Hammam

Monday 19 April 2010

Our second hammam experience. Turkish baths may not quite compare to my awesome Taiwanese spa, but they're pretty good. This one was mixed gender, requiring swim suits, but usually they're separate and you just go in your underwear. (Though never naked, it seems. Too bad.) A hammam is a big marble room ringed by a bench with basins set into it, and full of warm stone beds. The steam works its way out through a hole at the top of the dome overhead.

First you clean yourself off with a metal bowl and the water from the basins. Then sit and relax for a bit in the hot, steamy air. (We went to one in Bursa that had wonderfully deep hot pools of spring water, too.) When you feel sufficiently softened, it's time for a full-body scrub, followed by a thorough soapy massage.

Here we are cooling down and drying off afterwards, with a cup of apple tea and some fruit.

Antalya Museum

Sunday 18 April 2010

The Antalya Archeology Museum houses an incredible collection of Roman statuary.

Ataturk

Saturday 17 April 2010

A statue of Ataturk in Antalya. Ataturk means "Father Turk," and is the affectionate name given to Mustafa Kemal, the founder of modern Turkey. The country is full of Ataturk statues, paintings, photos, schools, and highways. His face is drawn onto half the flags. Pictures of him hang in just about every business.

He is so well-loved, in fact, that it is actually illegal to say anything negative about him. This makes me a little nervous, personally (I guess it's very American of me, but I like my freedom of speech!) but the people here truly admire his determination and love of his country.

Kas window

Friday 16 April 2010

Roman Theater

Thursday 15 April 2010

There is an extremely well-preserved Roman theater just outside of Kas. Ryan and I climbed up today to watch the sun set over the mountains. What a show!

Sea kayaking

Wednesday 14 April 2010

Ryan went diving today, so I went kayaking over the smooth teal waters around Kas.

Kas at night

Tuesday 13 April 2010

Our first night in Kas (pron Kash), a nice little town on the Mediterranean. This is the view from our table at a lovely restaurant serving up delicious home cooking and cold beer.

Doesn't get much better than this, huh?

Circumcision Sultans

Monday 12 April 2010

These outfits are for young boys to wear to their circumcision parties. Here in Turkey, boys are circumcised around age 7 or 8 as part of a huge coming-of-age celebration. Parents spend tons of money on the costume, on gifts for the boy, and on food and entertainment for the whole family. It's rather like a quinceanera in Latin cultures, but for boys.

Uludag

Sunday 11 April 2010

I get cold just looking at this photo.

The Tashkin's took us up to the top of Uludag (pron oo-loo-dah), a mountain just outside of Bursa, for a barbeque today. (It is one of the mountains that might have been Mount Olympus, by the way.) It was the first time in 7 and 1/2 years that I've seen snow. Frankly, I could have waited a few more months.

I rode a ski lift for the first time ever, and slipped and slid through the mushy late-season snow. It was neat to see, but man what a cold day.

Ottoman parade

Saturday 10 April 2010

While visiting friends here in Bursa, we caught this neat little parade of Ottoman and other traditional Turkish costumes.

Seconds of Sufis

Friday 9 April 2010

We saw another example of the Whirling Dervishes tonight. Although it was still a performance, this one took place in a Sufi religious community center and had a much more somber atmosphere than the last one we saw. It began and ended with a prayer, and no one was playing to the crowd here.

If you look at the audience members in the background there, you'll notice that they're all men. We women had to sit on the second floor and peer down. I'm noticing that whenever women have separate quarters of any kind in these Muslim countries, we seem to get the short end of the stick.

Miniaturk

Thursday 8 April 2010

This is Miniaturk, a funny and cool park full of models of the important and beautiful places in Turkey. (They even used bonsai trees, to look like normal trees next to the miniatures.) Walking around it was like taking a little tour of the country.

(If you look carefully, you can see the people stomping through like giants.)

