The Whirling Dirvishes

Many thanks to Sally Smith for sharing her drawings of the dervishes whom we met on our first night in Turkey.
The dervishes move from the crossed arm position, symbolizing being at one with Allah, to the whirling on an axis position with right hand facing up, left down, and head tipped to the side (over the heart).

Wikipedia states:

The Sema represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to the "Perfect". Turning towards the truth, the follower grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth, and arrives at the "Perfect". He then returns from this spiritual journey as a man who has reached maturity and a greater perfection, able to love and to be of service to the whole of creation.

Thanks, Jane!

Just wanted to send a thank you to Jane Hurd who wished us "soft landings" for the trip. We had 8 flights and every one of them was a soft landing!

Location:Boston

More parting thoughts

From Nancy Adams:
Far and away the best part of this trip was the fantastic group we traveled with ... 14 from Boothbay, 1 from Pittsburgh, and one from London, plus great travel guides.

From Doreen Dun:
Yes, traveling with Nancy (my roommate), Boothbay friends (old and new), AND my two Indian-American cousins was wonderful. Visiting Jerusalem was exciting, but the city's history is so tragic and its future so bleak that it almost feels wrong to laugh there, as Sally Smith said. We
spoke with more Palestinians than Jews (hardly any Jews -- although we TRIED to meet with some), and I came away with much concern for their future. Turkey is superb -- I'll leave it to other to tell why.

Location:JFK - NYC

Final Day

We started the day with a visit to three excavation sites of Ephesus. There are marvelous discoveries of homes and baths with indoor plumbing and central heating. Two huge theaters and a library dedicated to wisdom, character, knowledge and expertise.



The mosaics on walls and floors would be inspirational to the most demanding quilter.


We had lunch at a family owned and run restaurant which we all decided should be turned into a cooking school.


Next we visited a museum which houses many of the artifacts uncovered at these sites.


We ended the day at a rug workshop and a leather store where we we received tours, fashion shows, tea and wine, and most us succumbed to temptation. More to follow.

Busy, Long Day

Today we had a 5:30 wake up call to make our plane from Istanbul to Ismir. We are now on the Asian side of Turkey. When we arrived we headed to the Agora in Smyrna to see the excavations.





From there, we headed to a synagogue to talk with a rabbi about the life of his temple. The Jewish population is decreasing rapidly. I think he said that he has only about 12 regular worshippers.
On to a wonderful lunch of ground lamb kebobs, sadly followed by a motorcycle/auto collision right before our eyes. Mary and Wendy went to offer assistance, but they said they didn't have to do anything. Miraculously, after a bit of rest, this man we watched somersault in the air walked to the ambulance.

After lunch, we went to visit the excavations of Sardis, home to Croesus - a very rich and powerful Caliph who extended his realm in all directions, but went a bit too far when he crossed the river to the East and lost everything.









The mosaics here are phenomenal, and there is very little control over where you can go and what you can touch. Was Escher here?




Next we went to the Temple of Artemis where we were overwhelmed by the colossal columns and the views.










This brought us to sundown and a busride to our hotel featuring raisins, figs, and Ratki, courtesy of our guide, Ahmet. Our best hotel dinner yet and a walk by the water, and we are ready for rest.









Tomorrow is Ephesus!

Happy Birthday, Russ!

As we say farewell to Istanbul and head to Kusadasi, Russ said farewell to 58 in grand style.

Location:Istanbul

Iyi Bayramlar

Today is the beginning of the Feast of Sacrifice. We began our day by going to a mosque to observe worship. It was very crowded, so like many Muslims, we were in the courtyard listening. It was the first time we saw armed guards in Turkey and it made us wonder what the threats are to worship in a country with 99% Muslims. Perhaps just the crowds.

Location:Istanbul

The Blue Mosque

From Sally Smith:
There is no real way to describe how big this Blue Mosque is.



It is big, and its dome is covered inside with a lot of beautiful, blue ( and red and white) tiles. The size, color, and light combine here to create the same kind of magic and mystery that Gothic Cathedrals do. It is no wonder that people converted to Islam.



On the other hand, 1000 years before the Blue Mosque was built, in 533 AD, the Roman, and Christian, Emperor built the Hagia Sophia, or Santa Sophia Cathedral. Long before the Gothic Cathedrals, Hagia Sophia was built on compounded, round arches, painted with stories from the Bible, and dazzling people with its size and scale. It is no wonder that people converted to Christianity.

Today we build smaller churches, and taller buildings. But, as far as I'm concerned, nothing is quite as magical, and spiritual, as the light and color-filled Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque here in Istanbul.

Informing and confusing

So far, this trip to Israel and Turkey has informed my thinking AND confused it a great deal. For one, while in Israel, we heard a few times the Palestinian point of view in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a perspective that we do not easily hear in the Western news media. Stories of the wounds of the Nakba were fairly new to me, at least in terms of the humiliations some of the Palestinians suffered when told to leave their homes in 1948. Likewise, for those who remain in Israel, they are treated as second class citizens, lacking several basic rights, such as freedom to travel or equality of water lines. Some of our Muslim speakers describe their plight as being apartheid. The Wall is not following the Green Line and settlements in Palestinian territories continue being built by the Israeli government,  pouring salt on already existing wounds. 
Yet I am saddened that we have not heard clearly the Jewish view, particularly among those who wish for a peaceful resolution.
Particularly helpful, though, were those who spoke to us of the need for recognition by BOTH sides of their "wounded hurts," and yet also the imperative for both sides to move forward, to end acting as victims and to work for reconciliation. Hopeful signs of a few small groups attempting to work together ended our stay in Israel, yet a sense of futIlity remains with me.
The astounding beauty of the landscape of Istanbul is what has greeted us today, as we were totally amazed at the mosaic of colors, stones, historical layers, and architectural details of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Chora Church. Like the astounding Dome of the Rock in Israel, these architectural wonders continue to impress. 
Lastly, today, we saw a Roman cistern that was not only beautiful but an engineering marvel! How all that water was brought to the royal family (in the cistern we saw, but there were many in the city) was absolutely amazing, almost unbelievable!
Betty and Ted

