"So, how was Turkey?!"

Amazing . . . awesome . . . incredible . . . unforgettable -- all those singular adjectives that people use to describe a good experience, but don't say much about the experience except that the person enjoyed it. I keep finding myself answering that questions with just the words. And I hate that I do it because the experience was so much more than that. Sure, I have my anecdotal stories to tell, but in the end the best way for someone to understand a Turk's generosity is to go to Turkey himself. So, I guess my advice to any/every college student is go abroad. Go anywhere. Go somewhere that inspires you; work on a project that captivates you; experience something other than the norm.

Some people will never completely understand why I went to Turkey to make architectural drafts (or in other words, draw blocks). But that's alright because the experience wasn't for them, it was for me. Do something that excites you and it will make all the difference.

As promised, here are some more photos:

This is the Pirate's Cove that I've mentioned. The locals actually climb up the rock face and jump off into the water...




<-- right about here. And as the saying goes, when in "Turkey," so I did it. Durhan's son showed me the way up. My legs actually started shaking half-way up, but it was completely worth it. For some perspective on the height, there are people sitting on that rock in the lower left-hand side.



This is a picture of the temple mound (in the background) and one of our block fields. As I've mentioned before, the temple is in ruins. This is a ten-year project to rebuild the temple. We're currently in the early stages of the project. To reconstruct, we first need to deconstruct.






(photo courtesy of Julia McKinely)
This is the inside of Hagia Sophia. The central dome is in the upper right-hand corner of the photo. You can start to see how, with the right light, the dome may appear to hover over this old Byzantine church.














(photo courtesy of Julia McKinely)
Lily and I working on a draft.











(photo courtesy of Julia McKinely)
One of the many nice spreads Rami's wife brought us in the field. Rami is in the center with his daughters on the left.









(photo courtesy of Julia McKinely)
Group Photo

Goodbye Gazipaşa

Our last afternoon/evening in Gazipaşa was the perfect ending to our trip. A group of us took a car over to what we call the Pirate’s Cove -- called such because it is would have been a great spot for the Cilician Pirates to hide out in. The cove is right down the round from the site of our temple . . . hidden in the village of Güney. Two of Durhan's (one of our Turkish workers) children came with us. They speak as much English as I speak Turkish (which is very little), but with lots of hand motions we were able to communicate with them. When we dropped them off, they gave us a huge bag of grapes and figs -- delicious!

Before leaving Antioch, Travis had to finish something at the site. Our guard for the site, Rami, invited us back to his home for çay and almonds. His wife had brought us food at the site on many occasions.

Turks are some of the nicest and the most generous people I have ever met. To them, it's never about the money; they love to give. They give a whole new level to "the joy of giving."

*more pictures to be posted

drafting

I’ve been posed the question of why we’re spending so much time and effort on drafting the blocks instead of taking well-detailed photographs.

Although a picture may be worth a thousand words, we’re a little bit greedy and want more than that. By drafting the blocks we are forced to really exam them. We answer questions like: is this break intentional; does this side show anathyrosis (a term that describes the dressing of stone blocks at the joints which is often found in ancient Grecian and Roman architecture); what is the length of the maximum preserved surface? Now, you may ask “why not place a ruled square in the photo as a reference?” That’s just it; it really could only be a reference to us. It is not exact enough for our project. If one were to take the picture at the slightest angle, the measurement would be off. In this style of architecture, one can find the exact position of each block by examining the measurements, the moldings, and cuttings (like pry holes).

These blocks weigh a few tons and can only be moved with a crane. Although some of the blocks may be very rectangular/boxy (wall blocks; somewhat of a “large brick”), many significant pieces are not; pieces in the entablature, especially, have all sorts of moldings. To get an accurate description of the moldings and carvings it is best to draft the blocks.

The marble quarry that we went to is an active quarry that just opened up 3 months ago. However, we believe that this area was quarried in antiquity because of an unfinished sarcophagus lid that sits by the roadside alongside the quarry. We haven't found another quarry to take samples from, but I would really like to get at least one more.

Samples

We went to our first marble quarry today. It's an active quarry that just opened up shop 3 months ago. It's actually right down the road from Guney (which is the village that surrounds Antioch ad Cragum). I'm glad that we finally stopped there to retrieve samples; I was starting to get worried that we might not get to it, which would have put a damper on the project. SO I'm getting very excited about my project and that things are going well. We just need to look into other likely sources of marble in the area.

Since the area of Antioch ad Cragum is considered an archaeological site, I've been told that the villagers aren't allowed to build on the land or make repairs to their houses (including painting their homes). It seems as if it is to force out the villagers. Sadly, the villagers protect the area, somewhat, from looters. News spreads here so quickly that people in the town of Gazipasa knew that us "foreigners" were out in the field within hours of us getting there.

Folk festival

Today we had a day-off.  A couple of days ago a reporter had come to the field and had told us about a folk festival up in the mountains.  It was really cool to go up there and mingle with the locals.  In Istanbul, there are people that speak English and it's very touristy.  Alanya is also touristy.  Gazipasa isn't very touristy (although they are trying to boost that part of the economy) and basically no one speaks English.  However, the festival we went to was all locals in a village up in the mountains and we were really immersed in the culture.  One thing that I found funny was that one vendor was selling cowboy hats (made in China).  They had games and such going on and at one point they were playing tug of war.  It was a nice way to spend a day off.  Professor Townsend has been to this area for many years and this was his first time to the top of these mountains -- it was a good reason to make our way up there.