes…

-We should minimize the role of money in the process.  In the 1970s our infallible Supreme Court judged that spending money is free speech, hence money has become hugely important in campaigns.  In Israel, France, and other countries, they have a short election cycle (2-3 months), they have equal spending by candidates, a set number of debates, and perhaps no advertising for a week before the vote.  All good ideas. 

-Our schools should do a better job preparing us to be intelligent citizens and voters.  Easier said than done, of course…but if Americans were an intelligent, demanding bunch who learned from their stupid mistakes, do you really think Sarah Palin would be up there now??

The Red Sox won their first-round series against the Angels, despite the latter probably having more talent.  Who would have thought, years ago, that the Red Sox would be a clutch, experienced gang who knows how to win tough games?  Their reputation was precisely the opposite before 2004.  And this year they’ve had a crazy slew of injuries, it seems half the team is no longer with them or able to play:  Schilling, Manny, Lowell, Lugo.  But news guys and the young call-ups have stepped it up.  Bravo, boys.

Let’s hope they continue their march and can defend their title.  I’ve watched some of the games on my laptop, I have MLB.com and when there’s a wireless signal I can get the game, either live or afterward.  I may have to configure my travels in coming weeks so that I can watch the later-round games live…so far in my travels I’ve had incredible luck, I’ve never been on a plane during the World Series or Super Bowl, for instance.  I’ve lately put all these key dates on my Treo so I know not to break my streak…between these sports dates and my new Holidates application, my calendar is packed with information…

En route to the Gobi from the hostess bar, I passed a pharmacy whose display caught my eye.  They were displaying a variety of erectile dysfunction meds, from the major brands like Levitra and Cialis to a generic (legal?) called, appropriately enough, ‘ViaGrande.’  Improving on the original – is that worth a patent?  Didn’t expect to see a display of products like these in a Muslim country…

Had breakfast the next morning, sat near an American woman from Pittsburgh named Anne.  Our liberal views quickly came to the fore and we bonded…wound up sharing a taxi up to the Acropolis.  Anne was traveling with another Pittsburgher named Ray, she seemed to be getting sick of him – he’s a right-winger and despite having traveled extensively, he doesn’t seem to pick anything up, he’s a loud gringo through and through.  Charming.

When we got to the top, it was a bit windy, and clouds were looming.  Hmmm.  Ray had gotten an earlier start, he didn’t want to pay for a taxi so had hoofed it up.  We saw him after a while, he seemed a bit jealous that I was hanging out with Anne.  Hmmm.  We parted and checked out different parts of the Acropolis, which was very cool – spread across a large hill, imposing still.  The worsening weather made it more awesome – against dark skies the ancient ruins seemed more important and dramatic.  And the stadium, built right into the hillside, was unlike anything I’ve seen – very steep and perfectly incorporated into the natural features of the hill:

Not so many people there, didn’t feel overrun with tourists.  It finally began to rain, then pour, and get a bit chilly.  Everyone ran for cover under the ruins, Anne and I ducked under an arch.  At one point she was cold and put her arms around me for warmth (I think).  Good thing Ray wasn’t around to see that – he might have gone ballistic.  Anne’s staying right across the hall from me at Gobi and I wondered what the next few hours might have in store…

We finally deemed our Acropolis visit finished, and went to the carpark for a coffee.  Chatted about politics with the locals hanging out there, including one funny cab driver who began calling the little café the ‘Obama Café.’  We had caught up with Ray by this point.  Eventually we bundled Anne into the taxi driver’s cab, she was still getting over a bad case of pneumonia and it wasn’t a good idea for her to walk back to town, as Ray and I were planning to do.  The taxi driver drove off with her, and as he drove away he yelled out the window ‘Obama Taxi!’ I love it.

BTW, if this wasn’t already painfully obvious, only 99.5% of foreigners want Obama to win the election.  If we care about repairing our relations with the rest of the world, this is one way to start.

