Coronavirus Communique: Saturday May 20.2020

Bom dia,

Eu preciso de practicar meu Português mais tão estou escrevendo em Português só hoje. 

Eu acordei cedo para exercicio fora, antes que fique muito quente. Já está 31º C as dez horas... Minha caminhada foi pacífica. Depois eu fui direito para o ginácio. Agora me sinto relaxado tomar meu cafe no meu lanai na sombra.

Estou ouvindo reggae música a partir dos meus amigos sala de estar na Hawaii. Isto é, claro, de um computador.  Cada semana eles fazem videos para que todos possam desfrutar.  É muita masa! Eu sinto que estou de volta ho Havaí. Eu posso ouvio os sapos ('coqui' frogs- a very bad invasive species to Hawaii) no fundo.  Eles vivem na selva (jungle?) é, bem, isso me faz saudades para os trópicos.

Tem sido séculos desde que eu ouvia reggae parece...

Hoje eu vou continuar cortar tecedo para fazer um vestido de verão.  O tecedo tem bolinhas brancas em um fundo azul.  Felizmente, eu tenho dois mais semanas gratis de trabalha!  Recentemente, um ano atrás, eu comprei uma máquina de costura é tem sido último para costurar novamente.

Na verdade eu tenho minha amiga, Denise, de agradecer pela insperação. Eu a conhecí há trente anos em Santa Cruz, California.  Ela é o melhor!  Ela costumava tem um atelier chamada 'Wild Thing' e eu trabalhei lá. Foi na praia no Capitola Village. Ela me ensinou sobre a vida & estar feliz em tudo. Também, ela me ensinou a amar a música jazz.  Agora ela está vivendo no Surf Beach, Austrália e tem seu estúdio de design em casa.  Ontem, ela me disse que ela vai me fazer um vestido!  Então, eu escolhi um estilo e tecedo.  Ela só usa tecedo com Aborigional impressāo. 

Aqui está a sua informacao para a 'Etsy store', se chama 'Global Vibe' dela:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/globalvibe?fbclid=IwAR0-EetNXqwhQhUC1nAKraAL6f5lF3WXmW22EZRAeJNuIglYO8FkXiX3kqI

 E uma foto de nós: Ela visitou-me e meu namorado e sua familia no Hawaii para as férias.

Hippy chicks. Denise e eu na manha de Natal no Maui. Eu não me lembro o ano...

Voltar a Português...

É muito difícil para mim entender Português... Eu posso escrever e ler muito melhor do que eu posso escutar.  Eu vou tentar ouvir podcasts Portugueses mais.  Minha nova coisa é ouvir Bossa Nova podcasts porque as palavras são cantadas mais lento. 

Isso é suficiente para hoje! Como é que eu faço?

paz

feeling the Maui love

monsanto MUST BE STOPPED. GMOs gotta go:  watch it & get into my head-space this morning...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0I2xZSlLVjA

Sunday morning here in the Fertile Crescent. Lots of fickle weather as of late. Yesterday it kinda tried to snow for a few minutes (after I already packed away all my winter clothing last Wednesday) while I was downtown. Today it is warm and sunny.

I'm back in bed with coffee brewing and hot oats cooking on the stove.  I had a lovely run this morning.  Up early (no sleep past the early a.m. call to prayer), I was surfing the net.  By the way, 5 a.m. Turkey time is prime time to see what all my friends are up to back home in Hawaii- exactly 13 hours behind in the time zone scheme of things.

Well, Hawaii's citizens are up to A LOT today. They are fighting a giant- a giant coackroach of a corporate empire rat race. Okay, I said it. Yep monsanto (no capitalization for an UNproper noun).

As the sun was rising, I was increasing in my rage after reading all the articles posted. I didn't feel hopeless though.  I felt hopeful because my friends on Maui and throughout the Hawaiian Islands ROCK. They are getting the job done.  They are in R-EVOLUTION mode.

Being so far away from Maui makes it difficult sometimes. Like this time. After I had had my fill of information, I set out to go for a morning run.  I ran today for Maui- for Hawaii. For my friends that are on the front lines there fighting the government- who insist on trying to get into our kitchens. WTF is it with the government trying to get into our vaginas, as well as our kitchens?

On the subject of front lines, I, admittedly, haven't kept up so much with America's revolutions.  I have my senses full over here watching THESE revolutions: Syria, a free Kurdistan, etc.  I'm front and center over here trying to take all this in in as graceful a way as I can (I know I cuss too much, but hey, it's a product of being an archaeologist and always being around construction crews. Oh how I miss being around construction crews).

But I digress... so, people over here are dying- loads of them every day- fighting for their cause against their corrupt governments. What I realized, though, is that I decided that Hawaii's fight with monsanto wasn't as important as these people's fights because... well, I see dead people on the news every day because of these fights...

BUT this morning something snapped in me. It comes down to this: fighting an injust government that is trying to make too many personal decisions for us- we the people. Why do governments, the world over, want to come into our homes? Why into our bedrooms? Our kitchens? Our gardens?

So I turned my rage into pure, divine energy and had a kick-ass run.  It wasn't yet 7 a.m. so I had the place to myself again.  Every lap around the track was encouragement. I want Maui peeps to feel my encouragement for their dedication.  I was running so fast I could hardly keep my breath. But I thought, 'Maui peeps are in the rain today holding signs and supporting their (our) right to exist and be allowed to make (some of) our own decisions.

