Where are you from?

(Voting in the 08 Presidential election in Lima, Peru)

Where are you from? This is a question we have heard frequently over the last eight months. One might think that it is an easy question to answer, but it takes us a few times in each country to figure out how to answer. It turns out that saying “the United States” in most countries is greeted with a blank, questioning stare. No, most people don’t know our country as the United States. The correct, or most understandable, answer ends up being “America.” No, we don’t really live in America. America technically includes Canada and Mexico. North America that is. What about people living in Central America and South America? Aren’t they from America too? Well if you’ve ever heard that famous song “I’m proud to be an American” by Lee Greenwood, which I was sentenced to hear over and over again at the Naval Academy, perhaps it is common knowledge that we are American and thus must be from America. Well, at least that’s how we answer most of the time, but we still try with United States on occasion because it just seems right.

Some people guess where we are from before we even answer or before they hear our voices and accents. Often they think we are from France, Canada, New Zealand, or Australia. One time while walking along the river in Phnom Penh we were mistaken for being from England. A couple saw us walking as a family and said to each other that we surely must be from England because it was highly unlikely that an American family with children would be in Cambodia. It then turned out that they were from Chapel Hill. Go figure! Another time in India the questioner could hardly believe that Kelli was telling the truth. The woman said that Kelli must be from Australia because everyone from the US is fat?!?

The responses to our nationality have changed quite a bit over the last eight months. Initially in South America, before the presidential election, after hearing we were from the US we were greeted with a very quiet, meek “Obama?” People were eager to know our political leanings, but cautious about offending us. Upon hearing of our support for his candidacy a smile would break out upon their face or a thumbs up would result or even a high five would happen. Many people we met knew quite a bit about US politics and the upcoming election. They made it clear that election day in November 08 was not just for us; it was an election for the world.

Now the response we get is an immediate and enthusiastic “Obama!”, especially here in Turkey. President Obama visited Turkey a few weeks before our arrival and left a lasting and positive impression on this country. We spend a few minutes talking about him, the US, the economic crisis, etc. and many people volunteer that he is not just our president he is also the world’s president. The other day a cook sitting on the step outside of his little restaurant, one where we ate earlier, asked me the question as I walked by. “Where are you from?” I answered America and a quick smile came across his face. He and the woman next to him practically said in unison, “Barack Obama!” I repeated it back to them. Then he corrected me and said “Barack Hussein Obama!” I repeated his full name this time and then he gave me a high five. Turkey is somewhere around 99% Muslim and I couldn’t help but think that President Obama’s diverse background, and yes his full name, create connections with people all over the world in new ways. It seems that our damaged reputation is in the very early stages of repair. I can’t help but think that our reception would have been very different had we been traveling a few years ago.

Turkey

Centuries and centuries of history.

People who love children.

Baklava to die for.

Chewy ice cream.

Crowds of people and many tourists.

Great food.

Incredible cave dwellings and churches.

Water everywhere.

These are some things that come to mind as we think about our first 2 weeks in Turkey.

Our return to a more “foreign” country after the more familiar surroundings of New Zealand and Australia was a welcome change. Most everyone was ready for something new. Ainsley remarked along the way that we needed to have a few more “challenging” countries before we visit with friends in Rome and Switzerland and then return home.

We landed in Istanbul after a grueling 27 hours of travel from Australia, but the transition thankfully was easier than expected. Our 7 PM arrival was well timed for us to go to bed and wake up the next morning after a full night of sleep. Yes, we were still a bit tired for a few days, but never really experienced any jet lag. What a nice surprise!

Istanbul ended up occupying a full week of our Turkey time, with so many historic and wonderful sites to visit and much history to learn. They say it is the crossroads for Europe and Asia. For me it didn’t have distinct characteristics of either, instead forming a real personality of its own, and what a wonderful one it is. Water, water everywhere. People, people everywhere. History, history everywhere. We found it an easy city to navigate and it supplied seemingly endless magical historical sights to see. An underground cistern built in the 6th century (Basilica Cistern), a church converted to a mosque from 532 AD (Hagia Sophia), and a mosque of stunning architecture and scale (Blue Mosque) all within blocks of our hostel.

