Visiting with the Greek Gods

The long awaited climbing of Mt. Olympos has finally taken place. A visit with Zeus, Hera, Hermes, et al. was an experience I am not likely to forget, and hope to repeat. Captain Canadian, the Mutt, the Genius, Svengy and I took off early on a Friday morning to conquer the 2,918 meter mountain. Of course we took a little pit stop at the beach along the way. Even though the weather wasnt the greatest, we still took a dip and listened to the waves for a while before heading to our hotel at the base of the mountain. We gorged ourselves on Greek food, as it is fantastic stuff, and went to be early to prepare for the long walk ahead of us. We had a good 6 - 7 hour walk the next day to get to the refuge on the top of the mountain where we would spend the night before summiting on Sunday. As we approached the mountain, it wasn't looking to inviting. A heavy crown of dark clouds masked the summit from view. All we could do was hope for better on Saturday.

When we awoke, a little disappointment set in, as we realized the mountain was still shrouded in clouds, but it didn't feel like rain. Closer to the coast the sun streamed down, and we had high hopes that the clouds would burn off later in the afternoon. After all, we did have 7 hours for conditions to improve. They didn't. The whole march was a little surreal, and nearly the whole climb was shrouded in eerie mist. The forested areas seemed like something out of The Village totally silent, moss hanging like icicles from tree branches, and fog swirling through the thick trunks.

At one point near the end, were walking along a narrow ridge and I'm sure it was nothing but a sheer drop off on either side, but we really couldn't tell since it looked like we were floating above a bowl of murky soup. When we finally arrived at the refuge, we almost missed it in the mist. One minute we were walking along in complete whiteness, and the next there was a cabin in front of us. Complete exhaustion and cold had settled into all of our bones. We were so thankful for the warmth of the fire inside our cramped quarters. Thirty people would be sharing space in a 3 room cabin for the night - 17 beds upstairs, 5 in the dining/sitting room, and then there was "Alaska", our room. The one with 4 beds and no heat. LOTS of blankets kept of from dying of hypothermia overnight. After a hearty, rambunctious dinner (the majority of the people there were, after all, Greeks), we played a little Crazy 8's and went to bed, but not before everyone went racing outside to catch a glimpse of the first snow flurry of the season. Yep, it was COLD.

The next morning we got up to hit the summit, another 1 1/2 hours hike from the refuge, and we treated to splendid views for about half of that - then we watched as the fog rolled up the side of the mountain, spilling into the valleys and up the walls of the cliffs. Incredible. By the time we got to what we thought was the summit trail (we missed it by one ridge) things were getting a little sketchy. The last 150 meters is straight up a large crack in the rock face, with flaky holds, and unsure footing because of all the loose rock. I made it about halfway up (by myself, everyone else chickened out) before I decided it was too dangerous. The fog had turned to a thick mist and the rock was getting slippery, making holding on a difficult task, aside from the fact that my hands were going numb from cold. I just sat down in the gravel and slid back down to the trail. Kinda fun! I'm a little disappointed that I didn't make it all the way to the top, but I'll go back in the spring when the weather is better and I will summit that mountain!! Besides, I had left Pisser behind on accident, and that would just be a crying shame to leave him out after all he's see with me.

Weird and weirder

This has been a strange week. First, I find out that my little brother has a tumor on his knee. I about had a heart attack, as cancer is something that runs in our family. I spent the better part of two days in tears waiting to hear some positive news, and finally got it. He visited a specialist yesterday and found out that everything is going to be fine, just a simple removal procedure and no worries. Whatever it is that he's got (osteochondroma) is benign 99.99% of the time. Thank goodness. I was totally prepared to pack up and head home.

Then today, my mom emails to tell me that she has been manditorily evacuated from her home, as Hurricane Rita prepares to crash into Texas right where she lives. As her house is about 4 blocks away from Galveston Bay, well... not much chance that she is going to avoid flooding if this hurricane stays a Category 4, as it is now. My brother, sister and mom loaded up the two cars they have between them with what they deemed as the important stuff (at least what seemed important at 2 am) and headed north to Fort Worth to stay with friends. After being at home and watching the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans, I can't imagine what must be going through my family's heads right now. We were even joking around that it was bound to happen sooner or later, I just never thought it would be this soon. Mom, let me know if I need to send a care package... I've got lots of soup packets in case all hell breaks loose here.

As for locally, things are heating up a little. The UN report on the readiness of Kosovo to begin final status talks is due out soon, and pretty much everyday there is some sort of protest going on. Nothing to be alarmed about. The one today seemed to be nothing more than a bunch of people standing around blocking traffic. No signs, no chanting, just a crowd - at least that's all it was when I decided it was time to get the hell out of there. No sense in standing around waiting for it to get ugly.

So I am officially 34. My birthday was yesterday. Big plans from the Party Girl? No. Took care of that last week with a big group dinner. Last night I stayed home and made a phenomenal frittata from a new cookbook Mom sent with me and watched "March of the Penguins." It was lovely! My favorite Red-Headed Mexican called me for a nice long chat just as the movie was ending and I went to bed early. Nice and peaceful way to enter my mid-thirties. YIKES, I am getting old.

Home again, home again, scrubbidy scrub

I am back in Prishtina to find some rather pleasant changes have taken place in the past couple of months.

Electricity is at an all time high, it's only gone off once in the three days I've been back. Unfortunately, the one time that it did, I was just arriving at my new apartment building laden with a heavy backpack and a box of stuff... did I mention my new apartment is on the 11th floor? I guess I didn't really get the bad end of that deal. By the time I huffed my way up to the 7th floor, I found three people with their little faces pressed to the glass in the elevator that was stuck between floors. Oops. Thank goodness the cuts are relatively predictable - they always happen on the hour or on the half hour. Note to self: Don't get in if it's anywhere close to one of those two time.

Water is now on 24 hours a day for most neighborhoods. BONUS! I was able to clean until midnight last night without having to worry that I would be stuck covered in bleach (more on that to come!).

Parking is now regulated. Instead of being able to just drive up on any old sidewalk and park your car, they have placed signage up everywhere, put stripes on the streets, and hired parking attendants so that you now have to pay to park on the sidewalk. It has cut down drastically on the immenent danger of being run down while innocently walking down the street. BONUS #2!

