Finally...Morocco
Sorry I have been MIA for so long. Suffice to say I have not had the most reliable access to the internet in the past week and a half....but there is so much that has happened since the last entry. On Sept 19th we left Istanbul for our excursion around Turkey. It was SO incredible but also totally overwhelming. We drove over 3300 kilometers in 8 days....it was pretty much insanity. But we did get to see some amazing sights.
My highlights, briefly:
- the memorials at the WWI battlefields of Gallipoli and ANZAC cove
- the cheesy Trojan horse from the movie Troy which is currently living in the square in Canakkale, about 25 kilometers from Troy!
- the Troy site itself, although it was pretty jumbled and not very well restored
- the magnificent grandeur of ancient Ephesus, including the beautifully restored facade of the library of Celsus and the amphitheatre where St. Paul spoke 2000 years ago
- the crazy "fairy chimneys" in Cappadocia--volcanic rock formations which have thousands of cave dwellings and churches carved out of the rocks
- whirling dervish performance in Cappadocia
There is so much more that I left out...but it was awesome. Hopefully soon I will be able to upload some pictures.
On to Morocco! We arrived in Casablanca after 8 hours of travel on Tuesday night, and then had four more hours by bus south to Marrakech. Our hotel is right downtown, about 20 minutes walking distance to the old Medina and the Djemaa el-Fna, the main commercial center of the city. It was strange because almost immediately I felt comfortable here because so much reminded me of Niger, where I was last summer. Everything from the sounds and smells to the red clay and sand everywhere seems familiar. Yesterday, we had not heard from the University which is sponsoring our program here, so we had some free time to recover from travel and explore the area around our hotel a bit. The food here is incredible! The have great fruit juices of all kinds, but especially orange--fresh squeezed every morning at breakfast. Along with strong coffee, french pastries and some tomatoes and cucumbers, I'm set. The most traditional Moroccan dish is the tajine, a terra cotta dish with a tall, conical cover which is filled with meat and vegetables and sometimes fruits such as prunes (in my case subtract the meat) and is heated on charcoal. We went to a great restaurant at lunch today with Professor Ahmet Sajid from University of Cadi Ayyad, our coordinator for the program, who met up with us today and showed us around the area. Everyone we have met is very friendly and welcoming and curious about why we are here. I'm excited to start classes tomorrow as well-if they're anywhere near the quality of our lectures in Turkey we will definitely be learning a lot. In the next few days we will be assigned a Moroccan student to be paired up with who we will get to know. So far things are off to a very positive start!
I miss everyone at home so much. It was strange getting on a plane to leave Turkey and landing in ....Casablanca. It's weird not to be going home, but I love Morocco so far. The culture shock is a good thing. Thanks to everyone who has been writing me comments...I wish I could reply on here but just know that it makes me smile to read every one! Love to you all!
Last day of class!
I can't believe today is the last day of class here in Turkey. It has been amazing here and I will be sad to leave. This week has been so busy though, and now it's only two more days until our excursion, which I am so excited about. Last night we had a potluck for Jill's birthday, and it was fun because we are all starting to feel like family. The night before we had a wine and cheese party at the "library" of our professors--what an amazing place. Floor to ceiling shelves with thousands of books, and apparently that was only the reference library! I was in awe. This is indicative of exactly the quality of lecturers we have had over the past three weeks, and it has been such an incredible opportunity to learn in this setting. Of course, there's been so much to explore in Istanbul as well. I feel like I've barely seen anything even though I've been here three weeks. This may be my last update until Morocco, but hopefully I will be able to get to a computer during our excursion next week...until then, here are some more pictures!
The scene at the Topraks' library.
We all were wearing polo shirts at the archeological museum. Check out Mac's face (yellow shirt)...priceless.
On Tuesday we went to a rooftop bar to watch a soccer game between Fenerbahce, an Istanbul team, and AC milan. Milan won, unfortunately, but I was in 7th heaven!
Lunch on the island was a whole fresh fish....head and all. Yum!
Helin, our Turkish graudate student assistant, and myself on a carriage ride on Prince's Island. I'm looking pretty silly...hmm.
On the ferry en route to the Prince's Islands last Sunday
At Dolmabahce looking out on the Bosphorus and Golden Horn
The "crystal staircase" in Dolmabahce Palace, the home of the last Ottoman Sultans
I'm back with some more pictures this time...things are going great over here. We're over halfway done with our Istanbul classes already, which is amazing. We've been trying to explore as much of the city as possible. On Saturday we drove an hour out of the city to got to a beach on the Black Sea. It was beautiful, but the weather was less than perfect--at one point it actually rained and it was pretty cold the whole time, although at least the water was warm enough to swim in! Sunday afternoon we took the bus down to the Ortaköy district near the Bosphorus, where we browsed at an artisan's fair and bought some gifts. Monday, some of us took the bus to the old city and wandered around near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, where we sat for a while to sketch these amazing buildings. Hopefully tonight we are going to hang out with our Turkish friend from Boğaziçi to watch the Turkish national soccer team try to qualify for the World Cup. As you all know anything related to soccer pretty much makes me happy :-) I miss everyone at home a lot. I hope all my Oles and everyone else is having a great school year so far. Love to you all...
Me in the courtyard of the Blue Mosque with a view of Hagia Sophia
Another view of St. Sophia at sunset
Carrie and Becky and I being artsy
Mac and Jackie Gimse! the best leaders ever....
Becky, Carrie, and Denise at the Black Sea during a rare moment of sunshine
The tiny town of Sile (I think) where the beach was located was a small fishing village. Check out the number of flags!
Me looking windswept and bleary eyed...behind me is an old fortress at Sile
Clouds looked ominous, and sure enough, it rained on us
Ahh, the lovely view of the Istanbul skyline (well, one small part of it) as seen from our Superdorm window at sunset
