Turkey - Sept. - Oct. 2012

Turkey journal - Sept. 17- Oct. 3

(more photos here) 

This was a long trip, mostly due to a three-hour plus layover in Munich. The flight from NY to Munich was about 7 1/2 hours, then the layover, and then a second flight of about 2 1/2 hours. I dozed a bit on the first leg flight and on the second I fell asleep twice for maybe 45 minutes or an hour each time without even trying!

I got excited when we approached the hotel because there was a big bookstore right around the corner. Burcu, our tour leader, was sure I'd find poetry there.  I had a half hour or so after we checked in before our first meeting so I bopped on over. First I asked the guard at door where I'd find books in English. He sent me to the 4th floor. Lots of books, no poetry that I could see and no one working up there. So I went back down and tried to explain what I wanted. The girl at the desk got hold of someone else, explained in Turkish (or so I thought) and they took me upstairs to the section about politics.  So I tried again and mentioned Rumi. That led them to a shelf of books about Islam. After all that it turned out that they did not have what I wanted.  But it was only the first day, so I still had hope.

We only had one day in Ankara and it was packed! We visited two sites and had an interesting lecture.  The Atatürk Mausoleim was very reverently laid out with lots of his possessions and lots of displays depicting historical events, including some impressively done dioramas of battle scenes. It turned out that today was a previously unannounced celebration for Veterans' Day or Martyrs Day.  After some delays and some negotiation on Burcu’s part we were allowed in.  The courtyard was filled with school groups and military groups. It really added to our visit to see all the groups in attendance. Atatürk is virtually a figure of worship. His statues, pictures and name are everywhere and his tomb is treated like a holy shrine. People talk in whispers if at all and photos are not permitted inside.

After that we returned to the hotel for a lecture by a professor of international relations.  She was very critical and really bitter about the present government and their attempt to reestablish Turkey as a Muslim rather than a secular country. It was interesting listening to her and, at the same time, hearing how journalists who say negative things about the country are jailed. One odd expression - she referred to the women who dress in traditional garb with headscarves, long skirts and long coats as "the raincoat brigade." For the rest of our time in Turkey we commented on how uncomfortable these women must have been, all bundled up in some pretty hot weather.  And it wasn’t even summer!

After the lecture we had a lovely lunch at a restaurant near the Museum of Civilizations.

The museum itself was interesting.  The exhibits trace the various groups that occupied the area that is now Turkey from the Neolithic Age through Hittites and Assyrians, to Lydians and on. The exhibits are standard for this sort of museum: fertility goddesses, grave goods, pottery, carvings, etc. There was small exhibit of items from Troy, which is quite near where Burcu grew up, so she was pleased.

Then we began a very long drive to Cappadoccia. We made two rest stops, one at the Great Salt Lake. The ground where water has receded is really covered with salt.  I tasted it! And in places there is black, salt mud.  Some people were filling bags with it.

One of the men on the trip had s a small kite that he has flown in many places around the world.  He had it out and flying on the salt flat.  Fun.

We got to our cave hotel in Cappadoccia around 8 and went straight to dinner.

The next day I was signed up morning for a hot air balloon ride with 10 others from the group.  I was scared to death with no idea why I decided to do this, but the hot air balloon ride was totally amazing. I was terrified until we got into the air, imagining it to be something quite different from what it turned out to be. We floated so quietly, except for the occasional roar of the burners, that there was almost no sensation of movement. We stood in a chest-high basket, divided into four compartments with four or five people in each.  The landscape was breathtaking with fairy chimneys that reminded me of the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon, except these are white and gray. There are also mounds of snow-white tufa and cliffs of the same rock, many with cave homes that have been hollowed out. We were surrounded in the air by dozens of other balloons and the view, especially as the sun was rising, was amazing.  I was not a bit frightened and will absolutely do this again should the occasion arise!

After the balloon ride we returned to the hotel for breakfast and then set off for a day of photo opportunities in various places.  The scenery here is astounding! One of our visits was to the Göreme Outdoor Museum, a collection of small chapels carved into the tufa and decorated with frescoes in various styles dating from around 700 CE to maybe 900 The chapels are very small and the 16 of us filled them. Groups are limited to 3 minutes inside each one. Burcu managed to convey a tremendous amount of information in the allotted time.

