Green Around the Globe » Turkey

5 Minutes through the Middle East

Keith — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:00:49 +0000

As Amy and I have wrapped up 2 months in the Middle East we put together a 5 minute slide show of some of our favorite pictures and added witty captions. We posted this to our Facebook Fan page more than a week ago, so if you are on Facebook be sure to become a fan so you get the latest updates. If you are not on Facebook be sure to sign up for email alerts or the RSS feed in the side bar to the right.

Enjoy the video and let us know what you think. We will try and do one of these every couple of months, especially if we get a good response to this one…

Choosing to use the Sun

Keith — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:00:21 +0000

Upon arriving in Turkey or Israel, you quickly realize there is something different about nearly every roof in these countries: they all have solar hot water units. Most amazing is that it does not seem to matter if the building is a small two-room house in a remote area or a massive apartment complex in downtown Istanbul. Once I started to notice solar hot water units in Turkey, I began looking for them as we traveled throughout the Middle East. I found that the nearly universal presence of solar hot water units in Turkey and Israel contrasts strikingly with other Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Jordan and the UAE, where I saw almost no solar hot water units. Digging into the matter more, two overriding and linked factors seem to drive the difference between universal use of solar hot water and the complete absence of the technology:

Policies that create financial incentives for households to invest in energy efficient technologies; and
Wide availability of affordable, energy efficient technologies for consumers.

The lack of meaningful policies and financial incentives is at the root of the lack of the utilization of solar technologies in Egypt. When I asked Ahmed Abdelrehim of CEDARE in Cairo about the absence of solar hot water units in Egypt, he answered without hesitation that the reason there is almost no solar hot water in Egypt, despite laws in the Mediterranean resort areas requiring it, is that electricity is subsidized. This removes the financial incentive for households to invest in solar hot water systems because they have higher upfront costs. The Egyptian electricity subsides are a way to help create a social safety net for the 32.4 million poor people in Egypt*. And despite recent pressure from the World Bank to reduce the subsidy and increase peak-hour electricity costs, the political will is lacking for swift action. As a result, more buildings are built without integrated solar technologies and Egyptian consumers continue to purchase inefficient electric hot water heaters.

Widespread availability of low-cost consumer solar systems is a major factor leading to increased use of solar hot water in Turkey and Israel. In talking with people in both countries, I learned that high-end consumer solar systems were available for less than 800 Euros ($1,150). And there are many solar options that cost even less. After searching Lowes.com, Walmart.com and HomeDepot.com for “solar hot water” and returning zero relevant results, I am not surprised that the American consumer would think that installing a personal solar hot water system is a complicated and expensive proposition, and, even with the availability of a federal tax credit, for most Americans it is much more expensive. I did a search for the cost of a residential unit in the US and found that units “… cost only $6,000 to $8,000 installed depending on the area.” This was according to http://www.solarroofs.com. Even with the tax credit, the low-end cost estimate is still $4,500 for a US household, significantly more than what Turkish consumers are paying for a high end system. Low cost consumer units are available in the rest of the world, and with a change in the US energy policy to increase demand (and thus lower prices even further), I am confident that retailers such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowes would begin selling millions of them to US consumers.

So why is this such a critical issue for the US? In Adam Werbach’s A Strategy for Sustainability, he illustrates the potential impact of “green” products such as TIDE® COLDWATER® Detergent. He states, “…if every American changed to cold-water laundry, it would go a long way toward reaching the CO2 reduction commitment that the U.S. negotiators made (although never ratified by the Senate) in the Kyoto Protocol, the first global compact on climate change.”

While the efforts of companies like P&G are admirable and are making a significant difference, I take a different view from Werbach that is more consistent with a recent article in the Washington Post by Mike Tidwell. Recently, I’ve come to believe that we cannot simply “small step” or consume enough “green” products to drive the quick and significant change we need to limit the impacts of catastrophic climate change. We need meaningful policies that will quickly create the personal financial incentives for US households to change behavior and increase their own energy efficiency. With the right incentives in place, the creativity of green entrepreneurs all over the world would be unleashed to meet the new demand for more sustainable and energy efficient technologies. And if we do not have the political will at the national level, I am hopeful that there seems to be progress at the local level, as evidenced by the Conference of Mayors 77th Annual Meeting in Providence (RI).

Despite the less than stellar progress in Copenhagen over the last two weeks, I am hopeful that the US will make the necessary policy changes to become the leader in sustainable and energy efficient technologies that we have the potential to become. I would hate to see countries like Turkey, Israel, Germany and even China (a leader in consumer solar hot water) eclipse us.

