Aurora vs Street Dog, Rabies needles, not so much a time.

Ice Cream times before dog scratching times.

One thing that always breaks my heart when I travel outside of Canada is the amount of stray cats and dogs (mostly dogs, because let’s face it, cats are evil anyways) there are in the cities. There are swarms of them on every corner, wandering alone, sleeping on the streets, and scavenging for food. It’s incredibly sad to see, and I feel so bad for the dogs, but it’s also a great health risk as well. Stray animals can spread many terrible diseases to each other, as well as humans and its curious to me why this problem isn’t controlled.

Although I love animals, I always leave strays alone when I travel for safety reasons. However, after being in Cide for only a few days I had an encounter with a street dog that caused some stress. After walking along the pier for some homemade gooey (yes, gooey) icecream with some of the students, we decided to go into the town centre to see if the shops were still open, although it was getting dark and was quite late. The street dogs are more prevalent and braver in the night time as the streets are quieter, and one began to follow us for a few blocks. Finally, when we thought it was gone, I felt something sharp on the back of my foot, sure enough the stray dog in an attempt to possibly get my flip flop or play with my long flowey skirt managed to scratch or nip the arch of my foot. We continued to walk and when we got into a shop where I could sit down to inspect I realised, that although almost unnoticeable, there was a scratch there. I decided to cab home to avoid any more canine encounters and so I could get a better look. The hotel owner has a brother who works at the local hospital, and they said they didn’t think it was a problem, but considering I have never had any rabies vaccines, and Turkey is considered a red zone for rabies, I decided it was not worth the risk.

It is common knowledge that I am a tad bit of a hypochondriac, but even still rabies is not pleasant and after much consideration I came to the conclusion that for peace of mind I would go to the hospital and ask for the rabies shots. So the following day after work I asked my team leader to accompany me to the local hospital in Cide, as I would need a translator. The hospital was close by, and in a very unassuming building with little signage. As soon as I walked in I was hit by the familiar hospital smell of rubbing alcohol, which was welcomingly reassuring. We walked to the front desk, and I gave them my passport and Bleda, my director, explained my situation. I didn’t have a health insurance card, so I paid up front for my consultation and drugs with the intentions of making a claim to my travel health insurance later. However, it was so inexpensive (under 20 lira total, which equals about 13 Canadian dollars) that it really isn’t worth the hassle. We spoke to the doctor and a nurse (there was four different hospital personel in the consult room, you can tell it’s a pretty slow paced place, likely with more staff than patients!) and they decided that the bite was not a high risk because it was shallow and gave me the option if I wanted shots or not. I definitely did, as something as terrible and incurable as rabies deserves no chance. He gave me a small booklet with three dates for each of the needles I will have to get over the next week, and led me into another room where a woman was getting a hand wound dressed. After she left they sat me down, and asked me to remove my shoe again to disinfect the scratch with iodine. Next he prepared the needle and my arm for the shot. I am always very attentive when I get needles, as I like to watch the package being opened to ensure it is new, but since I was distracted by getting my foot cleaned I wasn’t able to watch. I got slightly worried, and asked Bleda again if this was safe and if I could be assured that the needle was new. This seemed to have offended the doctors, while others had a chuckle about this strange Canadian asking such a silly question. After being assured it was disposable I had the shot. I thanked everyone, and went home to rest.

After I went back to the Yali Otel (our home base) I did a little internet research (yes, I googled health information… the number one thing any hypochondriac should avoid) and of course began to get a little nervous. I then received an email from my father who had been in touch with his travel doctor about the ordeal and she was also not happy with my treatment. Instead of three shots over a week, she (and every other source) said I should have five, plus a local RIG shot on my foot for full protection. When I went back for my second needle they told me that this was standard practice for rabies and assured me only three shots was needed. I’m not foaming at the mouth yet, so I am hoping they are correct. I have my third and final shot tomorrow, the last one made me quite sluggish and feverish.

Such a bizzare chain of events, certainly not something I was expecting to do while traveling.

That’s all for now, next post will be about our first day off from work and our day trip to the beautiful town of Amasara, as well as the accounts of the torrential downpours which have been plaguing the Black Sea coast the past few days.