Toward the end of our visit there, we had 15 minutes or so of free time. One couple was into geocaching and there was a cache in the immediate area.  They set out to find it while some of us went into other chapels and others to the gift shop. This was the first of several geocache searches that took place during our time in Turkey.  By the end of the trip I think everyone in the group was excited about each find and eager to hear details of exactly where it was placed, how hard it was to find, what exactly it looked like and so on.

Then it was on to lunch.  We ate at a former cave home, now turned into a restaurant and gift shop by the family that had lived there for four generations.  The government doesn't permit anyone to live in these places anymore, but this family had found a way to stay connected to their ancestral home, even if technically they no longer own it.  It was quite lovely and very interesting to talk to them about their lives in this place that is so different from anything I had ever seen.

The next morning we visited the Underground City.  If I understood correctly, this was used as a shelter in times when the community was under attack in the 12th century. At first it sounded as if we would be crouched over in narrow spaces the whole time and I had some reservations about subjecting my back and knees to that kind of abuse. At the entrance there are signs warning that people with heart trouble, high blood pressure, asthma and a bunch of other conditions shouldn't go in. It turned out that there were some fairly long, very narrow and very low tunnels, but they connected to rooms where just about all of us, even the two tallest men, could stand up. It was impressive to realize how hard it would have been for enemy forces to come in after the people sheltering there.  They would have to walk single file, would have had trouble carrying weapons and would have been picked off as they emerged from a tunnel. In one stretch we saw two huge, round stone doors that could be rolled into place at each end of an area, trapping anyone caught between them and condemning them to starve to death. Brutal but very good tactics.

After that we visited a world-renowned potter named Master Galip. Besides designing and creating beautiful ceramic pieces, he collects hair from women, which he keeps in a museum noted by Guinness as the sixth most peculiar museum in the world. It started with a French woman who lived with him for a while and gave him a lock of her hair when she returned home. The next woman in his life did the same and so it went. We watched him make a lovely teapot on a kick wheel, saw how the clay can be fired covered with straw to change the color and also saw how the ceramic pieces are decorated. His shop is like a museum. Each piece is truly a work of art.

We ate lunch at a little restaurant run by a women's cooperative. Burcu said it was fairly new and she had been wanting to try it. It was not only delicious, it was very cheap. We were given cheese and spinach pie on the house. I had a köfte filled with ground meat and walnuts, a bottle of water and a piece of baklava, all for 6 lira or a little less that $4. After we ate Burcu found out that the women had received a letter from Trip Advisor, but they didn't know what it said or what it meant. She explained, and we all watched and applauded while the Trip Advisor decal was put on the front window.

After lunch we visited the village of Ibrahimpasha. Burcu said she first discovered it with her parents. We walked around, talked with a few people, played with a couple of adorable children, with the usual observation that in the US not only would there be no kids that small roaming around alone, but anyone who approached a kid the way we did would be arrested!  The village looks poor. Many of the houses are empty and many of those are crumbling.  At the same time, some of them have lovely decorative touches. It was an interesting slice of life off the tourist path.

Our last activity was a visit to see a Whirling Dervish ceremony. It involved a lot of walking, bowing, playing music on a flute, drum, and two stringed instruments. There was chanting in Arabic and toward the end the five dervishes whirled. They mostly had their eyes closed and traveled in slow circles while they whirled, both counterclockwise. It was interesting, but the dim light and repetitive music made me feel sleepy.

Dinner was in an interesting restaurant on the river and our main course was a beef and eggplant dish with each portion prepared in its own clay pot. The pot is struck in a couple of places to lop off the top. The food was delicious. Dessert was plums and figs covered with tahini and molasses (or, as we came to call it due to Burcu’s prounciation “mah-low-sis”).  We all expressed the desire to lick the plates when we were done.

On Saturday we drove from our cave hotel in Cappadoccia to the first of two one night stays.  Before getting to the hotel in Konya we made a couple of stops. The first was a visit to a caravanserai that dated back to the 12th century. It is built around a central courtyard and looks like a fortress from the outside.  Inside there are animal shelters on one side, small chambers on the other, a mosque in the center - raised so it will not be on the same level as the animals wandering around the courtyard.  Burcu explained that there would be a doctor, a vet, a barber and other amenities available.  She also explained that the doors were bolted at sunset and not opened in the morning until each traveling trader attested to having all of his goods and gold. Pretty nifty system if you ask me!

