I have officially set a final date for this adventure. I did not sign another contract here, meaning after June 27, I will no longer be employed here in Turkey. This means that at the moment, I need to take advantage of the travel opportunities I do have while I am in earshot of Europe, Asia, and Africa. I am poring over my schedule, highlighting all long weekends, breaks, and making sure I am making something out of them. I have made a nice little savings while working here at Robert College, and think I will blow it in this last semester. So well worth it...
After returning from Christmas in the States, we all hobbled into the end of the semester. By hobble, I mean that we went into non-assessment week, where not much happens, to two weeks of finals (where even less happens). Over the two weeks of finals, I had no coaching, frantic grading for only two days, and twenty hours of teaching. I VERY light schedule when you add it all up, but I, believe it or not, have a heavy final schedule compared to most teachers.
Following that difficult week, Joe and I took off for a week and a half long trip in Italy. We left Monday, January 27 for Naples. As luck would have it, two colleagues shared the same flight. As luck did not have it, some airport worker in Istanbul did not put the luggage on the correct flight. Therefore, we ended up in the horrible "missing luggage" desk. It was a disaster. I quickly discovered that southern Italians were not much better than Turks as far as waiting in lines. It took me losing it with one of the workers to finally get some attention. I see now why they have such short tempers on this side of the world...
We got in late that evening. Celeste, the colleague who actually lost her luggage, fought through the Neapolitan traffic and got us to our hotel in Pompei, the current village of the ancient famous city of Pompeii (yes the different spelling is correct). Although Joe and I had thought we had had a full day of traveling, we quickly found that we were on a schedule way too early for the Italians. When we went out for food, it was only 5pm. We realized how early it was when we asked our hotel concierge for a good Neapolitan pizzeria. Now?! she exclaimed. No restaurants opened for dinner before 7pm. Don't know what the old people do here. We therefore were forced to go to a bar for some Italian wine, twist my arm... Funny enough, none of the bars were much different than a 7eleven. They had a counter that sold lottery tickets, chips, gum, candy bars. The only difference is that they were much smaller, had some plastic tables tucked in corners, and had a full bar set up on some pre-made shelves behind them. We spent two happy hours drinking and chatting before heading over to the local pizzeria. I ordered a Margarita pizza because I wanted it simple, but an appetizer of prosciutto because I missed ham so much. Both were amazing. Neapolitan pizza at its finest. Already in love with this place.
Pompeii and Herculaneum
The next day, Joe and I headed out to the famous Pompeii ruins. It was a magical experience, one I don't think I could ever repeat. For one thing, we walked through the city almost entirely alone. Our hotel was near the less used back entrance of the ruins. Therefore, when we entered that morning, no one was around us until we neared the front entrance over an hour later. We walked through the giant ampitheater, down the streets, past the magnificent houses completely alone as the sun rose over the old city.
Many people have heard about Pompeii, but until you really see it, you have no idea how amazing this place is. I have walked through many very well-preserved Roman cities, but none of those gave me the feeling of being in that ancient world as Pompeii (that is, until I went to Herculaneum hours later). You could still see the paint on the walls that stood one story high (the second stories were not covered by the ash in Pompeii so they were not preserved). We walked into houses and got the feel for their majesty. We walked through the entry, we saw the grand entrance with a fountain in the middle to catch the rainwater, mosaic-ed floors, and fresco-ed walls. As the sun rose, we wandered the cobbled roads, trying to stay on the main road(s) so we wouldn't get lost, just as one would in a big city. I was amazed at the feel I got that I was in a real, but deserted city. I have never felt this awe wandering through a Roman city before.
We did eventually get to the front entrance, and sadly that awe left as we ran into an increasing number of tourists. We met up with our friends Jack and Celeste and headed to another less-known, but spouted to be more impressive ruins from the same Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD. What makes Herculaneum different is that the pyroclastic material that ended up preserving the city was much higher, preserving the first and second stories of the buildings (its ash went 20m high versus Pompeii's ash of about 6m height). Furthermore, due to its location, Herculaneum received much hotter blasts from the eruption, causing wood and food to actually be preserved.