Sometimes I even do work

Look! I found paper work!

Fiona and myself getting our cliff climb on.

This post will be bit of a mash-up of the first few days of surveying, which is the real reason I am here in beautiful Turkey. I have been on a number of archaeological excavations, but this is my first real surface survey experience, and it is a great project to learn about the surveying process and the information which can come from it. The project covers a large amount of land along the black sea coast, and some of the inland regions, and we are recording surface finds (artefacts), features (architectural structures ect) and landscape. I will get more detailed about the project later on in this blog, as I’m still getting comfortable with the project.

The representative from the Archaeological Office we were waiting for finally arrived, but it was late in the night so for our first day of work (Wednesday) the usual 5am wakeup call wasn’t possible. This means we all got to sleep in and left for the field in the afternoon after lunch instead. The entire crew was split into three teams, directing my team is Bleda During, an archaeologist from the University of Leiden who is focused on Chalcolithic and Neolithic archaeology. The team also includes myself, Büş' and Sercan who are art history students from Turkey, and Gwen who is an archaeology student also from the Netherlands. The teams separated to cover different areas of the survey. We spent our first day walking in a grid up a hilly area. I am glad I brought gaiters to wear because many of the bushes we are walking through are very thorny. Our goal was to count how many pottery or tile sherds we came across, recording visibility, and collecting pottery and tiles which have clear profiles, or have diagnostic features. We also record any standing features and photograph them, such as wells, columns and water basins, and stones with artificial markings or holes.

A typical work day begins with waking up at 5am, breakfast at 6am which is generally bread with various spreads (they have a version of Nutella which makes my life), boiled eggs, cheese and tomatoes. After breakfast we drive to our work area which is different each day and survey until 9:30 when we take a second breakfast, this consists of whatever we just grab from the breakfast table and put in a finds bag. We continue surveying until lunch at 12, and then leave the field for the day around 3. Lunch is pretty bland, just two buns, some of which have cheese or potatoes inside, and then watermelon which we slice up on the spot. We have a break to drive home and shower and then we continuing working until supper which is served at 7:30. There is lots of work to be done, such as data basing, scanning, drawing finds, washing finds, and various paper work. Supper is always really delicious, and makes up for breakfast/lunch. We normally have salad, a soup, and a main course. I really like the lentil soup as well as the kofte which are soft lamb meatballs, besides the pickled cabbage on top of the salad and the yogurt base soups I encountered also in Armenia, I like all of the Turkish cuisine.

Some highlights of surveying thus far: surveying fields with baby cows who like to sniff me while I draw roof tiles. All the locals who find us so interesting, point us into directions of other interesting finds or details we may not have noticed (we were photographing a stone wash basin and the locals told us how if you remove the moss there is a picture of someone with snowshoes on), and those who bring us herbs and fruits to snack on and bring home, people showing up with sliced watermelon when you are boiling hot and working is heaven. Finding cool stuff like lithics and pottery, most of what we find is Byzantine, much to the projects dismay as their focus is the prehistory of the area… but as a late antiquity and byzantine enthusiast, it keeps me busy and excited. My final highlight is just the hiking and exploring, and getting in touch with my inner adventurer.

Some bay leaves and mint, a nice treat left by some villagers on our truck.

Gwen and our field friends.

Some of the lowlights of surveying thus far: It’s hot as fuck, although, I have managed to not burn and I haven’t worn sunscreen yet… mind you I am mostly covered head to toe with long pants, long sleeves and a wide brim hat and a buff around my neck. I got lost during a grid because the thorn bushes I was pushing through were taller than me. Bees fucking everywhere (I’m allergic, so not fun). Often English is the last language used on my team, so I am often a little bit confused. Thorn bushes in general suck, I am cut to pieces and it takes me a good 20 to dethorn my shoes… and the thorn pricks have turned into hives over my hands. Tics are everywhere, I’ve managed to not get one yet, but the director on my team has already so I’m sure it’s a matter of time. Surveying in torrential downpour, although nice and cool, the amount of water in my merrels is going to give me trench foot if I hike much more in the rain.

