I mentioned earlier the problem of resources here for teachers and students. Yesterday I erased the blackboard and then was talking to the students for awhile and when I turned back to the blackboard to erase something, I discovered the eraser was missing. I thought I was having an episode of early-onset dementia. Suddenly a student, Queen, ran out of the classroom and when I asked another student where Queen was going, she said Queen was getting me the eraser. Well, it turns out that all of the four teachers teaching at that time share the eraser! Apparently, another teacher has sent a student in to get the erasor while my back was turned, and sure enough about ten minutes later the teacher next door came in and asked to use the eraser. Today I am in town and planning to buy one for each classroom. Also, there is nothing on the walls. Not a slip of paper or worn out picture. Almost no books for students, and of course no electronic equipment. Yet the students are serious about their educations. They are smart and constantly surprise me with their insightful opinions and knowledge.
I really caused a ruckus in the teacher's room the other day when I announced that I was an atheist (well, they asked me). Pandemonium prevailed for quite a while as my colleagues, fanning themselves vigorously, shouted out questions and exclamations. It didn't occur to me at the time that I was in a Christian High School (one of my buddies at CCS pointed that out to me when I got home!) They calmed down when, by way of explanation, I pointed out that there were many people who called themselves Christians or believers, who were guilty of committing heinous crimes; so that believing was not exactly the criterion for a moral life. I brought up our boy George and the head matron, said to everyone in a tone oozing with sympathy, "Oh, yes, That's why she says such things!" It's really great fun to hang out with colleagues here, on the other side of the world, and share ideas and opinions. We agree that we are learning a lot from each other.
Next week I will continue with my civics class for 9th graders, English with 10th graders, and I'll add on a composition class with seniors. It's such an incredible experience to work with these students. I feel truly blessed, although it's is painful to witness the hardships that they face. My 10th graders have lofty aspirations for their futures. They want to be doctors and pilots, lawyers and politicians (one girl insists she will become president one day) engineers, teachers, religious leaders, mechanics, nurses and computer scientist. They love American rappers (I think they will be thrilled when I start doing music with them) and movies and all things American, especially the people. The girls seem more determined to succeed than many of the boys. My heart is so full of hope fore them.
Maybe I like them so much because they fight each other to grab my things at the end of class and at least four of them escort me to the teacher's room after each period. I feel like a screen celebrity or something.
Some of the folks at home base tell me they can help be download some photos, so when I get back from the Maasai village on Sunday, I will try to post some photos of the wonderful people we have met in Tanzania. You will be very jealous.
Until then...
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Hamjambo!
What a great experience it has been here in Tanzania these last four days. The weather is fabulous: warm during the day and cool in the evenings. And its very green here at the bottom of Mt. Kiliminjaro. The mountain is visable from many different vantage points here and it's stunning. Too bad I can't upload photographs.
I have started my teaching job at St. Theresia secondary school and am loving that too. The students stand up when an adult walks in the room and when they answer questions, and they also escort you to the teacher's room, Your books in hand at the end of class. They are courteous and polite and seem genuinely happy to have foreign teachers. I'm loving the respect you get here as a teacher and as an elder.
I am teaching two levels of English (9th and 10th graders) and Civics. There is one civics book that the other civics teacher and I have to share. Of course the students don't have any books. In my English classes between 25 and 40 students share around 8 of the readers and grammar primers; that's the most frustrating aspect of teaching here-- the woeful lack of resources.
All of my 28 co-volunteers are wonderful people to know and I am learning a lot from them as well. The food at the base home is sensational. Mostly vegetables and lots of salads and wonderful stews and I have quickly learned to like Ugali (the corn-based staple) too because the sauces are so delicious.
This weekend I am going with a few others to spend the weekend at a Masai village. We will meet and eat and dance (!) with them and help them with their chores. I can't wait. I have always been drawn to the Masai because they are such tall people. I think my ancient ancestors must have come from this rejoin.
Our computer at home base is very slow and we are only supposed to use it to conduct quick business, so I am here in town today using a very fast computer for about 50 cents an hour. We have lectures and Swahili lessons in the afternoons after our placements so there hasn't been a lot of time to get into town, but the pace will slow down in two weeks and then I'll have more time to post.
