A Turkish tradition that I admittedly knew very little about was the whirling dervishes. The literal translation of “dervish” in “hermit”, which I found amusing, but apparently something is lost in the literal translation where hermit doesn’t really mean the same thing. On our final night in Cappadocia, we had the opportunity to attend a whirling dervish traditional performance with Sujata and Indu, a mother/daughter traveling duo me met at our cave hotel.
While I don’t necessarily seek the fine arts I do appreciate most types when the opportunity arises and respect the artist’s ability (except the ballet; I just don’t get the ballet). Having no idea what to expect with a whirling dervish performance, in my head I had imagined that since they were whirling that it would be some sort of celebratory high-energy dance, similar to some sort of Russian folk dance. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s a way for the dervishes to get closer to god by putting themselves in a near trancelike state while spinning in circles.
The entire performance was forty five minutes. The first ten minutes was the entrance, a lone dervish chanting in Arabic, followed by six dervishes creating a ritualistic circle. After that, five of the six dervishes removed their black cloaks to reveal long white flowing garments. At that point, they started to whirl. And whirl. And whirl.
They honestly spun around in circles on a twenty five foot square stage with very few breaks for the next 30 minutes. It was a little like watching a tea cup ride at an amusement park where, yep, you guessed it, each dervish was a tea cup (though, in the spirit of full disclosure, the stage did not tilt). I sat there most of the time in awe of the fact that, (1) they could whirl in circles for so long without breaking the spin and/or falling and (2) they could move around a floor while whirling and not smash into one another.
When in Turkey, the whirling dervish experience is probably a necessary one, though when you sit there wondering when one is going to take a tumble, hit a wall, or hit another dervish, it’s probably a safe assumption that I didn’t enter their same trancelike state. Though if you go, I'd recommend a place that allows photography (our's did not). Though we got a great postcard of what it looks like (and to be honest, is probably better than any photograph I could have taken).
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Hot Air Balloon Thing
At $3.33 per minute per person, a 90 minute sunrise hot air balloon tour can make a round of golf at Pebble Beach seem like a bargain; however, we figured it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing and had heard that if you’re ever going to do the hot air balloon thing, Cappadocia is THE place to do it. After a 4:00am wake-up call, we boarded a shuttle to a common meeting spot, received our balloon assignment, and hopped in another shuttle to the launch point.
On the way to the launch point, we passed a number of other balloon operators preparing for the morning’s excursion and finally came to our balloon. Lindsay mentioned how she hoped we had a “pretty” balloon, I responded that it was probably more important what the other balloons looked like. (Un)fortunately, we had a handsome balloon while some other operators had sold the rights to their balloons to companies like Kia. Fortunately, there were around forty balloons in the area that day so there was plenty of variety.
Watching the balloon inflate was a riveting process as the burner blasted hot air into a deflated horizontal balloon laying flat on the ground that slowly inflated until it ultimately hovered over the basket. Once inflated, the sixteen passengers climbed into four partitioned baskets. At that point, there were some dudes hanging onto lines to keep us from floating away. Oh, and there was a $70,000 Land Rover tethered to one of the ropes for good measure (nice to see my $3.33 per minute going to good use). Once we were cleared for take-off, we slowly ascended and floated toward a rock.
The pilots go out each morning and scout the best launch point and send small helium balloons into the atmosphere to determine the day’s route. They are able to turn the balloon and change altitude but are basically up to the mercy of the wind as to the ultimate route. In addition, they are in constant contact with one another during the trip to ensure they know what the closest balloon is to them, whether it’s safe to ascend, and where the right pockets of air reside. Our pilot, Isa, seemed like a nice enough guy. When asked how long he had been a pilot, he responded, “This is my second trip.” I’d like to think if I were a hot air balloon pilot, I’d make jokes like that. Though I’d probably add something like, “and there were almost no injuries.”
Much of the trip we spent ascending and descending and traveling through canyons of Cappadocia’s famous fairly chimneys. From many of the pictures, you would never believe they were taken from a balloon as we were so close to the sides of rock formations. It was a fantastic way to get a different view of Cappadocia’s formations and pigeon houses, which are places people keep pigeons to harvest their droppings. If you ever thought your job was bad, at least you don’t harvest pigeon crap.
