Of all the days ...

I get the one honest cab driver in Istanbul.

So it was Friday, August 20, and I had to catch a bus from Izmit to Istanbul to meet my tour bus.

Getting out of Izmit was no problem, as buses to Istanbul tend to be plentiful and leave about every 30 minutes. But navigating Istanbul was the tough part.

My school's principle wrote out what I needed to do and say in Turkish. It sounded all too simple. Once my bus arrived at the station, find a cab and have them drive me to another bus station. (There were no buses to the station where I met my tour group because, as I later found out, it's not really a bus station but a spot where the tour buses leave.)

So far, so good. I got off the bus, told the cab driver where I needed to go and we took off.

But I was waiting for the gouging.

Most foreign teachers in Izmit avoid going to Istanbul without a Turkish speaker. It's a big city, easy to get lost, and because it's such an international place, they will gouge you for every last cent you have if you don't know the language.

It's worse with the cab drivers. If you don't know Turkish, they will drive you all around town and run up the meter. I've had this happen to me in Prague, and I took a cab only twice in Paris and only once in London, where the fares seemed reasonable (Except the Paris cab drivers were assholes, but then again, so were many of the people.)

Cab drivers are one of the lowest elements in my mind, and I figured the guy who picked me up from the bus station was going to take me on a 10 Lira ride that would normally cost 5 Lira.

But then he stopped the cab. He points down the road and said something about the stop. The cab ride was only 3 Lira. Normally I'd be overjoyed about meeting an honest cab driver, because its a pretty rare event in itself.

But shit, I don't know where this place is, I don't know where I am and even worse I can't tell the cab driver that.

But because I left myself ample time to get to the Otogar (Turkish for Bus Station) I was OK. I calmed myself down and remembered this would be a way to see part of Istanbul that probably doesn't get much tourist traffic.

It was a nice enough area. The streets were clean and not too many people were out. If anything it still looked safer than half the neighborhoods in America.

Because I couldn't understand what direction the cab driver told me to walk, I had find someone who could point me in the right direction. After using my still small amounts of Turkish, I found someone on the street who could point me in the right direction.

An hour later and after directions from three other people who either couldn't speak English or couldn't speak Turkish slow enough, I found the damn bus station. If it wasn't for a kind shop keeper who walked me to the bus parking lot, I might have flagged down another cab and bent over for the proverbial gouging.

***

The bus rolled out of the parking lot around 12:45, even though the schedule said Midnight.

Though something happening 45 minutes later than schedule might annoy most people (like me), an hour late is on time in Turkey. So technically, 45 minutes is early.

But what killed me was after less than an hour on the road, we made our first rest stop. WHAT THE HELL? Give it 2 hours at least, or even one full hour, but no. Approximately 50 minutes.

Jesus H. Christ

Take off time was 12:45 a.m. and we arrived in Ayvalik, the city where our hotel was located, at 9 a.m. After that long of a journey I was ready to not step foot in a bus for another day. Except ours bus was leaving again at 11 for Saturday's tour.

In the next blog ... Saturday, October 21, Alibey and a boat tour.

I'm back ...

Well, I've been back for about two days now, but after catching up on some much needed sleep, I'm posting with my gallant tales of conquering the Aegean and the Turks.

The trip was amazing and I will post a day-by-day account of what happened over the weekend. (Because really, you have nothing better to do than read about the two times I as lost in Istanbul, went swimming in the Aegean and got freaked out because I thought a stingray was going to get me for making fun of Steve Irwin and the Goddamn nightclub that was so conveniently located next to my hotel room making it impossible for me to sleep before 2 a.m.

It was a group trip through ancient sites near the northwest portion of the Aegean sea. The tour was in Turkish (meh!) but fortunately, there were enough kind English speakers in the group to translate for me when needed.


Here's a brief daily rundown of where I went:

Day 1, Friday, October 20:
Left Izmit for Istanbul, found the bus and loaded up. Once the bus started going, I sat there for 9 hours while we made way too many stops.