Right now I have to grab a cab back home for Swahili class, so Bedai for now.
I have started my teaching job at St. Theresia secondary school and am loving that too. The students stand up when an adult walks in the room and when they answer questions, and they also escort you to the teacher's room, Your books in hand at the end of class. They are courteous and polite and seem genuinely happy to have foreign teachers. I'm loving the respect you get here as a teacher and as an elder.
I am teaching two levels of English (9th and 10th graders) and Civics. There is one civics book that the other civics teacher and I have to share. Of course the students don't have any books. In my English classes between 25 and 40 students share around 8 of the readers and grammar primers; that's the most frustrating aspect of teaching here-- the woeful lack of resources.
All of my 28 co-volunteers are wonderful people to know and I am learning a lot from them as well. The food at the base home is sensational. Mostly vegetables and lots of salads and wonderful stews and I have quickly learned to like Ugali (the corn-based staple) too because the sauces are so delicious.
This weekend I am going with a few others to spend the weekend at a Masai village. We will meet and eat and dance (!) with them and help them with their chores. I can't wait. I have always been drawn to the Masai because they are such tall people. I think my ancient ancestors must have come from this rejoin.
Our computer at home base is very slow and we are only supposed to use it to conduct quick business, so I am here in town today using a very fast computer for about 50 cents an hour. We have lectures and Swahili lessons in the afternoons after our placements so there hasn't been a lot of time to get into town, but the pace will slow down in two weeks and then I'll have more time to post.
Right now I have to grab a cab back home for Swahili class, so Bedai for now.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Forward to Tanzania!
I could live in Amsterdam... easily. It's beautiful, cultured, cafe's are ubiquitous and so are the coffee shops for that matter (that's where you can buy weed and other drugs... not that I have visited one), and you can get on quite well with English here. Then there is the socialized medicine and humane euthanasia practices too.
I read a an article by someone of the police force in a tourist magazine in which the writer offered tips on how recover if one takes too much weed or what they call here "smart" drugs (LSD, mushroom, etc.). The advice was to drink lots of water and eat sweet things.
Oddly enough, with all the cycles out and about, no one wears helmets. Many people ride with their babies and toddlers on the front and back seats...all of course without helmets. A cab driver said that the Dutch cyclists don't have accidents, only the foreigners do. Of course their are great cyclist lanes too.
I have been walking around enjoying the architecture and shops and buying supplies for my teaching gig in TZ. My big coup was a functioning CD player for 6 Euros that I got at a flea market. I haven't found any thrift stores here, but happily there are lots of outdoor fleamarkets, so you know I am having fun. I bought a bunch of CDs as well and batteries too in case there is no electricity available in the classroom in TZ. All in all I'm psyched about getting there.
There is a great movie theater down the street from my hotel which I have been frequenting lately. I saw "Becoming Jane" which I loved and "A death at a Funeral" which was silly-funny but good too. I recommend both.
Okay, I am running out of time of this computer. I will post again from Africa.
I read a an article by someone of the police force in a tourist magazine in which the writer offered tips on how recover if one takes too much weed or what they call here "smart" drugs (LSD, mushroom, etc.). The advice was to drink lots of water and eat sweet things.
Oddly enough, with all the cycles out and about, no one wears helmets. Many people ride with their babies and toddlers on the front and back seats...all of course without helmets. A cab driver said that the Dutch cyclists don't have accidents, only the foreigners do. Of course their are great cyclist lanes too.
I have been walking around enjoying the architecture and shops and buying supplies for my teaching gig in TZ. My big coup was a functioning CD player for 6 Euros that I got at a flea market. I haven't found any thrift stores here, but happily there are lots of outdoor fleamarkets, so you know I am having fun. I bought a bunch of CDs as well and batteries too in case there is no electricity available in the classroom in TZ. All in all I'm psyched about getting there.
There is a great movie theater down the street from my hotel which I have been frequenting lately. I saw "Becoming Jane" which I loved and "A death at a Funeral" which was silly-funny but good too. I recommend both.
Okay, I am running out of time of this computer. I will post again from Africa.
