Deciphering Cyprus

Turkish Cypriot flag

St. Nicholas' Church (note minaret addition)

Cemetery marker exhibits 'former' animosity

This past weekend, the class took a two-day study tour to Cyprus, or more specifically the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only officially recognized by Turkey. The rest of the world considers this entire island the sovereign EU nation of the Republic of Cyprus. We visited some amazing sites while there, including St. Nicholas' Cathedral, a 14th-century Gothic cathedral which has been transformed into the Lala Mustafa Mosque. We were able to pass through the Green Line, the demilitarized zone overseen by UN peace-keeping forces since 1974. We could not take pictures within the zone, but you can see the 'aftermath' online; incredible as an economist to see hotels/buildings/airports empty and useless for four decades! Thus we were able to explore the EU side of southern Cyprus for an hour; it reminded me a lot of Europe and noticeably different from TRNC. We also had a great hike to explore the many different parts of St. Hilarion Castle high above the island and Kyrenia Castle on the coast. But I particularly enjoyed the lecture/conversation by an EU official regarding the history and current standing of this Cyprus dispute since we did not see much conflict as temporary tourists. - Alan

Former moat of Kyrenia Castle; now a tourist throughway

Harbor view of northern Cyprus outside Kyrenia Castle

Start of my conquest of St. Hilarion Castle

Floating over Cappadocia

Alan floating over Cappadocia

In addition to all the hiking, I also took a sunrise hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia.  Alan had taken one with the students on their previous trip to the area so he stayed back with the kids and I went solo. Balloon rides are a very popular tourist activity here as it provides great views of the famous rock formations and (reportedly) exactly 100 ascend over Goreme each morning creating a fantastic site.  My ride was peaceful with only the whoosh of the balloon flame to interrupt my focus on the amazing views of rocks, vineyards and apricot fields below me at dawn.

One of many amazing views from the balloon

Me and the kids taking it all in

Beginning of the ascent as seen from our courtyard

Later view from courtyard

At Mary and Bryan's suggestion, we then woke up at 6:30 the next morning to pull on our jackets over our PJs and trudge out to our hotel courtyard for a ground view of the balloons' ascent.   It was certainly well worth the early wake up.  Countless brightly colored balloons rose up over the ridge RIGHT in front of our hotel.   Their slow, silent float up against the early sun and the fairy chimneys created quite a sight.  We sat there and watched them in the quiet of the morning for a long time.-Kelly

Obligatory Turkish flag balloon photo

Our Digs in Cappadocia

During our stay in Cappadocia we stayed at the very small Peri Cave Hotel, which was right in the center of town and within walking distance to everything we visited.   They have 15 rooms situated around a picturesque courtyard where we had simple complimentary breakfast each day of boiled eggs, fresh bread (with jam and butter), olives, cheeses and coffee/tea.  We were lucky to stay one of their fairy chimney rooms reflective the area's famous topography.  These "chimneys" - formed by wind and water erosion after vocanic ash eruptions -are everywhere (see previous post) and staying inside one is not a gimmick. For thousands of years people have lived, worked and housed animals inside these man made rock formations and they still do today.  Fascinating.

Our daily breakfast spot

Cave bedroom- yes it was cozy

Our chimney had carved rock walls and ceilings with a hardwood floor.  The cave was semi-separated into two rooms, an ottoman style sitting room complete with a small (inoperable) fireplace and two carved windows, and a "bedroom" fitted with a queen size bed and a single.   One corner of the cave had been retrofitted for a bathroom with a modern toilet, sink and shower/tub. Throughout the cave there were little nooks and "shelves," just like we saw in the caves at the open air museum and our hikes.  It was so cool and cozy in there.  Perfect for Ruby's naps and sleeping.  We loved it and the kids were excited beyond belief. - Kelly

Brewer, in the window

Ruby, at the entrance to our room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from the courtyard

Meditating in the "living" room

Trip to Cappadocia

Last Thursday we took a four day trip to Goreme, a small little town in the Cappadocia region of Turkey.

 Goreme

Ruby navigating a tunnel

Ruby and Brewer leading the way

Tiny Brewer, large rock

There are no direct flights from Alanya to the area so we traveled there and back by bus. Bus travel is very common here and is quite comfortable. It's similar to airline travel in that passengers are provided drink and snack service, reclining seats, and movies (albeit In turkish).  The only trouble we had was that the drivers and attendants spoke exactly zero English so lots of hand gesturing and guessing as to when our next stop was and how long the break would be. With stops our trip was 9 hours (1:30 to 10:30 pm) there and 8 hours back (10:30 pm to 6:30 am).   The kids did great although the overnight ride back was a little rough on Brewer, Alan and myself.  (Ruby on the other hand fell asleep as soon as the engine fired up and never woke again until we got to the coast.)  

