My New Digs: Pre-Feng Shui

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I've been busy apartment hunting for the last week.  Today marks the end of my 2nd week in Izmir, and I may actually go into work Wednesday or Thursday....not to actually work, mind you, but rather to do yet more in-processing.


So, this is a 3-day weekend due to the Turkish Republic Day, and we have an entire week off the 16-19th of November due to one of the two annual "Bayram" Festivals.  When people had warned me beforehand that working with NATO meant working little, it seems they were on to something.  I'm not even counting Veterans Day or Thanksgiving....so in the next month, I'll get at least seven vacation days off (possibly eight if given Friday after Thanksgiving).


Speaking of the Bayram Festival next month, during that week I'll be going on a trip with our travel office to Istanbul for five days.  There will surely be an extensive post w/ pics after that trip.  But in the meantime, I'll be attempting to move into my new apartment.


Here are the basic specs of the new digs:
1300 Sq Ft
3 Bedrooms
1 1/2 Bath
3 Balconies


The main reason for choosing this place is the location, which is right in the heart of the downtown Alsancak, within 100 meters of Starbucks and Steve's (the other Lieutenant) apartment, and only a few blocks from the water.  There are hundreds of cafes/restaurants/shops and it is only a few blocks from the fresh produce market.  


Here are a few pics before I do anything to the apartment...I'll post pics once I get my feng shui on.  What you see in the apartment now is the loaner furniture from the government.

Small kitchen...and no the water in Izmir is not safe to
drink, hence the jugs of water.  Apparently I can cook
and shower with the tap water, but not drink...
Also, the stove runs off of a propane tank
under the cabinet....like a BBQ grill.

Living room w/ aforementioned loaner furniture
(and my MacBook of course)....

Other side of the living room, where the dining room table
and desk are....Also, where the balcony that
I'll primarily be using as it has the best
view of all three balconies.

Small bathroom, but bigger than
my last one in California...I need to hit Ikea for
shelves, luckily they have one just a few miles from here.

View from my balcony of the major commercial district, only a block or two from the bay....plus, Steve lives in the apartments to the left, which is convenient
since he has a TV and PS3, and right now I only have my MacBook.
Oh, and since he's been reading my blog...
he's also great company as well :)

Same view, but at night...

View looking left from the balcony....the yellow building is an
elementary school by day, and a parking lot by night.  Also, my sponsor/
supervisor lives on the street lined with palm trees, also visible from my balcony....
this is the quieter side, since the street directly below my apartment is pedestrian-only.

Same view, but at night...

I hope everyone is doing well, and if you haven't heard, I have a Skype phone number that you can call and leave a voice message if I'm not logged into Skype at the time....I can also call US numbers for only a few bucks a month.  The number is (765) 356-0125...feel free to call, just remember that I'm 10 hours ahead of Pacific and 7 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Güle Güle

3 Pearls of the Aegean - Priene, Miletos and Didyma

As promised, a post about my first trip outside of Izmir...


The local "Information, Tickets and Travel" (ITT) office in conjunction with the chapel put on a trip to three ancient sites in the area.  The locations we hit were Priene, Miletos and Didyma.  One of the main reasons that I went on this trip is because I'm extremely interested in the ancient history of the area, but also because I had heard that 30ish people were going on this trip, so it seemed like a great way to meet new people since I had only met one person thus far (my sponsor/supervisor).


It didn't take long to meet the only other Lieutenant in Izmir, Steve, who works Protocol at NATO (SO glad that's not my job).  He, along with a few others, took me in instantly and now I actually have people to hang out with, which is kind of nice in a foreign country.  The apartment that I am 90% sure of getting is right across the street from Steve's, so we can set up string and cups in order to cut down on the cell phone bill.


I also had my first fish dinner in Turkey, which is quite an experience, and much more expensive than you would think being in a coastal city.


Here is a picture of a HUGE shrimp and what was left of my sea bass after I took all the meat off the bones:

Anyway, back to the trip.  Here are a few pics of the places that we visited on Saturday.  Priene and Miletos used to be coastal cities, but are now inland due to geographical changes over the last several thousand years as seen on the map below:

First, we went to Priene....A small former coastal city, settled about 1000 BC.  At one time was home to Alexander the Great (for just a few months). 

Temple of Athena in Priene...very well preserved columns (and random pieces of columns littering the ground around the temple).

Theater at Priene...pretty good size for a smaller city.

VIP seating even back then.  They didn't do much gladiator/animal fighting here...otherwise these seats might be a little dangerous.

Meander River somewhere between Priene and Miletos in what was once the ocean a few thousand years ago.

Main attraction in Miletos, the theater that held ~15,000 people.  Apostle Paul supposedly came here a few times.

Backside of the theater w/ the Turkish flag flying.  It's been under Turkish/Ottoman/Byzantine control for about 700 years.

Ruins of Didyma...The most prevalent/well-known structure seen is the Temple/Oracle of Apollo.

Amazing columns in the temple.  The Temple of Apollo is probably the second most famous Oracle of the Hellenistic world (second only to the Oracle at Delphi).

Couldn't help but take a picture of the sun being blocked out by the Temple of Apollo....ironic, right?

New Blog

Merhaba!


Welcome to my new blog for the year while I am on vacation....errrr.....am stationed in Izmir, Turkey, commonly referred to as the "Pearl of the Aegean".  If you don't know much about Izmir, this post is designed to give a Cliff-notes style review.


Izmir, formerly known as "Smyrna" is on the western side of Turkey, in a bay that connects directly to the Aegean Sea, which is adjacent to the Mediterranean.  Turks throughout the country view Izmir as a very "liberal"part of Turkey, as the locals rarely bow to pray during the 5-times daily prayer blasted throughout the city of roughly 3 1/2 million people.  They also wear jeans/t-shirt or slacks/button-ups daily, it is quite uncommon to see a local in the traditional muslim-style garb, as you would see in southeastern Turkey near Syria/Iraq/Iran).


More history lessons in later posts as I visit the ancient sites throughout the region, and now for a little about me.  I am assigned to the A4 (Logistics) office at "NATO Allied Air Component Command, Izmir."  I have no idea what that means yet, except that there are 20ish folks in the shop, I am the lowest ranking, and there is only one other American.  We have a Hungarian Colonel as the Commander of A4, with about 12 other European countries represented.


The reason that I have absolutely no clue as to what I'll be doing is because there's a massive exercise going on at NATO, so my sponsor/supervisor (the other American) told me to steer clear this week and next to look for a place to live.  I've currently got it narrowed down to two places, of which I'll post pics when I finalize the process.  I will be living in the downtown area, close to the BX/Commissary and Chapel (the USAF rents it and we are the only tenants....guarded by steel walls/concertina wire/guards).  The St John the Baptist Basilica is gorgeous (pic below) and the chaplain puts together many religious tours....tomorrow I'm traveling on the tour to Didyma, Miletus and Priene (post w/ pics to follow).

So, as I continue to figure out exactly what I'm doing here, I'll keep you all updated.  I should have the pics from the trip tomorrow up by Sunday morning....pics of the apartment by mid-next week.  Here are a few other pics that I've taken since being here:

View from my temporary living quarters....The Five-Star Swissôtel

Random market vendor selling me "41 Spices - Aphrodisiac Candy"...it didn't work

What remained of my Turkish coffee...they can tell your fortune by reading the coffee grounds remaining in the cup....they said that I'd see my lover soon because of the two kissing people that form a heart....see it?








-Hoşçakal for now