Other than that, Prishtina is Prishtina - dusty, dirty, and full of life. We had a little birthday dinner the other night for several of us who have birthdays this month. Much fun, good food, good conversation and lots of happy faces that I haven't seen for a while. Good stuff!

Now to complain for a minute. I arrived at the apartment I was taking over from the Super Swede to find that he has not moved out. All of his things are boxed and in the living room (taking up most of it, mind you). Anything he didn't want to take, he just left in the cabinets for me to throw away. I don't know what he was paying his cleaning woman to do twice a week, but I have never seen such filth. Ever. I have spent the past three days (with another 2 to go) bleaching the entire apartment. GROSS. It took me 7 hours just to get the bedroom and bathroom in a condition to where I was willing to unpack my things. The kitchen was covered in a layer of grease and dirt so thick that the walls have changed colors now that they are clean. EEEEWWWWW! I have had some help, and today we're having a cleaning party. Captain Canadian, the Norweigian Goddess and Thorganizer are all coming over to scrub scrub scrub. So now I am off to the grocery store to stock the fridge and get a heavy duty scrub brush and more rubber gloves. (Don't ask.) This sh*t is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. (<---- That was just for you Duchess of Sconce!)

Return trip...

It's 2:11 am and I'm trying to get my s**t together for my trip back to Prishtina in the morning. 22 hours of hell (well, not absolute hell - just alot of hanging around in airports). I've been packed for a couple of hours, only to find out that I will have to repack in the morning. One of my bags is WAY overweight. I thought it would be cheaper to have an overweight bag than to have an extra bag - I was sooooooooo WRONG. It would cost me twice as much for the heavy one than for an extra bag. Hmmmm. I find it interesting that they charge such a premium for overweight baggage, yet overweight people still get to spill into their neighbors laps. Say, is there an Atkins Diet for Samsonite?

So I am officially giving up for the evening and going to bed to get a little bit of sleep. Will repack in the morning. Then it's off to Kosovo. I'm a little excited about going "home". :)

oops

The next time I decide to blog after 3 margaritas, I hope someone is around to stop me. That last post sounded like a bad Bud Light commercial "I love you, man!" Not that every word of it wasn't true, but geez. How embarassing.

Where's the love... OH there it is....

There should be a law against inebriated blogging... it's like drunk dialing but 10 times worse. Anyway... all I really wanted to say was how blessed I am to have a circle of friends like mine. I am always amazed by the people around me... you are all so wonderful. Stacy, Alio, Kev, Amy, Kailei, Jayden, Joey, Jose, Gus, Nick, Nathan, Michelle, Kelly, Jack, Jayson, Nikki, Travis, Tam, Jamie, Julie and Jamie, Jenifer, Matt and anybody I inadvertantly missed by being a little silly right now... I love you so much!!! You have made my time in the U.S. exactly what it was meant to be. I miss you all tons already (yep, I have had one tearful incident, with more to come, I am sure - so homesick I could die and I haven't even left yet.) My tail will be wagging for weeks (or months) to come just because I had the opportunity to spend some time with you. THANKS FOR BEING THERE ALWAYS. Mean it.

And as for my wonderful family... I just can't say enough. I LOVE YOU TOO!!!!!

Before I start getting really sappy, I'm going to sign off. But I don't think I say it enough. You guys are the best. I do love you to pieces, and I am a blessed, blessed woman to have you all in my life. THANK YOU!!

More photos

Posted the 4th and final album from Turkey trip today . Finally. I know. Lazy cow. Mooo. It's what I do best. (see PHOTOS link, Turkey 4, Summer 2005 - incredibly creative album title, I know. I am sooooo ON today. Tomorrow I may write something titled August 30, LA who knows - I don't wanna get out-of-control creative or anything.)

Oh yeah, right.. heading for LA tomorrow to see the gang. Cannot wait!!! (DC was kind of a bust trip - more on that when my broken heart has healed a little bit. Nothing a little beach therapy won't cure.) Heading straight for M&N's house to see my Little Angels. I'm sure they're going to be so tall I won't even recognize them. 11 am I have my first play date. Yippee!!!

Ok, going to pack now as my shuttle to the airport is picking me up at 5:50 am. YUCK. So excited about coming home. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! (i'm such a little kid - and they put ME in charge of a classroom. hahahahahahahahaha)

:)

Dispatches from Tanganyika

Just found this blog online that I really like. It's by Poppie Z. Brite's, an author from New Orlean's. I originally came across the site when reading about hurricane Katrina evacuation stories. (Yes, I too am sucked in by other's miseries and cannot seem to tear myself away from the news or the internet.) What is it in human nature that makes us seek out the suffering, the disasters and the most horrific things we can find, say to ourselves and everyone around us "GOD THAT's AWFUL!!!!" and then immediately change the channel to find a re-run of M*A*S*H so we just don't have to think about reality? Part of me wants to cancel my trip to LA and jump in on the Red Cross Volunteer vans that are leaving Fort Worth in a few hours to head to affected areas to begin search and rescue and clean up. The rest of me, and admittedly, the biggest, most selfish part of me, says aw f*** it. There'll be a million volunteers down there anyway, and I won't get to see my friends for another year. And I know that's what I'm going to do. And I'll feel guilty about it for about 30 minutes - until I'm on my plane and heading for the coast, where it never rains, much less has a hurricane. My luck, God will smite me for being smug and send an earthquake, as I've never been through one for real.

