Morning breakfast over the terrace of our hotel in Istanbul at 6:30am was both beautiful and dreadful, but our four hour bus ride to the boat ferry across the Dardanelles was plentiful amount of time to catch up on some sleep and reading. Turkish people always take a tea/bathroom break every two to two and a half hours and it was a fun stop to participant in a local tradition. All the buses pulled into this cafe/diner/market place with several tables and chairs. There was not quite a waiter or a cashier. We just followed the locals to this window where all the waiters were making two and busily passing them out to those sitting at the tables. It was a little overwhelming because the waiters would turn to you and ask you what you wanted to order, so I stood there timidly there for a while till I got the nerve to ask for erma cay, or apple tea. Then the waiter/barista asked me for one turkish lira and place it on a pile of money casually on a dish. Shortly, a waiter came by with my apple tea to my table and I was able to enjoy the delicious turkish drink. Although it is so similar to apple cider, I have a tendency to call it that.
I have noticed in a lot of the store vendors or services are very casual about their business. When we were buying antique arabic calligraphy paintings the other day, the man made change for my large bill from his own wallet when the cash register was out of money.
Also, I thought it was strange how all the products were just placed out in the open. For example, when walking up to the Athena temple the road was lined with street vendors with their products out in the open. My first initial thought is how we have always been warned about pick pocketing and theft in Turkey or anywhere outside the U.S, but why aren't these street vendors worried about their products. Someone could easily just grab it and run. Sometimes I would see the salesman sleeping in the back of their store hut or not even present at all. Then I thought, maybe it is because of the fellowship because the citizens of Turkey. I wouldn't want to rob anyone personally, but especially not my fellow Americans. Also, I would assume that all the shop keeps around are friends and would look out for each other. I noticed that even though they sell the same products sometimes, they don't seem competitive. In other countries I have visited the adjacent sales person would convince you to look at their products instead and jockey for your business.
Perhaps the high levels of practicing Muslims in Turkey make it more morally sound than other countries. I understand that they still have petty theft, but it doesn't seem like they do it to each other. I could be totally wrong because I have not researched it. However, I could understand there being a correlation with the religious practices and not trying to sabotage your fellow Muslims. In the Bible, especially the old testament, it seemed like an Us against Them mentality which could be said for all religions. Crusades and terrorism can be considered extreme cases of fighting for what you believe to be right and devour those who you think are wrong.
Anyways, we visited Troy right after the ferry ride which was quite an experience in itself considering we didn't know where the bus was and watched it drive off the ferry without five of us. I think the coolest thing about Troy was that the myth became more real. I actually stood in the spot where Priam watched Hector was slain and looked out where his body would of been dishonored and dragged across the dirt.
We could also see the layers upon which Troy was built. One on top of another a new city would rise and cover the old, forgotten one. I thought this tied back into our discussion of sacred spots because it seems odd that you would build a city nine times on top of another. Why? Why this spot? If anything this spot was terrible because it was right on the harbor where invaders came through to come inland.
Then we ventured to Assos where the ruins of the temple of Athena are on top of a hill with breathtaking views. Looking at the land of Lesbos was surreal because I always read about it in greek mythology and actually seeing it made the stories come alive. As scaling the Athena Temple in Assos and climbing on the ruins to take silly pictures made the greek mythologies of the God's more understandable to me. Sometimes it's hard to grasp how people as intellectual as the Greeks were to believe in such overtop myths about the Greek Gods. However, standing on top of the hilltop seeing the temple ruins and imagining the majesty of what it was while overlooking the sea and surrounding islands makes the idea more tangible. The favor and mixed up emotions of the Gods were very real to the Greeks and were not to be played with. Could you imagine hulling all those rocks and stones up that hill in order to build a grand temple? I had trouble just walking up it with my backpack, but it was worth the view for me and for the ancient Greeks it was worth the protection of Athena, the goddess of wisdom in war.
Maybe that's what the miracles and the prophesies meant to the Jews in the Old Testament. Although they went astray and angered the Lord, the hard evidence of God's power and loyalty to them was enough to make them believe again and walk in his path (well at least for a generation or two). Perhaps that's why sacred relics are so important to every faith and anything really. When we were in the Blue Mosque there was a an exhibition with Islamic artifacts like Muhammad's beard and Moses' walking stick, which are far fetched but people did stand reverently in front of them. I think to some it was a encouraging to them to see their beliefs with their own eyes. Faith is really about knowing what you can't see, but it doesn't hurt to actually see and feel the truth behind it all. I know that is not possible, but even something as small as Muhammed's beard can keep faith and hope alive in a lot of people.
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