*Nawar, Abdel-Hameed, “From Marina to Kom-Ombo: A Note on Poverty in Egypt,” Cairo University, manuscript, August 2007.

The Food of Turkey

Keith — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:25:21 +0000

This post is all about the food of Turkey. In some ways eating has been the biggest change for Amy and I on the trip so far. At home we would go out to eat maybe once or twice a week. For the last month we have eaten out for nearly every meal, and done no real cooking. The closest we have come to cooking is mixing cereal and yogurt in our room for breakfast. I know you all have been wondering about the cuisine and variety of foods that Amy and I have been sampling for the last month so I will detail the gastronomic delights we enjoyed while in Turkey below.

If there were two words to summarize the cuisine of Turkey it would have to be grilled meat. There is very little fault I can find with a country that likes to grill meat on skewers, over open flames or even cook it in a pot for 6 hours. In Istanbul the best food we had was at Cezayir near Taksim Square the center of modern Istanbul. The ambiance was excellent, as seating was outside in a beautiful courtyard patio under the stars. While we were some of the first people to arrive at 7pm, the restaurant did fill up by 8:30. Amy had pasta with wild mushrooms and green onion; my dish was strips of grilled filet mignon over a base of Greek-style yogurt and grilled bread. The filet was excellent, very tender, and the bread and yogurt base was creamy with a slightly smoky flavor from being grilled. The long grilled green pepper on the plate is a very common side in Turkey and was quite sweet.

All of our lodging in Turkey included a traditional Turkish breakfast. And while there was some variety it generally included a hard-boiled egg, bread, jam, butter, olives, tomatoes and feta cheese. In short, delicious and heart healthy! The picture below is the buffet style breakfast that we had while staying at the White Garden Pension in Antalya. Served from 8-10 every morning, breakfast also included Turkish tea or Nescafe coffee. Generally the tea was our choice of caffeinated beverage.

No post of Turkish food would be complete without mention of the kabob, known in Turkey as the kebap. Kebaps are by far the most prevalent form of grilled meat in Turkey. These two chicken and lamb kebaps are from a restaurant in the old city of Antalya. Kebaps in Turkey come in three basic incarnations: chicken, lamb and kafta, which is a spicy meatball. All are quite good and are a good budget choice for lunch or an affordable dinner. One quick note on the fresh vegetables and salad pictured here. We had received advice to not eat fresh vegetables from our travel doctor at Penn Travel Medicine. His rule was if you couldn’t cook it, peel it, or boil it – forget it. In practice we found that all of the fresh vegetables in Turkey were quite safe and delicious. I think if you use some common sense and only eat fresh vegetables or salads at restaurants that are clean and crowded you will be just fine in Turkey.

One surprisingly delicious non-Turkish meal was the Turkish nachos at Fat Boys Café and Bar. Amy and I stopped in there one night after a long day of hiking through the valleys around Goreme. On a whim I decided that I would order the nachos. My expectations were pretty low but when the plate below appeared at the table I was pleasantly surprised. The chips were spicy and not dissimilar from Doritos, but the toppings are what made the dish. Topped with beans, tomatoes, green onion, cheese and a Bulgarian-style yogurt, the whole dish was broiled to bubbly goodness. I would recommend them to anyone spending time in Goreme and looking for a break from traditional Turkish food.

I will end this post on one of the best meals I had in Turkey. In Cappadocia they have a special kebap, the Desti Kebap. This is a special dish that is cooked in a clay pot for 6 hours. You have to order it ahead of time and when you arrive they bring it to your table and in a bit of a table-side show use a hammer to crack open your dinner.

Amy had a chicken and I had a meat desti kebap. Meat generally means lamb in Turkey, but this may have been a mixture of lamb and beef. Either way it was delicious, extremely flavorful and moist.

The accompaniment of yogurt with Turkish spices on top was not only beautiful but a perfect dip for the fresh bread and a little of the pickled pink cabbage.

I found the food in Turkey to be quite good. My one complaint is that there is somewhat of a limited range of flavors. Breaking up traditional Turkish meals with a Turkish influenced western dish like the nachos easily solves the flavor monotony. Let’s hear your thoughts, what else do you want to know about food? For those that have been to Turkey, what’s your favorite Turkish food?