Dolmabache Palace

Wednesday 7 April 2010

On Monday we visited the older palace, and today we saw the more modern one, the palace built and decorated in western style. All the gilt and glitz was a little overwhelming for me - every inch was carved and painted and swirled and inlaid and hung with crystals. (There was even a staircase with a crystal banister!)

It certainly was impressive, and I do with I could show you the chandelier that was probably the size of my parents' house, but cameras were not allowed into the palace. Here is a guard on the grounds.

Aya Sofia

Tuesday 6 April 2010

The Aya Sofia is probably the most-visited sight in Istanbul, and it was easy to see why. This photo is of a very very small part of it, and do you see how tiny those people are? Stepping into this church-turned-mosque, you are almost overwhelmed by both the immensity and the elegance of an incredible work of architectural art.

Gulhane Park

Monday 5 April 2010

We saw many interesting and old things today in Tokapi Palace, and part of me thought I should put up a photo of the royal splendor we saw.

But I just loved this photo so much, taken at the park next door.

Inside the Blue Mosque

Sunday 4 April 2010

Today we went into the Blue Mosque, one of the highlights of Sultanahmet,the area of Istanbul where we are staying for a few days.

Pretty impressive, huh? I was wishing for a wide angle lens, though, that's for sure!

Blue Mosque

Saturday 3 April 2010

We've arrived in Instabul, just in time for the Tulip Festival.

(Did you know that tulips are originally from Turkey?)

Dead Sea Scrolls

Friday 2 April 2010

At the Archaeological Museum here in Amman, they have a few small pieces of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls - here's a little bit.

Super-cool, huh?

Ryan enjoys the theater . . .

Thursday 1 April 2010

. . . he just needs to work on his Latin.

There is a very nicely preserved Roman theater here in Amman.

King Abdullah Mosque

Wednesday 31 March 2010

Watching over Amman

Tuesday 30 March 2010

In Amman, the capital of Jordan.

Classic Petra

Monday 29 March 2010

Our last day at Petra, and here is the classic and most famous shot - the tomb called the Treasury.

I felt like Indiana Jones, being here!

Petra sunset

Sunday 28 March 2010

Luckily, day two at Petra was sunny and warm! Here is the "Urn Tomb," one of the Royal Tombs, at sunset.

Petra in the rain

Saturday 27 March 2010

Ryan and I have arrived in southern Jordan, where we are visiting the ancient city of Petra. Our first day was cold and rainy and miserable, but definitely a rare experience for a desert attraction! You'll have to wait for the classic photo - today was all misty mountains. If you look closely, though, you can see some of the caves that served the Nabatean people as tombs.

Fuul

Friday 26 March 2010

Our last day in Egypt, and we had a very Egyptian lunch. The two bowls of brownish beans there are fuul, which is stewed fava beans cooked with spices. Filling, cheap, and absolutely delicious. It can be eaten alone or, better yet, with bread. This lunch even came with pickled veggies, some roasted peppers and eggplant, tomatoes, and extra spices. It cost us 3 USD for the two of us, and that was an expensive fuul lunch.

Ryan reading

Thursday 25 March 2010

This is the set-up of all the restaurants along the water in Dahab - low cushions, pillows, little tables. It makes for a very relaxing, laid-back atmosphere. Of course, these restaurants are all aimed at tourists and so are much pricier than Ryan and I are used to - we come here and have a beer in the evening, but we eat at the little places a few streets back from the water.

Mt. Sinai

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Ryan went diving again today (he's really taking advantage of the gorgeous Red Sea reefs) so I went and climbed Mt. Sinai! It wasn't too hard (although I was glad I didn't have to make the descent carrying two huge stone tablets!) and I had a lot of fun with the group I went with.

Dahab sunset

Tuesday 23 March 2010

The desert mountains.

Camel shadow

Monday 22 March 2010

The second day of our trip was spent traveling by camel, rocking across the desert visiting some more beautiful, narrow, colorful canyons. A great trip, overall. (Though I think I will stick to horses from now on - a camel's gait is rather uncomfortable.)

