We had switched hotels in favor of a handicapped-accessible room that I had lost at the Yasmak Sultan when we arrived a day later. The hotel we had on our last night in Istanbul was part of the same chain, Yasmak and only a block away. The new hotel was equally well staffed, and its bathroom made showering safer for me. Air-conditioning is over-done in hotels in the Middle East I would discover throughout my travels.
We found a great taxi driver, Ali Erkin, who drove us to the airport at a reasonable price. If you are traveling to or from Istanbul, I recommend emailing him at alierkin19@hotmail.com or telephoning him at 05334102664 . He also works at the Romance Hotel in the afternoons, so he is available for morning arrivals or departures, but he could also find another driver if you need taxis while he is working at the hotel. His taxi service is separate from the hotel. It is important that you only speak to him by mobile telephone or discreetly when he has a shift at the hotel. He speaks English very well,
Having secured our tickets for Iraq on the morning of our arrival in Istanbul, we found clearing customs very easy when we prepared to leave Turkey on Atlas Airlines. One disappointment was having to pay a baggage supplemental fee for our heavy luggage. Atlas is a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines. The service is excellent, but Turkish is the language you will need aboard the airplane. The flight to Erbil lasts 2 1/2 hours. I regret having taken a wheelchair with me to the Middle East; it is useless here. Nevertheless, everyone was very accommodating. When foreign travellers arrive in Erbil, they are screened for flu symptoms by some new device which tests the temperature of the forehead. My wheelchair, however, was taken by another traveler. The Bangladeshi who work at the airport haven't bothered to learn Kurdish or any other languages as far as I can tell, so they made no attempt to identify to whom the wheelchair belonged. Hosein explained to a Kurdish airport official that it was my chair and recovered it. Security throughout Kurdistan, Iraq is intense as I would discover. Travelers approaches the airport only by bus. The University of Duhok offical who met us at the airport for the two-hour drive to Duhok had to meet us at an external parking lot. After 45 minutes we finally learned that we need to board a bus to meet him. Once in the car we traveled through a very arid topographical region. Our driver stopped for delicious, refreshing water. We drove on a highway passing within 15 miles of Mosul, the Christian center for Iraq now populated by Baathists chased out of their southern Iraq home by the military. I learned that the Kurdish military has formed several perimeters around the region to control who leaves the region and to control violence. I would learn later how effective the Kurdish military is as they are everywhere on streets, at the homes of important officials, in stores, etc. I must say that I have never felt as safe as when I was in Duhok and Erbil.
Upon our arrival at the University we were introduced to Dr. Dawood Atrushi, Vice President for International Relations at the University of Duhok (UoD) - Kurdistan Region of Iraq. As is the custom, we were served tea and water. Hosein and I presented the domains of work of the Kurdish American Coalition for Friendship - Education, Economic Development and Infrastructure Improvement, and Human Rights. As the Education Team, Hosein and I were the first to arrive in Duhok followed by Dr. Nancy Boyer and Darlene Farnes who will teach at the university in July and August; Nancy and Darlene arrived just after Hosein and my departure from Kurdistan. In addition we hoped to prepare the way for the next two teams who would travel later in the summer.
Dr. Dawood hosted a luncheon at one of the city's premier restaurants, Malta. This is a msut visit reastaurant in the city. Duhok enjoys pleasant summer weather, so we opted to eat outside on tables arranged on an expansive lawn. The flies outnumbered the customers twenty to one and were determined to fly off with our food, so we moved indoors followed by one enormous and persistent pest determined not to be outsmarted. This buzzard-sized pest (I promise to limit my hyperbole to humorous images.) was promptly dispatched by a waiter using an electrified badmitton-sized racket. We consumed our delicious meal in peace. The traditional end to a meal is a yoghurt and water drink that is an acquired taste for many not raised in the region
We returned to the University's beautiful new Cultural and Social Center where we met key faculty and administrators. The main room on the lower floor is plushly furnished, marble floors, leather couches, rugs, paintings, and coffee tables where all users enjoy refreshments before getting down to work. The facility was almost empty since we arrived just in time for examinations. But as we were introduced to modern lecture halls, we can see that the University enjoys at least one facility equal to the world's most well-endowed universities. Once again photos... We were then joined by the university's president, Dr. Asmat Khalid,who escorted us to a beautiful second-floor reception room lined with plush couches and chairs. This room is palatial, and in this I am not being hyperbolic. We explained once again our plans for the summer to the president, and then were escorted to the dining hall where we served a regal meal including a local fish whose name I did not learn. Elevators have not made inroads in much of the Middle East apparently, and to the dismay of the handicapped, most offices and meeting erooms are on upper floors. Indeed to access the first floor almost always involves stairs. We continued our quest to meet more faculty with whom we could collaborate Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Ramadan of the Center for Democracy, Dr. Asma' Ameen Hussein, chair of the English Department, the evening faculty for the Kurdish Language Department and others. Seven meetings in seven hours always with the niceties of tea and water.
