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?
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
