May 10, 2007

Istanbul to Athens

It was an early start to the day, with a 5:00am wake-up for the airport shuttle. While wandering through Sultanahmet picking up other airport passengers, we stopped to pick up a couple and their young children. They were very enjoyable, fluently speaking Italian and English. As it turns out they were from Mill Valley and the husband grew up in Halfmoon Bay. He had traveled and lived in Italy where he met his wife. Their children are now tri-lingual, speaking: English, Italian, and Spanish.

The flight from Istanbul to Athens was a quick fifty-five minutes. The funny thing is that total travel time from the Athens airport to the hostel was longer than the flight. The weakened strength of my body was evident in carrying my 60 pounds of backpacks up and down the stairs of the metro. Prior, this would not have been an issue but today a struggle.



My hostel turned out to be a total “internet misperception”. It is advertised as a “classic accommodation” and the second oldest hotel in Athens. Well reality turned out to be an exercise in the “sidewalk transvestite obstacle course”, followed by a inescapably loud raging party until 3:30am. My 6:00am tour of Corinth wake-up the next day was brutal to say the least. To be clear my two roommates and I had “earplugs in” and with both inner and outer doors closed the noise was still too incredible to sleep.

Anyway, after dropping bags off at the hostel, boots were strapped on and I began the trek to the Acropolis. This has been a childhood dream, to actually see the Acropolis in person. I used to love Dad’s slide shows of Greece and the ancient ruins.



The Acroposis site is under major reconstruction.



In fact the entire Temple of Nike has been deconstructed for repair and then will be reconstructed over the next few years. Almost all of the efforts on the Acropolis complex are restoration projects to replace previous attempts over the centuries. The biggest improvement is the replacement of iron ties that hold the marble columns and cross pieces together, with titanium.



(Temple of Nike reconstruction located on the far right. Do you think the new one will have a swoosh on the side?)


Also, after reconstruction the monuments will be more complete than in hundreds of years. Through the aid of computer modeling, over 400 additional ancient marble blocks will be reinstated into the various structures. Previous cement patches are being replaced with marble, carved to fit the voids, and then affixed to the original marble. In about five years, the newly renovated Acropolis will be an amazing place.





One of the only areas not under reconstruction is the large theatre, that has already completed major refurbishing. It is now used for concerts and would be an amazing venue. The only challenge would be sitting on marble benches for any real duration, but first, that is what cushions are for and second, if they could manage three thousand years ago we should do fine.



One other site, near the Acropolis, worth viewing in a few years is the new Acropolis museum. This building is being constructed with the hopes that the British Museum will loan some of the Elgin Marbles, taken from the friezes of the Parthenon, for viewing in their historical context. The remaining marbles will be cast and replicas placed in the new museum. This is a real and continuing quandary. Hundreds of years ago the British Archeological Society pillaged the ancient world. In doing so they preserved many ancient artifacts, but the rightful owners are still the native countries. When comparing the remaining marble carvings in the current Acropolis Museum to the works in the British Museum, clearing the British Museum collection is in dramatically better condition.



Meeting new people continues to be one of the great joys of this worldwide adventure. Today, while wandering around the Parthenon I met Victoria, an information security consultant, in Athens on business. We ended up chatting about the Elgin Marbles, which led to other topics and ultimately spending the afternoon and early evening together around Athens.



She had read about a venicular railway up to the highest peak in the center of Athens.



If I had to guess the distance from the Acropolis to this “mini-mount” it would be between three and four kilometers. I have a natural habit of walking rather quickly. Without consciously thinking, my gate can turn into a noisome rate for strollers. By the time I thought of it we had already been walking for about half an hour, but Vicky was happily cruising right along. On the ride up the venicular railway I found out why. It turns out that she is a marathoner, so stride and distance were a non-issue. After taking in the views of the Acropolis and the Olympic Stadium from a distance, we decided to have dinner in the hill top restaurant.





Afterwards, we were on a mission. Vicky had purchased an “Athens Snow-globe” as her contribution to her office “tacky décor” competition, of sorts. Her firm has expanded in the converted old English barn, that is home, to the point where her project team was moved to the former pig sty, thus giving birth to the need for location appropriate/enhancing decoration. Unfortunately, when her camera bag came down along side her chair the original snow globe burst.

So we had an hour to find a replacement and get to her bus stop location before 9:00pm. Our usually fast paced walk gradually increased in tempo.