But the evening was not over. After leaving the university, we traveled with Hozin, our driver for the day, to his father's summer home where we were joined by family friends for tea and refreshments and conversation.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
June 7, 2009 Topkapi Palace
Another breakfast at the hotel preceded our venturing to the famed Topkapi Palace. Its commanding view of the Golden Horn and the Mrmara Sea are not yet visible at the entrance. Walking through the enormous gates whose sides are decorated with verses from the Koran in Persian calligraphy, we enter a long walkway toward the various buildings that remain of the once much larger palace. Our first stop is at a tree, Hosien is fascinated by trees, then a short walk to an exterior pavilion decorated in customary fashion. We pay the entrance to visit the Harem and enter a fortress to protect the wives and favorites of the many sultans who ruled from this palace site. The maze of walkways ensured that women were safely guarded at all times. Surely no interloper could escape without harm the army of guards who patrolled the walkways. The cells that comprise individual sleeping rooms are too numerous to count. We proceed down more enclosed corridors towards the sultan's private, plush quarters decorated wih mosaics, fine fabrics, stained glass windows, and carpets. Room after room reveals that the sultans enjoyed the state of the art plumbing and other comforts unavaible until much later to European and East Asian nobility. Once again photographs speak more eloquently than any writer of the majesty of these rooms.
Exiting the Harem, we entered the treasure rooms of the palace. Much of the famed treasure is perhaps now in other hands. Reports of the huge open baskets of pearls, emeralds and rubies plundered from India seem an illusion now. Even some of the other great Ottoman treasures are not on display. One wonders if they are traveling the world on exhibition. What is there is regal and demands a visit. We had been told that it would take two days to see the Harem and Topkapi Palace, but we managed it in one long morning. We walked to the on-site café for bottles of water. We would consume enormous quantities during our travels in the Middle East. The café offer a commanding view of the Golden Horn and the Marmara Sea somewhat concelaed by the afternoon's steamy haze.
We needed a rest from the morning's long walk so we stopped in an arbor cafe for another water or tea. Later we tried to secure a cab from the Palace, but the taxi drivers appeared unwilling to drive a short distance at exhorbitant prices to the shores of the Bosphorus where we would select a cruise along the Bosphorus. We walked out of this tourist zone and found a willing and honest driver. Once at the harbor we had several options that included a rapid, two-hour tour to a munincipally run 5-hour tour and other private tours on yachts. We selected the munincipally run tour that included a lay-over in a small touristy village where the Bosphorus pours into the Marmara Sea. My friend Murat had assured me that such a cruise was NOT to be missed. In this he is abundantly wise. Anyone who visits Istanbul without taking such a cruise has cheated himself of a visual feast perhaps unparalleled in the world. Istanbul is the hub of all commerce between Eastern and Western Europe and the African Continent as well as Asia. Once again photographs tell the story better than I. We spent our brief lay-over in the village sipping tea while most people had fish for lunch. The return trip offered the same views of the Asian side of the Bosphorus. We had the hot summer sun punishing us for most of the return cruise, but fortunately seat opened up for the last 30 minutes on the side of the boat sheltered from the sun. Once ashore, we had a pleasant fish dinner on a commercial zone under a bridge connecting European and Asian Istanbul. Fishermen tried there luck on the bridge sapn above us, but I saw no helpless fish reeled in by them. We caught another cab to return to the hotel. Nechirvan returned to his appartment and Hosien to his relatives' home. I took a shower to cool off from the blistering day's sun and read myself to sleep.
Exiting the Harem, we entered the treasure rooms of the palace. Much of the famed treasure is perhaps now in other hands. Reports of the huge open baskets of pearls, emeralds and rubies plundered from India seem an illusion now. Even some of the other great Ottoman treasures are not on display. One wonders if they are traveling the world on exhibition. What is there is regal and demands a visit. We had been told that it would take two days to see the Harem and Topkapi Palace, but we managed it in one long morning. We walked to the on-site café for bottles of water. We would consume enormous quantities during our travels in the Middle East. The café offer a commanding view of the Golden Horn and the Marmara Sea somewhat concelaed by the afternoon's steamy haze.
