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.