MEXICO February 17, 2010: Dia Cuatro en Coyoacan
Hola Amigos:
Llovio muchismo hoy y es esta muy frio en Coyoacan.
Miercoles, 17 de Febrero —
Woke up to real rain and cold.. it’s truly nasty today. Decided to hop a taxi to the Biblioteca en Parque Mexico where I would have lesson #3. The walk to the Metro from the casita is about 20 minutes and what with the rain, cold, and cobblestone streets it seems wise to just go by taxi. Again the trip was less than 8 miles, but it took more than an hour because of mucho traffico!
Too bad about the weather because the park was lovely — one of the nicest city parks I’ve seen.. oh well.. the rain is needed, so no complaints.
Taxi ride was pretty smooth (although the driver didn’t really know where the park was and luckily I had a map), but at the end it was comical as I only had a $500 peso bill (about $35) and the tab was 80 pesos ($6) and the driver didn’t have any change. I suggested (in my nearly perfect Spanish) that we could stop at a bank, but there weren’t any banks close; I suggested a farmacia on the corner, but they wouldn’t do it; I suggested the cafe on the other corner, but they wouldn’t do it. Finally I spotted a guy who looked like he might have a few hundred pesos (and I guessed that he spoke English, which he did), but he had only $400 pesos… He actually offered to pay the taxi, but I said no…
So, the resolution was that the taxi driver would meet me back at the park at 2 pm and take me back to Coyoacan and somehow we’d figure it out… which is what we did. Lesson learned: always have small denominations of money.
My lesson went well. I’m fairly good if I begin the conversation because then I have a general idea of where it’s headed and can actually maintain a conversation for several back and forth questions and discussions. My grammar is quite horrid, but I’m working on it.
Anyway, today we talked about a host of different topics. I learned that Maria is divorced and that her ex is a musician (piano). He works many jobs including teaching at the conservatory (classical); playing at the Sheraton (contemporary and jazz); doing assorted gigs and events; etc. Anyway, his flexibility enables him to pick up five-year-old Ricardo who attends a Catholic school (which the ex pays for).. I found out about Maria’s many sisters and brothers all of whom have professional jobs and I learned a bit more about seguro popular (the healthcare system which Peter thinks is phenomenal and Maria thinks is terrible, based on her experiences when her father died in a Mexican hospital.)
Came directly back to the casita; had lunch at the main square here in Coyoacan; worked on office and university stuff for several hours; and then it was dinner time. Mike’s class is doing mid-term presentations, so I meandered alone to a quite good, small restaurant a few blocks from here relying heavily on mi paraguas (umbrella).. I also found a flashlight in the casita which I took with me and used when I was on dark, cobblestone streets en route. Mostly I was watching the paving to make sure I didn’t trip and watching above to make sure the umbrella didn’t get caught in one of the very many low overhangs from trees, canopies, and other impediments. Made it safe and sound, and am now back to work in the room with the fireplace going strong!
Hasta luego
Fern
MEXICO February 16, 2010: Dia Tres en Coyoacan
Martes, 16 de Febrero
Amigos:
Today, my Spanish lesson was at the casita. I walked to the Viveros Metro station to meet Maria (who is not very familiar with either Metro — she relies on buses — or Coyoacan). I, on the other hand, am now quite familiar with the little neighborhood and with Metro. Maria and I connected easily and today she wore Nikes instead of high heels. I mentioned yesterday (as she struggled on the city streets) that Coyoacan had cobblestone streets.
We sat in the totally charming courtyard of the casita and began today’s discussion (about Mexican politics!) I learned that Maria is one of the more than 60% who do not have seguro (health insurance) although according to Peter (our American friend who has lived here for 15 years and is planning to stay permanently), by 2012 all Mexicans will be covered through seguro publico and that already the majority are covered. I think Maria is referring to private health insurance which she thinks is far better than the public plan.
Oh, I forgot to mention that last night we took a taxi that we hailed from the street and got a little Volkswagen bug.. with the front passenger seat removed so that we (or any other group of two) could easily get into the taxi. .. clever??
I also learned about the three major parties and where Maria thinks they each are on the political spectrum. Mostly I found out that she (and according to her, all Mexicans) thinks all the Mexican parties and government are corrupto! with the PAN (the most conservador) being menos poco corrupto.. or a tiny bit less corrupt than the others. She also says that the Catholic church is behind the PAN so it has a lot of money to fight off opposition. (Peter is a bit more optimistic and believes the PRI stands a good chance of winning elections in 2012.)
Maria talked about the fact that there are no results from the taxes that Mexicans pay so they believe all the money goes into someone’s pockets. We discussed American taxation and how all of our money goes to la guerra.. so it’s a matter of spending for the war or spending to increase the size of someone’s bolsa. I learned that agua is a major problem for Mexico and that some apartimientos are rationed as to water use. Maria’s mother watches su hijo y cuidado por los ninos es muy caro (just like in the states)…
Tomorrow we meet at Parque Mexicano.. in a small biblioteca located on the grounds.