Fairy Chimneys and Panoramas

Amy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:50:50 +0000

The Cappadocia region of Turkey was our favorite part of the 20 days we had in the country. Hiking through breathtaking canyons, exploring an underground city and climbing to a mountaintop monastery were definitely highlights. We arrived in Goreme after an overnight bus from Antalya, where we had a lovely visit with Uncle Gary and Aunt Patti. We then spent our first day in Cappadocia exploring the Goreme Open Air Museum. The Museum contains many churches carved into the stone, some featuring beautiful frescos, and caves that were once used as kitchens and living spaces.

After the Museum, we passed on a camel ride and instead explored the Kilcar Valley and hiked to fantastic viewpoints for the Red and Rose Valleys.

Camel Ride Advertisement

Rose Valley

The next morning we arose early for an amazing sunrise hot air balloon ride over the valleys and fairy chimneys of Cappadocia. You can check out our photographs here. Luckily our balloon basket consisted mostly of tourists from Hong Kong and Keith was able to take photographs is all directions over their heads. They were also an excitable bunch, cheering every time the pilot took the balloon low over the rocks or deep into the valleys (so low that Keith could reach out and pick a leaf off a tree top). While a bit on the pricey side, the balloon ride was an incredible way to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. Wonder how we’ll top it next year…

We did one day with a tour group, on what is know as the “Green Tour.” Our hostel, Rock Valley (which was a great value with fabulous breakfast, a helpful manager and which we highly recommend to fellow budget travelers) arranged the tour which included a panoramic view of Goreme,

The Fairy Chimneys of Goreme

a tour of the largest underground city at Derinkuyu, a hike through part of the Ihlara Valley, and a climb up to the monastery carved into the mountain 150 meters up near Belisima.

The Advantage of Being Short - Plenty of Room

The underground city was used as a hiding place for many of the residents when the city was under attack and contains 8 levels down to about 85 meters below the surface. The city had wine presses, food storage places, churches, ventilation shafts and even what is believed to be a religious classroom. It also had small passages to slow down the enemy (who were taller) and stone doorways to block any attacks. As we made our way up and down the narrow and steep passageways and staircases, I was grateful for my short stature, which is turning into a real advantage when touring historical ruins (and on long-haul flights in coach). While most visitors are hunched over or nearly crawling through the spaces, I was lucky to only have to duck here and there.

Our next stop was a hike through part of the Ihlara Valley, which was very different from the valleys around Goreme. The Ihlara has a small river running through the middle and is lush with vegetation. It was incredibly beautiful and we were able to stop and have a delicious lunch on a platform built right over the river. Unfortunately, our tour guide was in a rush and practically trail-running through the valley so we didn’t get to stop and take in the scenery as much as we would have liked. It is also very difficult to get to the Ihlara without being on an organized tour so we didn’t have a chance to spend more time there.

The climb up to the top of monastery was steep and a challenge to my fear of heights, so while Keith explored the nooks and crannies at the top, I stayed far away from the ledges and enjoyed the incredible views from a safe, flat area below the top.

The rest of our time in Goreme was spent relaxing, taking hikes (and lots of photos) in the Pigeon and Love Valleys and enjoying picnics along the way. The hike through Love Valley was one of my favorite hikes. The valley contains two trails through the middle, one of which is pretty conventional and the other of which takes you through many tunnels. We started on the tunnel trail and as the tunnels got increasing smaller and smaller we were both practically crawling along the muddy ground. It was definitely a more interesting trail, but we finally decided that the mud wasn’t for us and switched trails. We also found lots of fresh fruit vines and trees along the trails, which made for delicious snacking.

After such a wonderful time in Goreme and a fabulous three weeks in Turkey, it was hard to pack up and hit the road again but it was time to move on. We took another overnight bus back to Istanbul to catch our flight to Cairo and the start of our adventures in Egypt.

Pictures from Our Hot Air Balloon Ride

Keith — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:20:03 +0000

Below is a slide show of select pictures from the hot air balloon ride that Amy and I took on our recent 1 year wedding anniversary. Cappadocia has very unique flight conditions for hot air ballooning. With the still air in the mornings (you take off at 7am) and the amazing canyons the extremely skilled pilots can take the balloons into some amazing spots. In fact we brushed so close to a tree in our balloon that I was able to pick leaves off of the tree, really amazing the control the pilots have. And while it is a bit of budget buster at €130 ($194) each for a 1 hour ride, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

One of the interesting tidbits I learned about ballooning from the trip is that the champagne toast at the end dates back to 1783. Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Marquis Francios-Laurent d’Arlandes took off from Paris ultimately landing in a farmers field, upsetting him and his animals quite a bit. To appease him the pilots offer him some champagne they had aboard and it has been a tradition ever since.

