Yüzotuziki

A Tip:: All posts entitled City - Gün # tend to be full of photos from a weekend trip. The rest of the posts are useless paragraphs, full of my ramblings and random photos.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Frequently Asked Questions

I know it's been over a year since I've returned from Turkey, but I figured if I answered some potential study abroad questions here, I could save some people a lot of effort. I'll try to arrange them by some sort of topic.

If you have any more questions, I'd be glad to answer them. You can find my email address on my Dragons Abroad Global Profile.

Basics
I attended the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara, Turkey Fall Semester 2005. My travel blog is located within this Blogger blog. Feel free to explore!

Classes are taught in English, but most Turkish students are a bit shy about speaking English. Additionally, most non-academic types you meet (waiters, cashiers, bus drivers, etc.) will not speak any English. I liked this. It forced me to learn more of the language.

If you want to see what Turkey looks like, about 250 of my best/favorite photos are located at http://iristurkey.shutterfly.com (the password is 'irisinturkey').

- Why did you choose Turkey?
I'm an Arabic minor, and Turkey was the closest I could get to the Middle East within the GE3 program. I love learning languages, but I don't speak any others fluently. Since METU teaches classes in English I got the opportunity to learn in English while exploring outside of the classroom in a completely different language.

- Why did you choose METU?
Aside from being the only GE3 school in Turkey, METU is centrally located in Turkey. This means you are closer to a whole bunch of towns. Most people would prefer to stay in Istanbul, but Istanbul is up in the Northwest corner, away from a large number of intriguing villages and cities. Ankara makes the bus rides a little quicker. Additionally, METU has humongous course offerings. Lots of different unique classes to take.

- Where is METU located?
It's actually right outside of Ankara, the city. It has its own trails and such through the woods, it even has its own lake which is very difficult to get to. There isn't any transportation there, really. If you want to go to Kizilay (the main shopping area of Ankara) or Ulus (the older and historical section of town) or another section of town, you need to take a dolmus (a mini van of sorts) from campus. Your Turkish host student should help explain this to you. Have him/her take you into the city.

- What was the weather like?
Seeing as I was in Turkey during fall semester (late August until January), I found the weather/temperature to be just about the same as in Philadelphia. A bit of snow/ice in December. Nothing exceedingly hot or cold. Philadelphia weather.

- Were you homesick?
I was never homesick, but that's just an individual-based thing. I was even in Turkey for the winter holidays. It just depends on who you are. Besides, if you keep yourself busy traveling and meeting people, the time goes by extremely fast.

- Did you have trouble adjusting?
This is sort of a personal thing (i.e. it's completely different for each person). No trouble adjusting. Well, besides the digestive bug nearly every German, Australian, and American got from ingesting Turkish bacteria. That's sort of unavoidable. The important thing is to remember to keep an open mind. Things don't always work the same as they do in the USA.

- Were the people nice? or did you have trouble making friends?
METU has a study abroad orientation that lumps all the exchange students into a lecture series and a language class. So, you meet everyone that way. Remember, all the other exchange students are in the same boat as you! They all want/need to make friends. Also, you will have a Turkish host student to take you out and show you around Ankara. Plus, there's always your roommates or floormates. It is a little more difficult sometimes to make Turkish friends, because their English isn't usually quite as good as exchange students (even non-American ones).

- Did you have trouble contacting your family while in Turkey?
No, not really. You can use Skype to call through your computer for free. But also, Tulumba.com has a 6 cents/minute rate from calls from the U.S. or something like that. It takes about a week for a letter to get to its destination (Turkey -> USA or USA -> Turkey). Packages are rather expensive to send.

- What about cell phones?
Cell phones aren't really necessary, but they are useful for contacting your fellow study abroad students to meet up for food or excursions into the city or whatever. Do not use your cell phone to call the USA. It is expensive. My Turkish host student took me into the city and helped me find a cheap, used phone that worked. Make sure you test your phone before buying it!!! Way too many of them don't function. Turkish cell phones work on a pay-as-you-go service, and there's various providers. I believe there is a TelSim shop, which sells a Sim Card (for pay-as-you-go) in the mini-mall on METU's campus.