After my lesson, I met up with Mike and we walked to a cute cafe/bookstore located a few blocks from the casita. I then went back to the Frida Kahlo Museo which was quite interesting (and where I saw the bed that Trotsky slept in when he lived with Frida and Diego, when he was in Mexico), walked back through the market and el Parque Allende, and then returned to get some work done.
Later Mike and I walked to the Viveros Metro station to catch the train to meet Peter for dinner. We caught the train to Banderas where we needed to change to the train to Insurgentes. As we got to the platform we realized that during rush hour (which goes from 4:00 until 11 pm) they have different lines to wait for the train — separating women and children from the men… to avoid problems. Since I was with Mike I had to go in one of the cars designated for hombres.. Quite an experience. The men’s cars were packed body to body.. The women’s cars were spacious. Anyway, we made it to Banderas and then attempted to get out of the train, but huge groups of men were trying to get on the train and everyone was pushing — those trying to get off the train and those trying to get on the train. I walked close behind Mike as he elbowed off the train.. but then suddenly he was surrounded by men trying to get onto the train and I got literally pushed (shoved) back onto the train and for a short time, thought I’d be headed wherever that train was going.. But Mike grabbed my arm and literally tugged and pulled me through the crowd.
Geesh… makes NYC subway system seem polite, controlled, and peaceful.
Finally made it to the transfer train and to Insurgentes station and a short walk to the restaurant, where we met up with Peter. Fonda el Refugio is an old Mexican restaurant that has been in operation for more than 50 years. Food was quite good, and we started with escamole (ant eggs) — a delicacy, which was fantastic (and pricey)..
After dinner we chose a taxi over the Metro.
Ah, Mike had an interesting experience. He was scheduled to give a lecture and had it in his calendar (but apparently for a day later than the actual date). So as he was quietly strolling neighborhoods taking photos, when he got a call on his cell from the chair of the department asking where he was.. Mike said he was checking out neighborhoods.. They said there was an auditorium full of people waiting for him to deliver his talk.. Fortunately Mike had his thumb drive in his pocket but he needed to get to the University and he was about 30 minutes away by foot.. he hailed a truck driver who was about to enter his truck.. and in his phenomenal Spanish said … “Yo soy Profesor y es necessario voy a universidad.”… The guy motioned to jump in and delivered Mike to the door of the building.. given that things often begin in Mexican time, seems like he made it just fine.
Hasta luego; mas manana en dia cuatro.
Fern
MEXICO February 15, 2010: Dia Uno y Dos en Mexico
Pretty tame compared to other travels
Hola —
Arrived in Mexico City at about midnight on Saturday (February 13) and was glad we had decided to spend that night at the airport, especially since when we left the airport hotel the next morning to get to Coyoacan the taxi driver had a hell of a time finding our place.
We got to La Casita del Patio Verde in Coyoacan around 1 pm on Sunday and were greeted by Marta who is about 4’5″.. I feel like a giant! La Casita del Patio Verde has only two rooms. It’s a wonderful house with cottage. The house has one room that is currently rented to a filmmaker from NY and then there is the casita where we are staying. The main house and casita are separated by a fantastic jardin.. with patio areas, benches, sculptures, and well-tended growth. Patio Verde is located on a small narrow street that only goes about two blocks.
After settling in to our very gracious casita, furnished with Mexican artifacts, a wood burning fireplace, and tall ceilings, we walked through Coyoacan to San Angel where Diego Rivera lived. We visited his studio which was quite wonderful, and looked as if he might walk in the door at any moment. We followed this with great margaritas at the San Angel Inn (and decided to make dinner reservations for later that night.) Both San Angel and Coyoacan are old neighborhoods that have been restored and attract an upscale artsy crowd and residents.
En route we passed through the major squares of Coyoacan and San Angel, and dozens of colorful old churches.
Today, Monday, I began my intensive one week (4 hours per day) Spanish classes, and Mike resumed his teaching at the university (UAM) at Xochimilco — so we went our separate ways immediately after desayuno at the casita.
The taxi ride to la escuela took about one hour although it was probably only about 8 miles. Traffic was unbelievable and I felt like my life was at risk for at least 30 of the 60 minutes with the taxi weaving in and out of lanes and stopping short about once every five minutes.
I arrived at the school and met my instructor Maria Louisa. Just as I requested, it’s just me and her.. and four hours of chatting. Today we left the school, took the metro bus for about 20 minutes to UNAM and talked outside the bibloteca for about three hours. At first she suggested we’d chat inside the library, and when I questioned the fact that libraries are supposed to be quiet she shrugged. Anyway, we wound up in the outside courtyard because we couldn’t find any free tables inside the library.
UNAM is huge — sort of like ASU, but buildings are very far apart. Students were everywhere. I gather most commute from family homes. UNAM is the more upscale university; Mike is at UAM which has a majority of first generation college students and many commute from barrios two hours away from UAM. Both universities have good reputations and are highly competitive.
My lessons are interesting and I’m hoping they create a miracle … When I spent a week in Guatemala 18 months ago, I spent five hours a day with an instructor and it was pretty boring. Pretty much conjugating verbs and reading passages from a book and answering questions. This time I wanted to talk… so today we talked politics – American politics — what works in the US and what doesn’t, why the US won’t deal with the immigrantion crisis to legalize long term residents.. health care, etc. Problem was that I’ve got a lot to say about all of this, but have second grade language skills to keep the conversation going.
