Our last Sunday in Gazipasa, Karina and I worked on some research work in the morning. That afternoon/evening, Dr. Erdogmus took us all to the beach. It was nice relaxing and just floating out in the water. We ate dinner at one of the cafes on the beach. The food was good and the view was even better. The sunset that night was gorgeous. I just wish i had my camera. We just relaxed and laughed a lot that night. All in all, it was a productive and fun day for me.

The work week consisted of tying up some loose ends and finishing up moving blocks. When all was said and done, we moved a grand total of 137 blocks. Some of the blocks we moved this week were really big, so it took some considerable time and delicacy when moving them. By the time the last day rolled around, Cody and I had a big feat to accomplish for the day, and that was going through all the blocks and quickly assessing them for common faults such as algae, lichen, and a mysterious white residue that we are not sure what it is. Before i could start that task, i had to take several pictures of the blocks we had moved that week. We finished our task and by the time i was done, my brain was fried. But, i definitely felt like i accomplished a lot. I was a little bummed walking away from the site that day, knowing that we wouldn’t be back the next week. But, i was also kinda glad because that meant i would be home soon. By that time, i was craving American food and missing my friends and family.

That Friday we left for Antalya for the weekend and for our first flight home. The drive to Antalya was fun and kinda relaxing. I’m not sure it was for Dr. Erdogmus since she was driving, but, i applaud her for getting me, her, and Karina there in one piece. (driving in Turkey is insane)

Saturday and Sunday consisted of relaxing and enjoying the last few days in Turkey that we had. We all finished up our souvenir shopping. Dr. Erdogmus put us up in hotels that were in the old part of Antalya. And, i must say, old Antalya is pretty cool. It was cool seeing streets that were just wide enough to fit a car down. All of the shops along the streets were pretty cool too. During the day Saturday, Karina happened to run into the other group of people we had been on site with, so we went out with them that night. It was fun and we definitely have some stories from that night. I will miss the group of people that we had with us. They were entertaining and fun to say the least. Most of Sunday was just relaxing and finishing up packing.

Our travel day on Monday could have been better, but i think it could have been worse too. Turkish security was tighter than US security, so i had to check a small duffel bag that had all the equipment I had to bring with me in it. I was a little worried for the safety of that bag to say the least. But, it is what it is. The worst part of the day was when we got to JFK international. We found out that the east coast had bad weather that day and our flight had been delayed by an hour and 20 minutes. That meant that we couldn’t catch our flight from Minneapolis to Omaha. So, we had to stay in Minneapolis Monday night and didn’t get home till Tuesday morning. But, we eventually got home, safe and sound, and with all of our luggage (thank God!!).

All in all, this trip was amazing. I wouldn’t trade the experience and the memories for anything. I learned a lot and enjoyed my first time abroad. The food was delicious (stuffed green peppers, i miss you already!), the sites were amazing, and the company was fun. Was i glad to get home? Yeah. Would i do it again? Absolutely.

This Sunday, Dr. Hoff took a small group of us up to the ancient city of Selinus. I re-strained my quad muscle at the very beginning of the hike, so it was painful going through the rest of the hike, but it was worth getting to the top. We managed to get to the top of the city at sunset. It provided some awesome pictures.  I also learned that on almost every hilltop in the town, there was an ancient city. A part of me wishes that the US had this type of ancient history.There is nothing like it; knowing that there are ruins thousands of years old everywhere and that you can even hold it in your hand. This is the reason why i can’t wait to be back in that part of the world again.

This week on site was pretty exciting. It was the beginning of the crane work for the season. Dr. Erdogmus was not lying when she said the crane operator could operate a crane, talk on the phone, and smoke a cigarette at the same time. It was fun watching the Turks talk back and forth and work together. Their instincts are really like nothing else. As engineers, we think, but they just have gut feeling and good common sense that make them incredible workers. I also learned that Ahmet (one of the Turkish workers) is superman. I swear, he could win the world’s strongest man competition.

That Saturday, we played soccer again. But this time, the group was a lot smaller, so it was more interesting and involved some more work. However, i once again re-strained my quad muscle. By the end of the game, it definitely hurt to run. But, it was fun playing.

On Sunday, Dr. Hoff took the group up to the ancient city of Lamos. We literally hiked around the mountain for 3 hours. It was a workout, but totally worth it. The acropolis of the city was incredibly intact and according to Dr. Hoff, probably the most preserved one you will ever see. The view from a distance was breathtaking. It was as if i was looking into history. We got to walk around the top of it also; which, had a gorgeous view from the top.

That week on site we had Joshua Freedland from WJE visit us. I learned a lot from him and he provided information that helped us with one of the projects we were attempting to tackle for the season.