But all and all, I love it. This is exactly what I want to be doing with my life. I love being in such a beautiful place, being outside all day, and uncovering the history that I love. I really can’t imagine any other career for me. I love to excavate, but surveying is growing on me. I love getting to see new places every day, and getting to hike through rain and shine, and thick and thin… literally. Today alone I jumped over barbed wire fences, hiked through a river (waist deep and incredibly fast current), through bushes taller than me, along rock cliffs, and inside a cave. For the girl who lives in high heels and miniskirts most days, I am continually surprising myself with how natural this feels for me.

This is just about the point where the river almost took me, photo dosn't do justice to how fast and strong the current actually was.

That is all for now, be prepared for many more surveying highlight/lowlight mashups, as well as the Aurora vs Rabies account.

Castles and Police Stations, The Kastamonu residency excursion

Myself and Gywen at Kastamonu Castle

I will admit, I am more than a few days behind on this blog, but I will do my best to catch you all up. After settling in for the day in Cide, more of the crew began to arrive. Truly a great team, and hands down the best and most diverse group of archaeologists I have gotten to work with, we have team members from all over Turkey, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Finland and of course, one North American, yours truly. Since many of us are from away, we needed to collect residency booklets to allow us to live in the country for the duration of our research. We all received Research Permits/Visas from our respective Turkish Consulates, and now we needed to pay the Turkish Police a visit to acquire the rest of the needed documentation in the city of Kastamonu, about two hours outside of Cide. This is a long process and a full day affair, although we managed to have some fun at the same time.

I slept most of the ride in, unfortunately the turbulent road got to some and there were some quick pull overs to the side of the road. Once we arrived in Kastamonu we headed straight for the police office, and the waiting began as the directors answered questions to the police and collected our passport and photographs. We sat there for hours, and then were able to leave to explore the city. We grabbed lunch inside a market restaurant. The menu had few photos and was only in Turkish, so ordering was a bit of a gamble. Perhaps I should take up at the Casino, because I managed to get a delicious meal which was a thin bread with a spinach spread baked in the centre, called etli ekmek (sorry if I am butchering the spelling), as well as salad and pop (which the rest of the crew like to make fun of me for saying, they call it Soda). After lunch the directors went back to handle more logistical stuff with the police, and the crew went to explore the city, primarily Kastamonu’s Castle (the only main tourist attraction).

The Castle was beautiful, mostly ruins now, but had an excellent view of the entire city. We tried to count the mosque towers we could see, but there were too many. The Castle was built in the Byzantine, which is my interest area, and was commissioned by the Emperor Commenos, later it was reconstructed by the Ottomans and was deemed a national archaeological site after its destruction in an earthquake. As we rounded the corner of the castle I was approached by a woman wearing a full hijab who was speaking feverishly to me, but I couldn’t understand. I found out she wanted her picture taken with me, and before I knew it I had about seven people asking to have their photos with me and some of the crew. They were tourists from Baghdad and seemed genuinely excited to find out I was Canadian, and had some very nice things to say about Canada. After the castle we went to a café to wait for the directors who were still at the police office. I had been craving mojitos for days and they had a virgin mojito slushy, which was just perfect.

Finally enough of the legalities were finished that we each received our little blue booklets which make us temporary Turkish residents, although Bleda, one of our directors still had more things to work out. One car was able to go home to Cide, while the rest of us stayed in the city to wait some more. In the meantime we went to a large shopping mall, and wandered around some more. Once all was completed it was far past supper so we grabbed Pide, a bread egg and cheese dish and headed home. It was a long day, but I enjoyed exploring and the city of Kastamonu.

The survey still has not begun as we are waiting for the representative who will monitor our work to arrive, so we are behind schedule. Stay tuned for our first survey experience, and the Aurora vs stray dog vs rabies vaccine tale.

