Back in Joburg

We've made it back to Joburg and spent the day taking it easy. I have hundreds of pictures to sort through, but I won't get to it today so no photos for this post.

We drove all day Saturday to get to Colesberg. We checked in at Toverberg and were shown to a huge self-catering cottage. Two bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, and a large dining room/sitting room. It was furnished with antiques and very lovely, but also very cold. I think the 12 foot ceilings and relatively few windows had something to do with that. We had a nice dinner in a nearby restaurant which was housed in a historic old church building with a thatched roof. The place was so busy they had to call in extra help. Pretty much everyone spoke Afrikaans, and almost every menu item featured lamb, which makes sense because we had driven past miles and miles of grazing sheep. (Also seen from the road: a few cows, some ostrich, some monkeys, and a few baboon colonies. Those baboons seemed anxious to dart out into the road!)

After dinner we returned to the cottage, bundled up, started a fire, opened the Amarula, and settled in to watch the U.S. lose to Ghana. Disappointing, for sure, but at least the U.S. won their group and advanced. Better than the last World Cup, I guess.

Yesterday (Sunday) we drove about two hours to Bloemfontein, where we went to the Cheetah Experience. This is a large cat breeding operation, and we got to tour the site and see and pet cheetah, bengal tigers, baby lions, and another type of cat I can't remember right now. We also a white lion cub. I'll post pictures at some point.

After a quick lunch, we headed to the stadium for the England v. Germany match. Wow, what a game. The crowd was wild and Germany cleaned up on England. We were in a perfect location to see the disallowed England goal... but that wouldn't have mattered in the end. After the game we drove back to Johannesburg. The traffic was a nightmare, and we arrived about 12:45 am. Today, we slept in, had a nice brunch at Fresh Earth, ran some errands, met a friend of Marty's, enjoyed Peter's birthday cake, and had dinner. We're leaving now for the Brazil v. Chile match at Ellis Park.

Travel Day

We're on our way to Colesberg, about an eight hour drive from Cape Town across the Groot Karoo, a high desert. We're not getting any radio, so we can't listen to the soccer match on now. Less than two hours left to drive.

Good Days in the Cape

We've had a couple of busy but good days here in the Western Cape. Yesterday (Thursday) began with a trip to Mowbry, where I had a meeting scheduled with the Resident Director of the Arcadia University study abroad programs in Cape Town. We're considering adopting the Arcadia program to send Kelley students here for summer internships. I had a very nice visit and learned a lot. Meanwhile, Barry and Gywen visited the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. Considering it is winter, the garden was not in full bloom, but the Nelson Mandela Birds of Paradise were blooming. They hiked for a couple of miles and enjoyed watching the birds.

We met up again around 11:15, when we drove into Cape Town, past the FIFA Fan Fast, to the Bo-Kaap district. We parked the car and walked to find lunch. There must be only one restaurant in the neighborhood, as we ended up in the same restaurant where we had eaten on our last visit to Cape Town (Biesmiellah). We walked in just as the Noon Gun fired and enjoyed a nice lunch including samosas, curry chicken, tomato bredie, rice, and roti.

After lunch we went to Table Mountain and took the cable car to the top (1084m above sea level!). It was a bit hazy, but otherwise the weather was perfect, and we spent about 45 minutes enjoying the views of Cape Town, Green Point Stadium, Robben Island, Lion's Head, Camps Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Twelve Apostles - not to mention the unique vegetation, rock formation, and rock dassies. I could have spent an entire day on top of the mountain, hiking and taking pictures, but we had to leave to get ready for our soccer match.

We drove back to Hout Bay through Camps Bay and along the dramatic Atlantic coast. After putting on our warm clothes we drove the the Hout Bay park and ride to catch a bus to the stadium. As the sun sank lower in the sky, the bus followed the coast all the way to Green Point and dropped us off within a block of the stadium. We arrived early enough to be the first in line at the gate through which we entered. We shopped in the FIFA Fan Shop, took pictures, and grabbed a bite to eat before heading to our seats near the top of the stadium.

Like the other stadiums we've visited, the South Africans did a great job building Green Point. It's smaller than Soccer City but has a beautiful setting near the shore with Table Mountain providing an amazing backdrop. The stadium as a semi-sheer shell made of some type of fabric. There are also several sections of temporary seating which will be removed after the World Cup.

From our seats in the nose bleed section, we watched an exciting game between Cameroon and the Netherlands. As anticipated, there were a lot of Dutch people wearing all kinds of crazy orange outfits. But there were plenty of Cameroon supporters, and the Cameroon team gave the Dutch a good challenge.  Following the game, we took the bus back to Hout Bay and went right to bed for a good night's sleep.

This morning (Friday) we got up a little later and discovered that the valley was blanketed in fog. After breakfast, we headed out for another day of wine tasting. We started nearby in Constantia with Bietenverwachting, which was one of our favorites from our previous visit. Next we headed toward Somerset West along the coast of False Bay. The drive was nice, but the fog was pervasive throughout the bay. We could see the surf and dunes, but the breathtaking views we had hoped for did not materialize. Or next stop was Meerlust near Stellenbosch, which was founded in 1693 and has been in the same family since 1757. It was a beautiful setting, in spite of the dreary, winter weather.

We then drove past Somerset West, out of the fog and over the mountain to the Elgin Plateau. I'm glad we did, because not only was the weather beautiful but we discovered a wonderful winery, Paul Cluver. The cooler climate of the higher altitude results in some great Pinot Noir, whereas there is not Pinot Noir in Stellenbosch. From Elgin we went on to Hermanus. We had been to Hermanus before, but were unfamiliar with the wineries there. We visited three nice wineries in the Hemel en Aarde Valley above the town. The earliest winery in the area started about 30 years ago, with the rest opening 10-15 years ago. The wineries we visited, Newton Johnson, Sumaridge, and Southern Right, all had good wines and spectacular views, which were only partially diminished by the haze and encroaching fog.