Anyway, following my class I came back to Coyoacan and then walked to the Frida Kahlo house about a mile away only to find that it’s closed on Mondays, so I came back to the casita and did some work..
Tonight we ate in the main square at a simple Italian/Mexican restaurant. .. Now we are in the casita about to watch “Hurt Locker” which I brought with me in DVD.. Our room has a large scale, flat screen TV and DVD player!
Adios. Mexico is a lot more predictable than Turkey, so my ramblings won’t be anywhere near as interesting. It’s also a country I’ve been to many times, so it’s less exotic… but fun and interesting nonetheless.
Adios. Hasta luego.
Fern
Hola — One very very long travel blog.. covering the entire 2.5 days in Mexico City..
Quick trip to Mexico City (where Mike is teaching intermittently during this winter term…)
Half Day – Friday
I arrived at about 4 (after braving unbelievable weather in Phoenix, forcing the plane to be about one hour late) at Mexico City Airport. Mike was waiting — he flew in from Merida where he had been for the past week with students (half are Mexican from UAM and half are from UW)..
We taxied to the hotel — Hotel de Cortez — which is a former convent from the 15th or 16th century. We stayed here eons ago .. it’s still a haven from the hustle and bustle of Mexico City, but it’s had quite an “up-do”… with very modern amenities since the last time we were here. But the courtyard is still wonderful and unchanged. The Cortez is located near Parque Alameda, very close to all the major landmarks in the centro historico. So we settled in quickly (with a great margarita) and then set out to walk the neighborhood — through the park to the Palacio des Bellas Artes, several major churches (all of which are sinking into the ground), and the Zocalo. Then we set out to the Polanco neighborhood for dinner at Izote — an upscale Mexican fusion restaurant that was wonderful (with mini tamales and other goodies), but definitely several price scales above what the average Mexican can afford.
Dia Uno – Sabado
On Saturday we set out for Coyoacan (about 10 km south of the centro) — via Metro, which was — as always — totally crowded and filled with music of all sorts — boom boxes, live accordions, guitars, etc. We walked through the delightful colonial neighborhoods of Coyoacan – eventually ending at La Casita del Patio Verde — where we hope to stay when we are both back in February. (Mike is actually staying in Mexico this next week and then back in California on Feb 1; we head back to Mexico, together, on Feb 13)
Got to La Casita to find no one there. Turns out, it is a charming house with just one guest room and one guest cottage. We phoned the owner who came by about 15 minutes later.. and we settled that we would stay there. It has a wonderful garden, and whoever did the renovation did a hell of a good job. I plan to study Spanish in February and am hoping for a miracle.. Mike will commute that week from Coyoacan to Xochimilco — 15 minutes without traffic (which is never) and about an hour at other times! Fortunately, I think his hours may enable him to come and go during non-commute times (and he is heading in the opposite direction of most traffic that will be going into the centro.) After meeting with the proprietor, Jose Luis .. we walked all through Coyoacan — which was once its own town and has now been incorporated as a neighborhood into Mexico City. Coyoacan is considered very middle class, with lots of professors, artists, etc. choosing to live here. It’s picturesque and quiet.
Mexico City — with its 25 million+/- people — goes on forever.. .sort of Phoenix but with lots of buildings, no empty lots, and at a higher altitude. It’s much larger than it was when I was last here (about 20 years ago).. but it’s as lively, as noisy, and nearly as polluted as I remember. Indeed it’s hard to describe the city without the smells and the sounds, especially the music.
After leaving Coyoacan (a bit more complicated to get back than we had planned because we opted for a taxi — they are very cheap — in lieu of Metro, thinking it would be faster since it was a long walk back to Metro.. but it actually took three times longer), we headed back to the Bellas Artes to meet an old friend who has been living in Mexico City for 15 years and now definitely calls Mexico City “home.” Along with two of his friends (one an interior and furniture designer and the other an executive with Banamex, who says the US banks used money it got from their Mexican subsidiaries which are profitable to pay back the government), we all trekked to his new house which is located north of Mexico City by about 12 miles (but it takes him about 2 hours to get to work each day.. via a bus and then Metro… On the way home he gets off the bus and has to run across the freeway.
Anyway, Peter recently purchased his home through a Mexican program that
offers loans to residents. The house is part of a new complex (really a city in and of itself) with 60,000 new units… Peter’s being one of those 60,000. It was fascinating. The house is just under 400 sq ft, and has been designed so that the owner can expand upward creating a second or even a third floor (which he plans to do next year. The house cost $20,000 US dollars which is equivalent to one year of his salary (as the coordinator of the foreign language department at the university). It will cost $2,800 to do the extension which will nearly double the house size. The house is a long rectangular box about 10′ x 35′ and it’s set back from the street. There are a few different prototype houses, but basically they all fit this module.