Anyway, the real reason I started in on this whole blog thing today was to write about this other blog... here's an excerpt from Brite's blog that particularly caught my eye:

Opinions Are Like ...
Well, You KnowAll right, if I'm to be perfectly honest, I don't actually believe that everyone is entitled to an opinion. I agree with Harlan Ellison, who once said -- and I wish I could remember where he said it; probably in one of his Glass Teat columns -- that everyone is entitled to an informed opinion. I don't think people are entitled to opinions about food they haven't tried, or books they haven't read, or political issues about which they're not informed. I certainly don't think they are entitled to prejudices. Not for one moment am I suggesting that they should be prevented from expressing such opinions, but people who blather foolishly and publicly on the basis of being "entitled to an opinion" should expect to be mocked, derided, and/or treated like the bigots they are. I certainly don't claim to be free from prejudices myself, but I do recognize that my prejudices -- for instance, my long-held opinion that women don't make good fine-dining chefs -- probably make me sound like an ignorant asshole, and I try to refrain from broadcasting them (except, as here, for the purpose of "outing" myself in order to demonstrate that yeah, I know I'm a jerk too).
---------------------------------

I've included a link to this blog in my LINKS section now, more for my own benefit than for yours, no offense. I'm off to delude myself into thinking that natural disaster is not wreaking havoc on one of our most colorful historical cities as we speak, and go smoke a cigarette in 98 degree heat. Mm. The fun in my world never ceases.

Turkey Pics

At last!!! I have posted 3 of the 4 photo albums from the Turkey trip. One more to go, but it's going to have to wait for another day - editing 300 pics has kinda taken the wind out of my sails this morning. I haven't felt much like writing lately, as i am sure some of you have noticed. (no complaining Julie!) It honestly took me a full week to get over the jetlag of coming home, and now that I'm adjusted I've managed to stay pretty busy. I'll get back at it soon. I promise.

Coming home

Tomorrow morning I get on a plane for the long journey home. Friends, family, food... can't wait. I have taken a break from figuring out what the hell I need to pack to sit at an internet cafe and waste an hour. It's such an odd feeling to think that tomorrow night I'll be at my dad's house with my sisters (Duchess of Sconce, get off your butt and drive over from Dallas!), Daddy and Deb, that I'll be able to pick up the phone and hear voices that are only memories at the moment, and that I'll be able to sit comfortably in an air conditioned house while the world sweats away without me. :) It is the little things.

It's actually chilly in Prishtina today - the rain has cooled things off considerably. When I first arrived last week it was unbearably hot. I took the best course of action I could think of - leave. We had a girls' trip to Plav, Montenegro for some incredibly scenic hiking (complete with caves, canyons, waterfalls, and skinny dipping inthe coldest river known to man). Couldn't ask for a much better weekend away from the city. We stayed with a family, who turned out (oddly enough) to be related to one of my students. The Balkans are truly tiny and everyone really is related to everyone else. I don't see how there are so many blood feuds here when everyone is your cousin. Really. The farmhouse sat right on the lake, and the balcony off our bedroom had a stunning view of the lake and the surrounding mountains. To visit a place like that, where they have hardly ever seen a foreign tourist, where the locals welcome you into their home, and where the world seems completely unconcerned with everything else around it, is a true blessing. I feel fortunate to have caught a glimpse of what life in the Balkans must have been like before the wars, before the predjudices, before the modern world came creeping in. There are signs of it now - all the cars present were Mercedes, evidence of the vast diaspora that feeds money into the region. Our hostess said that most people in Plav now live in the States or in Germany and only come back for the summers. We saw every country in Europe's license plates represented as the parade of big Benz's careened through town. Still, it is stunning, and I have the feeling it will continue to be that way for a long time, as difficult roads and lack of access keep this little paradise isolated from the throngs that rush to the coastline every summer. Pics to be posted soon!!

And on that note, I really must go pack. I'm a leaaaavin' on a jet plane....

A journey's end

In utter style, I might add...

It is done. I have left Turkey for greener (?) pastures... actually I have left Turkey for a small dose of reality. A 1 hour flight, a night in a bunk bed, and 14 hours on a bus later I am in Thessaloniki, Greece with ThunderGod, the Norwegian Goddess, and Svingy - the gang from Kosovo. We all had a hell day traveling yesterday and have rightly checked ourselves into the Hyatt Regency (at the special UN rate) for some serious luxury and R&R. After sleeping with 25 other people in the same room for the past 5 weeks, I don't particularly care what it costs per night. After a late night sushi feast, I awoke this morning surrounded in a cloud of down comforters and pillows... couldn't have been happier. The bathroom itself is a glass shrouded palace - bigger than most people's apartments in Prishtina, and the pool area a lush garden replete with waterfalls and poolside massage tent. There are some advantages to having a bit of cash I suppose, and it's a real treat to splurge every once in a while even when you don't.

I do promise you all that I will complete the story of my trip once sagely home and at the comfort of my own keyboard. There are some things that really just cannot be explained with out the pictures. I only have about 400 to post (no, that's not an exaggeration)... so be patient with me.

So in 10 days I will set foot on American soil for the first time in a year. I am terribly excited to see everyone, and at the same time I'm having trepidations about being back in the land of convenience. It's a hard adjustment to make sometimes. Even in Turkey I was overwhelmed everytime I walked into a grocery store. I felt like I needed to buy things because who knew when I'd ever see it again... silly. I hope that impulse doesn't hit me when I go into Central Market or I'll be the proud but poor owner of a large selection of rare fruits and vegetables and jars of exotic condiments. I'll be flat broke in my first week home. My true fear is that I will try to satisfy all urges and cravings for fast food in a matter of minutes and will explode quite like the guy at the end of The Meaning of Life. It could happen. Taco Bell beware!!!

Turquoise Waters, Treehouses and Beyond

The past 12 days have been unbelievable. I'll do my best to do them justice, but I am afraid I won't even come close.

