The Ultimate Pick Me UP: PARAGLIDING

I was upset still about my camera, but for the briefest of moments I was incredibly happy that day. I got to do something so out there, and so daunting to most people that I can't help but create for it its own blog posting. Basically, I woke up early in the morning lamenting at the fact that I wouldn't have a camera to take pictures of the experience. However on the bus ride to Ölüdeniz, I was reassured by Vilena and the people taking us paragliding that they would provide all the photos and video that I could possibly want.

Basically we traveled all the way to the top of a mountain at an altitude of 2000m high. The paragliders unfolded the parachutes out in front us to see. The first group that went had some trouble but they demonstrated how easy it truly is. Basically the parachute is laying on the ground and your connected to it. All you have to do is to start running downhill and the air will pull the parachute into the air. You keep running until the parachute is right above you and then that forward momentum would take care of the rest. Your legs will lift off the ground and soon enough you will be in flight. This how me an my pilot did it exactly. We just ran down the mountain and the parachute did the rest.

And that is exactly how I did it. I first met my pilot.
Then, we unloaded the parachute. Personally, I was hoping to just jump off a cliff and then just pull the flap.
I got psyched in my decked out helmet.
I got ready...
I started walking...
I took off into a run...And Sir Isaac Newton did the rest.
And we lifted off the ground!


I'm flying!~!~!
View from above:
Remind me why I'm not a pilot yet?
Thanks to Vilena K, I have these memories forever on my backup hardrive, on my computer, and on my blog.
Never quite had a rush like it actually. It made me want to sing:

I've waited for this moment
All my life and more
And now I see so clearly
What I could not see before.
The time is now or never
This chance won't come again
Throw caution and myself into the wind.

There's no promise of safety with these secondhand wings
But I'm willing to find out what impossible means.
A leap of faith.

Parody of an angel
Miles above the sea
I hear the voice of reason
Screaming after me
"You've flown far too high boy now you're too close to the sun,
Soon your makeshift wings will come undone"

But how will I know limits from lies if I never try?

There's no promise of safety with these secondhand wings
But I'm willing to find out what impossible means.
I'll climb through the heavens on feathers and dreams
'Cause the melting point of wax means nothing to me.
Nothing to me
Nothing to me

I will touch the sun or I will die trying.
Die Trying.

Fly on these secondhand wings
Willing to find out what impossible means
I'll climb through the heavens on feathers and dreams
'Cause the melting point of wax means nothing to me
Nothing to me
Means nothing to me
Miles above the sea.

~Thrice, The Melting Point of Wax

Fethiye and the Lycian Way (March 28 to May 1)

For pictures:

Fethiye and the Lycian Way

When leaving Olimpos to get to Fethiye, we traveled along the coastline following a very ancient path known as the Lycian Way. It is actually, from what I here a pretty cool trekking trip that would take 5 days, and it would end in Fethiye. However, we couldn't do it since we didn't have that kind of time. We traveled by bus instead. The island you see below is actually the Greek island of Megiste.

We got there late in the evening, and Kristina wasn't feeling good. It was a mixture of headache, dizziness, and homesick (missing the man of her dreams). It was too bad. Once we got to where we stayed, Ideal Pension, the rest of us decided to go out, see the town at night, and to get some food. We were fortunate enough to find an open fish market, where we could by are fish directly, and then give it to a restaurant that would cook it for us. It was actually quite convenient. Vilena got a small fish, and Lessa and I shared a medium sized Sea Bass. The meal was "çok guzel" since they gave us fish sauce that blew tarter sauce out of the water. It enhanced the taste of the Sea Bass, and I was once again in fish heaven. Apparently, we should have bought our fish directly though from the boats that were docked in the harbor because the market buys it from them, so they get a take in the profits, which increases the costs for the consumer. If only we knew to cut out the middle man...

That night we sat down with a couple of people from all over. There were surprisingly a couple of Americans and Canadians that were staying in our Pension. American's are not the biggest tourist population in Turkiye, especially not around Fethiye. Turkiye gets actually more tourists from Germany, and Russia. Fethiye however is a tourist haven for the British. I have no idea but everything in Fethiye seems to be catered to the Britts. I have seen so many Fish and Chips restaurants that it started to creep me out that I was having trouble finding a place where I could enjoy a good kebab.