Herculaneum (population of about 5,000) is a smaller city than Pompeii (population of about 20,000). Although the city is now several hundred meters from the sea, it was a seaside port at the time of the eruption. Over 300 skeletons were found along their beach, supposedly waiting rescue when the high heat rolled in, killing them all instantly. After walking past the beach, we came to the streets of the city. Two-story buildings stood on both sides. Many taverns lined the streets, with counters containing built-in storage for the hot food. Romans often went out to these taverns for the food, rarely eating at their own house. We walked past more grand houses, similar to those in Pompeii, but many better preserved. One house even had a wood sliding door, preserved all this time. We walked through the houses, the rooms, and their gardens. We walked past stores with storage barrels that once held the merchandise. Unlike any other Roman city I have been in, Herculaneum and Pompeii really gave me a sense of how sophisticated life was as an ancient Roman.
After exploring the ruins, we took off for Celeste and Jack's bed and breakfast for some wine and food before heading back to Pompei.
Syracuse, Sicily
We left early the next day for the Naples Airport to go to Catania, Sicily, one of the two main airports on the island. After one stop through Rome, we got into Catania that afternoon, then drove one hour south to Syracuse. Our hotel was on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse and has long been an important center of the city. We wandered the narrow streets past beautiful Baroque buildings and found a nice restaurant for the island's renown seafood.
The next day, we headed out to Noto, south of Syracuse. Like many towns in that area, Noto was destroyed by an earthquake in 1693. The town was completely rebuilt with Baroque architecture. We wandered through the beautiful city, peaking into the cathedral and many churches (as all Italian cities have, I quickly realized), then headed south to the southeastern tip of the island of Capo Passero where not too much was happening. There was the beautiful sea, but most shops and restaurants were boarded up for their siesta. As much as I like the idea of the Italian siesta, I found it quite annoying. Thorughout the trip, it seemed like we were always looking for a place to shop or eat during the Italian's nap time from 2-6pm. Luckily the 7-11 bars were always open. More wine?
The next day, we first stopped to see the Greek and Roman ruins of Syracuse, then headed up north to the mountain town of Taormina. In Taormina, we wandered the streets past the Baroque fountain, Norman church, and medieval walls. There were beautiful vistas of the Ionian Sea below. The weather was blustery and cold, and we stopped for some wine and pizza for a warm up before heading back for our last night at Syracuse.
Marsala, Sicily
The next day we headed from the east to the west side of the island to the city of Marsala. The day was not ideal driving conditions, being rainy and overcast. For four hours, we wound slowly through the small roads along the southern shore of the island, only to spend the last hour wandering up and down the streets in search of our bed and breakfast with no road signs to go on (I don't know why the Italians even bother to name them if they won't put up road signs). We finally made it to our villa, a cozy little place on a beautiful estate with orange and lemon groves. We dropped off the car and headed into the town of Marsala for some seafood pasta.
The following day, we headed out to Erice, a medieval mountaintop village. The weather was rainy and very windy up there. Our feet quickly became soaked and we ended up jumping between the few open shops and restaurants to stay warm. We did our best to wander the narrow cobbled streets, look at the castle and churches, and enjoy the old streets. By the time we made it back, we had lost all feeling in our extremities and were drenched. We headed back to our villa to warm up by the fire and prepare for the big Superbowl. It was being shown on Italian TV, with Italian announcers and all.
We did not get an early start the next day, seeing that the Superbowl did not end until 4:30am. We drove along the shore near Marsala, then headed into the town again to get some last gifts. Marsala is known for its wine, similar to a port (just as Port is named after the region it is from, Marsala wine is called Marsala and is very popular in cooking). We tasted tested and brought some back with us, as well as some local pasta and pestos.
Catania, Sicily
The next morning, we headed back across the island, stopping at Segesta to see its fifth century BC doric temple. It was finally a sunny day and we enjoyed the view of the beautiful valley with wildflowers. We got into Catania that afternoon and were greeted by parades of people, blocking our way to our hotel. We found a parking garage and as we pulled our suitcases out to the street, we were met by flocks of people. In the middle of the street, people in white robes carried massive floats. Around them vendors sold nuts, treats, balloons, and religious tokens. Giant candles were everywhere, also for sale. It did not take us too long to find out that this festival was for Saint Agatha, Catania's patron saint. We wove our way through the crowd and found our hotel, then returned to the streets. Over the whole Sicilian trip, we had been feeling quite alone. There have been few tourists and therefore few shops and sites open. Our last night in Catania was refreshing, to see so many people out in the street. All shops and churches were open and we walked around freely, before heading to dinner for our last Sicilian meal. I chose gnocchi with swordfish. Amazing! The next morning, we headed to the airport for our trek back to Istanbul.