If you ever get the chance to ride in a balloon I would highly recommend it. We used Anatolian Balloons, who is by their own claim, the largest balloon company in the world and we were quite impressed, check out Amy’s Trip Advisor review here.

Selçuk and a Mediterranean Blue Cruise

Keith — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:41:03 +0000

After the urban sophistication of Istanbul Amy and I decided we needed to see some very old ruins and to maybe relax a bit. The town of Selçuk, which is near the ruins of Ephesus and other ancient cities did not disappoint with amazing ruins. The Mediterranean cruise we took with V-Go from Fethiye to Demre was indeed very relaxing.

After a very nice ride in business class on a ferry from Istanbul to Bandirma, then quite a comfortable bus from there to Izmir and a couple of hours in a small mini-bus, we finally arrived in Selçuk. The mini-bus was an interesting ride. While the bigger longer haul passenger buses in Turkey are comfortable, affordable and quick, the mini-buses that you take to smaller towns and for trips of shorter distances can be somewhat cramped, and the drivers seem to often stop to pickup passengers on the side of the road, including school kids in the afternoon, that are headed in the same general direction. The emphasis is on general, because after dropping someone off the bus would often u-turn to then head back 5 minutes in the direction we had just come from.

Once we arrived to Selçuk we checked into our hostel, Urkmez Hotel. The owner Juju is quite the affable host and we enjoyed our stay there. After quickly showering to refresh from a long travel day we headed up to the rooftop terrace for a very reasonably priced Efes beer where we meet a great couple from Seattle who clued us in that we should try and visit Ephesus either early or late in the day, as the cruise ships that dock in the nearby city of Kuşadası send thousands of tourists to Ephesus from 10:30am-4:00pm. So we hit up some of the other sites near Selçuk in the morning, including the 6th century basilica of St. John the Apostle, which, some claim, is built on the site of the Apostle’s tomb.

This picture is from a tunnel behind the alter, where an Orthodox Priest was performing a mass.

At about 3:30 we headed up the hill to the ruins of Ephesus. Ephesus was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek period. There are two main features: the 44,000 seating capacity theater and the Library of Celsus. Also, true to the advice from the previous day, while there were quite a few tourists at 3:30, by 4pm we practically had the place to ourselves, which was excellent as that was when the light was much better for photographs.

When we were not looking at ancient ruins there is a good chance you could find us at Ejder, an excellent and extremely affordable restaurant just around the corner from our hotel. In fact we were so impressed the first night with the quality of the food as well as the low prices we went back every night.

Leaving Selçuk we headed down the coast to Fethiye for our 4 day, 3 night cruise. We arrived in Fethiye the night before and met Eugene, a fellow traveler from the States. We decided that the three of us would walk down to the fish market near the harbor in Fethiye. The fish was exceedingly fresh and cheap. Amy and I bought a yellow fin tuna to share for 12TL ($8). The best part of the fish market are all of the restaurants that surround it. They all have the same deal, for 5TL ($3.40) they cook your fresh fish any way you like, as well as providing salad, potato and bread with your fish. It was a delicious meal shared with our new friend Eugene.

The next morning we boarded our boat, Summer Love, for 4 days of relaxation.

There is not a whole lot to say about the cruise. It consisted of lots of lounging on the deck reading and napping, taking a dip in the blue and crystal clear Mediterranean when you got too warm, and eating the amazing fresh and delicious food prepared by the crew three times a day. The one stop we had that was of interest was a castle in Kekova, near the Sunken City. We hiked up to see it and the view of the bay with Matt and Aisha, a couple from Perth, Australia that is also doing an extended trip around the world.

After disembarking the Summer Love in Demre we took a 2.5 hour minibus ride to Antalya where we were meeting Amy’s Aunt Patti and Uncle Gary for dinner, as they were also in Turkey on vacation. More about that another time.

Welcome to Istanbul

Amy — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:11:06 +0000

After a long but uneventful and rather comfortable flight (thank you Phyl at the United Airlines check-in counter for the free upgrade to economy plus – Keith’s legs are still thanking you for the extra 5 inches of legroom!) we arrived at the Side Hotel in Istanbul.

It was a beautiful afternoon, so after settling in we set out to explore our new neighborhood, Sultanahmet, and get our bearings on the city. The next day we fully embraced our inner tourists and went to Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar and the Galata Bridge.

