Turkey!

There and back again, a hobbit's... nevermind.
But I did go there and come back again! I was in Turkey from May 29th to June 11th and got to do a whole heck of a lot of things. I must say that I feel quite a bit refreshed and relaxed and like I have regained some sanity. It's nice!
I went to Turkey with a fellow volunteer. We pretty much spent the entire two weeks in Istanbul. It was a great time, the city is large and has about everything one could think of. The view alone is worth the trip -- a city half in Europe half in Asia, right on the sea, with sites and remnants dating back from Roman times... it's truly a great city. In Istanbul I primarily went out site seeing, shopping, and eating. There are plenty of great things to see in the city, be it the Hagia Sophia or 'random stone A' which used to be part of a forum. The shopping is fairly standard for your big city -- which is to say something I haven't seen in 11 months and decided to take advantage of while I still could! The food... oh the food. I'm not sure what I was most happy with in regard to the cuisine, but man was I ever happy! Everything was so delicious, be it the fish or the Ottoman cuisine or the omnipresent desserts, it was a gluttonous heaven!
I did take the time for an overnight stay outside Istanbul. My destination: Troy. My plan of action was sort of indefinate but I had a general outline of what I wanted to do. The standard trip to Troy first stops off in Chanakkale, a pretty good sized city in and of itself, before heading out to the epic ruins. That's what I did in this instance. I must say that, although I enjoyed Troy immensely, I think I enjoyed the trip to and from even more. It was a pleasant surprise!
First: getting there. In Istanbul I hopped on the metro (switching lines once) to get to the bus station. At the bus station I was greeted by some random guy who showed me the way to one of 160 someodd terminals where tickets are sold -- within 2 minutes I had a ticket and was ready to depart. No reservations, no haggling prices down from 'tourist' or 'American' rates (as is often the current case with me), no waiting 2+ hours for people to fill up seats. Within 20 minutes or so the bus was set and we departed. At this point I was a bit too much in a comfort zone to realize just how simply amazing this whole transportation process was -- things working efficiently, no absurd waits, no 10-20 men crowding around the American to get a rate. Shocking! Now, as if that wasn't enough. The buses in Turkey have airplane-esque service. I've been on the Greyhound a couple times in the States -- Turkey's buses kick Greyhound's butt. There are stewards who serve drinks and a snack, provide a pillow/blanket if asked for, and wash your hands with (what I at first thought simply lemon water) windex-type cleaning liquid. Not to mention that, for the entirety of the ride, there were absolutely spectacular views, be it of the countryside or the sea or the towns along the way. I also made friends with my neighbor (the guy sitting next to me) on both trips - the there and back - and I have to say that, despite claiming not to know English, they sure know a heck of a lot for my standards. That, plus my crash course in Turkish (combined with the crossovers from Kyrgyz) made for a good time of communication.
To get to Chanakkale, we had to take a ferry to cross through a strait. The bus just drives onto the ferry, people can get off and enjoy the view, and then hop back on the bus before departing. Very cool! Once the bus got off the ferry, however, I had an interesting experience. A guy gets on the bus, comes to my seat, and says 'I have seat #x' which was my seat. I said I also have the seat. The steward comes up, tells me "Your ticket is to Chanakkale, we're in Chanakkale now, time to get off!" and I basically get booted off the bus. I was planning on going in toward the bus station, not getting dropped off right after the ferry. Luckily my neighbor decided to get off with me as we were going to the same (presumably) location. The place my neighbor had in mind was literally right across the street from where I was booted off, a hotel. I had in mind a hostel, which bears the same nomenclature as this particular hotel. I went in anyway just to see the prices and all -- "We have a room available for 75 lira" the man behind the counter says. I was thinking something more in line with 30ish per night. I told him I needed something cheaper, he asked my budget, I highballed it at 50 lira, he found a room for 60 lira. I then made a decision, "I'm in Turkey on vacation, it's time to enjoy myself, just go ahead and do it," so I splurged on the hotel room. If I had been with someone else, it could have been 30 lira per person, but as I was with myself (and not quite fortunate enough to have a partner for the occassion) I dished that out.
