(Sorry about the formatting. This blog site doesn't make it easy.)

Hi again from Bursa! I forgot to upload some photos from a trip I took with the CLS students and all the language buddies (we each have a Turkish student friend with whom we hang out and speak Turkish) to Uludağ National Park. I was suspicious initially but it really is a fantastic natural place. In winter, it is frequented by skiers; we drove by some of the quite exquisite resorts.

Last weekend I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Ankara to visit with my host family from 2 years ago whom I really miss. It was definitely a bit of a different since we spoke virtually no English--my preference--but as if not more enjoyable nonetheless. We didn't actually do much, just hung out since the weather was pretty miserable (hot). They're headed to Spain this week and invited me (ha!) but of course I have other obligations. I should just mention that Turkey's domestic transportation puts America's to shame. Buses leave often and on time to everywhere. They're comfortable and have the same amenities as nice airplane flights. The train I then took after the bus dropped us off in Eskişehir was going 155mph most of the time and got us to Ankara/Bursa a few minutes early (ie <90 min). Unfortunately, Congress has other garbage to deal with...in addition to finding ways to fund expensive student language programs...

A break for gymnastics at Uludağ National Park in Bursa

Uludağ

Forging a river at Uludağ

Photo of Ankara parents at Ankara Fortress

On Ankara Fortress

Host father Nahit Afşar

At a cafe that was once a medieval inn--host mother Gülsüme

Canakkale excursion

Canakkale is a region of the country that is really a testament to how historical Turkey is on a number of levels. Unlike last weekend, this trip was part of the CLS program so the group included all 20 students, the program director, the travel coordinator, a guide, (it starts to get ridiculous here), all 4 of our teachers, the manager of the school, the assistant program director, and two of the travel director's assistants who we've never even met and didn't make an effort to talk to us. But that's actually the Turkish way.

What generally is not the Turkish way is staying in a 5-star hotel (so I heard) right on the Dardanelles (aka Hellespont and Canakkale Bosphorous). It was nice but would have been nicer had I been a person predisposed to gaining utility from resorts. Thanks State Department!

Anyway, we left for Canakkale on Friday afternoon. To get there you hug the coast for 4-5 hours as you move west and then SW. First stop of Saturday was the Gallipoli campaign Peace Park (equivalent of Gettysburg nat'l historical site). To get there we took a ferry from near our hotel (in Asia) to the other side (Thrace, Europe). Along the Dardanelles, some points in Asia are actually west of points in Europe with equivalent longitude. We stopped first the Gallipoli campaign museum, of course learning quite a bit about then-military officer Mustafa Kemal who stymied the Australian/New Zealand (ANZAC) land invasion, thus saving the OE and the future Turkish Republic...is how the story goes. The day involved visits to many cemeteries and memorials. It turns out the best time to be there is around April 25 which is when Aussies/Kiwis flock here to pay tribute to their fallen soldiers and recognize the battle that they believed launched their respective pushes for independence from Britain (whole other story). I should mention that the Dardanelles water was incredibly clear and the landscape a pretty tundra.

Sunday we stuck around the Asian side as we headed to ancient Troy. I'd say unless you went to Niles East HS, USC, or some other school with said mascot, it would be hard to get particularly excited with the place. I think the most interesting thing was that there was not just 1 Troy, there were in face 9 Troys. Despite war, earthquakes, and whatever else left the city in ruins, the strategically and economically critical city was rebuilt 8 times. As they say, "Rüzgâr Truva'ya zenginliği getirmiş" (wind brought wealth to Troy); given that shore space and wind were a-plenty it was rather believable. In the afternoon we headed a bit south past the tip of the Thracian peninsula and swam in the Aegean Sea along the beach in Assos (Aristotle opened an academy there). From our side could be seen the Greek island of Lesbos. Would have swum there but that would result in CLS issuing my ticket back to the US.

Heading to Ankara this weekend to hang out with former host parents.

Me showing who's the boss in front of the Trojan Horse...built on 1975

Standing at the beach in Assos; Greek island Lesbos in background

From this week, ebru (paper marbling)

View from the Dardanelles ferry; Canakkale castle in the center

Teachers at the ANZAC memorial in Gallipoli

Cemetery at Gallipoli

Emotional appeal; street animals are ubiquitous in Turkey, even small ones

Buddy Frankie at an Mustafa Kemal memorial at Gallipoli

Thought this was a funny sign

Ruins of Troy

Probably the most complete structure in Troy; for such a historic civilization (actually 9 civilizations), ironically there's not much left

On the boat headed for Gallipoli sites in across the Dardanelles in Thrace

Istanbul, Ankara family, and a zoo

One week in Bursa

Host brother Kerim and your's truly

Hi Friends,
Welcome to this blog! As we've moved into the current age, I've noticed that people like more photos and fewer words. Therefore, I have decided to make what I write brief and what I display extensive (relative to what I usually have photo-wise, which is very little).
As you may know, I'm in Bursa this summer on a State Department language scholarship program called Critical Language Scholarship. There are 20 of us and we go to language school 5 days a week but to language lessons 17-24/7, depending on how much Turkish you dream in. In fact, there is very little English here--a good thing in my book--and my head often hurts by the end of the day. Nonetheless, my family's been quite kind to me and the town is fun and historical while the classes are not too boring.
We arrived about a week ago in Istanbul after a brief orientation in DC. After less than a day we were off to Bursa via bus and bus-on-a-ferry. Yesterday, our group visited Iznik (Nicaea), a place of great Christian and Ottoman import.
Here's a typical day for me:
7:30 wake up and breakfast (olives, bread, cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes)
9:00 class starts
1:00 class ends
early afternoon: often some sort of activity like drama, Turkish cooking, walking around, etc.
afterward: go home, dinner, tea, visit neighbors or relatives, more tea (did I mention that tea is a habitual phenomenon?)
evening: homework, laugh with my family at my stupid language mistakes, write 17 emails, sleep...or at least try...
~3:30am local roosters find it prudent to announce their presence
5am call to prayer from mosques
6am host parents wake up and make a lot of noise
...but, hey, that's why we drink a lot of tea, right?

Anyway, that last bit was exaggerated. Been having a great time and am looking forward to shcaring more with you in the upcoming weeks!

Kerim's cousin Ramazan

From the Istanbul-Bursa ferry

Street wedding--a ubiquitous event

Host brother Abdülkerim (Kerim)

Admiring a simit (common bagel-like snack)

Notable statue of a young Osman I

The group in Iznik

In front of an old hamam (Turkish bath) in Iznik

Iznik's Green Mosque

Museum in Iznik

Host parents making BBQ (from L, Aygül and Metin)

Group near the lake in Iznik