We'll start way back in Fethiye (it seems like ages ago!). It didn't take long after my arrival to realize that Fethiye is even more touristy than some of the other places I had been. It was an immediate assault on the nerves as vendor after vendor tried to sell me boat cruises, tours, carpets, belly dancing costumes, and various other useless objects in my life right now. What the hell would I do with a carpet? I don't even have a home right now. Sheesh. I checked into my dank little hotel, with one redeeming quality - AC. I have never been happier to have AC in my life. While I have been a bit warm in some of the places I have been, Fethiye took the cake by far. I thought I was gonna melt (being as sweet as I am, that's not such a stretch - stop laughing, all of youse!!). Anyway, ran into some friends from Atilla's and had a good couple of days lying around on the beach with them, all while having a good laugh at being stalked by the same puppy dog-eyed Turkish English teacher named Jimmy. (He was working at the Chinese restaurant in town, and I guess at some point in our stays we all had decided that it was necessary to eat something other than a kebab. From the moment I sat down and told him I was an English teacher, all he wanted to do was discuss theory. It wasn't until I ran in to him later that night that he decided to follow me around with very sad eyes because I wasn't interested. Did I mention he was 19?? lol)

After two days of Jimmy-dodging, I got on the boat for Olympos. It was an interesting mix, a Canadian family, a Turkish family, five Aussies and another American(from SF no less, older than me who had also dropped out of the advertising scene recently to travel the world. I guess that little life can fatigue just about anyone) We all had a BLAST. Who wouldn't aboard a big ass sailboat (even though we motored the whole way) in the beautiful turquoise waters of the Mediterranean, with nothing to do all day but snorkel, nap, drink beer, swim, drink more beer, sleep some more... Honestly. How could that be bad?? Leave it to the families to find a way. The last night of our trip was the designated "big party" night. We anchored in this tiny cove consisting of nothing but rocks and a bar. We were all water taxied to the club to dance the night away.. I'm sorry, I believe the proper term for what were doing was "Caaaaaaahhhving" up the dance floor (must be spoken with a heavy Aussie accent). SuperTool (our nickname for the annoying guy on the boat) managed to pass out on the deck of the bar within an hour of arrival. Way to go dude! We all took pics, and had we had a Sharpie the poor guy would still be trying to erase the tatoos from his forhead. So as the night wound down and we were shuttled back to the boat, we turned on the music on deck, cracked open a couple of beers and continued harrassing ST. Within seconds, Bonnie the Superlibrarian from Canada comes bounding around the corner and without saying a word to anyone, turns the music off. Now granted, I understand that they were trying to sleep, and it was late, BUT, if I were a family and wanted a peaceful boat cruise, would I book it through a company called BIG BACKPACKERS, who touts their "good times" attitude? Not really what I would look for in a family vacation, but to each his own. After a heated discussion with the captain a compromise was reached and all was happy. However the whole backpacker experience turned the Librarian and family off of staying in Olympos for a few days. But not the rest of us.

We all piled into a hostel together and spent the next two days hanging out on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. The mountains dropped directly into the sea, save for a few meters of polished stone beach. The cliff walls around the beach were dotted with ruins from one of the many ancient civilizations in the area. This whole country is a bit surreal. I've been to cities that were founded in 7900 b.c. for crying out loud. American history? Can we even call it history at this point? Isn't more like the recent past? lol Just a different perspective I guess. We alos took a hike up to see the Chimera flames, which is basically random flames shooting out of the rocks on the side of the mountain. Our hostess gave us a bag of marshmallows and some roasting sticks and sent us on our merry way. Quite an experience.

As we were heading out of Olympos, we stopped by one of the older hostels just to check it out. The big draw to Olympos is supposed to be this whole "treehouse" thing, except that the majority of the pensions didn't really get the concept. A house made of trees two inches off the ground does NOT constitute a tree house. Kadir's, however, got it right. They had honest to god treehouses built in the trees. We couldn't resist and booked another night in the only treehouse in Olympos with its own bathroom. Sweet.

The next night we all ventured off on an overnight bus to Goreme, Cappadocia to see some of the most unbelievable scenery I have ever seen in my entire life. When I said I felt like I was living in a movie set, I wasn't kidding. This place is amazing. More on that soon...

Is it really week 4 of this trip??

It has been 10 days since I have posted anything. So much has happened I don't even know where to start.... so I don't think I'm going to right now. Honestly, I'm just not in the mood to write today, but I didn't want anyone to think I had drowned on my boat cruise (which was FANTASTIC!!) I swear I'll write all about it later.

I am now in Goreme, Cappadocia which is one of the coolest places I have ever seen. I feel like I am in some weired movie set 24 hours a day. Houses carved into cave walls, chuches carved out of solid rock, weird rock formations everywhere... it's so trippy. Yesterday we took a long hike through some of the valleys to look at the 8th century churches that are built into the rock, complete with intact frescoes... pretty insane. Afterwards we all went to a Turkish night, some tourist set-up all you can eat and drink with folk dancing thing, that was totally fun. We stayed out way too late and between the heat, the hike and the hangover (Triple H killer combo), we have opted to spend today by the pool instead of doing any heavy duty sight seeing today. (I am still traveling with a good portion of people from the boat cruise, we just can't seem to get away from each other... but we're having a blast.)

I have 10 days left in this little journey of mine. I can't believe it's almost over already. Craziness. In 19 days, I'll be in Texas with a hell of a story to tell, and I promise to get all the little details thrown up here as soon as I can. Photos included. It's time to go back to the pool now. My tan is fading as we speak. I can feel myself getting pale. (hahahha)

Days 14 - 16 Dalyan & Fethiye

*sigh*

I can truly see why people would come here and never want to leave. It is absolutely gorgeous. For the past two days I have been in a small town called Dalyan, famous for being a nesting site for loggerhead turtles (not that they're running around all over the place or anything, but they nest at night on the protected beaches). Dalyan itself is nestled upriver about 13 km from the beach, facing sheer rock cliffs that are dotted with ancient Lycean tombs carved straight into the faces - huge temples to the dead hanging hundreds of feet above the banks of the river. It's quite stunning at night to see them all lit up. On my first night in Dalyan I took a cruise up to the lake guided by a Scottish astronomer. I got to see Mercury, Venus and Jupiter, as well as many other cool things like star clusters and red giants and binaries and other geeky stuff like that, through high powered binoculars (boat isn't steady enough for telescopes, plus most of their equipment is hung up in customs). The guide, Duncan, evidently made quite a bit of money back in the 70's off a book he wrote claiming that he had been able to interpret a message from outer space. He also must have spent a lot of that money doing some serious drugs, because he was a little "out there" himself. Definitely one of those "off the beaten track" activities, but worth the money spent. I had an absolute miserable nights sleep, as the window of the hotel room I was in was blocked by a large bureau, and there was no air whatsoever. I seriously thought I was going to suffocate. At 7:30 the next morning I got up and moved to another place and was a much happier girl.