- Did you feel safe on or off campus? Did you feel safe traveling?
I always like to say that I was never afraid of the people, but I was afraid of the packs of stray domestic dogs roaming METU's campus. You're not supposed to walk around at night by yourself through the woods because of the dogs. I've never felt unsafe otherwise. There's less gun and violent crimes in Turkey/Ankara than in Philadelphia. I found I felt safer there, than on campus here.

Culture
- Did you ever feel the effects of male dominance while you were there?
Well, I would notice when I went to more rural towns that I would never see females around. But, being an obvious tourist/traveler, I never had any problems. Of course, I didn't go running around in a mini-skirt, but, well, you get what I'm saying. There's a book called "Crescent and Star" about modern Turkey that you may want to read. I think it's still somewhat outdated, but it'll give you a slightly better handle on the culture.

- What is Ramazan?
Ramazan (other cultures refer to it as Ramadan) is a holiday that occurs sometime during the fall. For a month, all Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. This usually means that many restaurants are closed during the day, even on campus. Please keep in mind, that even if you do not fast during the day, it is rude to eat or drink in front of those who may be fasting. During Ramazan, most towns/neighborhoods have someone who walks around the town banging on a drum, waking everyone up so they can eat before sunrise. This does not happen on METU''s campus, but it does happen in Ankara and everywhere else, I assume. At the end of the fasting, there is a holiday called Seker Bayrami, which involves lots of eating.

- What about American holidays?
Obviously, Turkey does not celebrate American holidays, but you may be able to get together with a couple other exchange students and have a Halloween party, Thanksgiving Dinner, or even a Christmas party. Or, you may decide to travel and see something new instead of getting homesick during these times. I opted to stay in Turkey during Christmas, since final exams were scheduled that week. Since the country does not really celebrate Christmas it doesn't really feel like Christmas, and you're a lot less likely to get homesick than you would think. I celebrated by going to one of my German friend's apartments for a Christmas Eve party. There was lots of food and we all exchanged gifts. I believe this event is discussed in this blog.

- What's this I hear about Turkish bathhouses?
I've been in ...3 Turkish bathhouses (hamam).
A traditional Turkish hamam is separated by gender, and females are scrubbed by females, males are scrubbed by males. There's usually a changing room (as a female, you get either topless or completely naked- be sure to bring a bathing towel. Males always wrap their bottom halves with a bathing towel). After the changing room, you proceed to a steamy chamber (like a sauna) with others. You sit there for awhile until your skin gets all soft, then a bathhouse worker scrubs you down until all your dead skin sloughs off. My skin has never looked so good as after a Turkish bath. Be sure to tip your bather/masseuse!

Apparel
- How should I dress, culture-wise?
Remember, Turkey is a fairly Westernized nation. On METU's campus, you'll be walking around with fairly typical college students. You can wear "normal" school attire without offending anyone. Generally, in Western Turkey in the larger towns/cities, "normal" clothing will not offend anyone. I would be a little more covered up for visiting a more traditional village, a more traditional section of a city (in Ankara, there's Ulus), or for visiting Eastern Turkey especially. If you're in Turkey for fall semester, you'll spend most of your days a little more covered up due to the weather anyways.

- What is "normal" clothing?
What I mean is that jeans are most certainly okay!! As a female, I don't recall the girls wearing too many T-shirts, but you only have so many suitcases in which to bring clothing. There's no need to overdo it. No one is going to stare at you if you are dressed in sneakers, jeans, and a T-shirt.

- What about shoes?
If you want to be fashion conscious, Turks generally don't wear flip flops, but college-aged Turks really like Converse hi-tops. Remember to keep in mind that if you're going to be doing a lot of walking, you should wear appropriate shoes. Much of METU's campus is paved with cobblestones. It is best to wear sneakers. You should probably bring at least one pair of sneakers and one pair of hiking boots (for walking/hiking, and the snow).

