Nobody's Business But The Turks (plus anyone who has internet access)
Previously, on "Thomas and Sarah visit Turkey"....
Thomas and Sarah went to Turkey, saw a lot of archaeological things, conducted in-depth research into the Turkish roadside, had adventures, and evaded cow-poop. We last left our fearless heroes in Ephesus, home of really weird statues and heavy Australian accents.
(cue theme song)
And now stay tuned for today's episode! But first, a word from our
wait
My life is not a TV show. Although, I do have this idea for a TV show about my apartment. It would be a sitcom called "Mitch and Tommy" and would basically be my life with a laugh track. But I digress worse than a subplot that turns into a six month story arc right in the middle of the story you were trying to read, which ends up spanning multiple comics so that your subscriptions don't cover it and then...
Sorry.
Anyway: We awoke. In Selcuk! Which wasn't altogether surprising, as that was where we had gone to bed. I was half hoping for Narnia, but I think I may be starting to grow up. Diet Australia was a close second. Anyway, we, for the ninetieth time, woke up at an ungodly hour. Our gracious hotel people were already awake ("G'day, Mate!") and made us breakfast. I had eggs, but Sarah, in a display of brazen courage, ordered something called the "Boomerang Special". It turned out to be a lot of fruit and honey and yogurt with some bread on the side. I got it the following day and it was delicious.
Then, (bear in mind this was all included in our stay) the hotel owner lent us a guidebook and gave us a ride to the ancient city.
Let me tell you something: There are a lot of ruins preserved at various sites in Greece. There are more complete ruins, and a LOT, at Pergamon. None of these had anything on Ephesus.
The building you probably see in all the photos is Hadrian's library, but that's just a taste. There are whole roads, buildings, everything. Most of what is standing is from the Roman period, and so there were a lot of inscriptions in Latin and Greek. If you aren't interested in Latin and Greek, hit ctrl + f and type "Curmudgeon"
Congratulations, intrepid reader, and thank you for staying with us. Sarah and I, too, were interested in Latin and Greek, and we have learned some Greek, so we tried to read some of the inscriptions (most appeared in both languages). This isn't easy. This was before they invented things like "Punctuation" or "Paper, where you can erase mistakes" or "Spaces between words", so most ancient inscriptions read all run together, as if they're being read aloud by that annoying fish from Finding Nemo. Try and read the following:
ITLOOKEDEXTREMELYROCKYFORTHEMUDVIFLLENINETHATDAYTHESCORESTOODTWOTOFOURWITHBUTANINNINGLEFTTOPLAYSOWHENCOONEYDIEDATSECONDANDBURROWSDIDTHESAMEAAPALLORFREACHEDTHERFEATURESOFTHEPATRONSOFTHEGAME
That's the first stanza of "Casey at the Bat". Hard enough to read in English, right? Now imagine case endings, etc; it was hard. But we did do OK with the Greek on the Library, and I made a neat discovery. There is some dispute among scholars as to the pronunciation of the Latin V or U (usually indistinguishable). Medieval, "church" Latin pronounces V like a V and U like a U, but classical Latin would have them both be like a sort of W sound. When we were reading the Greek inscription, I came across a long word which was clearly a transliteration of the name "Vespasianus", the Roman emperor. I imagine the Greek of the time probably would have put a Β there for a V sound, but this was transliterated as an "ΟΥ". This tells me his name should have been pronounced "Wespasianus". His friends, of course, just called him Wes.
Now, I know what you're all thinking: "Wait! The digamma could make a W sound! No need for the diphthong! I am deeply concerned about this apparent inconsistency and will be unable to sleep, eat or smile again until it is resolved!" Well, don't worry: remember that the digamma drops out of Greek a few hundred years earlier; We are looking at the first and second centuries AD.
Curmudgeon!
I bet you were looking forward to seeing how I was gonna use that one. I couldn't think of anything, either. Anyway, I think it makes a great interjection. Ephesus also had a theater, which is the only theater I know of to host both St. John the Apostle and the Doors.