Day 2, Saturday, October 21:
Alibey Island.
From the island we went on a boat tour and I ate the best fish I've had here.
Then it was back to the hotel room for a nice quite night, a little sleep, and ... where the hell is that music coming from. You've got to be fucking kidding me.

Day 3, Sunday, October 22: The busiest days.
The Acropolis of Pergamon, a set of ancient Greek ruins from two cities of Pergamon. One of the most impressive sites I saw. Complete with the ruins of a temple, a theatre and water canals that still stand.

I also met a cat who I named Templeton. She was the sweetest thing and followed my group on the whole tour.
From there we went to Asklepion, an ancient Greek healing center that had what was believed to be a sacred water - which was later discovered to be radioactive. Who knew?
After the ruins, it was a stop at a Turkish Onyx shop with a pretty impressive display of jewelry and decorations all carved from stone.
Then a tour of a Turkish carpet factory, where I saw a small carpet (about the size of a welcome mat) priced around $50,000. It was gorgeous though.
We capped off the day with a view of sunset (I know, it sounds gay and it kind of was) at a mountain called, "The Devil's Foot."

Day 4:
I needed a break so I ditched the tour group and went swimming in the ocean. What a relief.
But not all was lost as I learned how to play backgammon! (Finally, a new way to gamble.)


Day 5:
Assos, an ancient city with hilltop ruins that have a spectacular view. Plus, plenty of Gypsies.
After Assos, the most anticipated moment of the tour. TROY. A Trojan 8,000 miles from his Alma Mater sees where the name came from. Troy was both magical and strangely disappointing.

Day 6:
Galipoli, the BEST cemetery I have EVER seen (and I've seen a lot of them), walking in World War I trenches, but most importantly, I came to terms with something that has been bothering me for a while.

Day 6 ends the trip with a special additional post about the longest night I have ever had.

It was a spectacular trip and I had a blast. More importantly, I met more wonderful Turkish people who were warm and inviting.

until I get around to all these posts, (I'm shooting for one a day) take a look at some of the photos on a web page I set up. The address is: http://picasaweb.google.com/jamesloughrie

Change of plans ...

While I still want to backpack through the Aegean cities, my school made me an offer that was hard to pass up. They put me up on a tour in a three star hotel (which is a five star on the Loughrie scale) and I can pay it back in monthly installments. (hehe, suckers.)

So I'm not hitting Ephesus like I planned on this tour, but am going to see some wonderful beaches, islands and ancient sites within Turkey.

I'll still see Troy and Galipoli but will also see a mountain that contains the second largest concentrated oxygen production outside the rain forest. I can't wait to light a cigarette there.

All the information I can find on the trip is Turkish, but I found a web site with the tour and looked at pictures yesterday. It looks great. Ancient cities, ruins and, of course, wacky adventures. They even have an additional safari add on which I may or may not take. It depends if I can kill something while I am on Safari. If not, I'll probably find something else to do.

So, I'll be back on the 25th with a raconteur's arsenal full of yarns.


James

I'm hitting the road ...

starting the 21st for the end of Ramadan.

Since it's a national holiday and there's a differnet Turkish national holiday at the end of the week, my school is going to be closed for 9 days.

So I'm grabbing my backpack and touring the Aegean. I'll be on buses going from different points of interest. Though I haven't totally worked out the itineray, here's a list of the places on my must see list:
-Galipoli, the site of one of the bloodiest battles in World War I along the Dardanelles where the Turks kicked the crap out of the west.
-Troy. The ancient ruins that were an important piece of the Roman Empire.
-Ephesus. One of Turkey's most famoud ruins. The ruins are thousands of years old and house such sites as one of the seven wonders of the world and the Virgin Mary's Tomb. This is the site I'm most excited about seeing. Check out the wikipedia page on Ephesus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephesus

The part that I'm most excited about for this trip is how I will take it. No agenda or schedule, just a list of things I want to see. I'll be taking buses from city to city and staying at hostels along the way or possibly staying with Turkish people (more to come if I can get one to let me in their house).

Of course I'm not taking my laptop, so Loughrie Does Turkey will be down from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28. I'll even have some pictures posted when I get back.

