Gayrettepe Metro

March 28, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

When you walk down the stairs into a metro station, most of the time you are focused on getting to your train quickly. You glance at the signs in unfamiliar places, fumble with your card at the meter, maybe load more money into it or stare at a passenger a few yards down the platform. Nothing about metro stations- save for some landmarks here and there- is ever special enough to notice.

Travel through the Gayrettepe Metro station on Istanbul’s M2, however, and you will notice something. Actually, a lot of somethings, as the area accessible to you is a mere fraction of the station’s actual size. There are roof tiles missing, staircases to seemingly nowhere, and errant signs pointing to walls.

Welcome to Istanbul’s future.

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Budapest

March 28, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

It’s been a few days since I’ve posted and I apologize. Midterms crept up and pushed out any chance of writing, and I took off for a new destination to celebrate my birthday with a friend- and sans-computer. Since I began planning this abroad trip, Budapest was on the list of places to visit, and I was fortunate enough to be able to go there for the big 2-1.

What they say about Budapest is true: it’s a stunning city. The Danube cuts it in half, and on the banks of Buda, the castle and church tower above the skyline. In Pest, the amazing Parliament building overlooks the city center. And on the river itself, bridge after bridge form graceful connections between the opposite shores, with cruise ships, barges, and smaller boats passing beneath.

We started our explorations with the Buda Castle, which is probably the most noticeable thing in the city. It looks like the US Congressional building on top of a giant hill. While the insides have largely been converted into museums (that I’ll see on a future visit), the outside offers breathtaking views of the city below. You can see up and down the river for miles each direction- and it’s completely free!

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Prague

March 19, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

The first two months of my abroad experience have been spent entirely within Turkey. Due to government regulations, we are required to get a residency permit before we are allowed to leave and return (our visas are single-entry). Mine arrived to the Post Office on Friday and I picked it up on Monday. Three hours later, I had a flight and hotel booked in Prague, Czech Republic. I had only heard of Prague four or five times in my life, and had no idea where it was or which country it was in, but it was the cheapest last-minute trip I could make and I knew many people taketrips to see it. It turned out to be a fantastic decision.

Prague is VERY different than Istanbul. When you imagine a typical “European” city, Prague could fit the description nicely. It has large, uniform stone buildings lining wide streets and narrow cobblestone alleyways. It’s clean, green, and has a modern tram and metro system to get you where you need to go. Dotting the city are large stone cathedrals that tower over the surrounding neighborhoods. A river cuts through the center of the city, and on top of the nearby hill is a magnificent castle.

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Architecture

March 18, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

I’m writing this from my hotel room in Prague, the first time I’ve left Turkey since arriving in January. It was a funny thought that hit me while the plane was taking off, to be visiting a “foreign country” when in fact I had spent two months in a foreign country already. It was even funnier when I automatically tried to talk to the Czech immigration police in Turkish. “Merhaba!” *Blank stare*.

Having spent 30 minutes in the center of Prague with no sense of direction has given me a chance to reflect on something that seems entirely normal to me after two months of pretending to be a Turk: the architecture. I’ll dive into the really grand, historical periods in a moment but I want to start off with what Istanbul looks like today. Usually these really old, grand cities have some grace to them. Prague does- the buildings line the streets, blending into one another with stone faces like what you see in the movies. Together, they create a distinct skyline and a sense of a single, put-together city.

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Turkey for tourists

March 14, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

Most of my posts are meant for people considering SU Istanbul, or those who are interested in life outside of the West. This one is meant for neither- instead, it’s for any non-Istanbul SU Abroad student who is thinking of spending a weekend in this city or any other in Turkey. Think of it as a mini “survival guide”. For a real survival guide, visit turkeytravelplanner.com. It’s extremely detailed and accurate and literally guides you through the major destinations here. Mine will be a short, broad version. I’ll start with Istanbul first, and then go to the rest of Turkey at the end.

The first step is getting here. Because Istanbul is the 5th most visited city in the world, most major airlines fly direct to here. Istanbul has two major airports: Atatürk on the European side, and Sabiha Gokçen on the Asian side. Most likely you’ll be flying to the former, which is good because you can get nearly anywhere from it via the metro.

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Ankara

March 13, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

I wrote the following on Facebook to my friends and family regarding the Ankara bombing:

By now you have all heard the news concerning Ankara. While details are still emerging, what I can say is that this attack has been expected for the past few days (time/location unknown, of course) and was likely carried out by an anti-government group such as the PKK, which isn't usually known for targeting civilians.

It's important to remember that most of Turkey, including Istanbul, is safe. Except for Ankara and the South East region, Turkey is generally considered to be safer for tourists than most parts of the world, including Europe. It's also important to not lump the country together as a whole. When Boston was attacked a few years ago, we did not avoid Miami or Chicago. Same deal here.

I had the opportunity to travel to Alanya, a tourist city on the Mediterranean coast, this past weekend, and befriended the owner of a cafe that catered to tourists. Alanya normally has 350,000 tourists at any given time during the high season, but he and many other locals are worried. The city and many others in the area is expecting 25% fewer visitors this year because of fears about ISIS and Syrian refugees, even though Alanya will never be a target and is nowhere near the border region.

