July 2nd
Weather - 88 degrees, a shower in the morning, mostly the sunny the remainder of the day
Plans - Anatolian Museum of History, Ataturk Mausoleum, Minister of Turkish-American Relations, Final Dinner
What a beautiful, huge capital city. I could've stayed here at least another few days, no doubt, but our term is coming to an end. So sad to see it slip so quick!
Anatolian Museum of HistoryA very satisfying place for those who like neolithic cultures, ancient history, pottery, archeology, or Hittites. I'm not much in this fandom, but I certainly enjoyed this place. This is where "King Midas' Tomb" is (I say that in quotations because there's no factual evidence to that), as well as some other things we saw at Catalhuyuk. I quickly mowed through this showcase (not that large, maybe the size of a football field's worth of ancient relics) and then headed outside to take shots of the beautiful roses after the shower we experienced. Gotta love the Rose Country (Turkey's nickname). Here's a photo of the "Mother Goddess" from where we were a few days ago in Catalhuyuk.
Afterward we traveled downstairs and previewed the kids center, sponsored by the Turkish Cultural Foundation. WOW, what a neat place for kids! Down there there were 12 different workshops for them, from being paleontologists, to making coins, to investigating crime scenes using scientific / museum skills. If I were 10 years old, my mom would have to PRY me away from this place.
Afterward we walked to an uphill eatery to eat the only thing I had talked about not eating - the Turkish pita (pizza), served on a long tray and slivered by an old fashioned cook. My God, it was delicious - 1 part spicy, 1 part egg, and 1 part lamb, the 3 divisions were equally good.
Ataturk Mausoleum
To understand a Turk, one has to understand their hero, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Similar to our George Washington, this former general-turned president led his country out of it's "darkest age" into a beacon of democracy, and his people loved him for it.
When I teach my students about Ataturk, I call him the "democracy dictator" for shoving this new system of government down his people's throats. But they revered him and saw him as a nearly perfect leader, so they went along with his reforms. And there were many. Think about turning the former Ottoman Empire, ruled by the same family of sultans for 500+ years, into a democracy. And then think about doing that while your country is occupied by the UK, France, and most of all, the Greeks. On top of that, they badly lost a war, and were fighting a civil war with their own Armenian people.The 1920s in Turkey were a mess, but, out of the rubble emerges this guy, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to lead them into the western and modernized world. And the Turks love him for this. The Mausoleum is a must see for anyone visiting Turkey, and we were fortunate enough to cut through the lines (upwards of an hour to enter the Mausoleum and the museum) and see Ataturk's personal belongings, his private library collection, and his role in the many battles that shaped his history as both the commander of the Turkish army and the leader of his people. Just an amazing story, one after another. And the place where he's kept is the perfect capture of their perfect man - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2hhaiVLAOI
We were also able to see the changing of the guard at the museum, which was a wonderful opportunity. Gurjan, our assistant on the tour, was with me when we watched. He's a member of the Turkish Navy, so he was very astutely aware of the discipline needed to drill and be one of the honorary guards of Ataturk's tomb. He kept nudging me in the side and in his accent, saying, "discipline, discipline, you see?" Here you can see the discipline - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAFBAWyXdUE
Minister of Turkish-American Relations
This short but incredible powerful woman came to our hotel and walked right ahead of me into this fantastic conference room on the roof. I said, "Oh, you must be our guest." And she introduced herself, but her first name, and I didn't think much of it. Little did I know this woman was the Turkish government's expert and representative to the entire Western Hemisphere. It was great to listen to her lecture and answer our questions. She was like a Turkish Hillary Clinton, without question. We enjoyed her candor in answering things about our interconnected view of the world, problems joining the EU, the Armenian struggle issue, Cyprus's issues, the
Arab Spring, and more. What an incredible lady for Turkey to have, and for us to have as a guest!Final Dinner
I was fearful of our last dinner, since the group planned this recreation skit on the day I was deathly sick. When I heard them describe all of this and also saw the practice, I thought, "My God, I'm going to watch the Titanic sink in Ankara." But the group pulled off a fun parody of our guide (Orhan), bus driver (Miten), assistant (Gurjan), and our TCF Reps, Hulya (the Istanbul Director) and Bonnie (the creator of the program from California). The 5 of them were brought to full laughter and tears as the group recreated some of the highlights of the trip, some improv, and some wholehearted laughter. Afterward we presented each of them with gifts, both monetary and as goods, and then shared some kind words. I was in charge of closing out the dinner by paying tribute to Gurjan and Miten, and I think I did well in giving them their place in our hearts. It's amazing to think that this fully-packed fortnight is now coming to a close. But, here it is, and we'll have to say goodbye to this wonderful country and the people we've met along the way, both from here and from back home!
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