After returning from Christmas in the States, we all hobbled into the end of the semester. By hobble, I mean that we went into non-assessment week, where not much happens, to two weeks of finals (where even less happens). Over the two weeks of finals, I had no coaching, frantic grading for only two days, and twenty hours of teaching. I VERY light schedule when you add it all up, but I, believe it or not, have a heavy final schedule compared to most teachers.
Following that difficult week, Joe and I took off for a week and a half long trip in Italy. We left Monday, January 27 for Naples. As luck would have it, two colleagues shared the same flight. As luck did not have it, some airport worker in Istanbul did not put the luggage on the correct flight. Therefore, we ended up in the horrible "missing luggage" desk. It was a disaster. I quickly discovered that southern Italians were not much better than Turks as far as waiting in lines. It took me losing it with one of the workers to finally get some attention. I see now why they have such short tempers on this side of the world...
We got in late that evening. Celeste, the colleague who actually lost her luggage, fought through the Neapolitan traffic and got us to our hotel in Pompei, the current village of the ancient famous city of Pompeii (yes the different spelling is correct). Although Joe and I had thought we had had a full day of traveling, we quickly found that we were on a schedule way too early for the Italians. When we went out for food, it was only 5pm. We realized how early it was when we asked our hotel concierge for a good Neapolitan pizzeria. Now?! she exclaimed. No restaurants opened for dinner before 7pm. Don't know what the old people do here. We therefore were forced to go to a bar for some Italian wine, twist my arm... Funny enough, none of the bars were much different than a 7eleven. They had a counter that sold lottery tickets, chips, gum, candy bars. The only difference is that they were much smaller, had some plastic tables tucked in corners, and had a full bar set up on some pre-made shelves behind them. We spent two happy hours drinking and chatting before heading over to the local pizzeria. I ordered a Margarita pizza because I wanted it simple, but an appetizer of prosciutto because I missed ham so much. Both were amazing. Neapolitan pizza at its finest. Already in love with this place.
Pompeii and Herculaneum
The next day, Joe and I headed out to the famous Pompeii ruins. It was a magical experience, one I don't think I could ever repeat. For one thing, we walked through the city almost entirely alone. Our hotel was near the less used back entrance of the ruins. Therefore, when we entered that morning, no one was around us until we neared the front entrance over an hour later. We walked through the giant ampitheater, down the streets, past the magnificent houses completely alone as the sun rose over the old city.
Many people have heard about Pompeii, but until you really see it, you have no idea how amazing this place is. I have walked through many very well-preserved Roman cities, but none of those gave me the feeling of being in that ancient world as Pompeii (that is, until I went to Herculaneum hours later). You could still see the paint on the walls that stood one story high (the second stories were not covered by the ash in Pompeii so they were not preserved). We walked into houses and got the feel for their majesty. We walked through the entry, we saw the grand entrance with a fountain in the middle to catch the rainwater, mosaic-ed floors, and fresco-ed walls. As the sun rose, we wandered the cobbled roads, trying to stay on the main road(s) so we wouldn't get lost, just as one would in a big city. I was amazed at the feel I got that I was in a real, but deserted city. I have never felt this awe wandering through a Roman city before.
We did eventually get to the front entrance, and sadly that awe left as we ran into an increasing number of tourists. We met up with our friends Jack and Celeste and headed to another less-known, but spouted to be more impressive ruins from the same Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD. What makes Herculaneum different is that the pyroclastic material that ended up preserving the city was much higher, preserving the first and second stories of the buildings (its ash went 20m high versus Pompeii's ash of about 6m height). Furthermore, due to its location, Herculaneum received much hotter blasts from the eruption, causing wood and food to actually be preserved.
Herculaneum (population of about 5,000) is a smaller city than Pompeii (population of about 20,000). Although the city is now several hundred meters from the sea, it was a seaside port at the time of the eruption. Over 300 skeletons were found along their beach, supposedly waiting rescue when the high heat rolled in, killing them all instantly. After walking past the beach, we came to the streets of the city. Two-story buildings stood on both sides. Many taverns lined the streets, with counters containing built-in storage for the hot food. Romans often went out to these taverns for the food, rarely eating at their own house. We walked past more grand houses, similar to those in Pompeii, but many better preserved. One house even had a wood sliding door, preserved all this time. We walked through the houses, the rooms, and their gardens. We walked past stores with storage barrels that once held the merchandise. Unlike any other Roman city I have been in, Herculaneum and Pompeii really gave me a sense of how sophisticated life was as an ancient Roman.
