A Connecticut Yankee In: the old Ottoman Empire (Turkey)

For the past week, my program has departed from our (temporary) home and been touring Turkey as part of an Educational Field Trip revolving around the historic and religious offerings of the former Ottoman Empire. Starting off in Istanbul (or is it Constantinople? or Byzantium?), we spent a few nights in the city along the Bosphorous before crossing into Asia and spreading all along the Aegean coast from Pergamon to Izmir to Ephesus. It was probably one of the most eye-opening and incredible experiences of my life. And I didn't even get to experience a Turkish bath.
I'll be the first to admit that my expectations for the week were very low going into the trip. I had heard from others that Turkey was more of a Mexico than anything and I've never been in a predominantly Muslim country. To tell you the truth I had no idea what it was going to be like. But from the moment we touched down in Istanbul, I knew at the very least it was going to be different. After a flight that lasted a little over an hour we were herded onto a bus eerily similar to the tourist one from "Babel" and driven straight to our hotel, The Golden Horn, which is a stone's throw from Asia. It was a nice place with a fantastic view of the city and great location to an active, bustling shopping district (unfortunately where one of my friends had her camera pick-pocketed). And while there was so much in Istanbul we didn't get to see or experience or take in, believe me when I say we had a pretty good itinerary of the city on two continents.
Among the things were saw were the Chora Church, the Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, Dolmabahce Palace, the Underground Cistern, and the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. The Blue Mosque was only the second active mosque I've been to (along with London's Central Mosque) and provided a glimpse into a culture far too many Americans and Westerners have been sheltered from in their life. But most fun was the Spice Bazaar, which contained dozens of shops each promising a good deal and provided me with some inexpensive souvenirs. The shopkeepers were just as colorful, if not more so, than the ones here in Athens (and even one guy who promised to give one of the girls in our group anything she wanted for free in exchange for five minutes with him. Wow). Our local soccer club from our days in London, Chelsea, were even in Istanbul playing a Turkish squad while we were there, offering plenty for us to joke about with the locals (though they were doing most of the joking as Chelsea choked 2-1). At one of the museums stops we made, what must've been 200 Turkish elementary school students swarmed my friends and I on the steps as we were waiting for our bus to arrive and begged us for pictures, autographs, and the like. It was awesome and really enjoyable from the cultural perspective (though again, I got a lot of shouting at me about Chelsea. Why did they have to lose?). Overall, it was a fantastic place I would love to visit again.
The second half of our journey took us squarely into Asia as we turned our attention to deeper in the past and a look at the footprints of ancient Greece and Rome in Asia Minor. After our flight to Izmir, we bussed up to Pergamon and toured the ruin there before retracing our steps and heading south to Kusadasi where our hotel was located. Kusadasi is a tourist town like others on either side of the Aegean Sea and a good launching point for our next day's journey to Ephesus. Ephesus is the crown jewel of all ancient ruins as it contains, largely preserved, the third largest city in the time of the Roman Empire. We scampered through the ancient site in wonder of just how real it all seemed. I've seen some ruins before, but this was an example of a place we could easily imagine ourselves back in time. There was so much left there, it wasn't hard to dream up a walk down the city center to the second largest library in the ancient world or past the statesmen on their way back from the forum. It was all so real. Afterwards we went to St. John's Basilica, burial site of the Apostle John, and then back to our hotel. The next day we departed back to Izmir and began a series of flights to take us back to Athens.
It was quite amazing, the trip as a whole, when I stop and think about just how many firsts I had accomplished. Beyond my first trip to Asia or the fact it was the first Islamic country I had been to, I'm talking about actually walking down the street and hearing the call for prayer echoing through the street corners. Or being the first Americans some of these Turkish children had any interaction with and trying to leave a positive impression. Or the first time I had haggled a store owner from 30 Euro down to 15 Turkish Lyria for a knock-off soccer jersey. Each one was a step further and further away from what I have known in my life. It even makes my prior travels across Europe seem trivial in comparison.
I have less then a week before I head back to the USA and I'm trying to take every ounce of Athens in before I go. Don't get me wrong, I love it over here and I am so very grateful for my time abroad. I can only hope that I get to spend more time in Europe and abroad some point in my life. But I'm ready for America. I've confirmed just how much I appreciate home in my own heart and what America means to me personally. Many folks are staying over here a few more weeks and trying to accomplish all that they have yet to do or see, but the one place I really want to see at this point is the Statue of Liberty as I'm flying into LaGuardia and the familiar images of Fairfield, Connecticut. That will all come soon enough. For now, well I'm going to catch my breath and enjoy a few my gyros.