Surreal Freedom

Izmir, Turkey

Well first off, anyone who isn't sure if they should go to Turkey or not... GO! There is just so much here it's unreal... or surreal you might say. See what I mean? :

They call them Fairy Chimneys. Basically it's like the badlands on steroids. Not normal steroids either, I'm talking genetically superior, hardcore, pro wrestler steroids. In one place you can climb through passages that weave in and out of mountains, crawl through the sewers of ancient underground cities that put the ones contructed in Vietnam during the war to shame, or go out for a night on the town where you can watch Turkish belly dancers while eating and drinking all the local food and booze you're capable of.

Oh not to mention if you head over to the coast you can see some of the most impressive ancient Roman cities in the world. Or maybe you'd rather visit Troy or chill out in a tree house in Olympos. I know it sounds like I'm writing a tourist propoganda piece but damnit Turkey is an amazing country!

I think I managed to travel through it in the most inconvenient way possible as well, going north then south then west then east then west again only to eventually head back up north once more. Anyone ever heard of a circle? Oh well, I will try to actually plan China a little better.

I'm not sure how much I can say about these places without just showing you the pictures so I won't try. Here are some photos of some of the most impressive sites I have ever seen:



The Open Air Museum in Göreme

One of the valleys in the background

One of the fairy chimneys


I climbed to the top of this badboy. Four levels and to get to the top I had to climb up what's in the next pic!

This tunnel is straight up and about 4m long. Oh and it's cut into the roof 3m from the ground. Hard to reach!

Me and my climbing buddy!

Horse stable in the chimney

My hotel in Göreme. Yes. It's a cave.

Trapped in the underground city! Damn inpenetrable grates!

Rockin' out after my escape

A passage in the underground city

Which way is up?? It's like one of those paintings!!! You know.... with the stairs?

Ancient roman city of Ephesus

Ephesus theatre. Huuuuuge.

A different theatre in Pamukkale.

The Tavertines in Pamukkale

A brief stopover in Greece to pose for a photo.

The other thing I wanted to do with this post is fill everyone in. For those not stalking me on facebook, you probably don't know yet that I am planning to stay here in Izmir for a few months. Well at least two anyway until my visa runs out. I think it is not too difficult to renew for another 3 months so chances are I will be here into the new year.

The reason is hinted at in the last post I made. It gets really hard to leave so many amazing people and Izmir has some of the best. Only two or three other places I've been have I felt so comfortable and met so many wonderful people (Riga comes to mind - actually, that may be the only other place that's comparable). And with my money running low and the need for english teachers in Turkey relatively high, I thought why not? In four days I managed to land myself three new best friends and a girlfriend. What's not to like? I'm learning the language at record pace and hope to be able to hold down a conversation in a month or so. Knowing my luck I will probably just have it figured out and will be on my way to China.

The main reason I'm Still in Turkey! Sedef!

So what's the plan while I'm here? Hell if I know. Try to work somewhere, try to sell some travel articles or short stories back home, keep writing in my novel... We'll see. All I ask is that my income goes into the black and I hold steady until I hit up China! The good news is The Toronto Star (biggest paper in Canada) liked an article I wrote for Cappadocia but have already done a similar piece. They said I should submit something else to them so I will. In the mean time I'll send that article around to some of the other papers. See if there are any other takers.

That's it for now. I'll keep you all updated and start loading some of those old photos I keep talking about from Europe once I finally get my computer.

The hardest thing about traveling

Izmir, Turkey

I'm back in Izmir for the second time now. And not for the city, there's really not too much here. It's just a big city with a lot of university students. But the people here. The people here are worth a second visit and many more after.

It's a hard thing to explain, the connection you can make with a place without even realizing it. It's also pretty rare in my traveling experience but Izmir, a place I originally never intended to even go, has created a strong one. And the reason is all because of the people.

Before I left people often asked, "are you scared traveling alone?" "Aren't you worried?" etc etc. The answer was always no. I always said people are people are people. They're the same everywhere. As they say in Vietnam: "same same but different." Turns out I was right. At least for Europe. I've had no problems and have had only excellent experiences.

Someone asked me a few weeks ago (I think it was Jurgita!), "what's the hardest thing about traveling alone?" The answer is meeting others. Not the meeting itself, that's easy. Too easy. I've always been good at creating relationships and now I am even better. But meeting all these wonderful people in different places around the world and then leaving them after only a few short days, now that's hard. Even the leaving wouldn't be so bad if you were coming back, but you're not. Chances are good you'll never see them again. Since this trip started I've added more than 60 people to my facebook account and they're all fantastic. I've met a dozen people that could be best friends. I've even met a few girls that would definitely be keepers if I lived in the same place. Almost all of them I will never see again.

I know never is a long time and anything can happen between now and then. And I'm certain to see some of them. But it's true. The world has gotten smaller but it's just not possible to maintain a close friendship with so many people accross so much space.

