Izmir, Greece and Pergamon!

Izmir Clock Tower, Konak Square

   My time in Ismir turned out to be a wonderful, and most thanks should go, surprisingly enough, to Couch Surfing.  While staying at a host's house, I met another couch surfer whose name is Derya and it turns out we were planning to travel the same way so we decided to team up.  After a couch surfing nightmare (so to speak - it wasn't terrible, just not good) we found ourselves with the most incredible people.  They were a couple from Karşıyaka (a Province in Izmir), whose names are Murat and Çağri.  A photographer and a school counselor, both having a beautifully positive outlook on life and really great spirit.

Murat, Derya, Çağri, and I

   We spent two days visiting Çağri's school which was a really neat experience.  The school was a combination of elementary school and middle school, so the younger kids were in class during the morning and the older in the afternoon.  There was very little structure, in or out of the classroom, but the teachers were all very social and happy, and the kids seemed to be too.  We went from classroom to classroom, introducing ourselves and observing, while intermittently having Turkish tea or coffee with the faculty.  We even spent some quality time with the principle and vice principle, both of whom were very kind and welcoming.  My favorite class was the art class, we always ended up there, joining the kids and drawing for ourselves.

   I'm so glad I met Derya and we decided to travel together!  We went and visited a Salvador Dali exhibit at the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center, which was amazing.  46 of Dali's original works were being shown, and it turns out to be a pretty big step for the city of Izmir, as well as for Turkey as a whole, in terms of art education.  We also finally made it to Greece for the weekend!  Not only did we make it there, but we managed to get stranded there - which was quite the experience.  It took a lot of convincing but I was finally able to talk my way into a travel partner for this Greek excursion.  The Island of Chios is just 8 km by ferry from the small town of Çeşme (about 1.5 hours from Izmir) so there was no way I was going to not go, being that I was already so close.

   We met a wonderful girl, Kiki, who was our unoffical tour guide of the weekend and quickly became a new friend.  She introduced us to all of her friends and showed us around the main town of Chios, which was very small and quaint - a lovely port town.  Then drove us out to 3 different medieval villages - Mesta,  Pyrgi, and Olympi - where we spent the day exploring.  The villages were beautiful, with high stone walls they were built as mazes in order to prevent the pirate raiding parties from reaching easily the most important buildings located in the center of the village.  That night we went out with Kiki's friends, experiencing the nightlife of Greece - which for me, would definitely take some getting used to.  Let's just put it this way - I had to head to sleep around 2 in the morning, I was exhausted, and that was when everything was just getting started.

   The next day we explored the Chios castle and enjoyed coffee at a beautiful cafe overlooking the shore.  There we said goodbye to our new friends and left to catch our ferry back to Turkey.  Upon arriving at the port, we slowly, reluctantly realized we had missed our ferry by about 5 minutes.  There are moments in life, where things seem to move in slow motion, as you retrace your steps and try to understand how you ended up in the situation you have.. - this was one of those moments.  Now, we probably could've just barely caught the ferry had I not insisted on finding some tzatziki sauce and pita bread before leaving the island... but I had to!  I was in Greece! (And let me just say - it was worth it!) Regardless, what I'm trying to say is that throughout my travels I have experienced a good number of bad situations ranging from unfortunate to devastating.... and in my humble opinion, being stranded on a Greek island doesn't even deserve to be rated on that scale.  We got our money situation figured out, bought new ferry tickets and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and night with more friends, food and drink - with much thanks to Kiki, it was lovely.

   When we finally arrived back in Turkey, it was a beautiful day so we decided to spend it in Çeşme.  We did a lot of reading, writing, relaxing and eating, simply enjoying the day.  And eventually once the sun started making it's way down, we found a bus to take us back to Izmir, putting an end to the wonderful 'holiday-like' weekend (and some extra days..) spent in the sunshine.

   Upon returning to Izmir, we spent a couple more days with Murat and Çağri, and it was finally time to continue on our way.  Derya and I were now going in different directions, but at least with the hopes of meeting back up again in Istanbul in a few weeks!  While she headed south, I was heading north to Bergama for the day to explore ruins and then to continue on to Küçükkuyu to finally work on the olive farm that I was meant to from the very beginning.

   Bergama was an unimpressive town with the most impressive ruins I've ever seen.  Here the ruins of Pergamon, as well as the Asclepeion Archeological Site, are located.  The owner of the hostel I was staying at drove me to see the Red Basilica and then to the lift which would take me to the Acropolis (where the ruins of Pergamon are located, high atop a mountain overlooking the city of Bergama).

   This was the first time I've ever explore ruins completely on my own.  Add that to it being in the dead middle of the off-season for tourism, I basically had the place to myself.  It was breathtaking.  And to be completely honest, a bit creepy - wondering around the ruins of an ancient city alone.  There's something about places like that, which used to encompass so much life at one point in history - it's almost as if all of it still resides there in energy.  It's very interesting to observe when you have the whole day to spend alone in an ancient ruined city.

