Traveling to Turkey has been an adventure full of surprises. I’m from the Midwest next to the Great Plains region, and before this I had never seen a mountain range in my life. Turkey’s high cliffs, hot sandy beaches, and dusty powdered earth are a change. Lots of the terrain is foreign to me. However, through this program I have learned to see the beauty inherent to the Turkish landscape and appreciate its unique vibrancy. One thing that is familiar is the heat: temperatures over 95 degrees with high humidity can be very unpleasant to some, but they remind me of home in Missouri. I live right next to the Mississippi River so the conditions are remarkably similar. Gazipaşa is a city very much like my hometown, with people very much like those I grew up with.
The Turkish people I’ve met over the course of this week have taught me that Gazipaşa is a city full of individuals. Each student has a different approach to life: different tastes in music, clothing, food, and religion. Turkish Culture manifests as something different for everyone. However, one commonality I have noticed has been that every friend — and stranger— treats me kindly and encourages me to learn Turkish. I’ve been made to feel so welcome here, and I truly appreciate that effort even if I often fail at proper pronunciation (Teşekkürler, Türkiye!)
I’ve already learned a lot at the dig site this week. Not everything we find is valuable to archaeological research: decontextualized (surface level) artifacts cannot be used in argument. I also learned that the architectural features of a building can give insight into how it was constructed. Director Hoff’s talk put everything into perspective; five grueling days of work so far are little in comparison to more than a decade of hard work. I’m truly excited to begin excavation on Monday.
If I had to communicate my first impressions of Gazipaşa to a prospective student, I would say two things. Firstly, be prepared for hard work. Secondly, expect to eat strange foods. Be afraid of neither option. Moving to a foreign country is scary — all familiar items are left at home, you’re forced to trash your favorite shampoo at the airport, and your sleep schedule is 8+ hours behind the curve. But every struggle is worth it. Our work is hard, so rewarding since it means so much to the people of this city. Traditional foods are strange to Americans in concept, but when we eat we share cultures and discover brand new things. My new favorite dish (Yayla Çorbasi) is something I never would have volunteered to try but I ate it here and it was fantastic. Jump headfirst into the new experience, and remember to reapply your sunscreen! Once again I’d like to say: thank you, Türkiye.