Travels with Ellen

Although the faculty development seminar has ended, my trip to Turkey has not. Since last Friday (June 5), Ellen and I have been traveling along the Sea of Marmara and down the Aegean Coast. Our days have been spent walking around WWI battlefields (Galipoli), visiting ancient ruins (Troy, Pergamum), and enjoying Mediterranean beaches (Assos, Cunda). We've also spent a considerable amount of time eating fresh seafood and visiting museums.

The Touristy Trojan Horse Model at Troy


Ruins at the Asklepion in Pergamum


Along the way, we've met many kind and wonderful people, both Turks and foreigners. In both Çannakale and Cunda, kind passerbies got into the car and helped direct us to our hotel, while in Pergamum a young Turkish lad helped us find the Archeological Museum. In Assos we met a retired Swiss gentleman named Yves (pictured below).



In a restaurant in Selçuk (right by Ephesus) we met Emile and Dan (pictured below), both professors at UVA's medical school. Although we had only just met, they invited us to join their table and - much to our embarassment - ended up picking up the entire bill. You don't find friends like that too often.



Feline friends have also ever present. In Istanbul, Ellen showed her big heart and animal-loving zeal by feeding the local cats rotisserie chicken every night. Away from Istanbul her acts of animal welfare have continued and even expanded to include other critters. At the Asklepion in Pergamum she fed two local turtles mulberries from nearby mulberry trees. (According to Ellen, the turtles ate her offerings with great relish.) She expressed great concern, however, at the griminess of the water in which they were living and would not leave until the guard had assured her that the turtles were water turtles and that they had always lived in that particular recess.