A Quick Trip to Trabzon Pt. 2

Uzungol- which translates to Long Lake- is about 100km south of Trabzon.  We awoke and went for our complimentary breakfast (which was actually quite good) and then relaxed, read and waited for our tour van to show up at 10am. 

Uzungol

  We stopped at a few hotels to pick up some Dutch and Turkish tourists and we were off.  First was a quick stop at a tea factory (the Black Sea region is famous for their tea, and indeed it was delicious) and small talk with the Dutch tourists (a family working in Ankara, and an older couple cycling their way through Greece and Turkey) before heading on.  Uzungol is famous for its natural beauty- the lake was created by a landslide and has recently become very popular with tourists, causing hotels and souvenir shops to pop up everywhere.  We hadn’t expected it to be so cold- the mist and overcast sky (eventually turning into rain in the afternoon) made for a beautiful atmosphere, but both Joe and I wish we had brought warmer clothes yet agreeing it was a nice change not to sweat.  We had lunch, and strolled pleasantly around the lake, popping in some shops and eventually having a nice warming cup of tea before the tour ended.

By the time we had driven back to Trabzon, the sun was shining and the temperature contrast was a pleasant shock.  We decided to go to the pub, but alas it was closed, so we went for a walk along the shoreline, picking up beer and lahmacun for the hotel room.

Friday shone beautifully again, and Joe and I grabbed breakfast and packed before playing backgammon and heading off to Sumela.  The Sumela Monastery is a Greek Orthodox monastery, first founded in AD386, but not gaining its present form until the 13^th century.  It is nestled in a steep cliff at an altitude of 1,200 metres facing the Altndere valley.  Even despite its fascinating history, it is a stunning sight and the most popular tourist destination near Trabzon.  

We picked up the rest of our tour group and headed into the mountains.  Once again it was quite cold, but fortunately we had come prepared this time.  We drove up a winding road (extremely thankful we weren’t walking) and got dropped off a short distance from the monastery.  We walked along with the throngs of tourists (this is really the first time we have travelled Turkey at the height of tourist season and it was a very different experience- not one we particularly enjoyed.  That being said- hoards of people aside- it was amazing to see, to try and think of how they managed to build it and get the supplies up there in the first place, or to think of how they decided that this would be the spot to build.  

Anyways, we wandered around for about an hour and then walked the 1.2km back down the mountain (again- extremely thankful we didn’t have to walk up, as we saw many people doing it and it looked tedious).  We stopped for lunch and then made small talk with the others on our tour- an Australian couple, a French girl and a girl from Hong Kong- all were pleasant enough although the French girl was pissed that she had to walk down- she has bad knees.

We rode back into town, picked up our stuff and made our way over to the bus station to catch our final long haul bus in Turkey back to Malatya.

A Quick Trip to Trabzon Pt. 1

On Tuesday night, Gungor took us for tea with his nephew.  His nephew is looking to study in Ireland in September to improve his English so we were there to help.  He took us to a beautiful café in Gunduzbey- stone walls, tunnels and bridges and the like.  It looked very authentically Turkish (unfortunately I don’t have pictures) and Gungor is an excellent conversationalist so we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening- even though it concluded quite late.  We had already packed, so the next morning, I finished cleaning and wrote A a note about making sure he remembered to turn everything off and to let him know that he needed to keep the house clean, and his clothes on.  I stuck it to his door, so we will see what happens.

Back to the sea

The day passed uneventfully, busily as Onder had received a phone call from security (apparently the naked incidences hadn’t stopped) and I had a job interview, but eventually the day ended, and Joe and I went for a couple of beers to kill time before our bus and we were off.  The trip passed uneventfully, dozing on and off, making faces at the baby in front of us, and being awoken suddenly to find the brakes slamming and cows frantically running out of the way.  As unpleasant a wake up as that was, Joe and I agreed that it was better than actually hitting them.

Bus views

We made it to Trabzon by about 9am, found a dolmus (mini bus) that took us to the hotel and chatted with the owner and they let us in early.  We had decided to go to Sumela Monastery the next day, so we booked our tour and then showered and went to find something to eat.  We wandered through the market and the square, and finally found a restaurant that was suitable- this was still a bit tricky as it was the final day of fasting, but we prevailed.  We left and wandered for a long while to the Hagia Sophia museum- a mini version of the original in Istanbul and it was pretty good, very beautifully maintained overlooking the sea.  Like its namesake it was also a church before it was a mosque, and the depiction of culture preserved in its walls was fascinating. 

