the little bit of spring that we've had so far in İstanbul...

Tulip Time in Istanbul

Every year in Istanbul there is a Tulip Festival celebrating the national flower of Turkey. Its historical importance goes back to the Ottoman Empire, there is actually a period call the Tulip Period. [The Turkish for tulip is Lale.] The festival usually happens around March or April, luckily also around Spring Break. In addition to the amazing flower arrangements they build along the highways (check out the clock made of tulips) and neighborhood roundabouts, a few major parks around the city are designated as specific festival destinations. Last year, for various reasons I did not attend any of these parks so this year I made a point not to miss it again. So, one very nice friday (it gets ridiculous on the weekends so I was very lucky I could go on a weekday) I stopped over in Emirgan Park, located in one of the very nice, fancy neighborhoods up along the Bosporus. The weather pretended it was spring for the day so I could fully enjoy the blue skies and live outdoor music. The park was huge and very hilly so if you missed a bit chances are you had to climb all the way back up again to see the map of Turkey made with red tulips or the river of tulips. Also to get back to the stand selling flowers involved yet another hill but to remember the day I had to buy my own tulip for 1lira, (about 70cents) and I was then able to enjoy Spring in my own room for another week. 

visual evidence of my spring break...

Spring Break Part I: Hatay

lots of boring overgrown rocks, enjoy!!

Spring Break Part II: Selçuk and Ephesus

much more interesting old rocks :)

upcoming spring break adventures...

so next week is finally spring break so I have actually made plans to leave Istanbul and see some more of this country I've been calling home. This weekend I will go back down to Hatay, technically for a thesis research trip. I will revisit the mound and the site of the excavation. Also I will hopefully have some time to see the town of Antakya as well and some local sites. Then after I return next monday, on tuesday morning I will go with my friend Deniz to Ephesus. Our greek professor lives nearby so he will take us on a tour of the Roman site and other places depending on how far away they are and how much time we have.

I am super excited, to see new places, old places and to eat some delicious künefe with ice cream in Antakya!
There will definitely be some pictures coming in the next couple weeks.

happy spring :)

greek...

so, we are just about to start reading a section of Odysseus in our greek class and it has reminded me of my favorite poem so I am posting it here, along with a cheesy video interpretation complete with pretty pictures.

As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
 
Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.
 
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
 
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
 
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean. 



http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=74&cat=1

enjoy!

blog design

sorry for the constant changing of the blog design but I have yet to be really happy with the aesthetics that it presents. It also happens to be a great procrastination tool :) if anyone happens to have good design ideas or color themes that work best I would be more than happy to listen. Also, I have yet to figure out or take the time to make a personalized header with a picture from my own archives, which I think would be most effective in representing my collection of thoughts. Today, I also happened to figure out the reason blogspot has not been working on my computer at home in the apartment, because Turkey has banned blogger.com! Good thing Koç Univ. allows access to all blocked websites so at least when I am at school I can access such exciting and scandalous sites.

till next time...enjoy the yellow:)

Ottoman fieldtrip to Bursa and the Marmara Sea...

Ottoman Class Fieldtrip to Bursa

captions coming soon...

the charm of istanbul

http://schott.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/bosphorising/

more pamuk...

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/The-museum-that-was-written-down/21427

London for New Year's!!

London for New Years 2010-2011

So, when visiting my friend Kaitlin (from Wellesley) in London this past weekend besides just relaxing and hanging out in her flat with her friends from University, I had a short list of things to eat and see this time around:

- fish, chips and beer

- tea and scones and clotted cream

- seeing the objects from my turkish archaeological excavation on exhibit in the British museum

- indian food (which i sadly did not photograph but thankfully did eat the very first night and it was indeed delicious)

- other ethnic food

and then since I hadn't planned much else and sort of made it up as I went along I visited a few other museums which I had never been to before but they were absolutely lovely and I'm very glad I made the time instead of returning to my old favorites.

- the Geffrye Museum

- the Wallace Collection

- the Courtauld Gallery at the Somerset House