YAY! It’s my birthday! Well technically it’s not, but since I’m still one post behind, this is my birthday post. So hooray! Today is my nineteenth birthday. As I sit here reflecting on the day, I count the significant advances today brings:

Yay. And here are a list of things that being nineteen brings me one year closer to:

I found it’s good to set goals for oneself. But yes, I had an absolutely fabulous birthday. I got to be subjected to Turkish propaganda, harassed by Gypsies, meet a misplaced Michigan woman with a Minnesotan accent, discover the necessity of being cooked [yes, you read that correctly], and listen to an hour long conversation about having conversations. An intriguing day, no?

But all jesting aside, my birthday was actually one of the best birthdays I ever had. Not only did I get the chance to celebrate it halfway across the world, I also got to celebrate it with a wonderful group of friends that have become very dear to me over this past week. :)

Hmmm reflective, sentimental moments don’t lend themselves to effective transitions. Especially when one is trying to transition to a giant mausoleum/propaganda center for Turkey’s founding father and dictator.  Ehh why dance around the subject:

Ok, some background. Ataturk is considered the founding father of the Republic of Turkey. He is a very beloved figure; so much so that all schoolchildren are required by law to go on a field trip to his grave/memorial and pay their respects. Hmm yes. We won’t get into my feelings on that. He made many sweeping reforms to Turkey, including but not limited to: making Turkey a secularized state, removing all “foreign” words from the Turkish language, changing the script from Arabic based letters to Latin based ones, giving women a lot more rights, outlawing certain religious lodges, moving the centuries old capital to Ankara, destroying many religious shrines, and creating and then disbanning the opposition party. Take all of that how you will.

The mausoleum is basically a huge shrine, complete with a long path guarded by stone lions a huge imposing building on the skyline, and an entire museum filled with everything Ataturk every did, saw, touched, thought about… It was actually a very interesting experience, especially the people watching. There was a ceremony in which a wreath is presented to his grave…every 15 minutes. The place was swarming with school children. People brought roses to his grave. (Also something interesting to note: it’s illegal to insult Ataturk or this so called “Turkishness”). But yes, everyone genuinely worshipped him.

The whole complex just reeks of brainwashing. But that could just be innately-judgmental-and-suspicious me speaking. There are debates about whether or not the actions he took were good or not, but one thing is certain: he knew how to lead and he knew how to make his mark. Ataturk is so ingrained in the population that he will continue to be immortalized for many decades to come.

We travel to visit the Haji Bayram Veli Mosque in Ankara before we left the city. Upon arrival, we are immediately harassed by small Gypsy children shoving their hands in our faces (or really our stomachs because they couldn’t reach that high). I believe they only knew two English words: “Hello” and “money”. And that was the constant refrain. They actually didn’t bother me, but then again, my compassion-for-my-fellow-human-beings gene is rather underdeveloped and they probably could sense that.

We go to the mosque, only to discover that…it’s closed. Instead we watched old ladies lined up outside praying, with their faces inches away from the mosque’s stone walls. Though one cool thing: it was built near a Roman ruin and this ruin is actually the only one in the world that depicts a Roman emperor’s accomplishments.

We then hit the road, though not literally, and once again I explore the intricate details of my inner eyelids. Even though it is around lunchtime and we’re in a city full of restaurants, Mezut instead takes us two hours out to the middle of nowhere to feast on the gourmet dining of the local gas station. Though truth be told, it was a delicious meal, and we ran into some Misplaced Americans. The owner, though a native Turk, was actually an Indiana Hoosiers fan who married a woman from Michigan. A Michigan woman with a Minnesotan accent. No comment.

We then travel to visit Haji Bektash Veli (yes, it is different than the one listed above), a Sufi Monastery.  It is very interesting, especially seeing all the religious paraphernalia being sold on stands outside of it. Inside the Sufi Monastery, we learn about the mystical role of cooking and that if a chick pea starts talking to you from your pot of boiling water, no you don’t need a therapist, push it back in because it’s not done cooking yet. And that sentence will confuse about 90% of those who just read that.

We also got to explore the tomb portion. Since it was under construction and being painted, we got to wear these SUPER COOL blue plastic footies. The tomb was cool, yes, but these plastic footies were the highlight. That and this really old knarbly tree.

We head onward and arrive in Cappadocia and our hotel. WOW. This hotel? Absolutely breath-taking – a 300 year old restored stone house that is basically a mini castle. I mean, several of us were already planning our honeymoons here, it was so exquisite. Plus, the food was amazing and the view was unparalleled.

After dinner, I was surprised with a birthday cake! Aww! It was so thoughtful and I felt very loved as everyone sang me happy birthday. Honestly, it was a great day and I loved celebrating my birthday here in Turkey. [Big shout-out to Omid and the gang for making this a fantastic birthday].

After dessert, we gather to practice our ability to be as tactful as possible about a certain Turkish dictator while in the presence of certain Ataturk-loving tour guide. Finally, at the end of the day, a few of us go and visit the hotel owner (another one of Omid’s many friends) in his carpet shop and listen to an (admittedly long and one-sided) conversation about, among other things, the importance of conversation.

Well, that concludes my nineteenth birthday! It was a busy day, but what better way to celebrate than exploring a foreign country with a group of great friends? I shall conclude this post with a couplet from today’s reading (Rumi’s Masnavi):