So after settling into my new hotel (same price I was paying for a twin bed in a stuffy closet for a double bed, ensuite bathroon and swimming pool! You don't realize how much those little extras start to count until you have suffered a little), I headed off to the river banks to jump on an all-day boat tour of the the ruins at Kaunus, the Turtle Beach, the lake and the mud baths - also worth the money spent, even though the mud baths were overflowing with people. It made it a little difficult to relax in the grey muck when there was 100 other people in the small pool with you. It's also like walking into a room full of aliens - as everyone is walking around covered head to toe in muck at varıous stages of the drying process (girls, this is the ultimate full body mud pack treatment) and speaking a million different languages, none of which are English. Surreal. So after your whole body is dried and crackling, you herd off to the group alien hose-down, a bit like the Coca-Cola Cool Zones at Six Flags, but with the water pressure of a coin operated car wash. You need it though to get all of that gunk off of you, and suddenly the aliens emerge as fully human tourists once again. I think I still have some mud in places I don't want to talk about... That night I went for a nice dinner all by my lonesome at a lovely spot by the river. I tell ya what, as much as I am enjoying traveling alone and not being tied to anyone else's schedule, Dalyan is a bit of a romantic spot, and I would have given anything to have someone there to watch the sunset with. Some days, your own company just ain't enough. I got over it though. Had a glass of wine with dinner and got a great night's sleep.

This morning I headed out to Fethiye. After nearly sweating to death waiting for the dolmus (mimi-bus) to take off, I had to endure a 10 minute diatribe by an aging Englishman on the problems of the world all being caused by the "overpopulation" (yes, he actually used that word) of blacks and the Pakis in the cities. I thought I was going to puke. Let's not take a good look at reality or anything, Mr... Let's just blame it on the blacks and Pakis. Welcome to the 21st century, where racism is alive and well. People like that don't deserve my energy. Once he shut up, the rest of the ride was absolutely breathtaking. Turkey is far from the desert I had exiected. The climate is arid, but the countryside is unbelievable. Mountains spring up from the flat valleys seemingly from nowhere and are covered in crisp smelling pine forests. We snaked around and around the hills, passing tractors pulling cartloads of watermelons on blind curves with no guardrails in sight, until though a break in the trees we were able to catch a glimpse of the turquoise waters below. I damn near cried from the sheer beauty of it all. A Turkish couple sitting behind me said, "It's like a dream, isn't it? The most beautiful place in the world." I chatted with them the rest of the trip, and was offered a place to stay in Bursa anytime I wanted to visit. The people in Turkey are even more beautiful than the countryside.

I booked my 4 day boat cruise to Olympos for Tuesday, and will spend the next couple of days seeing the sights around Fethiye. The mountains here plunge directly into the sea, and the city itself hugs the shoreline of an insanely beautiful bay. About 7 km away is a Greek villag ethat was mysteriously abandoned in 1923 called Kaya Köy that should be interesting to see. Then I'll head off to the beach for the afternoon at Ölüdenız. Who knows what from there. I'll keep ya posted!

Days 7 - 13 Bergama and Selçuk

I am a lazy cow. Really. I spent another day in Bergama, compliments of the hostel owner (he erased everything on my iPod on accident and felt terribly guilty about it), then headed off to Selçuk and Ephesus. I decided to stay at a hostel a little outside of the town, called Atilla's Getaway for a night or two to avoid the gazillions of people on the tour buses and relax for a bit. I was meant to stay one, maybe two nights... I've now been here 5. I am officially leaving tomorrow, but I am so glad I found this place. It's run by a Turkish-Australian family, meals are included, there's a pool and volleyball courts, and I can't say enough about the people. Alex, Lisa, Donna Lee and Carlos have been like family this week. We're having a ball - I was going to leave today, but Alex and Carlos "swore" there were no buses running today. I didn't really need an excuse to spend another lazy day.

So here's how my week went: The first day I lounged by the pool and read a book. The next day got up and went to Ephesus for the day. A word or two about Ephesus - STUNNING. You could almost feel what it must have been like to live in the city. In it's height, it had a population of 250,000 people. The marble streets are virtually intact. The houses had hot and cold running water, there's a complete underground sewage system, and many of the major buildings, like the library, have been carefully restored. If any of you ever come to Turkey (which I highly recommend), this is an absolute MUST SEE. That night danced and drank at the bar all night. Spent the next day lounging in the cushioned area, swimming, sleeping by the pool. Day 4, whıch just happened to be the 4th of July, I got up and went to Pamukkale for the day. I've been here nearly 2 full weeks now, and have hardly run into a single American (lot's of Aussies and Kiwis tho). Somehow, all 10 of us on the shuttle to Pammukale were American. I ended up spending the day walking around with two girls around my age, maybe a little younger, and their mom, on a "last chance" girls' trip as the daughters live on opposite coasts, and mom lives in Chicago. They were truly delightful company, and it felt really nice to be a part of someone's family even if was just for the day. One of the girls lives ın San Diego (and speaks 6 languages!), so we swapped emails with promises of exchanging the photos we took all day. Pamukkale itself was pretty spectacular, even though many of the mineral pools no longer have water in them. You're driving along in the middle of no where on a dirt road, then suddenly you turn a corner and the whole hillslde looks like it has been frosted for a wedding cake. Thousands of years of calcium deposits from the natural spring have turned the hills into a blinding white terraced sculpture dotted with small blue pools whose waters are touted to have healing powers. Pretty damn cool. Next day, lazed by the pool all day. I'm getting quite a tan at this point and I've got nothing but beach ahead of me. Yeah! Today, I'm just hanging out in town trying to catch up on email (the internet has been out all week at the hostel). I'm about to head back and take a nap by the pool. Life is realllllly rough.

Tomorrow I'm heading out to Dalyan, where loggerhead turtles come in to nest, and from there... not really sure yet. I'll keep ya posted. :)

Day 6 - Troy and Bergama

I got up early this morning and took a tour of Troy that was exceptionally nice, considering I have sworn off tours for the rest of the trip. Our guide had been giving h=this tour for 30 years, and has even written a book about Troy. It wasn't that much to look at, but it's still cool to say I've been there now.