Spinich bread dish

mint and lime fresh slushie

Wait, why can’t I see the ocean? The finding Cide fiasco

View from my window in Cide

After my stay at the very posh TAV airport hotel, it was time to check out and embark on the stressful journey of getting to Cide, the small town on the Black Sea coast where I will be surveying. Cide is about eight hours by bus from Istanbul. I had been given vague instructions from one of the co-directors of the project from Glasgow University to go to the Otogar (bus stop) in Istanbul, and take the night bus to Cide. I had received an email from one of her students, Sami, to meet him and two other students at the Otogar in time for supper. I was confused because a bus stop is not a very descript location, or so I thought, since in North America we are used to a bus stop being on every second corner. However, in all of Istanbul there is one Otogar, it takes up a few blocks and has many different coach bus companies, internet cafes, and places to eat, shop, and exchange money while waiting for the various busses that go all across the country.

I went to the first Metro Turizm station I saw, knowing this was my bus company. I soon found out there are about 20 Metro stations. I arrived just after one o’clock, after taking a very friendly taxi who told me to not go to Cide which has “five boring houses, not fun to see” and rather go to Kastamonu where he was from. Little did I know, that is exactly where I would end up. The students I was meant to meet would not be there for another four hours, so I decided to try to collect my ticket and find a spot to wait. I told the woman at the desk I was going to Cide tonight and had already had a ticket purchased for me and needed to collect it, she was confused and sent me to another Metro office where a man spoke better English. He was very helpful, but couldn’t find my name on the reserved list for the Cide night bus, I was pretty worried at this point, but without an internet connection I couldn’t call the co-directors or where to meet with the other students. So I just sat and waited. He ended up letting me use his office computers and his cell to call the directors, but none of them answered the phone. Hours later, after bringing me tea, he grabbed my bags and lead me around the block to another Metro station, telling me this was where my bus would leave. He put my luggage in storage, giving me a retrieve tag, and told me my friends would likely come here to catch the bus and perhaps they would know the whereabouts of my ticket.

A little after four thirty a blond guy, and two girls, with khakis and camping backpacks, hiking boots, buffs and Tilley hats walked in. I knew instantly these must be the other students, because let’s face it… only archaeologists can be so stylish. They saw my Canadian flag on my backpack, and all was well. I told them about my ticket troubles, and Sami informed us that our Bus was actually directed to Kastamonu (the city two hours from Cide) and would stop in Cide and the other coastal towns before its final stop in Kastamonu. We got our tickets, and went to find a café for some drinks and snacks. They checked their luggage at the same storage station (just a closet with a guy standing in front who checks tickets), and we went off to the café, for some iced drinks. Later we walked through the kiosks for some food. I asked for chicken and rice, they got pitas. Next thing I knew, and entire chicken was placed on my plate… let’s just say, it was a touch more food than I was ready for.

After more waiting, snacking, watching hilarious Turkish soaps in the Metro Bus café, it was time to board our Bus to Kastamonu. The busses are incredible, lots of leg room, TVs for every seat, plush leaning back chairs, a server who brings you tea and water (there’s even a tea button you can press for tea). We all settled in, and fell asleep. Some drooling may have been involved. About six hours in, myself and Sami woke up, and realised we still couldn’t see the water. This means we were not on the coastal bus route. We kept hope that we soon would find the ocean and be on our way to Cide. However, as the sun came up our hopes diminished. We were dropped off at the Kastamonu Otogar, luckily we came equipped with phrase books, and were able to explain we wanted another bus to Cide. The police officer let us hang out in his office, brought us tea, ordered us lentil soup and let us wait for a few hours until the 9am bus to Cide came.

The final leg of our trip was not so plush, and was very overcrowded, stopping every few minutes for people on the side of the road who would stand in the van when it was full. Three hours later we found ourselves in Cide at the Yali Otel, which will be our home base. We were the first to arrive, so we set up our bedrooms, showered and went off to the beach for a swim, and then a walk into town. In excited news, I found Lamajhoon (called Lamacun in Turkish) which was my favourite Armenian snack (flat bread with meat, onion and tomato paste).

Cide is BEAUTIFUL, the view from my bedroom its breathtaking. I can see the bay, sailboats, the beach and the green water. Time off will be a true vacation, but I am excited to get to work!

That’s all for now folks, next up will be some explorations of the town and our day trip back to Kastamonu and our day long police office encounter.

Bus Stop "Otogar" in Istanbul

Myself, Sami (Finland), Fiona (Scotland), and Lilith (Germany) at the Otogar Cafe.

Aurora