I can hardly believe the week has gone by so fast, it seems like I just wrote my last blog post! I have been learning a lot, about both archaeology and the Turkish culture. We’ve been finding more and more things at the site every day, and we are finally getting to the point of visual progress in our trench, which is really exciting. It makes the work somewhat easier when you can see that you are actually moving forward and not just moving random rocks and roots. One of my favorite parts of the week was our visit to Alanya, the larger city to the West of Gasipasa. It was very interesting visiting the museum and learning more about the history of the Cilician region outside of Antiochia. We went to the castle after, and it was amazing to see people living amongst the ancient ruins. I loved looking through the little shops and cafes along the main road, all the while being able to see the gorgeous view of the Alanya harbor and beach down below. Afterwards, and few other students and I stayed and explored the city, which mostly involved searching for where to catch the bus. But, along the way we found some delicious sandwiches and coffee so it made the searching worthwhile. It was interesting seeing all of the tourists in Alanya compared to Gazipasa. So many more Turkish people spoke English, as well as a variety of European languages, in order to cater to the tourists. Nearly all of the shops on the main road and beach road were geared towards tourists, and it wasn’t until we wandered further into the city looking for the bus that we got to see the other side of Alanya, which reminded me of a bigger version of Gazipasa. It was nice to get out of my comfort zone of the dig house and Gazipasa and see a new side of Turkey in Alanya. I am really looking forward to our trip to Antalya this weekend!