By the time we finished at Southern Right, it was about time for the Brazil v. Paraguay match, so we went to the Gecko Pub in Hermanus to get some dinner and watch the game. We had some tasty wood fired-fired pizza as we watched the game from a bay-front room lined with windows. It was hazy, but the fog held off. We didn't see any wales - the high season for wale watching begins in about a month.  Unfortunately, the room was cool and full of chain-smoking South Africans, so it wasn't really as enjoyable as it should have been. The game was boring, so we left before it ended to head back to Hout Bay.

The drive back took just over an hour. The sun was setting as we left Hermanus, so it was a fairly dark drive. However, when we came through the pass above Somerset West, (elevation 450m), we had a beautiful view of Table Mountain and the entire Cape Peninsula, about 35 miles away, outlined by the glowing orange of the setting sun. By the time we got to Khayelitsha it was foggy again, so we drove through the fog until we got through the mountain pass into Hout Bay. Now we're back at Intaba Lodge watching Spain beat up on Chile in front of a crackling fire.

Stellenbosch

Last night we told our host we wanted an early breakfast because we were headed to Stellenbosch today. He insisted that 8:30 would be early enough, because the wineries would open at 10:00 and it's 45 minutes away. A little research proved that at least some of the wineries opened at 9:00, but breakfast was served at 8:30 (a fine breakfast with fruit, eggs, bacon, croissants, toast, tea, and coffee). So we left the lodge at 9:15 and arrived at the first winery around 10:30 - only to discover that this winery had opened at 8:30. Two hours of valuable wine tasting time, lost!

It was a beautiful day, and the mountains around the winelands were beautiful. Out first stop was Fairview, near Paarl. Fairview also makes cheeses, including goat cheese, and we were pleased to find goats and a goat tower on the premises. Americans will know this winery, because this is the origin of "Goats do Roam" wines, about 1 million bottles of which are exported to North America each year. We bought some cheese, bread, and wine and headed to Franschhoek for our next winery, Chamonix. This winery was much smaller and completely different in character.

We didn't plan our route as carefully as we might have, but we decided to head back toward Paarl to visit some specific wineries north of Stellenbosch.  In the car we enjoyed a lunch of apples and delicious bread with tomato-basil goat cheese. It was delicious, and the scenic views made for a wonderful drive. All the traveling, plus a few sit-down tastings, allowed us to visit only five wineries. The others were Warwick, Villiera, and Tokara. Tokara was an amazing estate, part way up the Simonsburg Mountains with an amazing view of Stellenbosch below and Table Mountain in the distance. Tokara also grows olives and makes olive oil. The U.S. v. Algeria match began just as we arrived at Tokara, so Gywen stayed in the car to listen on the radio.

We tried to go next door to Thelema just before closing, but they had already locked the doors by the time we arrived. Since we were done with wineries for the day, we drove down into Stellenbosch to have dinner and watch the second half of the U.S. match. There was some disagreement in the restaurant about whether we should watch the England game or the U.S. game, but the U.S. won out (of course!). Dinner was great, but the entertainment was even better. We were thrilled when Landon Donovan scored the winning goal in the third minute of overage. Following the game, we returned to Haut Bay to watch the Ghana v. Germany game, blog, and plan for tomorrow. (Boo, Germany!)

Arrival in Cape Town

We woke up this morning and packed for our trip to Cape Town. Around 10:00, Marty took us to Sandton to the Gautrain station. The Gautrain is a new high-speed rail system that took us to the airport in about 20 minutes. Just after checking in for our flight we found a FIFA kiosk with some great souvenirs. After some shopping and a bite to eat, we boarded the two-hour flight to Cape Town. The plane was not crowded, and the airline showed videos highlighting soccer history, tourism information, and South Africa trivia.

Soon we arrived a Cape Town International airport, which has also seen major renovations since our last visit. The approach to the airport was beautiful, with views of Table Mountain, Robben Island, the Atlantic Ocean, and the northern suburbs. We picked up the rental car and headed toward our lodging in Hout Bay. We listened to Bafana Bafana beating the French on the radio as we admired the scenic drive. (Good riddance France!) Cape Town is every bit as beautiful as I remember it.

We had just enough time to stop at Klein Constantia winery on our way to Hout Bay. Ten years ago at Klein Constantia we bought the most expensive wine of our trip, Vin de Constance, which cost about $14.00 U.S. That wine now costs about $50.00 U.S. The other wines, which cost around $2 ten years ago now cost about $15. I suppose the prices now more accurately reflect the quality of the wines, although I did like the old prices better.

We checked into Intaba Lodge around 6:00. The lodge is beautiful, with outstanding views of the surrounding mountains. We have a very nice suite with two rooms and a bath. The common area is large and comfortable, with a working fireplace and a TV tuned to the World Cup games.

This evening we went to Simon’s at Groot Constantia to meet a former coworker, Lebo, for dinner. Lebo lives in Botswana but is visiting a former IU student in Cape Town. It was great to see Lebo again and to hear about her Cape Town visit and her life in Botswana. After dinner we returned to the lodge to watch the end of the Greece v. Argentina game. We’ll be up early tomorrow to head to Stellenbosch for wine tasting. U.S.A. plays again tomorrow, so we’ll look for a sports bar in Stellenbosch to watch the game.

First Three Days

I finally have an afternoon free to write a decent blog entry, so I'll try to touch on all of the highlights since we arrived.