We did manage to find a “trinkets and trash” shop for a new globe souvenir addition then had 20 minutes to find the bus stop. Our stride developed into a sustained jog. I think we may have been equally disabled, Vicky in her trail sandals and me in hiking boots. Needless to say her stride was a little lighter than mine, as she was in obviously better condition. It was kind of fun to jog through the streets, picking up landmarks along the way, and re-stepping her path from the morning. It was exactly 9:00pm when we arrived to a city square with several active coach busses, none of which had signage. One bus, several lanes of traffic away, was preparing to turn and head out of town. Intrepid, Vicky dodged traffic and knocked on the door. It actually “was” her bus. She jumped on and yelled from the door, across the lanes of traffic and noise, try to remember this, “Victoria…. @ Googlemail.com”. In a flurry of mutual waving, as the bus pulled away mid-e-mail proclamation, and having missed half the address through the traffic roar, I knew this would be chalked up to another great day and future friend lost in cyberspace.

May 09, 2007

Selcuk to Istanbul

The bus pulled into Istanbul Otogar, bus station, at approximately 8:30am. I loved my previous visit to Istanbul so was excited to get back to the Sultanahmet area.

I am continually amazed by the grace and care for strangers that the Turkish people freely give. An example was riding the metro this morning, with both my expedition pack and daypack, the rush hour crowd was thick. Yet, in spite of the crowded conditions people made way for me to get to the front of the car where a ledge lay. The guys, crowded around this single place to sit, waved me over and made room to prop my expedition pack on the ledge. If this were the NY subway, the local tuffs would have simply laughed at the entertainment value of watching a tourist struggle against the jolts, starts, and stops of the metro.



The same was true of my transfer to the streetcar. A couple of local guys my age helped guide me into the packed train and even assisted in getting my pack down to the floor, so it would be less intrusive. These two helpers then jumped right into conversation and we talked about their travels to the Bay Area and one in particular had a repeated story of loosing at chess to homeless men on Market Street. Whenever he goes to San Francisco, he likes to walk down Market Street to engage in chess games and conversation the local homeless. This type of honest human interest is rare in the world.



After dropping bags at the Antique Hostel, I headed out to see one of the few surviving ancient cisterns and the Sultan’s Palace. The Basilica Cistern, Yerebatian Sarnici, was very impressive, even though dimly lit and damp. To my surprise there were fish living in the crystal clear waters.





Every time an ancient engineering marvel is visited I am struck by our lack of appreciation for how advanced civilization truly was between three and five thousand years ago. Yes, there were no computers or load distribution modeling, but the engineering calculations were made just the same. A point of interest was the use of previous Greek stonework, in the form of two Medusa heads, as pillar foundations. These two columns were placed in the furthest corner from the door and placed upside-down and sideways.





Speaking of post industrial revolution and its benefits, for instance traveling what would have taken more than a week in an overnight bus allows for mental and physical burnout. When visiting the Sultan’s Palace, Topkapi Sarayi, my capacity to absorb more historical odds and ends was at an end. (No offense to my Turkish friends, as the palace was beautiful, and I was exhausted.)



However, I wanted to see the 86 ct. diamond, just to say I had, but the huge displays of cookware, miscellaneous 19th century jewelry and clothing were beyond my mental endurance. I was much more interested in the view of the Bosporus Straight and the spanning bridge.



Despite not being able to take pictures to share, the diamond did have an interesting story. It was originally found in a garbage dump in the 1800’s. A beggar traded three spoons for the uncut and unpolished gem. When it was discovered that the stone was actually a diamond, the Sultan called for the prize. That is one way to settle an argument, simply take the disputed item. So the Sultan had the diamond cut and polished to make an 86 ct. ring. Maybe he saw the obvious downside of a ring this large and quickly turned the stone into a centerpiece for a turban pin.

Drained of energy and spirit, I did what every good self-respecting Yank does in a foreign country, headed right for McDonald’s and a Big Mac meal complete with apple pie. Recharged with ample calories, the Grand Bazaar was the next destination. The Mall of America doesn’t hold a candle to the volume of this indoor and outdoor market, touting over 4,000 stores. Since the hotel in Cairo destroyed one of my shirts it was time for a replacement.









One of the great traditions in Turkey is the drinking of tea. Small quantities are consumed almost constantly throughout the day. It is not unusual for a deal, while shopping, to be finalized over a glass of tea. When friends meet, one of the first things done, after shaking hands or kissing cheeks, is to drink a shot sized tulip glass of tea together. Actually, throughout Asia tea is consumed and surprisingly through Africa as well. So unless the trend changes in South America, maybe one of the longevity keys that the rest of the world holds is the vast consumption of antioxidants found in tea?





Preparing to leave Turkey, I have to give an overwhelming endorsement! Turkey is a country of great beauty, warm and generous people, thousands of years of integral history, and holds a secure place on the "must return" list.