Topkapi Palace was home to the Ottoman sultans until the 19^th century and is a massive complex of buildings, chambers and gardens.

View of Bosphorus from Topkapi

I particularly enjoyed the Treasury, which houses an impressive collection of sparkly jewels – as my grandmother would say, these pieces were definitely “significant.” Both of us also really enjoyed the gardens in the fourth courtyard, which overlooks the Bosphorus. We sprung for the audio tour guide, but definitely do not recommend it. The guide was mediocre at best and pretty much consisted of someone reading the same descriptions which are posted (in English) on the various parts of the Palace and which are themselves no more than titles and dates. If your budget allows, a live tour guide is the best way to really understand what it is you’re looking at.

We found the Grand Bazaar to be a bit overwhelming and not all that interesting since we were not really looking to buy anything that we’d have to either carry with us for the rest of the year or ship home. It’s also much easier to say no thank you to the thousands of carpet sellers when you are living out of a backpack and your storage unit back home doesn’t need stylish flooring.

We did, however, fall in love with the Spice Bazaar, where the goods for sale are of the edible variety and the sights, smells and tastes are enchanting.

This Obama endorsement was also quite entertaining and effective enough for us to stop and check out what this vendor had on offer.

After sampling some of the best baklava ever,

we walked across the Galata Bridge to watch the sunset. A perfect ending to a fabulous day.

Taking a short break from the well-worn tourist path, we spent the next day walking around Istiklal Caddessi, wading through the crowds in Taksim Square and climbing up and down the hills in the Beyoglu neighborhood across the Golden Horn. After such an intense work out, we treated ourselves to a fantastic dinner at Cezayir. While the Lonely Planet Istanbul City Guide lists Cezayir as a moderately priced restaurant, it was definitely at the higher end of our dining budget but totally worth it.

We spent a beautiful Saturday cruising the Bosphorus on the Public Bosphorus Excursion Ferry. For 20 Turkish Lira each, we spent the day cruising along the shore and taking in the sights of the Dolmabahce Palace and the Bosphorus Bridge and had a lovely seafood lunch in Anadolu Kavagi.

Dinner was at the Istanbul Restaurant & Café & Lounge which had delicious food at very reasonable prices. It was so good that we ending up having dinner there two nights in a row.

On our last day touring Istanbul, we went to the Aya Sofia, the Basilica Cistern and the Blue Mosque. All three are on the list of must-see sites in Istanbul. See our pictures of all them in a previous post here. Our hotel was very close to the Blue Mosque, so we were able to hear the beautiful call to prayer.

During previous travels, Keith and I have tended to be disappointed when touring the bigger cities and have found that we enjoy the smaller towns and countryside more. Istanbul is a big exception – we both loved this beautiful city. With fantastic weather, beautiful sites, colorful markets and great food, Istanbul was an amazing place to start our adventure.

Visual Icebreaker

Keith — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:55:00 +0000

We are choosing to stay in hostels for most of our trip for two reasons. The first is our budget. Hostels are more affordable than hotels in many of the places we are traveling. And the only differences I have found between a hotel and hostel room is that there is no TV or phone, two things we are not using often on this trip. The other reason is that staying in hostels increases our chances of meeting and interacting with other travelers. Whether they are on vacation for a week or on an extended trip like us, they often have interesting stories to share. So far I have found it hard to simply strike up a conversation with other people in our hostels. I am not sure why there is this hesitation on my part but I will be working on getting over it.

In the meantime, I have discovered a crutch to help me out: wearing clothing with the logos of sports teams on it. It seems that when you wear a sports team’s logo on your clothing it is a way for someone to ask you a question about it. An excellent example of this happened while I was wearing my SpringBoks rugby jersey. I picked this up in Cape Town, South Africa when Amy and I were there a couple of years ago and the SpringBoks happened to win the World Rugby Cup while we were there. It was an amazing experience to be a part of and the jersey was really cool so I bought one.

At dinner a couple of nights ago in Istanbul we were seated next to a couple from Cork, Ireland. The husband asked me if we were from South Africa, because of my rugby jersey. That initial icebreaking question led to a wonderful conversation and ultimately an offer to sleep on their couch if we ever found ourselves in Cork.

It is because of this experience as well as multiple encounters in the US while wearing Ohio State gear that I believe that sports team wear can be a great visual icebreaker and allow people to connect over something in common. I hope to pick up a few additions for my sport team collection as we travel. Any suggestions for sports teams that will make for good icebreakers? Any other ideas on how to break the ice and strike up conversations with our fellow travelers?