We had a really fun day meeting Berrin and her family, the sister of our good friend Murat from Durham . We met them in Ortakoy, up the Bosphorus a bit, and continued on to the park where Murat and Leslie were married years ago. Again, spending time with friends and others from the local area has always proven to be the best for us.

We also found our hostel to be a real surprise. Our dorm room, shared with up to 5 other travelers, was probably the cheapest beds in the area, unremarkable and actually a bit cave like. Or, maybe I’m describing the one shower and toilet in the basement that I think may really have been a cave. However, what was great was the genuine hospitality and sharing of the young owner Mehtin and his staff. We cooked a fish dinner together one evening and during our stay he shared many insights and perspectives into Turkey and what it means to come from a Kurdish background. He really loved the kids too and made them feel truly welcome and wanted. They got a lot of attention!

The star treatment of our children continued well past the hostel into the streets of Istanbul. Eliot was hugged, his head rubbed or given free food and treats at almost every turn. We laughed each time as he was showered with attention and free things. He came to like the attention and did his best to look cute and attention worthy.

The streets were constantly crowded with people, not quite India standards, but busy seemingly all the time. Locals moving around and countless tour buses descending upon sites. And this isn’t even peak tourist season yet?! Men playing Turkish backgammon in side streets or cards in tea houses, thousands shuffling on and off ferries and cars ignoring traffic laws. What did the green cross walk signal mean? Watch out! We found that out day one.

Our only disappointment in Istanbul was the food. We had a really good meal our first day and then struggled to find more throughout our stay, sentenced to tourist restaurants and middling local ones. The baklava however is something that may haunt us for years to come. We went twice to the famous one in all of the guide books and then a few days before we left found Konyali, the one that Leslie recommended. We still joke about how we are going to end up going through Istanbul before we leave Turkey so that we can go there one last time. It probably won’t happen that way and our taste buds are saddened.

We left Istanbul on the night bus and entered the web of a finely tuned Turkish bus system. Bus travel here is a very common way of traversing the country and they seem to do it very well. Ticket prices are reasonable, buses are of a recent vintage and the roads (at least in the Western part of the country) are fairly well maintained. So, a night bus sounded pretty good. That would have held true if the bus were of the South American variety where they have fully reclining seats and if the bus came with a toilet. Funny, but they don’t have toilets on the buses here. Instead they stop every two hours or so for a bathroom and snack break, even in the middle of the night. So for the 12 hour ride from Istanbul to Cappadocia we stopped every two hours and sat in seats that reclined a few inches at best. Jack and Eliot took to the floor and gave Kelli and Ainsley a bit more room. We arrived in varying states of rest, although safely and on time.

Our three days in Cappadocia were filled with walking through magical and mystical valleys carved over time out of volcanic rock of varying density. Ancient civilizations built homes, churches and entire villages by carving out the rocks. They also built underground cities for thousands to hide from would be conquerers. The scenery from afar looked a bit like some of the Western US, but the hundreds of years old frescoes in cut out churches and other features were unique and fascinating.

We also took an opportunity to experience a Turkish Bath at the local Goreme Hamam (bath house). Interesting to experience and then compare to the Japanese hot bath and Thai massage approaches. It was both a fun and funny experience. We did it as a family and in a co-ed Hamam. We asked about the appropriate attire in advance and were informed that we did not need any bathing suits. These days Eliot is quite private and guarded when it comes to being exposed, but he went ahead without much protest. We arrived in the bath area to find that nearly everyone had bathing suits on underneath their turkish towels. Looking around a bit more it became clear that all of the tourists had them on and none of the Turkish did. So, without any on ourselves we felt just a bit more local.