On the way out, we went to a Turkish Delight store; I mean, this guy only sold Turkish delight. He wanted to sell me a box for five euros. I used my bargaining skills and talked him down to TEN euros for three boxes. It was only after leaving that I noted the following:
A) I had now spent twice as much as I could have, because
B) I really didn't want three boxes of Turkish delight
There was only one solution. I demolished one of them before we got back to Greece, and turned my roommates loose on the rest.
We also saw the Ephesus Museum, which had a neat display on gladiators and the super cool original statue of Artemis-plus-round-thingies. It was quite impressive. Then we went down to see the Artemesion, one of the wonders of the ancient world. In ancient times it was a HUGE temple. In modern times, it is a swamp with a column sticking out. It was quite disappointing, and it's sinking more and more; the foundations are completely submerged, and it's mostly inhabited by ducks.
So by this time it was evening again. We briefly checked out the basilica of St. John (which was large and church-like) and then went to get food. We ran into our buddy again, and this time when we shook hands, I smiled pleasantly at him, squeezed rather hard, and held on for about an extra second after he tried to let go. He didn't get it. We went to a restaurant, and I got fish, which was delicious despite the fact that when I first looked at it, it looked back. Anyway, a guy came by trying to get me to by Sarah a rose. When it became apparent that I wasn't going to, Erkan (our friend) did. Hm. He brought up the hotel thing a little more, but we told him it was a no-go. Then we went to this cafe, which was possibly the highlight of my life.
There, we met Bennie. Bennie, as he informed us with pride, was Irish. I asked him if he lived in Selcuk, and how he came there. He replied "Well, every town's got a token mad Irishman!" Bennie had come there on vacation eight years ago and never left. I imagine it was the cheap beer, which he seemed to be enjoying quite a bit. We sat down, and I sat next to Bennie, (I got a coke, because it seemed like a good time to have my wits about me). Erkan ordered a beer.
Bennie was vastly entertaining. He was one of the coolest people I'd ever met. He had a whole lot of stuff to say, and was quite happy to have someone to say it to. He told me a long string of stories about how Irish people scam Americans with things like autographed photos of St. Patrick. He told me how to sell sand to Arabs and ice to Eskimos (these were convoluted but involved beachfront properties and acid rain). He told us to go check out a bar on Xios where he swore the mention of his name would get us free drinks. I had to pause in the middle of the evening because Erkan was getting too flirty, I.E. tickling, and Sarah appealed to me. I didn't know if she was kidding around or not, and I didn't care too much. I reached over, took his wrist and moved his hand not very gently back over to his lap. Then I think he got it. I should stress once again that he was a really really nice guy. He showed us around, and made sure we had fun, just like almost every other Turk we met. His flirting just bugged me.
Anyway, it was getting late, and so we said goodnight and left Bennie trying to scam Erkan into paying for his drinks. The next morning, we woke up at an ungodly hour AGAIN and got our ride to Kusadasi where we sailed for Samos.
Stepping off the boat onto Greek soil (and by soil I mean pavement) felt so much like coming home I think I will have deja vu when I get off the plane in Baltimore. There wasn't much to do on Samos, as it was Mayday, so we wandered around, got lunch, read some of my Greek comic book, and then got on our ferry to Athens; when we got back, I promptly fell asleep straight through class. Whoops.
Anyway, that's my Turkish adventure. It was really a remarkable place. There is a marked economic difference between Turkey and Greece, which I suspect has something to do with Greece having the euro; the Lire is continuing to fall. But the hospitality is amazing in both places. For me, the difference was that feeling getting off the boat, though; I loved Turkey, but Greece is home.
Speaking of home, I'm heading home in three days, so you will probably not hear much more from me on the blog. One or two more entries are coming though.
On an unrelated note, everyone should check out the videos from the Eurovision 2007 song contest. Greece was good and should have finished higher. Serbia didn't deserve to win. I also liked France, Ukraine, Sweden, Ireland, and Russia a lot (although Russia's song is ridiculously dirty). But I have to admit that by far, the best was Germany. They eschewed everyone else's pop/rock stuff to do this straight, big band kind of jazz number about women ruling the world. Awesome.