- Do women cover their hair with a hijab (or headscarf)?
It's illegal for public workers to wear a headscarf. Women cannot wear a headscarf while taking Medical School entrance exams, teaching, practicing as a doctor, or attending public universities. Therefore, female students and professors at METU are not allowed to wear a headscarf. In Eastern Turkey and more traditional cities or sections of cities, headscarf-wearing is a lot more popular. However, you are only required to wear a headscarf when entering a mosque (they also require that women cover up their midriffs and that all visitors take off their shoes).

Classwork
- Did you have trouble transferring credits?
I think this depends on your classes, and I believe the procedure has changed since I have been abroad. You usually get your classes pre-approved by some academic advisor before you even apply to go abroad. I also had a class or two approved by a Drexel adviser while I was in Turkey. However, it did take nearly 9 months (after my return to the USA) for my credits/classes to transfer.

- Did you have difficulty in your engineering classes?
Being a computer science major, I took a Computer Engineering class at METU (it was Introduction to Natural Language Processing). I did not have much difficulty with my engineering classes.

- How many classes related to your major did you take? How many classes did you take total?
I was ahead in my classwork, so I mainly chose courses according to my schedule (i.e. I didn't want classes on Friday. Thursday nights were always spent on an overnight bus trip somewhere). I took one computer science course, one freshman philosophy course (it was really easy), Turkish language (required), a contemporary Turkey lecture series (required, but there are only classes during orientation), and a Turkish history class. So that's about 5 course, but only 4 of them were going on throughout the semester.

- Was the level of class difficulty the same?
I would say that my engineering class at METU required almost as much, or slightly less, than a typical computer science class at Drexel. My liberal arts classes were as easy as a Drexel liberal arts course, possibly due to the fact that being a native English speaker gave me a tremendous advantage.

- What sort of course offerings are there?
METU is a really big school, so they had more classes offered in my major than Drexel does. I assume they'll be the same for most engineering disciplines. Their liberal arts offerings were also quite impressive. I was happy to take Turkey-related courses not normally offered by Drexel (such as 'The Image of the Turk in Italy and Europe'. Then there's also the 'Politics of Water' which is an interesting issue, especially concerning the Euphrates).

- How did professors approach the language barrier?
All classes are supposedly taught in English at METU, however, I did encounter a sociology professor or two who did not appreciate my inability to speak Turkish, nor my technical major. There is a week or two in which you get to try out classes at METU. Take this opportunity to talk to professors and gauge their willingness to teach you.

- Are they lenient at METU about class absences?
I believe attendance requirements change depending on professors, just like at Drexel. I do recall skipping a week of classes immediately after Seker Bayrami to travel with my mom. There were not any major problems caused by my absence. Just make sure to fulfill your requirements, do homework, or whatever else is required. But remember, you lose much of the experience if you spend all your time studying for classes.

Language
- What is difficult with the language barrier?
There is nothing that can't be solved with a little bit of hand-waving, and some drawings. Especially if the matter involves money. You learn the names of food you like, places you want to go, etc. The biggest problem is understanding how much several purchases cost together (if it's not digitally displayed). It takes some time to understand what prices/numbers cashiers are saying.

- How do I overcome the language barrier?
Keep in mind, you will likely be taking Turkish language lessons at METU. This helps a lot. But also remember, that practice really does make perfect. The more outgoing you are, and the more willing you are to try conversations with people in Turkish, the better your language skills will get. People are usually quite surprised (and pleased) that you know some Turkish. Don't be afraid. If you want to get a head start on the language before you go, the "Teach Yourself Turkish" with audio CD program is pretty decent.

Housing
- Where did you live?
I lived in a private dorm (EBI II, I believe). It was fine. I wish my Turkish roommate wasn't so shy, but besides that, no real complaints. The dorms are all on campus, with a whole bunch of dorms. There were other exchange students who lived off campus, but the dorms are much cheaper than they are in Philadelphia, so I didn't mind paying for EBI II.

- Which dorm should I choose to live in?
I highly recommend avoiding the public dorms, and sticking to EBI I and EBI II entirely. The location is good, and you get to avoid some of the hassle of public dorms. Public dorms are not open during study abroad orientation, so if you are placed in a public dorm you will have to move. Additionally, public dorms often have more than 2 students living in a single room and/or sharing a single bathroom. If you choose a private dorm, I recommend opting to have a roommate or two. Exposure to someone who lives in Turkey only adds to the experience.

