I realize I haven't posted in a while, and apologize for the anti-climax of my photo essay. This final post should serve as both explanation and conclusion. But fear not, I've been on many trips since and I will be more dutiful in my posting.
Sadly, my travel abroad came to an untimely end, but more on that later. Last we spoke I was in Cyrprus on my way to Turkey. When we arrived in Turkey, we set out to rent a car for the trip north to Istanbul. Various reports from locals led us to decide it was best to take an overnight bus to a larger town that might offer more car rental options. We arrived at 5am, not a great hour if your aim is finding an open rental agency. We slept a few hours in the bus station until we were thrown out by the police, and we made our way into the city only to find everything still closed. After hours of aimless wandering, we finally acquired a set of wheels and were on our way up the coast.
Turkey, no matter what you expect, it nothing like what you expect. We wound our way along mountain spines edged in by massive walls of stone. The pale stone was broken up by enormous pines that loomed dark high above us. Below, the sea shone brightly in the setting sun as it crashed against the stone. Moments later we were confronted by a landscape so utterly different, it was hard to believe we hadn't crossed into a new country entirely. The interior alternated between flat plains and rolling foot hills that were covered in a tall dried grass occasionally interrupted by large, dark grey boulders. On a gloomy overcast day, this place emitted a strong "Middle Earth" vibe, that made one a little leery of what lay beyond the next crag.
Arriving in Istanbul was rather uneventful for me, though I'm told it was hellish for the rest of my crew. I'd slept nearly all day, as I had everyday since I became sick -- especially so since entering Turkey due to the soporific effects of car travel. I recall we rolled into Istanbul very early in the morning after a long and impressive day of driving on Will's part. We arrived at our hostel and were surprised when they welcomed us, offering up their last 4 beds, literally. David reviewed his night's sleep as less than stellar, mainly due to the close proximity of the beds lined up on the roof. After having slept the whole day, I needed little rest that night, and I awoke at sunrise and sneaked out to explore. It was that morning that I discovered the jewel of my time in Istanbul: a cafe serving REAL coffee, fresh baked breakfast treats and a used book exchange. Despite the outrageous price, the atmosphere was so completely relaxing, the owner so nice, and the coffee so strong, I returned daily.
When not feeding my caffeine addiction, we hiked around the city, getting a sense for the community and learning as much as we could about the people there. We visited Hagia Sofia, and the other must-see historic sites. We took time to enjoy the throngs of people in the squares as well we more secluded spots, and I found the location surprisingly peaceful despite the large population (both local and tourist). We happily got lost in the enormous Bazaar and Spice Market (no comparison to Jerusalem's Old City) and stuffed our faces with "Turkish Viagra," a treat made by shoving a walnut into a dried fig. Perhaps not haute cuisine, but damn tasty. Istanbul was a great place to learn through eating, and we studied very hard.
Our last night in Istanbul we were treated to a wonderful meal in a local cafe, that included everything from famous local teas to giant bread balloons. Though our week in Turkey was fabulous, I felt myself under the constant pressure of a number of problems. Primarily, being sick makes everything more difficult. Given my utter lethargy, I feared that finding an apartment in Jerusalem would be entirely too hard. I also feared I might never graduate if I didn't have a place to get my work done (we'll talk about graduation later). Cop out? perhaps. But my travel was over for the time being and I made my way back to Israel with a heavy heart. I spent my last day in Israel in sheruts, attempting to recover the luggage we'd worked to hard to store.
I ate my last dinner in our favorite falafel joint at the New Gate, turned around and headed back to Tel Aviv. I slept on the roof of Gulag 48 with some of its permanent residents (both travelers and roaches) waking with the sun. My return flight was early, and left me little time for any proper good byes. But I wandered the city (a little less forlorn than the first time), and prepared for re-immersion into American society.
I spent a rainy day and night trapped in the over-air conditioned confines of Heathrow Airport, and finally arrived home exhausted but happy.
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