Perhaps my friends over here think this can't compare: people in America fighting for the right to have a GMO-produced food labelled as such so we can avoid buying/ingesting it, when their governments are KILLING them. Our government is killing us too with GMOs, but it's a slow death- unlike what I see over here. Our government kills us with cancer-causing agents that are leaked/seeped into our foods, our lands- all in an effort to produce 'superfoods!'

I do not mean to make light of the situation, anywhere.  It is just different. What is common is that people have to rally and fight for their rights in almost every aspect of life- anywhere.  period.

Okay, I'm done with that. And with my oatmeal (I hope the oats weren't GMOs but I don't know as the bag is in Turkish).  I hope not. I can say that here, in the southeast, knowing what is in one's food is not a 'thing' here. For whatever reasons, I don't know.  The health issue thing isn't so prevalent.  I know a core group of friends here where it is indeed a concern, but it is the rare exception to the rule for sure.  Perhaps in other parts of Turkey it is more of a concern for people.  I don't even know the active status of monsanto in Turkey. This is something I will check into momentarily...

Back to my exciting life... ahem. So, yesterday turned out to be a horrible day weather wise here in Gaziantep.  It ended up kinda snowing. I was downtown with Solo_ojo and we were getting our 'lists' checked off when we got caught up in the foul weather. Actually we were waiting for the tram and noticed the dark, brooding weather on the horizon while it was lightly raining. We both saw it, turned to each other, and decided to verbalize that we were going to forget about it and maybe nothing bad will happen... At least I had the good sense to have a beanie on my head. It is ironic, though, that 3 days before I made it a personal task to pack up all my weather clothing since spring sprung...
Back to that checklist: Mehmet the tailor called and my pants were ready. Awesome! I am addicted to having a tailor now... I got to eat my favorite Turkish food- Iskender. I bought some fistik baklava for friends in Izmir for next weekend. Oh yes, I also made it to the eczane too! I hate going to the eczane in Gaziantep.  Not sure why.  I really only do it when I am traveling in Turkey.

Here is perhaps one reason why I hate it here: Yesterday I walked to the counter and asked in Turkish for 'dort tane Yasmin lutfen', and he brings me back only 1. I say again 'dort' (4) and he, almost reluctantly, goes back and brings me 3 more- all the while the guy standing next to me at the counter is just staring at me... It is ALWAYS weird...

Last weekend in Konya I contemplated going into an eczane there, but somehow talked myself out of it... heh heh. My partner in crime with me in Konya only laughed at me when I told her the story. I guess I think of Konya as such a conservative place, but a lot of people assure me that, even though it is difficult to purchase alcohol there, it has the highest percentage of drinkers there.  I wasn't so sure it was going to be so easy to buy alcohol so I brought my trusty flask with me! That's another story though...

Okay, my work here is done.

cheap ticket to paradise...

Sunday afternoon in the Fertile Crescent

A perfect gloomy day to traipse around the neighborhood and eat a superb Sunday brunch- incomplete, of course, because of the absence of mimosas. Of course, I'm all about finding solutions to problems these days... I'm resourceful. My day has morphed into a 'clean the apartment' afternoon. Whenever I get ready to go on an odyssey I like to start with a clean house upon return.

So I found myself a tailor! Tailor Mehmet downtown near the kale. Awesome man. Somehow we managed to communicate that I want a pencil skirt made from an exact pattern that I have.  We went to the fabric store yesterday afternoon (fabric PORN I swear!). What a wonderland fabric stores here in Turkey. It was pure ecstasy. I wanted to savor the experience. Nothing like touching every bolt of fabric of the right weight, color & texture.  AWESOME!!!

Can't describe anymore to you all without becoming obscene how much I enjoyed the experience.  Check that one off the list now- personal tailor in Turkey.  After the pencil skirt, I plan on taking a few more trousers to him as well... I can see this will become a new addiction for me. Surprisingly cheap as well.  Perhaps by next year I will have myself my own sewing machine so I can do it myself.  I miss my sewing machine.  I hope Katie-girl is having a good time with it.

It seems this post is going to be filled with the most mundane of things, but I figure that for all you guys reading back home, it might be terribly fascinating.  Honestly, just going to the grocery store still holds fascination for myself down here. Folding laundry even holds more intrigue for me than it did back in Amerika...

One thing that does not fascinate me with the mundane, though, is the state of my houseplants.  I've never had to deal with caring for (house)plants.  In Hawaii they just flourish, unless they are a rare breed of orchid that takes some more non-commital commitment. Seriously though, orchids are THE MOST tempramental of plants to attempt to shower with love.  You basically have to ignore them for them to flourish. All the sudden one day you look in the dark corner where you stuck the orchid plant to recover in ICU and BOOM it's blooming!!! When did that happen?  So yea, my houseplants are fussy right now.  Not enough sunlight? Too cold? Not enough water? Inside? Outside today? WTF DO YOU WANT FROM ME??? Arghhhhhhhh. But I persist in trying to diagnose their problems. I'm looking at them right now- all frumpy and giving me this passive-aggressive 'vibe'.

I was inspired yesterday to make Apple Cobbler- based on a recipe that I barely remember assisting with for New Year's... I had to put myself back in that state of mind I was in at the time to sort it all out... Turns out I was able to successfully achieve that state and reproduce a decent quality homemade munchies snack.. Drank the remainder of Malibu Rum in the process as well. 

Loads of laundry this weekend AND I'm even cold-water soaking all my wool and cashmere sweaters! I know, can't get more titillating than explaining this folks (*yawn*). There is a zen art that I have discovered when hanging clothes to dry on the clothes-horse thingy. I get absolute pleasure from this experience.  It really derives out of necessity: how to hang clothes to dry just so perfect that one doesn't have to iron them afterwards... This is end goal here.