We left Cappadocia on a bus, just as we had arrived. This time we opted for the day bus, departing at 8 AM. Eight or nine hours later we arrived at Egirdir, a small town on a lake of the same name. The lake is the fourth largest in Turkey and besides natural beauty and a Commando School offers very little in the way of standard tourist trappings. We were there well ahead of the tourist season, probably dominated by Turkish tourists, and enjoyed a quiet and sleepy town for two days. This stop broke up our trip towards Kas on the Mediterranean coast where we are at the moment. We rented a small apartment here for a week and are excited that GG is planning to join us when we head to Ephesus next and then on to Greece. That’s all for now.

Seshuvar Peace Pension - Egridir, Turkey

We were definitely visiting this Turkish Lake District village before the tourist season hit. The streets were nearly empty of any tourists, foreign or Turkish. Our pension was empty save for us.

We enjoyed our short visit here and two delicious dinners prepared by “Mama”, the matriarch of the family that owned the pension. Our critical mistake however was not inquiring about the price of the meals, thinking that as we had read they would be reasonably priced, home cooking affairs. They were home cooking and some of the best food we’ve had in Turkey, but reasonably priced, probably not. When eating in restaurants we don’t order soup, salad, appetizers, and main courses for everyone including the kids. Instead we pick and choose a few and ensure that we have enough food, but don’t overdo it. Here, they just brought 5 out of everything until we stopped them once or twice. So, the bill was a bit larger than expected which left a bit of a sour taste as it seemed that they were taking advantage of us as tourists.

The room was fine, if a bit cold until we figured out how to turn the heater on. The dining area was only outside which was a bit frigid in the morning. Guess we really were here before the season and summer heat starts.

WGGSH? - Probably not

WWSHA? - Probably not

Traveller’s Cave Pension - Goreme, Turkey (Cappadocia too)

We wanted to spend another night in Cappadocia, but didn’t have the budget for a third night at Esbelli Evi. Back to reality when we moved to the next town over into a budget version of a cave hotel. Some of the rooms were better than ours, but we took what we could get. A basement room back in the corner, truly a cave carved out of the rock, with 5 beds.  It did have an ensuite bathroom, so it could have been worse.

While staying here we met a fascinating American woman named Evelyn, currently living in the French Alps with her youngest of four children, a 16-year old daughter (at a boarding school), but actually Evelyn was born in Lumberton, NC. Now for those who don’t know NC well, Lumberton is way out in the country on the border with South Carolina and not necessarily the mostwordly small town in the state. But Evelyn had traveled everywhere in the world it seems and was spending a few months in Turkey to beat the cold of the Alps. She must be in her late 50s/early 60s, but that doesn’t prevent her from hiking alone for days on the Lycian Way along the Mediterranean coast, nor does it slow down her use of hitchhiking as her preferred means of travel. In fact, many years before she, her husband and four children hitchhiked through much of South East Asia. This of course was after she had hitchhiked from Washington State all the way into South America with baby number 1 and pregnant with number 2, sometime before she met her future husband in Morocco.  As you can tell, she left quite an impression and her story would make great memoir reading.  Wow!

Not much else to say about this pension though. Not great, not terrible.

WGGSH? - No

WWSHA? - Maybe, if we could get room 11, but there are probably better ones

Esbelli Evi - Urgup, Turkey (Cappadocia)

As Eliot would say this place was a “splurge” for us. He might also say that it was “luxurous”, meaning luxurious, which it definitely was. Our friends from Durham, Murat and Leslie, had stayed here and sung its praises. We also saw endless praise for it all over the internet. We knew that we wanted to spend a night or two at one of the famous “cave hotels” in Cappadocia, and after really taking the rough backpacker route for a week in Istanbul and then the 12 hour night bus here, we felt that a splurge was in order. The family suite ended up being the largest place we’ve stayed in yet, save for JM’s mother’s house in Cuenca, Ecuador. And, it had two bathrooms! So, we moved from a shared 10-bed dorm room with a shared bathroom to two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a sitting room and a kitchen; now that is luxury! Of course, why do we need more than two bathrooms in our houses back at home anyway?

The coolest thing by far was that the entire suite was carved out of the rock hillside of this small town in central Turkey. One of the kid’s beds was actually carved into the rock wall. How cool is that!?!

So, loads of rooms, bathrooms to spare, great breakfasts with a tremendous view, helpful staff, etc. We really enjoyed our stay but were careful not to get accustomed to that level of service.  It even came with five pair of cushy terry slippers embroidered with Esbelli Evi across the top which we now carry with us.

WGGSH? - Absolutely — she’d love the slippers!

WWSHA? - Ditto

Tulip Guest House - Istanbul, Turkey

So, this was the least expensive place we found in Istanbul. Most places wanted north of 65 euros for a triple room and we just weren’t going to pay that, even for a big city in Europe, or I guess in Europe/Asia. We thought that something better and less expensive must be out there. I consulted the usual sources; guidebooks, Trip Advisor, google, etc. Two of my top choices said that they were full but could put us up in their “sister” pension or “cousin’s” hostel. That has always caused us pause for concern, so we kept looking. Tulip Guesthouse had near unanimous feedback about the warm welcome and wonderful owners. We’d heard that before and were a bit skeptical, but booked our 5 beds in the 10 bed dorm room anyway. The location was good and how bad could it be? We only booked for 2 nights and could move if we needed to.

The airport shuttle dropped some other passengers off at very nice looking guest houses and finally pulled to a stop for us. We couldn’t see a sign for Tulip anywhere and then he got out, walked down a side street and around a corner to show us where it was. Well, the building facade wasn’t very impressive and as we went inside, neither was it. But, Metin the owner, who couldn’t be much older than 25, greeted us with such enthusiasm. He also connected with the kids immediately and in a sincere manner. He showed us the dining area/kitchen on the top floor with a beautiful view of the Bosphorus and then showed us to the dorm room. It was very basic and probably only meant for 8 beds in instead of the 10 that were in it. Then the bathroom came next. Down a circular staircase into the basement and ‘watch your head’ as you go into the stall or one of the two showers. No, the living spaces weren’t much to write home about.

So, we continued on with an open mind and in the end stayed a full week. It was such a joy to get to know Metin and some of the others there and to learn more about Turkey through their eyes and experiences. One night Metin cooked a delicious fish dinner for us all and he always had a smile and joke for the boys.

All the signs were there for a mediocre experience at best but, our stay in the end was really enjoyable!

WGGSH? - No way

WWSHA? - Yes

Istanbul

Our first day in Istanbul we went to visit the Blue Mosque. On our way we stopped for juice. We had fresh orange and pomegranate juice. As we were getting up to leave a seagull pooped right on my dad’s head and then splattered on the rest of us. I hope it is good luck to get pooped on by a seagull, but I have my doubts.

We went to the Hagia Sophia, a church turned mosque that is a thousand years older than the Blue Mosque. It now no longer functions as a mosque and is only a museum. The ceiling used to be made up by a lot of mosaics, but after being restored much of it is painted. The big dome has been restored with mosaics, but it is constantly being worked on. When we visited there was a giant block of scaffolding going from the floor to the top of the dome. One really interesting thing for me was the ramp to the second floor. The ramp that we went up was made of slick stone, but the ramp that we went down had ridges on the stones. When we were in Jaipur, India we visited the Amber Fort. The Maharaja that lived there had many wives. The robes that the wives wore were so beaded and heavy that they had to use wheelchairs to get around. The ramps that they used were slick to go up and had ridges to go down. The ramps in these two places were very similar in shape also.

We also went to see the basilica cistern. They were first discovered when people said that they were getting water and fish out of holes in their basements. The underground reservoir was used to store water for the palace. Now you can go to visit and walk on elevated ground inside the cistern. We saw all kinds of little fish swimming in the shallow water.

So far Istanbul has been a magical city. I’m sorry to say that after our first lunch we struck out with food, but then again we aren’t willing to pay some prices. We leave this evening on an overnight bus to Cappadocia. Did you know that you can’t go to youtube in Turkey because someone posted something not nice about Ataturk (the founder of modern day Turkey), but for some reason I can still get it on my ipod. Go figure!

Brooklyn Arts Hotel - Melbourne, Australia

We spent only a week in Australia and decided to spend all of it going a bit deeper into Melbourne rather than moving about in a huge country. Looking up hostels on the internet told us that they were quite a bit more expensive than in New Zealand so Kelli looked around to find something different that we could call home for the week. She happened upon the Brooklyn Arts Hotel and sent an e-mail off to Maggie the owner to see if we could stay.

Now, we don’t make a practice of staying in hotels on this trip, too expensive and frankly too impersonal and insulating. In fact, the Crown Suites Hotel in Miami is really the one and only hotel so far and that was the first night and on hotel points. But, this is not your standard hotel. More like a rambling old house with a really caring and interested owner and loads of interesting guests to meet and talk with. We met an American, funny enough from Brooklyn, who was in Melbourne to attend the wedding of a friend. The friend is the Resident Director of the Wicked production in town and as a result Kelli and Jack spent a wonderful evening at that show. We also met a jewelry designer from New Zealand, two landscape architects from Tazmania, a local Lonely Planet author, and many more interesting and genuinely friendly people. Eliot made friends with one particular guest who kindly listened intently to his many stories of our trip and then left him a very sweet note the day we left with a special pen for him to use for writing in his journal.

Maggie from the very start went out of her way making sure that our stay in Melbourne would be everything we hoped. She provided loads of information, advice and help in getting around, even lending us her car one day to travel to the Healesville Sanctuary to see Koalas, Kangaroos, and other animals unique to Australia. We enjoyed a dinner with her one night, great breakfasts and many conversations and interactions along the way. Oh, yes the easter bunny came here too and hid lots of chocolate easter eggs all around the house.

WGGSH? - Yes

WWSHA? - Absolutely

Last of New Zealand and brief stop in Melbourne

Before we get completely entrenched in all things Turkish, we need to catch up on the remainder of our stay in New Zealand and our brief but relaxing stay in Melbourne, Australia. We left off having just driven up the west coast of New Zealand, past the glaciers and pancake rocks on our way to the Abel Tasman Track. This is another of the great walks in New Zealand. It is along the coast near Nelson on the very northern part of the south island. The terrain is very different from the alpine tracks we had done thus far.

We stayed in Marahua at Old Macdonald’s Farm (see Where We Stayed) for two nights before setting out on the water taxi to the most northern stretch of the track. We were only able to get hut reservations going from the north to the south (many people track south to north). In the end this was great because there are places along the track that must be crossed within a certain number of hours of low tide, and these times were in the very early morning or afternoon. With the biggest estuary crossing on the north side of one of the huts, it was perfect timing after a day of hiking to pull in the afternoon and cross. Folks who had spent the night and were walking north had to be out of the hut by 5:30am to cross the estuary! That would be impossible with our crew of hikers.

It was on our first day of the Abel Tasman that we walked to Seperation Point and were inspired to swim with some fur seals. Please read Jack’s latest blog if you have not done so already to hear all about this adventure. It was awesome. The views along the track are beautiful, with gorgeous sand beaches and gentle walks through the coastal woods.

Our favorite hut on the track was the Wharwharangi Hut our first night. It is an old converted farm house, small and cozy, and not crowded. Compare that with our last night at the Bark’s Bay hut, which had many cramped bunks and was completely full. In between we stayed at the Awaroa Hut where we met the greatest guy, Julian, from England. He is 19 years old, will attend Oxford next year, and he was just the nicest young man ever. So great with the kids and fun to hike with. We celebrated Ainsley’s 13th birthday at Bark’s Bay and left the next morning on a water taxi back to town. As a group, we were a bit weary of tramping and with dwindling time in New Zealand we felt we should move on a bit more quickly. All in all, we loved our last days of tramping but on the whole, we preferred the mountain hiking to the coastal hiking.

