lots to say...

I have been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks. Also a little lazy. Sorry for the lack of posts.

While I was in Prague, my Achilles tendon started to swell again (I have had tendonitis for over a year now). When I got back to Ankara, I tried to do the stretches and exercises that my physical therapist gave me, but afterwards it just hurt a lot more. So, the next day, I went to the medical center on campus. I arrived around 9am and left around 12pm. I saw the doctor for maybe 10 minutes. She said "well its a chronic injury." Yes, thank you. Then, she prescribed some anti-inflammatory medicine and put me on the list for physical therapy. Today, I got an email saying I could come in for physical therapy. I went in and had ultrasound and electro therapy done (which feel amazing for tendonitis) and then ice. I have another appointment on Wednesday. I am not sure if the therapist I saw spoke english or not, if she did, it was minimal. So we spoke Turkish instead. I am pretty proud. All of this is free for me, too, which is really awesome.

This weekend my group took a trip to the north. We did a lot of bus riding, but also got to see some really amazing places. Our first stop was a town called Kastamonu. This town is where Atatürk banned the fez. We stopped there for a few hours in which time I got some lunch, found an old Selcuk hamam, got a nice lady to yell at a pack of school boys following my group, and ran up to the clock tower. The hamam was probably the coolest part of the town, mostly because it was not a real tourist spot. There was only a window to climb through because all other entrances were barred.

(The hamam. Through that door on the left there were 4 more rooms)

After lunch, we headed to the castle above Kastamonu. It was a pretty simple castle, Byzantine I believe, but still a neat site.

After the castle, we headed to a small village about 20 kilometers away. We got to see what is apparently the oldest wooden mosque in Turkey. It was built in the 1360's. The outside has been renovated and looks brand new, but the inside is still original. I saw my second turkey in Turkey in this village.

(the original doors)

We then went to our hotel for the night, which was outside of a town called Pınarbaşa. The hotel is in an area considered a "hot spot" by the world wildlife foundation. Its very mountainous and green and amazing (I get really excited when I see grass these days due to the serious lack of it in Ankara). Our hotel was basically like a log cabin in the woods. We had trout for dinner. I went into town with two other girls that night to get some water and snacks. It was a classic Turkish town. The cafes filled with men drinking tea and talking; no women in sight, except for us of course.

The next morning we headed to another little village. We took a short hike down a very muddy pathway to a little waterfall. The water was too cold for swimming, but a few people decided to get wet anyways (ie. they fell in). After washing our shoes and changing clothes, etc..., we headed to back towards Kastamonu.

As we were leaving, we found our way blocked by a giant tree that had fallen down the cliff. After moving a pile of rocks and dirt, we were back on the road again.

We stopped at a place called Boyabat for lunch. On the way there, our bus driver got pulled over twice (it is pretty routine to have random police and jandarma checkpoints along the road). He only got a ticket the second time, for speeding. Buses in Turkey have radar systems which record their speeds so if they get pulled over, all the police have to ask for is a print out of that record and bam, speeding ticket. Apparently the driver only had to pay 10 or 15 YTL though. After we had our lunch, we were back on the road again towards Sinop, on the Black Sea coast. We arrived around 6pm and went straight to the hotel. The hotel was on a cliff above the sea and was kind of 1970's haunted hotel. The building was in the shape of an octagon or some other shape with lots of sides. The rooms smelled of mildew and were a bit damp.

We were given the option of staying at the hotel or going into town for a few hours. Most of us went into town. I walked around a bit and got some ice cream, then went back to the hotel. The next day, we went back into Sinop for a few hours. I walked around a little, found the castle and an apparently famous jail that is now a museum, and then sat on the beach for a little while. We got some food and then drove for 15 minutes to another area on the coast and had a picnic.

(my lunch)

We finally started on our way back to Ankara around 3pm. We stopped in Kastamonu again for dinner, then got back to Ankara around 1130 that night. Like I said, it was a lot of bus riding, but it was definitely worth it to see all the places.

I have a Turkish exam on Thursday and a midterm for International Organizations next Monday. Then, another group trip to the Southeast.