In other news, I cleaned off my kitchen counter complete with anti-bacterial medicines... Even had to burn some Nag Champa incense to cover up the medicinal explosion. I suppose I won't discuss the loo cleaning this morning, but I did that too.

For entertainment talk-story I will divulge that I am currently absorbed in watching all the original "Pink Panther" series that Blake Edwards directed with such movie-star greats as David Niven, Elke Sommer, Peter Sellers, etc... I never thought anything about Robert Wagner before, but he sure was hot when he was young... Stupid funny stuff that seems enchanting while experiencing a mildly cold Southeastern Turkish winter.  I also watched the first episode of "Little Mosque on the Prairie"- which is hilarious and I highly suggest it to all friends back home.

I'm looking for some interesting books to buy in Portugal so if any of you have any titles of stuff you think I should read, let me know. As well, any apps I should know about.

Weather Ping Pong here this winter. Where is all the bloody snow? I have this increased fascination with winter clothing and enjoy amassing this type of garb. I can't figure it out- especially as I should be in a warmer place living... I can't help but think that in the back of my mind I'll need winter wear if I move to Cappadocia... Well, where to live next in Turkey is another consideration I'm considering. I mean, if I'm going to live in a cold area, I need to be snowboarding. This is ridiculous right now. So close, yet so far... And why is it so damn expensive to snowboard here? Okay, who reading this post knows someone with a ski resort here in Turkey. Hook a girl up... What about Kayseri? Must be some damn good skiing on Erciyes, no? What about cross-country skiing? Do peeps do that here? Where do you get the equipment? Snowshoes? Nothing like a good snowshoe expedition through the forest.

Okay I'm tiring of this. I'm thinking of doing a reconnaissance survey of my closet and check out all the luscious clothes of mine that I have here that I can't wear here. This includes shoes/boots as well.

looking for my own little paradise on this side of the planet...

2112 Yep... still here

...and the last time I checked, today, so was my student loan debt. Alas, Plan B, which was Plan A all along: work like a dog and pay it off...

Ordinary evening on this much deserved Aloha Friday here in the Fertile Crescent.  Requisite de-stress routine pau hana quitting time back at the apartment, dinner w/da boyz at our new fav spot here in 'better-than-decent' restaurant row that has in the past few months spawned a slew of fairly cool, low-key eateries.

People watching was quite to my enjoyment this evening as well. Some folks that were very easy on the eyes if you catch my drift.  What is happening in this Universitesi mahallesi (neighborhood) of Gaziantep in the past few months? It's a noticeable improvement in atmosphere. There is literally a tri-fecta of new restaurants within 150 meters from my apartment building. And a real coffee joint, apparently as I haven't indulged yet since my coffee is the best in town-especially on the weekends...

I'm glad we're all still here actually. I mean, I've built up quite the wardrobe in the past decade, and with the addition to winter wear, well it's complete. Except for boots. More boots. I need more boots. I'm mad about boots. Thank the Mayans for that. To celebrate the lack of apocalyptic behavior, I will celebrate life by purchasing an exquisite pair of... yep you guessed it- BOOTS in Portugal.  I just love a  European downtown shopping district with a mission!

Only 2 more hours left in this day. Like every other day at this time. Whatever. I still hear the neighbor chicks being loud and obnoxious w/their squeaky voices. I still take my trash out- that is when Warden Woodie slacks on his duties. I will still go through my bouts of listening to crap 90s music when I get in 'those' moods. I will continue to hope that suddenly hip Gaziantep births a tri-fecta of super-healers: acupuncturist/masseuse/chiropractor.

If I'm not making sense to you, you don't know me really well likely. That's alright. Plenty of time now. Ima just hang here in the Fertile Crescent and chill the f*ck out. The next cataclysmic event is prolly not 'scheduled' to happen for a while. Please refresh my memory if this is incorrect. Am I missing something? There is nothing on my iCal to suggest otherwise anyway...

Okay it is officially Aloha Friday NIGHT. Let the shenanigans begin and continue throughout the weekend.

PS- I'm sorry to report that I'm still not proofing these posts.  I do miss my editor-at-large dearly. He kept me in check... RIP lil Kolohe K Kitty Kat, aka Jackie Love. 

Twas the early morning twilight hours of... Thanksgiving

Bewitching Hour restlessness in the Fertile Crescent

It’s 5 A.M. and I’ve been up since 3:30 A.M. My mind can’t seem to stop working. Luckily it shut down for a good 5 hours earlier in the evening so tomorrow won’t be a total blur at work. I’m not sure what keeps me awake. Maybe it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow (today) and thoughts of being so far away from my favorite American holiday? I know not. Maybe it’s trying to sort through my life and my future plans? Prolly so.

It’s strange- being a world denizen. My connection to being grounded, and my past is most definitely Hawaii, but I make new connections as well. Every place I live and leave I have a connection with. Sometimes it gets confusing; Do I really miss living in Tunis, or do I just miss how strangely beautiful it was? Am I just being nostalgic about Istanbul, or is it really the most incredible city I have been to? Do I miss the wonders of the archaeological world, or am I just feeling blaise right now due to circumstances that are, obviously, out of my control at my current workplace?

..And now the 5:05 A.M. call to prayer… Funny, I have slept through it all week, and now I listen to the strangely hypnotic  melody. As I sit out on my lanai (terrace) and view Gaziantep in the darkness I look into myself. All these questions, but do I have answers? Do I need answers? Am I even seeking answers?

Back to the comfort of my bed, and my cozy Canadian Goose Down sleeping bag… My thoughts wander back to work; how can I feel satisfied that my students are merely satisfied with receiving a passing grade in class? How do I not let it bother me that they want to become English teachers, yet not fully understand modal verbs? How else can I convey to them that it will be their responsibility to explain modal verbs to their future students when they become teachers?

Since teaching in faculty I have realized that I like this style of teaching- lecturing on specific subject content. Do I want to return to grad school and complete a PhD? Am I experiencing PhD envy? Certainly living in Turkey and seeing the incredible events of some of the earliest beginnings of civilization has made my heart stir for archaeology again…

When I was in grad school in NYC I was  so happy to be going in a different direction w/TESOL, and I still am happy because of the anthropological connection that I feel to what I’m accomplishing in the present. But, something inside of me is stirring- rather quietly at the moment. It’s no secret that I miss the world of science.

This country is so amazing in that every step you take on this land, you can feel the history- even the prehistory if you are sensitive enough. What burnt me out with archaeology in Hawaii was the constant connect of the past to the needs of the present and future- developers. The mysteries unraveling from the earth were fantastic, but the constant pull of ethics weighed hard on me. As well, so did the extremely physical manual labor.

Now that I have stepped out of that arena, though, I look back into it. Those were my days of glory. The satisfaction of the physicalness of it was immense. More so than with the satisfaction of finishing a day of work at the university. But maybe I’m just romanticizing those moments with a, currently, selective memory…

Something happened to me in Cappadocia during the last Bayram. I saw this incredible landscape and along with this, I saw development. The connection is strong; when you see a beautiful place, you see tourism. With tourism you see development- increasing development. What I saw in Cappadocia, I experienced for over 20 years in Hawaii- development going out of control because of natural beauty and the inevitable ‘progress’ of civilization.

Last week while I was reading the local news from my Twitter feed, I saw 3 different articles on a major development issue in Cappadocia- Uçhisar to be exact. I don’t know enough about the community, but I know enough to know that it’s going to be a big, reoccurring problem for the community. The community is going to change- because it’s so beautiful of a natural wonder. It already has-drastically since my last visit 5 years ago. Even more so than my initial visit 11 years ago. If the community doesn’t rise up now and protest big development… well…I hope the community is up for an uphillbattle. They should have the power to change things if they unite.

From what I read, there are no archaeologists required on site during all aspects of construction- from the initial grubbing of the surface to mass sub-surface excavation with large machinery. It’s frightening to think what information is being lost. I would tell the local community there that they need to be citizen-policing the construction site. I would hope that at least the developer is a local person and/or entity so that the concerns of the community will weigh heavy in his/their hearts.

I haven’t a clue about historic preservation laws in Turkey, or the government’s desire and/or ability to keep large-scale development in check with the needs of the local population. I somehow have the idea that their stance is not as progressive as Hawaii’s though. I saw the same thing in Hawaii: corruption, finding loopholes in county, state and Federal laws and developers exploiting those loopholes, etc. I saw more than enough developments go through without the proper ‘chain of command’ being taken.

Anyway, this is on my mind at 6 A.M. I should be sleeping… My mind still wanders- to less complicated stuff though; Where should I go for my birthday? Am I going to Kabak for New Year’s? Should I buy a bread machine? Yes folks, this last one has been on my mind for a few weeks. So, Corporal Punishment has a bread machine, and she makes bread every week. Lately she hand-delivers to me freshly baked bread still warm from the oven… Not just any bread mind you, but hearty, healthy breads that are so delicious to eat that you don’t need to put anything on it. Anyway, I’m thinkng that a bread machine will improve my life! See, it really is the little things in life that matter…

I think I see the first light of dawn trying to crack through my silk curtains so I must end here and sleep for 1 more hour.

Happy Thanksgiving people! I’m eating turkey in Turkey tonight! Yes, my Turkish friends are having a Thanksgiving soiree for us vagabond expats. This is a wonderful thing that is what life is all about. Life is so precious- even when you are lost in confusion and thought. There is always something to be grateful about. I am so very grateful for my friends and family, and to know that I can feel at home wherever I am.

*kerplunk*

oh, Happy Thanksgiving today, or tomorrow- wherever you are!

some serious Jedi Mind Tricks going on down here in the Fertile Crescent tonight during the midnite hour...

Yea, subject line explains it pretty succinctly (haha).

It's the glorious end of a long, sometimes painful work week, but you know what, in the end it was great. I've come to some realizations. Most importantly that I'm not an army. Nor do I want to be an army- unless it's an army that only does battle with chocolate raspberry cake...

Anyhow... okay yes I continue on with this thought before I lose it once and for all. So, I think to myself, "just do it Holly. Just do it. Just re-adjust the kaleidoscope and let things fall into place as they tend to do if you just leave things alone and stay positive.  With this in mind, it was an awesome week and I learned a lot. To boot, the weather has been fabulous. I'm almost thinking I could get in some lanai sun-soaking tomorrow (this) morning. A morning that is fast descending upon me right now in fact.  I mustn't dawdle anymore. Let's get to the juice of this blog post- which wassssss....... I know I wanted to bring up Morocco- which came into my mind as I was ready to delve into my new research project. Shhhhh, but it's on a little-known (if any) archaeological site in the Cappadocia region. I'm not sure exactly as it might even be closer to Aksaray than Göreme. So this, of course, reminded me of Morocco 11 years ago...

I remember when I was on the ferry from Algeciras- at the tip of Spain and right next to Gibraltar. I had just started my journey a week before as I landed in Madrid. Hawaii to Madrid is a shock (although not as shocking as Hawaii to Antarctica I'm sure), and after a week I was freaking out and needed some open space- wanting to just have my mind blown. It was my first trip into Africa and it certainly set the pace for me- concerning the Maghreb countries anyway. The whole thing blew my mind.

My initial destination was Tangier- the main port city (I believe). I had no other plan beyond that. So on the ferry I decided I should meet up with some travelers. Immediately our motley crew was formed. Christian, the German med student/martial arts dude, was talking to ? from LA. She was moving to Fez to attend university and study Arabic language translation. Yo (real name) Kwan and I somehow drifted together and I believe we all met waiting for a taxi outside the port. So Yo Kwan's story: he was this Korean-American drag queen from.... Anyway somewhere in America. He was currently living in Paris studying to be a mime (I shit you not. S/he's prolly reading this right now in fact. I hope so!) We do correspond every once in a while. Prolly last time was finding each other on Facebook (haha what a cliche). Anyway, a fashion designer in London now I believe. Christian I sometimes Skype with. The last time must have been when I was living in Tunisia... I'm not sure. He is a (flying) doctor and was in east Africa for a few years out in the bush. He was headed back to Germany last I heard. Sometimes I see his Skype light on. I'm going to chat him up next light-up and see what he's been up to. LA girl I never heard from again. Never say never...

So we all made a plan (LA girl's plan actually so we all hitchhiked onto her plan): Hurrah, we're all going to Fez to see LA girl off to grad school. Since the port was far from the bus station we all shared the taxi and that is how HERstory is made...

The train was long and slow- just how I like it. There is so much to trip out on just sitting down and watching the scenery dance by. The different sounds, the passengers walking by. The weird scam artist dude that came into our little cabana thingy and was showing us pictures of da kine and asking us if we wanted to get off at Agadir instead and he could show us around.  He had the dark glasses on and everything- like a serious photo album.  Anyway, I immediately thought to myself undercover police trying to kidnap/ransom us. No, I didn't really think that, but it sounds good to read- doesn't it?

So, we avoided 'him' the rest of the journey. He must have found some other starry-eyed travelers to scam oregano on them.

We got to Fez and yep- my mind was blown. The central outside area of the Medina. The people walking, biking, crawling all over. The smoke from the meat cooking, the orange juice sellers. Oh my goodness- THE ORANGE JUICE SELLERS! Dream city.  We somehow managed to find our way through the haphazard kaos that was vibrant life teeming around us. It was so thick, the life, that it just dripped all over us.

We, I guess, were led into the Medina maze and found a hostel.

NOTE: break in story here. I really hope I'm not lazy and actually break from this typing and get my external hard drive and retreive the scans of those pictures and post them here.  Make sure to give me total hell if you don't see any pictures near the end of this- okay?

So this place was amazing (my budget was definitely NOT amazing). I remember in the taxi in Tangier we stopped at a bank on the road to get some cash from the ATM. Now I believe this was the first time that I relied on a bank card to get cash out of foreign countries (haha). I was thrilled that it actually worked. What liberation for a traveler let me tell you. MAJOR.

NOTE: Fireworks are going off right now. Typical Gaziantep evening. Random. (not sure why I said that)

So, We had a 3-bed dormroom. We relaxed. Showered. Oh, the shower. So this was the first, and only, time that I took a shower where the shower was also the place that you shit. So you make damn sure that both your feet have even displacement on the foot stands above the water line with the large hole in it below... Yoga came in REALLY handy for that one. Honestly, the only worse bathrooms that I have ever seen was in Marseilles- which is my favorite city in France. I just adore the grittiness of it.

But, as always, I digress. Back to Marrekesh. Oh wait, what happened to Fez. I didn't finish with Fez. We were there a few days and saw amazing shit, then went further south- down into the edge of the Sahara Desert. Christian had a hankering to get to Merzouga. I don't know what it's like now, but 11 years ago it blew my mind. Yes it's true. We did it up right. Saw a village wedding. Danced at a village wedding. Yo Kwan got to hang out with me in the girls area of the wedding. There was singing and dancing. No other foreigners. The medina was cool there. Going out at night and eating was mind-blowing. Going into the medina and buying kohl eyeliner with Yo Kwan was amazing. He bought this cool Tuareg Berber kaftan thing. It was royal blue with gold piping. It was regal.  We got hennaed. We got lost in the medina and had amazing adventures.

We went into the desert interior with the guys from the hostel we were staying at. There was this Lawrence of Arabia guy that was a flying doctor and was going into Algeria to do surgery for a few days. He took us around in his safari jeep and so was Lawrence. Everything from stopping at the wells at various areas in the road- which wasn't a road but open hardpan landscape. There was even a scorpion under a rock next to the ladel that was there always for weary travelers to wet their lips when they, inevitably, ran outta water... And then the 5 star hotel he took us to and we drank really expensive beers- that he bought. He was ready for an audience and we were captive listeners. He gladly bought our rounds. Then there was the trek into the desert for the moonrise. I'm talking camels and all. We walked and I remember bartering my Swatch Watch for some cool fabric from our new Berber friends.

So... after all the fun. One morning I woke up to screams. Ali came running to my door shouting that New York City was on fire. Yes folks, here is where this story takes a turn. I was on the Algerian/Moroccan border camping out underneath the stars at some Tuareg Berber stronghold at the edge of the desert when 911 happened.

Anyway, all surreal. I'm still here to type about it. Let's continue on to Marrekesh. Honestly, Marrekesh was last on my list of places that I liked in Morocco, but what does that really mean? I loved every minute of it.