Friday, August 17, 2007
More on U.S. Food AID Programs
I have made it to Geneva for a visit to my good friend Maria. Now I have unrestricted computer access for a few days. Hooray (It was 6 Euros per half hour at my hotel)
I found an important message buried in my mail box from MADRE. It seems that the U.S. farm bill is up for reauthorization in September and MADRE is campaigning to change the terms of the bill on food aid so that more money can go directly to farmers in poor countries instead of all the dollars going to agribusinesses here (see previous post for more information on this topic).This issue directly affects the people with whom I will be working that's why I raise it here.
From MADRE's website:
The UN World Food Program found that it was able to obtain 75 percent more corn to feed hungry families in Africa between 2001 and 2005 by buying corn from local farmers in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia instead of from US factory farms.
Yet, the current US Farm Bill requires that all federal food aid be produced in the United States and shipped abroad by US companies. As a result, transportation and overhead account for up to 65 percent of the budget for food aid. Since 2002, rising shipping costs have meant a 43 percent decline in the amount of food distributed as aid. And because food aid must be bought, packaged, and shipped in the US, it can take months to reach people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where most US food aid goes.
This system also undermines long-term solutions to world hunger by dumping US-grown food on countries where local farmers could be providing comparable resources. Instead of using US tax dollars to buy food exclusively from corporate-owned US farms that already receive billions in government subsidies, food aid should be purchased from local farmers in the Global South.
MADRE's Call
MADRE supports a proposal for the new Farm Bill that would allow 25 percent of emergency resources to be spent on food grown by people in the country or region where aid is needed, rather than by large-scale US factory farms. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives dropped this provision from its version of the Farm Bill. But in September, the Senate is scheduled to debate the bill. Make sure that your Senator goes back to Washington from their current Congressional recess having heard from you and your friends about the importance of distributing US food aid efficiently and equitably.
Call your US Senators and tell them:
- Your name and address (to confirm that they represent you in Congress).
- The Senate should support a provision to allow up to $300 million of food to be bought near the places in crises during emergency food distributions.
- Food aid should aim to meet urgent needs and promote long-term solutions to world hunger.
- Food aid should not be driven by the interests of US agribusiness and shipping companies.
To find the phone number for your Senators, use the tool on this webpage: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ or call the Senate switchboard at 202.224.3121.
Please forward this action alert on to friends in and outside of your state - together we can make real change happen.
I found an important message buried in my mail box from MADRE. It seems that the U.S. farm bill is up for reauthorization in September and MADRE is campaigning to change the terms of the bill on food aid so that more money can go directly to farmers in poor countries instead of all the dollars going to agribusinesses here (see previous post for more information on this topic).This issue directly affects the people with whom I will be working that's why I raise it here.
From MADRE's website:
The UN World Food Program found that it was able to obtain 75 percent more corn to feed hungry families in Africa between 2001 and 2005 by buying corn from local farmers in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia instead of from US factory farms.
Yet, the current US Farm Bill requires that all federal food aid be produced in the United States and shipped abroad by US companies. As a result, transportation and overhead account for up to 65 percent of the budget for food aid. Since 2002, rising shipping costs have meant a 43 percent decline in the amount of food distributed as aid. And because food aid must be bought, packaged, and shipped in the US, it can take months to reach people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where most US food aid goes.
This system also undermines long-term solutions to world hunger by dumping US-grown food on countries where local farmers could be providing comparable resources. Instead of using US tax dollars to buy food exclusively from corporate-owned US farms that already receive billions in government subsidies, food aid should be purchased from local farmers in the Global South.
MADRE's Call
MADRE supports a proposal for the new Farm Bill that would allow 25 percent of emergency resources to be spent on food grown by people in the country or region where aid is needed, rather than by large-scale US factory farms. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives dropped this provision from its version of the Farm Bill. But in September, the Senate is scheduled to debate the bill. Make sure that your Senator goes back to Washington from their current Congressional recess having heard from you and your friends about the importance of distributing US food aid efficiently and equitably.
Call your US Senators and tell them:
- Your name and address (to confirm that they represent you in Congress).
- The Senate should support a provision to allow up to $300 million of food to be bought near the places in crises during emergency food distributions.
- Food aid should aim to meet urgent needs and promote long-term solutions to world hunger.