Lost Ray on the walk back to town – wasn’t sad about that.  As I got into town, the taxi driver went by and again yelled ‘Obama Taxi!’ at me.  I think Obama might want to hire this guy to drive around Alabama and do this for a few weeks…

Checked out the Red Basilica for a half hour.  This is a huge structure put up, apparently, to worship an Egyptian god, then converted to Christian worship by the Byzantines.  Large, and fairly impressive even in ruins:

Not sure what those Hebrew inscriptions are…were these tablets carried back from the Holy Land??

Got back to the town center.  Bought a bus ticket for the next day, to the large city of Izmir, my next stop.  Took a nap.  Went for a good, solid run as the sun set.  Felt pretty good about life.

Had given the pension some laundry that morning – now got it back.  Anne had also done a few pieces, and these had been put in my laundry bag, unbeknownst to me.  She knocked on my door as I got out of the shower – she asked if I had her stuff – I checked and found her bra and socks, which looked a lot like my socks.  That’s what you get when you buy the brand your dad recommends (Gold Toe, I guess it’s famous in Pittsburgh?). 

Had a late dinner at a little place, tried the local Bergama kofte, which was pretty good.  Had a beer and watched some soccer at one of the outdoor cafes, and thought about how nice this little city was.  Cool people, incredible ancient ruins, good food.  You need to try the tomatos from here, I think they’re the best I’ve ever had…

Heard that Palin is now harping on Obama’s associations with various characters from the Chicago area.  I wondered why Obama hadn’t gotten going on the ‘Keating 5’ scandal from McCain’s past.  I worried that this was a typical Democratic mistake, that they were ‘above’ such practices.  But no – right away the Obama campaign sent out flyers and emails with links to a short video about the Keating 5.  And friend Alan told me that Obama has a 24-hour satellite channel that just loops his ads.  Might have mentioned that last week, I forget – but anyway, this is not your father’s Democratic campaign.  And good thing, too.  Obama might actually win.

Got ready to depart Bergama.  Had breakfast with Anne and Ray before I left.  As I was getting up, I heard my name called and it was Ray and Bev, the Aussie couple, walking by.  Turned out they had met Ray the day before at the Red Basilica, had somehow found out that Ray had met me at the Acropolis and was staying at the same place, and had asked him to tell me that they were staying nearby.  Ray hadn’t told me any of that, not that I had seen much of Ray the previous night, just in passing.  Still, I was annoyed at him – felt like he had withheld some information.  Was he jealous that I had become friendly with Anne?  Sometimes people are really just pathetic.

Chatted with the Aussies for a bit, then went to get my bus.  While waiting, checked emails and news on my Treo.  Heard that a major quake had hit Kyrgyzstan, about 200 km from Osh.  A village was leveled and about 80-90 people died.  Poor Kyrgyzstan…plane crashes and earthquakes.  Oh well, at least they aren’t threatened with Sarah Palin…at least, not yet.  Do you think she can see Bishkek from the coast of Alaska?  Those are powerful glasses she has on…

Easy bus trip to Izmir, the third-largest Turkish city.  Izmir was formerly known as Smyrna, you may have heard of it.  Legend has it that the epic poet Homer (no, Governor Palin, not Homer Simpson) was born and/or lived in Smyrna around 700 B.C.  Can’t verify that, but the place certainly has an ancient past. 

Izmir isn’t a huge tourist draw, but is an attractive big city, with a huge harbor.  The city is spread around the harbor and sprawls onto the hills behind the harbor, and the setting is impressive.  The city itself is modern and not all that compelling, but it’s a pleasant place to spend 2-3 days.

Got in, checked into Hotel Imperial.  A bit closer to the train station than I’d like, train stations tend to attract the riff-raff and in this case it was no different, some seedy characters hanging out near my hotel (the street must have had 15 hotels, all lined cheek-to-jowl), and lots of random African guys there, quite odd for Turkey.  It’s a port, so you’d expect a fair number of lowlifes.  I made a note not to flash my iPod or Treo on the street, and to leave most of my ‘valuables’ in the hotel room.

Got on Facebook, for once, and left a comment in my ‘what are you doing now?’ line about getting hit on by a 53-year-old woman.  Within a few hours I must have had 10 people send me comments about this.  People spend way too much time on Facebook, and the internet in general.  Turn off the computer and call a friend…it’s much more rewarding.

