7/16 - Monday, Monday

Mike (looking a little like Dwight Schrute) teaching us about narrative mediation.Matt deep in thought- either about the value of listening in conflict resolution or about what type of kebab he would be having for lunch. Lion's Garden by daylight. See the Turkish Britney Spears post below... The secret gate to EMU.
Me sneaking through the barbed wire after the beach club and a stop at the Kurok Market for the best mango iced tea. Nadia prefers to walk and take photos at the same time, so that bluriness is really just so you can "feel" the action.

7/15 - Keep to the Left!

After a long day of touring and a lot of sleeping we had a lazy Sunday today – everything but our campus staple (Café Espresso) was closed, so we hung out there and enjoyed some A/C, some MTV, and a mocha frappe. Houman put the wedding trip up to a vote and when we found out that it would basically be a receiving line of thousands, we opted not to make the hour and a half drive to Nicosia. I was bummed not to take part, but it was probably the best decision. Rather than waste our showers, we all decided to get dressed anyway and host our own party- college dorm style. Nadia and I decided to take a trip to the market in Houman's car. The left handed stick shift was not too much a problem for her, but I did have to politely suggest that she not drive on the right side of the road for our safety. We definitely took the long way and pulled ourselves over when a cop appeared (just in case) but we made it back in one piece and I am proud to say that I won my first game of Beirut in 5 years and represented Valpo as only a true Crusader could.

Nadia driving Houman's Suzuki (on the left!)John (in shirt, tie, and Euro shorts), Me, and Matt.

7/14 - Castles and Kyrenia

The Queen's Window
My Three Sons: Chris, John, and Matt
Dodger Blue in Kyrenia Harbor

Four hours of sleep later, we awoke to meet our new tour guide and the EMU mini-bus outside of our dorm. This would be our farewell to Stacey and Gerald as well as our introduction to Sarah and Mike. Our tour guide, Umut (the self proclaimed “King of Famagusta”) was an experience in himself- a whirlwind of narratives, information, and shouting (particularly the “Meep, meep!” sound of the Road Runner which was his call to mean everything from “Stop!”, “Let’s Go!”, “Hi!” and every other exclamation in between).

Our first stop was the St. Hillarion Castle in the northern coastal mountains of Kyrenia (Girne in Turkish). Built as a watch tower to give warning of approaching Arab pirates (Carly!) in the 10th century, it is reported to be the inspiration for the castle in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The long and slow hike up slippery limestone stairs was worth it when we approached an area referred to as the “Queen’s Window” where you can see out over all of Kyrenia Harbor.

Next was the Bellapais Abbey or Abbey of Peace. A much needed lunch was had closer to town- a pita wrap with a choice of either slow roasted beef or chicken or mix (my choice of course). Refreshed and ready to go, we visited Kyrenia Harbor and Castle for the best scenery of the trip so far. When we finally got back we took a long nap, woke up to watch a movie, eat a little bit, and went back to bed.

7/13 - Salamis, Famagusta and the Turkish Britney Spears

Today was our first field trip in the North. As Stacey and Gerald went down to Nicosia to pick up Sarah and Mike, Houman was our tour guide. We went back to the Salamis ruins and explored the amphitheatre again plus the gymnasium and the ancient baths. The Olson in me wanted to get to the highest point so I started climbing – skirt, flip flops and all. The guards did come over and suggest that we might like to get down… oops.

Next we went back to the Old Town Famagusta area. I gave Nadia the tour that I had read up on the night before including a dungeon which once held an exiled Turkish poet for which our dorm is actually named (Namik Kemal). After a couple hours of intense heat we headed back to the Beach Club. Houman came along and Sharif met us for a drink and some American football on the beach. Nadia, Jordan and I floated out to sea for a little while.

Since we arrived on Monday we had been anticipating the arrival of Turkey’s biggest pop star: Demet Akalin. Sharif arranged for us to get tickets and we piled in a couple of cabs to the Lion’s Garden – a huge club/outdoor venue for concerts, dancing, weddings (one was actually going on as we entered), and other events. The show got off to a slow start, but we were able to secure a private area upstairs with enough seats for all of us. A Madonna impersonator kicked it off with hits like “Holiday” and “Like a Virgin”. Next was another female who did Shania, Shakira and maybe a couple other “Sh” artist renditions. Finally, the worst version of Elvis took the stage – who does “In the Ghetto” at a dance club?