- How do you pay for the dorms?
Living in EBI II, they required the entire 4 months rent within the first month or so, and in cash. Keep this in mind. I hope your debit/ATM card works.

Travel
- Did you get a chance to travel?
I traveled a lot. I think in the 17 or so weeks I was in Turkey, I went on 11 trips and saw/toured/explored 16-20 different cities. I used a "Lonely Planet" guide to Turkey for getting around and choosing where I wanted to go. That books is absolutely great for travel in Turkey. Also, keep in mind, I sort of used my semester abroad as a vacation. I took less/easier classes than I normally would, and chose classes that didn't conflict with my travel schedule (i.e. no class on Friday!).

- Who did you travel with?
I traveled to Olimpos/Antalya with my American roommate and some other exchange students from other countries, to Kapadokya with the study abroad program, to Istanbul (to see a soccer match) with a lot of exchange students from many countires, to Bogazkale/Hattusa with my German friend Torben, to Pamukkale/Afrodisias with my dad, to Mt. Nemrut/Kahta/Sanliurfa/Van with two older American exchange students, to Efes/Canakkale/Troy/Gelibolu/Kusadasi/Istanbul with my mom, to Konya with the study abroad program, and to Bursa with a Dutch friend of mine. Keep in mind, you usually travel with people who have similar schedules as you. Normally, people have Friday off, but not usually Monday or Thursday. I didn't like traveling by myself too much, but I knew a girl who preferred it that way. So, it's not out of the question.

- Where should I go?
I used my Lonely Planet's front map for advice on the must see places. Obviously, Istanbul is a must see. BUT YOU MUST ABSOLUTELY GO TO OLIMPOS IN WARM WEATHER. It's not a real Turkish experience, but Olimpos has absolutely gorgeous beaches, ruins, a dance bar with a ceiling open to the sky, and cheap lodging (with meals included)...plus you get to stay in tree houses!! METU should take you to Kapadokya, which is another great place. I really enjoyed going up Mt. Nemrut near Sanliurfa. My photos at http://iristurkey.shutterfly.com (the password is 'irisinturkey') should give you more ideas about places you'd like to see.

- How do you travel?
Generally, I took an overnight bus on Thursday night, arrived Friday morning and then took an overnight bus Sunday night to show up on time for Monday classes. Yes, it's pretty grueling, but how many times in your life are you going to be in this situation? So, buses are the simplest/cheapest method of transportation. Airfare is also a bit cheaper, especially for airlines other than Turkish Air (that is, the domestic lines). I forget their names now, but sometimes it's much easier to take a 2 hour plane ride rather than a 21 hour bus ride.

- More information about traveling by bus?
METU has two bus company representatives in the Sunshine Cafe. Those two lines are high-end moderate scale, and generally only go places in Western Turkey. If you want to go East, you should go to ASHTI (the bus station) and buy tickets there. There's many more vendors at ASHTI. On the bus, girls should protest loudly if they are seated next to a male they do not know. On the nicer bus lines, you may get a movie dubbed in Turkish (I was privileged to see "Final Destination 2" and "Weekend at Bernie's"). Most bus lines have a bus attendant who will cart free snacks up and down the aisle and hand out cups of water and other drinks. Every 4 hours, the bus stops at a roadside stop allowing people to go to the bathroom and buy snacks there. It's difficult to fall asleep on the buses at first, but you slowly grow accustomed to it.

- What about travel to other countries?
I had some American friends who traveled to Georgia. Probably not the best idea. And sure, Turkey is close to Romania and Eastern Europe, but there's so much to explore in Turkey one semester is really not enough time to do it all, so I didn't bother leaving the country for elsewhere.

Food
- Is alcohol prohibited?
No! Just slightly more expensive and harder to find. I suggest you read up a bit more on the country. May I suggest "Crescent and Star" by Stephen Kinzer. It's a bit old, but...it's a good beginning for a grasp on the culture.

