When I first arrived in Gazipaşa, I found the idea of spending over four weeks here a bit daunting. It is both the farthest I’ve been from home and the longest I’ve ever been away. However, I very quickly became quite comfortable here, and despite a fairly persistent feeling of homesickness, I find myself incredibly sad to be leaving. I’ve met so many wonderful people here and done so many cool things; I firmly believe that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, especially for someone who is truly interested in history and archaeology.
There is so much I would like to say to any future participants. I mentioned this in a previous blog post, but one of the things I believe would have been helpful to me before coming here (and one of the things I was hoping to glean from previous blog posts myself) is a firm grasp of the actual daily schedule. Of course, there is a daily schedule included in the syllabus–which I highly suggest you actually read through–but it left me thinking that we would be working almost constantly for 10-12 hours a day. That could honestly just be a “me-problem,” but I’m including the daily schedule here in case it would be helpful for anyone else:
Important Note: This is the Monday-Friday schedule; weekends are always free, usually with an optional (but recommended) field trip offered on Saturday:
- 5:30 AM – Depart from Dig House
- Note: The bus will leave at exactly 5:30, and it will not wait for you. Don’t be late!
- 6:00 AM – Breakfast at Depot On-site
- Note: The bus ride from the Dig House takes about half an hour, so you eat breakfast immediately upon arrival to the site.
- Additional Note: You can go back for seconds so long as everyone else has gotten food.
- 6:30 AM – Begin Working
- Note: At the beginning of the day, you will take photos of your unit and record the elevation using the dumpy level. You will also take notes on all of this in your notebook, so you do not usually jump straight into the difficult physical work.
- 10:00 AM – Çay (Chai) Break
- Note: Make sure you bring a snack with you! Anything high in protein is great, as we do not tend to get a lot of protein from the meals here. I’m 100% sure that Patrick will mention this in his own blog post, but Fellas Protein Bars are a very good choice. Getting peanut butter to put on the bread (ekmek) is also smart. If you want something tasty to drink with your snack, I recommend the DİMES juice boxes; peach is the best flavor, but they are all good.
- 10:30 AM – Resume Work
- 1:00 PM – Lunch
- Note: This is the end of the work day on-site! A bus will drive you back uphill to the depot. Again, the bus will not wait for you, so don’t be late, or you will have to walk back up the hill yourself (which really sucks after a long day of digging).
- Additional Note: On Saturdays, lunch will usually be provided at the same time in the hotel (if there is not field trip), though this seems to vary a lot. Neither lunch or dinner is provided on Sundays. Again, you can go back for seconds so long as everyone else has gotten food.
- 1:45 PM – Leave the Depot
- Note: Again, do not miss the bus!
- 2:15 PM – Arrive Back at Dig House
- 2:30 PM – Work on Official Notebooks
- Note: The time of this may vary depending upon the wishes of your unit supervisor. Sometimes we did notebooks after dinner instead. However, I highly suggest that you ask to do them directly after arriving back at the hotel so that you can relax after dinner and still get to bed at a reasonable time. Also, this is a St Olaf students-only activity.
- Additional Note: If it is not a pottery washing or discussion day, you are free after this! Go out and explore the city! Robys Coffee House is perfect if you want a good drink and free WiFi. It’s literally right next to the hotel, and it’s the perfect place to write your blog posts because of the WiFi. The hotel does have WiFi, but only in the lobby, and it is very slow. Also, don’t worry if you are not a fan of coffee; they have a ton of other drinks and snacks. I recommend the Pineapple Berry Refresher and the brownies. If you want to go to an actual restaurant that is right near the hotel, The Bistro or Cajun Corner are both great options. The Bistro is perfect if you’re going out with a larger group of people. Cajun Corner is great if you want to see Turkey’s approximation of American food (it’s not exact, but it is really good). If you want actual American food, there is also a Burger King, Popeyes, and Dominoes in the city. If you want ice cream (dondurma), Ice Berry is the best place to get it. They also have boba! Cikolata Evim (Chocolate House) has the best overall desserts, as well as really strong air conditioning. Finally, if you want to go to the beach, Bıdı Bıdı Beach is the best one in my opinion. Selinus Beach is also great, though it is much bigger, and the ocean floor is very rocky in some places. There is also a Beach Market right next to Selinus Beach that I highly recommend you visit if you enjoy shopping or want to get gifts for people. You can get hand-made items like jewelry and bags for extremely cheap prices.
- 3:00 PM – Begin Pottery Washing (Tuesdays and Thursdays only)
- Note: The time of this may change for you. Pottery washing was originally at 5:30 for us, but one of the volunteers petitioned for it to be earlier in the day so that people would not have to shower twice (once after digging and once after washing). I highly encourage you to do the same, as it is very difficult to find time to relax with pottery washing later in the day. Also, we were told that pottery washing could occur on other days of the week as well if necessary, though this never happened to us.
- Additional Note: I suggest getting to pottery washing early so that you can claim one of the two tables instead of sitting on the ground (your back will thank you).