When he went to the meeting with all the other buyers.. they were told the “rules” (sort of like condo rules).. which included the fact that these were all residences and owners should not be creating businesses in the front of their houses… Peter said that when he moved in (and he was one of the first to occupy … people were already setting up businesses in the front of the houses, and by now — two years later–he’s one of the very few people who don’t have a structure that has been built in front of the house nearly occupying the entire lot with some kind of business, from fruit stand to car mechanic to beauty shop to dentist! So now this rather sanitized complex has quite a life going on.. and the community can truly be — as Peter says — very “sustainable.”
Speaking of rules — Mexicans don’t really follow them. There are stop signs at nearly every corner (mostly 4 way stop signs).. and no one, not even the police ever stop at them.. the story is that someone got a contract to print and install all the stop signs through some corrupt government at some point, and they don’t make any sense… Traffic is sort of like a symphony with everyone just weaving around and pedestrians creating their own pace between the cars. And while many things take a long time in Mexico City, where people do seem to savor a certain waiting time (no one ever gives you a bill at a restaurant unless you ask for it.. you could wait forever).. the one thing that is not slow, is driving. Indeed the little green man on the traffic light is literally running.. not walking (in order to remind you that you are taking your life in your hands as you cross very busy intersections)
We came back into town with Peter and had dinner at one of those venerable old Mexican restaurants with lots of mariachis, and big portions (low prices) and lots of people… We over-ordered, not realizing how much food would come.. but we had a good time, and walked back to the hotel.
Dia Dos – Domingo
On Sunday (yesterday) we had breakfast in the wonderful courtyard of the hotel and headed out to explore in more depth, the centro, Alameda, and zocalo areas — starting with the Parque Alameda and the museum that houses the fantastic Diego Rivera mural – Sueno de una Tarde Dominical en la Alemeda Central (Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park)… about 50′ x 15′.. It goes through three periods in Mexico history. A class at the university was assigned (as far as I can tell from reading all the information in my limited Spanish — although my reading comprehension is 10x better than my verbal skills) a project to create contemporary images of the park today… which includes lots of photographic details of people and things one sees today. Anyway, the mural used to be in a hotel lobby. The hotel was severely destroyed during one of the earthquakes and the mural miraculously survived unscathed.. It was transported to this space where they created a museum around it.
We ventured through many areas in the downtown — went to the 41st floor of the Torre Latino Americano — what was until recently the tallest building in all of Latin America… From this vantage point (and on a somewhat clear day — or at least clear for Mexico City ) you can literally see “all” of Mexico City and get a sense of what it means to have a population of 21 million (+more than 2 million in the ring around the city) in an area that is about 1,000 sq miles (by comparison, I believe that Houston has about 2 million people and is 600 sq miles; Phoenix has 1.5 million people and is about 520 sq miles).
We walked through (or peaked into) dozens of great courtyards; passed scores of churches; wandered through many walking streets (which didn’t exist when we were here years ago) with great street performers; had wonderful flavors of ice cream and made it to the Zocalo… where there were protesters directly across from the main cathedral — objecting to the church’s stand on abortion, gay marriage, and gay adoption. Apparently Mexico City has approved gay civil unions and most recently the leading political party in Mexico City (PRD) announced an amendment to the Civil Code to legalize same-sex marriage. This is opposed by the second largest political force in the country, the right-of-center PAN and the Roman Catholic Church. So now Mexico City became the first Latin American jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage.
We also visited the Museum of Popular Art (Museo des Artes Popular) which was fantastic.. Must return when I’m back.
Eventually, we headed back to the hotel for a margarita and then went off for our last dinner here in Mexico City (actually Mike will have several more dinners, but last for me as I head back in the morning)… We taxied to a very sweet, unpretentious Mexican restaurant called Fonda del Refugio.. Food was quite good… and then back to hotel..
Oh — on the political front. Some people are hopeful for a swing to the left in the next Mexico City election.. and even nationally.. but ??? I guess the periphery around Mexico City which has its own government has swung more left recently.
Now — to pack and return.
Adios — or rather Hasta Luego!
I hear it’s raining again in the Bay Area — Not looking forward to that. Weather here has been in the 70s or higher during the day and drops down to 40s at night.
TURKEY 2009: Americans in Turkey – Day 15. January 1, 2010
PostScript
Greetings from the CIP Lounge at Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, where we are waiting to board flight to London. Turkish Airlines is very generous with the use of the VIP Lounge and allows all Star Alliance Gold members entry into the lounge (something Red Carpet Clubs would never do).
Thanks to everyone who has been sending me notes about the travelogue… and especially to those of you who worried we’d miss our very early flight this morning, following the festivities of New Years Eve…. So now you know that we made it – wake up call from hotel (plus three different alarm settings, 5 minutes apart on my iPhone and one alarm on Blackberry)… 4 a.m. wake up… after getting back to the room at about 1:15 a.m. with a bit more last minute packing to do..