Quick review: we arrived Friday evening at Tabo airport in Joburg. The entire portion of the airport we saw was very nice and new since our last visit. The airport has also been renamed at least twice since 2000. Friday evening we got settled in at Marty and Peter's house. Gywen is staying in the guest room, and we're staying in the cottage. The houses are a lot cooler than most houses in the U.S., so we're making good use of the space heaters and electric blankets.

Saturday we went to Sandton to catch a bus to the match in Rustengerg, although the stadium is actually in Phokeng. The bus ride took a couple of hours. Rustenburg is not particularly far away, but there are no direct roads there from here. Once we got beyond the sprawl of the Johannesburg area, it was a fairly pretty drive. We passed through some hills that reminded us of southwest Texas, and went around a fairly sizeable lake. The Royal Bafokeng stadium was a large, nice facility in the middle of nowhere. There are no nearby structures, and just across the road are a few modest homes made mostly of tin. During the game we were surrounded mostly by Australians, but there were quite a few Ghanaians in the next section over. When Australia scored early in the match, everyone started jumping up and down in celebration, launching their beer straight up out of the bottles. The Ghanaians really had a good time, with lots of dancing and flag-waving. We saw a lot of interesting costumes, hats, and painted people, which made the people-watching a lot of fun.

The vuvuzela playing was persistent but not too annoying, particularly since we were wearing earplugs. (That made conversation more challenging, though!) I didn't expect to see so many different kinds of vuvuzelas. Our horns, which we brought from home, are longer than the typical South African vuvuzela, meaning they have a lower fundamental pitch. Some of the South African vuvuzelas are painted, but many people have a fabric cover over them with their country's flag, or the colors of a favorite team. These horns can also be carried by a strap. Another type of vuvuzela conveniently curves upward so it naturally blows over the heads of the people in front of you. We also saw twisted horns, in the shape of a kudu's horn, which Peter says is a "kuduzela." We've seen a few vuvuzelas that have been lengthened to about 4-5 feet, and some outfitted with an air pump so you can annoyingly and repeatedly honk the horn with absolutely no talent, or strain on your lips. There are also a number of smaller horns and noisemakers. One thing that I have learned is that, apparently, the object is to blow the horn as loud as you possibly can.

Yesterday (Sunday) we had a brunch at home before heading out for a driving tour around parts of Johannesburg. We drove around the park in Emmarentia and past the Emmarentia Dam and Johannesburg Botanical Garden. We drove past the Melville Koppies into Melville and past the house where Marty and Peter used to live. We then drove toward the Central Business District and took the highway toward Soweto where, form a couple points on the road, we got some great views of Soccer City Stadium. The color of the stadium practically blends in with the nearby mounds of waste from the gold mines, which are actually much larger than the stadium itself. (Much of the waste is being re-processed, so the mounds, which have been a major feature of the landscape in the area, are beginning to disappear.) We then looped back past the Kenwood offices and warehouse, where Marty works several days a month, before heading to the Central Business District and an area being redeveloped called Newtown. We drove over the attractive Nelson Mandela suspension bridge and into an area called Houghton. This area has many impressive homes that were at one time owned by the mine owners. The ridge running through this area, Witwatersrand, forms the dividing line similar to our continental divide. Rainfall to the south of the ridge flows into the Atlantic Ocean, whereas rainfall on the north side flows to the Indian Ocean. We stopped at a great vantage point with a view of Sandton and the other suburbs to the north.

Johannesburg is not an easy city to figure out in a day or two. The city is definitely not organized on a grid; there are a lot of winding streets and a number of hills throughout the city. What throws me the most, though, is the sun. It passes overhead in the north, so I just can't get my sense of direction figured out.

We had a late lunch (chicken on the braai) at home before getting ready for our second match. We put on layers in anticipation of a cool evening, and Barry and I put on face paint. Peter took us to the train station shortly after 5:00, and we got on the train to Soccer City, with approximately 1800 other soccer fans. The Brazilians were loud and rowdy. It was a lot of fun with train cars full of people singing, although it did get pretty warm. We arrived at Soccer City at about 6:30, then followed the crowds out of the station to the security checkpoint. From there, everyone crossed a large footbridge to the stadium, which was a very impressive approach. We could have gotten in a lot quicker, but thousands of people (myself included), had to stop for photo opportunities. We went through a very crowded fan shop before heading into the stadium.

The stadium is beautiful, huge, and fully lit at night (you've seen it on TV...) The pedestrian ramps are inside the curved, orange outer shell. We took the ramp up to our section on the top level. Inside were 84,455 people, most of whom were rooting for Brazil. I joined the minority rooting for C™te d'Ivoire. We got to see both Drogba and Kaka play (red card for Kaka), but the game was not as close as I'd hoped, with Brazil winning 3-1. I had a difficult time focusing on the game, in part because we were far away, but more because of all the excitement in the stands. The vuvuzelas were awesome - at times someone would start blowing a pattern on the horn, and hundreds of other people would join in, causing a loud roaring pulse in the stands. And any time something exciting happened, like a disagreeable call or a corner kick, everyone picked up their horns and made a deafening sound.

The only low point to the evening came just after Brazil's third goal, when a couple of rowdy Brazilians must have pushed the man behind us, who fell over the chairs onto Barry and Gywen, thus knocking Barry over the chairs into the row in front of us. They were a bit banged up and sore, but they will be ok.