My hotel was alright, same sort of place as Hotel Sen Palas in Istanbul.  Not your usual tourist hotel, I’m sure the usual customer is a Turkish small biznesman.  At least the bedsheets were clean.  There was a TV, switched that on to see if there were any international news channels.  Nope…but amongst the 14 channels they did have HustlerTV.  Now I was nearly certain this place catered to small biznesmen.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen this channel before…it wasn’t all that great, after two hours I got bored and switched it off.  The mosque’s just across the road and I didn’t want any bad vibes to float there…

Turkey is weird in this regard, as you’re probably coming to realize from my entries.  It’s a Muslim country with the usual hang-ups about gender, but I’ve spotted a few erotic shops in the bigger cities, found myself in that Bergama hostess bar, and now I’ve found HustlerTV in a hotel.  I’m personally all for a liberal society (and since when did ‘liberal’ become a pejorative term?), so I applaud these sorts of things.  But I can imagine the uproar they generate amongst the clergy and the holier-than-thou.

I’ve become addicted to simit.  It’s not a drug (per se), it’s a ‘Turkish bagel,’ a sesame seed-covered circular bread product that has some sort of grape enzyme or flavoring as its ‘secret sauce.’  I eat at least one per day, the vendors are everywhere and they cost one Turkish lira apiece.

Found a great bookstore in a little mall near the harbor – finally picked up a Turkish phrasebook, two weeks after entering Turkey.  And this shop has loads of guidebooks too, but I just ordered a bunch of Middle East guidebooks and had them sent to my friend Dri in New York, she’s coming to Istanbul mid-October and will hand them to me there. 

Walked for an hour or so along the Kordon, the harborfront promenade.  This place is the life of the city and everything happens there.  Very pleasant place to spend time…one of the better waterfront walks I’ve seen.  Did some running both nights I was in Izmir along the Kordon…it reminded me a bit of Mumbai’s Golden Necklace, the lights that shine on Marine Drive.

Not so many tourists in Izmir – saw a few Japanese wandering around, looking confused.  Also saw – no, heard – three Americans on the Kordon.  First, I heard the nasal voices, then I spotted them across the way.  Classic – one of them was carrying 5 large water bottles, the second was chatting away, and the third, probably the mother, was obese and was having trouble keeping up with the other two.  I cringed and walked along.  I dislike cringing but seem to do it fairly often…

Had a light dinner that night, then a couple beers at Passport, a somewhat flashy bar on the Kordon.  They were playing Café del Mar volume 5, one of the best Café del Mar discs, and I stayed longer than expected just to listen to the music.  The place was pretty dead but that was OK, I was in a mellow mood. 

Observation and question:  it’s incredible how many places can’t get the hot and cold faucets right.  It’s literally a 50-50 chance that when you turn on the ‘H’ or red faucet on the left, you’ll get hot, not cold, water.  Why is this?  I’m too lazy to investigate, but one of you might want to figure this out…

The PKK (Kurdish rebel party) attacked a Turkish army outpost near the Iraq border and killed around 20 soldiers.  Huge uproar in Turkey – this base has been attacked 5 times now, and the public wants to know why it’s still so vulnerable.  Good question.  There’s also demand for the army to go into Iraqi Kurdish territory (which is de facto autonomous these days) and kick some ass.  I don’t blame them.  Whoever’s pulling the strings in Baghdad these days had best take care of this.  I feel badly that the Kurds got screwed over the centuries, and never got their own country…but now they pretty much have it in northern Iraq, and have oil, and they should leave Turkey alone. 

Another question:  which one of you clowns gave my email address to ChristianDating.com and ViagraLords?

Did the rounds in Izmir and saw the main sights.  The Agora, the old Roman marketplace, is right in the middle of the city and is worth a half-hour.  Not that much left, but evocative nonetheless.  Took a bus to the heights of the city, to the fort of Kadifekale, which had terrific views of the entire city:

Spent an hour in the Archeological and Ethnographic Museums, which are side-by-side – for once, something convenient for tourists.  Then I was through with sight-seeing and had some time to mill around the bazaar and find something good to eat.

