I found a brew pub with a decent pilsener and tried raki, the national liquor made like Greek ouzo and French pastis with strong Anise flavor. I wandered around the bazaar not finding what I was looking for and unfortunately the university is a closed campus. It makes sense that the students shouldn't have to deal with hundreds of tourists getting in their way.
A nice guy on the Metro train showed me to the correct bus office at the station and the trip was beautiful; low hills with farmland and forests. One guy was sitting outside his house just looking out over the hill to the Aegean Sea. Life seems slower and simpler away from Istanbul. The town I stayed in was pretty small, but that made it hard to get lost.
In the morning I went snorkelling over a WW1 shipwreck that was a transport ship sunk on purpose to break the waves coming in to shore. There were plants and fish swimming around the ship, but it was pretty decayed with only the frame still intact. I took a tour of some famous sites and memorials of the Galllipoli campaign of WW1 including the main landing sites of the Australian and New Zealand forces (ANZACs). I have a feeling my brother could give a more detailed tour than the one I got, but most people probably just want the basic facts.
Earlier today I went to see Troy. There's even a replica of the Trojan horse but with windows to see out of. The site was pretty dilapidated but there were plenty of signs to read to tell me what I was looking at. The original archaologist, Schliemann, destroyed quite a bit of the site when he first discovered it. But it was still good to see it. I ate a good $1.30 kebab, and found the bus I will take tomorrow to Bergama, which is the village next to the ancient site of Pergamum with the Asclepion (Medical Center) and Temple of Apollo.
No comments:
Post a Comment