Alanya was wonderful, and it was very sweet of the state department to pay for our holiday there, but I'm very happy to be back in Ankara right now. It feels much more like Turkey here. Turks will actually speak Turkish with me, and there far fewer Russian and Scandinavian flags flying about.
We took the overnight bus on Wednesday, got in to Alanya pretty early on Thursday morning, and headed straight to the harbor to board a boat for an amazing day of scuba diving and swimming. Although the weather was extremely hot and humid, the breeze out on the Mediterranean made a big difference, as did the water itself. We took our boat around the small peninsula that juts out from the city to a small cove where we joined and tied up with two other boats of other (mainy Russian) tourists. We spent the better part of the day chilling in the cove, taking turns jumping into the water and going on short dives.
I was a bit nervous to dive at first, and the more I thought about the lack of breatheable air 8 meters underwater, the more I began to psyche myself out. After a brief mini-panic attack during my first few minutes underwater, I managed to calm myself down, focus on my breathing, and enjoy the swim around the bottom of the cove. The instructors took us out in groups of about five people, and led us around the seafloor pretty slowly, stopping at the end to put on a little show, which included the group leader blowing air rings up to the surface while lying on his back. I had never been scuba diving before, and it was amazing to be able to touch the various rock formations and plants that hang out on the ocean floor. I almost managed to touch a fish, but it was, of course, too quick for my grasp. Our second dive was very similar, the only difference being that we swam a few meters deeper and saw slightly different rock formations. I'd love to dive again somewhere else in the world, especially in an area with more diverse fish and coral life.
After heading back to shore, we took our showers, had dinner (a pathetic excuse for Turkish food served buffet-style at our hotel) and wandered for a bit around the neighborhood before settling down in a nearby cafe for a drink. We were all a bit frustrated at our inability to communicate in Turkish with most of the restaurant owners, and so we picked the first place that didn't annoyingly force English, German, or Russian onto us. The area of downtown Alanya and its surroundings is hardly recognizable as being Turkish. It's a budget vacation destination for a lot of Europeans, and is filled mainly with mediocre restaurants, trashy boutiques, and travel agencies trying to lure customers into swiming with the dolphins or paying too much for a boat cruise. For most of us in the group, it was frustrating to be in a place so abused by tourists, where Turkish shop and restaurant owners play into orientalist fantasies and where the Turkey we've come to love and appreciate seems bastardized and cheapened in some way.
The waiters at the cafe we picked were happy to hear us speak Turkish, though, and treated us very well. The prices were reasonable, given the location, and they even entertained our requests for some Kolbastı music. A few of us from the group started dancing when the song started and were cheered on by the owner, staff members, and even some of the other customers. I think we'll be decent enough to perform on Tuesday - most of the Turks were impressed enough that we even knew the song, so I don't think many of them will judge our technique too much.
On Friday, we drove out into the local mountains to go river rafting in the Manavgat, which is famous for its beautiful blue water and surrounding landscape. We paddled down the river with inflatable rafts seating about ten people each. We had a lot of fun, despite the fact that we were led in a group of about fifty other people, were forced to make every stop and undertake every activity under the direction of the "fun nazi," the unnecessarily harsh Turkish guide leading the group, and were splashed just a bit too many times by the other rafts, specifically by one carrying a group of Turkish soldiers on leave and by another carrying a group of testosterone-driven Iranians on vacation together. All in all, it was an in interesting use of tax-payer money. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for CLS programs in the future.
Saturday was our free day, so we slept in, spent some time at the beach, and generally rested before heading back to Ankara on the bus last night. Again, we arrived very early in the morning and I went straight to bed until 2pm. I plan on lounging about for the rest of the day, spending some time with my host mother, recovering from the trip (and the cold I've managed to catch), and catching up on the homework due this week.
Oh Russians... lol.
ReplyDeleteBtw, how was dinner after we talked?