Çeşme

We took a side trip to Ephesus to see the Roman ruins and the genuine fake watches.

It was so hot in the blazing Ephesus sun that we were overdue for an Aegean swim by the time we returned to Çeşme.

The water is so very blue.

Ankara

I wasn't able to unravel the mystery of Ankara. It sprawls for miles and seems to be expanding rapidly, but the economic engine is unclear. Few tourists come here; visitors are mainly Turks and an assortment of foreign diplomats.

We visited Ataturk's mausoleum, imposing and stark. Ataturk helped lead the fight for Turkish independence and was its first president. Today he and his legacy are treated with respect and reverence; it is illegal to slander him. The mausoleum seems calculated to inspire awe for his persona and respect for the Turkish military. Though the "Turkish man" and "Turkish woman" are represented, main themes concentrate on freedom from colonizers, the importance of the Turkish state, and total sacrifice for the cause of independence.

As we departed, we drove through strange landscapes of high hills and of low valleys filled with opium poppies. The ban on opium production had devastated the region economically, and it was apparent that small- to moderate-scale production is overlooked today.

On the road to Ankara

I've never seen a landscape quite like this. The hills seemed small and ordinary as we left Istanbul, but somewhere about 45 kilometers from Ankara, they looked like this.

Istanbul

A mix of Europe and Asia, old and new, religious and nonreligious, Istanbul is beautiful, nothing like what I thought it would be but fascinating. The skyline is full of minarets, and you are never out of earshot of the call to prayer, sung out five times a day.

We performed our first concert while severely jetlagged in Aya Irini (Hagia Eirene), an old church built around 600. It's in the outermost courtyard of the old Ottoman palace.

There is a significant amount of pollution in the Bosphorus, but it is incredibly blue. The view behind Topkapi Palace is amazing. The palace itself is full of densely patterned tile and carved stone.

Aya Sofya, or Hagia Sophia, is huge and beautiful. It is only a museum now, no longer a mosque or even a church, but the layers of its Muslim and Christian heritage are evident everywhere, from the delicate mosaics formerly hidden behind layers of whitewash to the large crests with the name of Allah and important Muslim figures.

The Blue Mosque is painted and patterned on all surfaces, filling all empty space with the visual rhythm of its design.

Evening fell over Istanbul as we floated upon the water between two continents.

Turkey!

The Buttress is going on a short tour with the Yale Symphony Orchestra to Turkey! Updates and photo uploads may be inconsistent during the trip itself, but they'll make it online eventually.