Our next stop was at the tomb of Rumi, referred to by his real name, Mevlâna Celaddiin-i Rumi. He is buried in a large room along with several of his relatives and followers.  The room is filled with holy relics and there were many visitors praying. In one area there is a small ornate box in a glass case.  Burcu explained that it contains Mohammad's beard.  People were kissing the glass and praying there as well.  It reminded me of some of the things I saw in Jerusalem at Christian holy sites.

The rest of the museum mostly consisted of small rooms with dioramas depicting the various activities of the Sufi center.  For example, we saw the kitchen and the person designated to buy groceries at the market.  He carried something that identified him as coming from the Sufi center so that he could jump to the front of the line and also get the best prices. The gift shop had a nice collection of Rumi's love poems in English so, of course, I had to buy that.  I still wanted a book of contemporary work, but at least I had something.

From there we went to the house and school of a dervish to learn about the philosophy and the rituals.  His students demonstrated as he explained.  One person, the master, sits in a special chair, wears a different type of hat and receives obeisance of various kinds from the others.  The dervish selected one of our group to act as master.  He is tall and rather imposing and played the part well.  We heard a lot about love, about losing your ego, about the oneness of the universe. I asked what led him to choose to become a Sufi mystic and got a very surprising answer.  He didn't choose at all.  His parents sent him to the Sufi monastery when he was 12. They were living in Marseilles and were afraid he would desert Islam and become Christian. He said he tried to run anyway, but the monastery was in the mountains and he didn't know the way to get anywhere else. He even said that at age 12 he had no choice and no knowledge of anything else to get in the way of accepting what he was being taught. I would have much preferred hearing that he experienced some sort of epiphany at a somewhat older age and had chosen this path, although he seemed quite dedicated to it. It was quite clear that, regardless of what set him on this path, it is the only path he wants to be on. 

The drive on Sunday from Konya to Antalya took us through some beautiful mountains There was very little traffic, maybe because it's Sunday.  Our first stop was a Roman amphitheater, very well preserved, not much different from every other Roman amphitheater I've seen in my travels, but Burcu told us a cute story about two architects who were competing for the hand of a wealthy aristocratic girl. One designed the aqueduct and the other the theater. The one in the theater was mumbling to himself that he would win the girl and acoustics were so good that she heard him and he won.

After lunch it was on to Perge, another Greco-Roman site with baths, a chariot racecourse and an agora with shops around a central square. It's in the process of being restored and is already pretty interesting. It should be spectacular when the restoration is done.

On Monday we set out to board the gulet, but first we stopped at two archaeological sites. The first one, Phaselis, is in a lovely forest setting with three harbors, one of which is now a beach where people can swim. It was lovely and cool and interesting, although to be honest, at a certain point all the ruins begin to look alike.

From there we went to lunch at a lovely restaurant right on the water. However getting there entailed driving on the twistiest road I think I’ve ever been on in my life. The sea was on one side, sometimes several yards down, and the mountains on the other. I can't imagine what went into building that road - blasting out the rock, following every curve of the coast.

After stopping for lunch we made a second stop to visit Myra. It was also interesting, but we climbed up into the amphitheater and Burcu had the group sitting on one of the high rows of benches. Not I, said this little chickadee!  I may have managed to go up in a hot air balloon, but the kind of heights the amphitheater entailed were still way outside my comfort zone.

The gulet was charming. The cabin was small and I was very glad I brought the least amount I felt I could get away with, all crammed into my backpack and my handbag. The way my cabin was arranged, I had to crawl onto the bed. The shower was a nozzle that I had to pull from the sink. I’ve run into this arrangement before and knew that I had to remove my towels and the toilet paper before showering.  Otherwise everything gets soaked no matter how careful you try to be. I felt very worldly-wise sharing this advice with some of the others who had never seen this type of bathroom.

Tuesday was a relaxing day on the gulet. We started with a lovely breakfast and then sailed to a cove where the ones who wanted to could swim and snorkel. At lunchtime we were in the town of Kas. It is very small with a very nice street of shops.  We found a nice restaurant at the top of the street, one that Burcu recommended. When we got back to the boat we sailed for a couple of hours and then put down anchor and had tea and our five o'clock conversation. Our conversation today was about the Kurdish situation. The conversation seemed to be very open and uncensored. I was struck again, as I was in our meeting with the professor early in the trip, by hearing outspoken criticism.