- Food aid should not be driven by the interests of US agribusiness and shipping companies.
To find the phone number for your Senators, use the tool on this webpage: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ or call the Senate switchboard at 202.224.3121.
Please forward this action alert on to friends in and outside of your state - together we can make real change happen.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Greetings from Amsterdam
Amsterdam is wonderfully sunny and cool, making my 5 -6 hours of day of walking quite pleasant. There are a lot of us visiting Amsterdam this week, in fact, I haven't been able to go to the main museums because the lines circle around blocks. It's good that I am coming back in October and December... I don't think there will be crowds then. My hotel is in the center of the town on a quiet street. Today I wondered in an area of town that reminded me of being in Turkey. It's a mixed neighborhood of senior citizens and immigrants from Turkey, Africa and other such places. Prices are a lot lower there!
Today I read in the Herald that CARE has decided to walk away from 45 million dollars in aid from the federal government because they feel the US food aid programs harm rather than help the countries they purport to serve. The way these aid programs work is that the US buys food products from US farmers, then ships them to places like Kenya on U.S. carriers. Then in Kenya aid organizations like CARE receive the food products and then sell them in the local economy to earn their aid dollars. This system is racked with inefficiencies which CARE has acknowledges in the past, but now they've decided that these programs also hinder agricultural development in poor countries. Soybean oil, for example, is one of the products that the feds buy and ship. Aid organisations sell the oil to Kenyan processing plants at a lower price than sunflower farmers can sell their raw sunflower oil. It's complicated, but I am pleased that CARE is taking this courageous step. They are using aid money to help small farmers improve farming methods and retailing strategies. CARE is affiliated with Cross Cultural Solutions, or rather it's the other way around. At any rate, I am glad to be affiliated with them and look forward to learning more about their work in Tanzania.
Oh, oh, the computer tells me I have 30 seconds left. Sorry for the typos...
Today I read in the Herald that CARE has decided to walk away from 45 million dollars in aid from the federal government because they feel the US food aid programs harm rather than help the countries they purport to serve. The way these aid programs work is that the US buys food products from US farmers, then ships them to places like Kenya on U.S. carriers. Then in Kenya aid organizations like CARE receive the food products and then sell them in the local economy to earn their aid dollars. This system is racked with inefficiencies which CARE has acknowledges in the past, but now they've decided that these programs also hinder agricultural development in poor countries. Soybean oil, for example, is one of the products that the feds buy and ship. Aid organisations sell the oil to Kenyan processing plants at a lower price than sunflower farmers can sell their raw sunflower oil. It's complicated, but I am pleased that CARE is taking this courageous step. They are using aid money to help small farmers improve farming methods and retailing strategies. CARE is affiliated with Cross Cultural Solutions, or rather it's the other way around. At any rate, I am glad to be affiliated with them and look forward to learning more about their work in Tanzania.
Oh, oh, the computer tells me I have 30 seconds left. Sorry for the typos...
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Farewell Turkey
Well, today is our last full day in Turkey. We are going to miss the beauty of Istanbul, the wonderful food and people, but not the HEAT! It's boiling now during the day with too few breezes, happily however, evening always carry a cool breeze around so there is always relief in sight. Our friends Aziz and Jamila from Monterey arrived three days ago and we have been having a jollly time with them. Our hotels are within walking distance of each other which is makes visiting and touring very nice. Last night we went to a show at a dinner club, with belly dancers, folk dancers, and sword throwers. Ali, ever the good sport, participated in a number of on stage activities, the most hilarious of which is when he concented to an act in which several men hurled knives at a board balanced on his stomach. He achieved celebrity status at the club after this last feat.
I got my assignment in Tanzania! I will be working in a small rural high school with a staff of six and around 60 students. I will be assisting in the classroom and conducting English classes. It's a relief that my assignment is in a high school, because although I love children, I have very little experience teaching them. My school is simpley called St. Teresa's School. Some of the students are AIDS orphans and the rest are just poor kids. They say there is a CD player at the school, so when I get to Amsterdam I'll buy some cd for them. I was thinking of that progressive rapper, Kanye West (I think that's his name) and Aziz and Jamila say that Michael Jackson is popular in Morocco, so maybe I'll get one his cds. Ali suggested Stevie Wonder. Any other suggtestions out there?
