Anatolian in Ankara

Ankara

If there is one thing to do in Ankara, Turkey's cosmopolitan capital city, it's whiling away a few hours in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, housed in the restored Kuşunlu Han and old bazaar, uphill near the castle. The building itself is fantastic, with outdoor gardens and grapevine-covered terraces, dotted with random chunks of stone-- samples from hundreds of ancient sites throughout antiquity. Look left to see a Hittite gryphon circa 1200 BC, on the right 2nd century Roman statue of Cybele, over there a stela with illegible Lycian inscriptions from 400 BC ...


Welcome to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations


Replica of a Çatalhöyük house (Neolithic 7500- 5700 BC); notice the dead buried under the floor


Hittite relief from Gaziantep, circa 1400 BC

After a morning at the castle, sitting on a bench in the park, and a few laps around the city, we hit up the central market for some fruit and photos. I love markets! Men calling out for buyers to come take their fish pulled us over, happily posing for pictures with us; other fruit sellers befriended us and chuckled when we insisted on using our own bag instead of their plastic ones.


Vibrant balik for sale in the market


Colorful, juicy mandarins


Bought some honey for our friend, Neşe

We stayed a long time at the museum, leaving only as they shooed everyone out for closing, then biked to a Gençlic Park, packed with families and couples enjoying views of the lake and spraying fountains, the water glistening as the sun set.


Water fountains at Gençlic Park

Tonight were couchsurfing with a computer engineer, Hamdi. He lives in a house not too far from the train station and university, near a lively street full of restaurants and foreign fast food chains, like Dominoes Pizza and Little Caesars. We arrived in the late evening (because we got utterly lost, googlemaps you failed us!), so the three of us went out to his favorite place for dinner. The theme of the restaurant is from a popular comic magazine we had seen at the Sundance hippie resort; I can't read it but from the cartoon pictures it's obvious that there's a lot of sexual humor involved. And I thought this is a Muslim country?


Dinner with the funnies

Over dinner we learned a lot about Hamdi's life and family. He studied physics and engineering, then got bored and got a job with his company as a computer engineer. His girlfriend also works with the company; she's currently in London for a few months of technical training, and in the process of interviewing for a job in Palo Alto, California. Maybe we will meet up again in America!

Adana and a train ride

Kozan to Adana

Distance: 32.7 km
Time elapsed: 2:08:00
Average speed: 15.3 km/ hr
Max speed: 29.7 km/ hr
Temp: 33 C
Weather: Nice, clear morning; HOT afternoon!

The sound of a loudspeaker, urgently blaring some sort of morning news (reminds me of the village newscasts I heard in Vietnam, now that's selected media!) woke us in Ertan and Hecer's house. It sounded like the speaker was just outside the bedroom window, but Hecer said pointed to the school across the street when I asked. I guess they don't want tardy students!


Sleepyheads

We sat on their living room floor, sharing eggs, olives, and honey for breakfast. The honey is a dark brown with big chunks of comb-- Kind of waxy but it goes down well with bread. Hecer's father, who we met last night, has a big garden full of orange trees, figs, persimmons, pomegranites, and several bee boxes. So cool.


Breakfast on the floor around a silver tray, reminds me of Tempe

After eating and watching the morning news- rain in Istanbul, more PKK activity, and a food festival in Gaziantep- we sat talking awhile longer, then said our goodbyes and thank you's before taking our bikes to the road.


Biking out of town, the castle looks so small, huh?

Kozan is set in a long, wide valley, full of citrus orchards. Luckily the road led straight and flat, slightly downhill actually, for about 30 km. That's where the construction begins. We caught a lift to the big city of Adana with two guys, one who used to work in England. He seemed really friendly, I wonder what his former life abroad could have been like...?


Riding in luxury

We didn't stay long in Adana. Our first order of business was to hit an Internet cafe, next to the train station. After a fair amount of sweet talking (my Turkish is getting so good!) we convinced the officials to let us take our bikes aboard the night train to Ankara. I didn't even think this would be an issue, assuming we'd just have to pay an extra fee. At first they were adament that it's not allowed, but after some coaxing and phone calls they got permission from someone higher up with a tamam (OK). We booked a sleeper car for the 12 hour ride, considerable more expensive but so fun! And the plan was to keep the bikes in our cabin with us.


