I am sitting in a small internet cafe on the Greek island of Lesvos' capital city, Mytillini with the hot mediterranean sun pouring onto my keys encouraging speedy typing so as not to burn my fingertips. I have just come from Eresus, the hometown of ancient poetess, Sappho (Sap-Foh). The small town sits directly on the sea with only a very distant island varely visible in the clear sky on the horizon. Our hotel was literally steps away from the sea and sandy beaches. We hiked up to the old ruins of Sappho's house and it was not only awe-inspiring to sea but the view from atop the hill allowed us an eagle-nest view of all of Eresus. It was hard for me to keep in the forefront of my mind that this was a place of ancient people and places--Sappho lived in approx 500 B.C. All around me was this feeling of age and wisdom; the hills have seen things I couldn't even dream of, that probably none of my ancestors ever have. It was very humbling and I am looking forward to seeing Ephesus back in Turkey where, I am sure, very much of the same feelings will surface if not with more intensity as that is an ancient city from 3,000 + years ago. But, how did I come to find myself on Lesvos, Greece?
Myself and my two friends, Maggie and Lizzie arrived in Istanbul, Turkey on September 16th in the morning after a 10-hour airplane ride where we indulged in such frivolities as watching the "Hannah Montana Movie" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and, let's not forget the free Bloody Mary's! Maggie's cousin, Krista, and her husband, Kamil, picked us up from the Ataturk airport with their darling 4 (almost 5) year old daughter, Nur (pronounced NORE). Without even having a chance we were whisked into Isanbul's old cities and winding roads. It was exquisite and Istanbul has become easily one of my favorite cities in the world that I have visited.
Home to 18-20 million people (this number is argued so I will just go with the approximate) it spans for miles and when you first catch a glimpse of it it really does go on forever. All around the city are beautifully constructed Mosques that stand out from far away. Every day, six times a day, the prayer calls are heard from each Mosque as a call to pray. It is magical. Even the 6am call has been like music to me. It is a culture that I am coming to respect more so than I did before, and wanting an even greater understanding of as I am realizing the huge misconceptions that the world has of the Muslim people and their culture and religion. We were only in Istanbul very briefly, but were able to go into the Aya Sophia (Hagia Sophia) and the Blue Mosque, very famous buidings. We also were there for the end of Ramadan and each evening at Iftar (the time at dusk when people break their fast) we were able to be at the festivities and saw the Underground Cistern and Hippodrome.
A bus to Ayvalik and the island of Cunda was shortly thereafter and several days spent on the beautiful beach island. I have many more stories but am limited on time so I have to cut this short. Before I go though, a note about the title: not only is Turkey really the "cat's meow" in all of that hip and awesome-ness...but it literally has more stray cats and dogs than ANY other place (aside from Lesvos) that I have been to. They are EVERYWHERE and very calm and friendly, for the most part. So, lots of interesting and adorable (someone freaky) cat pictures will be available upon my return.
Many well wishes to you all and I hope to write again soon. Tomorrow we head back to Ayvalik to catch a bus to Izmir than up to Selcuk to see Ephesus. Then the following day to Karabuk and the black sea for a few days before back to Istanbul. 11 days remain.
I hope this finds you all well and I can't wait to share photos!
Much love--Heather
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