Oasis

Sunday 21 March 2010

Right back out of Dahab today, Ryan and I took off on a two-day desert trip. We spent the day today in a jeep, slipping through the loose sand, stopping off at big vistas, fun dunes, and a few places to make a fire and drink the millions of little glasses of tea that keep Egyptians going.

At the end of the day we walked through a winding canyon to come out onto an oasis in a valley, a little sprouting of improbable green after a day of seeing absolutely nothing but brown. It is a stop-off point for a lot of Bedouins in the area - we spent the night under the stars at one of their temporary camps, a few miles from the oasis.

Windsurfers

Saturday 20 March 2010

Back in Dahab.

Wailing Wall

Friday 19 March 2010

Ryan and I took a day trip to Israel today, to visit the Dead Sea (coolest swimming experience ever!) and of course the famous sites of Jerusalem.

Here is the Wailing Wall, the Jews' most sacred place. We went on Friday just after sunset, the beginning of the Sabbath, so it was crowded and lively and full of praying and singing and gathering. A very neat experience.

In the background there you can see the Dome of the Rock, one of the holiest places in the Muslim religion. It was interesting spending a day in a place holy to so many people, where the religions just seem all mixed up in all the churches, mosques, and synagogues around.

Ryan on the beach

Thursday 18 March 2010

Dahab is a long, skinny town along the beach. As you may have noticed, we're always around the water.

No camels and horses

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Dahab

Tuesday 16 March 2010

Here we are in Dahab, a small, touristy town on the Red Sea coast.

Desert storm . . . wait

Monday 15 March 2010

Off we go! From Cairo, through the Sinai peninsula, down to Dahab, a small town on the coast of the Red Sea. It was neat going through the bare, sparse desert. (This is actually the most green we saw.) There was even a bit of a dust storm that blew around us for a bit, as you can kinda see in this photo.

Pyramid

Sunday 14 March 2010

Today was our last day in Cairo, and we spent it entirely at Lee's house, getting caught-up and ready for the next leg of our journey. So, I decided to use today to post a photo of the great pyramids at Giza, since I put up a photo of the Sphinx on that day. I don't want you to feel cheated out of the main attraction of Egypt!

Felucca Cruise

Saturday 13 March 2010

Here's our friend Lee, who has been so gracious as to put us up here in Cairo. We took a sunset felucca cruise today with her and some of her coworkers. So peaceful, on the Nile at dusk.

City of the Dead

Friday 12 March 2010

Actually, we aren't sure if this is the cemetery commonly known as the City of the Dead, but it did share that one's defining characteristic: there are tons of people living here.

I didn't get a photo of it, because it felt a bit rude, but there are low-income families who live in the spacious tombs in the cemeteries here, creating a strange village atmosphere. There was laundry hanging out, satellite dishes attached to tombs, children running and playing, even a restaurant and cafe within the graveyard.

Library of Alexandria

Thursday 11 March 2010

Alexandria is only two hours north of Cairo by train, so Ryan and I took a day trip up there today.

And no, it's not that library, but it stands where they believe the old one stood, and they're trying to recreate the spirit of scholarship and openness and all that the old one stood for. Inside are millions of books, rare collections, museums, research centers, a planetarium, conferences, classes, art exhibitions, and all kinds of other academic goodness. The outside is covered with carvings of all the writing systems ever used in human history - cool, huh?

Madrassa Door

Wednesday 10 March 2010

An intricate door to a madrassa, or Islamic school.

Back in Cairo for the day.

Nubian house

Tuesday 9 March 2010

Today was a travel day, so here's a pretty picture of a Nubian house down in Aswan. They are sometimes decorated with all kinds of drawings of animals and flowers and geometric designs, which is neat. This one looks like it was decorated with indigo, which is common down here. You see beautiful bright blue piles of it in all the markets.