We needed a rest from the morning's long walk so we stopped in an arbor cafe for another water or tea. Later we tried to secure a cab from the Palace, but the taxi drivers appeared unwilling to drive a short distance at exhorbitant prices to the shores of the Bosphorus where we would select a cruise along the Bosphorus. We walked out of this tourist zone and found a willing and honest driver. Once at the harbor we had several options that included a rapid, two-hour tour to a munincipally run 5-hour tour and other private tours on yachts. We selected the munincipally run tour that included a lay-over in a small touristy village where the Bosphorus pours into the Marmara Sea. My friend Murat had assured me that such a cruise was NOT to be missed. In this he is abundantly wise. Anyone who visits Istanbul without taking such a cruise has cheated himself of a visual feast perhaps unparalleled in the world. Istanbul is the hub of all commerce between Eastern and Western Europe and the African Continent as well as Asia. Once again photographs tell the story better than I. We spent our brief lay-over in the village sipping tea while most people had fish for lunch. The return trip offered the same views of the Asian side of the Bosphorus. We had the hot summer sun punishing us for most of the return cruise, but fortunately seat opened up for the last 30 minutes on the side of the boat sheltered from the sun. Once ashore, we had a pleasant fish dinner on a commercial zone under a bridge connecting European and Asian Istanbul. Fishermen tried there luck on the bridge sapn above us, but I saw no helpless fish reeled in by them. We caught another cab to return to the hotel. Nechirvan returned to his appartment and Hosien to his relatives' home. I took a shower to cool off from the blistering day's sun and read myself to sleep.
June 5, 2009 Istanbul in the morning
After a quiet first night at the Yasmak Sultan Hotel and a good night's sleep after three nights without any, I awakened eager and prepared for explorations of this majestic and ancient city. Ascending to the rooftop restaurant, I managed a few snapshots towards the Bosphorus and Hagia Sofia over neighborhood rooftops before breakfast. I was joined at breakfast by my fellow adventurer, Hosein and his cousin Nechirvan, a Turkish medical student (pediatric surgery) and our guide in Istanbul. Turkish breakfasts always include a wide variety of choices - yoghurt, a variety of cheeses, fruits, breads, coffee and tea, cherry and fresh sqeezed orange juice. I never opted for eggs, fried potatoes or odd looking sausages. Energized by the hearty food and the splendid views, we ventured into the city along a two-lane street that shares traffic with Istanbul's trolley. I have seen such a crush of riders only on the Moscow subway. It is an inexpensive way to gain access to many principal areas of the city and operates with gret frequency. The walk uphill on this first and sultry summer morning in Istanbul towards Sultanahmet Park introduced us in a small way to the commercial life of this neighborhood. Once in the park, the lush and colorful landscaping dropped temperatures significantly. The images captured on my new Canon G-10 speak more eloquently than I of the park's tranquility and beauty. The park is not crowded but families and couples enjoy quiet moments on benches or in arbors lining the flowered hillside. We amble along the lower path looking up occasionally towards the yet unexplored ancient monuments to both western and eastern civilizations. Along the way we met and spoke with folks from many cultures in a variety of languages. I am at a loss here since I am linguistically challenged and depend on my Fellow sojourners to handle communications in Arabic, Kurdish, Persian and Turkish while I translate French and Russian conversations. The walk reminds me of earlier and lusher days when Route 163 in San Diego had less automotive traffic and more flowers along the hillsides. Imagine Route 163 as a cool, lush and flowered garden path on a hot summer day without cars, but with a stream, and pedestrians from many nations.
Reluctantly we left the park to explore the upper hillside sites. Our first stop was the Hagia Sophia, once a Christian Church, late an Islamic Mosque and now an historical monument whose restoration has only begun. The process will be costly and if the Turks are able to accomplish the seemingly impossible will be completed in a year. Inside one wonders at the skill of the architects who constructed, without modern equipment, what remained for centuries, until the construction of Saint Mark's Cathedral, the largest unsupported dome in the entire world. How majestic the now largely faded decorations must have been! How appropriate that it preserves imagery from the two religions that shaped modern Turkey. Unfortunately, I had left the tripod at the hotel, so interior photographs are of poor quality. Explore this great building on the Internet. It was here that I received some Arabic materials that I have shared with faculty and staff at the Language Acquisition Resource Center. I had hoped to conduct a viedo interview of the donor, but he declined.