What really made the trip though, was that there were so many other balloons in the area, which really helped add perspective and color to an already impressive landscape. We were up and down in elevation through much of the trip, which was a surprise. I thought we’d probably just go up, fly around a bit, and go down. The real way was much more exciting than my expectation. Ultimately, we went as high as about 1000 meters above the ground, which seemed high enough for me. As we descended, the landscape looked familiar as we had blown from the town of Goreme to the outskirts of Urgup, which was where we stayed. We actually had a decent view of our cave hotel on the way down. Lindsay filmed the touch down on the small digital camera, but the most exciting part of that video is her sadly mentioning that it was an uneventful landing. I guess that’s not such a bad thing.
Even at $3.33 per minute, the hot air balloon thing is worth doing once in your life. I probably don’t need a second time but don’t regret the first. The only downside is that I could start to feel the heat of the burner on the top of my head by the end of the trip which was as good an indication that it was time to go down as any. One piece of advice if you ever have the opportunity; try and go in an area where there are a lot of other balloons. We were able to get a much different perspective of the Cappadocia moonscape; however, the fact that there were other balloons made it seem like more of an event, and helped give some subject matter to the photographs so they didn’t just look like fifty or sixty variations on the same photograph of a rock taken from the sky.
On the way to the launch point, we passed a number of other balloon operators preparing for the morning’s excursion and finally came to our balloon. Lindsay mentioned how she hoped we had a “pretty” balloon, I responded that it was probably more important what the other balloons looked like. (Un)fortunately, we had a handsome balloon while some other operators had sold the rights to their balloons to companies like Kia. Fortunately, there were around forty balloons in the area that day so there was plenty of variety.
Watching the balloon inflate was a riveting process as the burner blasted hot air into a deflated horizontal balloon laying flat on the ground that slowly inflated until it ultimately hovered over the basket. Once inflated, the sixteen passengers climbed into four partitioned baskets. At that point, there were some dudes hanging onto lines to keep us from floating away. Oh, and there was a $70,000 Land Rover tethered to one of the ropes for good measure (nice to see my $3.33 per minute going to good use). Once we were cleared for take-off, we slowly ascended and floated toward a rock.
The pilots go out each morning and scout the best launch point and send small helium balloons into the atmosphere to determine the day’s route. They are able to turn the balloon and change altitude but are basically up to the mercy of the wind as to the ultimate route. In addition, they are in constant contact with one another during the trip to ensure they know what the closest balloon is to them, whether it’s safe to ascend, and where the right pockets of air reside. Our pilot, Isa, seemed like a nice enough guy. When asked how long he had been a pilot, he responded, “This is my second trip.” I’d like to think if I were a hot air balloon pilot, I’d make jokes like that. Though I’d probably add something like, “and there were almost no injuries.”
Much of the trip we spent ascending and descending and traveling through canyons of Cappadocia’s famous fairly chimneys. From many of the pictures, you would never believe they were taken from a balloon as we were so close to the sides of rock formations. It was a fantastic way to get a different view of Cappadocia’s formations and pigeon houses, which are places people keep pigeons to harvest their droppings. If you ever thought your job was bad, at least you don’t harvest pigeon crap.
What really made the trip though, was that there were so many other balloons in the area, which really helped add perspective and color to an already impressive landscape. We were up and down in elevation through much of the trip, which was a surprise. I thought we’d probably just go up, fly around a bit, and go down. The real way was much more exciting than my expectation. Ultimately, we went as high as about 1000 meters above the ground, which seemed high enough for me. As we descended, the landscape looked familiar as we had blown from the town of Goreme to the outskirts of Urgup, which was where we stayed. We actually had a decent view of our cave hotel on the way down. Lindsay filmed the touch down on the small digital camera, but the most exciting part of that video is her sadly mentioning that it was an uneventful landing. I guess that’s not such a bad thing.
Even at $3.33 per minute, the hot air balloon thing is worth doing once in your life. I probably don’t need a second time but don’t regret the first. The only downside is that I could start to feel the heat of the burner on the top of my head by the end of the trip which was as good an indication that it was time to go down as any. One piece of advice if you ever have the opportunity; try and go in an area where there are a lot of other balloons. We were able to get a much different perspective of the Cappadocia moonscape; however, the fact that there were other balloons made it seem like more of an event, and helped give some subject matter to the photographs so they didn’t just look like fifty or sixty variations on the same photograph of a rock taken from the sky.