NOTE: just had a balcony break. Gaziantep sleeps and I'm observing. The new age-y minarets in the distance that have their neon green lights banded around them- well the lights are off, but I always love it when the lights are on. It looks so space-agey.  But it was a good break because I remember the reason for this blog. There is this little shop deep in the Çarşı downtown G-tep, and they sell clove cigarettes- real clove cigarettes. Apparently, as the story goes, there is this little old man in an otherwise empty store. He is sitting on a stool. When my friend inquired about where this place is that sells the cloves, he said, "right here" and lifted up the fabric and underneath the stool was 1 box of cigarettes. You couldn't buy just a pack. You had to buy the entire 10-pack. So my friend did. Anyway, I don't really ever smoke cloves, but I remember I did when I was traveling through Morocco. So that is the mystery folks. Solved.

Back to Morocco... I think I'm done here actually.

I did check the hard drive, and couldn't find the pictures, BUT I will leave you with some random photos from a series that is 'ARCHAEOLOGY CHICKS THAT ROCK" (I just made that up actually). This also has a subcategory of our fans (actually just friends outside the profession that somehow enjoyed our company). I realize that is a stretch to think we were some kinda wild women (wink), but look at the facts people: we lived the man's world. We rocked the construction sites. It was like being inside a commnando game and we were the mistresses of corporal punishment. Total Swiss Family Robinson syndrome. This includes all ex-boyfriends and other highlights that are now family and have to love me even though I post weird stories about them, Simone... But anyway... enjoy

Me. One of the The 'Archaeology Chicks That Rock'--ed it a little bit too hard the previous evening- New Year's Eve- sometime about 5 years ago. Katie-girl (archaeology chick that rocks) and Lindsay (non-archaeologist chick that rocks it as a nurse) and I went backside Hana to Piero's place. We had so much fun (well I passed out at 11:45pm...) and woke up the next morning in sleeping bags outside of his house, nearly on the street (of course it is backside Maui so no traffic and total country...

Rochelle le Belle and Lil'D: both archaeology chicks that rock. We rocked it a lot at their south side pad up in Maui Meadows. Miss dem gargoyles long time.

going holoholo westside with katie-girl (same archaeology chick that rocks) and our 'hangers-on" (haha). We were headed to Honokohau Beach and somehow stopped at a house our friend was working construction on and totally scarfed up all their luscious mangoes! Heh heh. Resourceful we are.

Lady-Di, moi, and Katie-girl (all archaeology chicks that rock). Katie wasn't it that weird dude that all got us those baseball caps for Christmas? Lady-Di is since married and with child so congrats to you my dear! Katie-girl is soon on her way down that road. And then there's me...     Bye. Oh, apologize in advance for the absence of my senior editor-at-large. He is largely missing... Kolohe Kitty Kat RIP you sweet thing. Best kitty kat evah!

All Hallow's Eve 2012, OR You Say 'Halfeti.' I think 'Rumkale.'

October 31st. All Hallow's Eve- more commonly known the world over as Halloween.

My favorite hollyday. It's originally thought to have pagan roots and celebrated as harvest festivals, as well as a festival of the dead (souls). If it is to be viewed as a Celtic Samhain, then it is seen as the time when this plane of existence (our world) opens the door wide enough for all the dead souls and other beings (faeries, maybe even unicorns, etc.) to enter into our existence (temporarily). Samhain marked the end of harvest season. A big feast ensues and the souls of the dead come back to their houses on this day for the feast. It is even thought that there is a place setting at the table for the deceased relative... Now, with all the good souls arriving into our world, some bad or evil souls 'get through' as well as the tale goes. So it is thought today that the modern Halloween of dressing up on costumes comes from this ancient ritual of dressing up so the bad spirits wouldn't recognize you.

All Hallow's Eve is also my favorite Hollyday because it is the day that my father was born on.  I am blessed with 2 great events on this day!

Being that I'm in what I consider to be a rural area in Turkey, there is no overt Halloween tradition present here. I did plan ahead though. A few weeks ago I was out with some girlfriends and we decided that we were going to have traditional Ottoman era outfits made for us. We each picked out a different color fabric and VOILA- 2 weeks later they were ready to be picked up.

It was a joyous occasion- picking up our costumes. We pranced around the bazaar with them on and celebrated with beer at Ekim 29- our favorite watering hole over here. As a side note, 'Ekim 29' is translated as October 29th- Turkey's Republic or Independence Day. It is a huge holiday throughout the country- as is our 4th of July.

We picked up our gorgeous costumes the day before we hit the road en route to Hatay and Cappadocia- which I intend to blog about this weekend... But I digress... back to the story...

So what did we do? We took our costumes with us of course. Da Girls gotta get mileage out of these splendid outfits- know what I mean? 

Don't worry, I'm getting to the main point of all this soon- I think...

Ahhhh yes. I remember now. Halfeti. How does All Hallow's Eve tie into my Halfeti story- which I haven't even got to yet...

Okay it's getting late so is time to just cut to the chase: tonight I'm thinking about my father, which makes me think about Halloween, which makes me think about my wicked cool Ottoman era costume, which makes me think about my Kurban Bayram trip to Hatay and Cappadocia where we all wore our costumes around the natural landscape in the most random of places on and off the road... So now I am blogging about Halfeti because my Halfeti trip happened  BEFORE Bayram- and I want to blog about that trip.

I realize this prolly doesn't make sense to you guys, and that's alright. It's not my problem if you can't follow along with where my mind is not only at, but where it's going... heh heh.

