ARIT Trip I: The Bosphorus and Black Sea

Many of you know that I was able to come here to study by way of receiving an ARIT (American Research Institute in Turkey) Fellowship. Besides the funding the fellowship provides me tuition and expenses, the ARIT foundation has organized a number of trips for us.

Two weeks ago, it was a trip up the Bosphorus to the point where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea. It was a beautiful day, and ARIT had a Byzantine historian join us to talk about the castle we hiked up to. The castle is on the Asian side, and was part of a series of fortifications the Byzantines built along the Bosphorus at narrow points. Some say this castle dates to the time of Justinian (6th century C.E.), but most argue that it was probably built in the 11th or 12th century C.E. The Byzantines were thought to have a heavy chain that stretched across the Bosphorus to stop unwanted ships from advancing. That would have been a sight to see.

The castle was made from material from other structures that were disassembled to obtain bricks and the like. At the site, you can see Greek inscriptions that were obviously from a church that was recycled into this fortress.

After the castle, we headed back to our boats and went north. The Black Sea at this point was daunting, looking like the ocean with a number of large ships and tankers heading towards the Bosphorus and onward passage into the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean. We were able to swim off the boat a few times, an activity most Turks would deem crazy, but this far up the straight, the water was much cleaner than it would be in Istanbul.

Lunch was languid affair, with meze, beer and raki, fish, baklava and tea. This didn't help energize those who were to attempt to swim ACROSS the Bosphorus in the afternoon. I made a valiant attempt, but I am only able to say I swam "half-way from Asia to Europe".

Weekend in Konya II: Rumi and the Mevlana Museum

Another must see in Konya is the Mevlana museum, which houses the tomb of the most famous sufi, the Seljuk poet Rumi. The museum is more of a shrine, with a mosque just across the courtyard. Outside, one is struck by the turquoise-tiled tower, which is amazingly beautiful. Inside, the numerous tombs of sufi dervishes are ornately covered, and topped with large turbans. The interior of the museum is equally stunning, with beautiful tile work and calligraphy. There were copies of the Qur'an dating back to the 8th century, one of which was writing on gazelle hide.


The exterior of the Mevlana museum, and the tomb of Rumi

The atmosphere inside was surreal, with people who had made pilgrimages to the site praying, and in the background, a recording of the nay, a type of wooden flute, was playing softly. Truly amazing.

read more about Rumi and sufiism at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi

Weekend in Konya I: Çatalhöyük

Sorry for the lack of posts. Things are busy here, especially as the course winds down. The weekend before last, Aaron let me join him on a trip to visit his friend Aydin in Konya, a city south of Ankara. The long overnight bus ride was worth it, as we had a great time.

Konya is famous for a number of things. It is the birthplace of St. Luke of biblical fame, but before that, the area around Konya had been inhabited for thousands of years. Çatalhöyük is a famous archaeological site dating to the neolithic period. The site is fascinating, and well worth the visit. Boeing was one of the main sponsors of the work there, which was fun to see a small bit of Seattle in the middle of the plains of Anatolia. Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalhoyuk


the dig site, and a statue of the Mother Goddess