Today was a slow day, with nothing scheduled. It gives us some time to rest before we leave tomorrow for Cape Town. We slept late, and Marty and Peter went to work for a while. We did some laundry and then headed out for an ambitious walk. Leaving the house was an interesting task for us Midwestern Americans. The houses here are mostly behind walls, and there are multiple locks and an elaborate security system to deal with. But after several attempts and a call to Peter, we were able to secure the cottage and get out of the house without triggering any false alarms. We walked down the street to the local shops, where we bought some delicious biltong from the butcher. Next we found a wonderful natural food/organic/gluten-free/natural supplement store and hemporium which felt a lot like something we might find in Bloomington. It was sort of a BloomingFoods/SaharaMart/Natural Elements all in one. Then we decided to walk to Nando's for lunch. I have been seeing and craving Nando's since we got here, so we walked two miles through the Koppies to Melville for some peri-peri chicken. I was pretty disappointed to get there and discover they had no electricity! But after a short wait, the power came back on and we enjoyed a nice lunch before our two-mile walk home.

Now we're resting and blogging while we watch soccer and wait for dinner. Marty is preparing bobotie and it smells delicious! It's 5:30 and almost dark out now. It's the shortest day of the year - first day of winter.

Second Full Day in South Africa

I'm sure there is plenty I could say in this post, but everyone is ready to head out for the day, and I don't want to spend the entire time inside in front of the computer. I'm not sure when I'll have time to write details and upload photos and video. Probably on Monday...

Yesterday was a good day, but we didn't really do anything except go to the Ghana/Australia game in Rustenburg. It ended in a one-one tie as I'm sure everyone knows. This puts Ghana in a good place, and effectively takes Australia out of the tournament. It was a 12-hour excursion, including our bus ride to and from the stadium. On the way there, there was a very annoying Australian on board with two female companions. Everyone was glad they were not on the bus for the trip back.

Today is sunny and cool, much like yesterday. We're heading out for a drive around Johannesburg and possibly a trip to the zoo. Marty points out that this will not be as good as the "real thing," meaning our upcoming trip to Kruger National Park, but it should still be fun.

We've Arrived

Our flights were uneventful, and we arrived in Johannesburg right on time, just as the sun was setting. We printed our match tickets at kiosks in the airport, and Jim's uncle Peter met us at the airport and took us home to a wonderful light dinner prepared by aunt Marty. Gywen went to bed after dinner, but Barry, Peter and I watched the England v. Algeria match. The nil-nil tie wasn't too exciting, but we were happy as the result keeps the U.S. team alive.

We're about to head of on the bus to Rustenburg, where we will see Ghana v. Australia. We're decked out in Ghana apparel and hoping for Ghana win! This will be a full day excursion, as we're leaving at 10:30 for the 4:00 game. FIFA recommends arriving two hours before the match, but regardless we're bound to the bus company's schedule.

Boarding

We're finally boarding or 15h 40min flight. We will arrive Friday evening, as the U.S. plays Slovenia. I expect there will be TVs in the airport; when we arrived here the France v. Mexico game was on in all the bars.

It will be odd - perhaps a test - to be without BlackBerry service for more than 3 weeks. No more real-time blogging or Facebook updates. Wish me luck!

Next update from Johannesburg!

Waiting...

On the ground in Atlanta. Two more hours until we leave on this plane. There is definitely a "World Cup" crowd here in the waiting area.

"Here We Go..."

We used to sing a "Here We Go" song at IU soccer games, I think. With turnover of some of the Superfans, traditions change or are lost altogether. But I'm singing that song to myself on the eve of our trip to South Africa.

Barry had a long travel day yesterday, but landed in Indy just ahead of schedule at about 10:20 pm. We're finally leaving for the World Cup today, after more than a year of planning. We're almost packed. During the past couple of days I have been shopping to get things we need, including ear plugs, face paints, and faux hard hats from which we can try to make Makarapas. We already own IU vuvuzelas which conveniently collapse to fit in a suitcase.

One of the blog followers has asked for our match schedule, so here it is:

Saturday 6/19: Ghana v. Australia; Royal Bafokeng, Rustenburg
Sunday 6/20: Brazil v. Côte d'Ivoire; Soccer City, Johannesburg
Thursday, 6/24: Cameroon v. Netherlands; Green Point, Cape Town
Sunday, 6/27: 1D v. 2C; Free State, Bloemfontein
Monday, 6/28: 1G v. 2H; Ellis Park, Joburg
Friday, 7/2: Quarterfinals - Winner of match 49 v. Winner of 50; Soccer City, Joburg

Day 9

The day started out a little rough. We got up for an 8:00 AM departure to learn that the autobus would not arrive until 9:00 – which turned into 9:40. Then there was a 4 ½ hour drive that took us from 90+ degree sun and beach to snow covered mountain passes on our way to the high planes of Konya which, the Romans and Byzantines knew as Iconium.

We dropped our luggage, and one of the hosts in Konya took us to lunch – the salad was good but about the same, but we also had stuffed grape leaves and something that resembled very thin dough pizza without the pizza sauce. Yogurt really does show up on everything here.

Our first stop was at a mosque that was now a museum devoted to the mystic Celaleddin Rumi or Mevlana. In the 13th century Mevlana founded the Mevevi or “whirling” dervishes. Rumi’s philosophy was one of spiritual union and universal love. While his teachings are revered by many Muslims some believe his practices to be bad and not in line with the Koran. The whirling (which was actually promoted by his son), prayer beads, and instruments used in the practice are all problems according to some. The instruments generally include the Ud, Nev, Duvar, and Cymbals.


Then it was off to Mevla University. The university follows the same educational philosophy as Fatih. I’m still trying to understand but it seems like this social movement is trying to raise the intellectual level of the country. Because there are so many first-generation students a part of their work is with families. Additionally, before opening universities (in US terms they are really more like private professional degree granting institutions), they built a strong network of primary and secondary schools in Turkey and in quite a few other countries. Mevla is a brand new University set to open in July so we were seeing it in the final preparation stages. Interestingly the owner of a local brand of Hyatt who owned a hotel and a mall donated the mall to them for 35 years. The actual university and “dormitories” will not be finished for another year and when it opens the “mall school” will be used as a technical training school.