From there, I went back to Canukkale and took another bus to Bergama (aka Pergamum). I'm staying in the quaintest litte pension. It's an old (160 years OLD) Ottoman house with a charming courtyard and a rooftop deck that is only accessable by a very rickety ladder. From the top you can see the ruins of the ancient city's Acropolis on top of the hill that overlooks the "modern" Bergama. Most of the town is still in the old Ottoman fashion, albeit somewhat crumbling, and it is absolutely adorable. I damn near gave this place a miss, and I am so glad I didn't. Anyway, in the entry way to the house is a birds' nest that houses six baby birds that just learned to fly. They entertain themselves by zooming around the courtyard in a tight spiral around each other. The place is owned by a mother and son, he speaks perfect English, while she speaks almost none. She is the epitome of an old Turkish woman, down to the headscarf, round face, and toothless but genuinly warm smile. He is a bigger techie geek than I am. He's got this place set-up for wireless internet access, and even has a laptop for guests to use while sitting on their favorite balcony.

I took a little stroll around town this evening, and came across the ruins of an old basilica that I don't know much about yet. I'm going to go check it out tomorrow. Aydin (the son) says that it is one of seven churches mentioned in the bible. Just the size of the thing is impressive, I can't wait to figure out the history of it. Anyway, must go to bed now, as I have a 5k hike up the side of a steep hill to get to the ruins tomorrow. Ciao for now!

Days 4 and 5 - Istanbul and Canukkale

(Again, copied from journal)

Sunday night went out to diner with Enver and to the top of a cool hotel to check out the view over a glass of wine. We met a really interesting Kiwi guy who was an earthquake engineer - works all over the world helping governments install warning systems. He said if an earthquake ever hit Istanbul (and it's only a matter of time) that the casualties would be astronomical. Not a very good sign, considering there are between 12-18 million people in the city. Yikes!

Got up Monday morning and took a stroll through the Grand Bazaar/ My GOD I have never seen anything like that in my entire life. It literally encompases what seems like miles and miles of space - stall after stall after stall of jewelry, carpets, inlaid woodn chotchkies, ceramics, clothes, you name it - it's there/ It's is truly mind boggling. I was looking at a particular bracelet at one stall and when it didn't fit, I was quickly ushered deeper into the mayhem to another stall, and when nothing in that stall suited my fancy either, the chase was on again. I was finally able to make my escape, but at that point I was hopelessly lost in the rat maze. I felt like I was walking around in circles, but there was really no way to tell as all the stalls start to look the same. I suddenly understood the logic of bread crumbs. An hour and a half of wandering did finally get me back to the entrance where I had come in and back to alovely pair of chandelier earrings tht I just couldn't walk away from. After a bit of bargaining, they were dangling prettily from my lobes.

From there, I sprinted down the crowded side streets (I don't know how, or for that matter WHY, they get cars down those streets) to Eminonu to catch a ferry up the Bosphorous for the second time - this time in daylight though. I was Shanghai'd by a private tour operator who tried to get me on the boat for 20 lira (about $15). I lauged at him and told him I could get on the normal ferry for 7 lira and it was a longer trip. He caved and let me on the boat (which was much nicer than the normal ferry) for 10. Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of this bargaining business. It was a lovely two hours spent reading and wishing I owned one of the big fat fancy houses (or summer palaces) along the channel. Afterwards, I treated myself to an incredible (albeit expensive) seafood lunch by the water. I didn't even get freaked out about having to debone and dehead the fish myself. Proud of me for that.

Tuesday I got up and got on a shuttle bus to the bus station so I could head off to Canukkale (nearest place to Troy). The shuttle bus driver was insane, but in a good sort of way. He had a heavy mustache and about 5 teeth, and was sweating so badly the whole way to the station that I honestly thought he might drown. Even so, he insisted on playing house music and guessing what language they were singing in, all while waving his arms and bopping in his seat like a teenager, reaching over occasionally to slap my thigh and laugh out loud. Completely nutso/ However, if it hadn't been from him, I would have never caught my bus. As we were nearing the station, he pointed out the window to the left at an anthill crawling with giant ants that turned out to be busses... the biggest bus station I have ever seen. 5 levels of spiraling ramps, entrances, exits, buildings and thousands of buses. It was a city all in itself. Incredible.

The bus to Canakkale was one of the nicest I've ever been on - comfy seats, tea and cake service, and air conditioned. I sat next to a young Turkish girl who just finished University and is off to Canada at the end of the summer for an intensive English course. She offered up her home if I wasn't satisfied with the hostel. The kindness and genrousity of the Turkish people continues to amaze me. I didn't take her up on her offer, but was impressed by it anyway.

So last night I experienced my first Turkish bath. I say my first, because it definitely won't be my last. Awesome!! I figured it would be a nice relaxing way to spend an evening, and I was so right. First they showed me into a room where you undress and wrap yourself in something like a sarong, but much much smaller. Then I was led into a cavernous steam room. The marble floors and benches were even warm. As the sweat started to pour off of me, so did all the tension in every part of my body. They left me in there until exactly the point where I didn't think I could take much more, then led me into a smaller room with little cubicles, each with their own marble benches and basins with running hot water. Then the real fun began. First the bathr strips down to her bra and underwear (not a pretty sight, as she was about 60 and rather doughy), then stripped me down to nada as she whipped my covering from me and whipped it around an overhead bar in one deft motion. Then she motioned for me to sit on the little step while she poured soothing warm water over me from the little basin and began to lather up my hair with soap. After an intense scalp massage, I was rinsed again. Then came the best, and grossest, part - exfoliation. She put this special mit over one hand, held onto the wall with the other and went to town. SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB. Layer after layer of dead skin came rolling off and dropped to the floor - I felt like she might actually scrub a limb completely off, but it felt soooo good. And these women are not shy, they scrub everything. I don't think I've actually scrubbed myself in some of those places before. After another good rinsing it was time to lay on the floor for a soapy deep-tissue massage. That woman had incredibly strong hands. By the time she was finished I felt smooth as glass and limp as a noodle. You know, I think the last time someone actually bathed me, I was about 6 years old. I would highly recommend it to anyone. There is really nothing like it. Afterward, she wrapped me back in my sarong thingy, wrapped my head in a funky turban and led me to a seating area for some tea. Now that was a perfect evening. I topped it off with a bowl of homemade lentil soup and an ice cold Efes and was a completely happy girl.

