My Parent's Visit, part 1: Ephesus

My parents came to visit me in Istanbul from November 15th through the 26th during my fall break (which happened to be Thanksgiving).  They arrived from England in the afternoon of a Thursday and just the right time for me to go pick them up at the airport.  Since I am a big fan of public transportation, I took the trusty 42T to Taksim and got there just at 4, which should have been perfect to get the havatas to the airport, but the front bus was going to Sabiha Gocken and I didn't catch on quickly enough to realize that the bus behind was going to Attaturk until it left.  That meant I stood around for half an hour and was in even worse Friday afternoon traffic than I should have been when we left at 4:30.  I was certain I had missed them when I finally arrived at the airport after 6:15 (their flight was scheduled for 5), but they weren't in the agreed upon Starbucks meeting point.  I was walking to the other end of the arrivals lounge to see if they had turned left instead of right by accident, and there they were, just coming out of customs.  It turned out perfectly.  We were able to get on the 6:30 havatas back to Taksim and then the 42 back to campus by 8:30.  Five hours on the bus for me round trip, maybe I should reevaluate my love of public transportation... The trip did serve to illustrate my long standing description of the traffic mess that is Istanbul.  You can hear about something over and over, but when you actually sit through it, it is more meaningful.

Upon arrival.  This is the picture I sent to the school so the guards would know they were legitimate guests to be allowed on and off campus even without me.  

I didn't have a place for them to stay on the first night.  The guest house was booked, and Ernie had offered his place upstairs starting Friday night, so it seemed silly to try to find them a hotel.  As I understand from campus friends, there is nothing reasonable close anyway.  I offered them my bed, but they said they would be fine on the pull out couch.  I did give them both of my pillows, but they had to deal with a hogde podge of cat infused blankets.  They might be really good liars, but they both swear that it was the best night of sleep they had had on the trip so far.  It was a school day, so I made my breakfast and go on the bus as usual at 7:30 to teach my morning classes.  I met them at the bridge at noon, just in time to see their faces as they turned the corner.  I suspect that since I had told them I wanted to see their reaction to the school, I got the reaction I was hoping for, but none the less it was gratifying.  The first view of the school is quite something and almost worth the walk up the hill (once).  I took them for a walk by Barton and to the Plateau to see the view.  Then back to the science building just as classes ended.  I showed them the chemistry labs and introduced them to Tony and Alison and everyone else we met before heading to the 11/12 flag ceremony.   Flag ceremony was a cultural experience I wanted them to have.  After flag ceremony we walked over to Bizem Tepe where the Teacher's Day lunch was being held.  When I found out we would be celebrating Teacher's day when they were here (it is really the 24th of November, but that is during the holiday) I wasn't sure what to do.  I had hoped to invite folks to meet them at a TGIF, but no one was going to want to have TGIF right after the parent's buffet extravaganza.  Someone suggested that I just bring them to the luncheon, so I emailed the Turkish director to ask if was ok to bring them.  She said she had talked to the head of the parents association and she said they would be honored to host my parents and show them this part of Turkish culture.  Lunch was very nice and they got to meet many more people than they would otherwise so it was a min all the way around.  Unfortunately it was very loud there and hard to have any real conversation with anyone who wasn't right next to you.

Lisa took us for a bit of a driving tour of campus and then back down the hill saving our knees and getting a bit more of a chance to chat, which was very nice.  We got home in time to go up to meet Ernie and see his place, get a key, etc and then hang out a bit before we gathered up with some of the usual suspects to walk to Kurucesme for falafel.  We took over the top floor where they have a nice big table which we could all sit around.  The food took a long time (Sibel waited a good 10 minutes longer for her salad than the rest of us did for our hot meal??) and it wasn't as good as we remembered from before.  They are new and maybe it takes a while to get the kinks worked out, but there weren't very many other people there and it shouldn't be too hard to make falafel if you are running a falafel restaurant.  Marshall asked for embarrassing stories about me, but they couldn't remember any and I was surely not going to help trigger their memory.   After dinner I helped them move upstairs and we called it a night, agreeing to get together for breakfast around 9.

