Christmas & New Haircut

Christmas Eve

My roommate Alex loves Christmas, and we have been playing Christmas carols in our house for the past two weeks. I was equally looking forward to a church service on Christmas Eve at the St. Paul’s Cultural Center in Kaleiçi. The service included singing, storytelling of the Three Kings, candle lighting for hope and peace, and a sermon about the miracles of letting stars guide you. I was touched to learn about the church’s efforts in assisting Syrian refugees in Antalya. Alex and I both signed up to get involved with this initiative. After the service, we enjoyed hot cider and Christmas cookies, and mingled with English-speaking expats from around the world. During this time, I made a unique connection. Pastor Dennis apparently worked at Wheaten College when Dr. Luke Cutherell studied there. Dr. Luke is my family doctor and close friend from Pakistan; I was born in his Bach Christian Hospital. What a small world! Who would have thought my two worlds, Pakistan and America, would come together in Antalya, Turkey? It’s as if my personal statement goals are becoming a reality…

Christmas Day

I’m sure Christmas was not the same for Alex, but we had a pleasant day nonetheless. She got to talk to her family a lot via technology, so that helped bridge the distance of being away on this holiday. We spent December 25^th at the hairdresser and Kaleiçi…

From raven black to ombré caramel hair. Time for change!

This year has been filled with adventures, and in this adventurous spirit, on Christmas Day, I decided to dye my raven black hair to ombré caramel. For those unfamiliar with hair styles, "ombré" means going from darker to lighter as the hair grows out. I first dyed my hair one tone lighter than black, so a super dark brown color. Now, my rich, dark brown hair flow down into a warm caramel brown/yellow. Change can sometimes be a tough transition, but I welcome this change with open arms, especially with 2016 around the corner. Cheers for new beginnings!

Christmas dinner with expat in Antalya.

Later that evening, Alex and I met up some friends for a nice dinner by the harbor in Kaleiçi. I had a çipura (bream) fish for dinner and Alex had curried shrimp, both of which were very fresh and delicious. We met these friends on a Facebook “Expats in Antalya” group. These ladies were from Ireland, Canada, USA, and Tunisia. The girl from Ireland, Grace, is interested in becoming our third roommate, so we will see what happens with that. When we got home that evening, Alex surprised me with a Christmas present. I was totally not expecting this! She gifted me pastel paints, paint brushes, and drawing paper and said to me: “Remember that day you stared at the sky and said ‘I know exactly how I would paint these clouds?’ Well, now you can.” How thoughtful! She knows painting is my childhood hobby and I don’t give it much time or attention; but now that I have supplies, maybe I’ll give the paintbrush a few strokes. Maybe I’ll paint a few landscapes from Turkey and bring them back to the USA with me. Overall, it was a lovely Christmas Day.

Weekend After Christmas

With some of our newly-made friends from the St. Paul Cultural Center, Liz, Alex and I attended the “Nutcracker” ballet on Saturday, a day after Christmas. Our friends kindly picked us up, and we drove to the theater, about a 15-minute drive. The new friends friends include an American girl, Nicole from Oregon, married to a Turkish man who spent 8 years in the USA, and their Turkish friend who could not speak English. It’s a nice group. The ballet was beautiful—there was more dancing than the story plot, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I really loved the props on the stage and the orchestra playing in the pit. It was a perfect activity for Christmas spirit. For those unfamiliar with the Nutcracker, here’s a short synopsis stolen from Wikipedia:

Watched the "The Nutcracker" ballet after Christmas.

“The Nutcracker and the Mouse King is a story written in 1816, by E. T. A. Hoffmann in which young Clara Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.”

