Stones of Antiquity

To some they might only be old rocks, to others they are worthy of studying, numbering, and restoring.  To us, ancient ruins are a great excuse to be outside (instead of in a museum) and good exercise for the imagination.  In addition to scrambling over lots of aged rubble, we’ve viewed and gawked at the artifacts behind glass, read the super condensed version of histories, and downloaded movies (300, Troy, Alexander the Great).  We need all types of media to keep us interested and engaged!  So far we’ve pieced together the long-gone civilizations of the Mycenaeans, Nabataeans, Greeks and Romans.  (Egyptians deserve their own post.).

 

    

All of the old stones tell the story of how they lived, died, why the existed for as long as they did, how they defended themselves, and why they ceased to exist.   

 

   

One thing they all have in common is that each of these proud cultures have come and gone.  They don’t exist any longer.  We pondered if they knew they wouldn’t last forever.  Many times we also wondered how long will the current societies, as we know them, continue to endure? 

 

  

What will the future traveler say about the cultures that live today.  Will the earth end up a tourist destination and a major architectural dig?  For that matter, what evidence will we leave for those visitors to learn about us?  We hope it is more then several trillion tons of plastic bottles and bags and a bunch of nuclear waste. 

       What stones are we leaving behind?

Mr. Blue Eyes

It was immediately noticeable.  And surprising.  References to him were everywhere – posters, banners, amulets, framed pictures.  It was plain to see that Turks are in love with their first president, Mustafa Kemal.  We were amazed at the adoration.  It seemed his persona was perfect to the local people and, to us, something about it seemed over the top.  A infallible politician?  No way.  Why was there so much of Mr. Kemal everywhere?  We thought it was too much of a good thing.

We realize that their George Washington, Atatürk (Father of the Turks) as he is lovingly known, is credited for founding their new republic.  He led the army to victory and paved the way for independence from Ottoman rule.  He is credited for economically and culturally modernizing the country and for giving women the right to vote long before many European nations.  And so on and so on. 

But still.  That was 1923.  87 years ago.  As we wandered through Turkey it was the same, Atatürk, Atatürk, Atatürk.  And we wondered why.

Bridges, parks, highways, airports and buildings all over the world are named after him.  And as recently as 1981 the UN and UNESCO named it the Year of Atatürk for many reasons, and specifically his efforts toward world peace.  He is the only person to receive such recognition.

Could it have helped that he was very handsome?  Or that he has cool blue eyes?  Or that he died at the young age of 57? (Of cirrhosis,  BTW.)  Or was it simply that he was a great leader?  Or something else?

On the date of his death, every year on November 10, Turkey stops.  Everything ceases for sixty seconds as homage is paid to their Atatürk.  We witnessed this phenomenon first hand.  We heard the sirens initially, then it got really quiet.  We had no idea, at first, what was happening.  As hard as it was, we pried ourselves away from the breakfast table and ran outside.  What we saw amazed us.  Cabs were stopped in the middle of the streets, pedestrians were frozen mid step, smokers held their cigarettes still, shop keepers stopped selling, diners put their forks down.  It was a site to behold. 

Did the newly formed United States celebrate George Washington to this level?  When Turkey is 234 years old, will Atatürk still be on this high of a pedestal?   

There is no doubt that Mustafa Kemal was a great leader.  But, as usual, with anyone on this high of a pedestal, there is more to the story of his adoration.  Come to find out, there is law which makes it illegal to insult him or destroy any objects representing him.  Ahhhh…..now we understand why there are images of him everywhere.  None of them can be thrown away. 

Even though we think that law should be thrown out, we agree that anyone that creates a secular democracy in a primarily Muslim country; in a part of the world that needs more separation of religion and government deserves celebrity status.  Knowing more about Atatürk and seeing the way Turks still honor him added to our long list of why we like Turkey. 

PS: In countries along the Mediterrean Sea and in the Middle East we saw this style of amulet everywhere.  It was available in mass, in all shapes, sizes and styles.  We found it very curious that in Turkey, they call it the Atatürk eye (probably for Atatürk’s blue eyes).  In Greece, they call it the Evil Eye.  We’re guessing that it is called evil because Atatürk forced all the Greeks to abandon their homes and live their lives somewhere other then the newly formed Republic of Turkey.  But that’s another story altogether.    