Fortunately, there are some good things that come out of it as well. When you know you only have a few days with someone(s) than you make the best of it. You don't waste time because if you do (even though it sounds cliche) you'll never get another chance. It teaches you to let go and enjoy the moment because if you don't, you'll always regret it, even if it's just a coffee at Starbucks.

It's possibly the most important thing I've learned so far and I'll be taking that lesson with me the rest of my life. Unfortunately saying it and explaining it in words doesn't do it justice. All I can say is next time you go traveling, don't stay in secluded hotels and take taxis into the city center to enjoy a nice dinner for you and your traveling companion. Meet people. Meet everyone. Because even if a person is kind of dumb, everyone is smarter than you'd think.

I'll post some more about some of the places I've visited since Fetiye soon.

*

Anyone want to buy my shoes?

Fetiye, Turkey



I finally got pictures to work. I am going to China in a couple weeks so when there I will catch up all the old ones. For now, here are some from Turkey and one from Estonia.


I don't have much to say about Estonia. It seemed very blah after seeing Riga and Klapeida and all these other wonderful places in neighboring countries. However, I did get a chance to shoot a bow. My first shot hit the center of the target! But I couldn't duplicate that unfortunately. I hit the target on at least half my shots though! Here is my epic photo with wrist protector and cape. That's right, I'm wearing a cape.

Shooting a bow in Estonia

I spent a week in Istanbul before coming here to Fetiye and it was a hell of an experience. I mean... Bangkok felt big but Istanbul is HUGE! It has 4 million more people than Bangkok in about the same amount of space. The nicest area is called Taksim and no, it is not the place that has the palace, or the blue mosque, or Aya Sofia. That section is Sultenamhet. Taksim is just one neighbourhood north of Sultenahmet across a stretch of water called the Golden Horn. Taksim is a bit of an amalgamation kind of like Istanbul itself. You can buy stuffed muscles and 'wet hamburgers' (actually really delicious) on the street and if you keep walking you find bars, shops and a tourist haven without all the tourists. There is one street with about 30 small pubs and restaurants where another Canadian told me 'eventually if you sit here long enough you will meet everyone you know on this street.' I think it's not too far from the truth.

Istanbul - Foreground is Taksim, water is The Golden Horn and background is Sultenahmet

Taksim


Looking at Sultenahmet across the Golden Horn

Sultanahmet has some beautiful buildings but is a little too crowded with tourists. And not normal tollerable tourists, but the ones who are holding maps, looking at the sky, wandering in all directions and snapping photos whenever possible. You know, the ones where if you sit in the corner where there is nothing interesting with the hopes of taking a break from them, they all come over to you because they think you're looking at something that's not in their guidebooks... grrr... Still, like I said, the places are beautiful.

The Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque


Aya Sofia - 1500 year old church turned to Mosque turned to museum

Me at the Palace and the Asian side of the city in the background

So where does the title of this blog come in? Well I was sitting in a park across the street from the tourist zone and a local guy comes up beside me and sits down on the bench. He lights up a cigarette and asks me if I smoke. I say no so he asks me if I want to buy some marijuana. I say no again and we make small talk for a few minutes before he mentions he owns a carpet shop in one of the bazaars. He wants me to go with him to see it and buy a carpet. The next few minutes passed with me trying fruitlessly to explain to this guy that I have no use for a carpet and that I can hardly carry it around on the top of my backpack for the next year while travelling the world. Eventually though he does let it drop and we make some more small talk. I tell him I'm staying with a girl in a neighbourhood called Fulya and he promptly asks if we can have a threesome... 'No,' I say, trying to keep a straight face. 'I don't think that's a good idea.' So he spends the next few minutes talking about the tightness of various bodily orafices and then looks down to notice my shoes. 'Those are nice' he says. I agree, thankful to change the subject. 'Can I have them?' I laugh. 'No, you can't have my shoes.' 'Why not?' 'Because I need them for walking.' He thinks for a minute and says 'Can I buy them?' he sees the look on my face and says 'Okay, I'll give you 30 Liras and my shoes if you give me yours.' I tell him no again. By this point I'm getting tired of new experiences and conversation with the locals so I say I have to go. He asks me for an email address and I get out a pen to give him mine, thinking he'll never write me anyway. 'No,' he says, 'I want an email for some Canadian girls.' I leave.

Fetiye is a beautiful place. Very different from Istanbul. It's on the coast of the Mediteranian next to a small area called Ölüdemiz which translates to 'The Dead Sea.' It's not the same famous one that you have heard of from Jordan but it is a beautiful area. I've been swimming there twice now and today in Butterfly valley, a place only accessible by boat or a long steep clımb down a cliff, I met a Chinese girl from Shanghai. You remember what I said about the universe working out if you put yourself out there enough? Well Shanghai is where I plan to teach in a couple weeks so she has agreed to meet up with me when I arrive and show me around a bit and help me get settled. The universe rocks.

2300 year old Lycian tomb in Fetiye

Butterfly Valley

Ölüdemiz - The Dead Sea