A Journey Through Turkey and Cyprus: Danielle Joestlein

I, Danielle Joestlein, am grateful for the life-changing experiences of Dr. Goebel and Dr. Moore’s Senior Synthesis Course and trip to Turkey and Cyprus.  Because I’ve traveled abroad before, the culture shock was not as strong for me, but I still learned so much about the cultures of two very different Middle Eastern countries.  I thoroughly enjoyed the different methods of learning that were made available to us.  We, of course, visited archeological sites and learned from what our guides told us; we were especially blessed to have Umit, an archeologist, as our guide in Turkey, and Dr. Moore, a historian and archeologist, with us in Cyprus.  But beyond the ruins, we also visited museums and saw a different perspective from seeing the artifacts that came from the sites and reading the museum signs.  Seeing the artifacts in the museums was a great visualization tool for me, because it allowed me to better picture in my mind the lives of the people who used to live there. 

After all the sites we visited, I think that the freedom we had to climb in, on, around, and through the ancient ruins was what made it really click for me.  I especially loved the hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia because it gave me a whole new perspective on the region.  The day before, we had visited the Zelve Open Air Museum, where we had the chance to explore one of the old residential areas and see what the stone-built houses, churches, and mosques looked like.  We walked through what once was someone’s kitchen, living room, animal holding room, and of course, their winery.  We got to see how they used to live, but I never completely understood how many people lived there until the hot air balloon ride, when I saw from the air what I could not see from the ground: the vast area that was filled with homes just like the ones we visited at Zelve.  This wasn’t just a couple hundred people living like this, but thousands upon thousands.  The balloon ride really opened my eyes.  Experiencing Cappadocia from so many points of view was very enlightening.

Speaking of new perspectives, I gained a new perspective on my life throughout all our “optional” hikes during the second week of our trip.  These hikes thrust nature in our faces, but also brought peace and serenity, to me at least.  I especially found peace on one hike to some Lycian tombs from ancient Lydae.  The scenery was so beautiful and relaxing.  Some people from our group were struggling with the rocky climb so we stopped a lot, which gave me more time to sit and chill out, really enjoying nature.  Almost to the Lycian tombs, we all stopped at a farmer’s house.  Though he and his wife had few amenities, their hearts were made of gold.  They gave us all tea and enough pita bread for us all to have some for dinner.  It made me think about how simple life really is, and ask myself, “Why do I complicate my life with so many things?”

Nothing makes information more real to me than a personal account.  While we were learning about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, we were very fortunate to have Dr. Karatjas with us.  “Nick” has family who lived on the northern side of Cyprus before the invasion.  Their home was taken from them--the home that had been in their family for generations--and they were forced to flee as refugees.  It was a heartbreaking story.  Even though I could see the division, learning about the invasion and its consequences was surreal to me until I heard Nick’s story.  His story really drove it home for me, and it sparked a thought: what if the world allows genocides and invasions and all this destruction and loss because it is not real to people.  People, I think, tend to subconsciously believe that all the conflicts in the world are all “over there, faraway someplace,” and then compartmentalize it and never return to think how they could help.  We need to find a way to drive problems like Darfur or Cyprus home for everyone and, hopefully, help would come that much quicker. 

Out of all my experiences on this trip, I think I grew the most from my experience in Jerusalem.  It was not just the trip to Jerusalem, but the planning that somehow fell on my shoulders.  I had never planned something in which I was going to be putting other people’s money on the line, especially such a large amount of money.  I wanted to know every detail, which was hard to do because I was trying to communicate with a Cypriot travel agency and the representative who was not completely fluent in English.  It was one of the hardest things for me because, no matter what, I was not going to know everything, and I had to put my faith in this travel agency or there was no trip.  It was difficult for me to do because I have a slight control problem.  It turned out that our trip to Jerusalem and the Dead Sea was one of the most memorable experiences the four of us had on the trip, and I am so glad that I was able to persevere through the stress of planning it all. (Many thanks to “Nick”, “Scott”, and Josh who helped me throughout the process.)

I am so thankful for Dr. Goebel, Dr. Moore, the Robert E. Cook Honors College, my parents and my boyfriend; without all of you, this trip would not have been possible for me.