Adana is known for şalgam, a salty beet drink (not my cup-o-çaj!)

With our free afternoon we rode to Sabanci Merkez Cami, an immense and ornate mosque built in the late 90's. It is really impressive- measuring up to Istanbul's mega mosques quite well- and the quality of the materials used (real gold and marble) are apparently very good.


6 minarets and Sabanci Merkez Cami


A family admiring the camii

Beautiful but fairly lifeless for me. Chris says that because we came during work hours in the middle of the week. Maybe. But anyway it's a showy mosque, not near a neighborhood, and it serves it's purpose.


Beautiful interiors en par with Istanbul's great mosques

Exploring cities by bike rocks because it's easy to travel and a lot can be done in a short time. We pedaled through a park along the canal, then to the downtown area where Chris ate the famous Adana kebab and a tavuk doner. I couldn't stop myself from buying pastries from a bakery, they looks so good! But I'm always disappointed, finding them to be stale and dry. When will I learn?


Vıew of Sabanci Merkez Cami from the canal


Hungry man!

Back at the train station, with 20 min until departure, the attendant refused us entrance with the bikes. But they said yes! No, he crossed his arms and gave us the cold shoulder. Panicking, I dragged the woman who sold us the tickets upstairs to talk to the guy, but he didn't want to listen. Luckily, with 5 minutes left, she simply went over his head and calmly told us our bikes would ride upfront, in the attendants' cabin, under their beds.

Phew!!

We happily agreed, stuffing them into wagon 1 and then jumping ourselves into wagon 7, on the complete opposite end.


Our home for the next 12 hours

Long train trips are so fun, especially with a cabin and beds. We stayed up for hours, wandering down the lines of connected rooms a few times, and stopping once in the dining car. We didn't stay for food, instead enjoying fruit smuggled in the bags back in our cabin. Waking early, I thought the train would pull in to the city at 7:30 sharp. From our window we watched endless plains full of wheat fields and occasional villages off in the distance. The train didn't arrive in Ankara until after 9:30, giving us a long morning to relax (and eat those pastries).


Mobile camping

Armenian Kingdom

Kizkalesi-- Kozan

Distance: 33 km
Tine: 1:45:00
Max/ Ave Speeds: 46.8 / 18.8 km/hr
Temp: 34 C
Weather: Cool morning with lots of wind

Early start this morning, thanks mostly in part to the truck that pulled up, shining bright headlights at us. An early bird fisherman, claiming his predawn catch. Fine by us, we can pedal farther in the cool morning air. We did get pretty far, about 30 km to Elvanli, a large city heading inland. No more coast for us! Now it's only industrial cities, including the port of Mersin, and Tarsus, where Cleopatra was rumored to meet Octavio for a tryst.


Pit stop for some morning çaj


Even the shoe shiners are patriotic

We caught a lift with two guys in an empty semi, on their way past Adana (our goal) to a town 70 km north, called Kozan. Curious, we quickly read what Lonely Planet has to say about it. As it turns out, Kozan is an awesome place; the city sits low in a wide valley, encircling a steep central mountain, which is topped by an enormous crumbling fortress. This was actually the center of the 12th century medieval Armenian kingdom of Celicia.


Remains of the Armenian fortress

The man driving, Ertan, suggested we come to see his town-- we didn't hesitate to agree. Bypassing Adana, he took us to his town, where he lives with his wife, Hacer, and two children, Beyza (daughter, 4) and Begüm (son, almost 2).


Our hosts, Ertan and Hacer


Looking down over the valley-- good location for a summer fortress!

Ertan and Hacer, like all of our Turkish hosts so far, were amazingly hospitable and fun to hang out with. They speak not a word of English, so communication between us was fairly challenging, but through sign language and with patience we learned a lot from each other.


Begüm and I speak the same language

In the early evening, they took us up to the hilltop fortress to watch the sunset, climbing up the steep crags and nervously making sure the kids didn't tumble off the edge. We spied a white-gowned bride on the far end, I think having a photo shoot with some friends. As she passed by I noticed some brightly colored cords around her waste; Hacer told me that for a wedding, a woman's brothers and sisters tie chords around her, then cut them during the ceremony to symbolize her release from the family.


Passing one of the castle entrances


Bride descending (see the cords?)


Steep drop, don't fall!