I think many of us on this trip have questions about the philosophical approach this movement is taking. While it’s fairly easy to understand why it’s developed they way it has given the current needs of the general population and even worldwide trends, it seems a little limiting to focus only on professional training degrees and not include any liberal arts or social sciences. The representatives said that they do have a plan for this in the future but it didn’t seem to make it into any of the slides. A part of their philosophy is based on bringing people from different cultures together, and they seem to understand what this might mean in terms of dealing with students. However, perhaps because they haven’t opened yet, those plans weren’t expressed in the presentation. When I’d asked about these, their approach seems to be student-directed and interest group-focused with little intentional planning or involvement by faculty or staff. I think I’d have to observe this in action over a long period of time in order to get a broader perspective.

After visiting Mevla we went back to the hotel for an hour and then off to dinner at the home of a local heart surgeon. He and his wife had one son who recently went off to Toronto to finish high school – he and 45 of his friends mostly from Konya. As usual the food was excellent – we first had yogurt and mint soup, then kebab made in a little foil pouch, and for dessert some homemade vanilla-type pudding with some chocolate sauce and fresh cherry (right off the tree in their front yard). We had a wonderful conversation first on the front porch (ample enough room for 15) and then in the sitting room. For all the bad things that people say about a single payer health care system, it didn’t sound so bad to me. We also got a tour of the garden that included both red and yellow cherries, green plums (ripe but green in color), apricots, peaches, apples, grapes, and nuts. For a fruity like me this was like paradise.


The end of a long but lovely day was spent repacking my bag for my trip home – with a 5:00 AM departure from the hotel I didn’t want to trust my sleep deprived brain come morning. What a whirlwind trip. My head is spinning with new thoughts and emotions. Hopefully on my long ride home and my vacation in South Africa I’ll have a little more time to reflect on what I’ve experienced.

If you’ve read any of these posts, thank you. It’s been nice having others along with me. Catch Jim and me in a few days from South Africa and the World Cup.

Day 8

Sorry no post today. :(

Day 8

Well our 2nd day in Antalya included a visit to some waterfalls, a boat tour around the coastline of the city, a walking tour of the old city, lunch along the river, then a dinner. We eat a lot and have tea just about every time we meet someone - it seems to be a gesture of friendship used to start a conversation or any kind of transaction. One of the businessmen I sat next to for a dinner did confirm what I'd thought, and that is the relationship is just as important, if not slightly more important when doing business in Turkey.

You can see the effects of the world economic down-turn here but at least from those I've spoken too its not been as bad as in other places. Some of that is because they didn't have a lot of their economy wrapped up in the banking or housing industry. The unemployment rate was already high, but at least our guide believes that the number is overstated because some are working perhaps as individual contractors but not reporting the work for tax reasons. Energy costs are also high here - auto fuel is about 1.80 per liter (slightly more than a quarter of a gallon). There seems to be a large tax on everything here.

A few more conversations about the educational system today, and how working with students is changing along with the students. Perhaps more on that after tomorrow's visits in Konya (a five hour bus ride).

Day 7

Today started with a short flight to Antalya - a city on the Western Mediterranean Coast. Once we'd collected all of our luggage (which is expanded with each stop) we headed to the Adonis Hotel. If I described Ismir as Miami I was wrong - Antalya is like Miami with the exception of the beach. There are miles and miles of tall white, off-white, and light sand colored condos along the water front. There is also a lot more skin showing here and a bar/club on just about every corner. I walked for over a mile down the main road that we are on and as best I could tell the tourists outnumbered the locals.

Okay, so when my itinerary said that we would have a free day at the beach I envisioned a long walk along a sandy beach - I was a little surprised. Our hotel is indeed right on the water but it's about three stories down on the side of a cliff. Not to worry because they built stairs, a lift, and a deck. Before going exploring however we had lunch. It was in the style of a New York deli or a European cafe where you just sit wherever you find an open seat. I sat with a man from Russia - turns out that they make up the largest block of tourists here. We didn't talk much due to the language difference but we stumbled over a few words in English and Turkish.

After getting everything into the room it was down the stairs to the sea. Wow, the water was very warm and because it was so deep there were hardly no waves which meant you could float almost effortless. The water was so clear you could see the bottom but even with my best try I couldn't get close to it. So this wasn't a place for Muslims who are for the most part very conservative in dress. I did see a women wearing a bikini - modest compared to so others but nevertheless a bikini - who was still covering her hair with a veil. I'll have to ask about that because it didn't make much sense to me. I'll report back another day. After two great swims I took a shower and walked for a couple of miles exploring the city. Unfortunately the strip of condos never ended so I didn't find the old city - that will be on tomorrow's tour. Dinner was some nice broiled white fish covered with a few vegetables and some stock reduction. Again the salads where endless and better than 99% of what I'm used to seeing in the States.

Before I sign off I've been reading and hearing a little bit about Fathullah Gulen, whom our host at the Parliament mentioned, and he seems very interesting. I'm not sure he has any direct connecting to this trip I'm on, but his philosophies of intercultural/faith dialogue is worth more investigation.

One final note, just in case you missed it the US tied England in soccer. It was on everywhere here. Many were rooting for the US because even when they are less than pleased with US policy they seem to like England even less. I’ll be in South Africa in just a few days now.

