Sile

Over the weekend we went to Sile which is a small seaside community--a vacation spot for many of the local Turks. It is about an hour from Koc on the Asian peninsula of the city. We discovered a little walking park in these rocks and spent several hours looking out into the Black Sea. The paths were crumbling and the cliffs a little steep... it's a place that would be off-limits in the US. Yes, I live an hour from the Black Sea. One of my favorite paths leads right into the sea--a watery grave.

The industry in the town is centered around fishing and
the women of Sile are famous for their embroidered shirts. Because the fish is fresh, we went out for lunch and waited forever. We had to wait because we had all ordered sea bass and they were out so they had to go get some more... from the sea. A weekend well spent.

Ruins in the City

The first week I was here we took the ferry all the way up the Bosphorous to where it meets the Black Sea. We visited the fortresses on the Asian side of the penisulas of Istanbul(built to protect the entrance to the city).

The ferries are my favorite part of the city. Istanbul is on two continents (Europe and Asia) and the fastest way to get to the other side is by ferry [knowing that you are hopping from one continent to another never gets old.]Many of the ferries are independently owned so each one has its own unique flavor. Some have couches, some wooden benches and some plastic chairs.

The roads in Turkey are in a constant state of construction. So... needless to say we were not surprised when we followed this most excellent sign up a dirt road to a 5 meter ditch that we crossed on a 2 by 4. Although getting to the castle was a bit of a hike, the view from the top was well worth any muddy trails we had to traverse.

It was a national holiday, so we were given Turkish flags to take to the top hence the patriotism.

Mehayne Maddness

Two weekends ago we went into the city for a mehayne for a co-workers' birthday. A mehayne is a basically a night of partying Turkish style--food and beverages are all-inclusive and traditional Turkish music is played all night long by a live band. I'll spare you the details other than to say that by the end of the evening most people are belly dancing on their chairs...



The two seductresses that you see alongside me here are on the middle school English team. Elizabeth (in the middle) teaches 8th grade and Molly (whose last name is also Davis... this provides endless fun for torturing curious adolescents) teaches 6th grade with me.

Ortakoy
Although Istanbul itself is massive, there are little sections of the city that each have their own unique flavor. This past weekend we went into a section called Ortaköy and so far it's my favorite. There is a jewelry market there that has lots of fun play jewelry. It's much less stressful than the Grand Bazaar which is a madhouse of Turkish goods and pushy salesmen. There are no cars on the little streets in Ortaköy because of the vendors and it's a relaxing place to really enjoy the Turkish culture without being treated like a foreigner.

We discovered this beautiful mosque in the center of Ortaköy. After all the bustle of the street, the solitude and reverence we found inside was truly striking. I love this photo because it shows the diversity of Istanbul. Modernity meets history--a mosque that is hundreds of years old, with a modern bridge and a small fisherman's boat.

Happy Birthday... School
















I am seriously behind on sharing my photos and interesting tidbits about Turkey, but I will try to get as many posts up in the next week or so that I can. I feel sure you're all sitting with bated breath waiting on my every word.

Today we had a birthday party for our school. Yes, I am serious... an actual half a day celebration for the 18th anniversary of the building. There was the "band" which consisted of drums and medieval style trumpets...if only the Turkish flag would have unfurled from the bugles. (To the left are two of my students [Kaan and Goksenin] who practiced their drum beats during my class). There were speeches and songs--the school even got it's own cake. I had steeled myself up for a rousing Turkish version of "Happy Birthday", however, no one sang happy birthday to the poor school. Instead, students sang oddly inappropriate Beetles and Sinatra songs. "Yesterday" and "I Did it My Way" didn't really seem to fit the occasion. Needless to say, it was a day of hilarity.

So... despite my reservations about posting personal information on the internet, I decided that instead of filling everyone's inboxes with beautiful pictures and witty commentary that I would create a blog. I'll try to post things frequently so that all of you internet stalkers won't get bored. Here goes...