After the sun disappeared we rode back toward the city, embarking on a long series of sightseeing events and meeting family. We stopped by Hacer's parents' house for an hour or so, sitting on their couch while they talked and not understanding a word they said. Felt just like our first 3 months in Cerik with our host family...


Beyza and her grandfather

Our night adventures lasted many hours, including visiting the mosque, a drive out to the canyon beyond the city, where families and couples go to eat roasted corn alongside the water, and an ice cream stop in Atatürk Park. All and all an interesting, fun tine. We came home late and watched some TV together before falling asleep on the kids' bed.

Maiden's Tower

Gozleme Garden (Tekmen) to Kizkalesi

Distance: 20 km
Time elapsed: 1:17:00
Average speed: 15.3 km/ hr
Max speed: 57.3 km/ hr
Temp: 37 C
Weather: Not too hot, lots of wind

Is that rain? No, just Şeride (mom at the gozleme garden) watering the plants.

In fact I'm not sure it rained at all last night. Chris heard it too but our uncovered bikes show no signs of dampness. Odd.


No bugs allowed!

After sharing a big table full of breakfast morsels (think a dozen small plates full of olives, tomatoes, fig jam, egg, etc., eaten bit by bit family style), Chris took the family's drill and began creating a lantern gourd. So easy! The whole family was excited by this project; Mustafa (father) especially watched with keen interest. I wonder if we can return to visit them in a few years, and will find out he's begun a lantern shop? He does have all the resources...


Yemek time with the Buci family!

Eventually we did have to say goodbye (Mustafa was genuinely sad, telling us no, we should stay 2 more night with them). Believe me I would love to, but sometimes we just have to push on...


Chris made a quick lantern (Get ready Gjiro! Their coming your way!)

Through a few more towns along the coast, pausing briefly at a beach park hoping to find showers (no luck, we are stinky today), and even past some sort of (perhaps wedding?) party. I regret not stopping to find out what the huge crowds (one large group of women then a few meters away a large group of men) were up to. It looked like they were eating a meal or something-- wedding is our guess since there are no specific holidays today. Some people even haydi'd us over, but in the moment we didn't really wish to stop, wanting to just finally get somewhere today. Now I wish we had (ahh! It's the journey not the destination!)-- probably would have met great people and ended up staying the night with them. ;)


Oh shady beach, do you have a shower for me?


Love that sea!

Well we didn't (grrr), instead tackling a very steep hill (mostly walking) under an intense sun. After about 25 km of this fun (journey right?) I threw in the towel, and we instantly caught a lift with a pair of trucks. The guys tossed our bikes over a pile of plastic bags (oh the irony) and we hopped up front with the driver, Ibrahim. They agreed to drop us in Kizkalesi, en route to their destination of Mersin. Great! Thankfully they did pick us up because the highway turned into a dusty construction zone that would have been impossible to ride on for most of the way.


İts the journey, its the journey...


Probably not the safest way to travel

Some hours later they unloaded our bikes next to the Kizkalesi castle, adjacent to the highway. This time we gave gule gules (because we were staying and they were going), then biked back through the town and onto the boardwalk. From the far pier is a great view of the picturesque Maiden's Castle, a fortress out on the water, some 300 meters offshore.


Maiden's Castle

Legend says a prophet told the king his daughter would be killed by a snake, so he built her a special, impossible to reach castle in hopes of saving her life. Years later a snake, hidden in the princess' food basket, slithered out and fatally bit her. No escaping destiny... I am quite sure I've heard that same legend before (if you have too let me know).


I got your jeviz here...!

The crowded beach is lined by various hotel options, restaurants, and doner kebaberies. It didn't feel like a European enclave, but we didn't stick around long enough to really find out. We grabbed some mercimek çorba from a quiet place off the main road, then stopped at a bustling kebab joint for Chris to eat tantuni, the lamb skewer famous from nearby Mersin. He swears it tastes identical to carne asada, though we are positive it can't be pork!


Tantuni, Mersin's claim to Turkish culinary fame

Tonight turned out be to a full moon- the bright yellow orb rose magestically over Kizkalesi's castle, reflecting off the sea below. I bet it looked great from the pier near Maiden's Castle! That's another awesome photo opp missed today, which bums me out considerably. :(

Slightly disheartened, we pedaled out of town, a few coves over to find a place to camp. Fell asleep to a live Turkish singer, serenading hotel guests across the bay.