Ali will be taking the lap top to Morocco, so I don't think I will be able to post photos anymore until I get to Morocco myself in November, but I will be able to post messages regularly so stay tuned. I probably wont' be making any more posts until I get to Tanzania on August 25, so don't bother checking in until then.
Gulegule for now.
Education in Turkey
For you educators out there: according to the Turkish Daily News, only 50% of children finish high school here in Turkey. After elementary school (through age 13/14) children can attend a three-year academic high school or a four-year vocational high school. The entrance exams for the academic high schools are quite stringent so middle and upper middle income families send their children to test prep courses for up to a year before the exams. Only 10% of youth who take the university exams after high school pass and enter universities. There are also Koranic high schools; these have been classified as vocational schools meaning that there is no academic preparation for university. Some say that this may change now that the Islamist dominant party is in power.
Recently the government announced a new program to increase public school enrolments. Families will receive 12-20 Turkish Lira for each child that attends school. I’m not sure if that includes high school-aged children, but it sounds like a good step forward.
There are more universities here in Turkey now, which has helped stem the “brain drain” problem that most developing countries experience.
Another item of interest from the Turkish Daily News: In 2001, 68% of Turks had positive opinions about the United States; today that figure has dropped to 9%. That sentiment is directed at the U.S. government. We have felt nothing but gracious hospitality and friendliness here.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Invigorated in Instabul
The cool temperatures here in Istanbul have re-invigorated us after our long spell in the oven zones of Turkey. We’ll be here until August 13th when Ali and I take off on separate adventures for a while. We are staying in the old quarters near the Blue Mosque (named for the blue tiles that adorn the inside of the mosque) and the Grand Bazaar. We are mostly walking around, enjoying the wonderful cuisine, and going to museums. Tomorrow we go to the European district, which is said to be very trendy, and we still have our boat trip on the Bosphorus and a jaunt to one of the islands in the Sea of Marmara to do.
News items from the paper: A group of former prostitutes have formed a new political party here for outcasts. They will run for parliamentary seats in the next election. Sounds like a party I might join if we had one in the states.
Turkey, I have learned, is fast becoming a mecca for “medical tourism.” Apparently their medical facilities and technology are top rate and Europeans come here in droves for everything from heart, eye, dental and cosmetic surgery to cancer treatments. The prices are significantly lower than in Europe and there are virtually no waiting lists. Also, European HMOs will often foot the bill. It looks like the middle income countries are tacking up the slack of our western health systems. I see a sequel to Sicko here.
Speaking of illness, Ali has come down with his second bout of “tourismo.” This case isn’t has severe as the one he got In Capadocia, but he’s pretty miserable. We think it was the beef. I, happily, haven’t had one problem of that nature. I hope I hold out for the last four days in Turkey.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Istanbul!
The weather here is exquisite! It's warm in the mornings and evenings and hot in the sun in the afternoon, but glorious breezes sweep across this amazing city of 11 plus million keeping it deliciously cool most of the time and quite pleasant the rest of the time. We are in love with Istanbul.
We arrived yesterday and were feeling quite heady as we had covered more than 1300 miles of Turkish territory without a single scratch to the rental car, and we had just navigated the congested streets of the city for an hour looking for our hotel, so we were quite full of ourselves. That's when the Mishap occurred and we were yanked from our lofty heights.
Here's what happened: Not far from our hotel Ali made a left turn from a very busy highway onto to a one way lane. As we realized the error and observed three or four cars heading in our direction, we, naturally, panicked. Ali decided to risk driving over an embankment to try to get out of the fix, but to our utter horror the driver's front wheel went over the quite high curb with a quite jarring crunch and then we were stuck. We could not go forward or backward. And the cars were still coming. Immediately thereafter we heard a lot of yelling from a few meters away and then in a flash 5 or 6 Turks came running to our aid. Within a minute they had picked the car up and heaved it back onto the lane. Then two or three directed us as we nervously retreated backwards down the lane and then the true hero of the afternoon virtually dashed out into the congested three lane highway stopping traffic so that we could back out into the highway and resume our journey. Amazing. We love the Turks. Could this have happened so smoothly and heroically in the US?