Day 3 - Istanbul

(This is copied straight out of my journal for June 26th)

I think my feet are going to fall off. Seriously. I can take no more walking.. need a few days on the beach. Immediately. Right now I'm sitting in a small cafe in the atrium between twobuildings enjoying a glass of red wine and letting my barking dogs have a rest. TOday I've been to the Archaelogical Museum, Dolmabace Palace (unbelievably opulent - saw world's biggest Baccarat crystal chandelier... oooooh), Taksim Square and walked down Istiklal Caddesi. Imagine 3rd Street Promanade in Santa Monica mixed with the architecture of Gran Via in Madrid and multiply the number of people in both places by about 100 and you've got Istiklal Caddesi - a mecca of cool shops, cafes and bars. Oh, add into that mix a 1960's San Fran style cable car that travels up and down the boulevard. The place just throbs with life. It's moments like that that I wish I had a traveling companion because it would have just been too cool to sit in one of the cafes above street level smoking flavored tobacco from a shisha, playing backgammon, and people watching. This is such an amazing city.

Tomorrow is going to be a shopping day - sort of. I want to see the Grand Bazaar, but not buy anything yet so I don't have to carry it around with me. I'll probably head out tomorrow. It's time to relax for a bit. Sevi keeps offering to "help me" plan the rest of my trip, but as he is Mr. Travel Agent, I really think he's just trying to sell me stuff. I don't want to be tied to anyone's schedule right now. Oh I cannot wait to get out of tourist central and chillllll.

Day 2 - Istanbul

Ok, so I was actıng lıke a 12 year old, but I sure dıdn't feel lıke ıt when I got up the next day... at noon. So feedıng off my need for a more ınformatıon about the mosques, I decıded to take a half day tour of the Suleymane Mosque (the largest one ın Istanbul) and the Topkapı Palace. What a waste of money. The tourguıde saved me 1/2 an hour of standıng ın lıne for tıckets and dıdn't add anythıng to the tour that wasn't already posted on the plaques on the walls. Oh well, lesson learned, no more guıded tours. RIP OFF. However, ıt was stıll really cool to see the Sultan's palace and the 86 carat dıamond housed there. WOW. I made a mad dash after the tour about 5pm to get my fıll of a guılty pleasure (and hangover helper) - Mc Donald's. Yeah, I know. A cıty full of fantastıc turkısh food, and I go to Mc Donald's. It won't happen agaın.

As I left McDonald's I heard a "psst-pssssssst." I just managed to turn my head enough to shoot the culprıt a dırty look only to fınd one of the coaster-throwıng crew from the nıght before sıttıng out ın front of hıs shop havıng tea. I sat down and joıned hım and some frıends for a chat and they sent me off to fınd a lıttle mosque (Rümen Paşa) that they swore was the most beautıful one ın all of Istanbul. It was tucked down among the stalls ın the spıce market, and I had no choıce but to take a wander through ın order to fınd ıt. The smells comıng from that place were out of thıs world - cınamon and peppers and vanılla and I don't know what... but ıt was wonderful! Aısle after aısle of bıg burlap bags full of thıngs that I'd never heard of - green powders, red powders, yellow powders, seeds and herbs and teas and *sıgh* awesome. And somewhere at the end of an aısle a small set of worn and crooked marble staırs led ınto the darkness. That was my stop. I took off my shoes and stepped ınsıde and was ımmedıately blown away. The ınsıde of thıs mosque was completely covered ın hand paınted tıles from floor to ceılıng. Absolutely stunnıng. As I was the only one there, I sat down on the floor (after takıng a few photos) and just lıstened. Even though ıt was ınfınıtely smaller, the same sense of vastness and peace fılled the buıldıng. A few other tourısts eventually found theır way through the market and wandered ın. I took that as my cue to move on.

I went back to Halıl's shop to thank hım for the hınt and we wound up sıttıng ın a lıttle tea house for the next two hours where I was gıven a serıous lesson ın how poorly I actually play backgammon. Out of 14 games I won one. ONE. All those hours playıng agaınst my computer dıd me no good. Nor dıd the hours the magnıfıcent Mr. M and I spent playıng. I got schooled. Oh well. Guess that means I need to practıce.

That nıght Şhevı, Enver, Krısten, Dasıa (the folks from the other hostel) took a nıght cruıse on the Bosphorus to watch the fıreworks over the brıdge and to see all the Sultan's summer palaces along the water all lıt up. The fırst half of the cruıse went up the European sıde and we returned vıa the Asıan sıde. I've offıcıally been on two dıfferent contınents ın the space of an hour. Not bad.

Day 1 - Istanbul

I should begin by saying that my fears about being lonely on the road have been quickly abated. Whether or not that is a good thing, I still haven't decided. I had at least 20 offers for "private" tours of Istanbul in the first 20 minutes of walking around. Most just don't understand why I am traveling alone. "Why you by yourself? You so pretty. I can heeeeelp you." Yeah. Right. I don't need that kind of help, thanks anyway. I keep trying to think of a better answer than "No, thanks," but somehow I think telling them I'm a lesbian or something might get me in more trouble than just ignoring them.

(I should also say that I am having hell with this keyboard, because Turkish has several letters that we don't, and that has shifted some things into some odd places on the keyboard - punctuation isn't where it's supposed to be, and there are strange symbols coming out where letters ought to be. So if this starts to look a little wonky, well.... sorry. Wonky ıs a new word that I have picked up from Captain Canadian. I like it!!)