Couldn’t find a place called Tabaklar, which has locally-famous dil shish, or fish kebabs.  The Izmir bazaar’s streets are labeled, but in no apparent order – I was unable to figure out where Sokak 873 was.  I got to 863, and 872, but even with a map it was not happening.  Oh well.  I just had a doner kebab, then decided to try some of the Turkish desserts I’d forgone thus far.  First, supangle, which is to chocolate pudding what Joe Biden is to Sarah Palin.  Or something like that.  It looks like your average chocolate pudding, but is quite milky and is just richer than Midas.  The name sounds like ‘zuppa inglese,’ a custard dessert dish I recall having eaten elsewhere – not sure where ‘supangle’ comes from – reader Ari is our resident foodporn king and might want to investigate… 

I was like a stoned teenager as I stood there on the street corner scooping it into my mouth.  Second, bal kaymak, buttermilk drizzled with honey – absolutely seizure-inducing stuff.  You mix up the buttermilk and honey and go to town – wow.  It’s surprising that Turks aren’t fatter, their foods are out of this world.

Was thirsty after my sugar binge, got a fresh orange juice.  The clerk spoke some English, we chatted for a while.  He wants to get a U.S. Green Card and work there – must be desperate.  At least he is aware of the financial mayhem, but I guess he really wants to go anyway.  He asked me a number of immigration-related questions that I was actually able to answer…but I’ll bet if he leaves Turkey he’ll miss it immediately.  Sometimes better the devil you know…

Listened to a few podcasts – there was a Discovery piece on Americans addicted to plastic surgery.  Scary stuff – some people are utterly without any anchor in their lives.  I’d say this only happens in America, but it’s probably even more rampant in South America.  Whatever happened to exercise and diet??

That night I walked down the length of the Kordon – well, much of it – to the northern part of town.  There’s a restaurant and bar district there, I had a kebab and then a couple beers at an outdoors café.  The 2^nd U.S. presidential debate was coming up, I was curious about how that would go.  Went back to the hotel to get some rest, read a magazine called ‘The Sun’ that Anne in Bergama had given me, it’s a pretty cool publication with a solid roster of writers and loads of letters written by readers.  Provocative articles – one was by David Grossman, who’s been called ‘Israel’s moral voice.’  I’d like to subscribe to The Sun, but not till I’m in one place and can more readily receive my mail.

Next morning, got up early to check out the debate news.  Had a quick breakfast of mercimek (lentil soup) at a café near the train station.  This was my second consecutive breakfast there, and they don’t get many tourists, so I stood out.  The waiter was a friendly guy – he saw my English newspaper and pointed to a photo of a distraught-looking guy on the front page.  I assumed it was a Wall Street trader…but no, it was a soccer team coach who had just been forced out.  God bless the Turks – not only are they friendly and helpful to a fault, but they aren’t so preoccupied with money that they forget about everything else.  A very good lesson for the rest of us…

Watched the debate on the internet.  Had some trouble finding it – finally tracked it down on MSNBC, which is probably the most reliable site for these sorts of videos.  I also watched the Saturday Night Live version, with Tina Fey as Palin – classic.  Talk about nailing your subject – she should win an Emmy, or whatever the right prize is for this category of acting.

The debate:  not conclusive by any means, not game-changing.  Good for Obama in that regard.  McCain did not look robust, or even that steady.  Admittedly I’m biased, but I was somewhat surprised that 1) McCain wasn’t nearly as good as advertised in the town hall format he’s renowned for ‘owning’ – Obama looked a lot more comfortable and adept, and 2) perhaps it was just bad video/audio quality, but McCain seemed to do a lot of word repetition, he repeated his previous two words on 7-8 occasions during the debate.  I think there’s a medical condition in which the patient often repeats his previous phrase – and I wonder if McCain’s age is catching up with him.  He’s certainly in good form for a 72-year-old man, but I remember thinking that Reagan was losing it in 1984, when he was around that age, and I was right.