We went back after we checked into our hotel and found a few of our heroes still at the scene. Here they are with Ali.
Please note that there is link on the left now to see photos of the trip. I will continue posting photos to that link so keep an eye on it.
More on Istanbul later.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
On the road to ıstanbul
After the furnace that was Anatolıa and the steam bath that was Kas, we have found ourselves ın a wonderful mountaın town about 200 kılometers from ıIstanbul. ıts actually cool here ın the evenıngs and pleasantly warm durıng the day. What a relıef. I would lıke to stay a week to receover from the heat. Yesterday we drove ten hours coverıng about 600 mıles from Kas straıght up on the road to ıIstanbul. We travelled through mountaıns and agrıcultural valleys all day. The roads here are quıte good, but the drıvıng ıs challengıng. At least half of the people on the roads here appear to vıew traffıc rules as mere suggestıons rather than laws to follow. Haırıng raısıng passıng, complete dısregrad of red lıghts and stop sıgns and lane markers, and ıntense taıl gatıng are the norm here. Alı and I have learned that the best way to travel here (and anywhere for that matter) ıs to lock your ego safely ın the trunk and do your best to keep yourself and others from beıng kılled. Amazıngly we only saw one bad accıdent, but we have read that Turkey has the worst accıdent rate ın the world, much of ıt from drıvıng under the ınfluence. Polıce do random stops and make people take breathalızer tests (We say thıs on TV but dıdn,t wıtness ıt oursevles.
The areas we have travelled through are well developed wıth good housıng and lots of new constructıon. ın fact there we have seen very few towns that have old housıng. And the streets are clean - no trash layıng around anywhere. Generally good ınfrastructure too ... wırless connectıons, good transportatıon system, servıces.
The town we are stayıng ın ıs near the Sea of Marmara. Our waıter claıms ıt was the seat of the Ottoman Empıre. After our long drıve and the joy over havıng fınally found a decent bottle of wıne, we were ınclıned to belıeve anythıng he or anyone else told us. The town has gorgeous vıews of the valley below and ıs so wonderfully cool. The only drawback ıs that there ıs a mosque dırectly next door...we can almost reach out and touch the mınaret... so the fıve AM call to prayer ıs a lıttle ıntense...especıally sınce the mouzın has a a jarrıng, gravelly voıce.
Tomorrow we are off to ıstanbul where we wıll meet up wıth our frıends Azız and Jamıla. More to follow from there
The areas we have travelled through are well developed wıth good housıng and lots of new constructıon. ın fact there we have seen very few towns that have old housıng. And the streets are clean - no trash layıng around anywhere. Generally good ınfrastructure too ... wırless connectıons, good transportatıon system, servıces.
The town we are stayıng ın ıs near the Sea of Marmara. Our waıter claıms ıt was the seat of the Ottoman Empıre. After our long drıve and the joy over havıng fınally found a decent bottle of wıne, we were ınclıned to belıeve anythıng he or anyone else told us. The town has gorgeous vıews of the valley below and ıs so wonderfully cool. The only drawback ıs that there ıs a mosque dırectly next door...we can almost reach out and touch the mınaret... so the fıve AM call to prayer ıs a lıttle ıntense...especıally sınce the mouzın has a a jarrıng, gravelly voıce.
Tomorrow we are off to ıstanbul where we wıll meet up wıth our frıends Azız and Jamıla. More to follow from there
Friday, August 3, 2007
Photos
I haven't figured out how to create a link to a photo website, but I am working on it. Until then, below you have a few photos from Anatolia. A fresco on the domes of a hidden cave church, some of those weird volcanic ash sculputres that housed a hidden monestary, a rock city, and a chaming little Turkman who sailed with us one afternoon on the Lycian Coast. Once we get to Istanbul, we'll have a better wireless connection and I can explore more. This is our last day in Kas. We are spending it at our favorite beach restaurant that has wonderful patios with umbrellas and lounge chairs and a ladder to climb down into the Mediteranean (which one must do every 20 minutes or so). I have enjoyed our time here although I feel like I have been sufering from heat exhaustion...extreme listlessness, nausea, muscle cramps, terrible fatique. Oh well, life is never perfect.