SO, my flıght got in Thursday afternoon around 5:30 pm. The hostel/hotel manager picked me up at the aırport, and whisked me away through the cıty. We took a road that ran rıght along the shorelıne. Brıghtly colored wooden fıshıng boats bobbed lıke corks ın theır tıght moorıngs whıle rıver cruısers and barges and gıant tankers lıned up ın the dıstance awaıtıng theır turn to pass up the Bosphorous ınto the Black Sea. We passed the ancıent cıty walls (or what's left of them, they are a few hundred years old, after all.) and ınto Sultanahmet, the old part of the cıty, where the streets suddednly truned from broad modern avenues ınto wındy cobbled streets that seemed to make no sense. I got to the hotel around 6:30 pm, checked into the smallest room you have ever seen, and headed up to the roof to watch the sunset over the Marmaras Sea. Ok, I had a couple of hours to kıll before sunset, so I grabbed some beers and a book fırst. Dırectly ın front of the hotel are the ruıns of a very old mosque and another very old mosque that ıs stıll standıng (and quıte beautıful). Growıng out of the top of the mınaret of the ruıned mosque ıs a very tıny lıttle tree, rıght out of the brıcks - a lone survıvor wavıng to the world. And dırectly ın front of that ıs the sea. Nıce. I spent the rest of the evenıng havıng a bbq wıth half the famıly that runs the hotel. Homemade kofte (meatballs), salad, goat cheese, olıves, and of course plenty of rakı.

A lıttle note about Turkısh rakı vs. Kosovo rakı. You can actually drınk the Turkish versıon. Not the slıghtest hınt of jet fuel anywhere. It's a lovely anıse flavored lıquor sımılar to ouzo but wıthout the bıte. And there's an entıre rıtual that goes along wıth drınkıng ıt - none of thıs pour yourself a shot and bottoms up busıness. Fırst you have to set the table properly: the rakı ıs cut wıth equal parts water, a second glass of water, goat cheese, cucumbers, black olıves, salamı, and of course, sweet melon (looks lıke honeydew, tastes lıke canteloupe - YUM). Then ıt's one drınk of rakı, one drınk of water, one bıte of cheese, one bıte of melon, one black olıve. Repeat untıl the bottle ıs gone or you fall out of your chaır - whıchever comes fırst. I sat on the roof wıth Şevı, the owner's nephew (who ıs marrıed to a former Fullbrıghter and lıves ın Oregon most of the year) and hıs frıend Arzu ( a total gem of a gırl who ınvıted me to go watch belly dancıng wıth her and her frıends the next nıght) untıl nearly mıdnıght. I had to call ıt a nıght so I could play super-tourıst all day Frıday. As much as I trıed however, I could get no sleep. My lıttle cubby of a room was on the fırst floor near receptıon, so between the groups of people come ın at all hours from partyıng and the hotel staff chattıng ıt up at the desk, I gave up at 6 am wıth only an hours sleep under my belt. I begged for a room on amother floor, and boy am I glad I dıd. I was moved from my lıttel cubby hole wıth no bathroom to a double room wıth a bath and an ocean vıew (all for a mere $5 a nıght more). So happy!! My week's stay ın Istanbul was stıll under $100.

So after a quıck nap untıl 10 am, I got up and super-tourıst I was!! I hıt the Blue Mosque, the Aya Sofıa, the Basılıca Cısterns (9800 square meters of a 6th century water storage room fed by old roman aqueducts), back alley markets, and a long walk along the sea wall around the outsıde of the Tokapı Palace and then through the gardens and along the Dıvan Yolu untıl my feet hurt so bad I couldn't walk anymore. I would love to descrıbe the feel of the two mosques, but vast, beautıfu, and peaceful just don't quıte convey the rıght feelıngs. If you've ever been alone ın the woods just at dusk before the ınsects have come out to play and the bırds have quıted down before the feast - you know that other creatures (people) are there, but ıt's really easy to forge... you can feel your heart beatıng and hear every breath... that would get you pretty close to the feelıng of steppıng ınto one of these gıants. Not even St. Peter's Basılıca ın Rome had the same feelıng of space and solıtude. Then there's the artwork - the mosaıcs and ıntrıcate desıgns, the handpaınted tıles... I'll post some pıcs as soon as I am able. I never thought I would hear myself say taht I wıshed I had an art hıstory genıus wıth me, but I dıd. I would have loved to hear what all of the dıfferent thıngs sıgnıfıed. I would have even taken Ricardo, our alcoholıc art hıstory professor ın Spaın that treated us all lıke we were kındergarteners, just to get some of the hıstory. (Jess, I can feel you rollıng your eyes at that one - c'mon, you know you mıss hım!)

Sultanahmet ıs crawlıng wıth tourısts, as thıs ıs where many of the maın attractıons are, and you can hear any language at any gıven moment (lots of Spanıards). The amazıng thıng ıs the shop keepers... they speak enough of any gıven language to sell theır goods to anyone. It's truly amazıng. However, thıs ıs not true of all Turkısh folks. At the lıttle famıly bbq, the uncle, alıttle round man ın hıs late 60's wıth a full head of whıte haır, turned and squarely faced me, looked me straıght ın the eye and saıd, "I am lıar." It took all of my energy to not laugh rıght ın hıs face, becuase I KNEW that wasn't what he meant, but I thought I'd gıve hım a lıttle tıme to fıx ıt. Şhevı dıdn't have that grace... he started to gıggle and the old man looked at hım embarrassed, muttered somethıng ın Turkısh, and repeated "I am LIAR." Thıs ıs where Şhevı broke ın and saıd, "He's a lawyer." OH!!! (not much dıfference ıf you ask me... wınk wınk)

Frıday nıght I went out wıth Şevı, Arzu, her frıend Nalan, Gıorgıo (another one of the uncles tht runs the hostel whose name I can't pronounce, thus the ıtalıan versıon), and some other people from another hostel. It started wıth (yup, you guessed ıt) some rakı. Then we moved on to the bar where the belly dancıng was to take place. The DJ was spınnıng some great tunes, and we all boogıed our lıtle butts off untıl the show started (took gratuıtous hot belly dancer photos for Super Swede and Thorganızer's benefıt). We wound up ın another pub after that dancıng salsa, tradıtıonal Turkısh hankerchıef stuff (very sımılar to the Kosovar versıon), and got ınto a mad coaster hurlıng fıght wıth 3 other bar patrons and the bartender. Duckıng behınd doorways, ambushıng people when they came out of the bathroom - basıcally actıng lıke 12 year olds and havıng a blast. Fınally crawled home as the fırst prayer call was goıng out from our neıghborıng mosque. Slept lıke a baby.

Stay tuned for day 2.