Whirling and Fairy Chimneys

Well, I thought my days of illegally sneaking into college dorms to sleep in a top bunk bed were over. Guess not. I think only for my sister would I now do this, and that is exactly who it was for.I stayed for two nights  in her already cramped dorm and spent a day exploring (getting lost) in Ankara. I enjoyed walking around the old winding streets and ended the day meeting another CISV friend for dinner. However, meeting her was definitely the challenge. I tried to ask a someone where the stature of Ataturk (the founder of modern Turkey) was by using phrases from Lonely Planet (suscessful) and impersonations of the statue (not successful). I ended up in the totally wrong place and then had to have my friend talk to a Turkish person on the phone near me to tell her where I was. This guy then took me to his kebab place and told me to sit until she came. So that's how I got to watch them make these donut like things that look amazing and are covered in syrup.

I had an amazing dinner with my friend Gamze who shared Southeastern Turkish food with me and told me about the Kurds because her husband comes from this region. It was amazing to learn she had many of the same preconceptions I did but after visiting there, she says it is much different and more developed than people make it out to be. Our waiter was also very concerned if I like the food and said I was the first foreigner to eat everything in the right order. I had no idea!

Deciding not to spend another night in the dorm, I took a bus to Konya to catch the next to the last day of the Melvana Wedding Feast Ceremony, better know as the whirling dervishes. Rumi (the founder of this very spiritual Muslim sect) died on Dec 17 and they considered this to be his wedding feast with Allah. There were lots of tourist and many of them prayed and seemed very moved in his masuloeum, a very beautiful building that has been turned into a museum. I went to the whirling ceremony in the evening which was packed and all in Turkish. Since I couldn't understand anything being said, I watch as they spun in a trance like state and hoped I myself didn't fall asleep!

After Konya, I headed to Cappadocia to meet my sister and one of her friends. We have had an amazing weekend here with unbelieveable views of fairy chimneys, exploring underground cities, hiking through a red rock valley and one of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen. It's a magical place, and sort of makes you feel like a hobbit walking through the tall pointed rocks that once housed thousands of people. We also met some very nice guys who worked in a souvenir shop, but gave us tea and lunch and told us about the area all out of being hospitable (traveling with two college girls who speak some Turkish is a big plus!).

Anyways, now I will take a night bus and wake up in Olympos on the Mediterrean coast!