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9/16/05 Day Ten Breakfast of yogurt and strawberry preserves, large green olives, feta cheese and green melon. Walked around the old, narrow streets and nude statute of Ataturk! In the bus, stopped so that Meli could pick up special sausage for her home. John told us what we could/could not bring back to our countries in terms of fresh agricultural products. Basically, it cannot be something which your country produces. Packaged sealed products are ok. Slight rain which Meli said was the first since April. Climate: diverse in Turkey divided geographically N/S and W/E. Aegean Anatolia has mountains (1,400 – 2,000 m) and fertile valleys and meandering rivers (word from the Meander River). Western Turkey rains in December. January is sunny. Mid-April to November there is no rain. There is much subterranean water. Central Turkey: Toros mountains are beautiful and massive; fertile valleys; some sheer cliffs with wild goats. Black Sea mountains go close to the sea. Between 2 mountain ranges there is Konya and Kayseri which is dry, flat and more conservative people. Eastern portion of Turkey: High mountain peaks (20,000 ft) with low plateaus where grapes, fruits, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers exist; like the Garden of Eden; snow from the end of Sept to June; raining season in May with flowers blooming in June. Black Sea area: lots of rain and drizzle with rain forests; rocky beaches, olive and citrus groves. Photo op of rocky fields with sheep. Multi-colored apartment buildings with lots of home satellite dishes on terraces. Tile Maker Makes tiles for mosques in Turkey and the Middle East. Shop was in a mosque. Use very elastic gray clay. Green tile forms like a pillar. Saw men mixing the clay and making bowls using an electric potter’s wheel and women painting intricate designs in black on bowls. Kutahya is the town with a mosaic foundation and many tile shops. Iznik is where there are tiles made from quartz. Lunch in Cinar Kofte where we could hear the call to prayer from a nearby mosque. Ate veal, rice, onions, bean salad with vinegar, and desserts of pumpkin aspic with water buffalo whipped cream and shaved walnuts on top. Aizano is an ancient site. Walked on a 2nd c Roman bridge. There was an old stock market at this site as well as the Temple of Zeus which was created by the order of Hadrian. It had 46 columns. Meli read some of our fortunes from the left over coffee grains. Under the Temple is a 8 BC- 2 AD Temple of Kibele, the mother goddess. In its prime, 120,000 people lived here. There is a concert hall, stadium and theater near the Temple which are being excavated. Kibele in the Frejian Valley. A meteor fell and the reflection was of the mother goddess Sibel or Kibele. Stone carving of Nazi symbol is of meandering rivers which cross in the middle. Passed rolling hills dotted with Turkish oaks. Usak – city Many use natural gas Saw many women in tight jeans Stayed at the Otel Dugerouglu which is a local businessman’s hotel. Good restoration work of an old building which in the 1800s housed craft shops with the upper floor used for residential dwellings. Dinner of meat, rice, French fries, salad and desert. |
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