Trabzon Aya Sofia

We were completely knackered by the time we got back (buses are not my favourite place to sleep), so we napped, and then I went to the Haman as I absolutely adore Turkish baths, and  I passed a blissful hour being exfoliating, massaged and cleansed.  When I returned to the hotel, the receptionist stopped me and told me that Sumela was closed the next day- due to Ramadhan finishing- so I talked to Joe and we decided to do it the day after, and go to Uzungol instead.  We found dinner and then called it a day.

Birthday Greetings

It has been the busiest couple of weeks we have had in Malatya since just after we arrived.  With the new teacher’s arrival, Onder decided to give us four hours a week with each class in contrast to the one or two hours we would normally get.  He handed out a schedule late one evening, and Joe and I looked at it and vittoed it.  Fortunately we were at home so that was an option, but the next day I went into work and talked to Isilay and Gungor and politely led them to the conclusion that it was terribly planned, and then offered to see if I could make a better one.  It took me 40min (during an empty period I happened to have that day) but I did indeed come up with a better one.  Gungor suggested we lie to Onder and say Isilay made it, but by Sunday night it was approved and we are now two weeks into everyone being a little bit happier. 

Joe bowling

My birthday came and went, fairly uneventfully.  As we were both working all day, Joe had taken me bowling the day before (I destroyed him) and then the day of, he awoke nice and early to make me a breakfast omelette, and then I came into work for a class.  Since it is still Ramadhan, I couldn’t bring in a cake or anything of the like, but everyone warmly wished me a happy birthday, and then Joe took me for lunch, and then to the pub after work, so all in all it was a lovely day.  It was topped off perfectly when we got home, and I had a shower.  Just as I was getting out, the doorbell rang.  Now this is a rare occurrence and it had never occurred that late at night before, but since I was not properly attired, Joe put on his housecoat, and he and A (the new teacher) got to the door about the same time.  30 seconds later, Joe was cackling in the hallway and I was thoroughly confused as to what had happened.  Apparently our neighbours across the way had been on their balcony and A- perhaps unused to neighbours, perhaps oblivious- had been wearing his birthday suit with the blinds open.   The security guard had come up, walked straight into A’s room and pulled the blinds closed, leaving A decently embarrassed and Joe and the security guard in stiches.  I found some thicker curtains while I was cleaning the next day, so I washed them and gave them to him so that it wouldn’t happen again.

My delicious birthday omlette

I had another surprise on Thursday when I went to see Buglem.  She has been a right little bundle of emotions the past few weeks (whether or not this is because of Ramadhan, or her age, or other unknown factors, I am not entirely sure) making her very difficult to deal with, and very prone to bursting into tears.  Kubra spent the afternoon with us (as that occasionally helps) and then told me they were going on holiday to visit Ali’s parents for Bayram (Eid-al-Fitr) and then to the sea, and they would be gone for about a month.  It was pleasant, they gave me a present (a little silver dish I have no idea what I am going to do with) and then Ali drove me home. 

Buglem and me

As Ramadhan nears it’s conclusion- this is the holiest day, as it is apparently the day the Koran descended from heaven (or something along those lines) which means the mosque will unhappily be going off pretty much all night) but then Joe and I leave Wednesday night for Trabzon, although I am not looking forward to it as much as I was because I am a little worried A is going to burn the house down (he occasionally forgets to turn off the elements when he is done cooking)  or do something equally as stupid like leave his key in the door (this has happened multiple times) and get us robbed.  But alas, there is nothing I can do about that and I am certainly not staying in Malatya for four days so what will be will be.

