Assos, Turkey

We woke up early to make the 6 hour drive from Istanbul to Assos, making stops at cafes and farmer's markets along the way to stock the house.  The drive was incredible as we made our way south along the coast.  We drove through the little village of Assos and out into the countryside where we came to Metin's 2 acre property.  He bought the land with the idea that it would be divided up into 6 plots and he and 5 friends would each build a house there and live as a community.  Currently, only Metin's house and guesthouse (where us volunteers are staying) are finished, but there are two others that will be completed by the end of April.   Metin has a small garden in which he grows olive trees, lettuces and spices and plans to expand it to include more types of veggies and fruit trees.   He also has 5 dogs: 3 Jack Russell Terriers and 2 GIANT shepherd mix.  

Taken from the roof of the guesthouse. Metin's house and in the distance is one of the houses under construction.  All the houses so far are made of stone.

The guesthouse

Our view from the guesthouse

While here, Metin has asked us to just relax and make some art pieces for the property.  With the three of us being artists, we loved this idea.  We also decided to take on the task of walking the big dogs three times a day, which has turned out to be a much greater feat than we had anticipated.  These dogs are literally like horses and have had no training whatsoever, so it's more like we get dragged behind them wherever they want to go.  We have had some hilarious mishaps that really should have been caught on tape.

The dogs: Maya (left) and Horton

We spend most of the day sitting on our deck in the sun coming up with ideas for projects.  Here are some of the things we have made so far:

He has a windmill on the property that he is experimenting with, and he didn't like how industrial it looked. So we painted it:)

We setup this fire pit area in the olive tree grove

Hidden seating area . Im not sure you will be able to see it in this photo, because it blends into the rocks.  We outlined the area with painted rocks and hung lanterns and sculptures in the trees.

The three of us painted this chair white, and then each chose a panel to do what we wanted

An interesting thing has happened since I have been here in Assos.  I have become OBSESSED with painting and I'm not sure where it came from.  I always liked painting, but i was never really drawn to it. But now, it's all I can think about and I want to paint anything and everything I can get my hands on. And I have.  We only have access to a few colors, and it's metal paint, but it hasn't stopped me from using it on wood, rocks and plastic. 

Here are some of the things I have done:

I painted this board that was put up in the outdoor seating area

I painted a few of these metal pieces and placed them around the farm 

More painted wood

One of the days we decided to walk into Assos and explore.  The city is on a hill and at the top are the ruins of the temple of Athena.

Assos

Temple of Athena

The view from the ruins

A typical village home

At one of the dinners we went to we met a guy who lives in the heart of Assos and he invited us to stop by when we walked into town.  He showed us his home and the building project he was working on. He is starting a sailing school and is turning an old house in a school.  We sat with him and had some coffee while he told us some interesting things about the villagers and the area:

• When he moved to Assos 20 years ago, he said the villagers were all so friendly and every morning he would find baskets of cheese and olives on his doorstep.  But in the past 5 years or so, the villagers had acquired a fair bit of money and that type of friendliness stopped.  
• He told us that the tradition houses have two floors with the family living on the top floor and their animals living on the ground floor.  This is because the heat produced from the animals is enough to keep the family warm without having to use another heating system.
• Most of the people now living in the heart of Assos are foreigners and the villagers live in the outskirts.  This is because the government set up a program in which any villager who had lived in the city center for 5 years or more could sell their property and the government would give them a piece of outlying land that they could then build a home on with the money from the sale.  Most of the people moving into Assos are from Istanbul and want to have summer homes in Assos, and they are required to follow strict building codes to preserve the traditional style of the city.  
• The sheep and cattle herders take their flocks and go up into the mountains for 2-3 months in order to become more connected with them. As a result, the herders develop a language that the animals understand and respond to.
• Apparently, Assos is the place from which the gods watched the Trojan war

While exploring Assos, we visited an amphitheater that was built around the 2nd or 3rd century B.C.

That is most of the adventures I have had while being in Turkey.  We have a couple of days left and we are going to spend them finishing up some last projects, drinking tea on the porch and going swimming down at the beach.   I have so enjoyed getting to know Holly and Nick. They have been great fun teaching me all kinds of new terminology and recipes for English roasts that I'm excited to bring home. 

It has been really interesting to be a part of this culture for the past two weeks, because it is so different from my own.  There is still a great deal of male dominance over women in a more blatant way than we see it in the States and it has been an eye opener for me.  While being here I got some first hand experience and every time it happened, it lit a fire in my belly that made it hard not to say anything or take a stand against it.  For example when we have dinner with friends of Metin - mostly men with successful businesses,  Nick is addressed far more in conversation, and compliments of all of our cooking are addressed to him. They presume he must be the head chef and has directed us less-able women. 

Nick's empty glass of raqi is offered re-fills as the men share it around the table but our empty glasses are ignored. But our quiet irritation doesn't last long and we're suppressing uncontrollable fits of giggles. The men are actually very nice, polite and kind to us all. Some show lesser degrees of the subtle cultural sexism than others,and Metin seems to have forgotten the sexism almost entirely, minus the odd sarcastic joke. He also has many friends that are powerful, funny women.  This sexism stems from a long history of a  religious/cultural belief system that women are simply naive and, therefore, could never be as powerful or independent as the men.  The first night I was in Istanbul, Metin introduced me to his mother, who lives in the apartment across the hall.  He told me that this is the custom in Turkey, that the man takes care of the women in his family.  In return, his mother cooks and cleans for him.  I came home one night after dinner and my bed has been made and my room had been tidied.  I asked Metin about it and he said "She loves to do it. And if you are ever hungry, you must go next door and ask her to make you some food.  She would really love that."  Of course, I would never in a million years knock on a strange woman's door and ask her to cook for me.  But it was so interesting to see the way this culture works and that they have found a way to live in harmony. It was shocking to me that most of the women like it this way. 

Turkey is an amazing place that I hope to return to one day.  My host has been beyond generous and I hope he will make the trip to Santa Barbara so that I can repay his hospitality.

In a few days I will fly back to Stuttgart and then on to France!  See you then:)