One of my favorite things about Turkey is how little I know about it. Don’t think this effect is from lack of interest or education (but wait, when did I learn about Ottoman or Central Asian history in school...oh right--never) because I’m totally digging novels about Turkish history, reading Turkish news sites, talking to my students about their hometowns, and scouring my Lonely Planet on long bus trips. I’ve got a good handle on the famous Turkey stuff, but I feel like I discover gems with each random trip I get invited on and in each little town where I visit friends. The regional, cultural, political, culinary, urban, and environmental diversity is rich, and I’m loving traveling around and learning SO MUCH about this country. Corndog, I know, but I guess it's kind of why I came here.
This post is about Afyonkarahisar (translated: ‘opium’ ‘black’ ‘fortress’). We went for a Thanksgiving mini-reunion and fell for surprisingly lovely aging Ottoman architecture, ‘typical Turkish’ (ha) charms, and the most striking castle I’ve seen in Turkey (and there have been many) on a tremendous mountain smack dab the middle of town. Really quite a lovely little place. You know, once we got over the coal smog. But whatcha gonna do?
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| I was super bummed when I saw that this photo of Erik was out of focus. But it's growing on me. Sort of fitting. |
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| "I love you." |
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| Toats Fellowship of the Ring, is it not? |
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