Thomas and Sarah went to Turkey, saw a lot of archaeological things, conducted in-depth research into the Turkish roadside, had adventures, and evaded cow-poop. We last left our fearless heroes in Ephesus, home of really weird statues and heavy Australian accents.
(cue theme song)
And now stay tuned for today's episode! But first, a word from our
wait
My life is not a TV show. Although, I do have this idea for a TV show about my apartment. It would be a sitcom called "Mitch and Tommy" and would basically be my life with a laugh track. But I digress worse than a subplot that turns into a six month story arc right in the middle of the story you were trying to read, which ends up spanning multiple comics so that your subscriptions don't cover it and then...
Sorry.
Anyway: We awoke. In Selcuk! Which wasn't altogether surprising, as that was where we had gone to bed. I was half hoping for Narnia, but I think I may be starting to grow up. Diet Australia was a close second. Anyway, we, for the ninetieth time, woke up at an ungodly hour. Our gracious hotel people were already awake ("G'day, Mate!") and made us breakfast. I had eggs, but Sarah, in a display of brazen courage, ordered something called the "Boomerang Special". It turned out to be a lot of fruit and honey and yogurt with some bread on the side. I got it the following day and it was delicious.
Then, (bear in mind this was all included in our stay) the hotel owner lent us a guidebook and gave us a ride to the ancient city.
Let me tell you something: There are a lot of ruins preserved at various sites in Greece. There are more complete ruins, and a LOT, at Pergamon. None of these had anything on Ephesus.
The building you probably see in all the photos is Hadrian's library, but that's just a taste. There are whole roads, buildings, everything. Most of what is standing is from the Roman period, and so there were a lot of inscriptions in Latin and Greek. If you aren't interested in Latin and Greek, hit ctrl + f and type "Curmudgeon"
Congratulations, intrepid reader, and thank you for staying with us. Sarah and I, too, were interested in Latin and Greek, and we have learned some Greek, so we tried to read some of the inscriptions (most appeared in both languages). This isn't easy. This was before they invented things like "Punctuation" or "Paper, where you can erase mistakes" or "Spaces between words", so most ancient inscriptions read all run together, as if they're being read aloud by that annoying fish from Finding Nemo. Try and read the following:
ITLOOKEDEXTREMELYROCKYFORTHEMUDVIFLLENINETHATDAYTHESCORESTOODTWOTOFOURWITHBUTANINNINGLEFTTOPLAYSOWHENCOONEYDIEDATSECONDANDBURROWSDIDTHESAMEAAPALLORFREACHEDTHERFEATURESOFTHEPATRONSOFTHEGAME
That's the first stanza of "Casey at the Bat". Hard enough to read in English, right? Now imagine case endings, etc; it was hard. But we did do OK with the Greek on the Library, and I made a neat discovery. There is some dispute among scholars as to the pronunciation of the Latin V or U (usually indistinguishable). Medieval, "church" Latin pronounces V like a V and U like a U, but classical Latin would have them both be like a sort of W sound. When we were reading the Greek inscription, I came across a long word which was clearly a transliteration of the name "Vespasianus", the Roman emperor. I imagine the Greek of the time probably would have put a Β there for a V sound, but this was transliterated as an "ΟΥ". This tells me his name should have been pronounced "Wespasianus". His friends, of course, just called him Wes.
Now, I know what you're all thinking: "Wait! The digamma could make a W sound! No need for the diphthong! I am deeply concerned about this apparent inconsistency and will be unable to sleep, eat or smile again until it is resolved!" Well, don't worry: remember that the digamma drops out of Greek a few hundred years earlier; We are looking at the first and second centuries AD.
Curmudgeon!
I bet you were looking forward to seeing how I was gonna use that one. I couldn't think of anything, either. Anyway, I think it makes a great interjection. Ephesus also had a theater, which is the only theater I know of to host both St. John the Apostle and the Doors.