On Sunday, we invited our Pakistani family to our house for a dinner meal. I am so blessed that these people are in my life; they are such a lovable, enjoyable, and caring group of people. I met this group through Suhaib Bhai, whom I met at Akdeniz University one day. The group includes: married couple Adnan Bhai and Madiha Bhabi—they usually host dinner at their house—and their one-month old daughter, Auj; Qasid Bhai from Swabi doing a Master's in Turkey; Saba from Rawalpindi, a recent high school graduate studying for her bachelors at Akdeniz; four artists Khadija, Nasneen, Usman, and Zainab who are doing a semester abraod from their master's program in Pakistan and specializing in various art forms such as carpet making, painting, and pottery. Typically once a week, we gather at Adnan Bhai’s house to enjoy a home-cooked Pakistani meal and play Ludo, which can become aggressive at times because we have many competitive players, myself included. We split the costs of groceries at the end, so that they do not have to foot the bill every time. I love spending time with such warm company. Alex and I are also learning to make delicious Pakistani dishes from the ladies in the group, which I’m sure my mom is happy about. Alex is even picking up Urdu phrases such as "aja aja" which means "come come" and can count up to 6 (because the Ludo dice have 6 sides). We've also learned to make sweets, such as Gulab Jamun, whose recipe will be posted on the next blog post...stay tuned!

With our Pakistani family at Adnan Bhai's house.

Merry Christmas to friends and family back home! And Happy New Year to friends and family around the world!

Republic Day & Aşure

Long Weekend: October 28-29, 2015

At Mark Antalya on Republic Day with Lily and Alex.

Another weekend, another adventure. School week was short this week due to Republic Day. October 29^th is Turkey’s Independence Day, and in observance, school ended early on Wednesday, and was closed on Thursday and Friday. Election Day was also conveniently scheduled for Sunday, October 31^st. Alex and I rejoiced for the long weekend because we needed to hunker down and study for our first Turkish exam scheduled for Monday, November 2^nd; however we ended up spending majority of the weekend entertaining our friend Lily from Konya, who came down to visit us for the weekend.

In front of Hadrian's Gate.

On Thursday, we took Lily to Kaleici. Every time we go to Old City, we see another part of it, which is actually quite exciting for me personally because I love being a tour guide. Those who knew me at Bowdoin know how much I love tour guiding. I had been dying to see Hadrian’s Gate, and on this trip, we finally found it! Hadrian’s Gate is a triumphal arch, which was built in the name of the Roman emperor Hadrian, who visited the city in the year 130.
 

Aşure delight (Noah's Pudding).

On Friday, our lovely university representative Meltem invited us to her house for a tea party. She made aşure (pronounced “ashoo-ray”), which is a dessert cooked especially during Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is similar to Noah’s Pudding in that it is a mixture consisting of grains, fruits, dried fruits and nuts, topped with pomegranate seeds and coconut. It was very delicious! Meltem Hanim also baked a yellow cake and scrumptious cookies. Asli brought her mother’s famous mercimek kofte (lentil meatballs), which were also enjoyed by everyone. All our colleagues were at this party and it was nice to relax at a home-style gathering.

Side & Temple of Apollo

Saturday, October 18, 2015

Touched a camel!

It was such a joy to host our Fulbright friend, Sarah Khalbie, this weekend. She has so much energy; she’s charismatic; and she’s such a lively spirit. She is not afraid of befriending strangers, making new friends, and taking risks. We needed a little bit of Sarah this weekend, and we are so glad she was able to visit Antalya before weather starts to cool down.

On Saturday, Sarah, Elizabeth, Alex and I visited the historical city of Side (pronounced “sea day”), which is the ancient name for the fruit pomegranate. After 1.5 hours on the bus, we reached the ancient ruins. First thing we did was drink freshly squeezed nar juice (Turkish for pomegranate).

Selfie in front of the ancient ruins.

There were broken Ionic, Corinthian, and Doric columns everywhere. I felt like I was walking inside a world history book. In high school, when I took AP World History, I never thought I would “live through” the Greek and Roman empires. It was so special to walk through the ruins and realize that ancient rulers occupied this very land. It is said that Alexander the Great occupied this city-state and introduced the people of Side to the Hellenistic culture, which flourished in arts and sciences from the 4th to the 1st century BC.

After some really great model-esque shots in the ruins, we relaxed at the beach. Sarah, Elizabeth, and Alex spent a lot of time in the water; I read a good book on the sand, as I cannot swim (hope to learn one day). At the beach, we ran into an American guy named Russ who recommended we eat at the Apollonic restaurant. So we packed up and marched towards the touristy area for food. 

Modeling in the ancient ruins.