We left Abel Tasman and drove to Hanmer Springs, a stop on our way back to Christchurch, to spend the day at the hot pools and kid slides (well Kelli seemed to like them a lot too) as a bit of a birthday celebration for Jack and Ainsley. We spent three more nights in Christchurch with the ever gracious Nicky and Graeme and finally made it out to Taylor’s Mistake, a beach and peninsula between Christchurch and Littleton which houses a few relics from World War II defenses. We even had time to venture to the Antarctic Center, made all the more special because of Mary Brown, our friend from the Banks Track who had deployed to and from Antarctica, as a great many people do, through the Christchurch operations center.

A short flight to Auckland for our 5 days on the north island, starting with the Coromandel Peninsula. We went to Hot Water Beach and built our own hot tub from scalding water that bubbles up from the sand, at low tide only, on a small section of a gorgeous beach on the east coast. We have been to many beaches in our lives, but to feel this super heated water coming from under the sand was very strange and fascinating. We spent one day at Cathedral Cove as well, another beautiful beach and the site of some scenes from the movie Prince Caspian, a hit with the kids. The pictures do not do it justice. This rock formation was truly awesome.

We left the Coromandel and drove to Rotorua to bear witness to yet more of the earth’s mysteries. Here we saw bubbling mud and steaming lakes, testament to New Zealand’s prime real estate on the Pacific ring of fire. While we were in Rotorua, we also attended a traditional Maori show and surprisingly good dinner cooked on the hangi.  Now Jack and Eliot love to punch their chests in an attempt to do the haka. We spent only one night and a shortened day in Auckland, enough time to purchase Jack a much-needed new pair of crocs and take in the view of Auckland from atop Mt. Eden. Off to Melbourne.

We enjoyed our stay in the lovely Brooklyn Arts Hotel in the Fitzroy neighborhood of Melbourne, a city with more cafes than you can imagine. As with most of our stays, those we have enjoyed the most include a gracious, present owner, and Maggie at Brooklyn Arts was among the most lovely we have met. She even let us borrow her car for our trip out to Healesville Sanctuary, an animal sanctuary about 60 kms outside of Melbourne. We saw everything from duck-billed platypus to koalas to dingos, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, achidnas and our personal favorite, Beatrice the black breasted buzzard (check her out at you tube – she is incredible!). Brooklyn Arts also is where we spent our Easter, complete with an easter egg hunt courtesy of the Easter Bunny, and an Easter dinner shared with Maggie on the night of our flight out.

Six days in Melbourne allowed us to relax a bit and plan our onward journey through Turkey. We spent a lot of time picnicking in some of Melbourne’s lovely parks, Kelli and Jack went to see Wicked (fabulous), John and the kids went to the very cool Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Center (you guessed it, Kelli had an afternoon to herself), and we all took in an Aussie Rules Football game, affectionately called “footie,” at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Grounds), a stadium which holds over 100,000 people. We even managed to spend a day in St.Kilda, a city beach neighborhood with tons of cafes and shops and a great pier.

We loved our time spent in New Zealand and Australia, but we were all itching a bit for something different and new. To Istanbul we went, on a 27 hour travel day leaving our hotel in Melbourne at 12:30am! 14 hours to Dubai, 3 hour layover, and 4 more hours to Istanbul to finally arrive at our modest hostel at about 7pm, perfect time to settle in and go right to sleep. No jet lag even! Next post, Istanbul.

Astray Backpackers - Rotorua, New Zealand

This was a fun place to stay and no, Rotorua didn’t smell of sulphur as badly as we were led to believe.  The rooms here are designed as what they call “compact accommodation” and Jude the owner cautioned me on the phone that they were in fact very small.  I told her that we stayed in some very compact accommodations in Japan and that I was sure that we could fit five comfortably in their unit designed for four people.  (We’ve come a long way from our old, large and spacious home back in Durham.)  Yes, we squeezed in very well and save for the night that Jack and Eliot were sharing the bottom bunk together peace was in the air.  We liked the thoughtful design of the unit, with some in the family especially liking the two tvs with SKY cable service, our first in many, many weeks.

WGGSH? - Probably

WWSHA? - Yes, although it was a bit expensive.

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