05.20.2011
Personal:
- Ege Universitesi – gated, looks like a big institution
- The Hilton Hotel was the first high-rise in the city – proof of recent Westernization of Turkey
- Tea on top of a Citadel in a Kurdish area; little boy came to “observe” us; we’re told he was there to “steal” any valuables quickly while we were enjoying the view
- Battleships in the sea
- Archeology and Ethnographic (?) Museum – slight car “quelf” with some of the local Turks and our bus driver; let’s just say with light street laws comes reckless driving
- Afternoon free – explored the “colorful markets of İzmir” with some Turkish coffee and a non-touristy market nestled downtown about a mile from the hotel. Tosun, our tour guide, bought us some Turkish Coffee at a really quaint cafe overlooking the markets :) From there we shopped like crazy. I even found a sterling silver Atatürk charm! In the evening we went out into the city for some “bro-chilling” (team-bonding haha) at a really interesting underground lounge.
Research:
- Kurds: general lack of trust from other Turks; known as poor thieves; lived in run-down parts of city (like the slums of LA) in communities a few blocks from upper-class commercial streets
- Tension between the AKP government (PM Tayyip Erdoğan) and the military; a 3-star general is in jail for disrespecting the Prime Minister; AKP is passing quick laws to limit the power of the military
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