Traveling Together – From Family to Friends

If you are unable to visit your relatives in the US for any variety of reasons, do the next best thing:  Fly across the globe and meet them in some exotic locale!  They might end up being your friends instead of just tolerable family members. 


Up until recently, my sister, Gail, from Denver, and I had only seen each other for family events: Thanksgivings, weddings, birthday parties and memorial services.  And the last time we traveled together was half a life time ago on a cruise with our parents.  Over the years we have both mellowed and have grown into a relationship in which we enjoy each other’s company.  Knowing that Gail and her hubby, Pete, are intelligent, fun, easy going people, I put out the suggestion for them to join us so that we could experience some part of the world together.  
  
Being a dude and all, it’s sometimes hard for me to express, but I was touched deeply that they would even consider taking me up on the invitation.  When my big sis starting taking the planning seriously; I was fairly confident that we would travel well together.  But for 2 weeks?  We had only spent a few hours together, here and there, over the past couple of decades.  Would it go as well as I thought?  And, Pete, was he really as smart, nice and wonderful as he seems?  Or had he put on his “family event” best behavior all these years?

For better or worse, we would soon find out.  The date was set.  They would join us in Istanbul immediately after Pete’s Internal Medicine recertification exam for which he studied in all of his free time for the previous 10 months (HE PASSED!).  I was really excited when they booked their flight.  They were actually going to make the effort to come see us, half a world away.  Maybe I mean as much to my sister as she means to me. 

We were overloaded with research for the rest of our destinations so Gail went above and beyond and took up the challenge of planning our Turkey travels (Thank You Gail!). 

Through our 12 days of travel togetherness I got to know my sister again.  She‘s more like our mom then ever.  Which is a good thing.  I’m proud to be her brother.  And, Pete, he is as terrific as we thought.  Even smarter and more fun then we imagined. 

Gail and Pete are seasoned travelers and rolled with all the challenges one inevitably encounters while on the road - all with a smile on their faces. 
We had a great time walking in forgotten towns, hiking to magnificent vistas, ballooning over fairy castles, boating to Butterfly Valley, exploring ancient churches, laughing over all the rain, being blown away at the warmth of the local Turks, and most of all enjoying each other’s company.





One of the great pleasures in our year, so far, was touring with our families - Amy’s parents, Gary and Dee, and with Gail and Dr. Pete (The Meat).  If you ever miss your loved ones and want to get to know them as friends rather then relatives, do as we did, invite them to join you in some far off location…….they just might take you up on it!
      

Wake Up Call

Some people rely on the buzz of an alarm clock to rise from their nightly slumber.  Others depend on barn yard animals, birds, or other creatures from Mother Nature.  Many go so far as to have someone call them personally to get their butts out of their warm bed.

In Istanbul, there is a completely different approach to this daily awakening.  The wailing sounds of the Muslim call to prayer woke us before sunrise on our first morning in the city of a thousand minarets, after arriving late the previous night.  From our apartment alone, we counted at least a dozen of the mysterious, brooding and musical chants calling their faithful to start their day.  It was simply surreal.  The voices were of different volumes and tenors and dare I say, competing with one another?  Collectively it made for an intriguing way to begin our stay in this 3,000 year old city with about the same number of mosques.

   

As we had already traveled through Bosnia & Herzegovina, our first Muslim country, we felt somewhat experienced on the 5 times a day call to prayer.  We were not, however, prepared for the approximately 3,000 mosques, serving the needs of 17 million or so people that live in Istanbul.  During each day, we would hear the call to prayer and were always intrigued by it.  The morning prayer (just before sunrise) has an extra layer of mystery as it is still dark and oh so quiet.  Unforgettable.

The crow of the rooster wasn’t needed, nor was the nasty buzzing of an alarm clock.  In Istanbul the predawn call of the Muslim faithful was all we needed to wake to the new day.  A great reminder that life is good!