Marathon Training on the Bosphorus

Helloooo everyone and welcome to my somewhat inconsistent blog, ineptly titled after my dog Barnaby, and his hoped for but not realized life in Istanbul with me while I completed a two year Masters.  Well, now, at the end of my Masters, Barnaby has yet to make it to the 'Bul, as we call it.  However, I thought I could at least keep posting so he can see all the pretty pictures and know what I've been up to - and you all as well!

I've always wanted to run a marathon.  I can't quite say why exactly.  Maybe just for bragging rights.  So I'm running with the HRC marathon team in this year's Marine Corps Marathon, and have been dubbed with the "furthest distance" award by our Coach in d.c..  So in my last few weeks in Istanbul, as summer really starts to heat up, I have been starting the training program here on the shores of the Bosphorus.  (insert beautiful pictures of the Bosphorus found on google)....


Training programs usually have short runs throughout the week to keep you in shape and long runs on the weekend that slowly get your ready for the marathon.  I start in Beşiktaş and run up the Bosphorus most days, and each Sunday gets me a little further up the Bosphorus to a new landmark.  Today was 8 miles and took me to the TAPS brewery in Bebek, though sadly, I did not stop for a mid-run beer at 11 in the morning.
So about the photos.  They aren't mine.  It is hard enough carrying enough water, keys, spare change for more water and an ipod on the runs, so I have cheated and posted nice un-sweaty photos taken by professionals and the like.  But you get the idea, I run by beautiful landmarks such as the Cırağan Palace (not converted into a hotel, but still a palace), the Ortaköy mosque (above and below), two lovely bridges (ok I havent made it to the second bridge yet, but I think next week'll get me there), and LOTS and lots of amateur fisherman who a) think I am very amusing to be intentionally exerting myself in the heat and b) threaten all walker-byers with the possibility of being hooked with one of their lines.

Ortaköy mosque at night

So one thing I have noticed as it gets hotter out is the frequency by which people spontaneously throw themselves into the Bosphorus.  At first it was only young adolescent boys, but has grown to include questionably respectable middle aged men (and women! woo hoo!).  Below is a photo of the annual trans-Bosphorus swim, just to give you an idea of what these people look like.  actually the people I see swimming in the Bosphorus are far less impressive and goal-oriented.  but I digress.

In reality, my runs along the Bosphorus are not as idyllic as these photos make them seem.  Don't get me wrong, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, but running along the streets is somewhat akin to an urban obstacle course, which arguably, makes it much more exciting and passes the time, as one's attention is given to avoiding street vendors, insane-O drivers, mystified spectators (it is quite strange for anyone, let alone a woman, to run around for no reason), pedestrians with erratic walking patterns, and of course, the inevitable really, really slow people who take up the whole of a sidewalk.  This is their privilege and prerogative as pedestrians!  but it does make keeping one's eyes and ears open quite fundamental to survival.  Some days I almost prefer it this way.  No chance of getting bored!
But really, with a view this amazing, who can complain?

Now, thank you for reading this post.  Most of my posts are just as I said earlier, for you to enjoy and get a little sense of Istanbul life.  However, this post is a little different...you have the chance to make a difference (and help me make a difference).

If you want to contribute to the ever-important cause of working to improve the equality and rights of gay people through HRC, please please please donate.  Even if it's just $5, it will all help me get to my goal (which I am about $1,000 short of at the moment and have to reach in the next month in order to qualify).  and thank you to all those who have already donated!!!!


http://action.hrc.org/site/TR/Events/AthleteforEquality?px=4102999&pg=personal&fr_id=1060#.T_nb_5FJuJQ

Cappadocia: Balloon Ride in the Land of the Fairies

Even before I moved to Turkey I've heard from just about everyone that Cappadocia is the coolest place in Turkey, if not the world.  In fact, a friend of mine from Chile spent a year traveling the world and said that Cappadocia was by far the most fascinating.

It took me 2 1/2 years to finally get there, but I can now understand and agree with all of those people.  Located in central Anatolia, Cappadocia is composed of several small towns which have been interconnected culturally for thousands of years.  The towns; Uçhisar, Göreme, Ürgüp, Kayseri, Avanos and Nevşehir all offer very different topographies, activities, histories and cultural selling points.  I am going to do a blog about the work I was doing in Cappadocia later, but for now, I just wanted to share with you all just one activity that is a must in Cappadocia; the sunrise hot air balloon ride.
We got picked up from our hotel at 5:30 am and shuttled to the launching pad for the hot air balloons.