On Saturday morning we took the bus up to Taksim and walked down Istiklal.  Even though it was still morning and relatively uncrowded, they still got the sense of what it is like and how crazy it could be at other times of day.  We stopped to try some Turkish Delight and got some mixed pomegranate and orange juice fresh squeezed for us on the street.  Even though the weather was not spectacular, we went up the Galata tower to see what we could see.

The view from the Galata Tower.

After the tower we walked to the Galata bridge to find fish for lunch.  I have eaten under the Galata bridge three times before and each time the restaurants were about the same, you can get a fish sandwich for 5TL or a fish plate for 10-15TL.  I guess we were on the other side of the bridge, or didn't go far enough or something, but we stopped at an almost empty place that looked nice (both should have been clues).  The next clue should have been when instead of a menu, we were brought a trolly of fish to chose from.  We picked (or it was picked for us really, since it was the right size for 3) and then we chose some mezes and were talked into two prawns for Carol and calamari for me and my dad.  We shared a green salad and there might have been some soft drinks.  I did start to worry at some point that this might be an expensive meal.  I was thinking it might be 100TL, but they were both enjoying it and the food was good.  When we asked for the bill I was in for a shock, it was almost four times that!  I was so mad.  I looked at it and the prawns were 25TL each!  The fish itself was $100, dollars.  I told the waiter/front man that it was too expensive, he tried to tell me that was how much things cost, which I know isn't true.  I felt so stupid, I never asked how much things were and by the time we had eaten it what else could we do but pay for it.  I made a point of leaving the restaurant's card on the table and I should have (but didn't) warn the young couple at the next table about what they were getting in to.  Carol tried really hard to make it no big deal and played up how good it was and my dad kept repeating it is only money, but I was so upset I was in a bad mood for several hours after that despite their good attitudes and best efforts.  I am still mad about it now, weeks later.  GRRR

Beware the Galata tower side, facing the Bosporus and not just for the fishing lines.

We should have gone into the spice bazaar which is right there, but I wasn't thinking clearly and didn't work out how much time we had together with what there was to do in Kadikoy.  We were meeting Sam for dinner at Ciya at 6:30 and I thought we could spend some time looking at the fish market there (not that we wanted to look at any more fish).  We caught a ferry and were in Asia shortly after 3.  Since we took the ferry from Eminunu it dropped us at a slightly different place than the ferry I am used to taking from Besiktas and it took me a few minutes to get my bearings.  By this time I realize we have way too much time, but now we are here, so we walk though the market and they take pictures and it is interesting, but then we are tired and still have 90 minutes...My dad has the idea to get on a random bus and take it for a while, then cross the street and take it back.  Sam texts to say she could meet us a bit earlier, but isn't ready for us yet.  We dont need  to eat early, so we find a road with lots of buses and pick one that has enough room on it we all will get to sit.  It turned out to be a good choice and it takes us around Kadikoy and to the coast again.  We are on the bus for maybe 30 minutes when I start thinking about our exit strategy.  I realize we are on a one way road and therefore there are no buses going the other way.  Ok, no panic yet, and eventually the road does become two way so I start looking for buses coming the other way.  Maybe 10 minutes go by and I don't see one, but I do eventually see a bus stop and then a light with a crosswalk, but other than that this road is like an expressway with a beach side park on one side and a bunch of shopping malls on the other side.  No need for cross streets, so not very many places to cross.  We did get off the bus at a random stop shortly after we passed a place to cross and a bus stop on the other side of the road.  We walked along the coast for a bit, saw the islands off in the distance, but since it was getting cold and the sun had set, we took the first opportunity to cross and get back on the bus.  We got within on stop of where we wanted to get off when we were stuck in traffic so bad it wasn't moving.  We were close enough that I knew how to get back to the ferries and if I could get to the ferry I could get to the Starbucks bathroom, which was becoming important again.  I texted Sam and asked her to meet us there since I was not confident I could find the restaurant.  She finds my dad waiting outside while Carol and I are still inside (not only on the road is the traffic slow)  and they were already fast friends by the time we joined them.  The evening was very pleasant, the food excellent and the company delightful. We left just in time to get the last ferry back to Besiktas and then on the bus and home.

