A lot to write..

I am beset by lousy iınternet connections here in Ürgüp. That and there is a lot going on...I have copious notes though so expect something in the next several days....

Kayseri....

After an eventless one hour flight, we landed in Kayseri at dusk on Friday and proceeded to take the shuttle service to Urgup to our hotel. As we passed the faceless buildings of downtown Kayseri, I saw a gigantic cloth sign hanging off an apartment block which read “You Wicked Zionists – May You Feel God’s scorn”. Believe me, this is not the kind of thing one sees in the larger cities in Turkey – my sister and I were quite shocked to see it. There is a lot of sympathy for the Lebanese people in Turkey and despite heavy military ties as well as cultural identification with Israel’s brand of secularism, there is an impatience bordering on anger with Israel’s heavy-handed approach to Palestine and the newer situation in Lebanon.

Additionally Kayseri is known as a staunchly conservative and nationalistic area (In fact Kurtlar – the Wolves – those are Turkish (ultra)nationalists – gather annually near Mount Argeus). The sign, the faceless and dusty nature of the city, emphasized for me that life further out East, in the somewhat lesser traveled areas of the country are a journey to a side of Turkey most of us city-folk don’t experience. And life is stranger than fiction the further out East one goes – there is palpable fear in the country about the destabilization of the situation in the Southeastern portion of the country with PKK bombings becoming a regular occurence along with an increased influx of soldiers and policemen as well as the retirement of General Hilmi Ozkok, the current top military brass. All of this is a sobering reminder of the economic and social chasm between the Eastern and Western parts of the country.

Cappadocia on my mind...

With a flurry of unsustainable-given-the-temperature-energy, I made arrangements on Thursday to visit Cappadocia over the weekend. I frequently see-saw between just relaxing when I’m at home (effectively doing nothing) and stuffing my days full and I chose the latter for this trip. I have a flight out to Kayseri (which is famous for their pastirma - including a map for the geographically curious) with my sister. I have planned 2 days of hikes and guided tours, including a balloon ride over what I can only best describe as an other worldly landscape, formed by heavy volcanic activity millions of years ago....can't wait.

Grrrrrrrrrrr........ :-(

Say no more...

Worlds collide...tonight!

My sister surprised the hell out of me with a ticket to the Fenerbahce - Dynamo Kiev Champions League game tonight! We (obviously speaking for Fenerbahce) lost the first game in the Ukraine 3-1 and need to win this one 2-0 or by a difference of 3 goals. It's a lofty goal and the realist in me says there's a not huge chance of it occurring....but it's soccer and, the game is 90 minutes and did we stop when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor...and....(add whatever sports/underdog cliches you'd like on here).

One thing I do know is that I'll be screaming my guts out with 55,000 other similarly possessed fans. Going to a football (aka soccer) match featuring one of the 3 Istanbul teams (Fenerbahce, Galatasaray or Besiktas) is a very unique Turkish experience - it's a level of passion most Westerners will not have experienced at any sporting event. I highly recommend it if you can fit it into your Istanbul visit. The noise, the fanfare, the passion, the reaction, the buildup and the support throughout the game - if there's any one word to describe it - it has to be "extreme". One should be wary but I say everything in moderation, including moderation. You need to be a tad extreme every so often...

Things I need to get back used to....

• Improve my side step moves - I've been near-run over at least twice so far whilst navigating the sidestreets of Yesilkoy. The long time spent abroad has blunted my acquired 6th sense of impending metal on flesh collisions.
• Having all windows in a house open because it is depressingly hot. Air conditioning is something we take for granted in Texas and with temperatures in the high 90s, with no A/C, let's just say the air has a certain organic, gooey feel to it - if one can "feel" air that is. Smells are magnified, and I mean that both in a good and bad way (I won't get into too much detail here - I don't want to reduce my readership from its high of 2 to 0).
• With the windows open, one hears everything. It's pretty neat actually - although I think it would bug most Americans since personal space is highly valued in the US. One hears the call of the imam early in the morning, the rumble of the water trucks (and the water delivery guy shouting "Suuuuuuuuuuuu!"), the sometimes barely audible, but obviously blaring at its origin sound of someone watching a soccer match and of course the odd fruit and veggie salesman...Call it the sounds of the city.
• Cats, cats, cats! They're everywhere - call them the equivalent of the ubiquitous possum in New Zealand - although Kiwis would argue they're far more beneficial then their brown, furry rodents (and I daresay they're right!)

Back home again…..

One of the first things I do after I step foot in my parents’ apartment (most people own apartments here, not houses), is to take a walk around the neighborhood. My parents live officially in the Yeşilköy neighborhood, which literally translated means “Green Village”. The neighborhood is heavily wooded (for Istanbul) and is very close to the airport. Decades ago, people had summer homes around here. They would take the take the train from more central locations in Istanbul. Believe it or not, the area was considered outside the city. Now the city counts its inhabitants in the tens of millions. What was a quaint neighborhood with a government mandated height and floor limit due to its proximity to the airport, is part of a densely populated region that’s been swallowed up whole – now you have to travel an hour along a toll road to Silivri to find those summer homes that people are buying to get away from the hustle and bustle of city.

