Thoughts of a Nomadic One

As the plane climbs steeply after take off, I look out my window at the giant metropolis that is Istanbul. I reflect upon my last 2.5 days in this amzing city and my time in Turkey.

I arrived in Istanbul's asian bus stop (Dudullu) early in the morning after spending a day in Cappadocia. I had paid 50 YTL for the day tour of Cappadocia and the area was mesmerizing. The fairy chimneys and beautiful landscape looks to be the inspiration of Gaudi's work! We visited an underground city, Christian frescoes in cave churches, cave dwellings. We were then forced to see a demonstration and shop selling Onyx. There was even a stop called "Star Wars Set" due to the landscape's similarity to Episode IV's sandman scenes. Another overnight bus and I was in Istanbul. It had been a gruelling 3 days since I hadn't had a shower or slept in bed for 3 full days.

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My stay in Isanbul was like living in a palace. I had amazing home cooked meals from Baris' mother, laundry done, private shower, my own room with a double bed with internet. I was personally shown around the major destinations of the city by Baris as well as famous popular local hangouts and eateries! But much more valuable to me, was getting insight and perspectives of someone who had lived and grown up there. Getting a discounted haircut from his friend, having a beer like the locals, having famous kofte at Sultanhamet kofte. These are priceless experiences that are hard to get as a tourist.

It was also extremely good to catch up with people and getting messages from friends and damily. I've now been gone for a full month and though I've seen amazing sights, met amazing people on the road, it makes me miss Canada ever more. So, I encourage you all to send me messages, emails, Facebook posts. It helps a lot on the road, when I'm stuck in a bus station for 3 hrs, when I'm lost in a new city, when I see others with their best mates.

Finally, I want to thank Baris and his mom again for the wonderful hospitality. I don't know if I'll live that well again until I get home and the food was amazing! (Baris, I need the recipe to that desert!)

Teshekur Edirim!

As the sun's rays shines out over the peaks of Cappadocia, I can't help but laugh at the chain of random events that transpired yesterday.

I arrived to Selcuk in the morning from the overnight bus from Istanbul. I spent 45 minutes walking to Ephasus (site of well preserved Roman ruins) in the morning heat. It was going to be a hot day and I didn't last more than 1.5 hr before I was too hot and satisfied with my visit.

As I started to walk back on the long stretch of road connecting Ephasus to Selcuk (no one else was walking since it was so hot), a cabbie called out to me, "Selcuk? 10 Liras, it's too HOT to walk!"
Not willing to pay 10 Liras, I started on my long and painful journey. I later realized that it had hit 42C in Selcuk when I was walking and after 1 hr of walk, I was only halfway to town! Not willing to suffer a premature death due to heatstroke, I decided to stick out my thumb and hope someone had the generosity to give me a ride into town.

Fifteen minutes later, imagine this: Me, sitting on the back seat of a farm tractor as it pulled into downtown Selcuk. I wished someone had taken a picture of me right there because it must've been a ridiculous sight.

I spent the rest of the hot day on the internet at a hostel that I wasn't even staying it and watching the only thing that was on their TV (Lilo and Stitch 2). This continued my run of bad movies first started by Dubrovnik's Ripley's Game.

I then took the 4 P.M. bus and was on my way to Goreme, Cappadocia via Parmukkale. But then something happened. While we were pulling out of the Parmukkale station, the engine wouldn't pick up and after sitting in the unventillated compartment for 10 minutes, the place felt like a sauna and everyone got out of the bus (it was still 38C at 9 p.m.). It took 3 hours for them to finally fix it and even when we got on, you just knew everyone was praying that it wouldn't break down again. That feeling combined with the Turkish edited version of Littleman made the ride less comfortable than it could've been.

For the two full days, I've been in Turkey, I can't help but remark how friendly people are even when they're not actively trying to sell you something. Turgay from Paris Hostel, Selcuk let me stay in the shade and gave me Turkish coffee. Kassim, a Turk I had met on the bus to Selcuk, and I talked about life in Canada and Turkey. In Parmukkale, I talked to Mandur, a geography student trying to get people to his hostel. He and I had good conversations about life, women, weather, business and Parmukkale. Though there are differences, its remarkable how similar people can be across cultural divides. When I told him I missed Canadian summers composed of cottages, beers, BBQs, he said that his friends do that sometimes; they get a sheep from his grandfather, go up to his friend's mountain nomad home and BBQ. Throughout the bus ride, I was also getting looks since the backcountry almost never sees any minorities (esp. an Asian Canadian!) However, after the delay, we didn't need to speak the same language to share our humour and frustration. A look, a smile, a shake of the head, it transcends all cultures.

And now, as the sun rises over Cappadocia, I wonder what other adventures lie ahead!