- How were the meals like? as in, did you often go to the grocery store or did you eat out or order-in most of the time?
METU has kantins (translation = cantines = small cafes/restaurants/buffets) in each academic building, plus a small grocery store on campus. I mainly ate out, choosing to have lunch in the academic building kantins, and dinner at either the campus mini-mall, or a kantin in another dorm. There really isn't any "ordering-in". I usually did my own breakfast from the grocery store (yogurt or fruit or cucumbers), but I could also get breakfast in my dorm kantin for about $2 per day. I never cooked my own food, but that may have been because I didn't want to buy any pots and pans. ...or maybe due to laziness.

- What kind of food is the most common?
Turkish food pretty much consists of lamb. Lamb in every form: sliced, mashed, with vegetables, with bread, without, spicy, plain, etc. Even the McDonald's and Burger King offered "McTurco Burgers" and "Kofte Burgers." There's usually a chicken option, as well. There's also a lot of yogurt consumption. It's often a side dish with lamb (usually kebab of some sort. Iskender kebab is always served with yogurt). Milk is not really something they drink in Turkey. They have a salty watery yogurt drink called "ayran" instead. If you want a taste of what Turkish yogurt is like, try Trader Joe's "Greek-Style Yogurt". It's good. Not as sweet as American yogurts, but it has an extra kick to it.

- What is obviously different about Turkish cuisine?
A classic Turkish breakfast is cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, a boiled egg, plain bread, and some processed meats arrayed on a plate...with black tea of course! Cereal and milk are not too widespread. The peanut butter in Turkey is a lot sweeter than our peanut butter, and the jelly is funky, too. Sliced white bread isn't heavily consumed. You can only really find beef offered at international fast food restaurants. Fresh squeezed orange and pomegranate juices are a lot cheaper and a lot easier to find. Make sure you try these!!

- Is it difficult to be a vegetarian in Turkey?
It's not just difficult, it's nearly impossible. Almost everything contains meat of some sort, and most people there do not seem to understand the concept of what "vegetarian" means.

- What if I get homesick for certain foods?
Sadly, the main problem with Turkish food is there is no variety. Very little Chinese restaurants, few (if not no) Mexican restaurants, and I don't recall ever seeing Italian. Of course, there are Turkish dishes similar to some things we know. I'm sure some restaurants offered spaghetti with tomato sauce, but I recall have a tasty dish of spaghetti with goat cheese and mushrooms, or something like that. Even Pizza Hut doesn't really offer typical, plain cheese (or even pepperoni) pizza. A typical pizza from a kantin or restaurant often has corn and processed meat on it and I've even seen a tuna pizza. There are beef cheeseburgers offered at McDonald's and Burger King however. There's a Dunkin Donuts in Istanbul, on Istiklal Caddesi.

- Will I have to drink Turkish coffee?
Turkish coffee is really just a small amount of really strong coffee (don't drink the coffee grounds at the bottom!!). Only dessert places offer Turkish coffee, for the most part. Most Turks seem to drink instant Nescafe, it's rather challenging to find brewed coffee (once again, try the dessert places). Turkish tea is also very popular. It's cheap and you can get it anywhere. It's really just extra strong black tea, and it comes in a Turkish tea glass.

Money
- Does it end up being really expensive to live abroad?
It is cheaper to live in Turkey than in the United States. My dorm cost $400/month, and it was the nicest dorm on campus. Food is cheaper. Traveling is cheaper. Alcohol is a bit more expensive, or the same, I can't remember. You spend the most money by traveling a lot and buying too many souvenirs. But you miss out on a lot if you opt out of traveling.

- How do I get my money while abroad?
You're out of your mind if you plan on getting money with your credit card. I highly recommend getting a Visa Check Card. Life's just easier that way. There's ATMs all over the cities. But be careful, some towns don't have any ATMs at all! Don't get stranded without money.

- What about Traveler's checks?
Bad idea in Turkey. They're annoying and rarely ever accepted. Use an ATM/debit card.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Mutlu Seneler!

It only took 20 hours, but I made it home alive. I even stayed up until 1am!

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Hamam

So, I had nothing planned today. Nothing! Just to finish my project and start studying for my Natural Language Processing final.

