1987-1988 Rothberg Yearbook

Travel Abroad
Turkey
David has forced me under threat of Turkish Bath to put down some thoughts about Turkey. I
didn’t hesitate to grab a pen because I know what such a threat entails. In two words David told
me that I better start writing unless I want to stand naked in a strange country, wander about hot
stone floors in small wooden sandals, sit on sweaty slabs of granite and pour hot and cold water
over my head from a plastic bowl, and wait in confusion until a little man with knots for muscles
tosses me down to squeeze every muscle in my body until I moan like the man who climbs the
minaret. For my own safety I concluded that sharing such an experience would be better than
reliving it at David’s hands.
Actually, to return to a Turkish bath is a dream I hope to fulfill, because that would mean
returning to Turkey, undoubtedly one of the most fascinating countries in the world. I had no
idea what Turkey would offer, and each step proved to be a learning experience more complete
than the last. I was thrust years into the past where the greatest products of trade are hand woven
carpets and leather, and surrounded by the friendliest people between Europe and Asia. Do not
be scared by a Turk spending his entire day touring you, his guest, around the city of his origin;
he’ll expect nothing more than a Thank You or perhaps a glass of raki at the day’s end. Do not be
surprised by an invitation into a stranger’s home for tea; it is as common as the sight of a woman
hand weaving thick, colored socks and gloves in front of the Sultan’s Palace.
And this is only Istanbul. As one travels down the Aegean coast, the spectacle of ruins 2,000
years old challenges the imagination to accept the advances of civilizations twenty centuries
gone; amphitheatres so acoustically perfect that one person sitting on the stage can hold a
normal conversation with another 150 meters up on the highest tier.
From that high tier one can look westward to the sparkling Aegean and imagine all of Europe, or
turn to the east for a vision that spans across the volcanic plateaus and sandy deserts of Asia
Minor. Turkey is a country that spans two continents, not only geographically but culturally, the
spectacular crossroad between Asia and Europe. One should miss neither the warmth of the
people nor the splendor and excitement that awaits on the shores of the Bosphorous and the
Colonnades of Ephesus.
Well, that was a mouthful. I’m exhausted. Dave, go draw me a bath, not too hot. Are there any
bubbles?
Kenny Golde