The next day, Lessa, Vilena, and myself went walking around, and we found a hilltop to roost on to take some great pictures of the city below. The bay area is naturally protected by outside weather interferences making it a very nice vacation spot. The outer bay area has 11 or so islands. We could have seen them but we decided to go on a different boat cruise in Ölüdeniz that took us throughout the bay area there and allowed us to see St. Nicholas island. Fethiye has quite a bit to offer however. Its nightlife is new to the scene but, from what I have heard, is very popular. It hosts all the comforts of small western towns and plus some additional comforts only found in Turkiye. I actually fell in love with the area because it was very similar to Antalya in matters of how mountains run along the ocean, and how there is a lot of history behind the areas settlement. It was first founded during around 450BC as a Lycian colony. Lycia is the area of Anatolia that forms the peninsula in modern day Southern Turkiye. It was later conquered and added to by the Romans. Then came Arabic invaders, then the Seljucks, the Crusaders, and finally the Ottomans.


Lycian burial tomb. Someone important was obviously buried here...if he requested this in a will then I think he over exaggerated his own importance. Honestly, people who ask for their own memorials...
There's me going somewhere that was out of bounds. It was, however, just another lonely tomb.

After we finished with the hill we continued to walk around and we found a lot of areas to further experience and explore. For instance, there was one area of town where there was a lot of shopping outlets. The girls then only had one thing in mind. They went shopping, and I scoped out the place in search of any good deals. This little town however is still pricy at first. I say at first though because you can always haggle with the shop owners for a much lower price. Needless to say though I got bored, and went back to the pansiyon where I enjoyed tea with the owner and set up a cruise for us the next morning and paragliding for me the following day. Sweet!

The cruise we were on was a nice choice by me for an all day activity. Basically it consisted of cruising to see the Blue Cave, swimming and laying out at Gemile Beach, seeing the Lagoon, and hiking around St. Nicholas' Island. It was a fun time. I almost went waterskiing actually but they were offering water skiing with out a proper slalom ski. They only had a pair of skis meant and the one I could slalom on was in horrible shape. Dad, you spoiled me with an awesome ski and now I have trouble accepting anything less. Once again the water was extremely clear and clean, and it was a pleasure to swim in. A little on the cold side, it didn't take long to get used to it. I enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately, Vilena was the only one willing to join me more then half the time. Everyone one else on the cruise were older tourists coming to see the sights, and the few that were my age decided not to swim. I tried to inviting. I invited others in, and I was trying to show how much fun it is to dunk someone (Vilena) but no one hardly came in so I swam by myself most of the time. St. Nicholas' Island was a very small Island in the Lagoon that surprisingly had a lot to offer in the ways of ruins. A lot of it was kept in tact very well, and the entire island was covered with them. I was pissed that we had so little time there because the guys running the tour screwed up majorly in leaving on time. St. Nicholas' Church was very much still intact besides the roof. Actually this is where the actual St. Nicholas lived for some time to give away his immense fortune to help others. Overall, it was a fun little getaway. I enjoyed it immensely. I just wished however that when I was exiting the van when we arrived back at the Pension, that I checked my bag for my camera. I don't know how it happened, but somebody reached in my bag and snatched my camera. I can't even fathom who did it! The bag was next to me the entire time, and the people I was sitting next to did not seem like the type to steal due to the severe hypocrisy. The couple I was sitting next to were both obviously culturally conservative. The woman was fully covered, the man hardly spoke a word to any westerner, and the man hardly ever let the woman out of her sight. I even figured before hand that there was no chance that these people would steal. The only other alternative would be is if someone working on the cruise grabbed it when I wasn't looking while paying the bus driver. But the guy would have had only ten seconds to nab it and the couple I was sitting next to would have seen it! I know that when I was on the bus that I had it, but when I left the bus it was gone (and so was the bus). I was very upset about the whole thing. I didn't care as much for the camera as I did for the memory card. I had over 400 pictures on it! Those preserved memories of mine were worth more then my bloody Canon Power Shot! It gets me incredibly angry when I think about it. Who in the hell would steal my camera. The people in the bus were obviously well enough off to not be forced to steal, so why in the hell take my memories?!