Canadian Abroad

 Most of the time I love travelling as a Canadian.  We are generally well liked around the world, have a good reputation for being kind and polite, and enjoy living up to these expectations.  There are times, however when it is a righteous pain in the ass.  Those times include moments when I meet a Canadian who I don’t feel are giving us a good name abroad (like my ex-coworker from the Japanese school), or when I find that I don’t want to live up to these expectations.  This new guy is testing my patience.  We got that he was a little odd right from the beginning- that was obvious, but we have lived with odd, oblivious people before, so that’s not the end of the world.  He seemed okay, a bit absent-minded, but we showed him around a bit, and wrote him a note on how to get into town, we got him a bottle of wine, and managed to chat with him a bit that night.  The next day he was frantically trying to find a Western Union, as his wallet had been stolen in Manchester and he had no cash, but instead of asking he disappeared.  By the time we found him one, it turned out he needed a MoneyGram, so Joe and I located one, but by then, he had once again disappeared.  We were supposed to meet Eser at the pub, and so I went ahead, and Joe waited at the school for half an hour.  When he didn’t show, we got Isilay to call us when he arrived and Joe came along.  We found him an hour or so later, and he came around to the pub and we had a good time.

              

Some of the appetizers- already overflowing the table before the main meal arrived

               The next day the garbage was overflowing and there was watermelon juice all over the floor.  I was pissed, but I cleaned it up, figuring I would give him a day or two to settle in.  The next day, three of our four plates were missing- two in his room, one with his leftover dinner on it, and more watermelon juice all over the floor.  Seething, I went for work, leaving Joe to deal with it.  He spoke to him, asked him to be more careful with the watermelon, and he apologized profusely (I genuinely don’t think he knew he left juice all over the floor) and ‘mopped’ a section of the floor, leaving the mop in the middle of the floor and the rest of the kitchen untouched.  The floor was still sticky, but I had been planning to clean that day anyways, so I let it go.  He had gone out by then, and I cleaned and Joe and I hung out. Just before we went to get dinner, I looked in the bathroom, and there was brown stuff all over  the floor and the sink.  All over.  It took me a minute to clue into what it was, but eventually I realized it was hair dye.  So, resigned slightly to the fact that we are living with the most obtuse individual I have ever had the misfortune to meet, I knocked and asked him if he had dyed his hair.  He answered, yes, why, to which I retorted that there was hair dye all over the bathroom.  He cleaned up most of it (although I think he used the kitchen sponge to do it) and not wanting to knock AGAIN, I let it go. I am trying to maintain my Canadian composure but he is wearing me down thin and at some point that politeness may deplete pretty rapidly if he doesn’t learn how to think.

a delicious Turkish coffee out with friends.

              

           In other Malatya news, not much is happening.  I had a lovely ‘iftar’ (evening break-fast) with the girls from work, and even though I had been eating and drinking normally all day, watching people who haven’t drank all day, sit there with twenty minutes to go and a glass of water in front of them, makes you very thirsty.  According to most people, it’s the most difficult part of the day.  The food was delicious though, and the company a lot of fun, and all in all it was a good day out.  Buglem also seems to be quite aggravated over the fasting.  I don’t know if perhaps the adults in her life are a little shorter-tempered with her, or if she just doesn’t understand why people aren’t eating, but she has been having a daily meltdown the past couple of weeks- which is not a lot of fun for me, and I can’t imagine it is a lot of fun for Kubra either.  I am hoping she will be ok, as we are starting week 3 tomorrow, but I’m not counting on it.

Some of us girls out for dinner.

On a happy Canada Day note, I leave you with my final Canadian story of the week.  One of my students has been trying to add me on facebook, but as she is twelve, I don’t feel that is appropriate.  She seemed to understand, but continues to message me daily.  Yesterday she messaged me, “Can I you a question?”  I answered, “Yes, of course.”  “Where are you from?” She inquired.  “Canada,” I responded. “That’s my favourite city or country.” She responded.  I didn’t respond to her, as I laughed to myself, pleased she couldn’t see me laugh.  It was a sweet answer as she clearly has no idea where Canada is or what Canada is, but it was sweet none the less.