Once settled with my hotel, I decided to explore Chanakkale a bit. I first was determined to find the bus station that has buses to Troy -- I didn't end up finding it that night. What I did find, however, was a bazaar. A true, honest-to-goodness, bazaar. Now, in Istanbul, there's the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar, but in going to both I was severely disappointed because they're primarily tourist traps and not true bazaars (living in a country whose primary commerce method is through the bazaar, I've learned a thing or two). Granted, outside of the Spice Bazaar there are streets that are more true to a bazaar, but I was put off by those. Anyway, the Chanakkale Bazaar was what I was really looking for -- vendors hawking out their wares, piles of random stuff just sitting everywhere, order to the place (general goods, clothing, produce, dry foods etc. sections), and most importantly Turkish people shopping there. I ended up buying a couple kilos of fruit, apricots and strawberries, before calling it in. I was thoroughly impressed with it all, though, and was so happy to run into this bazaar.
After the bazaar I went back to the hotel to drop off my fruit, then decided to head out again to explore some more. On a local map I saw there was a little Troy exhibit up by the dock so I decided to head that way. There's a mock Trojan horse up there (it may be the one they used in the movie) and a little diorama of what Troy looked like, along with some information. However, that's not was truly caught my attention that evening. As I was reading some of the info on the Troy exhibit, I noticed some music playing to my right and thought a concert was going on. Upon further investigation, I realized that it was a presentation put on by a local high school. They were raising awareness for conservation, pollution, consumption methods, etc. I was pretty shocked. The girl who seemed to be in charge was asking me if I had questions, and then a European with not-so-great English interrupted and captured her attention. I decided to check out the rest of the display -- the students had made arts and crafts as well. I was impressed right out of my pants (figuratively speaking) by all of this. After I was done with looking at the displays, I started talking to the girl in charge, who had become free. Once again, blown away. She spoke pretty impeccable English (not to mention that the displays were all in English, and fairly well written as well), but that's not what truly impressed me. She's interested in activism and helping out third world countries and generally most of the stuff that I'm interested in. We spoke for about 30-40 minutes about all that sort of stuff. I pretty much found my perfect student, if she were older I would be thinking a little bit differently... Anyway, as with all Turkish people I've met, she truly loves her land and wants to show it off (especially to the foreigners) so she directed me to the castle.
I took off and went down the dock in the general direction of the castle. I wasn't quite sure how to approach the castle because the streets seemed to be closed, and there were some police guards standing at what I presumed to be an entrance to a private home. So, I decided to take some side streets. If I hadn't been living in Kyrgyzstan for the time I have been, I probably would have been scared and not gone down these streets. But, I've learned fairly well enough that looks can be deceiving and that the best stuff is often found where those are least likely to look. The first thing I noticed were some kids playing in the street (something I hadn't seen since leaving Kyrgyzstan) -- they were staring wide-eyed at me, so I said hello to them in Turkish. I then had a little following (one girl asked if I understood Turkish, though I think my answer proved the reality to be no, heh) as I found my way to the walled-off side of the castle. As I was walking down the street, a guy sitting outside his home enjoying his dinner asked me what I was doing (in English) and I told him I wanted to see the castle. He said it's closed now (it's apparantely a museum) but that if I come back in the morning it will be open. I tell him I'm leaving for Troy in the morning and won't have time, I just want to take a picture of it. He says sure! Come on over here, climb the wall, and take some pictures from there. So I head over, but notice there's a security guard on the other side of the wall. I voice my concern, he comes over and talks to the security guard. The security guard is just fine with me on the wall taking pictures -- we talk for a bit, he's from Istanbul, knows Enligh (a reoccuring theme in Turkey...), and is happy to allow me to photograph the castle he's guarding! It was really cool, especially being in this neighborhood that I guarantee 99% of tourists would never think of walking down. I said my thanks and goodbyes, went off to find something to eat, headed back to the hotel, perused the 1200 someodd tv stations that they get (most of which are from Europe - some being inappropriate for the younger viewing audience - but also some really cool stations from Iran etc.), then hit the sack for my big day at Troy.
