My initial thoughts when coming to Turkey (besides the heat) were mainly about the beauty of the country. I come from a very flat part of the plains region in Minnesota, and this is the first time I have ever seen mountains, so they are just breathtaking for me. The first time I looked out over our dig site on the acropolis and saw the sloping countryside with the terraced farmland and the covering of shrubbery, I was amazed. The Mediterranean sparkled like gemstones in the sun far below, and when I turned around to look back at our site, two large yellow butterflies flew past, just inches from my face. Our site has an archaic beauty about it as well; it awes me to think that roughly a week ago I was back on my parent’s farm and now I am doing archaeology on top of a mountain in Turkey overlooking the Mediterranean.
Even simple things have the power to astound me. As much as I would love to make some kind of amazing find up on the site, I am more than happy to notice the little things that happen around me. This morning as I was taking my laundry off the clothesline on the balcony, I got to see the sun rise. Last night as I did yoga on the roof, I looked up to see the stars twinkling above. I’ve never seen so many stars in my life. One of my favorite things is to walk along the road into town and be greeted by farmers in their fields, and to call back a greeting to them.
In addition to the sights, I never tire of hearing the sounds here, most notably the call to prayer. This past week, I think I have only used an alarm clock once. The other days, the call to prayer has served as my wake up call. By using my extensive knowledge of Arabic (actually just some quality time with Google) I learned that one of the phrases that is sung during the pre-dawn call to prayer is As-salatu Khayrun Minan-nawm,which translates to Prayer is better than sleep. Even though I am not waking up to pray, it seems fitting that that is what is said as part of the morning call.
Even though I have only been here in Gazipasa for a few days, I am enchanted by the lifestyle here and the beauty of the land- and soundscapes here in this part of the world. Though I know it sounds clichéd, I can already tell that my life will be forever changed by this trip and the experiences I am lucky enough to be able to have by being here.