On the way out, we went to a Turkish Delight store; I mean, this guy only sold Turkish delight. He wanted to sell me a box for five euros. I used my bargaining skills and talked him down to TEN euros for three boxes. It was only after leaving that I noted the following:
A) I had now spent twice as much as I could have, because
B) I really didn't want three boxes of Turkish delight
There was only one solution. I demolished one of them before we got back to Greece, and turned my roommates loose on the rest.
We also saw the Ephesus Museum, which had a neat display on gladiators and the super cool original statue of Artemis-plus-round-thingies. It was quite impressive. Then we went down to see the Artemesion, one of the wonders of the ancient world. In ancient times it was a HUGE temple. In modern times, it is a swamp with a column sticking out. It was quite disappointing, and it's sinking more and more; the foundations are completely submerged, and it's mostly inhabited by ducks.
So by this time it was evening again. We briefly checked out the basilica of St. John (which was large and church-like) and then went to get food. We ran into our buddy again, and this time when we shook hands, I smiled pleasantly at him, squeezed rather hard, and held on for about an extra second after he tried to let go. He didn't get it. We went to a restaurant, and I got fish, which was delicious despite the fact that when I first looked at it, it looked back. Anyway, a guy came by trying to get me to by Sarah a rose. When it became apparent that I wasn't going to, Erkan (our friend) did. Hm. He brought up the hotel thing a little more, but we told him it was a no-go. Then we went to this cafe, which was possibly the highlight of my life.
There, we met Bennie. Bennie, as he informed us with pride, was Irish. I asked him if he lived in Selcuk, and how he came there. He replied "Well, every town's got a token mad Irishman!" Bennie had come there on vacation eight years ago and never left. I imagine it was the cheap beer, which he seemed to be enjoying quite a bit. We sat down, and I sat next to Bennie, (I got a coke, because it seemed like a good time to have my wits about me). Erkan ordered a beer.
Bennie was vastly entertaining. He was one of the coolest people I'd ever met. He had a whole lot of stuff to say, and was quite happy to have someone to say it to. He told me a long string of stories about how Irish people scam Americans with things like autographed photos of St. Patrick. He told me how to sell sand to Arabs and ice to Eskimos (these were convoluted but involved beachfront properties and acid rain). He told us to go check out a bar on Xios where he swore the mention of his name would get us free drinks. I had to pause in the middle of the evening because Erkan was getting too flirty, I.E. tickling, and Sarah appealed to me. I didn't know if she was kidding around or not, and I didn't care too much. I reached over, took his wrist and moved his hand not very gently back over to his lap. Then I think he got it. I should stress once again that he was a really really nice guy. He showed us around, and made sure we had fun, just like almost every other Turk we met. His flirting just bugged me.
Anyway, it was getting late, and so we said goodnight and left Bennie trying to scam Erkan into paying for his drinks. The next morning, we woke up at an ungodly hour AGAIN and got our ride to Kusadasi where we sailed for Samos.
Stepping off the boat onto Greek soil (and by soil I mean pavement) felt so much like coming home I think I will have deja vu when I get off the plane in Baltimore. There wasn't much to do on Samos, as it was Mayday, so we wandered around, got lunch, read some of my Greek comic book, and then got on our ferry to Athens; when we got back, I promptly fell asleep straight through class. Whoops.
Anyway, that's my Turkish adventure. It was really a remarkable place. There is a marked economic difference between Turkey and Greece, which I suspect has something to do with Greece having the euro; the Lire is continuing to fall. But the hospitality is amazing in both places. For me, the difference was that feeling getting off the boat, though; I loved Turkey, but Greece is home.
Speaking of home, I'm heading home in three days, so you will probably not hear much more from me on the blog. One or two more entries are coming though.
On an unrelated note, everyone should check out the videos from the Eurovision 2007 song contest. Greece was good and should have finished higher. Serbia didn't deserve to win. I also liked France, Ukraine, Sweden, Ireland, and Russia a lot (although Russia's song is ridiculously dirty). But I have to admit that by far, the best was Germany. They eschewed everyone else's pop/rock stuff to do this straight, big band kind of jazz number about women ruling the world. Awesome.