Stay tuned this week, as I will try to have at least one wacky adventure before I head off on my trip of wacky adventures.

James

Of course I won ...

A comment left by my buddy Sefton in South Carolina reads, "look, i've been reading the same post for a week and the worst part is that i don't even know if you won the drinking contest."

Why else would I post about it unless I won.

U-S-A! U-S-A!

International drinking champion ...

A Turk, a South Korean and me, representing the good old U. S. of A.

So we were sitting at the local English speaking bar Friday night when the challenge came up.

First, let's set this up.

I was there with my roommate Maweja, and mutual Turkish friends Bahran and Aishe. While we were there, we met these two Korean men who live here and work for a Korean company with a factory in Izmit.

They were there with the Turkish manager of the factory and joined us as we sat for a few beers.

One of the Koreans then held his beer up and said, "One shot."

At first I thought he was talking about doing a shot, but then they explained the game to be. You guzzle your beer and the first one done wins.

He had me at guzzle.

Not everyone played so the field narrowed to me the Turkish manager and one of the Koreans.

The beer was Tuborg, the beer of Danish Royalty, in pint mugs.

Down the beer went, as I represented America in probably the most important world event in the history of our country.

You will all thank me one day when my drinking prowess brings world peace.

And I broke ...

at 11:05 a.m. today. I woke up at 10 a.m.

But as I walked to school and thought about it, I said, "Hell, I'm not a Muslim. Forget about this."

And then I lit my cigarette, and it was heaven.

The challenge ...

So I was sitting with some of the Muslim school staff at the end of the day, eating the Iftar meal allowed when the sun comes down.

They told me about a former American teacher who fasted the entire month of Ramadan with them to see what they (Muslims) felt like.

I answered, "I know how you feel. Hungry."

RAMADAN: A Look into Ritual Starvation

Fourth part of an occassional series.

We all had a laugh until one of the Muslims pressed on challenging me and my roommate Maweja, to starve for a day with them.

I said, "The food is no problem, I've got reserves built up. But no cigarettes, that would kill me."

But then the James Loughrie cockiness took over, and as I rarely walk away from a challenge or dare.

"Sure, I'll fast tomorrow."

The moment I said it I realized I went too far. But I said I would, and I keep my word.

Tomorrow, when the sun goes up, nothing can touch my mouth. Nothing to drink, nothing to eat. And the hardest part, no smoking.

Tomorrow's going to suck.

I've never seen people eat like that ...

Today was a neat opportunity. At school during Ramadan, they bring in food at the end of the day and when sun goes down, they invite all the teachers (Muslim or not, fasting or not) to eat dinner.

RAMADAN: A look inside ritual starvation.

Third part in an occasional series.

The meal, called iftar which means breaking fast, is signaled by a cannon going off in the town.

Once the cannon goes off, PEOPLE EAT. I've consumed some food quickly in my day, but I've never seen anything like this.

It was like someone handed out free Hometown Buffet coupons at the end of a Weight Watchers meeting.

The people fasting dug into plates of borek, bread, cheese and olives faster than I've ever seen people eat. Of course I muscled my way in there like I have been fasting all day, (which of course I haven't.)

It was actually quite funny. These were big plates of food that were demolished. And not a minute after the cannon went off.

Then again, I'm not begrudging anyone their eating habits at the end of a day of starving.


***

If anyone sees anything about a bombing on the news, I am nowhere near it.

There was a terrorist attack in Izmir today, resulting in anywhere from seven to 15 injuries after someone threw two grenades into a cafe. (The varying numbers come from the Izmir police and Reuters.)

I know someone glancing at the news could see the I-z in Izmir and think I was there. But I'm in Izmit, a safe city with no tourist destinations.

***

Editor's Note: I still haven't been posting that much, but I will introduce a coming this week teaser to help keep me posting. Have any ideas about what I should dispatch to you? Post a comment or e-mail me: JamesLoughrie@gmail.com.


COMING THIS WEEK:

I found a newer bar.
What ever happened to Alphaville?
"Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover."