seljuk sites

a rather uncomfortable overnight bus ride (i guess i got spoiled with those semi-sleepers to goa) and we woke up at the konya bus station. we made our way out and to the nearby tram stop. we took it a few stops and got off at the apartment complex our would-be couchsurfing host had arranged (he ended up being full but his friend elif was closer to the station so it worked out). we waited out front for a while, eventually found a payphone to get a hold of her (again, the whole no cell phone thing proving a hindrance) and soon were brought right up. elif had a great place, complete with a guest bedroom with a bunk bed. elif had to run off to work but graciously left us to rest and freshen up. we had a much-needed rest to make up for our night on the bus and then  left refreshed.

gardens over lunch

so we hopped back on the tram and after about 15 minutes found ourselves in the center of downtown. it seemed konya was quite a bit smaller than bursa. the center of town was quite nice. immediately to our right was a large outdoor cafe that looked like it belonged in vienna or next to an ice skating rink. in front of us was the central alaeddin hill, around which the town centers. we walked a little up and around the hill and continued towards the historic part of town. we were searching for a restaurant the guide book had recommended that had a nice view of the mevlana complex. we found it but they were evidently booked up with tour buses. thanks but no thanks. we found another place not too far and had it almost to ourselves (well, until a bus group showed up. i guess you can't avoid them.) the view, though, for our meal was lovely. we could see right over the walls into the grounds of the complex. turns out, rose gardens look pretty good from any angle.

those turkish roses

back to ground level, we followed the walls around to the entrance of the grounds. the complex, or mevlana dergahı, was originally the site of the rose garden for the seljuk palace. the seljuks, who predated the ottoman empire, settled both in anatolia and iran (obviously these were the former). i was particularly excited to see their former capital due to their penchant for using turquoise and black tiles. the conical tower at right being one of the most prominent examples. we spent quite a while taking pictures in the gardens and generally enjoying being surrounded by roses before making our way to what is now the mevlana museum. the museum is devoted to telling the story of the original whirling dervishes. they do so with life-size dioramas and text panels in the original cells where the dervishes would have stayed. it gave a pretty good impression of what their daily lives would have been like, not bad.

bells and stones

then we made our way into the mausoleum itself. the tomb was built for mevlâna jelaleddin rumî, commonly known as rumi, the sufi poet. he was also the founder of the order of the dervishes and so naturally his tomb became a rather important pilgrimage site, and consequently rather crowded. inside the building was quite elaborate - gold and decoration on every surface that glittered in the low light of the glass lanterns. and just outside, tombstones with carved calligraphy and surrounded by (guess what) roses and small fountain. unfortunately the selimiye mosque was closed for renovations. we took a final stroll through the grounds and made our way out.

famous candies

we walked up a smaller street, past stalls overflowing with bags and bags of the chalky white candies apparently famous to the city. a little farther on we passed a later, 18th century mosque. quite different in appearance, more like a church of the time. we passed on without going inside and continued back towards the big street that led to the hill. we stopped into an internet cafe to catch up on some things and i nibbled on some of the aforementioned candies. they taste exactly like you'd expect them to. we walked on, and on the way we noticed even the post offices and banks had colorful tiles built into their facades. i like that in a town.

ceiling tiles

our next stop, fittingly, was the tile museum. i was more than a little excited about a museum filled with tiles (just to reiterate here, i really like tiles). after paying a modest price we slipped in to the small museum, just a few rooms - formerly the karatay medrese (school). the walls were covered - well, almost covered, with tiles recovered from the seljuk era. that same turquoise and black, with all types of geometric patterns and kufic scripts. it's so striking - i often wonder why we only see iznik-style tiles reproduced today. i think the seljuk ones would be just as beautiful. the museum itself was small but had some nice literature on how and the tiles were made and what the common motifs were. during the seljuk era konya was a major center for glazed tiles and brick, which is evident in the extant architecture. in a smaller room there were examples of different one of a kind hand-painted tiles that often featured figures and animals, most in that distinctive eight-point star shape.

this doesn't quite capture it

we walked out into the museum's small courtyard that featured some lovely flowers and a sun-dappled leafy trellis. when we left we took a look at the impressive facade to the small complex. with its muqarnas niche over the doorway, dark stone patterns, and petals filled with script, it was quite elaborate. even better, across the street we found a little ice cream shop. we had been hoping to find a place, as i was having trouble putting into words the unique consistency of turkish ice cream. we paid more for the ice cream than we had for the museum tickets, but it was worth it for the experience. it had that signature taffy-esque, almost chewy quality to it. it actually broke my spoon! still quite tasty. oh, and the shop itself seemed to be an old little building too. nice in its own right.

incredible minbar and tiles behind

our next destination was back up the hill to the alaeddin mosque complex. the mosque wasn't much to look at from the exterior; with its plain walls it almost looked more like a castle complex. we went in what seemed to be the side entrance - there was a large door was in the middle of the adjacent wall and into the mosque. it was very plain inside, and looked surprisingly modern, in spite of the marble columns. kind of like a church basement. but then we got to the mihrab (it wasn't visible right away) - it was spectacular! that same marble muqarnas vaulting bordered by band after band of seljuk tiles. all kinds of patterns in those same two shades. and the size was just monumental. next to it was the wooden minbar (stairs) that was just as intricate - perhaps more. it was created with the kündekari technique, whereby a wooden structure is assembled using only fitted wooden grooves on the sides of each piece - no nails or glue. then of course each of those geometric pieces has elaborate carvings of interlaced arabesques. quite remarkable. (i had studied a similar piece earlier, if you're wondering why i know so much about this rather obscure practice.) as we were leaving we were informed that we were not supposed to take pictures (which we honestly didn't know - i say this despite my somewhat blemished track record); luckily i had already got what i wanted.

minaret in brick and tile

from there it was down the other side of the hill. we went off in search of an interesting looking mosque i had seen somewhere and, after wandering through a few side streets and consulting a few locals, we found the mosque on an otherwise unassuming street. it had quite a unique minaret, with patterns made in that distinctive glazed brick. the mosque was very small but had a nice little courtyard surrounding it.

yes, that glob is butter

we stopped for a bit and then made our way back towards that central circle. on the ring road we discovered a place that advertised knafeh. of course i insisted that we stop in. i've been drooling over thoughts of knafeh since the last time i'd had it in jordan. it wasn't quite as good as what i'd had in amman, but still good in its oily gooeyness.

by then we had just a few minutes until we were supposed to meet our couchsurfing host (the original one). we grabbed a table at the central cafe - the last one, though there were many - for some tea and postcard writing while we waited for görkem. after a few minutes he found us, evidently coming straight from work in his nice suit. he came bearing gift bags, full of pamphlets and info on konya.

konya from above

we followed him to the hace veys zade mosque, the largest and newest in the city, where we were meeting sally, another couchsurfer from montana. she was hard to miss - super tall with a short pixie cut. we popped into the mosque briefly, spacious and empty inside. after that we hurried off to the restaurant görkem had picked out for us; he wanted us to make it before the sun had set. when we got there we understood why. he took us to a revolving restaurant - at the 42nd floor of the seljuk tower (sort of a misnomer, obviously it's a rather new building). we made it in time for the sunset and took a walk around the observation deck. konya's not much from above but it was a nice way to get perspective on the city. once inside we were treated to what was a rather expensive meal (all on the company card) - we were each more or less instructed to order one of the traditional dishes on the menu. various combinations of spiced meat, peppers, onions, rice and baskets full of bread. it wasn't bad, although a less formal meal would have been more our speed. still, we'd never been to a revolving restaurant so it was novel if nothing else.

from there we left to meet elif and some other friends at an outdoor cafe. there were seats all around a lovely pond, illuminated with colored lights, complete with passing swans. we met the other group, about six of them were there already, and joined them for çay and hookah. we had a lovely time discussing this and that - traveling and impressions of turkey. around 11 or 12 we headed back with elif on the tram (and learned that the city apparently bought them from germany) to her place and promptly collapsed into our bunk beds.

so there you have it, a pretty perfect 24 hours in konya.

busy in bursa

not pictured: bread and tomatoes

after a great first day in istanbul i arose to an amazing sunday breakfast spread, courtesy of büşra's lovely roommate fatima. apparently she just likes to cook. a great quality in a roommate, i've always thought. the potatoes, cheese - really everything - was just delicious. a great way to start off another full day of sightseeing and traveling.

i bid farewell to büşra headed downtown to meet courtney. we hadn't planned every aspect of our trip (more exciting that way) so our first stop was to the information center - located, conveniently, in taksim square (how 'bout that) where we had a nice encounter with a very helpful employee. as it turned out we were able to take a boat most of the way to bursa, our first stop. we hadn't thought the boat schedule would work on a sunday but as it turned out, it was the cheapest and most direct route. and we got a boat ride out of it. so we hopped back on the tram, made our way to the little dock and had a few drinks at the little cafe while waiting. side note: our boat was continuously referred to as a 'bus', to the point that, when we were boarding, we weren't at all sure what we were in for. yeah, turns out it was just a boat.

surprise lunch companion

a very pleasant boat ride thanks to comfortable seats, dramamine and contraband chocolate (okay the chocolate wasn't prohibited in particular, just eating in the seats). before we knew it, we were in bursa. or at least on a short bus ride to bursa. we weren't exactly certain where to meet our couchsurfing host so we just went to the center and town and tried to find some lunch. we quickly found a place that fit the bill. we had some delicious iskender kebabs (the local specialty) and, as a bonus, an adorable puppy that popped out of a box and spent the remainder of our meal endearingly nibbling at our bags. i don't know what it is about lamb, tomato sauce, yogurt and bread that can be so mouthwatering. my money's on the grease. the people (in addition to the animals) at the kebab stand were very friendly and let us use their phone to contact our host. this whole not having a cell phone thing, very inconvenient. as it happened we had to get back on the tramline that we were on before (did i not mention that? right, we were on the tram) and head all the way to the end.

a hammam, perhaps? and that beautiful sky

our couchsurfing host, erdem, took us back to his place which as it turns out was filled with other students like him. they were from all corners of turkey and it was amazing how different they all looked, features-wise. courtney and i later took turns guessing which european country they could have each been from. we all relaxed and chatted a bit, and shared a meal they had prepared for us. erdem's surprisingly simple carrot dish was a sleeper hit. after our mid-afternoon meal we headed back into the city - with a short walk, shuttle and tram ride it was about an hour in all. then came the walking. from the center of town we headed uphill, enjoying sights of small brick mosques and a gorgeous sunset.

in a whirl

finally we made it to our destination, which ended up being the whirling dervish lodge, or karabish-i veli. (i say this because sometimes with our host's english/accent we weren't entirely sure where we were going sometimes. hm, that makes it sound weird) in any case, this ended being a fantastic outing. as we approached the building (which has recently been renovated and reopened) and surrounding gardens twilight was setting in and we had a few minutes to spare. so we enjoyed a leisurely a cup of çay amidst trees and roses (which seem to be everywhere!). then it was time for the ceremony. courtney and i were so delighted to get to watch - we had hoped to attend one of the whirling dervish 'shows' (as opposed to the ceremonies, i'm making the distinction) in konya but couldn't find a way to get tickets. luckily for us we had a host who took us to the real thing. we filed into the small building, taking off our shoes an climbing the stairs to sit in the women's section. our host stayed below, with the men (i'm still not sure who i think had the better view). the music began, and each of the devout began spinning, one by one. first with their arms folded, and then slowly raising them out and up. it really was mesmerizing - we were amazed at the way they could move so fluidly and in such perfect harmony. the youngest was probably no more than 13! truly incredible to witness. and i have seen quite a few religious rituals in the past year..

in the mihrab looking up

the next day it was another trek back into bursa and a full day of exploring. while at times it was odd having our host with us all the time, planning our day, ultimately he was indispensable in leading us to great sites in the city and navigating all over. we started off walking through the downtown and over a little bridge of shops, much like a smaller ponte vecchio (where we scored some cool jewelry!). then farther into the old city. oh did i mention bursa was the first capital of the ottoman empire? hence its appeal as a destination, famous kebabs notwithstanding. when i hear ottoman capital i automatically think beautiful architecture, so i was particularly excited. when we approached the first of our architectural sites i was pretty giddy. i mean, just look at those beautiful turquoises! (if you know me, you understand how i feel about tiles) the picture at right is from the mausoleum known as the green tomb, or the 'yeşil türbe'. it's a small octagonal building covered in glazed tiles. inside the tombs, walls, and niches are all covered with beautiful geometric tiles in turquoise and gold. we spent a good while exploring every one of those eight sides, probably to the chagrin of our good-natured host.

catnap

just across the way was the yeşil cami (cami, pronounced jami, meaning mosque - interesting because in india the jami masjid is the friday mosque. fascinating right?), a 15th-century mosque. outside was a lovely wooden fountain, complete with sandals for ablutions. and to cap off the picture, a cat taking a snooze on a carpet draped on a wall overlooking the city. we shelved our shoes (nice little cubbies, and everything. a welcome change from the massive piles in india), scarf-ed ourselves and went in. there was a friendly man inside who gave us an impromptu little tour. the building is an unusual t-shape, as opposed to the normal rectangular mosque. and the giant, tiled mihrab - exquisite! as it turns out the man has a ceramics business and has done renovation work for various sites and museums.

mosque and mihrab

naturally, he had a shop which we were invited to (i know, i know) but he seemed on the level and it wasn't far. plus, we're always up for shopping. it turned out to be a worthwhile stop. the building itself was several hundreds years old and just lovely - bright yellow walls, carved wooden ceilings. we got to see all the floors, including the top one which was devoted to only the finest carpets (his own personal collection, for the most part). there were beautiful ceramics, some hand-painted, some factory-made, all over the bottom two floors. we enjoyed perusing and left with a purchase or two.

tomatoes, pre-iskender

my mouth is still watering

 more walking, up hills and down, fortunately led by our trusty guide. past some newer smaller mosques and courtyards, near old cemeteries and through markets where we saw shining red tomatoes and cherries (a town nearby is famous for them), dripping honeycombs and that thin stuff they make knafeh with. finally we arrived at our next destination: lunch! another iskender kebab from one of the most famous establishments, bursa kebapçisi, or as we called it, 'the pink building '. the kebab was delicious but not tons better than the (much cheaper) one the day before. the view, though, on the garden terrace, was quite pleasant. after thoroughly enjoying our piles meat we continued on.

han by night

on our way back down the hill we made a stop in the balibey han. hans are markets, formerly known as caravanserais (one of my favorite words) and this particular one is quite impressive, primarily for its three-story arcade. we had passed it on our evening walk the night before and it looked quite impressive all lit up. this time, though, the little shops were open. it's now more of a collective of artisans' workshops. that makes it a coveted (read: expensive) space, but also a nice place to see a lot of turkey's traditional crafts in one location. we saw a lot of nice examples of ebru, or marblized paper (originating from turkey!), wood carving, calligraphy, puppets and more. we even shopped into a small glass studio where i got to make a bead. it was.. unique. swirly and orangey/blue. much harder than it looks, naturally.

karagöz and hacivat

we wound back through some of the other markets, including the larger covered one. we were on the lookout for karagöz shadow puppets. they're usually made of leather and were traditionally used for puppet shoes during ramadan. the show itself is named for one of the two most prominent characters (much like punch and judy shows) who are often making mischief. the puppet shows apparently began in bursa (as the story goes, during construction on the ulu cami) and not surprisingly the most famous puppets are from bursa. like many old cultural practices, their production seems to be fading (although the practice itself is now on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list). we had heard that there was one shop in the bazaar where we could find a family that's been making the puppets for generations. we managed to find the stall, karagöz anitkaci, only to find the owners missing. apparently the elder brother was out. this time when we went through we managed to track down a brother - or at least someone who indulged us with a brief show. short though it was, we could see the intricacy of the puppets' cut outs and how nicely the subtle colors shone through the white sheet. and, despite the language barrier, their antics made us chuckle too.

symmetrical calligraphy

by then we were quite close to the very mosque that gave birth to the puppets, the ulu cami. the mosque is quite large and rather spacious inside. it has an impressive twenty domes capping its ceiling and many windows. with the afternoon sunlight streaming in the center of the mosque was quite bright, while niches along the walls were more in shadow. also in the middle of the mosque was an ablution fountain, which i found very unusual but also strikingly pretty. we leisurely took in the quiet spaces of the mosque and i enjoyed deciphering the monumental calligraphy on roundels and plaques (which wasn't really that hard.. pretty much all of them said 'allah', 'muhammad' or the bismallah).

at this point we were pretty pooped from tramping all over. luckily erdem was there to decipher the bus schedule for us and pretty soon we were on our way back west. we weren't entirely sure what our destination was, although courtney and i had tried to express some interest in visiting a traditional hammam. there's a natural hot spring just outside of bursa, making it an ideal spot for turkish baths. there was a bit of a miscommunication which became apparent when we got off the bus. we were near a big fancy hammam/resort - not exactly what we'd had in mind. our host was confused as to why we wanted to see such a modern hammam and eventually we explained that we wanted to actually go in the hammam and use it (we even had swimsuits all ready). we got it straightened out and somehow - again, thanks to our friend - managed to find a women's hammam not too far down the road.

our ottoman hammam

this place certainly fit the bill. an old, unassuming brick building that had steps leading down to the entrance. and at 7TL (≈ $4), the price was right. our host took us to the door and did a little talking with the owner and her daughter, who spoke english and promised to call him when we were all finished. we felt guilty about leaving our host but, honestly, at that point he was probably anxious for a break from us. we went in to the large, tiled changing room that had three big stepped areas and hooks along the wall. we maneuvered into our bathing suits (we're all for authentic, but we have our limits), took some sandals from the floor and made our way through to the caledarium. well, that's the roman equivalent anyway. a small, steamy room with small marble tubs lined along the walls. each one had a small pitcher and a stool nearby, so we picked our spots. there were several older women who were already well into their steam baths, and they looked over at us with kindly smiles. they even indicated when we sat down at a faucet whose cold tap was broken. each had both hot and cold so you could regulate the water temperature that you're pouring over yourself. it was delightfully warm - i do love a good steam room. after maybe 30 minutes (it was hard to keep track of time) we popped out for a breath of cool air and back in for a few more minutes. once we felt nice and refreshed we made our way back into the changing room. on our way out we chatted with the mother-daughter pair who said the place had been in their family for hundreds of years. oh, and the hammam? seven hundred years old. it dates to the ottoman era! how's that for an authentic experience! (and i have to say much more comfortable than my last one..)

objects in picture may be large than they appear

when we met back up with erdem we discovered he had also made a visit to a men's hammam so everyone was feeling totally rejuvenated. and thirsty! i don't know that i've ever been so thirsty. i bought us two liters of water at a nearby convenience store and we quickly gulped down most of them. we hopped on the next bus and headed well, towards home we figured. we continued up into the hills, through woodsy areas and even past a few horses. we were utterly confused when we got off the bus at what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. we followed erdem up a little street, past a few informal vendors and arrived at the tree. ohh, the tree! we understood. earlier erdem had mentioned a famous old tree just outside the city - it was even pictured prominently on the map. we hadn't realized we were going there but it turned out to be an absolutely perfect outing. the tree itself - 600 years old - is, of course, enormous, with giant, sprawling branches and boughs that spread out low over a wide area. the locals have capitalized on the famous tree by making the space below into a lovely outdoor cafe. we saw families visiting from all over the middle east.

summer spread

and the snack of choice? summer fruits. red-yellow cherries, grapes, plums, apricots, strawberries and even what i think were gooseberries. they looked so delicious, gleaming the golden afternoon sunlight. the perfect way to rehydrate and refresh ourselves after our hammam visits. we washed our fruit down with some tea and enjoyed a nice conversation as we looked out over the valley. i think all that fructose made courtney and me a little giggly, but erdem took our goofiness in stride.

then it was back on the bus and towards erdem's place. by the time we got back we didn't have much time for dinner. we grabbed our suitcases and headed over to a nearby cafeteria. we managed to have a somewhat decent meal before hopping back on the bus. this time we were headed towards the station where we would catch our overnight bus to konya. though our time in bursa was quite brief we were able to see so much of the city - and lucky enough to visit unique places we would never have known about. all thanks to our friendly host. so thanks, erdem!

turkey trot

in leaving india fulbright told us they would cover our airfare - for any layovers we had to pay the difference. basically a two-week vacation for total transportation costs of $180. yes please. so, while i was of course upset at having to leave india, the blow was softened by a little side-trip to turkey and, better still, getting to meet up with my best friend and travel buddy courtney.

i arrived in istanbul (via london - i know!) and was presented with the prospect of having to get myself - and my three giant bags to taksim square. luckily i managed to find the right bus that went directly there and i could even stow my luggage below. glorious. i ended up on a street right off of taksim square, the heart and soul of the city waiting for my friend büşra (ş='sh') to meet me. i got a bit nervous when i realized i had no way to contact her and that i was much later than expected. luckily, she was too and eventually we were reunited after parting two years before in jordan, where we'd met.

büşra was very sweet and graciously helped me cart my enormously heavy bags through the turnstiles and down to the metro. we carted the things onto the train at rush hour, back outside and into a cab that we eventually hailed not far from her place. her place, as it turns out, is wonderfully situated very near her school, boğaziçi university. her place is on cute residential street with several small cafes populated by students. i was amazed as the size of her flat - the living room was enormous. and the bathroom! i could probably do a handstand in there. you know, if i could do a handstand. and best of all she generously offered to hold my heavy bags for the duration of my trek around turkey. definitely a huge load off - literally.

we caught up over a glass of çay, then went out walking. at a nearby restaurant our waitress was an american (from fairfax, no less!) speaking flawless turkish. another place, another fun language to learn. i did at least get the basics of pronunciation down (that funny ğ? it elongates the letter after it). we ordered some traditional turkish fare, including dolma and ayran, the yogurt drink of choice. after dinner we went for a post-dinner stroll, where büşra showed me the incredible view of the bosphorus from their university. stunning! and really gave me a good idea of just how huge the city really is.

we were both exhausted - büşra from her finals and the stress of coming to get me, me from 20some odd hours of travel - and slept like the dead. büşra took me to a little breakfast place on the corner for a cheese pastry to go (real cheese! real pastries! heaven!) which ended up being the perfect morning snack.

it's got it all.. gold, tiles, stained glass, carpets

i managed (with lots of coaching) to successfully take the bus and then tram to the center of the tourist area and eventually wound up at topkapı palace where i was meeting courtney. i wasn't sure what entrance she'd be at but apparently she spotted me from across a big field (the giveaway: i was scrunching my hair, oh geez). after more than 19 months apart being reunited was almost surreal! we got caught up over a glass of juice and then made our way into the palace. it was courtney's first time here but also nice for me to revisit after being here seven years before. it was as beautiful as i remembered, and courtney and i were quite content taking pictures all over the place. between roses, tiles and carpets, there was no shortage of colorful subjects for us. once we had tramped all over and read about its various inhabitants we made our way out through a pleasant park on the opposite side of where we had come in.

we were in search of lunch somewhere nearby. well, apparently we picked the wrong exit. we ended up on a highway next to the bosphorus. but we walked on, figuring we'd eventually hit some sort of commercial street. indeed we did. we wandered into a little restaurant that, upon closer inspection, appeared to have garnered some acclaim from local newspapers and food guides. the food was just what we were looking for - some eggplant and lamb in nice tomatoey sauces, bread and rice.

lights all around

by then we weren't far from the spice market. we walked on, passing mosques with all sorts of domes. the spice market itself was as frenetic as you would imagine a spice market in istanbul to be on a saturday. since we weren't really looking for foods just yet, and didn't love being hassled and jostled, we made our way out and on toward the süleymaniye mosque. i was particularly excited about this first because it was designed by the eminent sinan and second because i had neglected to visit it the first time around (because, in my defense, i didn't know who sinan was at the time). it was up a bit of a hill but the mosque itself was dazzling. courtney commented on how much quieter it was than the blue mosque, in the midst of the tourist area, since she'd visited there just the day before. it certainly was pleasantly tranquil inside. and, although i realized the carpets were much more comfortable, that slight odor of feet made me thankful that temples in india all have stone floors.

see what i mean about the weather?

after lingering a bit to admire the view from the small hill, we went back down and boarded the tram to cross the river. from there we walked up another hill to galata, an area that reminded me a lot of the croix rousse in lyon, a little artsy with some neat little shops and cafés. we made our way to the galata tower, which looks very italian romanesque. paid a few lire to get to the top and were rewarded with a view of the sea and the red roofs of the city. beautiful weather, i might add.