I’ve become flummoxed at the absence of things which existed for a long time. Take for example the florist on the corner of the neighborhood, which separates two neighborhoods, Yesilyurt and Yesilkoy. This makeshift shop called that corner its home for 20+ years. It’s where I would always ask the dolmuş (a share taxi which translates to “stuffed”) to drop me off when I got back from Taksim. Well – the florist is no longer – apparently moved by the municipality to beautify the area. Flowers definitely detract from the beauty of the area....

One other thing that appears less and less the "yali"s (see above for some in decrepit condition) – these are older, wooden, multi-story homes, sometimes dating back to the 1800s (ones along the Bosphorus are even older and many of those are classified as historical monuments). They are being torn down, and post-modern, architecturally uninteresting apartment blocks are being put in the their place.

Istanbul - it's like a highly prized antique, confined to the basement, given away to those who don't understand its value, the original beauty painted over with cheap varnish - yet....the original lives on. You know it's under there, lurking, struggling to free itself from the debasement that it's been witness to in the past 30 years, courtesy of mismanagement, poor planning, a lack of appreciation for the history and natural beauty which makes it the crossroads of civilization. It's engulfed by large swathes of concrete...yet...somehow, it survives. Strip beyond the facade, take those side streets into old Beyoglu...and suddenly as it emerges. Old, glorious, temperemental, sentimental and tolerant Istanbul. It's there...you just need to know where to look.

Farewell O’ Plane Peanut – We Hardly Knew Ye….

So – I am off again, typing this up in that great city of cities – New York. What’s my final destination (let’s go ahead and stereotype since I seem to be in that mood)? The cradle of civilizations – Istanbul!

Dear reader (that’s not an “L” Kim Jong) – I will be swooping into the City, seeing family, undertaking some touristy as well as local stuff . At the end of the week I hope to gallop off on a 10 day trek featuring Bodrum off the Mediterranean coast, Tarsus (that’s where Paul (not Zito) was from for my readers of Christian leaning) in the Southeast of the country and ultimately Cappadocia in Central Anatolia.

I am going on a little under 3 hours of sleep – I don’t even know why I bother try to pre-pack anything anymore. I find the beginning of any journey, especially a longer one a good time to reflect. This is usually because I have not packed anything interesting to read, or I have packed something that is supremely interesting, but would give me a headache on a plane (I need to get a Maxim subscription for just when I fly)….

Anyway – to bring this relatively mindless post to an end….a few observations and one tip (yes – we’re short on tips today – check tomorrow):

• I was once again selected for screening by the TSA. Amazing how the “random” screenings have randomly selected me the last 4 times I’ve flown. In fact I hope they get a little more random, because I happen to think a discernible pattern of passenger selection is not a good thing. I guess you do need to search the 3 year olds and grandmothers every so often.

• I will say that the TSA staff has been approachable and polite every time I’ve had the privilege of getting screened. Kudos to those folks - it’s a mostly a stress-filled job dealing with crabby people, while looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. I think they do it with professionalism and a smile (at least in Austin).

• In other security news, my fellow passenger had a liter water bottle he carried on with him and sipped away at it during the 3+ hour flight.

• The mystery of the day: what the hell has happened to the omnipresent greasy, salty peanut bag? We flew 3+ hours and had one drink service. It seems the peanut bag has also been a victim of cost-cutting. I wonder what’s next? Drinks? Maybe we’ll pay for seat cushions or ice….I hope no airline execs are reading this…

• Another sign Delta’s in trouble – I went to the Crown Lounge and I remember when I used to fly on business – there would be food galore in the Crown Lounge. I have an utter cornucopia of choices now between a green apple and some pretzels.

• I tried solving a couple of Sudoku puzzles on the plane. I feel dumber than a box of bricks when I try to solve this stuff. I keep on hoping the light’s going to go off at some point (I did solve the one which looked like it was made for people with a lesser IQ with 60% of the squares pre-filled in).

• And now - what you've eagerly been salivating for – the tip of the day: this really only applies if you’re a T-mobile customer. Normally, any decent place should have wi-fi available as an amenity – but airports are not decent places. In fact they're quite impudent. So here’s what you do: you can sign up for a T-mobile Hotspot account, which is basically broadband wi-fi access. The lowest plan is $19.99 a month. Here’s the kicker – once you’re done – go ahead and cancel it and pay the prorated amount (which in my case is going to be $0.66). Sneaky? Yes. Ethical? Eh. Does T-Mobile let you do it? Yes.

Anyway....my flight's going to be off soon - I hope to be writing the next post from beguiling Istanbul.