We started the next day with a visit to a school in the town of Kalkan. The town and type schools are obviously fairly comfortable.  The building is new, the equipment and books are plentiful and in good condition. We began with a long question and answer session with the principal and a couple of teachers. It seems that the school system in Turkey is like the one at home in many ways. Funding is different - they seem to rely more heavily on donations.  And, of course, now under the current government the kids get religious instruction in school. Teachers are underpaid, the principal had complaints about parent involvement - sometimes too much, sometimes too little - there is a move to rate teachers based on student test scores... All the same as home.

The kids were adorable and friendly.  In the fifth grade English class they were learning adjectives. The teacher had them describe first one of the men in our group (“This man is tall. He has white hair. He had brown eyes. He is medium weight.”) and then a second (“This man has gray hair. He has blue eyes. He is medium height. He is medium weight.”). Then they sang "Clementine" for us and we responded with a verse of "If you're happy and you know it.”  The kids were all enthusiastic and outgoing, they all wanted to pose for pictures and they all seemed eager to show off their English skills.

Our final stop, or at least my final stop, was Kayakoy, the ghost city. It dates back to the 19th century and there are hundreds of buildings, some in fairly good condition.  It was Greek until the end of the Ottoman Empire when the border was determined and the Turks and Greeks in each others' territory were repatriated. (Read Louis de Bernières’s novel “Birds Without Wings” for an excellent depiction of this period in Turkey’s history.) There were rumors that the Greeks had poisoned the wells, so the place was left deserted. It is really awesome to see so many homes, churches, etc. left behind. In some places you can see traces of color, and some buildings look like all they need is a roof.

Thursday morning we sailed to Gemilar Island, also known as Saint Nicholas Island and climbed up past four churches, or technically to the fourth church. The view was lovely and the churches, dating back to 6th and 7th centuries, were interesting.  The climb was something else.  Not only were we pretty high up, at least by my standards, with some drop offs that weren't totally sheer but were fairly steep and rocky, the trail itself was pretty rocky and slippery with rubble in several places. I was very nervous and very unhappy for much of it. The rest of the group was very patient, especially the ones behind me since the trail was too narrow for anyone to pass and go ahead except at a few spots. One of the women cracked me up when she said I had been voted "most valuable player" for this excursion since my going so slowly meant everyone behind me had time to take lots of pictures without Burcu getting impatient with us. I didn't expect the hike to be that demanding and I'm glad. Had I had a more accurate idea of the difficulty, especially the narrow parts with drop offs, I might not have come and I would have felt badly about missing it.

The next day we left the gulet and drove to Ephesus. Our big stop today was at a rug maker.  The owner trains women of the villages to do the work, gives them a loom to have at home and then takes the work. He referred to them as contract labor. It seems like a win- win. He talked about learning that he has to open bank accounts in their names, not pay them cash, in order to keep their husbands from just taking the money. He also gives them some education in addition to the training.

The rugs were lovely.  We saw how silk cocoons were spun out into silk fiber and how various organic materials create different colors to dye the wool or silk.  We also got a lesson about the ten levels of skill in carpet making, with the simplest techniques dating back 5000 years and the most advanced the intricate designs with 300 or more knows per square inch in materials like silk or alpaca and baby lamb's wool.

I had thought about buying something, somehow envisioning a women's cooperative with nice but relatively inexpensive pieces. This place was far from that, but I ended up with a small silk rug that is now hanging on the wall. I saw one of the couples in the next room and called to them to pass judgment on the rug.  They also bought one and told everyone it was my fault. J

The hotel in Ephesus was very elegant and I had a suite! My room was right off the lobby and my first reaction was, "Oh, nuts! It's going to be noisy so near the lobby." When I walked in I saw a bathroom and a living room with what was obviously a pullout couch. Is that really where I'm sleeping? Then around a corner into a bedroom with a king sized bed and another bathroom!  I saw Burcu in the hall and told her I had to show her something. Of course, she thought there was a problem of some kind.  By the time she got to the second bathroom her only comment was, "No way!" 

Saturday was not a good day.  The stomach troubles that had been brewing for a few days finally caught up with me and I was sick enough to need a visit from a doctor. Burcu made a call and the doctor came to my room, took my blood pressure, pulse, temperature, etc. and pronounced me a victim of “touristic disease,” made worse by fact that I had been self-treating with Imodium. I knew that wasn’t the right thing to do and one should let these things run their course, but I didn’t want to miss out on any of the sightseeing.  Foolish, and I paid the price. I got a shot of a broad spectrum antibiotic, some pills for nausea and instructions to limit what I ate to bananas, tea, boiled potatoes and apples for a day or two. If this had to happen it's good it happened here since I would be visiting Ephesus again on the Greek leg of my trip.