I was upset the entire night, and entire next day. There was however one exception to this...

A heaven called Olimpos (April 25-28)

This part of the trip was just incredibly relaxing and at the same time taxing. We caught a dolmus from Antalya that dropped us off on top of the mountain face overlooking Olimpos. Olimpos is a very small place whose only source of income is tourists, and vacationers. There is a town by where we stayed, but we didn't see it. Basically the entire place is made up of small, cheap pansiyon's (hostels) that blend in incredibly with the local surroundings. Many pansiyon's offer actual tree houses, and bungalows to stay in. We stayed in a bungalow for a little more space and privacy.
Our first night was eventful to say the least. We got there awfully late coming from Termessos. By the time we got there and got situated, it was dark and the evening chill and relaxation started. We stayed at Bayram's Pansiyon. This pansiyon isn't known for parties or alcohol like Kidir's up the road away from the beach. This place was for wary vacationers to sit back and relax. It was incredibly pleasant. We arrived just in time for dinner. The dinner wasn't anything to brag about, and would later come back to kill the zen, so to speak. After dinner, we huddled around the camp fire, meeting and talking to other people who were staying there. I got up a conversation with a couple of Aussies from Perth, western Australia. One I believe belonged to the stolen generation of Australians who had both Aboriginal and White parents, and were taken away for reeducation to work in white society. They were literally dragged away from their families kicking and screaming. I got to learn about that sad story that night. I did share a beer with the guy, and we started talking about what there was to do around here.

One important feature regarding Olimpos is that it is backpacker's paradise. It would be rare to see a typical vacationer/tourist here because Olimpos' pansiyons do not offer all the comforts that hotels in Istanbul would offer. The rooms, might be authentic, but are much more shabbier then the rooms of a typical hotel. For one, you don't have to worry about heat in a hotel, but in a pansiyon the heaters sometimes cut out or, more likely, don't give enough heat. Also, hot water is sometimes hard to get in a Pansiyon, especially on a cloudy day since most Pansiyons run on solar energy to heat their water. The pansiyons of Turkiye offer inexpensive lodging, excellent info, and an improvised way of entertaining their customers. For instance, at Bayram's I got to enjoy backgammon, good music, and turkish çay all around a camp fire close to the beach. Most important though is the info. Since most backpackers improvise in finding a way from point A to point B, they rely upon local sources to help them. Pansiyon's typically have counterparts in other parts of Turkiye that they could suggest, and be able to tell us how to get there. However, this point I believe is muted by the fact that Turkiye is the easiest place to get around.

There are buses that go everywhere in Turkiye, so you don't need a car, and you don't need a plane ticket to get around in Turkiye. Travelling is also far less expensive here in Turkiye as compared to the states. In the states, most times you have to have your own car to conveniently get around, or hope that a train goes straight to where you need to go (and it seldom does). The other option is flying, but I can say for certain, that to fly in the states is expensive as compared to the cheap airline carriers in Turkiye. For example I flew from Istanbul to Antalya for about 85 lira or $54! A flight like that with the same distance would be minimum of $150.

But back to the point. What makes Olimpos backpacker paradise is the fact that it is filled with people who are looking for a more authentic experience that could educate them. Also what I love is that many backpackers carry with them one item for leisure. For some it is a labtop (me since Kristina needed to use it and offered me a discount on plane tickets if I brought it), a book, an instrument, and for some it is something else. Either way, what they bring with them on their travels typically gets shared with everyone they meet and it offers a way for us to share our experiences. For instance, I shared my blog with a couple of other's who where keeping blogs about their trips and the amount of knowledge gained from that alone was unparralleled. It's funny. I have felt that I have learned more on my little travels this semester then what I have learned in the classroom (granted I haven't been the best student this semester).

Apparently Olimpos is definitely for any kind of outdoorsy person. I knew from Loney Planet, my Christmas gift from Megan and Tim (thanks again!), that there was sea kyacking, scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, hiking, jeep safaris, rock climbing, and rafting. What I didn't know was the detail. There were a lot of ruins hidden away in the foliage surrounding the entire camp area, which offered fun hiking routes. There were also a lot of sea caves along the coast close to the beach. He also gave me a list of places that I could climb. He did warn us though that the beach was very rocky, and not much sand.