- 5:00 PM – Finish Pottery Washing (Tuesdays and Thursdays only)
- Note: Pottery washing always officially lasts two hours, but you have to finish washing whatever is in your bag regardless of the time, so I suggest picking a smaller bag to wash if it is getting closer to 5:00 (or whatever time you end at).
- 7:00 PM – Dinner
- Note: Again, neither lunch nor dinner is provided on Sunday.
- Additional Note: Again, you can go back for seconds so long as everyone else has gotten food.
- 7:30 PM – Discussion (Mondays only)
- Note: The discussion revolves around the week’s readings (which you really should do, as they provide a lot of helpful context for everything you’re doing). It usually lasts around half an hour. This is a St Olaf students-only activity, though everyone is welcome.
That is just about everything you will do in a day! However, here are some various other pieces of advice that I wish I had going in:
- You have to bring your own water to site. I recommend bringing 4 litres to start. You can get 1.5 liter plastic bottles in most of the convenience stores. You can also find a gallon plastic jug if you prefer that. You will quickly learn how much water you need to drink, so bring whatever you need.
- You will not have access to a fridge while here, so do not bring or buy anything that needs to be refrigerated (unless it is medication).
- The water from the Dig House fountains is cool but not cold. If you want cold water, you can buy normal plastic bottles in the lobby for 10 lira each.
- There is only one outlet in the dorm room, and it is in the bathroom for some reason. You can get extension cords at Salı Pazarı (but you should bring an adapter from home).
- LOOK AT THE PACKING LIST PROVIDED BY THE SUPERVISORS!!!!
- If you have glasses, consider getting/bringing contacts. Your glasses will get very dirty while digging, and you will not be able to see well if you want to go swimming.
- If you have glasses but do not have contacts, Merrick recommends getting sunglasses that you can put over your glasses. He got them from Amazon and says that it’s the best $15 he ever spent. Of course, you can also bring prescription sunglasses, which is what I did, but they are expensive enough that I rarely felt comfortable wearing them (certainly not while digging).
- Bring goggles, even if you don’t usually swim with them. The water here is clear, and you will want to see the bottom. You can also buy them in the city.
- Bring lots of sunscreen. You can buy sunscreen here, but I cannot speak to its effectiveness. If you are someone who can usually go without sunscreen, I recommend wearing it anyway; the Mediterranean sun is an entirely different beast here than it is in America.
- Be careful with the amount of clothes you bring. Doing laundry is difficult, as everyone in the Dig House must share two washers (one of which consistently broke while we were here). You want to make sure that you have enough clothes to last you through the week, as it is unlikely you will have an opportunity to wash your clothes more frequently than that.
- You don’t need to bring too many dig clothes (especially shirts), as you can buy clothing for quite cheap at Salı Pazarı. You don’t want your dig clothes to be anything you’re particularly fond of, as you will never get the dirt out of them.
- Almost none of the toilets here are made to flush toilet paper. You need to use the bidet and then use the toilet paper only to dry, which allows you to put it in the garbage bin instead of flushing it down the toilet (you will likely screw up the plumbing if you flush the toilet paper).
- This is mentioned in the packing list, but plan to buy most of your toiletries at Salı Pazarı. They are very cheap, and there is no reason to let American toiletries take up space in your suitcase.
- If you ever don’t feel like walking into the city after a long day of digging, the taxis are quite cheap. 200 lira (~$6) can get you just about anywhere.
- Lastly, this is going to seem obvious, but if you have any pre-existing injuries, deal with them as much as possible before coming here. You will be doing a lot of walking and manual labor, and the last thing you want is to be in pain the whole time (trust me).
Apologies for the long-winded advice. When doing something like this, it is far better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. That being said, I would absolutely do another archaeological excavation, especially knowing what I know now. The work is difficult, but I do not think it could be more rewarding. There is something special about digging an artifact out of the ground knowing that you are the first person to touch it in hundreds of years, even if it is a simple pottery piece. More than anything else, however, archaeology gives you a new perspective on people. The things you pull from the ground were once owned by someone just like you. In the same way you take a sip from your water bottle, they took a sip from the glass lip you just found. My most memorable experience while digging was just that–finding the lip of what was likely a glass cup. It made the history and the people’s whose lives we are studying feel real.
I have learned a tremendous amount in the month I have spent here. One of the best discussions we had was on the role of nationalism in archaeology and how it affects Turley specifically. I had never before considered how a country could use archaeology to define itself on its own terms and how it could become a tool of nation-building. That discussion helped contextualize why we are here and why we are allowed to dig. I also learned that Lara Croft is actually an atrocious archaeologist, and should probably not be allowed within fifty feet of an actual historical artifact.
Overall, I am absolutely thrilled to have had this opportunity. If given the chance, I would return in a heartbeat (though preferably after getting my knee fixed). I hope the advice in this blog post was helpful for someone. If you happen to be a future participant, I wish you luck! You are going to have so much fun! 🙂