old streetcar on its way to taksim

we made our way back down the hill and towards taksim, or so we thought (we had to get reoriented a few times..), as the sun began to go down. we walked along istiklâl caddesi (the c? it's pronounced like a j), one of the big pedestrian streets, admiring shops and searching for a nice place to sit outside and people watch. we eventually found a spot down a side street where we could enjoy our kebabs outside, which we did happily. after a leisurely meal we arrived in taksim, still buzzing with energy. undeniably the nerve center of the city. we were hoping for more people watching and settled on a little bistro just off the square where we enjoyed some wine and surprisingly good live jazz. a perfect spot to sit and watch the light fade from the city. eventually we went our separate ways and agreed to meet back in the morning.

next stop: bursa!

out of india

well we've finally come to the end. i don't know how i can possibly sum up nine months in any concise way, except by using platitudes like 'amazing experience' which are gag-inducing but nevertheless true.

people always ask me what my favorite place has been in these past few months. a fair question, and one that i would most likely ask myself if the roles were reversed, given that i have managed to visit 13 states over the course of the last few months. the problem is i just find it an impossible question to answer. india in particular is an incredibly diverse country, in almost every sense of the word you could imagine. so naturally every place i've visited is spectacularly different - in food, language, customs, dress, you name it. so how can i possibly choose a favorite place?? or trip, for that matter. was it visiting the craft villages of kutch? riding buses and trains through the jungles of kerala? getting spoiled by families in indore? taking a road trip through the desert in rajasthan? playing holi in delhi? sampling french pastries in pondicherry? tramping around the ruins of hampi? splashing in the invitingly warm waters of the arabian sea in goa? browsing through piles of books in bangalore? dancing garba in ahmedabad? gorging myself on the world's heaviest food in amritsar?

i'll stop myself there; i'm sure you get the idea.
suffice it to say that i can't possibly choose a favorite place in india, but every trip, town and village has special memories for me. (except for chennai. chennai is the worst.) bombay, of course, is particularly near to my heart. even for all its infuriating moments (two words: local trains) there are so many amazing aspects too (two words: marine drive).

so did i accomplish everything i set out to? perhaps not. but i think i did accomplish quite a bit. there's always more of india to see but i'd say i got around quite a bit. i've managed to get a pretty good grasp on hindi (comprehension-wise.. i still sound like a confused caveman when i try to speak) which i'm quite proud of. some of my prouder moments were being able to follow entire hindi movies (not counting houseful 2, since it has no plot) and managing to yell at people in somewhat coherent language (don't worry, they deserved it). and, most significantly, i've made some truly fantastic friends while here. (and so the letter-writing list grows) to the point that, while i was sitting in the mumbai airport at two in the morning, instead of feeling sad i just felt so grateful that i had such great friends who would even come to the airport just to see me off at the door or call me in the middle of the night for a last farewell.

so as i sit here in heathrow airport surrounded by gray clouds behind soaring glass windows and too-clean rows of seats and floor tiles trying to drown out the chattering brittish tweens behind me with my indian playlist i'm certainly feeling a little wistful. but more than that i feel so fortunate to have been able to make such wonderful memories in this country i love. 

and don't you worry, india. i'll be back for those other 15 states!

safe behind bars

allow me to wax poetic (or perhaps pathetic) for a moment with a few words i scribbled down on my last train trip.

i've always been enamored of overnight train journeys. there's something intrinsically romantic about being rocked to sleep by the rails as the train moves ever forward into the deepening night. it's a shame that i never experienced overnight trains in my childhood.. i'm sure i would have been charmed by them, as i was by crumbling english castles and sugar cubes at tea time. (a sidenote.. but the state of railways in america is lamentable to say the least)

as it was, my first overnight train ride was one from france to italy when i was in high school. i loved it right away. the semi-privacy of the trim compartment, every element so efficiently designed. the joy of watching as the lights - or dark - roll by.

but the indian rails have a special place in my heart. even now as i sit in my sleeper class berth, the golden light of dusk peeks in through the bars on the windows. dusty towns flit by, their residents preparing for night. in my car happy families share secrets, offer each other snacks, or play, vaulting from the metal bars or jumping between the bottom seats. dutiful vendors pass, swinging their wares in tune with their sonorous cries.

forgive me if i'm sounding overly saccharine - but it's my penultimate journey here on the indian rails and i'm beginning to get nostalgic. i mean, where else will i get a rs. 5 cup of chai delivered to my seat? or vada pav and lonavala chikki passed to me from just outside the train window?