Everyone was very sweet and concerned.  Burcu brought me a bunch of bananas that I used to supplement my limited choices at breakfast and lunch, The hotel did not charge me for the food they delivered and charged only three lira service charge for getting the meds for me. (I think the desk had no change for a 20 and I had a 10 so the concierge said that was fine.)  We were flying to Istanbul the next day and I was feeling much, much better. At the airport in Izmir they did not take away water at the first security check, but they did at the second. But Burcu told the security inspector that I was sick and doctor said I was to drink lots of water, so he gave it back! Amazing!

The following day we drove to Izmir and flew to Istanbul. Istanbul is a lovely city.  The highway from the airport has beautiful flowers planted on the median and along the sides. The old city has twisty, narrow, cobblestones streets. Our hotel is on one of those. I think you could almost touch the opposite side of the street when you stand in front.

After lunch we did our first sightseeing - first the Blue Mosque and then Hagia Sophia. Both are magnificent. The mosque has gorgeous tile work that I wish I could have gotten a better picture of. My camera doesn't do justice to the colors and details.  And Hagia Sophia has beautiful frescoes, remnants of what must have been gorgeous mosaics, lovely marble, soaring domes...all the things that make you gape in wonder.  

We spent the next morning at the Topkapi Palace. Burcu got us there just as it opened at nine so we beat the worst of the crowds. The palace and the items on display are all amazing. No pictures are allowed of the jewel-encrusted dagger from the movie, or the 86-carat diamond or the little box carved from an emerald or the little statue of a maharaja whose body is a single pearl. But in several rooms we were allowed to photograph the incredibly beautiful tile and inlay work. I couldn't help but think of the hundreds of people who made the tiles, then the hundreds more who placed them so perfectly.  And the inlay work of mother of pearl and ivory on wood is exquisite. So far this is the place that has blown me away. But at some point I had a strange thought.  There is no difference in value between a huge diamond and a pretty fake until the diamond is sold or traded.  So do you acquire it for its beauty or for its value? If for its beauty, then you enjoy that as long as it’s yours.  If for its value, then you only enjoy that when it is no longer yours.

After the Topkapi we visited a huge cistern. I didn't know what to expect, but it was pretty spectacular as well.  It is huge, lighted by reddish lights with sort of mysterious music playing softly in the background. There are huge columns supporting the top, many different and unique, including two with heads of Medusa used as bases. In one case the head is upside down and in the other it is sideways since they made better bases that way. Practical if a bit odd.

After lunch we walked all around the old city through market streets, along a wide shopping street, stopping for photographs of fish, fruit, vegetables, pearls, pickles, soap and everything else you can imagine.  Burcu turned us loose at the end of the walk to shop or look and were right across the street from Robinson Crusoe, the bookstore she told me at the start of the trip was my best bet for a book of contemporary poetry. And there it was -- an anthology of living Turkish poets! The only thing that would have made it better would have been a dual language book, but this one is just fine.

We returned to the hotel with a little free time before dinner on our own.  One of the couples had found a little ceramics shop that sounded interesting, so we set out to find it again. The shop was lovely and the owner/artist was charming and had some gorgeous pieces. I bought a small, framed tile depicting tulips, which are the symbol of Turkey. 

Burcu had suggested a couple of restaurants near the hotel, so we set off for dinner. Five of us went to one that featured fish and specialties from the Black Sea area. We took suggestions from the maître d' and ordered four appetizers to share. The main course at this place consisted of whatever fish they have that day served fried, grilled or steamed. The maître d' told us which method he recommended for each fish. While we were having our mezze, three more from our group came in. A table was pushed over to join ours and we shared our experience of ordering.

I ordered mullet. The serving consisted of nine small fish, breaded in corn meal and fried. They had to be deboned and I got quite adept at removing the spine intact with head and tail still attached. And they were delicious!  When I finished I put all the skeletons back on the plate they way they had been when first served. We all found it very funny and clever and I even took a picture of the plate.  The waiter didn't seem to even notice when he cleared the plates.  When we tried to call it to his attention he thought I wasn't finished. I said later that he probably was back in the kitchen laughing at the stupid American tourist who didn't know enough to put the bones on the plate provided.