   After taking the lift back down to Bergama, I went to the other side of town to explore the Asclepeion.  In Ancient Greece and Rome, this is what they called a Healing Temple.  It was built away from the hustle and noise of the city, in a valley near a healing natural water source, where people who were injured or ill could go and be treated.

   All of this was incredible but after a quick day of site-seeing, I found myself on yet another bus the following morning.  This time it was headed north to Küçükkuyu, a small coastal town on the Aegean Sea known for growing olives.  Not sure what to expect but very excited to begin a new chapter of my journey here in Turkey!

Exploring the Aegean

All the volunteers on our day off - Black Sea, Kerpe

   Well after a week at Nar Eğitim ve Danışmanlık, I was completely rejuvenated - in terms of health, inspiration and happiness.  I found everything I could've ever asked for and maybe even got a little more.  It is a wonderful place with amazing people and I would really like to one day go back, during the spring/summer to see the place in full bloom!

Konak, Izmir

   And what an amazing journey this is becoming!  I continued making my way down to the southwest region of Turkey with a Chilean friend I met on the farm named Daphne.  By chance, we ended up being the perfect travel buddies and in the end, pretty great friends as well :)  We made it down to Izmir, where we met two other friends from the farm and I had my first couch surfing experience.  I was pretty skeptical of this couch surfing idea, but quickly came to learn how great of a thing it can be - as long as you are careful, of course.  Our host in Izmir, Heval, was great and we learned how to cook some delicious Turkish foods, and enjoyed good company and conversation.  One of my favorite things is getting a small group of people from all over the world (in this case: Turkey, Chile, Syria, Canada and the States were involved) around a table with a couple beers, you truly can learn so much.

Yahya, me, Gina, Daphne & Heval

   The five of us ventured to Selçuk by train, to explore the ancient city of Ephesus.  It began rainy but quickly cleared up to be a beautiful day.  Ephesus is one of the greatest ruined cities in the western world, beginning as a Greek city in 1000 BC, it was later a Roman city and played an important role in the spreading of Christianity.  My favorite part of Ephesus was the theatre - picturesque and almost haunting, as I tried to imagine the hundreds of empty seats filled with people and the noises of entertainment echoing throughout the perfectly constructed acoustics of the building.  The Celsus Library is the most well known structure in the site, and was equally as impressive.  We spent the whole day leisurely exploring, taking our time before making our way back to Izmir for the night.

Celsus Library, Ephesus

   From there, our friends from the farm, Yahya and Gina, had to return to Istanbul so Daphne and I made our way south to Denizli.  There we would spend the next three days, exploring Pamukkale and Hierapolis.  One word could sum it up easily - breathtaking.  Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site of hot springs and travertines.  The terraces form when water from the hot springs lose carbon dioxide as it runs down the slopes, leaving deposits of the calcium carbonate (occurring naturally as limestone).  It is a very incredible place, one where I could easily spend days upon days photographing.  You take your shoes off, in an effort to not cause damage, as most of the terraces have now been closed off to visitors because of the damage that has already been done.

   Once you walk up Pamukkale, you reach Hierapolis - an ancient Greco-Roman city in Phrygia.  It's name means "sacred city," and was believed by the ancients to have been founded by the god Apollo.  The hot springs were believed to have healing properties, and people came to the city to bathe in the rich mineral waters in order to cure various ailments.  There is the Sacred Pool, which is warmed by hot springs and littered with underwater fragments of ancient marble columns.  But again, I think the theatre was my favorite part of this ancient site as well - there is just something about them.  We spent two whole days exploring these two sites, taking our time and enjoying all they had to offer.  In the hostel we stayed at we met two girls from Alaska who were great - we ended up having dinner with them a couple times and making the best of the ghost town of a place that Pamukkale is during the off season.

   So, after our ventures south to see some really incredible stuff, we have returned to Izmir and are staying with a new couch surfing host, Gulsah.  Daphne is heading to Israel today so we must sadly part ways, and I will continue my travel north - where I will eventually (finally) find myself in Çanakkale, where I will work on the olive farm that I originally planned on in the beginning of my trip.  Along the way, I will hopefully take a ferry to the Grecian island Chios, see the ancient ruins of Purgamum, visit the city of Troy and enjoy whatever else happens upon my path!

Kandıra & The Black Sea & Happiness

   I really must stop expecting Turkey to be what I think it will be... it never is.

   I arrived in Kandıra on a rainy Thursday evening, by bus from Istanbul.  The bus was quite comfortable, they even served us coffee/tea!  Early in the trip the bus started stopping at various bus stops/stations (without signs or names) and I had NO idea where we were, if we were at the stop that I should get off at, who to ask for help, how to ask for help in Turkish, etc.  It was a little scary, but I fumbled around with the few Turkish words I have figured out, and somehow made it in one piece.  Upon arriving, I borrowed a phone from a very kind bus driver to call the farm that I would be staying with and working for, so that they could come pick me up.