Sunday morning we got going with a little more purpose as we had a plane to catch.  I brought a breakfast casserole thing up to Ernie's so I could enjoy the view as well and we were ready to go by 9ish.  Our flight to Izmir was at 11:30 and we got there in a comfortable amount of time.  I certainly have gotten more relaxed about flying since I moved here and can often time it so I am arriving at the gate with ~10 minutes or less until boarding.  The flight was short but we were fed picnic boxes and soda before landing.  We rented a car, for three days, unfortunately, since we really needed it for 2 days and 6 hours and that wasn't an option.  The good news was that the car came with gas!  This was such a nice surprise.  They car rental guy was also very nice about giving us directions and answering questions.  I thought we would need a toll card, but he said we didn't have to go on the toll road, which I didn't realize.  We did have my Christmas present GPS with installed Turkey map so with his instructions and the help of the GPS we were able to find our way easily.  It wasn't even 1pm yet and I had emailed Charlotte that we would get to her place around 5 so we drove to Selcuk and parked out side the ruins of the old Roman aqueduct and started poking around.

Note the stork's nest on the top of the aqueduct's pillar   My folks were amazed that we could just park and get out to look at this.

The cistern at the aqueduct.  I like the contrast of ruin and modern city.

 From there we walked up the hill to St. John's Church.  This had been closed when I visited with Alex last spring, so it was new to me, and very cool.  I especially appreciated the guy at the entrance.  I asked about getting a Musecard, a discount card for museums.  There is one for tourists, some amount of money for three days of as many museums as you can stand.  There is another for Turks, which is good for a year and either gets you in free, or at a reduced fee.  I knew about the card for a while but it had only been available for Turks and diplomats until recently when it became available to anyone working legally here.  I visited the website, but if I went to the English version the only one I could buy was the tourist card and I hadn't had the energy to tackle the Turkish site.  Keeley had shown his bus card at some museum in Istanbul and they took it away and several minutes later came back with a musecard that he hadn't even asked for.  I asked about it at this place and they asked me for my number.  I didn't know I had a number, but I offered to go back to the car to get my residence permit to see if it knew my number.  They looked through the whole thing and said I didn't have a number.  They were very nice about it and explained to me that they couldn't give me a card because the system wouldn't let them process it without this number.  I have since looked at Keeley's bus card and sure enough he has a number...I really appreciated that they took the time to look and then explain what I needed, even though I wasn't able to get it, I now know what I need to do.  Anyway, back to the tour.  There was a whole complex of buildings and domes and things.  It was nicely signed and easy to visualize what it would have looked like.

The tomb of St. John

A model of what the church might have looked like when it was complete.  Very impressive.

What it looks like now.  Pretty good for a ruin.

After throughly checking the church out we tried the Ephesus museum but it was closed.  I even used some of my Turkish, 'açık mı?' Unfortunately beyond that it wasn't open I didn't understand much, maybe there was 'holiday' in there, but I didn't get it.  It was almost time for us to head to Sirince.  I was supposed to call Aysel to let her know when we were coming, but I hate talking on the phone and it makes it 10x worse that the call would have to be in Turkish, so I sent her a text.  Something like 'Merhaba Aysel.  17.00 geliyor.  Heather' which was supposed to say hello, we are coming at 5pm.  I realized after I sent it that I essentially left out the o'clock part, but hoped that she would still understand.  Sure enough she was waiting for us when we climbed up the hill ~half an hour early with the fire going.  It wasn't until we were installed in the house that I remembered, Aysel can't read.  What a stupid head I am.  Still, she either got the message or figured it out, for which I am grateful.  We managed to communicate well enough to sign the papers and determine a time for breakfast.  My parents were impressed with my Turkish, but then they were still working on gunaydin and iyi aksamlar.  In any case we really enjoyed the fire and sitting and relaxing for a while.