I wish I could have done all of that though. After dinner, my stomach was beginning to scream. Typically I don't get sick when I am in such stress free conditions but I was. I took the meds I brought with me and tried relaxing. It worked for about an hour and I was able to fall asleep. An hour into sleep, I woke up with my stomach on fire. This set off warning signs in my head because never has a stomach problem come upon me so quickly. The punch line though was that I got sick, but this wasn't the usual bought of sickness because it was accompanied with a fever to begin with. Typically a fever doesn't come until after my first bought of sickness.

Lessa and Kristina were amazingly helpful. I am incredibly thankful to them. They got me a free ride to the hospital where they restored my fluids that I was loosing, where I heard the scary news of me having not just a classic spew, but a nasty little stomach infection. That explained a couple of differences I was noticing in my sickness (I don't think anyone wants to know the details though).

I went to private Turkish hospital, which was just like a typical hospital in the US except one thing was different: it was still cheaper! Even though it was expensive to me since I am poor, the bill was much less compared to previous trips to the ER in the states. I also recieved the same treatment. The one thing I didn't like though was how at the end of it they loaded me up with way too many prescription drugs to take to help my stomach handle food and fluids in my stomach. I took the medicine to cure my infection, but I stopped taking the other stuff after the first day and a half. I also got to practice my Turkish with the nurse who didn't speak a single bit of english. I got some excellent practice in. My use of "var" and "yok" is now greatly improved. Bottom line: I hate America's health insurance. I don't care what political camp your from, because we can all agree that it is broken!

The drugs worked brilliantly but I was still recovering from loosing all of my energy. I decided to have a quick meal at the hospital, rest some more and leave early. The doctors said I should stay for another night, but I was incredibly stubborn. I was in Olimpos and on vacation, and the hospital was the last place I wanted to be. If I wanted to recover anywhere, it would definitely be on the beach at least. Also, I was incredibly worried about the bill so I convinced the doctors I was fine. They told me how to take my meds, and they also told me (Dad, your going to love this) to stay away from soda pop and alcohol for the rest of the week. I was happy to agree. I wish they also said stay away from Bayram's cooking as well. Apparently, there are two other Pansiyon's that offer superior cooking then Bayrams and they take pride in that knowledge.

I got a cab back to Olimpos: bad idea. Turkish cab drivers are still insane drivers. Being in the back seat on bumpy windy roads was incredibly nauseating. What was worse was paying him. I scanned him out of a few Lira though because I told him I didn't have that much Lira but I did have dollars. I figured since the value of the dollar was going to go down as the summer went on, it would be a nice time to use it (and play the cheap student card). As soon as I coughed up the money, I tried walking into Bayrams but once I reached my bungalow I got sick again. My friends saw this though, and they started complaining about how I left the hospital to quickly. I told them though I was fine. This led to problems that never quite dissipated throughout the entire break. They thought I was being egotistical, even though I am fully capable of reading my own body. I was fine, and I never got sick after that. However, the way in which I was shrugging it off was definitely my egotistical side coming around. It got to the point where Lessa got so angry with me that she called me an asshole. She was right in calling me that though. After that happened, I gathered up my stuff, took a nice shower, and went to bed to sleep. I didn't quite want to face them because I still felt like shit, and I was in no mood to either argue to or to get lectured. After about four hours of sleep, I decided to rejoin my friends. I got a cold shoulder the entire night, and when they talked to me they kept asking how I felt. That night was awkwardly quiet with respect to Lessa and Kristina. I apologized constantly, but after the fifth time I stopped believing that I needed to elaborate how sorry I was. They were still mad about how I came back early, and how I didn't notify them about my situation. However I explained that my phone wasn't on me (which I would later realized I left in the pansiyon in Antalya).