 |
| Probably could have used a flash |
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Boat Day in Bodrum
One of the initial reasons we considered Turkey was the potential to take a multi-day gulet boat trip along the Turquoise Coast, which basically consists of either four or seven days of cruising on a traditional wooden vessel that looks very much at home on the Mediterranean and Aegean. Upon looking into a little further that the private tours were well beyond what we wanted to spend and that we’d need to take a shared charter. The shared charters seemed reasonably priced, perhaps even a little too reasonably priced. With a shared charter you also run the risk of getting stuck on a small sailing vessel with nowhere to escape with complete strangers that may or may not be total assholes. Plus, on a trekking trip, if someone on the trip gets a little grouchy (even if hypothetically that person is your spouse), you can simply walk a little faster or walk a little slower to get some distance. On a boat, not quite so easy. Since we had extremely good fortune on our Nepal trek and were fairly certain Glenn, Judith, Erin, and Gaby weren’t planning a gulet trip, we decided to take a pass. Instead, we planted ourselves in Bodrum for a couple nights and opted for a gulet day trip instead.
The day’s activity consisted of five thirty to forty-five minute cruising segments interrupted by four stops for swimming and lunch. They would just pull up in a cove, drop anchor, tell us the depth (which I appreciated as I grew up on the Mississippi River where I was taught to never dive where you can’t see the bottom, which on the Mississippi basically means the entire river), and we’d jump into the sea. The boat didn’t provide any snorkel equipment or anything of that sort. They basically just provided a platform from which to jump into the ocean. Lindsay said it best when she remarked, “it really is cheap entertainment when you’re just jumping off a boat.” Regardless, it was a blast, and there are certainly much worse ways to spend a day.
The day trip seemed a very reasonable 25 Euros per person; inclusive of drinks, lunch, and transport to and from the hotel. We were careful to select a gulet, the Arda, that would only take fifteen passengers, which turned into the wisest decision of the day. There’s a healthy day trip gulet industry in Bodrum though many of the other boats haul 50 to 100 passengers, rock Turkish disco music, and freely encourage young women to belly dance. While good entertainment, not exactly our scene even if the the peaceful serenity of being anchored in a Mediterranean cove was interrupted by thumping Turkish disco music no fewer than seven times throughout the day.
The day’s activity consisted of five thirty to forty-five minute cruising segments interrupted by four stops for swimming and lunch. They would just pull up in a cove, drop anchor, tell us the depth (which I appreciated as I grew up on the Mississippi River where I was taught to never dive where you can’t see the bottom, which on the Mississippi basically means the entire river), and we’d jump into the sea. The boat didn’t provide any snorkel equipment or anything of that sort. They basically just provided a platform from which to jump into the ocean. Lindsay said it best when she remarked, “it really is cheap entertainment when you’re just jumping off a boat.” Regardless, it was a blast, and there are certainly much worse ways to spend a day.
Yes, I really am that pale.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Mr. (and Mrs.) Luth Go to Turkey
This weekend marks my first journey off the subcontinent in nearly seven months and the wife's first since last Tuesday.
After much consideration and a number of factors (i.e., a fairly easy flight, something that might seem otherwise expensive from Chicago, something offering a break from Indian culture and life), we decided on a 10 day trip to Turkey that is really set up as three distinct 3-night trips. First, we're headed to the Aegean coast to tour the Roman ruins at Ephesus and a two night stay in Bodrum. Second, three nights in Cappadocia (which I'm looking forward to the most; the pictures I've seen resemble a Moab-esque landscape, only if early Christians had lived in the rock formations). Last up is three nights in Istanbul.
Everyone says that Turkey is a great blend of "West" and "East" (for obvious geographic and historic reasons). Based on my research and reading, it's not exactly Western Europe but not exactly India either; in other words, it's pretty much what I think I need.
After much consideration and a number of factors (i.e., a fairly easy flight, something that might seem otherwise expensive from Chicago, something offering a break from Indian culture and life), we decided on a 10 day trip to Turkey that is really set up as three distinct 3-night trips. First, we're headed to the Aegean coast to tour the Roman ruins at Ephesus and a two night stay in Bodrum. Second, three nights in Cappadocia (which I'm looking forward to the most; the pictures I've seen resemble a Moab-esque landscape, only if early Christians had lived in the rock formations). Last up is three nights in Istanbul.
Everyone says that Turkey is a great blend of "West" and "East" (for obvious geographic and historic reasons). Based on my research and reading, it's not exactly Western Europe but not exactly India either; in other words, it's pretty much what I think I need.
