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Aah, relaxation.
Sep. 4th, 2007 10:10 pmKind of a nothing day. I napped in the room till a ridiculously late hour, then did the loop of the Temple of Artemis, museum, basilica. More napping, good dinner.
Got sucked into the shop of a carpet seller, a Kurd named Ennis, for an hour or two. Lots of tea and backgammon. Much talk about the people he's met, how he loves talking to travelers, about the woman from Seattle his brother married. Then a lot of talk about Eastern Turkey and Lake Van, about the Kurds and being Kurdish and the Turkish government and identity and the pace of change in the younger generation and the need for education to resist oppression. Good talk.
After dinner, the hamam. That was pretty incredible- it felt completely luxurious but without being fru-fru and new-agey like spas at home. It's interesting how completely unselfconscious you can be-I thought the scrub guy and masseuse would bother me at least a little, but not at all. The amount you can sweat, and the amount of skin you can take off, and the intensity of massage you can stand, is all pretty incredible. you come out feeling five pounds lighter. It also really evens out funky tan lines. I find myself desperately wishing for someplace like that at home, just cheap and businesslike and effective.
Got sucked into the shop of a carpet seller, a Kurd named Ennis, for an hour or two. Lots of tea and backgammon. Much talk about the people he's met, how he loves talking to travelers, about the woman from Seattle his brother married. Then a lot of talk about Eastern Turkey and Lake Van, about the Kurds and being Kurdish and the Turkish government and identity and the pace of change in the younger generation and the need for education to resist oppression. Good talk.
After dinner, the hamam. That was pretty incredible- it felt completely luxurious but without being fru-fru and new-agey like spas at home. It's interesting how completely unselfconscious you can be-I thought the scrub guy and masseuse would bother me at least a little, but not at all. The amount you can sweat, and the amount of skin you can take off, and the intensity of massage you can stand, is all pretty incredible. you come out feeling five pounds lighter. It also really evens out funky tan lines. I find myself desperately wishing for someplace like that at home, just cheap and businesslike and effective.