Thankfully, Vilena showed up to enjoy some of her Spring Break with us. I talked to her for a while. I also ordered a very plain and regular meal consisting of rice and soup with Apple Juice. I ate slowely that night. Needless to say I went to bed early that night. I was starting to really worry about my Spring Break. Because I got sick and was very defensive about me returning early, I gave off the impression of being an egotistical ass (this was the first time in my life that I have ever been accused of such), and I wasn't sure how long I could just nod and agree. My friends had grounds to accuse of me of such, but the cold shoulder and lying routine didn't help. I can always tell if someone is bothered by something, and I can tell how someone views me by just looking at their body language, and how they speak. Very few people can lie to me and get away with it so I have always insisted on people being brutally honest with me. If they are brutally honest then I can understand how they feel, and perhaps try to accommodate. If they aren't then my trust in them starts wearing thin. So when my friends started being more silent towards me, and said that everything was "okay," I knew that they were full of it. But I already ruined the zen of the trip and I wasn't going to destroy it even further by opening my mouth.

The next morning, I woke up and had a very delicious breakfast (omlet) which went down well due to the meds I got from the hospital. I avoided talking about me, and started asking about what was the plan for the day, and talking to Vilena. Basically I wanted to see what all there was to do in Olimpos because I spent two of my nights in recovery mode. If I only had one more night in Olimpos I wanted to make it worth it. I checked first with the other Pansiyons about possibly doing other things. This was when I wish I brought my own rock climbing gear. It was ridiculously expensive to just do one climb. I decided however to just take it easy, hike around to see the ruins, lay out on the beach, read a book, swim in the ocean. I actually got to do some swimming and once you got used to the water's temperature, it was rather quite nice. The water was extremely clear. I had no trouble seeing all the way to the bottom. To bad there wasn't a reef nearby because then snorkeling would have been an option. There are some ship wrecks farther out into the see, but you have to be scuba certified to do those. The hiking was amazing though. There were so many different trails to go off of, and small, well hidden little buildings built back during the Hellenistic period. This place is an archeologist's wet dream. Ruins litter the entire park and lie along the coast. There are two fortresses on either side of the river inlet. I got to explore both of them. The view and the scenery was just peaceful.

The main reason why I love Turkiye: they have done a good job protecting their heritage, culture, and history. They also don't try to impose on their natural surroundings human progress as what America has done. I didn't see one condo, apartment complex, or super mega center/shopping outlet here. It was just a small village lived in bungalows and tree houses running on solar power.

Before I went exploring however, I took a dip in the ocean with Lessa to explore an old sea cave off in the distance. Now she was also sick with a lung infection that was filling her lungs up with mucus, and I just got done getting sick, but we both decided to hell with it. It actually did a lot of good for both of us. I felt my old strength return to me, and the salt water in her mouth and possibly up her nose if she wasn't careful probably did help get some of that crap out of her lungs (she probably won't admit it though). The cave was impressive, but because we swam there we couldn't bring a camera.
The rest of the day was the occasional hike, and laying on the beach reading and listening to music. It was exactly what I needed: a great location to relax. Getting back when it was getting dark and cold, Bayram's Pansiyon still had that great chilled atmosphere about it. I played a little backgammon, and chit-chated with other people. By the end of the night I was almost fully recovered.

That night we also went to see the natural torches of Olimpos. In the mountains behind the village, gas seeps out of small vents and sometimes they catch fire. Therefore, you have eternal flame. It was cool, but it was even more cool that Energy Giants haven't tried mining for it.

The next day I did more of the same. Walking around, swimming, and hanging out on the beach. It was peaceful. However, it was getting to the point where we had to move on. We would have left sooner, but we missed the bus that we were going to take because Vilena was late getting back. She encountered a hiker tore up his leg pretty bad on a fall, and she was busy playing EMT. We instead caught the one two hours later. We said our goodbyes, and I was offered a to come back during the summer where I could work at the pansiyon in return for a small pay and lodging. Working in paradise and being completely independent in the process...sounds tempting.

Leaving Olimpos, we were traveling on the Lycian Way on our way to Fethiye.

Here is more pictures from Olimpos. Thank you Lessa and Kristina for providing them.

