Sojourn in Turkey, Days 2/3: Selcuk
After 14 hours in the air and even more time in security lines, on the tarmac, and on a bus, we arrived in Selcuk, Turkey at about 2:30 PM local time. Always the adventurous BU students, we immediately wanted to find our way into town to get money and explore. Dr. Walters informed us that the Welcome Dinner that evening would be "snappy casual," so we should go clean up beforehand. After we returned squeaky clean, we took a walking tour of Selcuk, led by a young university student who showed us the lay of the land and pointed out the cheap eats. Then the director of the library, Janet Crisler, hosted us for a delicious Turkish meal- we ate until we were stuffed! By a little past 8 PM, we were down for the count and headed back to our rooms to sleep off the jetlag.
Today we were off and runner early! After a traditional Turkish breakfast, we headed to the Saturday market to check out the local merchants' scene. Our class began a little later with an introductory lecture orienting us to the layout of ancient Ephesus and how it changed throughout the city's history. Then it was lunchtime. My group chose to go to the pizza parlor, which boasts a vegetarian pizza "to write home about" (according to our tour guide). It certainly was delightful, and in an unexpected shape: the dough was spread into a strip instead of a circle!
Next it was off to the site museum of Ephesus where the local expert gave us a tour. He would say, "I found this in 1971" or "I found this in 1985." Kind of amazing- he showed us pieces he dug up, cleaned, assembled, and idenitified himself! It was so interesting to go to a museum and hear not just about the formal qualities of the art or the society the represent, but also their religious function. This is definitely a more holistic approach ot studying history! The most shocking part was the gladiator room, which showed the weapons gladiators used and the bones of victims showing evidence of being killed by those implements. It was surprising to learn that there was a gladiator school at Ephesus.
After a full day of learning, I quickly took a nap and then went for another walk through the market. Then I encountered Rob, Lauren, Brian, Elizabeth, Ross, and Andrea walking down the street. We stopped at a sandwich shop and everyone got the "everything" sandwich: fried egg, cheese, salami, sausage, lettuce, tomato, pickles, tomato sauce, and mayo. It was delicious and fulling! After grabbing some dessert to go (baklava done right- mmm!) we returned to the library to watch The Life of Brian for a good laugh over Roman times.
I suppose I should spend some time describing our environs. Our hotel is located close to the Crisler Library, our center for research on Ephesus and host for the trip. We're close to the site of the ancient Ephesian temple of Artemis (Artemision), which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was huge, but not much remains. Thus we are on the edge of town closest to the dig site, but Selcuk is small and it only takes 5 minutes to reach the center of town by foot. We get to walk by the small patch of countryside that's between the Artmision and Selcuk... the deep green that balnets the ground contrasts with the light blue sky. When I pass it I smell the bright, clean scent of the various kinds of grasses, trees, and other foliage after the rain. Town smalls much different of course, but this smell is so ripe and fresh it almost overpowers.
The quiet of the village is an aural vacation from Boston- no screeching B line or sirens. Instead, I hear birds constantly chirping rainwater dribbling off the rooftips' ceramic tiles. In the morning I can walk in the town center without hearing a single human voice... although there are plenty of dogs and cats to be heard! Five times a day we hear to automatically timed digital recording of the Muslim call to prayer, and this morning I heard a rooster crowing too. In town in the afternoon and evening, buses drive down the street playing Turkish pop music and the market is bustling with the merchants hawking their wares or bargaining with buyers.
Tastes here are a welcome change from America too. Dill is in a lot of food or garnishes it, used liberally. I have not yet had a meal without fresh tomatoes. Eggplants are in a lot of food too, and peppers and cucumbers are fairly common. A traditional Turkish breakfast has boiled eggs, bread, cheese, tomatoes, black and green olives, oranges, and honey. Orange trees line the streets- it's tempting to pick them! Coffee and tea are omnipresent, and part of the Turkish hospitality tradition. There's no such thing as decaf here!
Visually Selcuk is much more relaxing than Boston, with its foliage and small mountains- a horizon, hurrah! The local mosque and monuments erected by the town's Muslim residents add beautiful domes and turrets to the skyline. Shops here are painted colorfully. Even the gray cobbleston streets have green poking out of the cracks between the stones. While Boston is mostly dingy grey and brown in the winter, the brown of the traditional houses and ancient ruins just looks old, not dirty. It's wonderful to just be walking along and stumble across a random aqueduct standing by a cafe! All the small details, like the mosaics in the plazas, are made with an eye to artistry as well as functionality... another example is the curlicued wrought iron bars on the library windows, which add charm rather than making it feel as if we're in jail (like the STH).