While travelling, it's important to be aware of current events, but please do not let this event deter you from visiting this wonderful country. Turkish people are kind and welcoming and hate the ongoing situation more than anyone else. They, like everyone else, want to live their lives and don't like seeing their country in the headlines each week, especially when it hurts their businesses and ways of life. As long as you're smart and look both ways when crossing the street, you will be fine during your visit to Istanbul, Cappadocia, or anywhere else you choose to go.

SIDE NOTE: We are no longer allowed to travel independently to Ankara.

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tags / Ankara, bomb

Alanya

March 11, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

This week I decided to go off the beaten path (for Syracuse students) and visit Alanya, a 250,000-person city on the Mediterranean coast. It’s a tourist’s dream town, featuring large resorts, wide sandy beaches, hiking (with caves), and an old fortress. Getting here can often be difficult- it’s two hours east of Antalya, the region’s main city and airport, however AtlasGlobal once again came through and offers a free airport bus, so I had no problems.

Alanya is in the middle of Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, which makes many people go OH MY GOD IT’S CLOSE TO SYRIA (hi mom!). Relatively speaking, that’s true, but it’s within the western Mediterranean sphere of influence, and very few public buses offer routes farther east. Simply put: it’s not a target, and nowhere even close to the upheaval along the border region.

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Road rage and puppies

March 10, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

This past week has been marked by the usual plethora of new sights and experiences that one gets while studying abroad. I tried a lot of new food, went to the Black Sea (see previous post), met some interesting people, and almost got killed crossing the street six or seven times.

However, I had two ten-second experiences that are worth highlighting because they will stick with me for a while. The first demonstrates the level of insanity road rage can get over here. The second had the potential to start World War 3.

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The Black Sea

March 06, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

The Bosphorus strait is 19 miles long. At one end is the Sea of Marmara, the Hagia Sophia and “downtown” Istanbul. At the other is the Black Sea.

In the United States, 19 miles isn’t a long distance, but in this part of the world it’s far. Blame traffic, poor street patterns, and a not-quite-caught-up metro line for making the Black Sea almost unreachable on a regular day. However a day trip is entirely possible and I decided it was time for a visit.

It’s about 2 hours from our dorm to the Black Sea by a combination of buses and trains, but it’s a cool two hours. Except for the part where you’re underground, you visit the financial district of Istanbul, and drive up the coast through slightly more rural towns and suburbs. We also passed the third bridge- still under construction, but getting there. Our driver was unusually aggressive for Turkey, which is something I never thought I would say. His driving style (lots of gas, and even more brake) combined with the many hills, twists, and descents (and a handful of older passengers badgering him to the point of open hostility) caused us to careen about, sometimes holding on with all we had so to not fall over. We had 30 minutes of that, until we arrived at the town of Rumelifeneri, on the European side of the Bosphorus.

The town itself is small- Bosphorus cruises don’t often make landings there, preferring to go to towns on the Asian side. It’s also much poorer than the districts of Istanbul we frequent- it has the basics, of course, but trash is strewn everywhere and the infrastructure is crumbling. However, it has panoramic views of both bodies of water, sitting high on top of a hill overlooking the activity below.

Spoiler alert: the Black Sea isn’t black. It’s blue, like every other body of water, and I have not been able to figure out how it received its name. But it’s stunning. The water is a deep blue color, and because it’s encircled by land, it’s as calm as could be (at least, it was today). The air was noticeably cooler than 19 miles south, and it was slightly windier, too. The water was ice cold, thanks to a Russian winter up North- a far cry from the summer-like southern Aegean!

We (a friend and I) walked through the town and checked out the harbor, which was filled with fishing boats and small commercial craft. A pile of rocks protecting the main jetty led us down to the waterfront for nice photo opportunities and we were able to take in town views from the sea. Interestingly, the ships waiting to embark down the strait do not wait at the mouth, but a mile to the west, and because it’s a Sunday they were very idle.

The town has two landmarks- a lighthouse (closed) and the ruins of a small castle. We made our way to the castle, and were able to walk around the walls (though that was a hairy experience at some points). The Romans close the location for a reason- it has a perfect vantage point of both sea and strait, able to get advanced warning on an enemy or ship in distress (and presumably take a few shots at the former with its cannons). Unfortunately, it was hard to ignore the many shards of broken glass covering the grounds- a shame considering it would be a great place to have a picnic.

We finished our explorations with a walk along the rocks lining the sea. With the sun shining it was a great place to sit and stare out at the horizon. The lack of cars, people, and smog also had its effect, as both my friend and I sat without talking, just taking in the moment.

After a quick lunch stop in town, it was time to head back to Istanbul.

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Gender

March 04, 2016 / Nicholas Papantonis

It’s very well known that the Muslim world clearly enforces gender roles between the different sexes. I must be honest that, as a man, I don’t notice it very much in my day-to-day life. I’m able to walk on the sidewalk and remain somewhat invisible, or sit and drink tea without anyone giving me a second thought. But as I entered a mosque and watched as the female members of the group wrap scarves around their heads, I realized that it’s a topic that should be addressed to the best of my abilities.

Turkey is probably one of the worst destinations to go to for a feminist. While London or Florence are probably as modern and equal as the United States, Turkey is a far cry, especially if you’re not accustomed to the norms of a more conservative society. On our first day, we were warned about what might happen. Turkish men can be very rude to women, especially foreigners. Women not accompanied by men can be stared at, cat-called, followed, or worse.

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