This week we also went down to pirates cove for the second time. This time was really cool because we were the only people down there for the first hour we were there. Pirates cove was really pretty and a lot of fun. It provided decent spots to jump off from into the water. I liked it a lot more than the beach because there wasn’t really any sand, just a hike to and from it.

That Saturday a lot of people were gone to Antayla, so the 9 of us that were left piled into one cab and went to the beach to watch the sun set. It was really relaxing. We made sandwiches with bananas and nutella (which i tried for the first time and is amazing!) Andrew also brought his banjo and played for a little while. It was really cool to sit and listen to that. All in all, it was a good day.

So, really, this is the first week and couple days that i was in Turkey. So, this will most likely be my longest entry.

With much thanks to Dr. Erdogmus, we got to spend the  first couple days in Istanbul. Istanbul was a lot of fun and a lot of good memories come from just those couple of days. Hearing the call to prayer (the adhān) every day from the Blue Mosque is something i hope i never forget. Its like nothing I’ve ever heard. I didn’t understand what they were saying, but it sounded beautiful.

The Grand Bazaar is something i will also probably never forget; people and shops everywhere.  And it is pretty easy to get lost in. I remember all of the guys that where just captivated by Karina’s eyes. One was especially creepy, but gave us good deals on scarves. Me and Cody couldn’t do anything but laugh watching this guy hit on Karina. Me and Karina went there a total of 4 times in the 2 days we were there.

At night, the city is completely different. Its like when the Grand Bazaar closes, it heads outside. Vendors show up everywhere. It is fun to just walk around and look. One of my favorite memories of the entire trip was going up to the rooftop of a bakery in Istanbul at night. It was situated between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, so we got to see both lit up at night from an amazing perspective and with the Marma Sea lit up by the full moon in between the two mosques.

We also went inside the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. Both were incredible in their own respect. The Hagia Sophia was just gorgeous. There really are not any words to describe it; not to mention all the history it has. It was amazing to walk through. And it was incredible to walk into the Blue Mosque knowing that it is such a holy place to Muslims.

All in all, Istanbul was amazing. The food was good, the people were friendly and the views were breathtaking. Before our 15 hour bus ride to Gazipasa, we (me, Cody, and Karina) met up with Al and had a nice meal.

The bus ride to Gazipasa was something…it wasn’t  quite miserable, but almost. Because of the guys behind me, i couldn’t recline my seat, so it wasn’t that comfortable. Especially since the lady in front of me did recline her seat all the way, so i kept hitting my knee on her chair. Needless to say, i didn’t sleep more than an hour the entire 15 hours. But, finally, we made it to Gazipasa where we showered and slept for a little while before going out for an amazing meal.

The first week in Gazipasa was fun and full of new experiences. We got to sit outside of the police station two different days in order to get our residence permit (ikamet tezkeresi). I remember that the police told us to “be quiet and sit” and to “sit nicer”. We all found that quite humorous. The first week contained my first time going to an actual beach. It was really fun, but all the sand was annoying. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up at a swimming pool, where there is zero sand. This week we also all got introduced to pul biber. Amazing! Its like red pepper, but way better. (I brought home over a kilo of it) We found Cornettos this week. Way better than drumsticks! Its everything you could ask for in an ice cream treat: cone, chocolate, delicious ice cream, and caramel.The first week in Gazipasa also contained Dr. Erdogmus’ birthday. Which, she told us about after she bought us all beers. We also got to meet Dr. Erdogmus’ mom. She is full of stories and it was cool to see her talk about her daughter in the most admiring way.

The first Friday in Gazipasa we stumbled upon a giant farmers market. It was literally a city block. It was cool to just walk through and look around. I don’t think i will find anything like it here in Omaha.

That Saturday night, we played soccer in an outdoor stadium. It was really fun. It made me miss soccer a little. We were all exhausted and dripping sweat by the end. And one other thing, Turks are really good at soccer.

The first week on site was more breathtaking than any other week on site. Being such a big history fan, it blew my mind that I was walking on such ancient history. I can’t really describe it other than it was just amazing. On the first day, it was really fascinating listening to Dr. Townsend describe the entire site and its history. I didn’t realize how big the site was and that there was a lot more than just the temple. The actual work we did that week was trying to get the GPR (ground penetrating radar) working, impact echo testing, and we used the borescope to try and find a vault under the temple through a hole we had drilled. Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything.

This wıll be my fırst blog ever, so bear wıth me. To start off, i was really excited to come to Turkey. It was my first trip overseas, so i was a little nervous, but i knew i would have a blast. Plus, i have the added bonus of traveling with Cody, Karina, and Al and helping Dr. Erdogmus with the amazing task of excavating/researching a collapsed Roman temple. When the trip is over, i will have been gone for just shy of 5 weeks. Right now, i have been in Turkey for about 4 weeks. My following posts will descrıbe the weeks i have spent here.