Ryan and the Obelisk

Monday 8 March 2010

Here's Ryan taking a picture of the largest obelisk in the world, which was commissioned by Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh I mentioned yesterday. It is in Karnak temple.

These obelisks are fascinating - they are unbelievably big up close. And did you know that they are not embedded in the ground at all, but are rather cut absolutely perfectly, so they rest on a precisely flat bottom and are held up by gravity?

A group of people tried to raise an obelisk a while back, for a television program, using ancient Egyptian methods. They had all the manpower they could want, and still couldn't do it. These ancients are absolutely amazing us, the more we learn about them.

ShuShu on Hatshepsut

Sunday 7 March 2010

We don't usually take guided tours, but we decided to today, for seeing the valley of the kings and some other temples.

Here is our guide, ShuShu, at the temple of Hatshepsut, one of the only acknowledged female pharaohs. (There are a few others under debate.)

I like the carving in this photo - it is of a trading expedition Hatshepsut financed, and these carvings are the earliest depiction of African tribal life. Can you see the hut on the left there?

You'll notice that ShuShu is wearing a headscarf. Yes, most Egyptian women wear something like this, and yes, we've seen a lot of veiled women. More on this in the email.

Mezze

Saturday 6 March 2010

Our dinner tonight was a bunch of small dishes called "mezze." It's like tapas, where you eat a bunch of bite-sized salads and sides, and is quite common here in Egypt.

Starting at the white dish in the foreground and going clockwise, we had: soft white cheese with olives, spiced meatballs in a tomato sauce, fried triangles stuffed with meat and veggies, smoked beef with beans (one of the most amazing dishes i've ever eaten), a cold lentil salad, cucumber yogurt salad with mint, baba ganoush (eggplant puree dip), and pan-friend veggies in the middle. All eaten with tons of fresh wheat bread - yum!

Feluccas

Friday 5 March 2010

Still down in Aswan today. Took the ferry over to Elephantine Island to visit the Nubian villages (and get a cool Nubian henna decoration on my hand), and then took one of these boats, a felucca, over to Kitchner Island to visit the botanical gardens.

They are everywhere on the Nile - the most traditional, most peaceful, and cheapest way to travel.

Fatimid Cemetery

Thursday 4 March 2010

Last night we took the overnight train from Cairo down to Aswan, at the southern end of the Nile, and so here we are in the baking heat of what used to be called Nubia.

Today we visited our first Islamic cemetery, which held both modern and very very old tombs. (The modern are the ones low to the ground, the old ones are the raised domes of important imams of yesteryear.)

Agricultural Museum

Wednesday 3 March 2010

A visit to the strange and quirky Agricultural Museum today turned a bit sour when the very low admission price was offset by all the baksheesh we had to pay within the museum.

Okay, I'll try and explain baksheesh without rambling on. It is basically a tip (or sometimes a bribe) you give someone for helping you out. You give it at times we westerners understand, like at a restaurant or to someone who has done a particularly good job. But here in Egypt, you also have to give it when someone does something small, like opens a door for you. For example, in this museum, several "guides" came over, pointed at something, and then asked for baksheesh. And we pretty much have to pay it. This often happens at tourist sites when you are shown something off the beaten path (whether you wanted to see it or not), and sometimes when some guy comes over and says "Canada good!" and then holds out his hand for baksheesh.

We're trying to get used to it (we basically just feel like walking wallets most of the time), to accept it as a cultural phenomenon (even Egyptians have to pay baksheesh all the time), and to figure out exactly when we have to pay and how much. All of these three things are really difficult.

Giza!

Tuesday 2 March 2010

We saw the Great Pyramids of Giza today . . . and this handsome devil.

View from the minaret

Monday 1 March 2010

A view from halfway up the minaret of the mosque we saw today.

Cairo is a dirty, noisy, crowded, busy, pushy city, but it sure does look nice from up here. It used to be known as "the city of one thousand minarets" and it must have more by now.