Our next stop was a park facing the Blue Mosque, another great edifice among many in the neighborhood. We sat by a fountain to cool off from the afternoon sun before approaching this mosque. My friends entered and photographed the interior, but I remained outside since I was unable to remove my shoes, a custom in almost all eastern religions. This was truly a disappointment for me, a fan of Islamic art and architecture. On another occasion, I will visit with booties at hand to cover my shoes. The exterior is decorated with fine stone work in a courtyard surrounded by minarets.
When Hosein and Nechirvan rejoined me, we walked towards other ornated pavilions and obelisks plundered from Egypt by the Ottoman Empire. The absence of representational art might seem odd to westerners, but the skilled artistry of mosaics and calligraphy attest to the living art in this culture. The influence of Persia architecturally and artistically is obvious at every turn.
Still exhausted from the long, sleepless days, we opted for tea and quiet time in the hotel lobby. Dinner would be in one of the local sidewalk cafés before I retired for the evening to dream of tomorrow's adventures.
Reluctantly we left the park to explore the upper hillside sites. Our first stop was the Hagia Sophia, once a Christian Church, late an Islamic Mosque and now an historical monument whose restoration has only begun. The process will be costly and if the Turks are able to accomplish the seemingly impossible will be completed in a year. Inside one wonders at the skill of the architects who constructed, without modern equipment, what remained for centuries, until the construction of Saint Mark's Cathedral, the largest unsupported dome in the entire world. How majestic the now largely faded decorations must have been! How appropriate that it preserves imagery from the two religions that shaped modern Turkey. Unfortunately, I had left the tripod at the hotel, so interior photographs are of poor quality. Explore this great building on the Internet. It was here that I received some Arabic materials that I have shared with faculty and staff at the Language Acquisition Resource Center. I had hoped to conduct a viedo interview of the donor, but he declined.
Our next stop was a park facing the Blue Mosque, another great edifice among many in the neighborhood. We sat by a fountain to cool off from the afternoon sun before approaching this mosque. My friends entered and photographed the interior, but I remained outside since I was unable to remove my shoes, a custom in almost all eastern religions. This was truly a disappointment for me, a fan of Islamic art and architecture. On another occasion, I will visit with booties at hand to cover my shoes. The exterior is decorated with fine stone work in a courtyard surrounded by minarets.
When Hosein and Nechirvan rejoined me, we walked towards other ornated pavilions and obelisks plundered from Egypt by the Ottoman Empire. The absence of representational art might seem odd to westerners, but the skilled artistry of mosaics and calligraphy attest to the living art in this culture. The influence of Persia architecturally and artistically is obvious at every turn.
Still exhausted from the long, sleepless days, we opted for tea and quiet time in the hotel lobby. Dinner would be in one of the local sidewalk cafés before I retired for the evening to dream of tomorrow's adventures.
Friday, June 5, 2009
We arrived one day late in Istanbul due to the cancellation of our Turkish Airways flight. They finally gave up on flying that night at 4:00 am after 3 hours seated on the plane and 1 hour seated in the terminal. We arrived at the hotel they provided at 5:30 am with instructions to be at the airport by 1:00 pm the next day. The plane was going to leave at 4:00, but really they boarded the group at 4:30 The flight was pleasant if long. We exchanged money at the airport and bought tickets to Erbil. That round-trip ticket cost almost $700.00 each. We had a pleasant ride to the hotel, but Hosein with whom I am traveling to Iraq, whom some of you met one afternoon, went to stay with his family.
I went to Develeh Restaurant on the first evening. It is in a neighborhood I wouldn't have found alone. Fortunately the taxi drivers are honest and are amazing stunt drivers for a city with all the driving skills as if they had been trained to ride tricycles in rush hour traffic in Rome, Mexico City or Tehran. What a commanding view of the water! And the food! I started with a blue cheese that was the mildest I have ever tasted and served with walnut halves. I ordered the eggplant hummus served with the best bread I have ever eaten for a cold appetizer, a warm appetizer of ground meat, pine nuts and herbs in a thin casing of pastry, and another dish from Anatolia that appeared to me shwarma but had a more interesting flavor due to some unknown ingredients. I had one glass of an excellent Turkish wine. It was so good that, had I not been so full for eating half of what was served, would have ordered another. The meal was quite reasonable for the quality, excellent service and unequaled view of the Bosphorus. Taxis are a bargain as Murat had said. Thank you, Yasemin, for introducing me to authentic Turkish haute cuisine.
