I'm finally on the road in Turkey. Yesterday Bursa, the capital from the Byzantine or was it the Ottoman Empire of years past? Today it's Afyon, a wonderful place in central Turkey. Today we hiked to the top of a stunning rock mountain with ancient castle ruins atop. During the slow decent and subsequent exploration we encountered interesting old houses, markets, and people cheerfully trying to sell us everything from heaters, to shoe laces, to an unidentified green powder...
The call to prayer rings out as I settle down for the evening. For the first night in a while I'm able to watch English news and hear the latest information regarding Anthrax and the assassination of the Israeli Tourism Minister. Life in Turkey seems removed from the terroristic turmoil of the west, but it isn't... Everyone that learns I'm from the U.S. is surprised to see me, assuming we are too afraid to travel, especially to an Islamic destination. I tell them I'm not afraid even as I hear of the riots and foiled terrorist bombings in Istanbul. Conversations then seem to quickly move to Osama Bin Ladin, Afghanistan, or even the U.S. harboring of Armenians (???). My attempts at changing the subject have been feeble...
Today's hike took us to some extremely poor but picturesque areas in Afyon. In the hills surrounding the town the houses suffer from years of neglect and I suspect a few earthquakes. The doors are left open with nothing to steal. The laundry is hand washed by old women who also take care of children, chop wood, shop, and cook in relative difficult conditions. Most are happy to see us and respond quickly to our "Merhaba"... Children shy away, but respond as we pass with a jeering "Hallo!". Occasionally we exchange names or have an offer of cay (tea), but little else. Turkish is all they can speak in this town that sees few English and even fewer Americans.
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