Our final day was filled with sights, smells, sounds. First the Rustempasha mosque - amazing tiles.. This is a working mosque dating back to the 16^th century. The architect, Sinan was dedicated to the idea that buildings should fit harmoniously with their surroundings. I certainly wish that more architects in the states thought that way, especially when I think of some of the high-rise ugliness in Manhattan.

The tile work was just gorgeous, as it has been elsewhere.  Burcu told us that the tiles are designed and produced in Izmik.  They mix quartz into the material, giving the tiles a lovely sparkle and shine. On the outer wall of the mosque there is one tile, different from all the rest, set into a framed panel. Burcu told us that it came from the kaaba in Mecca.

Then the spice market - cardamom, apple tea, green tea with lemon, a pair of earrings and a proposal. This place was astounding. Many of the vendors were low key until or unless I stopped to look at something. In one case, as I walked by, a young guy asked, "spices? tea? a husband?" needless to say, I cracked up. I bought tea and spices at one vendor that I spotted shortly after we entered and returned to after scouting out the others. 100 grams each of cardamom and apple tea and 200 of green tea with lemon came to 35 TL or about $18. That seemed fair. This was definitely one of the favorites of all the different markets I have visited in different countries. It smelled delicious, looked gorgeous with all the different colors, and no one really hassles you as you walk by.

Next the Bosporus cruise. We had a boat the size of a Staten Island ferry for just the 16 of us and Burcu narrated a guided tour of the various buildings, palaces, neighborhoods and landmarks we passed. On the way out we looked at the European side and on the way back we looked at the Asian side. It fascinates me that you can be in one location and clearly see where the two continents come within a few meters of each other. It's like when we saw where the two tectonic plates meet in Iceland - things you know are there but somehow never think you will actually see.

Lunch was at a lovely place near the Chora Church. "Authentic Ottoman food," interesting mezze: a beautifully presented plate with a small tomato stuffed with babaganoush, a sort of humus thing but made with fava beans similar to some stuff I had in Egypt and humus flavored with cinnamon and tiny currents. The main course was an eggplant purée with pot roast type beef, and dessert was our old favorite helva (semolina and honey) but topped with ice cream. Several of the men especially got very excited about the ice cream.

The church has amazing mosaics. It was originally built in the 5^th century, but most of what we saw dates from the 11^th century. The mosaics depict Mary's birth, childhood, marriage to Joseph, the birth of Jesus and various events leading up to the crucifixion, although the crucifixion itself is not depicted. The mosaics, especially the ones on the ceiling, are in outstanding condition and are truly impressive works of art.

In the Grand Bazaar I hung out with two of the couples but bought nothing.  The place was too overwhelming – too many booths showing essentially the same things, too many twists and turns and potential for getting lost. Burcu said she wasn't going to count heads. If someone was not on the bus at 4:30 she would assume they decided to get back to the hotel on their own. I think everyone was terrified of getting lost because everyone was back at least 5 minutes or more early.

Our farewell dinner was lovely – a nice meal with some good conversation and I got final pictures of everyone. A representative from Baltaç Travel came and gave us each a certificate and ball shaped blue eye, about the size of a tomato on a braided cord. The blue eyes are all over the place and they are supposed to protect you from the evil eye. We saw them hanging from every rear view mirror, embedded in the cement outside shops and for sale everywhere.

Back at the hotel, we made Burcu cry with the song one of the women had written (with some help from a couple of others) extolling her skills and a terrific poem written by another of the women. We also had a song for our excellent driver, Bülent, and had sung it to him before he dropped us off for the last time before dinner.

I got to the Istanbul airport at around 8:30 or so for my 10:45 flight to Athens and then I began trying to find the check in counter for Olympic Air.  Not an easy feat! I gather that there is a board somewhere that shows you where to check in for various airlines and flights, but I didn't know where that was, didn’t see and information counter, and no one I asked seemed to be able to help. I finally went to a ticket sales window for Turkish Air. The woman there looked it up somewhere and directed me to the right place. I was a little nervous for the few minutes I was wandering around lost, but I knew I had plenty of time, so I wasn't in a panic. The lines for security and passport control went fairly smoothly. The boarding pass said we’d board an hour before the scheduled take-off time.  That seemed a bit odd, but I didn’t want to take any chances.  Slowly the other passengers trickled in and a half hour before our listed take-off time a man who had been sitting behind a desk got up and rather casually said, “OK, we’re boarding.” We all looked at each other as if to say, “Really?  That’s how they announce boarding?” and off we went. 

Next stop, Athens!