TRAIPSING TO TERMESSOS

It's been almost 19 years since we've been to Termessos, a city of ruins just west of Antalya in Mediterranean Turkey. Why I should dream about it last night is beyond my understanding, and, in fact, it was such a surprise that I'm sure it was why I woke up! And although you are going to be spared the contents of the dream, I will share Termessos with you, because it was really something special to see.

Tom Brosnahan's "Lonely Planet Travel Survival Guide to Turkey" told us that "Termessos was once a Pisidian city of a war-like people. They lived in their impregnable fortress city and guarded their independence fiercely. Alexander the Great did not attack them, and the Romans accepted them as allies, not as a subject people." It sounded intriguing, so Jerry and I signed up for a local tour and the driver deposited us at the bottom of a huge hill that seemed to be covered with large stones. The guide indicated that we would climb that hill.

That was when I learned that my husband in his other life had been a mountain goat! I puffed and panted about every 50 steps, as I labored my poor self up and over the rocks. It was horrible. All I saw of Jerry was his dust! Luckily I did not hold up the rest of the tourists. They just left me. I finally made it to the ruins of the theater and found Jerry waiting for me.

Although there are a few recognizable sections of "buildings" left, most of what we saw were graves that because of both earthquakes and grave-robbers had tumbled down the hill from the necropolis at the top of the city. It was a stunning sight; literally thousands of stone sarcophagi lying a-jumble everywhere.

It was hard to know what to take a picture of. Everything was on such a huge scale. A wide angle lens took in the mass of things but they appeared way too small for what they really were. And if I used a telephoto lens, the item focused on seemed totally irrelevant. It was just too much for my mind to take in.

Finally we made it up to the top, the site of the famous "necropolis." Seeing it just left us thunderstuck. How could those people have done all this? It was just beyond our understanding.


Returning to our tour bus was a much easier trip. We were mostly silent, not only because we had to be very careful not to tumble down like the tombs did, but also because it seems we all were busy trying to process what we had just seen.

You know, Jerry and I are both native Californians, and for us, the California history we learn really starts with the Spanish missionaries coming in the 1700s to build the Missions in California. So we are always awed by really "old, old" history. But I think the biggest surprise to us, not knowing a whole lot about Turkey before we arrived there, was to read signs that said, "Hannibal's grave," "Alexander the Great," "Third Ecumenical Council met here" -- and even noting that in approaching little villages in the central part of Turkey, the signs pointing to the town all say "Centrum."

It was our good fortune to live in Turkey for almost two years, rather than to experience it on a short-term visit. Luckily I picked up enough Turkish that I could make myself understood, which held us in good stead many times. And made us brave enough to try some things that otherwise we might have foregone. But imagine, having a dream about something in Turkey after 19 years! Amazing!

TOM'S TURKEY

The secret to seeing Turkey is getting the right book in your hands before you ever leave the US. I was lucky enough to choose Tom Brosnahan's book "TURKEY - A TRAVEL SURVIVAL KIT" and it was this book, now old and well used and sitting in a place of honor in my bookcase, that encouraged me to see things in Turkey that I would have missed had I stuck to the obvious (and of course very important) tourist sights.

Because of Tom, I learned about the local daily markets that were set up in various locations in the larger towns - a Monday market was in one section of town, the Tuesday market in another section, and so forth. Whatever day I went into a town, I could ask the taxi driver to take me to the daily market -- and there I saw the real Turkey. Of course in the smaller towns one didn't need to ask to be taken there. The main road would be closed down and street market set up, just like that!


This photo above was taken in Izmir. Aside from showing a man lying down on the job, it pictures a big cistern of water, and the resting man is the one who delivers water to the shops and the vendors in that area.

In a sense this is the equivalent of our yard sale, in that the goods for sale are placed on the ground and bartering is above ground. This picture is so perfect for showing various manners and styles of dress -- from the very western dress to the styles worn by more rural folk. So many of the ladies wore scarves, and I asked our driver if there was any significance to the scarves, since mostly they didn't look like the "headscarves" that were then just starting to become an issue in the Turkish universities. Ahmet Bey looked at me kind of funny and said, "Mrs. Title, they wear them to keep their hair clean when they are in dusty places."

The lastest in Baby Bjorns are not a necessity here, at least they were not a necessity at the time I lived there or in the out-of-the-way places that I was drawn to. Just a strap or two did the job.

It was these daily markets that I found so very interesting. I rarely bought anything there; in fact, I didn't buy a whole lot of "stuff" during the time I lived there. But I came home with thousands of pictures which have helped me stay in touch with that very special time in my life when I learned so much, gained so many good friends and probably most of all, learned that we have it awfully easy living in the United States. I made a vow that I would never again complain about long lines at the post office - and here almost 20 years later I am still holding to that! But even with the difficulties that arise in living so far from home, I loved every minute of my time there and would go back in the flash of a gnat's eyelash!