Everyone is very nice here and understanding when we say, "Benim Turkce az," which means, "My Turkish is limited." Janet told us that it's rude to say, "I don't speak Turkish" in English, because at least we indicate that we're trying! We listen to Turkish lessons on Rob's iPhone while we eat breakfast and wait for food at restaurants. We're trying to say things better, like "good evening," so that we don't get as many laughs as we do nods of approval. Overall Selcuk is a pleasant place to be and an exciting place to study history where it took place millennia ago!
Coming soon: race and ethnicity, living as a Christian in a Muslim/ secular country
Today we were off and runner early! After a traditional Turkish breakfast, we headed to the Saturday market to check out the local merchants' scene. Our class began a little later with an introductory lecture orienting us to the layout of ancient Ephesus and how it changed throughout the city's history. Then it was lunchtime. My group chose to go to the pizza parlor, which boasts a vegetarian pizza "to write home about" (according to our tour guide). It certainly was delightful, and in an unexpected shape: the dough was spread into a strip instead of a circle!
Next it was off to the site museum of Ephesus where the local expert gave us a tour. He would say, "I found this in 1971" or "I found this in 1985." Kind of amazing- he showed us pieces he dug up, cleaned, assembled, and idenitified himself! It was so interesting to go to a museum and hear not just about the formal qualities of the art or the society the represent, but also their religious function. This is definitely a more holistic approach ot studying history! The most shocking part was the gladiator room, which showed the weapons gladiators used and the bones of victims showing evidence of being killed by those implements. It was surprising to learn that there was a gladiator school at Ephesus.
After a full day of learning, I quickly took a nap and then went for another walk through the market. Then I encountered Rob, Lauren, Brian, Elizabeth, Ross, and Andrea walking down the street. We stopped at a sandwich shop and everyone got the "everything" sandwich: fried egg, cheese, salami, sausage, lettuce, tomato, pickles, tomato sauce, and mayo. It was delicious and fulling! After grabbing some dessert to go (baklava done right- mmm!) we returned to the library to watch The Life of Brian for a good laugh over Roman times.
I suppose I should spend some time describing our environs. Our hotel is located close to the Crisler Library, our center for research on Ephesus and host for the trip. We're close to the site of the ancient Ephesian temple of Artemis (Artemision), which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was huge, but not much remains. Thus we are on the edge of town closest to the dig site, but Selcuk is small and it only takes 5 minutes to reach the center of town by foot. We get to walk by the small patch of countryside that's between the Artmision and Selcuk... the deep green that balnets the ground contrasts with the light blue sky. When I pass it I smell the bright, clean scent of the various kinds of grasses, trees, and other foliage after the rain. Town smalls much different of course, but this smell is so ripe and fresh it almost overpowers.
The quiet of the village is an aural vacation from Boston- no screeching B line or sirens. Instead, I hear birds constantly chirping rainwater dribbling off the rooftips' ceramic tiles. In the morning I can walk in the town center without hearing a single human voice... although there are plenty of dogs and cats to be heard! Five times a day we hear to automatically timed digital recording of the Muslim call to prayer, and this morning I heard a rooster crowing too. In town in the afternoon and evening, buses drive down the street playing Turkish pop music and the market is bustling with the merchants hawking their wares or bargaining with buyers.
Tastes here are a welcome change from America too. Dill is in a lot of food or garnishes it, used liberally. I have not yet had a meal without fresh tomatoes. Eggplants are in a lot of food too, and peppers and cucumbers are fairly common. A traditional Turkish breakfast has boiled eggs, bread, cheese, tomatoes, black and green olives, oranges, and honey. Orange trees line the streets- it's tempting to pick them! Coffee and tea are omnipresent, and part of the Turkish hospitality tradition. There's no such thing as decaf here!
Visually Selcuk is much more relaxing than Boston, with its foliage and small mountains- a horizon, hurrah! The local mosque and monuments erected by the town's Muslim residents add beautiful domes and turrets to the skyline. Shops here are painted colorfully. Even the gray cobbleston streets have green poking out of the cracks between the stones. While Boston is mostly dingy grey and brown in the winter, the brown of the traditional houses and ancient ruins just looks old, not dirty. It's wonderful to just be walking along and stumble across a random aqueduct standing by a cafe! All the small details, like the mosaics in the plazas, are made with an eye to artistry as well as functionality... another example is the curlicued wrought iron bars on the library windows, which add charm rather than making it feel as if we're in jail (like the STH).
Everyone is very nice here and understanding when we say, "Benim Turkce az," which means, "My Turkish is limited." Janet told us that it's rude to say, "I don't speak Turkish" in English, because at least we indicate that we're trying! We listen to Turkish lessons on Rob's iPhone while we eat breakfast and wait for food at restaurants. We're trying to say things better, like "good evening," so that we don't get as many laughs as we do nods of approval. Overall Selcuk is a pleasant place to be and an exciting place to study history where it took place millennia ago!
Coming soon: race and ethnicity, living as a Christian in a Muslim/ secular country