of course trains aren't all shy toothy (or toothless) grins and wafting breezes from wood stoves. there are always the loud arguments, even louder bodily functions, and questionable smells in closer quarters. and it's pretty much the last place you'd ever want to be sick. but even with all that, my positive experiences have far outnumbered any unpleasantness.

i know i'm hardly the first person to be inspired by the trains.. but i had to try to pay some homage to one of my favorite parts of this amazing country.

even now as i post this i'm about to get on what will be my last train trip in india for some time. but i hope know there are many more voyages to come.

sleeper class zindabad!

water, water everywhere

a canal too small even for our little canoe

alleppey is thought to be one of the better (or at least better-known) spots to explore the backwaters of kerala. though i only had essentially half a day there i thought i'd make the most of it by taking a boat ride. since these people are in the business of boats - they have them in spades. any shape, size or price range you could imagine. there's even an 8-hour commuter ferry that goes all the way to kovalam (about 8 hours away) for just a few hundred rupees. then of course there are the extravagant honeymoon houseboats that come with all amenities, including on-board staff. i opted for the lower end of the spectrum (surprise surprise) and since i was by myself a canoe ride seemed like the best option anyway. it was small but quite cozy, and had a small covering which was appreciated especially as the first hour of my trip was rather drizzly.

colors of the backwaters

we spent the early part of the three hours on a larger part of the river but as the skies began to clear and time went on we moved in to the smaller canals and could see life on the river up close. as we floated by we could see coconut trees, pretty little pastel houses, roosters crowing and people out to wash their clothes on the rocks. it was a lovely little ride, peppered with sights like lilypads, boats carved and colorful and even a few kingfishers (what a pretty bird). the ride was relaxing - just what i needed after a few hectic days, and i even got to row, which i really enjoyed. my guide/personal rower asked no less than four time "are you happy?" i must have answered unconvincingly. but after a few hours on the water in alleppey, yes, i was quite content.

that day it was on to varkala. alright, full disclosure: this was not one of my finer travel ventures. but i'll tell you the whole story anyway, whoever's actually reading this, that is. i intended to take a train to varkala despite being told it was 'always late'. come to find out, i should have inquired as to how late it would be. i got to the train station and was told it would be 4.30 instead of 3.30. this quickly turned into 5.30. at that point i figured i'd be getting into varkala too late (it gets dark early down south!) and figured i'd just take the bus since it would leave right away.

so after losing 20 rs. for refunding my ticket, i took a local bus back to the bus stand (where i had just been, i might add). from there i had to take not one bus, but three, ending me up in varkala long past when the train would have deposited me. lessons learned: when people say 'that train is always late,' ask them how late. and when people say 'the train will be better for you,' they're probably right.

rocks and cliffs of varkala

so i arrived into varkala feeling rather exhausted and jaded but luckily found my hotel easily enough. i was delighted to find a tidy little room that had clean sheets, towels, and toilet paper. amazing! i was even more delighted the next morning to discover that i had chosen a beautiful little spot to stay. i chose the city because it was on the coast and situated in a little cove between two cliffs. the cliff - just a few meters' walk from my hotel - was picturesque and the view was just breathtaking. exactly what i needed after the long day of travel before.

shiny wet rocks and sea weeds

of course i wasn't the first one to discover this little bastion and it was immediately clear that this was a popular tourist haunt. as if the tibetan good shops and ubiquitous ali baba pants (calling all hippies) weren't enough - there were continental restaurants boasting waffles (i resisted) and blasting bob marley. i meandered through the shops without buying toooo much but did have two meals with a view of the sea. there's something about eating overlooking the sea that's always sort of magical. and for the first time i felt like i was on vacation, rather than of just traveling.

crashing waves cover the entire shore

i did get a closer look at the water, too. i walked down one of the several sets of steps that lead down to the shore. the tide must have been coming in because the strip of shoreline was rather narrow. throughout the sands were red, craggy rocks overgrown with slimy algae, along with shiny shells and scaly fish. they say the riptide in kerala is intense and claims several people each year. just watching those waves crashing violently against the rocks, i'm inclined to believe them. so although it was a beautiful sunny day (the first after a week of rain, i was told) though i did manage to get my skirt thoroughly soaked while taking a picture. so i suppose you old say i was in the arabian sea.

i guess you can't go to kerala without experiencing the waters firsthand.