A heaven known as Olimpos

Termessos (April 25)

Termessos is a ruin that is to the north west of Antalya. Ruined only by treasure hunters and earthquakes, some of the ruins remain intact, where as much of the stone and marble used to build the city was recycled for nearby Roman and Byzantine settlements. Alexander the Great actually encountered this city in his march towards the east. He couldn't take the city though, and Alexander, according to the histories, was forever furious by the mere presence of Termessos. Anyone who comes here though can see why.

Termessos is unlike many of the ruins situated in Turkiye in that it resembles more of Machu Pichu in Peru. Termessos was established high up in the mountains overlooking the Bay of Antalya, and the interior plains of Turkiye. The climb up the mountain would be tedious and trying to fight an army uphill would have been extremely costly. A small number of soldiers could easily defend this location against armies numbering in the thousands. What defeated this city however was much simpler: an earthquake that brought down the aquaduct.

Termessos is just impressive due to the glorious view that it provides. It definitely gives you an idea of the terrain of Turkiye. Also the hike around is glorious. There is no park security at the ruins so it is okay to sit down in the theater or to walk on them. You are really not destroying them because the large stone bricks support them are designed to support thousands of pounds. If only I was with a group that didn’t mind breaking a couple of rules. The cistern of the ruins was extremely impressive. However to get down into it, you need another person on top to be able to pull you up. I didn’t have to ask Kristina or Lessa to know that they weren’t going to do it. There was a sign that said to not enter, and they will follow it. However, a sign like that is for liability purposes, not for fear of damaging the ruins. I wanted to see more, but I didn’t have the support to do it, so I kept my mouth shut.

Sidenote: Back home everyone knows that I like to scare my mom a little in order for her to get used to the idea of me doing something similar but not as extreme. It is my effective way into making her and others open up to new ideas, and new things. It’s also entertaining to a certain extent (I hate to admit it). However, mom never likes it when I do it and thankfully she loves me or else she probably would have killed me a long time ago. There is no such love between my traveling comrades and me. They are my friends, yes, but they don’t put up with my manipulative tactics, and they don’t have the same patience for me as mom does. Therefore, every snarky, crude, joking, and outlandish thought that comes into my head every minute needs to be constrained because I don’t want to loose friends, and I especially didn’t want to loose any during Spring Break.


At one point though I tried getting into a cistern from a smaller opening. However I was having trouble fitting through it, and my friends were protesting the entire way (except for Lessa who was quite enjoying my futile attempts into entering). They were even kind enough to take the picture of me you see below. This would make a nice picture to send my mom for Mother’s Day come to think of it. Welcome to the Hamam.
Us goofing off in the Theater...See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Say No Evil.
I also did some interesting climbing. I saw an interesting set of ruins at the top of a cliff. I knew it would be dangerous to climb up, but that is only if I slipped. It was actually a very easy climb considering there were many places to put my hands and feet, and I was able to position myself in a matter where my back could wedge itself up on the side of the cliff, so that if I did slip, I could stop myself. When I got up there, I noticed that I was in what used to be a Lycan house. The house wasn’t the most interesting part. The view was.

Now it is on to Olimpos!

Antalya (April 23-25)

Me decked out in my backpackers backpack. I was an official backpacker in Turkiye...Magnum!


This spring break adventure has been accompanied by Kristina and Lessa. We took a cab to the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul and got on a cheap flight to Antalya. The flight departed late at night and the in air time was only one hour. We arrived in Antalya around 9:00pm. We then had to find our way to Sabah Pansiyon located in Kaleiçi, the old historical part of the city. We had to take a bus all the way to Magavat and then walk from the bus stop to our Pansiyon in the dark for a couple of kilometers. It got to be a bit draining. It was interesting navigating though. We eventually asked a policemen where to go and he guided us. Thankfully I understood the basics of how many lefts and rights I needed to make (solda = to the left, sağda = to the right). We eventually found our way to the pansiyon, and then went out to get a little dinner. We then decided to hit the sack since we were all plenty tired.

We woke up early the next morning to explore the old city and to look at the city from the side we were on. The geography of the area is absolutely something to die for. The city is on one of the clearest bodies of water you will ever get to see and close by are mountains with still snow at the top, and it was in the high 70s. Perfect weather!


