Adventures in Turkish

So we're visiting Pergamon today...We had lunch in the modern city of Bergoma, where almost no one spoke English, so naturally I had more Turkish adventures! We went to a grocery store where I got bread, cherries, and chocolate milk, as well as elma cai (apple tea!). The poor people working in the store--got a whole group of Americans and none of the workers spoke English. My Turkish was pretty sad, but I did know the word for half (bucuk) and kilo translates the same (Thank you SI units!), so I could buy fruit! We're at the Acropolis now at Pergamon (Note the similarity in sound to Bergoma, the town!) and we have a few minutes.

Yesterday we visited Ephesus, where John was buried and Paul lived. Umet kept talking about Catholic things, but got them wrong--he thought John the apostle and John the evangelist were two different people. Thank goodness for Erin R. on this trip-- I thought I totally messed up my Church history until I talked to her. Even thought Umet slipped up on this stuff, he's a darn good tour guide. He knows all the history and can make it way more interesting than the dozens of signs here (although some are only in Turkish, so I'm not sure about those ones...). We also visited a place where people say Mary lived and Umet kept talking about people looking for her tomb and not finding it. I wonder why???..... Hmmm.... Silly people. I'm not sure how I feel about the religiosity of the chapel. The atmosphere was religious enough, but was it legit? Probably not. Although Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI both visited! I walked where a pope was! I also maybe walked down streets in Ephesus where Paul walked or rode his horse! So neat! Umet also got us into see some restoration work being done on a house cluster in Ephesus (he seriously has connections here!) and I got so excited because I could recognize most of the paintings, as well as the solvents they were using to clean them! (EtOH- although they spell it a little different in Turkish). Yay chemistry. I've decided I miss the lab I work in.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI both visited! I walked where a pope was!