I had still not gotten a Turkish cell phone, since yesterday was Sunday, and just about everything is closed. We also had not been able to change much money. So I asked our hotel owner where to accomplish these tasks. He pointed from his terrace to the area of the bank and to the location of the cell phone vendor. I took off down the hill and first went to the bank, then made my way to the cell phone store. Changing money is easy, since all you have to do is plop the money on the teller's counter and present your passport.
Getting a chip from someone who spoke not one word of English was a little more challenging. She finally understood what I wanted but tried to tell me something that I ultimately understood to mean that I was to come back. The word iki (two) was used, and I couldn't figure out the context. So I thought maybe she would call someone who speaks English and I should come back in 2 minutes. A few minutes later, an employee of our hotel entered the store, and I asked him to help. Turns out that she wanted me to come back at 2:00, because, for some reason nobody could explain, the phone could not be activated until after 1:00. Since we were leaving as soon as possible, I got the chip and the instructions for activating it myself.
In the meantime, the girls had found their way into a carpet shop, and I knew my schedule was blown. They were looking at all sorts of beautiful tapestries, carpets, and wall hangings. They walked away with some gorgeous works of art, small and large.
We finally left town at about 11:30 or so, bound for the next pile of ancient rocks, Aphrodisias. This historical site is in a remote part of the country that not as many tourists visit. On the way, we passed through several small towns, one of which was holding its (probably) weekly market. The town was teeming with people. We could barely drive through. We stopped at a grocery in the town to buy picnic fixings. The proprietor didn't speak even one word of English, but we were able to buy yogurt, fruit, sunflower seeds, and some other things.
We arrived at the parking area for Aphrodisias, where there was a small canteen and a few vendors' stalls. The canteen sold only drinks, and they were out of just about everything, so we bought a water, and spread out our picnic on one of the tables. The wind was picking up, as a storm was approaching. While we ate, things were blowing around, and we occasionally lost something and had to chase it.
The site, the entire city of Aphrodisias, is probably bigger than Ephesus. It has fewer intact structures, but the sheer size is practically overwhelming. Restoration is proceeding at a slow pace, and there are some impressive completed structures. Much of the toppled material is still intact, having been maintained during the centuries of use, and then buried under 2 meters of dirt since. One immense, restored gate, for example, is 85% original pieces.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of fragments of column, statues, lintels, column capitals, wall blocks, friezes, paving stones (of marble), strewn about littering the grounds to the extent that there is almost nowhere to step. The best stuff is in the museum on the grounds, but we have not been so interested in going into museums.
After we had worn ourselves out, we left for our next destination. We drove through mountainous areas with beautiful vistas and imposing peaks, catching the clouds, and occasionally raining on us. We went from 90 degrees to 60 degrees and back again – a few times.
As we approached Pamukkale, we saw, in the distance, the signature white cliffs. But only as we entered the little town did we appreciate the immense mineral deposits, seeming to flow down the side of the mountain. The white travertine formed pools that spilled the thermal water from one to the next, and people waded in the warm water. It is an other-worldly sight to see.
Our hotel has a patio restaurant where we decided to eat. The selections were limited, but we were rewarded with a superb meal. We started with a tomato/rice/grains soup. Then there was a tomato/cucumber/lettuce salad with the tastiest, freshest local produce, followed by a plate of assorted vegetables (eggplant stuffed with a rice mixture, zuchini casserole, green beans with tomato, fava beans with potatoes). Then the main dishes: The fish was pan fried, fresh local trout with mildly hot pepper garnish, served with chips (french fries), rice pilaf, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The kebap dish was chicken roasted with tomatoes and exotic herbs and spices served around pilaf. The meal was amazing.
You might ask, why don't they ever drink wine? In fact, in Turkey there are several areas renowned for their good wines, and this is one of them. But Turkey's people are Moslems, albeit very liberal and secular, for the most part. But because of the point of view, wine is taxed very heavily, so that a glass of wine here costs more than in a fine restaurant in the States.
Posting to the blog became interesting in Turkey. When I started logging in through Turkish internet providers, all the instructions on the screen were displayed in Turkish! I couldn't understand a word. A little trial and error got one posting done, but I emailed Bela to ask her to look at the site in English and tell me where I had to click in order to change my language to English. This reminds me of the time when I got one of my first small cell phones, and Bela changed the language to Hebrew while playing with it. Since everything was then Hebrew, she couldn't figure out how to change it back to English.
The hotel is lovely, and newly refurbished. Even has a pool. There are plum trees and apricot trees hanging over the pool, with ripe delicious frut for the taking. We're the only Americans in these parts, except for the trekkers and college student types.
1 comment:
Do you even get my comments? just so you know, I keep up and read the blog =)
Post a Comment