Day 6

Rather than the agenda for the day I will start with just a couple of interesting observations:
• Everywhere, including lunch at the parliament, they used paper napkins. At the parliament they also had cloth napkins. The paper is for wiping; the cloth you tuck one corner under your plate and put the other one in your lap – it just catches stuff.
• When I try to get my students to see that time and how it is used is cultural they rarely believe me. In Turkey not only might one hypothesize this by the time everyone takes with everything, but you see it as you drive around town. So far in five days of travel we have seen only one clock – it was in a city plaza and it was 30 minutes behind. In 4 hotels not one single one has had a clock in the room and only one – an “international” hotel - had a clock in the lobby trying to show time around the world.
• Like visits I’ve made to African countries there is what I would consider over-employment – meaning that many businesses have considerably more staff than they need. Our host says that this is so that more people have a job.
• Most “tour spots” are void of all the safety and accessibility conveniences that we’ve come to expect in the US. Most places, even with lots of stairs rarely have elevators. Even on very steep and slippery marble steps at Ephesus there were no hand rails.
• As I’ve learned before in other countries, there is no ice and no wash clothes.

The majority of our day was spent getting to Ephesus and the House of Mary. Ephesus, a Greek city first built in around 1000 BC and most of what we saw was built in the 4th Century, was so glorious, majestic, and perhaps a little decadent. I’ll let a few pictures speak for themselves. We ended the day with a wonderful dinner with a family. I got to sit between a daughter in the sixth grade – she acted like any typical 12 year old including the fact that after dinner she pulled out her little computer and played games and listen to Jay Sean - and a brother-in-law of our host. He had finished a master’s in Industrial Engineering. I learned a lot and he had lots of questions (and misconceptions about the US). He was trying to start his own company of contracting out gps systems for fleets – hardly any one here currently uses a gps and selling to individuals is not in the cards right now.

Day 5

Another great day even though it rained off and on – they tell us it’s unusual for it to rain in June but it’s rained every day we’ve been here. The forecast for tomorrow in Izmir is looking sunny and hot, now that’s what I was expecting. Today was also the start of the World Cup so my mind's there as well – I caught the end of the South Africa v. Mexico game and I’m watching Uruguay v. France while I write this message. Imagine that Turkey has a public station dedicated just to football/soccer.

Today started with a nearly five-hour bus ride which could have been pretty unpleasant but we had some wonderful bus conversations and the countryside was beautiful - reminded me a lot of Montana. We were able to check into the hotel and because it was right at 1:00 on Friday we had a break for an hour as most people go to services on Friday. I went for about a two-mile walk. It was good to see part of the city on my own and just walk the downtown business district. I have to say that for the most part people on the street here are perhaps a little more like New York or LA in that they don’t generally smile at you or greet you. When you do interact with them, however, all of the people I’ve met have greeted us with great hospitality.

Our first visit was to the Parliament where we had lunch with the Deputy Director for Press and Public Relations Dr. Muhammed Bozdag (sorry the g should have a little u-shaped mark on top of it but I can’t find that). Wow, this man was amazing. In addition to serving in government for 16 years he has written several books including one that has been reprinted more than 200 times and sold more than 5 million copies and he was host of a top 10 TV show for many years. He was so honest, full of positive energy, I was just as curious to learn as he was to talk. While understanding the balance and conflict between freedoms and control in the government is complex, he clarified a few things for me personally. Generally the Parliament is only in session Tuesday through Thursday but today they had called a special session so we actually got to watch them for few minutes. Like our congress most of the members weren’t there for the speeches/readings and members seems to vote along party lines (except one guy who proudly raised his hand in the sea of dissenters).


From there we went to the Ataturk Mausoleum (the founding president of Turkey) and then to the Anadolu Museum which has some relics uncovered in modern Turkey dating back to the Neolithic period. They also had lots of stuff from the Hittites from around 900 BC. I was amazed at some of the similarities to ancients artifacts I’ve seen of Native Americans in terms of patterns and other imagines.


We finished the day with a meal at a restaurant which is from Turkey but has locations in other parts of the world including Houston where it goes by the name DNR (short for Doner). They are known all over Turkey for their baklava and it was all that hype and more. At dinner I got to talk with a local educator who helped me understand the role (or ultimate control) of the Minister of Education who oversees literally every aspect of schooling through high school – another office handles universities. Speaking to two former students I think we all agreed that the tracking of students just wasn’t very effective – both realized pretty quickly that they were in the wrong areas but once you’ve started you cannot easily transfer to a different program.

Okay, that’s it was tonight as I have a 7:00 AM bus call and a flight to Izmir.

Day 4

Before going into the day's activities I must mention first what an awe-inspiring experience I’m having. First, I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a country where the people at every turn are so friendly and so interested in cross-cultural learning. Second, thanks to all of the people we’ve meet with and particularly Bulent (an IU assistant professor) our guide I’ve learned so much about Turkey, the culture, Islam, the educational system. My mind and spirit are spinning with elation.

So here’s the quick run-down of the day (I’ll have to turn in early because we got up at 5:00 AM and we have to be on the road again tomorrow before 8:00). As soon as we were ready we drove from the European side of Istanbul to the Anatolia (Asian) side to catch a flight to Kayseri. The weight limit for bags in Turkey is lower than US flights so a number of people had to pay an overweight fee. Luckily I wasn’t among those – yet! Landing is Kayseri was a little different. First, they took a very long approach – it seemed like we were descending for half the flight. We boarded and disembarked from both the front and the back of the plane and you just walk out onto the tarmac. The luggage claim was a single straight conveyor but they might as well have handed you the luggage because the baggage handler was only three feet away from the first person in line. The toilet was an experience as well. There was a door off the area where we got our luggage but when you open the door there were three port–a-potties. Families waiting to pick up loved one just waited in the parking lot from where you could see people getting off the plane.

