The latest stop on my journey is Kayseri, a city with hundreds of years of history, as well as a thriving modern economy. Kayseri is in the Cappadocia region of Turkey in the middle part of the country.
As you can see in the background of the mosque, the scenic seaside has now been replaced by equally scenic rolling hills and mountains.
Today, Dicle, a friend of my host, showed me around the city. Dicle is standing in front of the walls of a citadel, which were originally built in the 6th century and repaired in the 1200s.
Dicle was a great, enthusiastic guide and a charming companion for an afternoon.
Dicle and Aziz are my latest Coach Surfing hosts. Both are studying astronomy. Aziz describes himself as a "mad scientist" who also enjoys acting. Although Aziz is extremely busy right now preparing for a journey of his own, he still graciously agreed to host me.
I have enjoyed his intellect and our engaging conversations.
Aziz told me he enjoys Couch Surfing because, "My life is based on sharing. I like to share everything, including my couch."
As for my project, he said, "In every human being there is good and evil, but I think the good is more dominant. I have a strong belief that one day it will come out, and we will have peace everywhere."
Kayseri isn't as much of a tourist town, so I drew some strange looks throughout the day. My favorite encounter was with these little girls. When they heard Dicle and I speaking English, they came running. One of the girls told Dicle that she had never heard a human speaking English before. The girls insisted I speak English over and over again, much to their delight.
I had to share my latest benevolent encounter. When I arrived in Kayseri, Aziz had his cell phone off because he had a bad headache and needed a few minutes of sleep. A representative with the bus company let me borrow his phone to call, but when Aziz didn't answer I got a little nervous.
Then, several of my guardian angels took over. A bus employee led me to a waiting area, where we got through to Aziz. Next, the representative walked me to a shuttle bus, where the driver took over, insisting I sit next to him.
About 30 minutes later, he showed me where to get off the shuttle, but I still wasn't sure where Aziz lived.
I asked a man in front of a store for help. The man must have walked a mile with me, stopping several times to ask for directions.
Finally, we came to a bakery, where we called Aziz. My guardian angel on the left wasn't at all annoyed. In fact, he acted like I did him a favor. That's Turkey. That's my latest example of why the world is good.
Tomorrow, I am journeying about an hour to Göreme, home to some out-of-this-world stone structures. I'll tell you about it in a day or two.
Until then, thanks for reading my blog, and Dicle and Aziz thanks again for your kindness.
Newspaper Story Update
O.K., here is the
newspaper story I told you about, assuming you can read Turkish.
Financial Update
June 22 = 20 Turkish Lira = $12.60
June 22 = $52.75 - 1.83 (PayPal fee) = $50.92
June 23 = $20 - 0.88 (PayPal fee) = $19.12
June 25 = $100 - 3.20 (PayPal fee) = $96.80
June 29 = $25.00 - 1.03 (Pay Pal fee) = $23.97
Total Donations = $203.41
Expenses
Transportation = 161.55 Turkish Lira = $101.77
Food = 81.54 Turkish Lira = $51.37
VISA (to enter Turkey) = $20.00
Lodging = 30 Turkish Lira = $18.90
Ephesus Entrance = 20 Turkish Lira = $12.60
Exchange Fees = 3.90 Turkish Lira = $2.49
Internet Fees = 2 Turkish Lira = $1.26
Total Expenses = $208.14
That means I have $345.81 left to spend over the last 10 days of my trip. It is looking more and more like the universe will respond to both my dreams - spending a month in Turkey and having money left over for charity. Incredible!
Spectacular! Having the benevolence of people you never knew exceed all expectations. That is SO awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see this Mark!
ReplyDeleteThe Turkish really are wonderful, but as I've said repeatedly, I believe benevolence exists everywhere because I believe people are basically good.
ReplyDeleteThis trip has certainly reaffirmed my belief.