The next morning I got up and enjoyed the complimentary breakfast (for 60 lira it better be!). At hotel in Istanbul, the breakfast is basically fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, cheese, bread, and juice. Here there was more of a selection. Most notably was the cereal. Oh my. The cereal! Now, I've had a bit of cereal in Kyrgyzstan, but it's hard to come by and I eat it dry. But here, oh man, here I got to have cereal with cold milk! I haven't enjoyed a breakfast so much since... I don't know when. But oh was it good! Orange slices, tasty breads, eggs, and the cereal... I knew the day was going to be good! After breakfast I checked out early then headed down to the bus station. The bus apparently wasn't leaving until about 9:30 or 10, it was now about 8 or 8:30. I decided to just walk around a little bit, then came back. Lots of tourists on this little bus (more like a marshrutka to me, mini-van-esque) but that's ok, I didn't talk to anyone (really didn't feel like it either, the British couple in back didn't seem to be too nice in my opinion, plus I sort of enjoy my ambiguity -- I've been mistaken for many non-American nationalities, and in Turkey I've gotten some interesting ones). It only took about 30 minutes to get to Troy from Chanakkale, and for 4 lira it's not a bad deal at all. It was real interesting, though, when we got to Troy. The bus just stops in this open field-type area, everyone was sitting wondering what's going on, then he says "This is Troy!" and the dumbfounded tourists (me included) just sort of stumble off to find their way. After following a street for a little while, you actually come to the entrance to the park itself.
Now Troy, for most people, is probably just a bunch of ruins. It's nice to say you've been there and seen it, and many people probably are interested in it, but it doesn't hold much meaning if you haven't studied Homer or Virgil's work. I don't claim any special recognition on the fact, but four years of Latin in high school and a lot of time studying and translating the Aeneid (not to mention the Odyssey in literature classes) did put it in a special place for me. I was thinking quite a bit of Mr. Swanson, my Latin teacher, while I was going through the ruins. It would be nice if he could learn about my trip to Troy and perhaps see the pictures I took. Anyway, I found the ruins to be impressive and was trying to imagine things as they were depicted in the epics. There's a lot of stuff just lying around or waiting to be excavated, bits of columns, foundations of a home, parts of a wall, evidence of how the second Troy was built on top of the first (there are many different stages/several different Troys that were built). Overall an impressive place to be -- I was less enamored with the mock horse they have out front that all the kids were jumping into, and a bit miffed at the tour groups that would literally walk in front of my camera a I was taking a photo (luckily they rushed through everything anway so they didn't prove to be a big problem), but it was well worth the trip. I felt like I had come to a place of true significance.
During my trip I met up with an Australian couple who were there on holiday as well. They had been in the bus over, talking with the British couple. They proved to be very interesting people as well, recently retired, well-traveled, having knowledgable experience and expertise on a varying matter of subjects. On my last legs of Troy I spent some time with them, and after we left Troy and were waiting for a bus back, I spent time talking with them about most anything under the sun. It was a good time, I enjoyed meeting them. I should probably email them soon, seeing as how they gave me their business card...
Anyway, I got back to Chanakkale and right away got on the bus for Istanbul. No BS! I bought my ticket, was told to just hop on the ferry, and about 10 minutes later we were gone. I had a good neighbor again, talked it up a bit, and just had an enjoyable experience on my way back. I was a bit sad to leave Chanakkale, I really enjoyed it there and want to go back again. After the 5 or 6 hours to Istanbul, I just took the PT back to my hotel and crashed for the night.
The rest of my trip is basically me just enjoying the pleasures I wouldn't get to for the next year and a half. Excellent cuisine and service, daily showering, running water, electricity, daily (and free!) internet access, sea air, and a whole host of other things. It was truly an excellent time. Turkey is a great country! I want to go back again sometime, this time knowing that I should travel outside Istanbul (I'd probably spend most of my time travelling around the country if I could). My classification of Turkey: well-tempered people who love their country and are overall very courteous/accomodating, very beautiful (particularly the rustic bits), amazing food, overall an amazing country. I'd say it's a good place to fall in love, maybe one day I will get to find out. I give Turkey an A!