After exploring the ruins, we took off for Celeste and Jack's bed and breakfast for some wine and food before heading back to Pompei.
Syracuse, Sicily
We left early the next day for the Naples Airport to go to Catania, Sicily, one of the two main airports on the island. After one stop through Rome, we got into Catania that afternoon, then drove one hour south to Syracuse. Our hotel was on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse and has long been an important center of the city. We wandered the narrow streets past beautiful Baroque buildings and found a nice restaurant for the island's renown seafood.
The next day, we headed out to Noto, south of Syracuse. Like many towns in that area, Noto was destroyed by an earthquake in 1693. The town was completely rebuilt with Baroque architecture. We wandered through the beautiful city, peaking into the cathedral and many churches (as all Italian cities have, I quickly realized), then headed south to the southeastern tip of the island of Capo Passero where not too much was happening. There was the beautiful sea, but most shops and restaurants were boarded up for their siesta. As much as I like the idea of the Italian siesta, I found it quite annoying. Thorughout the trip, it seemed like we were always looking for a place to shop or eat during the Italian's nap time from 2-6pm. Luckily the 7-11 bars were always open. More wine?
The next day, we first stopped to see the Greek and Roman ruins of Syracuse, then headed up north to the mountain town of Taormina. In Taormina, we wandered the streets past the Baroque fountain, Norman church, and medieval walls. There were beautiful vistas of the Ionian Sea below. The weather was blustery and cold, and we stopped for some wine and pizza for a warm up before heading back for our last night at Syracuse.
Marsala, Sicily
The next day we headed from the east to the west side of the island to the city of Marsala. The day was not ideal driving conditions, being rainy and overcast. For four hours, we wound slowly through the small roads along the southern shore of the island, only to spend the last hour wandering up and down the streets in search of our bed and breakfast with no road signs to go on (I don't know why the Italians even bother to name them if they won't put up road signs). We finally made it to our villa, a cozy little place on a beautiful estate with orange and lemon groves. We dropped off the car and headed into the town of Marsala for some seafood pasta.
The following day, we headed out to Erice, a medieval mountaintop village. The weather was rainy and very windy up there. Our feet quickly became soaked and we ended up jumping between the few open shops and restaurants to stay warm. We did our best to wander the narrow cobbled streets, look at the castle and churches, and enjoy the old streets. By the time we made it back, we had lost all feeling in our extremities and were drenched. We headed back to our villa to warm up by the fire and prepare for the big Superbowl. It was being shown on Italian TV, with Italian announcers and all.
We did not get an early start the next day, seeing that the Superbowl did not end until 4:30am. We drove along the shore near Marsala, then headed into the town again to get some last gifts. Marsala is known for its wine, similar to a port (just as Port is named after the region it is from, Marsala wine is called Marsala and is very popular in cooking). We tasted tested and brought some back with us, as well as some local pasta and pestos.
Catania, Sicily
The next morning, we headed back across the island, stopping at Segesta to see its fifth century BC doric temple. It was finally a sunny day and we enjoyed the view of the beautiful valley with wildflowers. We got into Catania that afternoon and were greeted by parades of people, blocking our way to our hotel. We found a parking garage and as we pulled our suitcases out to the street, we were met by flocks of people. In the middle of the street, people in white robes carried massive floats. Around them vendors sold nuts, treats, balloons, and religious tokens. Giant candles were everywhere, also for sale. It did not take us too long to find out that this festival was for Saint Agatha, Catania's patron saint. We wove our way through the crowd and found our hotel, then returned to the streets. Over the whole Sicilian trip, we had been feeling quite alone. There have been few tourists and therefore few shops and sites open. Our last night in Catania was refreshing, to see so many people out in the street. All shops and churches were open and we walked around freely, before heading to dinner for our last Sicilian meal. I chose gnocchi with swordfish. Amazing! The next morning, we headed to the airport for our trek back to Istanbul.