New Years Eve in Antalya (in Keilici) was great. Our decision to go to the local restaurant at the harbor was definitely the right move (although when we had stopped by earlier in the day to book a reservation the information was not what it turned out to be – which is good news.) When we booked the table, no one spoke English, and they just showed us a typical menu.. So we assumed it would be a simple dinner where we make selections. We made the reservation for 10pm. When we got there the place was packed and quite festively decorated. We soon realized it was a set menu and the food just kept coming – food was fine.. But that was definitely not the highlight. (We passed on the salad which looked wonderful, thinking we had gotten this far without any problems, why start now? And also on one early course which was liver which is not really a favorite dish for either of us.. But everything else was really good).. By the way, the full meal – about 7 courses – + 4 glasses of wine + 6 sparkling waters + live music – was 120 TYL for the two of us (about $35 each)
We were clearly the only foreigners, and it was “the place to be”.. With all local Antaly-ers singing and getting up from their seats and dancing in place. Often, men with men and women with women and also men with women… a lot of small groups dancing together and everyone singing various Turkish songs knowing all the words… It was like a big old Jewish wedding when the hora starts up – but this was non-stop, for hours with clapping, lots of hand waving and body gyrations. The crowd was fairly secular but with a small smattering of head scarves. Kids were running around; waiters began to join the singing and dancing and clapping.. And then at midnight fireworks started at the harbor (which we could easily see from our table).. Coming from about 3 different directions…
Diners from other tables came to shake our hands and say “Happy New Year” – as usual starting in German, then Italian, then Spanish, and finally English..
Only once before in all the many years of being overseas for New Years do I think we felt like we had experienced the truly local New Years celebration. That was in Ronda, Spain – when we danced and sang with Spaniards well into the wee hours of the new year – with Mike having a very “deep” conversation with some Spanish neurosurgeon who spoke no English and Mike speaking no Spanish. I think they were each just drunk enough to truly enjoy their “discourse.”
At about 12:30am we strolled back up the hill to the Tuvana. People were walking everywhere; the air was smoky (we assume from fireplaces and fireworks and vendors cooking outside); young people were bar hopping; everyone was eating mussels from street vendors; music was blasting; and Turks seemed to be thinking that they were ushering in a good year. Let’s hope that’s true for them and also for us.
So, now off to London for dinner (actually we are already here.. by the time I was going to send the message, we were boarding, so it is being sent from London) and back to the states tomorrow. It’s been a good 17 days. Sounds like we need to plan for several hours at security and multiple check points for US airlines.
Take care.
Fern
TURKEY 2009: Americans in Turkey – Day 14 . December 31, 2009
Smarladik (Goodbye) Turkey
Happy 2010
Hi everyone –
Just finished packing as we leave tomorrow at 5 am for the Havalamani (Antalya Airport) – to fly to London via Istanbul. Back in California on Saturday afternoon. We are headed to a late dinner by the harbor to celebrate New Years (and my birthday).
We ventured outside our pleasant little neighborhood — Keilici (the old section of Antalya) — into the real Antalya with traffic, crowds, noise, trams, and mostly very ugly new buildings. But it was a good chance to walk in a real city where everyday life is more apparent than here in this idyllic section of town.
We did find out a bit more about the Tuvana Hotel buildings.. They are actually 350 years old and have been in the same family for 16 generations.
Once you walk out of the Keilici (which we now refer to as the “under-world,”) you climb about 250 feet and emerge at street level of the city..which we refer to as the “real world” … which is edged by a park with lots of restaurants all overlooking the harbor and the old town. Then if you cross the street (taking your life in hand) you cut across traffic, a tram line, more traffic.. and enter a fairly cosmopolitan but disjointed city. Today was probably especially busy with people getting ready to ring in the new year.
We ventured into a very non-touristy store where everyone was buying Turkish Delight (us too) in huge quantities – we assume for parties tonight. The poor guy behind the counter and other customers were frustrated (but sweet) as we asked a million questions and since no one spoke English, it was a combination of our little teeny knowledge of Spanish, Italian, German, French, and English from us and them — most of the time if you ask if anyone speaks English, they say yes.. but then they really only know a few rather random words.. and then flip into another language with another few random words… ) trying to decide which jams and which Turkish Delight to take home to the states. We settled on Eggplant Jam (??) and the Rose jam which is very popular. And a general mixture of Turkish Delights.
Strolling through the markets on the city side of town you find a strange mix of totally manufactured low-quality goods and then very very pricey jewelry and other stuff. They also sell Viagra Tea (which was certainly a new product). There’s also a lot of Viagra (don’t know how real it is) sold on the streets, together with spices!
The general markets are less exciting than Morocco, but fun nevertheless.
We chose to eat at the harbor tonight because we think it will be more lively than our rather precious hotel. We wound up eating at the hotel’s restaurant last night because it was really late and we searched for a restaurant we had read about.. which alas, when we found it.. was closed for the winter. By the way, weather has been fantastic, so I think we either lucked out, or global warming has hit us in a way that had at least one pleasant consequence (good travel weather for Fern and Mike).. Anyway, the hotel’s restaurant called Saeson (I think) was rather formal.. very pricey… and very continental .. more French than Turkish.. So we are venturing to a very informal place (which means no raw fish — did that once in a hole in the wall place in Mexico and paid dearly for four days..) We tried to go back to the restaurant we ate at the first night, but they are turning the entire place into a disco for New Years.. bands and snacks and drinks.. no food. They expect 1,000 people at that place. Needless to say we opted for something else. Maybe we will be surprised and the food will be better than expected.
In any case — Happy New Year. See you in 2010. Peace!
Fern
TURKEY December 30, 2009: Americans in Turkey – Day 13
Greetings –
Dined last night at a wonderful waterfront restaurant in the Keilici (old town) near where we are staying — Arma — quite good — For appetizers we had a local fish in honey that was fantastic (sashimi cut so thin it was like paper) and also an octopus sashimi. We strolled back to the hotel in the total quiet of this picture-perfect old section of town that is probably about 10 square blocks (totally oblivious that just 200 meters away is a huge, bustling real working city with a million people that seems to function 24/7 and that feels a bit like a combination of the Lower East Side of NY about 40 years ago and miles of strip malls).
This morning we headed out of our little paradise and drove down the coast (south) stopping from time to time to admire the absolute beauty of the sea and beaches as well as the cliffs and mountains that surround them. We stopped at Phaselis (sp?)– which is situated on three small bays, protected within a national park. In Roman times this was a thriving port town. Today the bays, ruined limestone aqueduct, a great amphitheater whose stage is framed by snow capped mountains are clearly the remnants of once-prosperous Phaselis.
We walked through the site from one bay to the next.. and then headed out to Chimera and Olimpos. En route, we stopped at a tiny little roadside, family-owned “café”… a sort of wooden platform with about 5 tables totally open. No menu, only one dish is served (Turkish pancakes) and two kinds of juices that are constantly being squeezed fresh (pomegranate and orange). Mom sat on the floor cross-legged and rolled the pancakes – one at a time; son pressed the oranges and pomegranates; daughter-in-law filled the pancakes with just a little spinach and feta and rolled them up — kind of like a very thin quesadilla. The setting was wonderful — for those of you from California, think Nepenthe before they started getting totally yuppie and charging $20 for a hamburger.
We left (after paying $7 for two pancakes and two really large and wonderful juices) and traversed dirt roads and even drove through a washed out road with water several inches deep in an effort to reach Olimpos.. only to hit a total dead end with a washed out road. We did get to the village of Olimpos and the tree house pensions (which seemed to wreak of hippiedom) Someone had built a foot bridge, but we decided to avoid this, and instead just meandered back through some small towns, eventually finding our way back to Keilici and the Tuvana Hotel (which was truly a miracle).
Dinner tonight in one of the small restaurants in the old town and then we prepare for New Years tomorrow, and a very very early (7 am) departure from Antalya to Istanbul and Istanbul to London on January 1. Dinner in London (Jan 1) and a morning flight to SFO on January 2 —
Will try to send one last note tomorrow or when we hit London. If not, have a happy, healthy, peaceful new year — See you back in the US —
Fern
TURKEY December 29, 2009: Americans in Turkey – Day 12
Day 13 –Mike succumbs to very clever salesman and buys a carpet!
Drove from Urgup to Konya – pretty uneventful; most of the drive two lanes in each direction; light rain on and off. (Glad we didn’t have this weather when we were based in Kapodokya).
Arrived in Konya (city of one million) and tried to follow Google map directions … which worked fine until the very end.. and then we were suddenly in some kind of rush hour, lots of traffic circles; streets coming from every direction — and then we just went with the traffic flow and were totally lost. After about 10 minutes meandering around without any sense of where we were and where we needed to be (we were trying to find the Hotel Rumi), we thought we’d just look for a high-rise building and find some other hotel. The only thing we knew was the the Hotel Rumi was near the Mevlana (the center of Sufidom)… Well no luck finding any other hotel, as nothing stood out.
So we decided to search for the Rumi, eventually stopping at a gas station and showing the address (on our Blackberry).. The guy explained in Turkish how to get there.. but he knew one English word – “lamp” which we figured meant traffic light… we followed what we thought we understood to be the directions and wound up on a very narrow, residential street blocked with traffic cones.. when along came a guy walking down the street who appeared to understand our plight and without any prompting, just moved the traffic cones and in we went to what was clearly a one way street going in the opposite direction.. By now we also realized this clearly was not a street with a hotel… so again we decided that we’d stop to ask for the Dedeman (a hotel chain in Turkey that we noticed in other cities and assumed was here in Konya as well.) We made a few turns and then there lo and behold was the Rumi!..
The Rumi is small (about 40 rooms) and I think we may be the only guests. We checked into the hotel and then checked out the city of Konya… a grungy, second world town, surrounding this shrine to Rumi and Sufiism. We’re told it’s one of the most conservative parts of Turkey. As such, 95% of the restaurants do not serve any wine or alcohol (yet we read that it has the highest percent of alcoholism in all of Turkey). About a week ago the annual Whirling Dervish Convention took place… really glad we missed that one.
We did stroll into the Mevlana Museum where I think Rumi is buried.
TURKEY December 28, 2009: Americans in Turkey – Day 11
Kapodokya, Turkey
Greetings from an unusually balmy Anatolia region. We truly lucked out. It’s about 62 degrees here and we had expected it to be around 32. It’s sunny and gorgeous.
Today we headed south to Ilhara Valley – a 500 ft gorge created by the Melendiz River through the volcanic rock. The drive to Ilhara was longer than we expected. We’ve been using a rather abstract line drawing map provided by the hotel.. Turns out to be totally out of scale (sort of like they needed to fit all these areas on an 8.5 x 11″ piece of paper so they moved towns around to get them to fit)… Anyway, about 90 minutes after we started out, we were in the Ilhara Valley. Given that there really aren’t any tourists during this time of year, information is pretty slim (which is either problematic or exciting – depending how you look at it.. I think we like it much better this way; very few trinket shops are open; barely anyone trying to be your guide or to to sell you a carpet – indeed we are on day 12 and still no carpet!)
We read the guidebook section on the Ilhara Valley so it seems as if the typical entry point is at the south in the town of Ilhara and then you climb 400 steps down to start the hike through the valley floor along the river… About halfway (the entire hike is about 5 miles in one direction) there is a little village called Belarismi (sp?) And then you continue north to Seleme where you exit the valley floor. Since we were coming from the north, we thought we might as well just start at Seleme at the southern end and do the hike in reverse. We also figured we might not go the whole way and figured you could exit at Belarismi. The guidebook said taxis could be located at any of these three points (in order to get us back to our car which we left in Seleme).. So off we went..
About 200 meters on our hike, we were met by Ehmet – a young Turk who hung around and followed us wherever we went.. It was clear that he knew the valley well and hustled people to be their guide. Despite the fact that we really didn’t want a “guide”… after a short time it became obvious that the “trail” was not marked and that it wasn’t a simple thing like following the river (which by the way changes drastically from a frisky, fast-moving river to a trickle of a stream and back again) – at many points you climb about 50′ or more over rocks to continue, and there are no guideposts. So Ehmet became our walking partner. I imagine that in touristy months you could go alone, because you’d just follow people in either direction. During the entire hike (2 hours) we only ran into two other tourists (from Paris), two local Turks fishing in the stream, and about four locals who were cutting branches for firewood (they lived in some of the caves in the valley). I cannot imagine doing this hike in the summer (although that is apparently when visitors come) because temperatures average over 100 degrees and the area is filled with mosquitoes.
Oh – somewhere midway on our journey the family that was gathering firewood came running up to us.. Turns out I had dropped my glasses somewhere (they were in my vest pocket) and they returned them.. I didn’t even know they were missing.
Our hike was good and tiring (good prep for Mike’s supposed trek down the Grand Canyon in May??).. When we got to Belarisme, we climbed to see one of the many many churches built into the rocks. The one we visited was from the 11th century – some frescoes are still obvious. The monks built the churches and in later years when the Ottomans came they destroyed all evidence of Christianity and burned the churches (obviously since the structure is carved out of the rock the shell remains; they also destroyed the faces in the frescoes.)
Naturally, Ehmet had a “cousin” in Belarisme who could drive us back to Seleme to get our car.
Then we took off to drive around the valley to the southern side and at least see that end in the town of Ilhara. By the way, gas is $8 gallon!
By then it was mid afternoon and we headed to Goreme to the Hamam in the center of town. I should mention that Goreme is a world heritage site and the town is filled with caves and fairytale chimney structures interspersed with more modern (200 year old?) houses – naturally it’s filled with cafes and trinket shops as well. I imagine the town is crawling with tourists in the summer – evidenced by the fact that at least one entrepreneur named his café “The Flintstones”…
The hamam was just what the doctor ordered. It starts with some mud painted on your face.. Followed by a quick shower, followed by about 15 minutes in the sauna… then shower… then you lay on a heated marble platform .. After a few minutes the masseuse comes and scrubs you with a rough cloth.. And also splashes water all over you… Then back to the hot marble platform (in this case a very large round marble slab – maybe 20 ft in diameter – the masseuse washes you with very soapy water.. And then does a massage with the bubbly water… they also wash your hair.. Then back to the shower and then a dip in a ritual pool (which is probably a little like a mikvah??).. The hamam had two parts – one for men and one for women, although men who work at the hamam seemed to pop in from time to time in the women’s section to bring bottles of water.
OK…. we are totally clean, well exercised, and ready for dinner. We’re eating locally (in Urgup) tonight, so we can spend time packing as we head to Konya in the morning (not expecting much … doesn’t sound too exciting, but it’s a stopping off point so that we don’t have to drive 7 or 8 hours straight to Antalya.)
Take care –
Fern
TURKEY December 26, 2009: Americans in Turkey – Day 10
Thousands and thousands of caves
Woke up to a colder, grayer, more overcast day than we’ve had in a while — making the region even eerier than it is in the sun.
Today was mostly a driving day with little short stops, in between sprinkles and mist. We visited dozens of small towns — Ortasehir, Goreme, Ayvali, Kaymakli (an underground city built for as many as 30,000 people with hundreds of rooms and chambers), and Ursehir — each with its own character.
Once we got to Kaymakli — before entering the underground cave city, — we decided to have a quick lunch — not such a simple task, since as a tourist town everything was closed as this is not tourist season — Kazymakli is not much of a town.. a bit seedy, rundown, and focused solely on getting tourists to see the underground city (which is quite an amazing structure). Anyway, we stumbled on a large, new building (very uncharacteristic for this area and certainly for this town of just a few thousand residents) and realized that it was a hotel… so we figured having lunch there would make sense — no need to worry obsessively about water, etc. We entered the building, which was set back from the street, into a very grand lobby area, but it was completely dark. At first we thought that the hotel was closed but then as I approached the reception desk a woman came out from inside and greeted me. Still the lights stayed off. I asked about lunch and she said we could eat in the restaurant — she then proceeded to phone the restaurant staff to alert them that we were coming — just down the hall from the lobby. We entered a huge restaurant (seats for about 300 people) but it was dark too… Then a waiter appeared with menus, and about 10 minutes later as we sat in the dark, some lights were turned on. We’ve decided this is a very good eco approach to energy consumption… after all we were the only two people eating.
The waiter said he spoke English, but the conversation was really tough… We think he explained that they were only serving the snack portion of the menu, as he kept pointing to that… Then he said they had “pizola.” Knowing that Turks have a pizza-like dish (called pide) we thought he was trying to use the English word “pizza” but not saying it correctly. He kept motioning that the dish was a circle.. so we said fine. Then he came back to tell us that they only had the chicken. So two chicken dishes it was.
From there and after the cave city (which we didn’t explore thoroughly as Mike was a bit unsure of the electricity after seeing the hookups, and was certain we’d get stuck in the lowest level of the cave city (about 8 stories below ground) without any light.. and that there could be an earthquake. Frankly, I was glad he made the call. I’m a bit claustrophobic and had other concerns. In any case, I can tell you that these civilizations that built these cave cities must have been very, very short, because I (at 5′) had to hunch over to get through the passageways. My guess is that they were about 4′ tall. I would have been a giant!
We then meandered through many more towns and valleys, climbing and winding through gorges and deep ravines and up to towns perched precipitously on hills… We made several detours, pretty much visiting every nook and cranny of a community… many so well off the beaten path that signage just didn’t exist.
We had heard of a restaurant in Ayvali where they prepare a fixed menu each night in very traditional old-style ovens. We decided to seek it out. We found it (after a few mis-trials) up a very winding narrow stone path with hairpin turns. It looked quite cute. But it had a padlock on the door. A woman was tending chickens on the side of the building. I decided that she was probably no more than 50 years old, but was so hunched over she could pass for 80; she was very friendly and just chatted away in Turkish to us. Eventually after we had smiled nonstop for about 10 minutes she motioned for us to wait. We assumed correctly that she was going to get someone else to help us. It was the owner, or so we think. He didn’t speak any English either, but did speak German. We knew enough German to understand that the restaurant is closed in the winter — only open from March to October.
We then meandered back to Goreme (taking the long route by accident) to schedule a bath and massage at the local hammam for tomorrow. It’s an old hammam in the traditional style, except that it is co-ed. Should be interesting. (Given that it is not tourist season, my guess is that it could be just Mike and me, but who knows)
Tonight we need to study up on communal hammam etiquette. (When we lived in Finland, we learned sauna etiquette; not sure it’s the same. )
We then drove to Mustafashapa, where one guidebook had mentioned a unique restaurant where all cooking is done on the tandir in the center of the room. Initially we couldn’t find it. It’s called Old Greek House (because it is located in an old Greek house — very clever branding).. We saw a sign for Upper Greek House and figured it must be the same place and that “Upper” and “Old” could be lost in translation. We climbed uphill and came upon a totally charming house amid the rubble… and just as we pulled up, a Mercedes stopped. Turns out to be the owner. We inquired about dinner for tonight and he explained that he owns the Upper Greek House and the Old Greek House. Dinner would be at the Old Greek House. He led us there, and we said we’d be back at 8. So, that’s tonight.
As I said earlier.. it’s all about the food.
It’s about 6 miles from Urgup where we are staying. Found our way to the “Old” Greek House — at about 8 pm — quite a feat in the dark. En route we were stopped by a police road bock.. Not sure what they were doing — there were at least a dozen cops and a police van or two.. Once they realized we only spoke English and we just said Old Greek House, Mustafapasa.. they just moved the road block and let us through. Well, once again, a very exclusive dinner at the Old Greek House (which by the way is a totally charming 300 year old building with very high vaulted ceilings and many many rooms).. just Mike and me.. no other diners. My guess is that this place is quite busy in summer months (or I certainly hope it is.) Not sure why they remain open in winter, but we were glad they did. They had a staff of four preparing and serving our meal, and I can attest to the fact that by the time dessert arrived, they were all standing at the door in the main room waiting to leave. Can’t say I blamed them. Food was good and lots of it. They served either a 5 course, or 6 course or 7 course meal. We decided to get just one 7 course meal and share.. I cannot imagine how any single person can eat that meal.
We rambled back to our little cave house..
Best —
Fern