After dropping the luggage we went to the underground city of Kaymakli (in the Turkish language there are “i’s” that are dotted and undotted in both upper and lower case this should be undotted but I can’t find that on my Mac). From the 6th to 9th century thousands of people would live in this city for several months at a time to avoid the prevailing wars of the day. The Hittites were believed to be the first to carve and inhabit this city. The ground is mostly volcanic ash so it is relatively soft though hardens with exposure to air.

Next we explored some cliff dwellings carved in the same area, some of which are still inhabited or used for food storage. In fact, we ate in a restaurant that was carved out of a hill.

Then it was off to see Avanos along the Red River. The Red River and the volcanic ash in the area provide local artists with ample material for pottery and ceramics. We wished a shop that had been in the same family for two hundred years. It currently had 40 workers though only 7 were family members. (Sorry Jim, I may have splurged.)


At the end of the day we ate with some local sponsors at a banquet hall on a bluff with a magnificent view of the valley (Kayseri) and the snow capped Mount Erciyes (an extinct volcano). More importantly we had a great conversation for several of the city's business leaders – even through an interpreter I felt like I was in the presence of so much life and wisdom. I happen to also had the pleasure of sitting next to a young Pakistani college student who is in Turkey studying chemistry. We talked about college life, future plans, and he translated for me the call to worship that we could hear from two different Mosques in the city below (thank you, Iqbal). Enjoy the pictures - this part of Turkey reminds me so much of southwest Texas, New Mexico and Arizona where I grew up.

World Cup Stadium video

We interrupt this Turkey trip to bring you a Google Earth video of the World Cup stadiums. We will see matches in Green Point (Cape Town), Ellis Park (J'burg), Soccer City (J'burg), Free State (Bloemfontein), and Royal Bafokeng (Rustenburg). Leaving ONE WEEK from TODAY! World Cup begins tomorrow!

Day 3

Yesterday was a day to talk about current affairs and today was a day to explore the history of Turkey and particularly Istanbul. If you are like me you may not know or remember that Constantinople/Istanbul has served as the capital city of three different empires: Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman. There are artifacts in the Antalya area dated back to 20,000 BC but I’m sure I’ll share more about that when we visit Antalya. Today I’ll focus on Istanbul and a few other bits I learned today.

Our day started with a trip to the Haghia Sophia, which means holy wisdom, which is built on the site of a church from the 4th century. In doing excavation they did however find remains of the 5th century church that burned in AD532. Because of potential damage to the current structure excavation has been halted. The current structure was inaugurated by Emperor Justinian in 537. Until St. Peter’s was built in Rome, Haghia Sophia was the largest church in the world. It was used during the crowning and as final resting place of Emperors and Sultans. The patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church still resides in Istanbul. When the Ottoman’s captured Istanbul the church was turned into a mosque. Because Islam recognizes the holy books of Christians and Jews and shares a common history they didn’t destroy the church or the mosaics of Jesus, Mary, John the Baptist, Archangel Gabriel, or the Christian Emperors but covered them with plaster because images are not allowed in mosques. Minarets have been added and later large calligraphic roundels were added. Today many of the mosaics have been uncovered and work is ongoing. As a side note, I learned that in Turkey there is a Minister of Religions that appoints all Imams and writes the text for each week's Friday service. The minister is a political appointment.

Our next stop was Topkapi Palace built by Mehmet II between 1459 and 1465. It was used as the center of government for the Ottoman Empire until the 16th century and the sultan built a new palace in 1853. Topkapi became a museum in 1924. The palace was more than just a residence for the Sultans; it included school of the army and civil service, a hospital, public parks, food vendors, stables, homes for all the government ministers, a library and other businesses – the sultan’s residence has a beautiful view of the Bosphorus.

Next we had a great roof top lunch with a view of the Sea of Marmara and the Blue Mosque that we visited after lunch. Known for its blue Iznik tile work, it was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I and built between 1609 and 1616 by Mehmet Aga. Most mosques are allowed to have only one minaret and the other special holy places have four, but the Blue Mosque has six which was seen at the time as a sacrilegious attempt to rival Mecca. While the mosque is open to visitors it is still an active mosque. Three times today we heard the calls to worship from three mosques in this area of the city. That could have been quite ear bending but they seemed to have a system where one started and the others came in after the first had set the pitch. At times it sounded like a call and response and was unbelievably pleasant and calming.

Dinner followed (it seems like we are constantly eating) at a lovely “community festival” (a restaurant in a public park owned by the government) overlooking the Bosphorus. There was plenty of sun, a cool breeze, a constant flow of ships from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and even a school of dolphins. After the typical starters I had the grilled Sea Bass that came whole (head and all) and was perfect.

I’m trying to learn a few words in Turkish which seems like it shouldn’t be that difficult as they adopted the same alphabet we use in 1928 (with the addition of six characters) but it’s not coming easily. So Tim King’s mom had my mouth watering when she recently described the taste of watermelon here in Turkey as better than anything in the US so I was really looking forward to it. We’ve had it almost every day but I don’t think it quite compares to some of the best melons from Texas. On the other hand, the tomatoes are outstanding and fruits and veggies are dirt cheap.

Tomorrow we pack our bags and fly to Kayseri that is southeast of Istanbul in the middle region of the Asian side of Turkey.

Day 2

Today was busy with visits to a private university, a newspaper, a little “free choice” time (I had a Turkish bath), and dinner at a family’s home. We started at 8:30 AM and got back to the hotel at 10:30 PM so it was a long day. We were to have a boat trip on the Bosphorus River today but once again it rained all day.

