Sunday started off with a trip to Lamos, an archeological site close to Gazipaşa. Our car ride there was eventful – to say the least. Al had to drive Dr. Townsend’s rental car (a stick shift) because there weren’t enough seats in Dr. Hoff’s and Birol’s vehicles for everyone. The road to the site was paved most of the way. However, when we reached the turn off to the site we had to take a narrow, pothole-filled road the last two miles up the side of a mountain to get to Lamos. We were almost to the top, when we came to a section of the road that was almost impassable. Our little car tried its best to make it up, but it was tired and decided that it would rather slide backward down the road, instead of exerting itself any further. After letting it rest for a few minutes, Al tried one more time to coax the car up the path. As he gunned the engine of the car, the wheels spun, gravel flew, and it shuddered up the side of the mountain finally arriving at our destination. Once we unloaded, we hiked around the ruins for a few hours. One of the more exciting places that we explored was an underground cistern that was home to one of the biggest spiders that I have ever seen in my entire life. (It was the size of my hand.) After we got back to town Al, Cody, Ariel, Emily and I went out to eat at our favorite restaurant, Bizim. We got huge plates of doner, rice, and salad along with drinks and tea for under 5 American dollars a piece, and it was delicious!

The work week was focused around taking samples of the marble. On Monday, Dr. Erdogmus drove to pick up a mineral specialist, Joshua Freedman, who works for a structural forensics company (Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.) and will be helping us study the marble. Joshua was very interested in a white residue that had formed on some of the marble and scraped off samples to bring back to the States for material testing and identification. We also looked at some of the algae on the blocks and used a technique of dry and wet brushing to try to clean the marble.

On Wednesday we had another soccer game. There were fewer students who played, and I did a much better job of participating. After the friendly match we ate baklava at a pastry shop nearby. On the walk home I talked to Erkan, one of the Turkish students, and he taught me some easy Turkish words like “çanta” and ”cep”.

Ariel and I spent Thursday working on an AutoCAD model of a temple block. After spending two hours on basic designs, we were a bit frustrated with our efforts, but it was so exciting when we finally figured out how to model the block in 3-D correctly. In the afternoon Cody, Al, Ariel, and I went down to the beach and swam. I love the Mediterranean and to celebrate life, I bought a floatie.

Friday was the hottest day yet. We took trench tours, and then went swimming at the Pirate’s Cove. Sadly, I left my floatie at home so I could not use it. That night we ate at Bizim again. We had the same waiter, who knew us and, as usual, was very friendly. Unfortunately, that would be our last meal at Bizim as Ramadan soon started and the restaurant closed down for the entire month of August, a very sad occurrence.

Our first week started out with a trip to Alanya to get our ikamets (our Turkish work permits). In Alanya we relaxed at the beach, ate pizza, and waited for quite some time sitting outside of the police station until at last we were asked to go in and stand in front of the police and then were free to go.

Tuesday was our first day at the site. We had to be downstairs and ready to leave the hotel at 5:30 A.M. Breakfast was served when we arrived, and we quickly found out that we would not be the only ones eating at the table. Our dinner guests were swarms of bees and wasps who we had to learn to fight off daily. After breakfast, we all went on a walking tour. Immediately afterwards, Ariel and I went to work assessing the temple blocks that had been placed in block fields, which kept us busy for the rest of the day. Tonight Cody, Ariel, Al, and I went out to eat with Dr. Erdogmus and her mother at The Green Oasis, a bar owned by an English couple (Konrad and Pauline) who live here in Gazipaşa. After returning to the hotel, Ariel and I played against the boys in a rousing game of ultimate ping pong.

The rest of the week followed a similar schedule. Ariel and I worked on assessing more of the blocks and were assigned to begin modeling one of them in AutoCAD. Al picked out two rectangular blocks and began working on his impact echo project. Cody supervised and helped out whenever he was needed. We also tried to use the GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) to scan a marble block; however, we were not able to produce any discernible or distinct readings from the machine. We concluded that either the GPR settings might be incorrect or the marble might be too dense to scan.

The highlight of the week was going to ”The Pirate’s Cove”. After lunch on Thursday, the majority of our excavation crew went swimming in a cove separated from the sea by a land bridge. It is one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. The water was beautiful, so clear and refreshing. My first time swimming in the Mediterranean – amazing.

Our week ended with an international game of soccer played at a local field in Gazipaşa. We divided up and began the epic game. There were Americans and Turks on both teams which evened out the playing field. My team won, mostly because of our awesome goal-keeper, Cody, and our number one offensive player, Erkan.

Cody, Ariel, and I began our trip bright and early on a fateful Wednesday morning in the middle of June. We flew out of the Omaha airport, barely making it past security with all of the GPR and boroscope equipment to catch our flight on time. From there we flew to Minneapolis and then to JFK’s airport where we ate our last real slice of American pizza at Sbarro before boarding the 8 hour flight to Istanbul. During the flight, I got a chance to watch Country Strong, an excellent movie which I would highly recommend. Another flight highlight:  Cody being used as a human pillow by the Turkish woman seated next to him.

When we arrived in the Istanbul airport the next morning, we were exhausted. Our taxi man was waiting for us with a sign that read ”Cody Buckle”. After checking into the hotel, we showered and napped. That afternoon, I awoke to a phone call from two other girls who go to UNL and were also in Turkey to work on the Temple Project. Once Cody, Ariel, and I were fully awake, we met up with our fellow Nebraskans - Alex and Raquel - and had some Turkish tea (cay).

The rest of our time in Istanbul went by quickly. In the next two days we were able to see the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, the Topkapi Palace Grounds, and (my favorite) the Grand Bazaar. During one of our many trips to the Grand Bazaar, we were introduced to a Turkish man nicknamed Antonio who ended up selling Turkish carpets to Cody and Ariel.

On our last day in Istanbul, we met up with Al at the hotel who had just flown in from London. We were very glad to see him and feasted at a fantastic restaurant near our hotel to celebrate his arrival. It was at this supper where we first had ”poofy” bread, an amazing thin crusted bread with sesame seeds which is baked in some kind of special oven so that it rises and becomes the most delicious bread in the entire world. It was definitely a life changing experience.

After dining, we caught a taxi to the otogar (bus station) where we then boarded the bus which we spent the next 12 hours of our lives in. We rode from Istanbul to Gazipaşa stopping at various towns along the way. I slept much of the way being very exhausted from the sightseeing in Istanbul and still very jet lagged from the plane flight. Best part of the overnight bus ride:  free snacks, drinks, and hand sanitizer every hour.

When we reached our final destination of Gazipaşa, Cody and I ventured out to discover the location of our hotel which we found after asking a store owner for directions. While it was relatively easy to find the hotel, it was rather difficult for Cody and I to enter it as the doors pushed inward and we were pulling outward. That afternoon we settled into our hotel, falling asleep on the floor of Ariel’s room since both my roommates and Cody and Al’s roommate had adventured out of the hotel and had taken the key with them. Finally, after our naps, we were semi-rested and ready to explore the amazing wonders of Gazipaşa.