Location:Istanbul

Museums and Bazaars

The day started with a tour of the amazing Hagia Sophia (Divine Wisdom). Our guide did such a wonderful job of shepherding us through the stories of the birth and life of Mary as depicted in the mosaics. We felt like we got the special inside stories. At one point, he started talking in Turkish, then explained that we had some hangers-on and he was getting rid of them by pretending it was not an English speaking tour. Next we visited the Cistern - an underground reservoir for the palace ... HUGE with recycled columns from other lands.

Ahmed took us for lunch (lentil soup, kebobs and baklava) then we went to the archaeology museum, where we saw the Alexander Sarcophagus, so named because it clearly shows Alexander with his lion helmet in battle.



and artifacts dating back to 900 BC! They had glass items from 100 BC. It amazes me that glass can survive that long without breaking.



We ended the day with a visit to the Grand Bazaar. Such a wonderful day. We are blessed to have this opportunity.



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Whirling Dirvish welcome

What a perfect beginning to our visit to Istanbul! A lovely dinner followed by a performance of the Whirling Dirvish. As a child, I was often referred to as a whirling dirvish, and I have always wanted to see them. We had an exclusive opportunity to meet with the dancers afterward to ask any questions we wanted. All of us were transported. Here is more information about the performance.

Drawing made by Sally Smith, fellow traveler.

Location:Istanbul

Happy in Turkey

We are in Istanbul! What a beautiful city! We arrived at the airport found all of our luggage (after a little search) and set out for the Old Town area where we saw the Hippodrome and the beautiful Blue Mosque. The columns of the Hippodrome were mostly brought from other conquered lands. One obelisk was brought from Egypt in AD 390, and has been standing in place for over 1600 years. It is astonishing when you consider the things we consider old in the U.S.
It seems everywhere we go we hear about the destruction of the crusaders.
Tonight we see the Whirling Dirvishes! I can't wait!!
P.S. This hotel has in-room WIFI!! I'm in heaven, and I'm not alone! Funky room detail: To turn lights on, you have to put your room key in a slot and leave it there. Good conservation technique, but it took us a while to figure it out. :>

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Shalom, Israel

Location:Ben Gurion airport
From Russ: favorite part of Israel is Jimmy the tour guide. He sure knows his Jerusalem!!

Shalom, Israel

Doreen:
Wonderful trip so far - beautiful vistas of Jerusalem - golden warm sunlight - excellent tours of the historic and archeological sites. Great conversations with group-mates on all sorts of topics: religion, deplorable US foreign policy, favorite books and places to visit, etc. Lots of laughter and good spirits despite some travel delays. 
One regret: too little contact with Israeli Jews' point of view. Result: I'm now a committed Palestinian supporter, without optimism (as one Palestinian Christian said) but with hope for a more peaceful, equitable future for the region.

Sorry to keep you waiting

Internet in Israel has been hard to come by. We're happy, well-fed, much traveled, more knowledgeable about this beautiful city, And, finally, ONLINE! I confess to going through Internet Withdrawal, and Bob, Sarah and I skipped out on one of the museum tours this afternoon to go off in search of an Internet cafe.





I'm hoping to get some articles from our fellow travelers over the next couple of days, but I will sketch out our steps thus far.

We arrived very late Monday night. Tuesday, we toured the Mount of Olives and part of the Old City, following the Holy Week path, through the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Upper Room (well, one LIKE it). On the Temple Mount we had an interview with an Imam who spoke about how welcoming they are to all people, and how they want to live in peace. He is Muslim, our guide is Christian, and it all sounded "right." But after talking with them, we have less hope for reconciliation.

This morning, on the bus, Sarah asked Jimmy (our guide, who seems to be a sub-mayor of Jerusalem from all the people who come to greet him from everywhere) whether he has hope. He stood up, looked sober, and said "this is why we live. You must have hope to live."

Today, we walked the 15 stations of the cross, following the path of Jesus from trial to crucifixion. We are traveling with two Hindu women who are always observing what a sad religion we have ... So much sorrow, grief, repentance. I have to read more about Hinduism.

Next, we visited the Israel museum, which has the most amazing 3D depiction of what the city would have looked like at the time of the 2nd temple. Assuming the first temple was Solomon's, this was largely rebuilt by Harod. This took 7 years to build.

Everything here is a "best guess" as Jerusalem has been destroyed so many times that nobody knows for sure. They have excavated many places, but the Muslim Council will no longer allow this exploration, and, in fact, blew up a great deal of what had been found. One good result was that the Jewish historians could sift through the rubble and found many artifacts that they might never have found with more careful practices.

Of course, the highlight here is the exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but I'm going to let others describe that for you.

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Location:Jerusalem