Castles and Gozleme Gardens

Anamur to Tekmen (Gozleme garden)

Distance: 24 km
Time elapsed: 1:32:00
Average speed: 15.5 km/ hr
Max speed: 48.3 km/ hr
Temp: 30 C
Weather: Mildly humid, nice evening. No wind.

We finally had to say goodbye and leave Behlul and Arzu, although we really didn't want to. After filling our bottles at the mosque, Chris and I biked out if the town toward the Marmur Castle. Turns out this largely ignored kale is one of THE coolest castles in the country, if not the region!


Hosça Kalın Behlul, Arzu, and Rua!


Seaside Marmur Castle

First of all this place is huge, with three defensive walls to block out invading armies. Inside is a modern mosque, though I don't know if it is in any way connected to an ancient one that may have stood there long before.


View from the guard tower (notice the tourists)

We climbed in through a sea-facing window, then up to one of the many towers, climbing the dangerously narrow flying staircases and following long corridors illuminated by window light. I often think I should be feeling some sort of emotion when visiting ancient sites, that's why I'm here right? To walk around the remains of great civilizations and understand what life was like long ago. So many stories. So many births and deaths and who knows what in between.


Stairs winding up to the tower

Sadly, I get desensitized to ancient sites fairly quickly. Sometimes downright bored. Everything cool has already been extracted, taken for safekeeping to a museum or warehouse anyway. (Some anthropologists feel that removing a symbol from it's location of use is like breaking the bond, thereby rendering it's value worthless)


First of three defense walls

However the Marmur Kale is just the opposite! My imagination was running wild and I felt the need to walk around and see it from every angle possible (this is how Chris generally always feels, which gets pretty annoying after some hours when I'm hungry and tired and bored, ha!).


Scaling the kale of Marmur

After thorough explorations we took off, passing a few coastal hills and quiet coves. Late lunch was at a balik restaurant, set right out over the water. The grinning chef/proprietor served us a plate of fresh balik with a salad and bread, standard Mediterranean fare, then went back to his tea on the front porch with his friend.


There's actually a stunning seafront just to my left


Last of the banana stands, departing Anamur

Later we took a stop at a mosque to fill our bottles, striking up a conversation with the imam who took us inside to use the internet. We didn't catch what he wanted really, but he did show us random pictures of mosques and Mecca while talking to Chris in Arabic. I think he was just excited to meet us, glad that we are interested in mosques, Islam, or Arab culture in general. His wife appeared with a pitcher of ayran (Albanian dhalle, a salty yogurt drink) which he and Chris guzzled jovially.


Friendly imam attempts to ride Chris' bike

Our plan was to get to an empty cove we had seen on google earth, just a few more km away. As the sun began to set we spied it from afar, deciding to grab a quick gozleme (cheese pancake) at a roadside cafe garden. This place was super cute, every square foot packed with potted plants, vines, trees; gourds hanging from the overhead trellises. The ocean just below was impossible to see through the dense vegetation.


Cute roadside eatery! (/ family living room)

We ordered 2 pancakes from a nice family (2 parents 2 young kids) and sat on the cushioned couches near their tv; Chris began sketching in a kids' coloring pad and I was writing when the mother came out with plates of food. Then they all came out to sit with us in their outdoor living room, curious to learn who we are and what we're up to. We found out their families are from Cyprus, and they have an older daughter studying in university there.


Seride (mom), Melisa (daughter), and Arda (son) eat in the outdoor family room

After finishing and going back to the bikes, the father, Mustafa, was watering plants nearby (they pretty much do thus all day) and he turned to ask Where are you going? Why don't you stay here with us?


Hanging gourds o plenty

So that's how we ended up sleeping in their outdoor living room, under a mosquito net (although it didn't seem necessary). Once back on the couch and established as misafir (guests), they set out a large silver tray full of food (their dinner) and encouraged to join them. Pay for the pancake but stay for the free feast? Only in Turkey.


Hangin with the fam, talkin gourds...

We graciously passed (except for the tea) and instead Chris drew scenes on a gourd, and a sketch of how they can make gourd lanterns, while I practiced stringing Turkish words into sentences with them. After a few hours our eyes got droopy; they set us up under the net for a comfortable sleep, waking to the sound of pouring rain and thankful that we weren't down on the beach.