Climbing on Ruins

I found it remarkable the sheer number of artifacts found in both countries.  The United States doesn’t really have an ancient history, so it was an interesting contrast when visiting these countries.  The museums are filled with tons of Bronze Age and Roman Period artifacts, and they normally have masses left in storage.  It was fantastic to see so many well preserved or reconstructed pieces, and it definitely enhanced my learning experience.  I find it much easier to learn about a pottery style or religious figure when it is more than a picture.

When visiting the sites in both countries, there were no boundaries.  We were allowed to touch, walk around, and climb on some of the best excavated settlements of antiquity.  It was almost unbelievable to us that we could touch all of these sites, because they would certainly have been fenced off in the United States.  However, these countries have had difficulty with looting and basic damage because of this.

We were allowed to touch, walk around, and climb on some of the best excavated settlements of antiquity.

Our Turkish tour guide Umit was fantastic beyond words.  As a former archaeologist, he had an expansive knowledge of every topic we could asked about.  At each site, we gained a thorough understanding of its particular elements.  By the end of the Turkish tour, we were even answering our own questions and identifying key parts of the settlements we were visiting.  I never imagined I could learn so much about ancient ruins in such a short amount of time, and I have Umit to thank for that.