There are tons of ancient ruins around here but it's too hot to go visit them. I would like to come back to this region sometime in October or November when you can still swim, but the weather is significantly cooler.
It's been a pleasure to be in a resort area with no jet skiis, boisterous people (everyone is quiet here at the beach), or loud music. Ali and I decided that this place could be quite unpleasant if it were in the U.S,
Off to the Istanbul and more postings and pictures from there.
There are tons of ancient ruins around here but it's too hot to go visit them. I would like to come back to this region sometime in October or November when you can still swim, but the weather is significantly cooler.
It's been a pleasure to be in a resort area with no jet skiis, boisterous people (everyone is quiet here at the beach), or loud music. Ali and I decided that this place could be quite unpleasant if it were in the U.S,
Off to the Istanbul and more postings and pictures from there.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Kicking it in Kas
It’s 8:30 in the morning in Kas and the sun is already unbearable. We have taken some excursions for that past two days and today we are going to just kick it here at the beach. We leave in two days to head up to Istanbul for a week so we need to rest up for the big road trip. Yesterday we went to Greece and were unimpressed, although the Mousaka was excellent. The antipathy of the Greeks toward the Turks is palpable there and we were glad we were only spending an afternoon on the island.
The most frustrating thing about being in a country whose language you don’t speak is the inability to communicate with the residents. So far, the Turks we have met only speak a limited, functionally discreet English. Their best second language here at least seems to be German, but my German is too limited to manage much of a conversation. Luckily there are two English dailies here – a centrist one and a left-leaning one. News items of interest: A mayor and a few members of a local parliament in the south east I believe, were convicted and sentenced to a three year jail term because they allowed Kurds and Armenians to speak their native language when dealing with the government administration. Turkish is the only language allowed in government. Seems like a pretty harsh reaction.
There is a lot of blustering about the hard line Turkey will take against the Kurdish party that is outlawed (PKK) in Turkey and its excursions into Turkey from across the Iraqi border. Apparently there are negotiations with the US on how to handle this delicate situation, but the press is adamant that Turkey will cross the border if Iraq and the US don’t do something about the problem. Too bad we can’t find out what regular Turks feel about all this. Maybe in Istanbul we’ll have better luck with English.
Now that we have this wireless connections on the beach, I have more time to upload photos, so stay tuned!
Over and out for now.
The most frustrating thing about being in a country whose language you don’t speak is the inability to communicate with the residents. So far, the Turks we have met only speak a limited, functionally discreet English. Their best second language here at least seems to be German, but my German is too limited to manage much of a conversation. Luckily there are two English dailies here – a centrist one and a left-leaning one. News items of interest: A mayor and a few members of a local parliament in the south east I believe, were convicted and sentenced to a three year jail term because they allowed Kurds and Armenians to speak their native language when dealing with the government administration. Turkish is the only language allowed in government. Seems like a pretty harsh reaction.
There is a lot of blustering about the hard line Turkey will take against the Kurdish party that is outlawed (PKK) in Turkey and its excursions into Turkey from across the Iraqi border. Apparently there are negotiations with the US on how to handle this delicate situation, but the press is adamant that Turkey will cross the border if Iraq and the US don’t do something about the problem. Too bad we can’t find out what regular Turks feel about all this. Maybe in Istanbul we’ll have better luck with English.
Now that we have this wireless connections on the beach, I have more time to upload photos, so stay tuned!
Over and out for now.
Captivated in Capadoccia
Ten millions years ago three volcanoes erupted simultaneously -- more or less -- and spewed forth their innards into valleys across a wide arid plane in central Anatolia. Wind and water then proceeded to sculpt the volcanic ash over hundreds of thousands of years into huge delicate cones, chimneys, and other otherworldly shapes that litter the valleys of Cappadccia. These “fairy chimneys” are a true wonder to behold and provide endless amazement and delight as one wanders through the valleys here.