Enough folly. I'm getting serious now. That means no more typing so with no further ado, I will commence with the pictures of... Halfeti. Well, I first need to give you all a BRIEF history of the place:

So there's this castle, Rumkale, at this place- Halfeti. Halfeti is about 1.5 hours east from Gaziantep, near Şanliurfa. It is on the Euphrates River, which along with the Tigris River further east makes up the Fertile Crescent. So Halfeti is famous for being ancient. It is also famous in modern times for an entirely different reason: In the 1990s many dams were constructed throughout central/east/southeast Anatolia. These are part of the GAP project as part of the Turkish government's economic and agricultural incentive program.

As with any government endeavor, with pleasure comes pain- am I right?  The town of Halfeti was, unfortunately, going to be impacted so severely that the entire town would be underwater once the waters were damned by Birecik. Now Halfeti is partially submerged, and the town had to be moved away inland further.  What remains is an eerie ecene: clear waters on calm days where one can see beneath the surface to the remnants of the city. As well, there is a minaret  that remains partially above the surface of the water, yet the attached mosque is well beneath the surface. It is so beautiful in its staggering history. Here is this monument to a people's faith, a mosque- or cami- which is submerged due to something that is supposed to bring a better way of life (a dam to increase economic and agricultural endeavors) to the people, etc. I find the dichotomy interesting. The survival of the minaret is just magnificent in it's singular majesty almost appearing to be hovering just above the surface of the (now) reservoir.

In terms of the geology, the stark contrast between the deepest of blues water and the nakedness of the surrounding hillsides dotted with abandoned dwellings cut into the stone... it just transports you back into time. As you take a boat tour of the area, it is like your personal time machine where you see into the future and you think you have found the secrets to time travel. Yea I know, pretty cool trip right?

I forgot to mention Rumkale- the fortress high above the lake situated atop a rocky outcropping. It is Byzantine and Armenian in origin. Oh Zeugma is also in the vicinity. Zeugma is an ancient Greek & then Roman city that was 're-discovered' during excavation of the Birecik Dam.  Loads of mosaic fragments were discovered during the initial work. Along comes the archaeologists (YAY!) and then come the giant mosaics, some of which were re-constructed. As with any archeological project, the archaeologists are working just in front of the bulldozers.  This project being no different, the salvage work had to occur rapidly because the mosaics were in danger of becoming submerged by the dam. If this happened, and it surely partially did, major monuments to a previous civilization is lost. Disappears. Poof it's gone. Nothing to see over here folks. Move along... Aha modern civilization is indeed a bitch isn't it...

Okay I'm burnt out with my narrative. Pictures now!

L AND L and Brandon, our resident ancient historian/goofball all around good guy

Farahnaz- otherwise known as the Azari Princess

Selin- our hostess with the mostess

All smiles the 1st half hour of the ride- until your body realizes you are indeed on a mini-bus...

So... which way do we go?

our first sighting...

Yeni Halfeti (the new city)

rare bald Ibis birds only found here in Turkey and Egypt and 1 other place that I forgot. Anyone reading this remember???

groupies

zombies headed to the tea trough... heh heh

I want this ride... wicked car for sure

our ringleader and myself

trying to do cool tricks with my camera here...

Brandon telling us like it is- or how it was in terms of ancient Halfeti... history geeks rock

more photographic poe-tree... get it? Poetry...

Food! Most peeps got the local fish, but I still LOVE patrican kebap... Nom Nom Nom

Spency, D-bird & Thurston- posers...

caught my eye

I like pinwheels. I like Farahnaz. They are both in my picture for a reason.

Our captain and co-captain Selda (Selin's cool cousin who set it all up)

boat is approaching some abnormal activity. I can just feel it. Something is out there...

"Thar she blows"

Upon closer inspection it is in fact not a white whale, but a minaret sticking out of the (flood)waters of the Birecik Dam

cave life. I love cafe life. I want to live in a cave. A cave would be better than my current apartment honestly.

view from cave

cave stage

it's an awesome sight

stowaway on board ship. Kitty gave up its Halfeti citizenship to become a Gaziantep feline

another cami near the harbor.

heading into an amazing sunset after a ful-filled day spent exploring ancient ruins with friends here in the Cradle of Civilization.

Well... what did you think? No smart-ass grammatical comments/corrections either...

I always think my blog posts will only take an hour to produce… I'm never on time here.
 You all owe me a beer.

fly on the wall in southeast Turkey

A typical day off in Gaziantep might just include:

For example, this morning I woke up late- 8 am. Last night I was out with the Gargoyles. Being that the week was full of charged emotion, I was rather exhausted. As I came back to my apartment, I got side-tracked hanging out with my neighbor & his friends.

So this morning is a lazy one. Lounging in bed with coffee and internet is to be saviored… Farrah stopped by & we chatted for an hour or so. Mostly we just laughed. I introduced her to the charms of a morning french press iced coffee- no sugar & just a touch of cream.  We discussed films, as she’s a communications nerd, and so I proceded to put on ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.’ She, at first, lamented, “Oh, United Films. I hate all films produced by them.” After about 15 minutes she was hooked and agreeing with my analysis of the cinematography, cast of characters, etc. 

I showed her pictures of Maui & my different archaeological gigs. She told me about her hex. We chatted about the cool,new cami (mosque) being built right next to my apartment complex. I relayed that I was taking pictures of it as a work of progress- because they are building a miniret currently- to be viewed later. We decided that it is not the most aestetically pleasing architectural sight, but there were elements of it that were easy on the eye indeed- such as the metallic silver dome.