May 08, 2007

Selcuk – Ephesus Ruins Site

It would be a very difficult thing for the hotel host to be any more helpful or for the Urkmez Hotel to be much more of a very welcome surprise. The room is clean as far as inexpensive hotels run and the linen is practically sterile. There are real curtains and furnishings, complete with votif candles on the balcony. Breakfast was enormous: eggs, rolls, fresh vegetables, and fruit plate. The one down side was that the tea is relatively awful, but that is true all over Turkey. Breakfast was served on the roof deck complete with table clothes and pillows with hand loomed covers. Jimi is the owner’s son and will literally bend over backwards to make arrangements for guests. I overheard three different groups, all with arrangements via Jimi.

For me life was simple. Jimi had agreed to take me to the hilltop entrance to the Ephesus Ruins site. This was accomplished via a tandem ride on his motor scooter. This was perfect, as the air was filled with the scent of spring blossoms and even the earth baking in the sun seemed to smell different to me.



This morning I re-read the book of Ephesians, the letter by the apostle Paul, hoping for some historical reference to be carried through and placed in the ruins. No such luck. It was a great book, but no tangible reference to exact location.

Every time I enter a museum or historical site with the headphone audio tour option I think of my friend Todd. He told me once, something to the point of, “If you are going to pay money to go see something, you may as well pay a couple of extra bucks to actually understand what it is you are seeing.” So, yes, I took Todd’s advice and spent the extra $5 bucks for the audio tour and it was worth every penny.

It costs about $7 USD to enter the Ephesus Park. This gives one access to most of the major sites: the Odeon theatre,



Celsius Library, and the larger Grand Amphitheatre. Many of the original streets remain and are constructed of marble block.



The Roman Baths, Varius Skolastikia Hamami, building is remarkably intact, as far as being able to distinguish the purpose of each room.





However, the most incredible site is the most obvious and likely the most bypassed. On the opposite side of the street, between the Varius Skolastic Hamami and the Temple of Hadrian is an excavation site that is entirely “tented”. This is an active archeological dig, where reconstruction of houses destroyed by an earthquake in the fifth century is being carried out. There are incredible mosaic tile floors and wall/ceiling frescos being unearthed. One huge room had multicolored inlaid marble walls. The shattered fragments of green veined marble sheets lay across the floor. It was like the biggest jigsaw puzzle in the world.



I wanted so badly to jump the fencing and join the fun. There was one piece that obviously belonged to a broken slab on the other side of the room and it took every ounce of restraint not to say something. The covered dig site easily took half of the total time spent in Ephesus. I was tempted to walk past the entry door, with its additional entry fee, but then figured “Its $7 bucks and when are you actually going to come back?” The ancient mosaics, frescos, and active "dig site" were worth every penny.







Turning left, I headed to probably the most recognizable building in Ephesus, the Celsius Library. The fragments of the façade were reconstructed in the early 20th century by a German archeologist. Imagination can run free in a place like this. My mind kept wandering and wondering what it truly must have been like over two thousand years ago when Ephesus was approaching its hay day.





The Grand Theatre really lives up to the name. A 25 thousand-seat capacity made of stone is no small undertaking for the ancient world or today for that matter. I’ve learned to take both written and verbal tourist guide with a skeptical disposition. One example of this came from the audio tour, where it states that the bible says that the apostle Paul was taunted in this very theatre. If it is there, it certainly is not in the book of Ephesians, so if anyone else knows where this reference comes from I would be curious to know.



The walk back to the hotel from the lower entrance to Ephesus was listed as eight kilometers. There were good views, across the valley, of the cathedral ruins of the traditional burial site of the apostle John. The afternoon walk served as a good re-entry into the world of training for climbing. Thankfully, aside from being very hungry for lunch at four in the afternoon, I wasn’t overly tired. Maybe, I’m finally over the malaria drain and can start to re-build some stamina.



The perfect wrong turn was had on the way back to the hostel. A street opening appeared on the left and being paved it looked large enough to wrap around to the other side of town. In reality it was the entrance to one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, The Temple of Artemus. All that remains of this wonder is one reconstructed column from the ruins.



From the ruins of Artemus, I stumbled across a scene that made me laugh. There was a school yard full of kids playing the internationally renowned sport of dodge ball. The funny part is that they cheered a good throw, even if it connected with no one. If there was contact, both teams cheered and no one was put out. There seems to be different rules for dodge ball in Turkey.





A first test of "added" strength was the overnight bus from Selcuk back to Istanbul. Fortunately, the bus was only half full, so I lay across two seats and extended my legs across the aisle to the far seat. Sitting/laying in the next to last row and with no one behind, this proved to be the perfect position to catch some sporadic sleep.



Unfortunately I slept right through the excursion high light, the ferry bay crossing about two hours outside of Istanbul. Twenty-twenty hind sight, this made perfect sense as the water leg was the smoothest and most quiet portion of the trip.