We walked through the bazaar filled with shopkeepers luring us to buy their goods or check out their menus, just like the streets of Kaleiçi The sun was almost setting, so we picked up our pace and walked to the end of the Side peninsula, where we were taken aback by the gorgeous Temple of Apollo. Oh, it was a magnificent sight! Lights shone directly on the columns as it got dark, and tourist continued to snap photos with their Nikons and Cannons. I admired the beauty from afar: a deep blue sky served as the backdrop, a moon smiled from above, and the pillars stood still like models posing for paparazzi. The structure was so perfect with its cracks and brokenness, debris surrounding it, large stones casually lying around. It was picture perfect...see for yourself!

 

Elizabeth, Sarah, Alex, and myself at Side, an ancient city in Antalya.

Kaleiçi – The Old City

September 20-22th, 2015

Other Fulbrighters visit us in Antalya.

Because of the Kurban Bayram week-long vacation, Fulbrighters are traveling to all corners of Turkey and hitting as many cities as they possibly can before schools open. Given that Antalya is a hub spot for tourists, Alex and I drew a few visitors this past week. Having guests encouraged us to explore our own city and was a great excuse to start becoming accustomed to the complicated bus system.

A total view of Kaleiçi.

This post is dedicated to a beautiful part of Antalya known as “Kaleiçi” (c is pronounced as “ch”). Kaleiçi is the “Old City” with narrow streets leading to a grand harbor, smell of kebabs and fresh seafood following you everywhere you go, and shopkeepers using their scripted English to lure you in.

Here is a description of Kaleiçi from one of my brochures that describes the Old City better than I can:

“Kaleiçi (Citadel), the old city center of Antalya, combines the aesthetics of old and new, its charms surrounded inside and out by fortified walls. These walls, some of which have survived to this day, were built by the various civilizations that inhabited the city over a 2000-year period and there are 80 towers rising on them. Within the walls, the narrow streets that lead to the port, perfectly reflect the atmosphere of old Antalya. The ancient port of Kaleiçi is now used as a modern yacht harbor. The yacht harbor and old city together make a splendid view which has inspired numerous painters, writers, and poets.”

I was so happy to find spices at a Kaleiçi shop!

My favorite parts of exploring Kaleiçi were finding spice shops (the Pakistani in me!) and marveling at souvenirs ranging from beautiful scarves to intricate carpets to ceramic magnets to shiny key chains. I love shopping for gifts for friends and family, so the shopkeepers are lucky to have an eager tourist such as myself. I must admit, though, I do appreciate the times when Alex nudges me away from these shops because they can sometimes be a waste of time. We have already experienced shopkeepers trying to make conversation with us as we walk by and cajoling us into wandering into their shops. Alex and I scheduled a boat tour for our friends on Tuesday evening, and although it rained, it was a lot of fun.

I’ll end with just one other noteworthy experience. I call it “The Mysterious South Asian Beauty.” I have been asked the following question countless times at stores, restaurants, buses, and even in the streets: Are you Indian? Saying no would be letting them off the hook too easily; saying yes is just a lie. More often than not, I entertain the conversation and flip a question back to them: Where do you think I am from? This is hilarious but I kid you not, they reply with “India.” I shake my head in disapproval, with a smirk on my face, and ask them to try again. They squint their eyes, raise an eyebrow, and scratch their heads as if they have stumbled upon something so extraordinary that their eyes cannot believe it. I stare back at them, smiling and puzzled, thinking to myself: they are smart enough to know what an Indian woman looks like, but they cannot guess another country in all of South Asia? Unbelievable. When I finally put them out of their agony and reveal the mystery by saying “Pakistani,” a huge smile emerges on their faces, with what I think is both approval and awe. Çok güzel, they say, çok güzel. Very beautiful.

I have not seen any public butchering of goats yet, but if I do, I’ll be sure to provide the juicy details. Just kidding, I won’t be writing about any of that. I once witnessed a butchering of a goat as a child, and it was not a pleasant experience to say the least. I was unable to eat meat for a month or so. On that note, preemptive Eid Mubarak to those observing!

Historical Yivli Minaret and Clock Tower in the background.

At the famous Umbrella Street.