We then hooked up with our friends Merve and Mert, the locals who acted as our guides to the city for the entire time. It was great having them around. Regretably, I checked my email that morning to find out that I was rejected for a position next school year as being an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA), which I know I deserved considering knowbody has been able to beat me out in economics at ISU for the past three years now. Thankfully my peturbedness didn't last the entire day, and I cheared up with the scenery. It was just when we weren't doing much or in between doing things did I start getting a bit more morbid. I have a feeling that my friends noticed too. I hope I didn't affect them.
Either way, the old city was by far one of the most elegant examples of human civilization possible. All of the houses were white washed with red clay-coned roofs. They all had courtyards and inside was decorated with flowers, fruit trees, tables, and great conversation with wine or çay complimenting it. If I ever have a house, I am going to model it after what I saw here in Kaleiçi. There was this one that was set up as a restaurant and tea place that had a small pool filled with turtles, and old fashion lamps that would light up the courtyard/garden with their candle lights. Also, the old city is surrounded by a series of ancient walls that are still standing today. Many of the structures are actually ruins themselves but just built up, and upgraded. For instance many of the courtyards and houses still had ancient statuary from the Roman period. Hadrians Gate was also extremely impressive. Se pictures at the top for a better look.
Another cool thing that I got to witness in Kaleiçi was a lot of old craftsman still living and working in the city. For instance the man below the text has been making glass art all of his life and he is very talented. He made Kristina an interesting vase with a blue Nargule (All Seeing Evil Eye) created inside the glass. It was worth it watching him do it for us. We decided to go down to the famous marina built by, I believe, the Romans. We just sat around to admire the view, take in some sun, and for chit chat by the water. It was incredibly peaceful. I got to do some much needed relaxing here. The picture below is Con (like John), the little baby boy kitten whose mother abandoned him after one week. Merve found him that day, and was unable to let him go. Con was cute. He pretty much slept all day until he got hungry. Regrettably, it still only wanted to take food from its mother's tit, and the bottle was something Con didn't want. He would turn his little head every time we tried to make him drink. We had to force formula on him a couple of times. Poor little guy. We started to grow weary of the old city, and we asked Merve and Mert if there were any places in Antalya that are must sees that aren't too touristy. They immediately came up with an awesome idea. They took us to the Duden Falls, a relaxing set of waterfalls helped created by Roman aqueducts and the river under it that is about 10km north of the city. We actually got to eat lunch there, and Mert drove us to a fanstic, hidden-away place that offered fresh sea bass as their specialty. It was somewhat expensive, but this is fish and I am me. I dug in! After we finished Lunch we walked up bit to get to the actual main set of waterfalls. They were located inside a park that did require entrance fee, but we had our Muze Kartlar (Museum Cards) that provided us free entrance. We walked around and took in the beauty that surrounded us. It looked like Rivendell from the Lord of the Rings to be honest. We were able to go behind the waterfall in series of caves.

After that, Mert had to go run an errand so while he was out Merve guided us along the coast so that we could explore more of the city. We went to Ataturk Park where we got to see different busts, pictures, and statues of all his achievements throughout the park even though I swear I have heard of all of them already...he's literally everywhere! This area of the coast however lies on cliff edges overlooking the bay. It offered us a fabulous view. Too bad it started to rain on us. Thankfully we were able to ditch inside a restaurant where he had çay to wait it out. While there we also attempted to feed Con but he was resisting as usual. It would whine when we forced fed it, and it whined when we took him out of his blanket...

