Turkey: Concluding part

[Guest guest]

I shall recount the rest of my Turkey trip (Part 3), as I was rudely

interrupted by my heart attack.

Photos have been uploaded to our files section.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mgims/files/Turkey/Eph%20to%20Troy.zip

Turkey Part 3

Leaving Goréme and the Pigeon and imagination valleys behind, we left by bus

to Konya. On the way, there was an ancient stone structure, which looked

like a half baked fort. We were informed that this was the Selcuk

Caravanserai " Sultanhan " . Selcuk is pronounced Sell-juke in Turkish. Serai

is another word which common to both Hindi and Turkish. The meaning is the

same, a sort of overnight motel.

Nowadays we have cars and can park and stay at motels. But in the older

days, people travelled long distances on camel back. They needed some

refreshment and rest stops in the long treks. These Caravan Serais served

the purpose of primitive motels.

The Sultanhan had a large courtyard, where travelers could park their camels

and cook and enjoy communal activities. There were a few rooms by the side,

which probably were available at a higher price. These were probably not

used for the purpose that modern day motel rooms are used, because there was

a separate hall for females to stay.

The courtyard also had a small structure for prayers, called a 'mesjid'.

Unlike in India, Mesjid means a prayer room in Turkish and not a

full-fledged mosque. Thus the airport lounges also have small rooms for

prayers called Mesjids.

Unfortunately, people in those days were as bad as they are these days,

hence due to the rising robberies and looting of travelers, these

Caravanserais were constructed like mini-fortresses and protected by the

reigning Sultan. Many such structures must have dotted the travel routes;

however, only one has been preserved.

We then proceeded to the city of Konya, which is famous for its Mausoleum of

Mevlana. In the 13th century, Islam was dogged with orthodox values and

dwindling popularity. The Sultan was at that time impressed by a young

Islamic mystic called Mevlana. He took Mevlana under his wing and thus the

cult of Mevlevi order was established from Konya.

To increase popularity of Islam, Mavlana introduced for the first time in

Islam, music and dance. Thus was born Sufi music, on which many of AR

Rehman's

songs are based, as also the cult of the whirling dervishes. The dance of

the whirling dervish is a peculiar style dance where the central 'guru'

stays in one spot, like the sun, and his disciplines revolve and rotate

around him like planets. They wear billowing white skirt like dresses which

make for a dazzling display whilst whirling. The peculiar conical hat, minus

the end taper is exclusive to these dervishes.

Mevlana was not an orthodox Islamic, so music and dance were for the first

time introduced to Islam. He also believed that all religions were seeking

the same goal, viz enlightenment. So he welcomed Christians and Jews as

well. His mausoleum has many tombs of their leaders. All these tombs sport

the conical head gear on top of the limestone plaques. Hence it is very

interesting to see these different types of tombs; tombs with hats!

Throughout our visit to Turkey, we were offered tea by the shopkeepers. The

Turkish tea is called 'Cha', but unlike the Indian Chai, it does not contain

milk. It is a concoction of either tea leaves or apple or pomegranate

extracts. This sweetened cha makes for a refreshing drink, though not as

satisfying as the Indian chai.

Another sweet that we saw all over Turkey was the Turkish delight. This is

basically the sweet that we call " Bombay Halwah " , covered with powdered

cinnamon. Many of our group bought boxes of these to gift loved ones back

home.

Baklava is another delicacy, which is similar to our Balushahi. There are

many shops in Istanbul which sell only Baklava.

Unfortunately, there is no wild life in Turkey. However, there are plenty of

cats all over the country. These cats have adapted to the cold and have

thick fur and grow nice and chubby. They move all over the country and act

as if they own the place, exactly like a mother-in-law. Strangely, through

our entire journey, we saw only one mongrel dog. Hmm! Can't say that the

country has gone to the dogs.