Desert Highlights Canyoneering
As you can tell from this post's title, it has nothing to do with India but could loosely be associated with the blog since it involves travel. In addition, these guys have lost our business for the next two seasons so figured the least I could do was give them a little exposure to all 21 of my followers.
The canyoneering company we've used to guide us in Moab, Desert Highlights, sent out an email to past customers announcing their expansion into guiding in the Oregon Cascades. If you've never done canyoneering and want to get outside your comfort zone, I couldn't recommend the activity and this company enough. It's a great mix of hiking, rappelling, and scrambling. Lindsay and I have used them on two separate occasions and they've been two of our favorite days of vacation. Ever.
Here's a link to their Oregon site:
http://www.cascade-canyoning.com/
The canyoneering company we've used to guide us in Moab, Desert Highlights, sent out an email to past customers announcing their expansion into guiding in the Oregon Cascades. If you've never done canyoneering and want to get outside your comfort zone, I couldn't recommend the activity and this company enough. It's a great mix of hiking, rappelling, and scrambling. Lindsay and I have used them on two separate occasions and they've been two of our favorite days of vacation. Ever.
Here's a link to their Oregon site:
http://www.cascade-canyoning.com/
Lindsay after falling in a sinkhole in Granary Canyon, October 2008
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Better Late Than Never
In late December shortly before embarking on this journey I made the very important decision to change the address on my Outside magazine subscription to the new Indian address. I really had no expectations as to whether it would ever arrive; in fact, I had forgotten I had made that very important decision.
Fast forward from that cold December day to this hot July morning when the phone rang and Lindsay was told that a courier was coming up to the apartment. Having no idea what might be delivered and not expecting anything, you can imagine my surprise when the July issue of Outside was the package. I mean, sure, it took seven months for the change of address to take effect, but who am I to complain?
As you can tell, it doesn't take much to entertain me, but an unexpected piece of home (even something as mundane as a magazine) can do just that.
Fast forward from that cold December day to this hot July morning when the phone rang and Lindsay was told that a courier was coming up to the apartment. Having no idea what might be delivered and not expecting anything, you can imagine my surprise when the July issue of Outside was the package. I mean, sure, it took seven months for the change of address to take effect, but who am I to complain?
As you can tell, it doesn't take much to entertain me, but an unexpected piece of home (even something as mundane as a magazine) can do just that.
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Most Disturbing Breath Mint Commercial Ever
Over the weekend I saw perhaps the most disturbing television commercial I've seen while in India. It's for a product called Chlor-Mint, which I gather is some sort of mouth freshener, though you'd be hard-pressed to learn what the product actually is from simply watching the thirty second spot. Of course, it's also in Hindi, so there's a chance something is missed in translation. Here's my best effort to recreate the advertisement for your viewing pleasure:
A bus carrying a sports team of some sort of teenage girls is stopped on the road by a herd of Holstein cattle and a herdsman in traditional Indian dress. There is nothing odd about the cows except that they have a third horn protruding from the middle of their head. The girls have some sort of heated conversation with the herdsman. The herdsman decides that the cows need some of the mints and proceeds to skillfully toss a mint into each of the cows' mouths. He then starts to milk a cow, removes the middle horn from one of the cow's head, and returns to the cow's utter, only to get soft-serve ice cream rather than milk. He turns the removed horn upside down and begins to serve soft-serve ice cream to the team of stranded girls. Everyone is happy. The End.
I don't even know what to say, what to ask, or why it any way promotes a breath mint. I do know, that whenever it came on the rest of the weekend, that I was strangely riveted by the fact that (1) someone actually thought of this and (2) someone actually produced it.
A bus carrying a sports team of some sort of teenage girls is stopped on the road by a herd of Holstein cattle and a herdsman in traditional Indian dress. There is nothing odd about the cows except that they have a third horn protruding from the middle of their head. The girls have some sort of heated conversation with the herdsman. The herdsman decides that the cows need some of the mints and proceeds to skillfully toss a mint into each of the cows' mouths. He then starts to milk a cow, removes the middle horn from one of the cow's head, and returns to the cow's utter, only to get soft-serve ice cream rather than milk. He turns the removed horn upside down and begins to serve soft-serve ice cream to the team of stranded girls. Everyone is happy. The End.
I don't even know what to say, what to ask, or why it any way promotes a breath mint. I do know, that whenever it came on the rest of the weekend, that I was strangely riveted by the fact that (1) someone actually thought of this and (2) someone actually produced it.
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