So, around 1pm when my professor emailed me to tell me that I have a final tomorrow, Laura also emailed me. She wanted to go to a hamam before she left, so I agreed to go with her.

We wandered around Ulus a bit. We asked for help, and were told that we were standing right in front of the Şengül Merkez Hamamı - the one we wanted. We entered and were ushered to a room where we undressed. I had worn a swimsuit this time, sweet! We left the room, sort of confused (we didn't know where to go). All the women in the entryroom laughed at us. Such is life, stupid yabancılar!

So, a woman ushered us into the hot baths, where we were supposed to sit by a sink and poor hot water over ourselves for 5-10 minutes (there was a girl there who spoke a bit of German, and she was really useful). While Laura was in another room getting scrubbed down, I started having a little difficulty breathing (the hamam air is hot and heavy with water). But just in time I was taken to the other room to be scrubbed as well.

The washroom was much cooler. I was basically scrubbed with a brillo pad, and the washlady pointed out the rolls of dead skin being scrubbed off of me. Yum.

Just as I was feeling better, I had to sit up and get my face scrubbed. I began to "brown out" so I stuck my head between my knees. The washladies noticed my condition and began pouring cold water on me. Considering I was overheating, the cold water felt good, but it also threw my body into a sort of mini-shock.

The older washlady decided I should get out of the hot bath. It would have been a good idea, had I been ready to stand up. I thought I was, but as soon as I turned the corner I knew I wasn't. My sight browned out, then my hearing went funny. I leaned against the wall and passed out.

I was immediately thrown into some deep dream. I don't remember what it was about, but I remember I completely and totally forgot what was happening. When I woke up, I still couldn't see, but I could hear a bunch of foreign female voices. I thought, "Where the fuck am I?" and my sight returned and I remembered.

I was in the outer room, sitting in a chair. It must have been quite a feat for these tiny Turkish women to drag me out there (think Gulliver and the Liliputians). A teaspoon full of sugar was shoved into my mouth.

So, as soon as I was somewhat conscious, they dragged me back into the changing room where I threw myself on the bed, and they threw two towels on me. Laura came in and said, "Are you okay?" Apparently, she missed my full 15 seconds of unconsciousness.

We got dressed and paid. I apparently missed 3 lira worth of a massage, but made up for it by tipping my washwoman 10 lira (that's a heck of a lot!). I felt it was only right, seeing as I went unconscious and all. Then we walked our way through Ulus and caught a cab (we both had dinner plans, and would've missed them had we taken a dolmuş- or rather, had we taken the metro to Kızılay, and then taken a dolmuş).

I was quite alright after that. Excited and energized, even.



Nothing says Turkey quite like being dragged around unconscious and half naked in a hamam.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Noeliniz Kutlu Olsun!

Weirdest Christmas ever.

Although, considering I've spent all of my previous Christmases at home with my family, it's no surprise that my Christmas in a Muslim country was a little different.

I spent all day shopping with Lisa and Laura in Ulus around the Citadel. I am done Christmas shopping. I am done souvenir shopping. No more! I think I'll go broke!

Heck, I spent 40 YTL on nazar boncuk (evil eye) related junk.

I got my first "Christmas feeling" as we were sitting on the second floor of a half-timbered cafe in the Citadel. It was red-tinted inside with little nazar boncuks hanging from strings above the window and tealight candles on the tables. You could see people walking on the street below and the snow-covered roofs of the Citadel houses. Our çay came with little gingerbread cookies on the side. (And I had the most delicious muesli)

We returned, and I got ready for Torben's dinner party. I waited for Clement outside for 10 minutes, while he waited inside for me. Very productive.




Dinner
A blurry shot from the dinner
The common room floor was covered in pillows, with two short tables to eat at (eating a la Turca again). The "Christmas tree" was really pine tree branches cut off, stuck in a pot, and decorated with epilepsy-inducing Christmas lights.

Torben and his flatmates had prepared a very Turkish meal: onion soup, handmade mixed pide, cous cous-like rice, various salads, fried potato things, something drowning in yogurt, and chicken.