Kitchen room inside one of the churches; note the soot

sitting around at the open air museum

Ruby admiring El Nazir

Our trip was spent mostly hiking and exploring the area as there are tons of trails everwhere. Brewer was our leader on every trek and loved exploring all the caves and tunnels. It was great to hike in the cool weather (highs in the low 70s while we were there) stopping along the way for snacks and water and just taking in the scenery.  On the second day we hiked about 1km along the town's cobblestone streets to the town's "Open Air Museum" a world heritage site where you paid a fee to see a preserved, protected area filled with breathtakingly beautiful cave churches.   Christians settled in Cappodocia as early as the times of Jesus but the churches still standing in the area are estimated to date from the 10th and 11th centuries. The restored paintings on the cave walls were amazing.  It was so inspiring to think of the labor that went into them and people communing and worshiping beneath them all those many years ago.  Unfortunately, our pictures of these masterpieces are limited. No flash photography was permitted inside (the flash damages the paint). - Kelly

Exterior of El Nazir Church, which dates from the 10th Century

Natural dye painting inside El Nazir

ECON 103: Turkish vs. US Healthcare

About two weeks ago, we had to take poor Brewer to the doctor and hospital. He was constipated for about 4-5 days. We tried some basic medicine, but it wasn't working and it got to the point he refused to even sit on the couch.

So on a Thursday, we scheduled an appointment with a local pediatrician through the McGhee Center for the next morning (ours at home will do the same on a 24-hour notice like this). When I got home at 3:30pm that day from class, he was inconsolable so we called to see if we could come right away. Dr. Nihan's office said yes, so off we went. We met with her for an initial consultation and exam (no paperwork for us) and she sent us across the street to a private (more expensive than public) hospital and within 45 minutes, Brewer had received an exam, medication and a precautionary X-ray for $65. We showed the staff his passport, but otherwise filled out zero paperwork.

We returned to Dr. Nihan's office immediately afterwards for another consultation. She asked us to visit her again the next morning. Brewer felt a little better, but was still not completely OK, so we stopped by. She asked us to call her over the weekend on her personal cellphone if we had any concerns, and we did that Saturday afternoon. Upon her request, and after Brewer was feeling better, we visited her office again on Monday for her own verification. The total bill for these four visits and a weekend phone call was $55.

Dr. Nihan is a friend of the McGhee Center, but I'm fairly sure this was a standard procedure for her. And the Alanya hospital seemed to treat the other tourists there in the same manner.

Kelly and I are currently fighting - from overseas - two different fronts (a provider and our insurance provider Humana) on how to get the former paid by the latter for a $90 shot Kelly received for a travel vaccination for this trip. And that's after filing pages and pages of paperwork before we left. How did American healthcare end up so far from this Turkish healthcare experience? I'm an economist and live by cost-benefit analyses, but exactly how much are we Americans getting for the extra monetary costs and time effort involved for our healthcare?

Muslim Religious Traditions for Us to See

Aura around bigger mosques in Istanbul

Yesterday Turkey celebrated Kurban Bayrami (Festival of the Sacrifice), its version of Eid al-Adha, one of the two major Muslim holidays celebrated around the world. After reading and hearing about the holiday, it reminds us a lot of the Christmas holiday - religious holiday, major businesses closed, celebrating sacrifice, and even helping out the poor. Although I did not see any signs for major toy sales!



Mary entertaining the kids in the treehouse

We spent part of the day traveling to Dimcay outside the city with Bryan, Mary and their two kids. We listened to the river flow beneath our restaurant as we lounged and ate within a treehouse. We shared tapas, sautéed beef, Turkish meatball casserole and a baked trout from part of the dammed river beside the kitchen. On the way there and back within the bus, I saw two different goats being slaughtered under trees, part of the day's holiday tradition - 1/3 is for the family, 1/3 is for friends and 1/3 is for the poor. I like the sound of this tradition!