Our next overnight stop was Pamukkale. This name literally means cotton

fortress. Many of you must have already seen the beautiful pps presentation

on the internet of this place. The name is a misnomer, and there are no

cotton fields here. Instead, it is a wonder of nature. Hot water springs

gush out from the mountain cliffs, and accumulate in large pools of

cascades. The calcium and other minerals of the water deposit make for

spectacular bright white stalactites and brilliant white walls which look

like snow, but are actually hard calcium. The pools of water reflect the

sky, hence you get a miraculous landscape of white round enclosures with

pools of ever changing hues. From far it looks like a snow capped mountain,

but closer, you can walk down the warm water pools and even bathe in them.

In the 2nd century BC, these pools had gained fame for being great healing

centres of many diseases. Our hotel had a swimming pool of the same water.

Thus even at night we had a nice leisurely swim in the warm (37 degrees)

soothing water. Outside, the temperature was near freezing, but here we

could swim at ease.

Adjacent to this wonder of nature is the ancient city of Hierapolis. Here

the Greek constructed large baths with these warm water springs. There was a

large shopping arcade of ancient times called Angora as well as an

amphitheatre. In fact an entire city was developed along these springs.

There is also a salt lake on the way. This is supposed to be the saltiest

water body on earth, with an astounding 33.3% salinity. In fact, it is so

salty that the salt precipitates on its own on the lake bed. We walked on

beaches of this natural salt. Only one microscopic organism lives in this

salty water, otherwise no other living creature can withstand this high

osmotic pressure for long. So for all practical purposes the lake is

sterile.

Our next stop, Aphrodisias and the next at Kusadasi called Ephesus, were

both Greco-Roman ancient cities. In fact, walking on the roads of Ephesus, I

felt that I was walking in an Asterix comic book; the same giant marble

columns with marble paved roads and statues of lovely women gazing down on

you. Here we spotted a statue of Nike, where we realized how Nike the

company's logo of curved slash came about.

A very interesting spot we saw at Ephesus was the public toilet with

adjoining holes in marble slabs over a flowing stream of water. In the old

days, senior bureaucrats, it seems, would discuss matters of state

importance to the soothing music of toilet water and other extraneous

sounds. Looking at the present day parliamentary behavior, I think the

ancients had a point here.

There are beautiful preserved terrace houses built into the cliff sides and

of course, the public baths and amphitheatres. Indians and Romans, it seems,

share a fascination with baths and theatres. We saw so many theatres in

Turkey but not a single movie showing in any of these.

There was also a large library, which had beautifully carved statues of gods

and other mythical creatures adorning the walls. It was said to be the

largest library of its time and housed nearly 200,000 documents made of

parchment. Sadly, parchment does not last but the marble slots for the

parchments do.

Also, near Kusadasi, is small quaint cottage, where Virgin is said to

have spent her last days, along with Saint , to escape Roman

persecution. It is located on an isolated hillside and hidden midst dense

foliage.

The next town of Pergamon and Asclepion were similar. Asclepion was of

particular interest to me as a doctor. This was the home town of Galen the

ancient physician. He established many mud bath and water therapy treatments

here. One particular therapy was of hearing the sound of water flowing down

steps constructed along the cells of patients. It is said that the first

group therapy session for psychiatric disorders was held in the amphitheatre

here. The symbol of health care, a rod entwined with a serpent originated

here, because snake venom was used as a cure for many diseases here.

Pergamon is of special significance to me because I started feeling

breathless here for the first time. Fortunately, my heart carried on working

well for a week more till I reached India safely.

On our way to the last city of the tour, Canakkale, we also visited Troy.

Locally called Troia, Troy is famed for its famous war in which the Greeks

entered the city through a wooden horse. That led to the saying: Beware of

Greeks bearing gifts. Actually it should have been: Beware of gifts bearing

Greeks. The horse here is not the original one, but a replica rebuilt over

nine times. The land of Troy has some interesting ruins which show how

strongly the city was constructed. In fact, Troy was built and rebuilt over

seven times. Thus we can see various layers of construction and their

periods.

Canakkale has the large horse that we see in the Brad Pitt movie TROY. It

was donated by the film crew, though, interestingly, the movie was shot in

South Africa. The (Brad Pitt) horse seems strangely more authentic than the

Troy horse. See the power of movies!!

We then returned to Istanbul, and there bid farewell to this magical country

of Turkey.

Gule Gule, as they say Bye -bye in Turkish.

Kishore Shah