   I only waited at the bus station for about 10 minutes until three older men suddenly surrounded me, introducing themselves and grabbing my luggage, urging me in the direction of the door towards a truck.  Now, in all honestly, I had no idea if these were the people who were supposed to be picking me up or not.. for all I knew, they could be running an elaborate abduction scheme and I was their next victim.  Despite all of that, I was very strangely at ease about it - which isn't normal for me, so I decided to trust my instincts and see where these men take me.  (I've learned during this trip that I have an excellent judge of character.. even foreign character.)  After a few stops at the gas station, a small local bakery and someone's house, we arrived at the farm (safely, in the right place, with the right people - ..I had been right!).  I was welcomed in warmly and met about 15 people within the time span of about 60 seconds - despite being a bit overwhelmed, I could feel instantly that I was in a wonderful place. - although at the time, I didn't realize exactly how wonderful it really was.

   I was offered, and thoroughly enjoyed, a delicious dinner and then joined everyone in the living room for a Türk kahve (Turkish coffee - very finely ground coffee beans are put with water and sugar on the stove in a cezve and served in small coffee cups with the coffee grinds still in the coffee).  One of the men that picked me up from the bus station was now playing the saz (a plucking instrument very popular here in Turkey, similar to a guitar) and there was dancing and laughing and singing - it was beautiful, and I was so excited to be here.

   I was then introduced to Turkish coffee fortunes, apparently a
centuries-old ritual of having your fortune read in the remaining coffee grounds at the bottom of your cup.  How it works is when you finish your coffee, the saucer is placed on top of the cup, and you make a wish.  With the saucer still covering the top, you hold the cup at chest level and turn it counter-clockwise a few times.  Following this, you turn the cup upside down onto the saucer, and leave it to cool.  You must place something silver that belongs to you, a coin, ring, key, etc., on top of the upside down cup - this dispels bad omens and brings your energy and spirit to the coffee. When the coffee cup is cool enough, someone else opens the cup, and reads your fortune based on the coffee grinds left in the cup and on the saucer plate.  There are various specifics that I won't go into that mean certain things in terms of your fortune.  I was told my fortune by a complete stranger, now I won't go any further but let's just say - I'm now a firm believer in this tradition... it was wild how 'right on' my fortune was, in a number of different ways - I was blown away.

   Anyway, the farm is run by a family, involving a couple generations, each member contributing something different.  There is an architect, the business man, the horticulturist, the one holding everyone together, and many more... It is just incredible to see a family so close, working on such an amazing project together, living together, and simply just loving life together.  It really puts meaning to the idea of simply surrounding yourself with the ones you love and you will have everything you could ever need.  And what's even more is how they welcome volunteers and friends alike to join them - working hard, sharing every meal, and learning from each other.  Inspiring isn't a big enough word..




   There are about 6-8 other volunteers (the number is continually 

fluctuating) here as well, from all over the world.  We all sleep in a traditional Yuruk tent, heated by a central stove, located on the farm.  I've really enjoyed meeting everyone, learning from each individual and growing closer as a community.  It's exactly what I needed after the crowded city with millions of people, where somehow I was still able to feel lonely.  The conversation and interaction found on this farm is some of the absolute best I've ever experienced in my life.. I wish I could show that through photographs or words but I don't think it's possible.

   Our work shouldn't really be called work.  I would do it for free, every day, for the rest of my life - if I could.  I spent my first day here planting various sorts of pepper and tomato seeds in the small greenhouse.  Accompanied by Daphne, Nassim, Sinan and Agata, we got to know each other and soon fell into the routine and rhythm of planting, towards the end it became almost meditative.  Sinan played lovely classical music all day, saying it was for both us and the soon to be seedlings.

   The next day we spent the morning harvesting parsley, onions, lettuce, and carrots from the big greenhouse for the market in Istanbul the next day.  After that was finished, we picked weeds from the young parsley beds and then went to forage for wild greens, used in salads, and wild turnips to sell in market as well.  After lunch, we cleaned the vegetables and returned to weeding, while enjoying great conversation and failing at frustrating riddles.

Taking all the weeds to the animals for snack time!

   Today was our day off, and man was it an incredible day.  The Black Sea is about 8 km from the farm, so we all decided to walk there on what ended up being a perfect day for it.  The hike was lovely, as we chose to go by forest instead of by road.  I haven't seen the Black Sea before today, so it was pretty exciting for me.  Once we arrived we spent some time exploring the shoreline and then made our way into the nearby town, Kerpe - a beautiful, tiny town right on the water.  We climbed on the cliffs of Kerpe for most of the day, exploring little caves and beautiful natural archways in the sunshine.  We stopped at a little cafe for a quick snack before heading back to the farm for dinner.  I can't say I can remember a more perfect day in my recent memory.

   During lunch one day, Nar - the mastermind and inspiration behind this whole idea of the farm - said, "We are all connected, not just this family... everyone.  The whole world is connected."  She said it simply, as if she was only stating something that we all already knew.  It was a beautiful moment of insight into the beliefs of the woman who created such an incredible community here in Kandıra, Turkey - a place that I'm sure will be with me forever.