Inside Blue Mosque

Beauty of Blue Mosque

Since we have been in Alanya, we have not seen nearly as much of the religious Muslim culture as we did in Istanbul and Ankara. There is alcohol served in almost every establishment here, European women sun topless on the beaches, and we barely hear the Islamic call to prayer any more. There must be few mosques near our apartment; only occasionally do I hear the call flow down the mountain near Kleopatra Beach. While in Istanbul during our first week in Turkey, I took Kelly and the kids to visit the famous Blue Mosque on a free day. It was a beautiful building and experience. Kelly was asked to use an extra cover for her legs (even though she had on a full-length dress) because the slit came to her knees. When the class took a weekend trip to Konya (supposedly one of the more conservative parts of Turkey according to our tour guide Mehmet Bey), I saw multiple tour groups with elderly women dressed very traditionally. We see almost none of this here in Alanya, so we were glad to experience it elsewhere here in Turkey. - Alan


Traditional dress in Konya region

Outside courtyard of Blue Mosque




 



Dining in the Dark and Turkish Baths -- Just Your Average Birthday in Turkey

I turned 40 years old on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.  It would be a perfect place for reflection on a half-lived life had I not had the two tiny tots nipping at my ankles the entire day.  Oh well, I will ponder the meaning of my existence another day.  For now I am just focusing on living in the moment and enjoying these gifts of un-interrupted time with family and new experiences. - That and beaches and figs of course.

The celebration spot

Alan made sure I celebrated the day appropriately.  He surprised me with dinner out with the other Georgetown professors and families as well as Nese, the director of the program here.   The restaurant was like a tiny oasis in our neighborhood of European tourist spots.  It did not open until eight and there was no menu nor waiters.  No, the restaurant was run entirely by the husband and wife owners and we ate whatever they had decided to cook that night.  The food was tapas style and after we were settled, we sat and talked and tasted, sipping Raki, the anise flavored alcohol that is the "national alcoholic beverage of Turkey."  I'm here to tell you its quite potent, an acquired taste I imagine, like bourbon.  Appetizers of  humus, mashed okra, eggplant (patlican salatasi), pickled apricots, babaganoosh, cheeses, olives and bread started the meal.  Then we had a fried, breaded ground meat dish, perhaps some sort of kofte.  Finally we had sautéed fish.  I don't know the type but is was salty and prepared such that the fish was cut crossways, bone in and all parts save the head were served.  It was all so good.  The kids were adventurous and found several things they liked.  Brewer loved the pickled apricots and Ruby was all about the fish.

The crew, minus Ruby and Nese

Not sure what happened to this picture

After our meal, Bryan and Mary and their kids (Bryan is one of the other professors) surprised me with a cake they had brought from a bakery on our street.  It was white and covered with whipped cream, white chocolate in shapes of flower petals and wonderfully juicy nectarine slices.  After a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday lead by Ruby and the Ute player it was promptly sliced and devoured.  In typical Turkish fashion the meal was slow and likely was even slower than normal due to 15-minute storm that blew through and took our power (we ate by candlelight), so we did not get home until 10:30.  The kids were tired, but troopers- no meltdowns were had.

As if that wasn't enough, Alan then treated me the next day to a Turkish Bath, or Hamam, at one of the more upscale hotels on our street.  I have nothing to compare it to, but I feel certain it was a bit watered down for the tourist set.  Nonetheless, after a month of running around with the kids (Why, oh why didn't I have kids when I was younger?), I did thoroughly enjoy it.  I plan to seek out a more traditional bath experience though in the coming weeks.  This one started with a sauna, exfoliation bath (I was clothed in a bikini), followed by a period of relaxation, then a 30 minute massage and finally, a facial and tea.  Lovely, especially for 70 Turkish Lira (a little less than $35 U.S. dollars).

Happy birthday to me! - Kelly

Time is Flying by

It really hit me when I taught class the other day and listed October 1 within my notes. We have been in Turkey for about 5 weeks now, so our adventure is progressing quickly. October usually reminds me of Halloween festivities and cool hikes at McConnell Springs, not worrying about sunscreen for the kids on the beach. So far we have been able to continue our almost daily beach activities, but they will soon draw to a close. The weather is starting to cool down a little (although nowhere near Lexington's predicted 30-something temps for tomorrow night - BRRRRR!), so the kids are spending more time digging in the sand and less time 'swimming'. And also on the 1st, the local restaurants started putting up plastic screens on the sides of their open-air establishments. The signs are all around us that the Med adventure is about to change. - Alan