So in my growing up and what little I remember about the history of this part of the world I somehow missed the part where you connect all of the dots. I read about Troy (I even saw that bad movie), I know something about St. Paul and the Letter to the Ephesians as well as Mt. Ararat, I vaguely remember hearing of the eastern spice route/trade, the Ottomans and the Hittites, and from my fraternity world (Phi Mu Alpha) and some play I barely recall being a part of in high school I’d heard about Thracians. What I didn’t realize was that all of these things are a part of Anatolia and modern day Turkey. My apologies to any history teacher that tried to teach me these things. Enough of my confessions of ignorance for one day.

This was final exam week at Fatih University so the students were a little sparse and looked ready for a holiday. Fatih is a private university started in 1996 – up until 1980 all institutions of education had to be run by the state and still to this day all public and private institutions are governed by the state. Fatih has a student population of roughly 11,260 and they pride themselves as an international university and in fact, they have about 700 students from outside Turkey. In part they accomplish this by only charging international student half the tuition that Turkish students pay (basically opposite of what we do in the U.S.). Here high school students take exit exam in general knowledge and then the subject areas that they are interested in. Based on those exams they are given a spot in a public university (the university has no real say in who they get) or are accepted into a private university. There is no tuition charge for those lucky enough to make it into a public institution, which is only about 10% of those taking the exams. Many of things I accustom to where similar here in that they have student affairs professionals; they have residence halls, which at Fatih they call hostels, and there are lots of student groups and organizations. One slight difference is its against the law to have religious groups/clubs, though when the different cultural groups hold their Spring Festival as a celebration of all cultures many have components of their faith traditions. This did lead to an interesting topic that came up several times today and that’s the philosophical approaches to secularism. Dr. Yel described them is a French approach of “distance from all” and an American approach of “equal inclusion of all.” We did clear up some misconceptions for our hosts as well because he thought that everyone in the US was religious – no atheist or agnostics. I wonder where people here would get that understanding? There are so my other things I learned but too much for this entry.

We had a fascinating visit as well to Zaman, the largest print newspaper in Turkey. The readership of the Zaman (which means Times) is around 850,000 per day. Not large by U.S. standards perhaps but Mr. Yilmaz explained that not very many in Turkey read the paper. We talked in depth about the freedom of the press here and the difference between the elected “government” and the “state” or as he defined it as the judiciary, the lobbies, and the military (even with a democratic government Turkey has had 6 military coups in modern times). Our discussions also focused on the current reactions in Turkey and the surrounding Muslim countries to the Israeli attack on the aid flotillas. As usual I was struck by the multitude of perspectives on any given situation or action and the need to honestly listen and validate these sometimes dramatically different experiences and perceptions. We ended the day with a lovely dinner and in the Istanbul home of a current IU political science doctoral student. I loved the food but as usual I really loved the involved and dynamic cross-cultural dialogues.

It’s past midnight here and we start tomorrow at 8:00 so I better turn in. Oh, did I tell you we’ve had cucumbers at all three meals each day and that I love cucumbers – I’m sure Jim’s glad to be missing out on those.

Turkish Tea included after every meal.

IST Old City Walls

The Trip Begins

I’ve arrived in Turkey, or T¨rkiye (hey I got the dots but the "u" is missing - I'll work on that) as it’s generally seen here. Some airport delays but both me and my luggage made it here. Three others from the IU delegation where also on the same flight out of Indy through JFK to Istanbul. I sat next to Murat and had a wonder conversation. He has just finished a year as a post-doc at UC San Bernardino in Communication and Culture studying Muslim representation in US films and TV shows. So friendly and a great intro for me to Turkey. So before going too far I should say when it was all decided that I would travel to Turkey, I was dumbfounded at how little I knew about the country or it’s history. Given a world map I might have been able to point it out but other that that I remembered something about it once being a part of the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul was once Constantinople (thanks to that catchy They Might Be Giants song), more than 99% of the population is Shiite Muslims though they have a secular government, and that they were a NATO ally. So I had a lot of reading up to do. I’ll share some of what I’ve learned as the trip goes on.

Day 1
We arrived at the hotel – a posh International style hotel – and took a two hour power nap. Then it was off with lunch at a street café just outside the Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Masque (the ‘s’ should have a little tail under it but I can’t find that special character) built by Sinan, and Istanbul University, founded as a theological and environmental sciences school in 1453. Lunch consisted of a wonderful salad made of cucumbers, hot peppers and loads of wonderful fresh tomatoes. Then came some rice mixed with some kind of wheat and a some spicy large white bean – very tasty. Then came the Turkish teas I’d heard about. They don’t use tealeaves but grind it down to a fine powder. It’s strong, hot, and requires sugar – they only have sugar cubes here. Unfortunately it rained all day but we walked around the University and the grounds of the mosque. Then it was off to the Chora Church (Kariye muaesi) the fabric of which was laid in 1077. The Ottoman converted the church into a Mosque but just covered over the mosaics and frescoes and today many have been uncovered and building serves only as a museum. After another rest at the hotel it was off to dinner of delightful lamb, chicken and beef kebabs. At the end of the meal was something I’d never tried – Peynirle Kunefe – cheese between two shredded pasty crusts, covered with warm syrup and chopped pistachios and served with goat milk ice cream. Unbelievably sweet and delicious. Now it’s off to bed. Our first real university tour tomorrow morning.

Off to Turkey!

I dropped Barry off at the airport about 15 minutes ago! His flight leaves at 12:45. He packed just a small bag, since he has five flights in Turkey. Goodbye Barry, have a great trip and post lots of updates.

Countdown...

Barry leaves for Turkey in three days! He's not ready.

We leave for South Africa two weeks from today. While in the Cape Town area, we will have about two days to visit wineries. The South African Wine site lists 21 wine routes. I printed maps for four we might visit. Those four maps list 200 wineries - no kidding!

We bought these wines the last time we were there.