[An interesting aside on the topic of fire...I was in Turkish lesson a week or two after this trip and none of my fellow classmates showed up so Gulcan and I were writing a report about what I did with my parents in Turkish.  I wanted to write about the fire and I used the word yangin, which is the word for fire on the fire exits, fire extinguishers, and fire emergency procedures   When I said we had a yangin in the fireplace she told me that yangin is a disaster sort of fire, not a romantic fireplace fire.  I laughed out loud in the middle of class.  This trip with my parents wasn't romantic, but it wasn't a disaster either and I had been using the wrong word the whole time.  Of course none of this means that I remember the word for fireplace fire either...]

On Monday morning we had a nice leisurely traditional Turkish breakfast, olives, cheese, bread and an omlette, before heading down the hill to Ephesus, the main reason for our visit.  We managed to avoid buying a guide book but all three of us got the audio guide and set off to explore the ruins.  It was much the way I remembered it from before, but there was a major walkway that was closed and then sent us a different way so we didn't get to see the graffiti on the stone that told us where the brothel was.  The terrace houses were still nice but I am spoiled by the mosaics I saw at Gaziantep which were spectacular.  The weather was great and the crowds were manageable and I think my folks had a good time.

Andrew, only 1500 years late for the local production of Antigone in the Theater at Ephesus.

There were many many cats there, and most were friendly/confident enough to let us pet them.  

We had lunch at the cafeteria just outside the gates.  The food is so so, but the convenience is supreme and we were hungry after 5 hours of walking and touring with only a few mentos each to sustain us.  I recommended against the Seven Sleepers and Mary's house and instead we went back up to Sirince early.  We walked through the town a bit more and bought a couple of bottles of the fruit wine they are famous for. We sat in front of the forest fire and played a little backgammon before heading out to dinner at the old Greek school.  

On Tuesday morning we had another fabulous breakfast before setting out to see the Çamlık Outdoor Railway Museum which Carol found in the guidebook.  It started out a fairly nice morning but Aysel had

predicted rain and she was right. I sat for a while under an overhang since I didn't have rain proof gear.
(http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/RailwayMuseums/CamlikMuseum) The best part of the museum was the round about. I took a 360 panorama of it, perhaps I can post it here, or you can follow the link to my panorama website: http://occipital.com/user/60b5-538777/h-mellows

This is the flat version the website gives me.  I dont know why it has so much white space above and below.

Like a play ground for adults.

We continued south towards Didyma where I had read there was a temple of Apollo.  On the way we stopped at Magnesia, just because I liked the name.  It was raining pretty hard by then, so perhaps it was a bad idea and the ruins were pretty ruined.

Magnesia

We finally made it to Didyma in time for lunch.  They told us the specialty of the house was fish, but I think we were all still remembering the first fish lunch we had and opted for other things.  The rain had stopped by the time we were finished with lunch and we were able to enjoy the temple free of tourists and free of rain.  It was still incredibly muddy, but that was minor.

From inside the temple.  The info board said the walls were originally three time higher than this. Wowza!

I don't know if it was the enormity of the building or the relative intactness of it.  The pillars on the outside reminded me of the temples in Egypt.  I could imagine what it would be like to be there when it was whole and bright shiny white and full of people.  It was very cool.

In front of the Temple of Apollo

From Didyma we drove back up north to Izmir, to the airport and back to istanbul late in the evening.  Here ends the ancient section of the Parent Tour 2012.

On Wednesday and Thursday we kind of did our own things.  I had lab books to grade and they did a little exploring on their own.  We reconvened on Thursday in time to get a cab up the hill with a bottle of wine and a pecan pie for the Thanksgiving potluck in Marble Hall.  The turkey was dry, but the salads and desserts were delicious.  The crowd was small but the atmosphere was friendly and festive.  Marshall made roasted vegetables  showing that he has learned something from the lessons I have been giving him.