I can't believe we are in Greece now! Turkey has been amazing and I'll miss it dearly. We developed a wonderful family with Cenk and Mehmet! Cenk was not only knowledgable but became a wonderful friend to our group. He would not hesitate to answer our questions about something silly like the location of a Karoke Bar. Cenk connected with us on a personal level and got to know all of us individually and catered the tour to what we enjoyed like Starbucks! Ha. I could tell he spent a lot of time thinking about when and where to travel because we avoided the large tourist groups by going on odd days, which was nice because it almost felt like a private tour of the entire archaeological site. Nothing ruins a peaceful view of what would of been a harbor from an ancient theatre more than loud noisy tourist groups. Even though sometimes we were that group. haha. Also, I loved how he would recommend what to eat so we got to experience all of what Turkey had to offer. Cenk was so great! Wish he came to Greece with us!
Greece has been beautiful thus far but it is quite different from Turkey. I'm not sure if it is because we are in a very touristy area so the people are not as welcoming an inviting, but so far we have ran into some not so pleasant people (ie our first greek tour guide). We stayed in relatively small towns and cities in Turkey that seemed more quaint. Whereas in Rhodes we are in a very popular hotel that has tourists from all over the world. It also seems to have a more beach and nightlife feel versus our more historic stays in Turkey. Nevertheless, I'm sure I will enjoy Greece just as much. I do love a good beach!
Another astonishing difference between Turkey and Greece is the religious culture and background. In Turkey, I finally was able to tune out the frequent Islamic that were played over the loud speakers but Rhodes has a steep history in Christianity.
We visited the old town where the Grand Masters Palace is located was where The Knights of Rhodes resided. When the Crusaders took Jerusalem, the Order of the Knights of St. John gained in strength and became more of a military organization under the authority of the church.
Contrasting to Turkey when we learned a lot about the conquest and rule of the Ottoman Empire, it was interesting to hear and see the history of the Crusades. Especially because in our readings of the Bible, we read that Christianity was a new religion and a minority within a pagan society so viewing the Christian prominence within this town was intriguing.
Now I miss Turkey! You're right, going from Greece to Rhodes has been an interesting cultural transition. No longer are there mosques on every corner, in fact we're studying a Christian site. It's funny how a short boat ride changes things!
ReplyDeleteYah and what shocked me the most was that Turkish people were far friendlier than the Greeks. Not that they are not at all, but I assumed that because they had so much tourism they would be even more than Turkey, that does not nearly have as much, but it turns out that maybe they are soo used to the tourists that it doesn't phase them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Linh. I think that tourism has taken away the hearts of the Greeks (to say it in a harsh way). But really, because everything is touristic it means that the people are very mechanical and systems are bureaucratized and organized sets and rules. The do things because its their job and it earns them a living. On the other hand, I feel like Cenk did his job because he genuinely loved his country and its culture and he really wanted us to learn about it!
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