Ramadhan and New Arrivals

Ramadhan is upon us.  This is my first ‘full’ Ramadhan, as the years before in Indonesia, I arrived for the tail end, was home for the second one, and was teaching at the Japanese school for the third  so only a handful of students were participating.  Despite the finale when Emily and Jason were visiting and we got to listen to the mosque go off for a solid 24 hrs (including the horrendous decision to allow children to sing/pray over the loud speakers), I have never really taught during it.  That being said, I do not enjoy teaching during Ramadhan.  The students and teachers alike have a zombie-esque quality to them, as they are not eating, drinking or smoking for seventeen hours of the day in 30+ degree heat.  Although Turkey is technically a secular state (meaning most shops and restaurants are still open), Malatya is fairly conservative so the majority of people are fasting.  It has led to some very interesting discussions about the meaning of Ramadhan and they whys/why nots of why people participate.  The main reason that I can discern is that they are sympathizing with the poor (I have never seen so many beggars in Malatya until it began) and those who can’t fast due to health concerns, pay a daily fee to the poor as I learned from one of my students who is diabetic and thus can’t fast. 

Otherwise, not much has been happening.  A plethora of new classes has begun (although Joe and I are still teaching under 20hrs a week) and they are on a ‘summer course’ meaning they last only 8 weeks, and we zip through the book.  Naturally none of the staff felt the need to tell us, and I found out from one of my co-teachers a week in, and am now behind in 2 of my 3 classes which is a pain.  How no one felt it necessary to pass on this vital piece of information I have yet to decipher, but alas.   Language schools seem to seriously lack in communication which is irony in itself. 

Joe messaged me on Thursday to inform me a new teacher would be arriving on Monday night.  Naturally I was shocked, as Joe and I hardly have full schedules, and we know next to nothing about him.  Since we have gotten used to having the house to ourselves (taking up three of the four bedrooms) we spent our day off on Saturday cleaning and rearranging the house. (Joe finished up the cherries baking another pie).    I had a Skype interview that day so I had rearranged Buglem, and I sat around and waited for the new teacher.  He hadn’t arrived by the time Joe got home, so I looked up flights, but there had been no flights arriving at 6:30 (the time they had given me).  A bit confused, I messaged Onder and of course I got no reply, so I messaged Gungor.  He called around for me (not managing to get ahold of Onder either) and found out from Yasar that he was coming in at 6, and that Onder must have taken him for dinner.  We waited and waited- I went to bed at 11 and Joe at midnight. I got a message from Onder shortly thereafter saying that the new teacher wouldn’t be arriving that day- no explanation at all.

The next day, I found Onder after my classes to ask him what had happened.  He informed me that he had found out the previous afternoon that there had been a problem and the teacher would be late.  I looked at him, baffled, and asked him if he had gone to the airport.

“No.” He replied.

Trying not to call him a moron, I answered, “You didn’t even go the airport?  You didn’t think that this was information we needed?”

“I told Joe there was a problem,” he replied, trying to pass on the blame to Joe when he clearly hadn’t told him anything.

“No you didn’t.” I answered.  He didn’t say anything, and since I knew he was never going to apologize for being self-concerned and unaware of others, I simply said, “If you hear anything you need to let us know immediately,” and walked away.

He called that evening saying the teacher was at the bus station, and he was going to pick him up.  Hours passed, no sign.  I called him to ask what was happening.

“I am at home.”  He said. “I couldn’t find him. He will call me.”

Horrified at the thought of this guy (the only foreigner at the bus station) just hanging out, was appalling, so we offered to go help him locate him.  Fortunately he did manage to call before that, but we were shocked. 

He made it here in one piece, thoroughly exhausted, and we made small talk for a bit before he crashed.  Talk about adventures.

Election Day Antics

It was a lovely start to the week.  Sunday was Election Day in Turkey, which meant that Joe and I had our first Sunday off since we arrived.  My students invited us out for a late breakfast, so Joe and I meandered into town- stopping at the mall because Joe needed a new harddrive, and then to meet them at 1pm.  Only Habib was there, so we chatted a bit and he gave us some presents to remember him by (bracelets for Joe and anklets for me) and we waited almost a full hour before Merve, Onur and then Seda arrived.  We ate breakfast (a vast array that covered the table with 33 different options) and discussed the election (they had all voted for a different party).  