Clement had brought two bottles of wine from home/France, so that was nice. Anton was drinking cola mixed with orange Fanta. Weird.

Tavla
Clement and Torben playing tavla/backgammon. Torben is lost in strategy...or completely miserable. One can never tell with him.
After dinner, we exchanged (our "unisex and uni-nation") pollyanna presents- German style, I guess. We all got a present, and then for 10 minutes we rolled a die and passed it to our neighbor. If you got a '6' you were allowed to exchange your present with someone else's present. When the 10 minutes were up, we could open the presents.


My fincanlar
For once, I actually did well! I mean, I bought a small tavla/backgammon board, and lots of people were playing it throughout the evening. And I got a set of two fincan (Turkish coffee cups) and saucers...in Christmas colors. Buysan, one of Torben's Turkish flatmates showed me how to make Turkish coffee. So my body was half drunk and ready to sleep, but my mind was wide awake.

Hannes read my fortune from the coffee remains. He said "It's dry." Michael determined that I "will go on a journey and cross a large body of water."

Other people didn't do so well with presents. Anton had run out of time and bought a neon pink beret and scarf. Clement ended up with it. Someone hadn't brought a present, so we wrapped up a bottle of gin that someone brought. Laura ended up with it (she and Marta were the ones who had brought it). Other gifts included a fake human skull, a dart board, two crazy hats, a normal winter hat, a bottle of red wine, a small box of chocolates,...

After gift exchanging we sat around, drank, and played tavla. I eventually fell asleep and woke up to find my two German neighbors playing backgammon on my head.

And...back to sleep it was.

The music for the evening went from some German music (the largest number of the dinner attendees were German, 6 of 16), to good 'ole hokey American music (the first time I've heard it in a year), to Santana (we all made fun of Jan for it), and then back to assorted Torben selections.

Oh, and I learned a new German word: "Yein." Slang for something in between Ya/Yes and Nein/No.

Dessert came. It was *delicious* ice cream, cookies, small pastries, and a box of chocolates. So much we couldn't eat it all.

Around 2am a bunch of us walked back to campus. Anton slid all the way down the icy hill. It was pretty funny.

So in conclusion, a Turkish Christmas includes lots of exchange students, tavla, dessert, and gin mixed with apricot nectar. Being the only American in attendance is not necessarily a requirement, but suggested when celebrating Christmas on the 24th instead of the 25th.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Bursa - Gün 2

We woke up early and took showers. Laura commenced complaining about how she didn't sleep well. I slept like a log. I haven't been sleeping very well recently, but these past two nights I've just been knocked out. It's nice.

Bursa
Am I the only person frightened by the sight of a nuclear power plant?
After checking out, we had to catch a dolmuş back into town. Bursa dolmuşes aren't like the Ankara ones- they're cars instead of minibuses. 'Work just as well. It shows how the dolmuş started out as a "shared taxi."

Emir Sultan Mosque
We got off at Heykel and transferred to Emirsultan. The Emir Sultan Mosque (above) was actually a very simple mosque- simple for "Ottoman style" anyways. Bursa was the original capital of the Ottoman Empire, so it is where this style first developed.

Yesil Turbe
From there, we walked to Yeşil Camii and Yeşil Türbe (Green Mosque & Tomb). The Yeşil Türbe actually had blue-green tiles covering the coffins.

We pressed on westward and back to the bazar for some shopping. Sadly, the bazar was closed. So, I couldn't finish off my souvenir shopping. I was severely disappointed. Had we been able to take an overnight bus on Friday (or even left Thursday night like normal people), we would have had plenty of time to go shopping on Saturday. Oh well, I guess that means I need to fit in a day trip to İstanbul sometime.

Another young Turkish man helped us by leading us to another scarf shop. I no longer need scarves. *Argh*

So, over lunch (another iskender kebab) Laura decided that she felt a cold coming on. To be safe, she wanted to leave early so she doesn't get sicker- something about finals next week. I don't know. I planned on staying until our bus left at 5pm, and I wasn't going to leave 3 hours early.

I dropped Laura off at the bus stop and proceeded to hike through Bursa by myself.