This landscape is wondrous enough, but even more astonishing are the ways in which humans have used them. Early Christians (1st and 2nd Centuries A.D) fled to Cappadoccia to escape religious persecution. In order to practice their new religion they carved into the “chimneys” (they are made of soft, white volcanic ash) to build churches in them, many multi-domed, with rock carved columns and frescoes. One rock formation we visited had been an eight-floor nunnery! Over the centuries the Christians worshiped in these hidden churches, improved on the frescoes (some are exquisite) as they hid their religions (and themselves) from waves of raiding armies. They also built over 40 underground cities to hide in. Ali and I toured one that had 18 floors underground. I got claustrophobic at the third level and so we came up. Around 40,000 people and their animals hid in these underground cities for months at a time.
While in Cappadocia, we stayed in a lovely little village in a cave hotel. It was right out of the Flintstones – even our patio furniture was of rock – rock table, rock couch. What was truly fabulous though was how wonderfully cool it was in our room. While temperatures raged in the high 90s (we are having a major heat wave here in Turkey... and the worse draught in 70 years.) we needed to sleep with a comforter at night because it got down right chilly in there after awhile
Now we are 750 miles away (I drove the whole way because Ali was suffering from food poisoning) on the Lycean Coat in southern Turkey. It’s a gorgeous area…mountainous, reminiscent of Big Sur, very scenic but hot beyond belief because of the humidity. It 's been 36 Celsius (97 F?) but with the high humidity is feels like 115.
Kas however, is lovely town popular with tourists...mostly German and Turkish from the languages we hear. There are no high-rise hotels or anything like that, just small pensions and hotels, so it doesn’t feel oppressive in terms of tourism, really. Today we spent nine hours in beach chairs on the rocky coast, jumping into the exquisitely cool Mediterranean about every half hour. The only way to survive in this heat.
Tomorrow we take a boat tour to a sunken city and some small islands. We have a great hotel recommended by friends of Carol’s with beautiful sea views from our room and balcony. The island directly in front of our window happens to be Greek, so we decided to take a boat over there one day this week. We are here until Saturday when we drive the 600 or so miles to Istanbul.
Right now I am posting this from a beachfront restaurant across the street from our hotel using the restuarant's wireless connection. Very civilized.
Signing off for now.
This landscape is wondrous enough, but even more astonishing are the ways in which humans have used them. Early Christians (1st and 2nd Centuries A.D) fled to Cappadoccia to escape religious persecution. In order to practice their new religion they carved into the “chimneys” (they are made of soft, white volcanic ash) to build churches in them, many multi-domed, with rock carved columns and frescoes. One rock formation we visited had been an eight-floor nunnery! Over the centuries the Christians worshiped in these hidden churches, improved on the frescoes (some are exquisite) as they hid their religions (and themselves) from waves of raiding armies. They also built over 40 underground cities to hide in. Ali and I toured one that had 18 floors underground. I got claustrophobic at the third level and so we came up. Around 40,000 people and their animals hid in these underground cities for months at a time.
While in Cappadocia, we stayed in a lovely little village in a cave hotel. It was right out of the Flintstones – even our patio furniture was of rock – rock table, rock couch. What was truly fabulous though was how wonderfully cool it was in our room. While temperatures raged in the high 90s (we are having a major heat wave here in Turkey... and the worse draught in 70 years.) we needed to sleep with a comforter at night because it got down right chilly in there after awhile
Now we are 750 miles away (I drove the whole way because Ali was suffering from food poisoning) on the Lycean Coat in southern Turkey. It’s a gorgeous area…mountainous, reminiscent of Big Sur, very scenic but hot beyond belief because of the humidity. It 's been 36 Celsius (97 F?) but with the high humidity is feels like 115.
Kas however, is lovely town popular with tourists...mostly German and Turkish from the languages we hear. There are no high-rise hotels or anything like that, just small pensions and hotels, so it doesn’t feel oppressive in terms of tourism, really. Today we spent nine hours in beach chairs on the rocky coast, jumping into the exquisitely cool Mediterranean about every half hour. The only way to survive in this heat.
Tomorrow we take a boat tour to a sunken city and some small islands. We have a great hotel recommended by friends of Carol’s with beautiful sea views from our room and balcony. The island directly in front of our window happens to be Greek, so we decided to take a boat over there one day this week. We are here until Saturday when we drive the 600 or so miles to Istanbul.
Right now I am posting this from a beachfront restaurant across the street from our hotel using the restuarant's wireless connection. Very civilized.
Signing off for now.
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