From left to right: Seda, Merve, Habib, me, Joe, Onur

By the time we finished eating, Murat showed up- we learned later that he had asked Merve to be his girlfriend, but she had needed time to think about it- and we all piled into his car and drove up to Gonduzbey where Merve’s father had a ‘garden’ although it turned out to be more of a farm/orchard than a garden.  He gave us a tour and then we had tea and more food (which we had to eat to be polite even though we were stuffed) and then we went cherry picking.  They were fresh and delicious, and we ate more than we put in the bags- but we all went home with crazy amounts.  If anyone knows any good cherry recipes, I would love to hear them because I don’t know what we will do with them otherwise- it is an insanely full bag. 

The gang cherry picking

Murat drove us home, sharing the good news that Merve had agreed to be his girlfriend (although her father doesn’t know because that is not the way that dating works in Turkey) and we arrived home later than anticipated after a fun filled day to watch an evening storm roll across the sky.

We awoke that night to very good electoral news- AK Party was still in power, but they would need to form a coalition government in order to rule.  Since it doesn’t look like any of the others want to work with them, they are now in the process of figuring out if it will be a minority government or a coalition.  Most people here seem very pleased with the results as well which is good- not a lot of tension- at least in Malatya there isn’t.  On Wednesday Joe and I had the day off as there was a teacher training at the Anemon hotel that evening.  Joe set to work making a cherry pie (curtosy of Martha Stewart) and I cleaned and helped him destone cherries (a tedious task).  Elif came over that evening before the event, and I have her some clothes and she beat Joe at backgammon before we walked over.

Elif, Joe and I am the seminar.

  As normal, it started about a half an hour late, and while we had expected  to be hopelessly bored, the woman they had doing it was very good: funny, informative and with some interesting classroom ideas.  It wrapped up with dinner, and all in all it was significantly more fun than the one we went to back in September when we had first arrived and didn’t know anyone.  It was a pleasant twist to a very hot week.

The Beauty of Amsterdam Pt. 2

Wednesday morning shone bright and sunny, it was gorgeous, although a little nippy with the wind still kicking up every now and again.  We walked in to the Anne Frank house (although the lineup was around the corner and none of us felt like paying 20 Euros to wait for an hour to see an attic) and then headed back to Vondelpark for a stroll.  

Anne Frank House

We left, deciding to come back later with some beers, and headed for lunch at an Irish Pub near the museum district.  From there it was back to the Red Light District so that Caitlin could get her nose pierced.  While we were there, we saw people up on top of a church, and decided to go up.  It turned out to be the oldest church in Amsterdam, and our tour guide gave us some splendid information topped with stunning views of the city.  

We headed back to the park and spent the better part of the afternoon relaxing until it got too cold to sit outside anymore. 

Vondelpark

We made our way back, but the weather was still beautiful, so Eric relaxed with a movie and Caitlin and I went out for a walk through Westerpark (right beside our Airbnb) and at twilight it felt like Narnia.  It was absolutely stunning with the sun setting and the vibrant colours of little houses tucked in behind trees.  We were both very sad we didn’t have our cameras with us.  By the time we got back, it was quite late as the sun didn’t set until about 10pm, and we relaxed with some music until bed.

My last full day in Amsterdam got off to a mellow start.  We decided to go see Haarlem (about 15km outside of Amsterdam) and we walked the 2km to the train station and took the short trip to Haarlem.  Since we really didn’t know anything about what to see there, we headed to the center, and enjoyed walking through the sleepy little town- a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam.  We again enjoyed lunch on the patio, and then wandered the canals, admiring the houseboats (or dock houses because they weren’t really boats) before heading back to Amsterdam.  

We walked back up to the house, relaxing with a film for a couple hours and then it was time for me to leave.  Caitlin and Eric walked into town with me and we found a patio to sit with a beer and watched people for a couple of hours, before off I headed to the airport.  Amsterdam topped all of my expectations- it was the perfect blend of relaxation and culture, and the perfect place to spend four days.

My trip home was equally as uneventful as my trip there.  The man at Passport Control decided to make me answer questions in Turkish (which at 4 in the morning is quite tricky) but apparently I passed because he let me back in.  I made it home by 8am to a lovely surprise breakfast of a fantastic omelette, fresh bread and a cup of coffee.  Joe outdid himself by washing the dishes so that I could go pass out when I finished eating.  It was a good set up for the summer, and an enjoyable way to arrive home.