Yes the metallic dome. This is most pleasing for me. Sometimes at sunset the birds come- you know the ones. The ones that fly in formation and follow each other all around the surrounding area. Since I’m up on the 4^th floor it’s as if I’m up there in the sky with the bird gangs. What I believe to be seeing are bird-gangs all competing to put on the most awesome sunset show for me. They all fly around really fast following each other and are seriously attracted to said metallic dome of cami. It’s a sight to behold. Sometimes they come close to the apartment and you can hear the ferocious flapping of their wings- like some sort of aviary orchestra. So yea, that pleases me…

But I digress… Back to the original story. After Farah left to catch her bus, I went to my neighbors. Solo_ojo was over at Wardo’s place already so we all brainstormed about our impending day and shortly thereafter scattered into our different directions. My direction being back to my cave and continuing to enjoy the luxury that is pijamas, movie, dark windy day & leftovers!

Oh yea, another friend gave me some fresh plums she had picked from her cousin’s yard. I will break into and devour them today. They are looking lusciously enticing to me sitting on my counter all alone, or actually accompanied by 1 lemon.

Speaking of lemons, another friend, a wise old Pakistani man, told me a few weeks ago to drink lemon juice every morning before anything. I have been. I like it. People are so cool, you know. Something so simple… It’s a beautiful world really is what I mean to say here with all my cryptic words.

So… all this and the day is young still. It’s 1 pm only. One thing I realize is that I have to restart Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy again though. This movie is a single task movie for sure. No multitalking here. I think Mr. Ed knows exactly what I am talking about here…

One Night in Anatolia: Jam Session/BBQ 2012

Another blazing hot morning here on the Anatolian Plains...

I've my morning coffee and lounging on my lanai (deck in Hawaiian) overlooking the Yeni Cami (New Mosque in Turkish) and the small rise that is Karataş neighborhood. Admittedly, the view looks much better at night... All I see now, in the searing sunlight, is a sea of rectangular apartment buildings separated only by some shrubbery strewn about here and there... So, this is the setting for this morning's blog.

Today's title is a tribute to Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" film that I watched this past week. The plot: a group of men (suspects, police, ditch diggers w/shovels,etc) set out one dark evening in search of a body somewhere on the Anatolian steppes. It is one long night that evolves from a simple crime viewers don't yet know about to intense character development through little language, but with excellent cinematography. Village people are called up to prepare a late feast for the weary crime solvers, etc.

There are but a few females in the movie, yet the movie is most definitely about females as the few scenes they appear in are full of moody, uncomfortable, perhaps unassuming intensity. The ending is outrageous in its silence- the last 5 minutes anyway. Unexpected and it blew me away. The abrupt ending adds to its intrigue. Ceylan leaves viewers wanting more. I will say it is an intellectual movie and the moviegoer that is looking for fast-paced action will become disenchanted quite rapidly. Too bad for them that they couldn't see the layers of depth of this slowly evolving film...

I digress, back to my moving picture show- One Night in Anatolia: Jam Session 2012. Now this show evolved rather quickly in contrast. To set the scene, last weekend I bought a small BBQ as I have a large lanai (remember, "deck" in Hawaiian). At our lovely Tuesday Farmer's Market I purchased a shit ton (Urban Dictionary defines as, "a lot of a certain thing, can be used as an estimated numerical reference") of vegetables in anticipation of grilling them on the BBQ. I got this brainstorm the previous weekend at Elizabeth's flat in Ortaköy (a lovely Bosphrous neighborhood in Istanbul) when she hosted a BBQ on her deck for Miss Vicki's birthday.

So Solo_ojo & Wardo were over at my flat playing music, and it just evolved from there. Grilled veggies and hamburgers were soon at our fingertips- along with the requisite Efes Unfiltered beers- which only us yabancı partook in... Some other co-stars soon appeared and a good time was had by all. It was one of those rare Anatolian evenings where I suddenly really felt at home here in the Cradle of Civilization.

This place is, after all, off the beaten track. Not many 'yabancı' (foreigner in Turkish) visit this area let alone settle here and work... Yet it is this very reason that I do enjoy this place. An oxymoron I suppose. It's all here, the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful...

Of course, it is Ramazan (the Muslim holy lunar month of fasting), so all the denizens here are extra animated in the evenings, after polishing off a scrumptious Iftar (the meal for breaking of the daily fasting at sundown). Everybody stays up extra late and eats/drinks into the night because once sunrise occurs, the fasting begins again. As well, these past few years Iftar has occurred during the hot summers so this is extra difficult with no drinking even water during daylight.

Now, I will say one thing about charcoal briquets here in the Fertile Crescent... It is most important to buy ONLY the expensive ones. I bought the cheaper ones and suffered from my shopper indiscretion immensely... Must have spent 20 minutes glued to the BBQ simply trying to keep the flame alive with lighter fluid as the coals did not want to comply with their job description. At any rate, I prevailed, yet I was unable to indulge in the Jam Session 2012 with my ukulele (a Hawaiian stringed instrument).

End result: a good time was had by all. I had my first successful BBQ here in Gaziantep! All attendants were happy and full. Now, I do like to have a cozy flat filled with memories from all my flats I have lived in around the globe. Davido noticed this immediately and commented as such. This, of course, always makes the hostess smile. On this note, it seems most EFL teachers like to live rather frugally- as well with furnishings. Of course I do not understand this concept. no matter where I live, I like to feel 'comfy'. If not, you never really feel part of the community as I understand things.

So, I'll leave you with some documentation of the evening. Not much character development in my moving picture show mind you. That is insider information for this post I suppose. :

the stage

shadow play: hostess

thought-provoking

evening slowly evolving

bright lights, big city

reflections upon bright lights, big city...

my foot as an accompaniment

Wardo

finesse

Yeni Cami

my perspective