Our balloon

Before our balloon ride got started, we watched as the crew prepped the balloon in line before us...

The hot air balloon in line before us getting fired up

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lift off!

And then it was our turn...

our balloon getting fired up

the awesome crew getting the air and gas just right

going up!

and we're up

I should mention that I have somewhat of a fear of heights.  There had also been bad weather the day before, which led to the company postponing our flight a day, and the morning we flew there was still a bit of wind.  However, watching the incredibly professional crew set everything up so carefully and knowing that they wouldn't fly in bad conditions was very reassuring. 

all the other ballons taking off after us

view out in the direction of Avanos

mom, bright and early

After floating along for about 15 minutes, we started approaching the town of natural rock formations near Göreme.  The rocks were formed from volanic eruptions, leaving cave-like dwellings in cone-shaped structures.  While they're not sure when they were first inhabited, people have lived in them for thousands of years and carved out windows, tables, graves, altars, etc. to suit their living purposes.

 Our "Captain" flew us into the valleys to get an upclose look at some of the rock formations and then would lift us up over the next ridge. Difficult to do normally, and even more so with the slightest hint of wind.

 

 Once we had flown over most of Göreme, we slowly floated until we found a good landing spot.

a balloon landing before us

deflation process

about to come down

 And we landed!  Our only specific instructions during the whole ride were for the landing - we had to face one direction, bend our knees and lean back a bit in order to brace ourselves and tilt the basket slightly backwards.  There was a slight impact, as one might expect.

mom getting her flight certificate with Captain Carlos

All in all, the flight was a little over an hour - from about 6:45 to 8 - and by the time we landed we were surprised at how warm it had been up in the air as opposed to the cold morning air down on the morning ground. 

Anyone from D.C. or who has been to the Smithsonian "the Air Up there" which has been playing on repeat every day at the Air and Space Museum will understand the feeling of flying over land in such a way, but I have to say, this hot air balloon ride was unlike anything else.  So cool.

Süryani Winemaking in Mardin

As some of you may know, I'm writing my Masters thesis on the cultural heritage of winemaking in Anatolia (Turkey).  My main case study is the winemaking culture of the Süryani people in the region of Tur 'Abdin - which stretches roughly from the city of Mardin eastward to the Tigris River and south to the Syrian plain.

So last weekend I went to Mardin to see what sorts of remnants of winemaking culture exist amongst the Süryani people living there today.  This involved visiting monasteries, churches, an excavation of an ancient winepress and, of course, going to wineries and meeting Süryani winemakers.

the town of Mardin

grape vines on someone's back patio - almost everyone grows their own grapes

Tur ‘Abdin, means “the Mountain of the Servants of God” in Syriac. The region has historically been populated by Christian Aramaean communities who have been making wine there since roughly 1000 BCE.  Süryanis have left their mark on the landscape, including construction of Christian monasteries and wine presses within the region, some of which exist to this day and some of which are even still in use.

We visited some of the monasteries in the region to survey remnants of a history and culture of winemaking, and sure enough we found grapevine mosaics and rock carvings in these monasteries.

mosaics showing grapevines

winepress in one Mor Gabriel

 Grape vine carvings in Mor Gabriel Monastery

courtyard in Mor Gabriel

A remarkable ancient winemaking system was unearthed about a year ago outside of Mardin which has been named Çelibra.  It is unknown exactly when the system was made, but it is of a massive scale, comprised of 8 huge treading floors and 104 tanks, all cut directly out of one piece of stone.  The system was constructed in a way that utilizes gravitational force to funnel the wine from one stage of the process to the next.  Ingenius!  The scale of the winepress makes us think that it was producing wine for export, but it will be useful to know when it was constructed...more of that in my thesis!

one of the treading floors

one of the tanks

small tank directly under the treading floor that served as a kind of filter before overflowing into a bigger tank

some of the tanks directly under the treading floors

the funneling system

the tanks

the winemaking system

another view of the winemaking system

 

three tanks located underneat a treading floor

street in Old Mardin

Church in Old Mardin

 and then I met with some local winemakers!  This guy showed us his cork press.

view up to the acropolis from my hotel

this is the stone that a Saint carried back to his Monastery from (then) Constantinople after exorcising the devil from the Emperor's daughter soul! or so goes the story...

sign for Süryani wine shop in Midyat, a town near Mardin

And now some doors from the streets of Old Mardin...

okay, I'm off to write my thesis!