May 07, 2007

Bodrum to Selcuk

The day started at a relaxed pace: up by 8:30am, breakfast by 9:00am, pack for an hour, take a shower, then head to the bus station at 11:30am. The bus ride to Selcuk left at 12:30pm and lasted about three hours. This was a much different experience than the “well attended” Pamukala bus trip a few nights before. The bus was still comfortable, but somehow the assistant driver thought it was perfectly all right to ignore the “No Smoking” signs and kept a chain of cigarettes fired up for the duration of the trip. Of course his open window, that was supposed to mask his habit, only blew the nuisance through the rest of the bus. Annoying for me, but this must have been three hours of torture for the rest of the “nicotine addicted” abstaining passengers.

As much as drinking tea is a constant Turkish habit, so is the smoking of tobacco. If not smoking cigarettes many people are seated street side at “water pipe smoking bars”. Some of the warnings on the cigarette packaging are humorous, “Smoking may cause wrinkles!” Whew… terrifying. I’m sure hundreds of people quit with that rebuke. The interesting trend is watching the “hand contents” of many men. They don’t carry a single pack but two and sometimes three packs at a time. During the course of a forty-five minute lunch I watched a group of men eat and each smoked an entire pack, starting the second pack with desert. Running low, they sent a local boy off to the store to buy several more packs for the group. Whew, it seems like breathing must occur through a filter.

Arriving in Selcuk, the bus company manager called for my hostel manager to come pick me up. Jimi and I walked the quarter mile to the hostel. He was so kind it was a little off putting. Was this for real? As it turns out, “yes” it was. This was the beginning of a near perfect stay in Selcuk.

After dropping off my things, I headed to the traditional burial site of St. John, located on the highest hill in Selcuk. As local lore maintains, the apostle John knew that he was about to die and climbed the hill. Upon arrival, he had his disciples dig a gravesite, then lay down and passed into eternity. This tomb has an entrance and vent hole, above which about a hundred years later a small sanctuary was constructed.

(Tomb located in the center of the pillars.)


Justinian then built a huge basilica in about 500AD. The combination of earthquakes, invaders and time has reduced the site to archeological remnants.







(Baptismal pool.)


There is an interesting story about St. John’s gravesite. Given that there is a door to the subterranean chamber and a vent or light shaft further inside, sometimes the wind will blow “just right” and push air and fine grey silt out of the shaft. The locals call this “Holy Smoke” and say that it is the breath of St. John. It was believed that this holy smoke had special healing powers, especially for skin conditions. Ironically, the only people who still visit the site, hoping to catch the healing smoke are local Muslims.

(If you look carefully, to the right of the pillars is the "holy smoke" passage.)


The nature bonus of the Paul the Apostle burial site was seeing the first turtle of my world travel adventure enjoying a snack of purple flowers.



The ancient town of Ephesus is a very short eight kilometers away from Selcuk. After many centuries of plundering, the ancient city of 250,000 people relocated to the more defensible Selcuk location. The Ephesus harbor, in use for over five thousand years, began to silt in. With this the usefulness of the location diminished and today the residency is about one tenth the ancient size supporting 25,500 locals.

(View towards to modern shore line, approximately 10km from the ancient port of Selcuk.)


The small but very interesting Ephesus Museum is a worthwhile forty-five minute visit. Original statuary, coins, sarcophagi, frescos, and mosaics from the archeological excavations can be found there. What I found most interesting was the link between the names of ancient gods and goddesses, or other common titles, to the current vernacular.

Did you know that Vesta was the goddess of the hearth? Wine and other offerings were made to her in the home entrance area, for the protection and good fortune of the inhabitants. From her name we derive the term for a homes ante room, entry way or vestibule.

The goddess of health, Higea, is the source for the descriptive process of maintaining health, hygiene.

In ancient Ephesus children were taught at home by their mothers, until they were ready for more advanced training. The name for this high school level schooling, gymnasium is still used in Germany today. In America we use the term for a place of physical training, which was part of the ancient educational system.

A reclined position or to recline comes from the ancient couch used for eating called a kline. Think of the classic picture of a Roman being fed grapes on a slanted sofa, with no back or arms, and the image is on the right track.

Finally, and I’m sure there are more that were not discovered, the god of competition was named Nemesis. This term has evolved, over time, from a name for a healthy competitor to now epitomize an archrival or detractor with almost assumed ability to undermine.

A nice coincidence in arrival timing is that it is “stork nesting” season. Their bills clatter together to form an aviary castanet chorus. Former Roman aqueduct stanchions serve as a perfect nesting spots throughout town.





A delicious next door neighbor to the hostel was a "Turkish Pizza" shop, similar to the American version except elongated and no tomato sauce.



The evening finished with a perfect view of another Crusade Era fortress, from the balcony of the hostel.