Bursa Rainbow
I (once again) got off at the wrong stop, but it was a good mistake this time. I was able to catch a full rainbow over the city.

Ottoman houses
I walked the downhill kilometer to the Muradiye complex, wandering through small streets lined with early-Ottoman houses.

Muradiye Tombs
Above you see the tombs of the Muradiye Complex. When a new sultan came into power, he had all his brothers killed (to avoid civil wars). So, my tomb visits included seeing several little baby/childhood coffins.

After seeing the Sultan II Murat Mosque, I grabbed a taxi back up the hill to the Orhan Gazi and Osman Gazi Tombs. These are the tombs of the founding sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

Central Bursa
Central Bursa, including the glass pyramid of Zafer Plaza. Bursa is really close to a large mountain, Uludağ, which is famous for its skiing.

By this time I was tired and hungry. So, I grabbed some random Turkish dairy/pudding dessert and headed back to the otogar where I bought more Turkish sweets (kestane şekeri, pişmaniye, and walnut-filled marshmallows). I once again slept on the bus ride home.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Bursa - Gün 1

So, I overslept 15 minutes. I was behind 15 minutes in packing. I was behind 15 minutes in getting dressed. I was only 10 minutes behind in getting to the dolmuş station to meet Laura for our shopping journey to Bursa*.

Laura, however, wasn't there. So, I waited until 9:15 (a half an hour later than we had agreed). She still wasn't there. I went to her dorm and called her room. No answer. I went to my dorm and asked Sharon if she was on Skype. She wasn't. I walked to the other dolmuş station on campus. She wasn't there. By then, it was too late for me to catch a green bus to the otogar and I had to settle for a taksi.

At ASHTİ I finally found her.

She was a bit late, and since I wasn't at our meeting place she had figured I left without her. Ugh. After all that running/stress that morning? Urgh. There's a reason I medicate my anxiety on travelling days.

We began our 6 hour bus trip at 10 am and I slept most of the way there (that's what you get for staying out until 3am). We arrived in Bursa and caught a city bus into town. Seeing a busy area, we decided that it was a good stop to get off at. So, we spent the next couple hours trying to figure out where we were. We were several blocks West of where we had thought.

Somewhere around Zafer Plaza a young Turkish man offered to help us. He guided us to the bazar and left us there to shop. By then it was 6:30 and most shops were closed already, so we decided to come back the next day.

We wandered around Central Bursa a bit, found our chosen restaurant (Hacibey) had gone out of business (another young Turkish man helped us figure this out), and settled for İskender. We sat down and the waiter asked us what we would like. We asked for a menu, he told us they only served iskender kebab.

The menu wasn't what you eat, but how much.
It was, however, some of the best İskender kebab I've ever had. Bursa is famous for it. İskender is basically döner (thinly sliced lamb cooked over a vertical spit), coated lightly in tomato sauce and then topped off with melted butter. Delicious.

After dinner, we drank çay and ate cake at a nearby cafe. Our backs were beginning to hurt from lugging our backpacks around all day, so we headed to our chosen hotel- Atlast Termal Otel.

It was in a completely different section of Bursa, so we decided to have a taxi drop us off. Our driver didn't know where the place was either. It was mildly amusing. Especially when he tried to drop us off at some 5 star hotel. I don't think so.

Atlas Termal Otel
Yes, that is a wood covered ceiling. Now we all know why the Atlas cost 90 YTL a night. Or maybe it was because we didn't haggle. Or maybe it was because it included breakfast. Or maybe it was because it had a private mineral bath.

Either way, the room was nice and the mineral bath was nicer.


* Note: We had to leave Saturday morning so Laura wouldn't miss Friday class. We had to leave Sunday afternoon so Laura isn't too tired to attend Monday classes. That resulted in exactly 24 hours in Bursa, plus 12 hours on a bus.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Başarısız Oldu

People in a stairwell
Staying out until 3am, waiting in a stairwell in Ayrancı for a party that doesn't exist? No, not I!

Really, we had attempted to see King Kong but showed up too late. The party was cancelled, but no one told anyone. We were on a roll of failures, so we ended up cooking Turkish dinner and watching Flight Plan.