Exploring--Mediterranean Turkey--Our Cruise in a Gulet

In contrast to the strange, other-worldly landscape of the region of Cappadocia, Turkey, which I showed you a few posts ago, today I am reminiscing about a sail on Turkey's south-eastern Mediterranean coast. When we visited Turkey several years ago, we were able to skip out on our guided bus tour for four glorious days and nights sailing the gorgeous turquoise waters--and then hop onto the next bus tour with our chosen itinerary that came by. The wonderful Pacha Tour Company arranged it all in advance, delivering us directly to the dock and picking us up in Anatalya harbor after our sail to continue our journey.

Given that I have just reread all my journal entries from this segment of our journey, this could be a very long post :>). Instead, I will try to give you a flavor of the mini-cruise and let the photos tell the rest. We sailed in a gulet, a lovingly kept wooden boat about 70 feet long and maybe 20 feet wide. Our captain, his father, and his 15 year old son comprised our congenial crew. Eleven passengers stayed in the six cabins, all beautifully panelled, as you can see in the photo. Our bed was at least as wide as a queen and somewhat longer, filling the area under two generous windows, which let in the October breezes, comfortably warm in the daytime and pleasantly cool at night. With ample storage in drawers under the bed and a closet on one end wall, we were cozy as could be. The door to our spotless bathroom on the left side of the picture is standing open (actually closes at right angles to the cabin door). The bathroom had a porcelain toilet and pedestal sink, wide handy shelves with a rim to keep things in order even if the boat rocked, and a hand-held shower. There was hot water whenever the engine was running and for at least an hour after we anchored each night.

Days were lazy, with four lovely meals (including an afternoon tea) prepared by the 15 year old (along with all his other chores, I don't know how he made such great food in the little galley, but we loved it). We explored the coast at a leisurely pace, with frequent extra stops at anchor so that we could swim in the crystal clear, silky water in peaceful coves. There were optional dinghy rides to coastal towns like Kas and Kalekoy, which you see in two photos above (Kalekoy, that is)--one shows the town crowned by an old Byzantine fortress, and one looks down from a street on the hill to the harbor and boats anchored with ours just beyond the docks.

The whole journey was magical, with quiet opportunities to stare deep into the water--the rocks, sea floor vegetation, and an occasional critter clearly visible, even in 50 - 60 feet of water. We could read, sketch, sun, lie back and watch the sky, or socialize with other passengers, two German couples, several Dutch people, and a Canadian man. With encouragement, our captain gradually opened up and told us about his life, speaking gently in limited English (his son's English was better), and "grandpa" just fished and grinned as he communicated his love of life on the water in a good-humored sort of sign language. The cruise was delightful and interesting in its own right and also provided a laid-back interlude in our time in Turkey.

Question of the day: Do you also enjoy time out on the water, at home or when traveling? I can't seem to do without it.

Learning--Cappadocia in Turkey--An Other Worldly Scene

Once again, a delightful encounter with local Turkish people has sparked memories of our incredible journey around Turkey in the fall of 2003. One recent Saturday, the Amity Turkish Cultural Center here in Jacksonville, FL presented their monthly Turkish cooking lesson. My friend Dee and I enjoyed learning how to make a very sweet soft cookie-like dessert called seker pare. Then, we were served a delicious Turkish lunch--all free and all presented with grace and friendliness. We will definitely return for another cooking lesson! I wrote about another of their events in a recent post when they treated a group of us to a Ramadan style breaking-of-the-fast meal.

Today's photos show the strange landscape and early fortress and dwellings in a region of Cappadocia in central Turkey. It looks so much like another planet that it served as a location for the filming of several scenes from one of the original Star Wars movies.

In a photo above, I am standing in front of some volcanic rock formations on an overlook near our hotel in the region. The odd cap stones are a different type of rock that wears away more slowly in the elements than the softer rock lower down, resulting in the characteristic "fairy chimney" formations. Mark is looking out over the Goreme valley where people from about 4000 years ago in Hittite times carved out homes and villages from the rock. Early Christians also used them as places of refuge and worship; we saw some Biblical wall paintings in a large area once set up as a chapel. This entire area is preserved as an Open Air Museum, but we also saw villages where some of these old carved out cave-homes are still in use right beside much more modern structures. The vertical view is of The Citadel, the highest point in Cappadocia, which was carved out as a Hittite royal fortress. You can click on any photo to enlarge it and view more detail. It was truly amazing to see this unusual region--also humbling to realize how long there have been established civilizations in Turkey, unlike my Northern European ancestors, who were barbarians by comparison not so many centuries ago.

Question of the day: Can you believe that the New Testament chronicles Paul's journeys to Cappadocia without ever once mentioning the weird scenery?

Learning--Turkish Connections--Ramadan

We absolutely loved our journey to Turkey in the fall of 2003. All aspects of our time in Turkey were memorable--the art and culture, from ancient civilizations to the present; the beauty of the land, from the abundant harvest and fertile fields, to the mountains and the sparkling, aqua waters of the Mediterranean; and, most of all, the gracious, welcoming Turkish people.

Recently, I was privileged to enjoy two events presented by our local Amity Turkish Cultural Center. We, our son, and his wife joined with a church group in a Ramadan style evening meal, a treat given by the Cultural Center. Since Ramadan falls during our calendar's August this year, daylight is long. Observant Muslims eat something before sunrise and then do not eat or drink until after sunset each day of the month of Ramadan. So, rather than their usual practice of sharing an actual Ramadan meal with others in the community during their celebration, they took pity on us non-Muslims by bringing us a typical meal last week when we all could eat at 6 p.m.

After a brief introduction to the meaning and purpose of Ramadan, they invited us to a buffet with Turkish style macaroni and cheese, rice with vegetables, meatballs and potatoes in sauce, a huge salad, and Turkish baklava--all very delicious. But the best part of the evening was that some of the local Turkish Cultural Center members joined us at each of our round tables and freely answered any questions we had about Ramadan, their faith, or their lives in the U.S. It is hard to describe just how friendly, gentle, and gracious they all were and how open both to sharing and to listening. They truly embodied the mission of the Amity Turkish Cultural Center, which is "building bridges for peace."

In a future post, I'll tell you more about the second of their events that I enjoyed. Telling you about our experiences on that amazing journey to Turkey will also come later (otherwise this post would be verrrrry loooooong :>). This photo from our time in Turkey shows one of the minarets of the magnificent 16th century Sulaymaniyah Mosque in Istanbul, associated with the great Sultan Sulayman.

Question of the day: What cross-cultural experiences have been meaningful for you?