I am too tired to go out tonight, but tomorrow Hosein and the son of the family with whom he is staying will meet me at my hotel at 1:00 to visit sites together. His relative can't speak English, but he and his family were so kind as to send food and flowers to me at the hotel. I guess that will be lunch tomorrow. I will try to test my photographic skills on some amazing structures and tape interviews in Arabic, Kurdish, and Turkish if not Persian.
I went to Develeh Restaurant on the first evening. It is in a neighborhood I wouldn't have found alone. Fortunately the taxi drivers are honest and are amazing stunt drivers for a city with all the driving skills as if they had been trained to ride tricycles in rush hour traffic in Rome, Mexico City or Tehran. What a commanding view of the water! And the food! I started with a blue cheese that was the mildest I have ever tasted and served with walnut halves. I ordered the eggplant hummus served with the best bread I have ever eaten for a cold appetizer, a warm appetizer of ground meat, pine nuts and herbs in a thin casing of pastry, and another dish from Anatolia that appeared to me shwarma but had a more interesting flavor due to some unknown ingredients. I had one glass of an excellent Turkish wine. It was so good that, had I not been so full for eating half of what was served, would have ordered another. The meal was quite reasonable for the quality, excellent service and unequaled view of the Bosphorus. Taxis are a bargain as Murat had said. Thank you, Yasemin, for introducing me to authentic Turkish haute cuisine.
I am too tired to go out tonight, but tomorrow Hosein and the son of the family with whom he is staying will meet me at my hotel at 1:00 to visit sites together. His relative can't speak English, but he and his family were so kind as to send food and flowers to me at the hotel. I guess that will be lunch tomorrow. I will try to test my photographic skills on some amazing structures and tape interviews in Arabic, Kurdish, and Turkish if not Persian.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Summer 2009 in Kurdistan, Iraq Delegations
The passports and visas are in the mail. After a very long waiting period for authorization for travel to the cities of northern Iraq, we learned yesterday that the documents should arrive on Saturday, May 30. The people traveling in this first wave organized by me are involved in education K-Graduate school. The second wave to travel in July will be a group of major investors from South Korea, United States and China. The third phase will be scholars working on human rights in the Middle East and includes 21 participants. The bags aren't packed, but sleep is very fleeting as I have awaited this opportunity for more than thirty years.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The week before the journey to Istanbul, Turkey and Iraq
The week before the journey begins is full of meetings at work planning for the summer STARTalk programs in Persian and Turkish and for a shorter Chinese program for students in grades 3-5 at Barnard Elementary school and the Riverview Academy. The cameras are ready; I have an older Sony videocamera and a Canon G10, a very powerful digital. I have been planning the interviews in Modern Standard Arabic, Iraqi dialect, Kurdish, Persian and Turkish to be recorded for didacticizing upon my return. While there I am scheduled to speak at the three main universities, Duhok, Salahaddin and Sulamaniyah Universities and with economic developers in the Kurdish region. I hope to visit K-12 schools too.
We fly from San Diego to Chicago to Istanbul on June 3 for a few days of tourism. There is so much to see in this great city of 13,000,000 that I despair even now of missing so many sites that I have dreamed of seeing during my lifetime. I will at least see Topkapi Palace and the Harem, the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. I know that the brief time there will draw me back for a more extended stay.
The friends with whom I will be traveling are: Hosein Maronesy, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Yae, who will travel on the same flights. Two English teacher: Darlene Farnes and Nancy Boyer will travel first to Germasny and Uzbekistan before arriving in Duhok to teach English and to improve the TOEFL program at that University. We are guests of the universities and the Kurdistan Regional Government. We will prepare the way for a delegation of two scholars and human rights workers that will follow in July and a delegation of South Korean businessmen looking for investment opportubities in the region.
I will update this blog as frequently as possible and will include photos.
Peace,
Norman
We fly from San Diego to Chicago to Istanbul on June 3 for a few days of tourism. There is so much to see in this great city of 13,000,000 that I despair even now of missing so many sites that I have dreamed of seeing during my lifetime. I will at least see Topkapi Palace and the Harem, the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. I know that the brief time there will draw me back for a more extended stay.
The friends with whom I will be traveling are: Hosein Maronesy, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Yae, who will travel on the same flights. Two English teacher: Darlene Farnes and Nancy Boyer will travel first to Germasny and Uzbekistan before arriving in Duhok to teach English and to improve the TOEFL program at that University. We are guests of the universities and the Kurdistan Regional Government. We will prepare the way for a delegation of two scholars and human rights workers that will follow in July and a delegation of South Korean businessmen looking for investment opportubities in the region.
I will update this blog as frequently as possible and will include photos.
Peace,
Norman
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