That done, I returned to Hotel Imperial and checked out.  No trains till that night to my next stop, Selcuk, home of the famed Ephesus ruins.  So I had to get to the Izmir Otogar (main bus station), a few km outside town.  This is always a bit of a pain, particularly if you don’t yet have your ticket.  If you do, you can usually hop a servis (free minibus) to the otogar, otherwise you need to get there on your own.  I could have taken a taxi straight there, but that would not be cheap.  I pieced things together, taking a short taxi to the Konak bus station, then found a local bus going all the way to the otogar.  Pretty cheap, and I got to hang out with a busload of locals.  One old fellow made sure I got out at the right stop – very kind of him.  Turks couldn’t be nicer people – one of the best things about this country.

Got to the otogar, found the right area.  Right away, I was hailed by a fellow who asked me my destination.  I told him, he pointed at his little bus right there.  I asked the price, it was cheap.  Turned out he also has a guesthouse in Selcuk – and it was where I had made a booking.  I looked in my guidebook, as he suggested, and his name was in there, in the description of Nazar Hotel in Selcuk.  The fellow, Osman, and his brothers and family have a nice little integrated operation here – bus from Izmir to Selcuk, popular (and good) guesthouse in Selcuk, tours, food, etc.  Osman and I chatted while we waited for the bus to leave – mostly about America, including how McDonald’s is getting popular in Turkey and how little Turkish kids are getting fat as a result.  Turkish food isn’t that light, but they eat lots of vegetables and yogurt…the problem is that kiddies like burgers and french fries and Ronald McDonald, like kids everywhere, and the diet is changing.  Sad story.  Maybe I’ll sell my recently-purchased McDonald’s stock – nah.

The one-hour bus ride was uneventful.  The bus dropped me off right near the guesthouse – where Osman’s brother was waiting.  Man, these guys keep a tight leash on you.  It’s nice to come across such a turnkey operation when you’re a weary traveler, but my spidey sense does go off when I feel like I’m being controlled.  In the guesthouse, I checked in, and met a young lady who had spent time in Virginia.  I told her I went to UVA for b-school, she opened her jacket and there was a UVA t-shirt.  Small world.  Of course, she then wanted to sell me a carpet.  And I hadn’t even dropped my pack yet.  The place also offered me a tour of Ephesus, Ephesus books, dinner that night, you name it.  Felt a bit too commercial.  I suppose older, less independent travelers like that short of thing – one-stop shopping – but I don’t.  I like to spread my business and money around – I don’t mind throwing a bone to the guesthouse now and then – laundry, water, a meal – but not everything.  If you concentrate your spending too much, some places will wither and then you have less on offer.  It’s hard to strike the right balance between being helpful and being commercial, and not many places get it right…

Ephesus is the best-preserved Roman city in the eastern Mediterranean.  That’s what I had come to see.  It’s a touristy place, but I’d heard it was worth the torture.  I’d see that the following morning.  For now, I visited the nearby sights.  First, the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist, one of Jesus’s apostles.  He came to Ephesus twice, and supposedly died right here.  Legend has it that the Virgin Mary joined him, and lived nearby.  John wrote one the big four gospels and also the Book of Revelation, my personal favorite for its trippy descriptions of the end of days.  Not that I believe any of this shit, mind you – I’m not the President of the United States.

The basilica was a good place to hang out – very few tourists, and its hilltop location was peaceful and impressive.  The ruins are in decent shape and I spent an hour wandering around them.  The good thing about visiting these places in Turkey is that they let you go up to the ruins and really see them – some areas are roped off, but they’re not overly restrictive.

Then visited the Ephesus Museum, which has many pieces found in the ruins outside town.  Lots of sculptures and images of Eros and Priapus, my personal favorite (cue the Beavis & Butthead sountrack):   

Took it easy that night. Went to Old House Restaurant and had a good meal…checked emails…called home but couldn’t get Dad or Ellen.  Downloaded some songs recommended by brother-in-law Dave, including a couple gems:  In Five Years’ Time by Noah & the Whales, and Suburban Knights by Hard-Fi.  Went to sleep, excited about getting up and seeing the ruins of Ephesus.  Will cover those in my next entry…I feel like I’ve covered a lot of places already, seems like a long time since I was in Ayvalik, where this entry began.  Over and out.

Tags: Travel

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