Last days...

Anyway, so I returned to Istanbul for a few more days at the end of my trip.  I made some awesome friends at the hostel, including a girl who taught me some Swedish folk songs on the violin.  I got to talk with an Australian social worker, a Peace Corps volunteer in Turkmenistan, a guy who hadn't been home in five years, and all sorts of other interesting people.  I also spent a lot of time laughing at puns, so really it was kind of like home.  The people in these photos are from the US, Australia, Scotland, Sweden, and Italy.

I also had my last kemençe lesson.  Nermin Hanım was too busy to teach me, so I had a very long lesson with one of her students, who was my age.  Before I left, I interrupted what was quite literally a meeting of the best Turkish music teachers in Turkey to give Nermin Hanım (who had refused to let me pay her) a gift, which was a ceramic plate from Kapadokya, honey from Kars, and Haci Bekir Turkish delight from Istanbul.  You'd think that years of SFGC tours would teach me to bring Chicago or SF themed gifts with me, but I'd totally forgotten.  

The lesson with her student went well-- as I said, it was long.  She didn't speak any English, so I misinterpreted her directions, but with the help of a friendly man on the bus, I got there eventually.  After the lesson, her mom asked why I was leaving when I hadn't eaten dinner yet.  They also wanted me to spend the night because Turks always stay with friends, but when I mentioned how early my flight was the next day, they didn't insist quite as much.  

And look at this sweet cat!

Ani

Here are some pictures of Ani.  We visited the site with a Canadian guy, a British guy, and a Japanese girl who were all staying at the same hotel.  

The river is the border with Armenia.  Also, I asked about the Armenian mining activity that was clearly visible over the border, and the general consensus was that it had nothing to do with wanting to blame Turkey for not taking care of the ruins.  

Here's our driver:

And general Ani pictures:

Kars Call to Prayer

I took a video of the intersection of at least three calls to prayer around Kars Citadel.  It's not high quality, but I think it's pretty cool.

Kars

Here are some pictures of Kars!  Traveling with Josef was great, because since he was a guy, it was easier for him to strike up conversations with random people.  For instance, all the boys who wanted us to take their pictures.  The girls just giggled and made fun of us.  I guess some things don't change...

Kapadokya day 2

On our second day in Kapadokya, Jen and I visited Kaymakli, an underground city.  

We took a lot of pictures of each other sitting in holes.

Lessons in Bus Travel Part 2:

You may get dropped off by the side of the road.

At 5AM, Jen and I were dropped off at a rest stop in Aksaray, expecting to transfer to a bus to Göreme.  Now, since bus travel is so frequent in Turkey, rest stops are significantly less sketchy than they are in the US.  A man who worked at the nearby gas station saw us and asked in Turkish if we were going to Kapadokya.  We answered yes, and he said we'd have to wait by the side of the highway, since busses to Kapadokya don't usually stop at that rest stop.  He walked us over and waited with us for about 15 minutes until a bus to Kapadokya came.  We chatted a bit, and I think I understood most of what he said.  Anyway, the bus to we eventually got on wasn't the one we were expecting, and we had to pay a little more money, but when you're waiting by the side of the highway, you get on the first bus you see.  

So Kapadokya is crazy.  It's known for its wine and its strange rock formations.  It's basically a cross between Napa Valley, Utah, and Mars.  I kinda felt like I was on the set of Star Wars, which, I mean, I was.

The part we went to, Göreme, is a huge place for backpackers, and our hostel, recommended by Rebecca, was fantastic-- a great place for information about the area and for just hanging out. 

The Göreme Open Air Museum is a UNESCO site.  The rocks were carved out, and churches were built inside of them.

Basically, Jen and I spend the day swimming, eating ice-cream, and anthropomorphizing rocks.

  

Oh, and then there was that time we climbed halfway down a rock only to realize it was actually someone's roof and there was no way to get down without landing in their vegetable garden.  We climbed back up.