Welcome to Turkey!

FIRST WEEK IN ADANA!

Well, thanks for dropping by! This is a new blog about my life in Adana, Turkey. I will try to update often and regale you with lively stories of the craziness that I experience in this extremely chaotic and interesting place.


Let’s start at the very beginning shall we. I went to the airport with my boyfriend Jung Woo and that was pretty much terrible. We cried and cried and made fools of ourselves. We have only been together for 4 months but within those 4 months we have grown extremely close and truly love one another deeply so needless to say, saying good bye to all those memories and connections was difficult. Luckily, we had two wonderful friends Andrew and Fahad who volunteered to come to the airport with us and see Jung Woo back home so he would have someone to talk to and not be alone. THANK YOU GUYS!


The flight was thankfully uneventful as I left at midnight I mercifully slept most of the way. I was constantly updated on Shik Sa’s well being and comfort and was ensured he was doing well. I got to see firsthand when he was loaded onto the plane in Istanbul how well the staff took care of him. The talked to him and got him out of his crate and allowed him to walk around and do his business before loading him onto the plane.


When we arrived we were greeted by my new boss man and a school driver.
My first impressions driving through the city were “WOW! OK this isn’t exactly what I was expecting!” I knew it would not be ultra modern like Seoul but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so rural and developing! I have always wondered what it would be like to live in developing country – I have visited many – and now it seems I will know. My apt however, is like an oasis in the desert! A huge monolithic resort complete with pool, balconies and busy workers. Needless to say, it is quite a contrast to the surrounding area. I am excited to get out and explore the area though. I am sure there is a lot going on beneath.


The week was spent shopping for furniture, unpacking, cleaning, and exploring the cuisine. I am now extremely familiar with the mall! I must admit I did eat at a Sbarro but only because it had been so many years since I had had it that I justified it as a foreign food. So far the Turkish food seems to be very delicious but also very same same. I am sure once I get deeper into the society I will learn all about the loveliness that is Turkish Cuisine.

Now on to more exciting tales of adventure & intrigue!

1. The old run around


The first adventure was going to get my boxes from the airport. What an ordeal! I thought Korean bureaucracy was bad but lord almighty is Turkish worse!!! We (the driver and assistant assigned to me and I) set off to the airport cargo hold where we found my boxes. We were then told we need to go to an agent’s office and get the paper work and pay any fees. Great, where’s the agents office? 15 minutes down the road. So into the van we went. At the agents office we were greeted at the door by a very familiar sight in Turkey the NAZARS – amulets to ward off the evil eye! This was not a good sign since the ENTIRE WALL of the place was absolutely COVERED in them! A bad omen of things to come. We paid the fee received the paperwork, were given instructions on what to do and headed on our way. Little did we know this is where the adventure would begin.

We arrived back at the cargo hold show them the paper work only to be told we had to get a customs clearance. OK, where’s customs – another 15 minutes down the road! So into the van we go. Get to customs and it seems as if no one has ever seen, heard of, has any knowledge of, or participated in the receiving of boxes before. For 2 hours, 2 HOURS! We walked every square inch of the place looking for the right stamp. “No! No! go to the next window.” “No that office is upstairs.” “Nope not here. I don’t know where!?!?!” This is where I got a real sense of Turkish business practices. Pushing, shoving, yelling, throwing papers in front of others, explaining over and over only to be told the next window…Finally 15 minutes before lunch we found the right office got the stamp and were ushered into another office. We were then told we would need some sort of letter. Where do we get this letter? ………… Luckily, it was down the hall. We walked into the room and it was like stepping back in time. There was ONE computer from TANDY!!!! Flipping TANDY ya’ll. If you don’t know Tandy – it was the Radio shack brand of computers. Very cheap, very poorly made, very – as my friend Brian says – low budget! The thing had a GREEN SCREEN! A GREEN SCREEN!!!!!!! When was the last time you say a computer with a green screen? It’s like seeing someone walking down the street with a telephone the size of a large basketball players shoe attached to a briefcase. Next to said ONE computer with a green screen was a series of typewriters, each from a different decade. The earliest being around the time of prohibition. We got the only one available - THE LAST ONE. Yes, I do believe Charles Dickens wrote his novels on something very similar. It was massive! And the woman typing for us was clearly trained by a Kung Fu Master as she attacked the buttons with the force of a sledgehammer. One button at a time. Honestly, I don’t speak Turkish and I think I would have been a faster typist. But the best part came when I was asked what my address was and I pulled out my I Touch. Seeing those two devises next to each other made everyone cackle with laughter. It was like seeing a model T next to the Jetson’s car. We laughed for hours. I mean we had them to spend. Finally the boxes were released and all it took was going back to the original place we started and talking to someone different. OF COURSE!



2. Roses, lakes and my boy


Facebook is a wild and wonderful world. I recently – yesterday – discovered/remembered I had Turkish “friends” I had taught while teaching in Australia. On a lark I thought I would see if any of them were in Adana and lo and behold 3 of them were! So I contacted them and one replied immediately. We made plans to meet that evening and he was going to take me to his favorite lung kebab place. LUNG? YES! Apparently! Fortunately for me they were out so we just got the regular kind. I have since learned it might not actually be lung but more like intestines. Not sure which is better really! Anyway, the meal was wonderful and it was next to a large lake that was nice. After eating we went to a smallish island in the middle of the lake to sample Adana’s most famous desert Bici Bici (pronounced biji biji). The bici bici came and was very interesting! It was shaved ice with powdered sugar, bananas, and small square jellies in rose water. I have to say it was delicious. Like eating a liquefied Turkish Delight! The small cart and seating were right on the lake. It was quite romantic and made me miss my boy A LOT! The adjustment has been hard for both of us. I miss him terribly and think about him at every step. He is suppose to becoming to visit before the end of the year and I can’t wait to bring him here!



3. The bathhouse


Today I meet my new boss man and had breakfast at a very nice Turkish Buffet Breakfast place. The building was very modern and beautiful. The buffet was a fascinating but ultimately satisfying mix of Turkish and Western breakfast cuisines. The atmosphere made the food even better. After chatting and eating and relaxing I decided I would like to take in a Turkish bath. Now I have always heard of Turkish baths and I am a huge fan of saunas back in Korea so I thought it would be nice. The weather I might add is 104 F with 100% humidity but sweating inside or outside – you’re going to sweat, might as well make it an adventure!
The hamam – or bathhouse I went to was build on top of another bath house that was “reportedly” used by Alexander himself – YES, THAT Alexander! This one was build in 1682.

Upon entering you walk into a room that looks like a medieval castles drawing room. It has a very high domed ceiling with medium sized squares cut into it to let the light in. A massive iron chandelier with is unfortunately now fitted with halogens. On the back and left side of the walls are what looked like baseball locker room change rooms. A large wooden covered patio with hooks on the back wall. Small rugs were evenly placed for people to sit. Above this was a rather precarious looking wooden walkway that looked like it had been build when the hamam was. I was escorted to a locker and handed a swath of fabric. Unlike Korea you are in no way shape, form, or fashion allowed to be naked. Muslim men are not allowed to view other naked men. I changed, was then escorted to the supply shop and given shampoo, then taken to the bathroom. The bathroom was original and kind of cool! I was next lead into the shower room.

Another slightly small dome, but had small round holes cut into the stone to let in beams of light and give it some character. In this room were modern showers, a cold pool and small niches for bathing. These niches consisted of a small marble seat & a marble basin filled with water that ranged in temperature from, depending on when they were filled, center of the sun to arctic snow. The niches are all white marble with veins of grey and rust. When the light hits them they become luminous! A beautiful and awe inspiring place to bathe one ’s self. After being clean you walk into the last section. A great cavernous room all of the same white marble.
In the center of the room is a mammoth white octagon marble slab with small inlay of black tiles. This is directly under the largest dome yet. The light wafting through the circular holes was mind blowing and immediately brought you back to a time long ago and far away. It was the perfect effect for a newbie like me. For the first time really, I KNEW I was in a new place about to experience something quite familiar and yet foreign. You could instantaneously feel, see, and definitely smell, the places 400 + year old history.

I walked around and lead myself to the sauna room. A typical sauna made of wood. The stones were covered in lemon grass which gave the room an aroma that was a welcomed respite from the rest of the place. After sweating it out in there I ventured back out to the big room where Jabba the Hut’s older, hairier and slightly larger brother ordered me to lie down on the huge marble slab. I was then scrubbed from head to foot. I was expecting a Korean style scrub that barely leaves any skin on but despite his size he was remarkable gentle and yet thorough. He then took me over to a marble basin and washed my hair and face with lemon grass water. Did you know that when you get lemon grass up your nose and in your eyes, IT REALLY STINGS!!!!

He then passed me one to an ex mafia member who gave me my massage on a marble slab that was designed for this very thing. The massage was wonderful though some slight differences occurred from what I am used to. First, he mopped me down with soap. LITERALLY! He had a mop head and mopped me down with it. The bubbles bursting all over my skin was lovely and relaxed me even more. I was then massaged head to toe in a tender yet pressured knead. At the very end he sat me up and got behind me and gave me a head massage. Little did I know that his co-conspirator was sneaking up with a bone chilling, heart stopping, special place shriveling bucket of ice cold water to throw on me. The blood curdling scream that escaped from my mouth was only matched by the gales of laughter that exploded from theirs! I was then taken back to the basin and given warm water to wash off with. After relaxing some more on my own I was ready to leave. I went back out to the lobby and was quickly rushed over to one of the rugs, sat down and completely wrapped in towels. Head, chest, well you name it, it was covered with a towel. I felt like the Prince of Towellandia! I sat there “drying off” and then changed clothes, paid and left. I can’t wait to find another bath house and see what lies waiting for me there.

Stay tuned for more adventures and photos. Leave comments if you like!