The beach was somewhat impressive but it is not like the beaches in Florida that are dominated by sand. These beaches are dominated by small rocks of different kinds. A rock hound would be in paradise here where as a sun bather might have to bring an extra towel to cope with the rocks. Mert however soon came back to pick us up and they took us back to their place to meat their parents and to have dinner with them. This was by far the most interesting part of the day. Their parents were very welcoming and I got to experience a real Turkish dinner with a Turkish family. I also got an opportunity to brush up on my Turkish but that was incredibly difficult with Kristina being with us. She studies and lives in the land of the languages, and she is picking up Turkish really fast. Therefore, she is the first to answer any question directed towards us enabling her to practice more. The dinner was delicious. We had Kofte, meatballs, with several other sides and appetizers. I am a huge fan of the eggplant here, and the rice with chickpeas in it. The salad was alright. I miss the Thousand Island Dressing though back in the states because salads in Turkiye usually just come with Olive Oil.
After dinner it was like Turkish Nights with an Arabian twist. We started talking about Turkish folk dances and Mert busted out his labtop to show us different folk dances performed in different parts of Turkiye. After that we started talking about belly dancing and then I pushed Lessa into showing off her belly dancing capabilities. She was a dancer for a majority of her life so I figured belly dancing would be no problem with her and it wasn't. She performed marvelously well! Mert was obviously into the atmosphere of the evening so he decided to add an Arabian twist to the festivities by dressing up as a stereotypical Arab and doing a Walk Like An Egyptian Dance. He then proceeded to perform his own version of the Belly Dance. I was definitely better then mine (but that isn't saying much). We then proceeded to go out on the town, so we went to a disco overlooking the bay. It was a fun and happening night of Efes beer, different assortments of nuts, and dancing to Disco Disco Partizani!

The next day we walked around the old city some more after we checked out. We then decided to hit up Termessos and from there go on to Olimpos. I wish I had more time in this city. It is a definite must for anyone traveling to Turkiye. For more pictures visit here:

Antalya and Termessos

Spring Break: Overview (April 23-May 3)

Basically I just wrapped up one hell of an adventure consisting of primarily Lessa, Kristina, and myself. We also had guests tag along with, who include Vilena and new friends Mervi and Mert. It was an adventure that definitely had its ups and downs but, overall, was perhaps the best little vacation that I have ever taken. It started in Istanbul, where Lessa, Kristina, and myself flew out of to Antalya in southern Turkiye. We spent two nights there, which we spent in the capable company of Mervi and Mert. From there we went to Olimpos to spend three nights. We lost Mervi and Mert but we gained Vilena. Afterward, we toured the Lycian way by bus and we got to the entire coastline which included a couple of Greek Islands, Kas, and other nice little towns/villages. We arrived in Fethiye where we decided to spend three nights there living it up. Afterward, Vilena left us to see friends in Pergamum, and we continued on to the fabulous Selcuk. From there we saw Efes, and Sirince. I will post individual posts on all the locations I visited in coming days.

Aussies, Aussies, Aussies...

Apparently the weekend before our spring break was an event called Anzac Day. It is a day where many of the later generations of soldiers who fought at the Battle of Gallipoli in WWI come back to honor the fallen heroes, and to give their respects. The two primary groups of people who come to this event are Autralians (Aussies) and New Zealanders who see the battles in their history as a part of their national identity. Therefore Istanbul was packed full of pilgrims from Australia coming to honor the dead. The tourist season is now fast approaching Turkiye. Typically I don't like all the tourists because I constantly get mistaken as one. I feel I must correct the record. I am an official resident of Turkiye that lives and works in Istanbul. I have celebrated local festivities, I have included myself into Turkish culture, and I have fully imersed myself for the time being into Turkiye. However, I love the backpackers that travel through.

One such backpacker that I know, Annika, just so happens to be the Aussie I met in Greece. Basically I spent an entire morning and afternoon with her on the Thursday before I left that very night. It was fun. We met up the night before for a drink and conversation. I learned a great deal from her. I learned all the ways of getting around Europe fairly cheaply, and how to bypass certain obstacles. For instance, I learned about the Europass, cheap flight tickets throughout Europe (Ryan Air), couch surfing, and produce stand eating.

The next day, I met up with her in Gulhane and introduced her to my good friend Huseyin. He wined, and dined us like always told some of his crazy stories, introduced Annika to the world of Turkish carpets, and to the ways of bartering around Istanbul. It was a fun day. She got the rare treat of Huseyin, and I recieved interesting company in return. After we left Huseyin's, we went to the Spice Market in Eminunu to see the Spice Bazaar and to possibly figure out where to guide Annika to go to in order to link up with Emily, and Katie to go to a hamam. That didn't work out so we just talked and walked the spice bazaar. She helped me get a nice backpack for the road, and I pitched in for a dress she wanted so much. We later on said goodbye, which sucked but I will probably see her again since I plan on trying to get an intership in the Land Down Under.