When she took the stage in short black soccer shorts, a gold metallic bikini top and a flowing full length animal print robe I knew we were in for a treat. Of course we made our way right to the front and danced until we couldn’t dance any longer. We were instantly popular as all of the local girls on the floor stood stoic while the boys jumped and sang and screamed. When we finally left around 3:30am there were reports (and maybe photos) of dancing on tables but the cigarette smoke was so thick (more flashbacks of college in the mid-west) that those reports can not be confirmed.

Prom '07?

7/12 - Lunch with the Rector

After morning class, we took an internet break and then headed to lunch with the Rector (President) of the University. The food was very good- an artichoke salad (two full artichoke crowns with a sort of vinaigrette dressing) then a crepe like wrap with chicken and vegetables served with rice. Dessert was a flan like square (I’m now pretty sure the flan/custard dessert is an international standard) but it was well done, not so jiggly, and tasted like a toasted marshmallow- yum! We finished with Turkish coffee and successfully shaved an hour and a half off of our afternoon class.

In the midst of conversation, the Rector (a former SDSU professor and good friend of our President, Dr. Weber) mentioned that his son was to be married on Sunday and that we were all invited to attend the celebration in Nicosia. Apparently Cypriot weddings average 3,000-5,000 people, so look for that entry in a few days!

The boys decided that the way to start our weekend was to start drinking and included Houman in the festivities. Although well over 6 feet and a couple hundred pounds (defensive line here at EMU) he apparently can’t keep up with the California kids and it got a little messy. I did a little babysitting, read my travel books and went out to eat with them when they sobered up a little.

7/11 - Beach Time... again!

After class today we were ready to head back to the Beach Club. As we headed out to get a taxi, a student in a Mercedes SUV/van pulled up and offered us a ride. There were 7 American girls and 7 seats, so of course we accepted. It was definitely windows down, music up so that everyone on campus could see. I think we both got what we wanted out of it. I took a nice break on a lounge chair on the beach with my iPod and a People magazine I had bought at Logan and then forgot about. We took it easy tonight, went down to the wireless hotspot, and then hit Maxi Pide for a pizza shaped like the outline of a ship.

7/10 - Rubbing Elbows

Today was our first day of class. We start at 9am with Conflict Resolution and Global Engagement (taught by our trip coordinators, Stacey and Gerald, and eventually taught by two other teachers coming in on Friday when Stacey and Gerald fly back to Estonia to another SDSU program). After a break for lunch, we have Politics of Cyprus with EMU professor Ahmet Sozen. http://ir.emu.edu.tr/staff/asozen/index.htm

After class we went to Ahmet’s office and talked about the US and the view of Americans worldwide as well as the war and our upcoming elections. When we left a couple of EMU students were waiting for us outside and offered to buy us Turkish coffee (called Cyprus Coffee in the south); served finely ground, boiled without filtration in small espresso sized cups. The leader of the group was our new friend Sharif (pronounced like “sheriff” as it is of course part of a much longer Turkish name).

After a quick group meeting to go over our tuition payment and some info for the night, Houman took a few of us to a bigger market in “Old Town” Famagusta (Kaleici) essentially a gigantic Venetian castle which formerly defined the city limits. Three sides are lined with an expansive dry moat and the fourth is the harbor.

We are lucky enough to be in town for the Famagusta International Art-Culture Festival so Nadia, Jordan and I decided to take in a concert at the Salamis Ruins amphitheatre. Tonight’s feature was the Nino Rota Ensemble [link]; 5 women who play famous movie scores. Not exactly what I have in my iPod, but pretty amazing when sitting in an ancient Roman amphitheatre. They played all the hits including the themes from Titanic, the Bodyguard, and the grand finale (after 3 encores) New York, New York.

On the advice of our professor, we arrived at 8:30pm for the 9pm show. I think there was a total of 7 people fighting for the good seats. We decided that 2nd row center looked good for us, not knowing that an hour or so later the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus would be sitting one row behind us with his entourage. Our interaction with local diplomats wouldn’t end there. When the show ended we walked to the road to find a taxi (taksi) back. When we had no luck, I went to ask if someone from the amphitheatre could call one for us. Four people later, I found an English speaking woman who turned out to be a lecturer at EMU. She turned to the group of people and explained our dilemma and an older gentleman said he could give us a ride back if we could wait a couple of minutes. Having turned down a ride from a less trustworthy younger man, we were relieved to find someone that was endorsed by a professor at our university. As we turned to walk out she pulled me to the side and put my mind further at ease when she said “You should feel honored…He’s the Mayor”.

So it was that we met both the Mayor of Famagusta and the President of the TRNC in one fateful night in an amphitheatre that has stood for thousands of years.