incirlik,
turkey
Photos from several trips in
2001
Interesting facts about turkey
Turkey’s highest peak, Mt. Ararat, was supposed to be the resting place of Noah’s Ark after the flood.
Adana,
Turkey (where I visited) is on the route Mark Anthony took to Tarsus to meet
Cleopatra.
97%
of Turkey is in Asia, and 3% is in Europe.
Istanbul
was once known as Byzantium and later as Constantinople.
99%
of the population is Islam. The Turks do respect your freedom to worship as you
please. However, you may not interfere
with another person’s choice of beliefs.
Sorry, no “spreading the word” here.
The
Turkish fishing industry’s #1 catch:
Anchovies!!
It
is against the law to insult a Turkish citizen, the flag, the currency, and
especially the country’s founder, Ataturk.
These are punishable by jail!
Average sentence: 2-3 years.
The
automatic sentence for possession or use of heroine or cocaine: life in prison.
The
current exchange rate is $1 US = 660,000 Turkish Lira. A “Million Lira Bill” is worth $1.50. (2001)
(The rate has changed to 900,000 Turkish Lire
= $1 US in 2002)
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Turkey
covers over 300,000 square miles and is located between the Mediterranean Sea
and the Black Sea. It has a dry
climate, with hot, sunny summers and cold winters. The population is 61,000,000.
The
nomadic forebears of the modern Turks came out of Central Asia in the 11th
Century, conquered the Arab and Byzantine Empires, and set themselves up as
rulers. It was at this time Islam
replaced Christianity as the principle religion of the region.
The
modern Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal (later Ataturk) from a portion of the
Ottoman Empire, following the empire’s collapse as a result of World War I
(1914-1918). Mustafa Ataturk is revered
throughout Turkey. It is his teachings
and philosophies that guide modern Turkey.
At the birth of the country in 1923, less than 10% of the population was
literate. Now that rate is 82%. School is mandatory for children for 5
years. Unfortunately, in 1995, only 63%
of children were enrolled in secondary school (middle/high school). Ataturk taught the people to be kind,
honest, and hard working.
Adana and Incirlik are
located in Southeast Turkey near Tarsus (see the red arrow on the map).
Notice the neighboring
countries: Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and
Iraq. Tough neighborhood!
Landing at Adana Airport in
Southeast Turkey.
The city of Adana, Turkey,
with the Tarsus Mountains in the background.
Incirlik Air Base is about 8
miles from the airport.
Welcome to “The Alley”. This is the main street outside Incirlik Air
Base. It is about a mile long, and is
lined with small shops selling everything from Turkish rugs to t-shirts,
leather goods, food, records, antiques, etc. etc.
The crescent moon and star
on a red background is the Turkish Flag.
Good prices on Turkish rugs!
This store caught my
interest, mostly because it was one of the few without someone
standing out front trying to
get you to come into their store.
Inside, I found hundreds of
old, handmade pots, jars, and vases made out of tin-plated copper.
I bought a copper candy dish
and a Turkish yogurt pail, similar to a small milk pail.
Some of the shops were
obviously not too authentic. Skip this
one!
One common sight in “The Alley” is the large number of children working on the street trying to bring people into the stores, or actually selling products themselves. The storeowners use the children to prey on visitors’ pity on children.
These children were playing
around the railroad tracks that run through the center of “The Alley”.
There are no crossing bars
or any warnings of approaching trains.
This bike shop specializes
in repairing and re-selling old bikes.
No Turkish children I saw in the area had new bikes.
A bicycle repairman and his
two sons. They were straightening a
wheel.
Turkish men enjoying a board
game.
Yumm Yumm, something smells
good! One of the many Turkish
restaurants lining the alley.
Fresh produce and meat are a
must!
Just outside the gate is the
Red Onion Restaurant. Great food!
Chicken Tava, a very popular
meal. Very spicy chicken baked in a tomato
sauce, and served with
rice, flat bread, and humice (bread topping). The dish is made of
oven-baked sand.
A meal like this costs
around $3 - $4. With Pepsi.
After lunch, I was walking
down the street and met up with this gentleman. He was kind enough to pull over and let me take a few pictures –
for a dollar, of course.
I even got the Turkish flag
in the background.
Just around the corner was
this auto body/paint shop.
Hollowood? I don’t think so.
This is as close as cameras
are allowed to the base. Incirlik is
still a Turkish Base, and we are guests.
We follow their rules, which are very strict. It’s a little uncomfortable walking on and off base the first few
times. You must present your ID and
your base pass to guards carrying machine guns. More guards like this watch from above. They take their jobs very seriously.
The dolmus is a 12-passenger
mini-bus common around Turkey. There
are hundreds of these running around, and on no schedule. You just stand by the road for a couple
minutes, and one is sure to come by. It
costs 250,000 Turkish Lira (about 40cents) to ride. You get in and pass your money to the front, and the driver
passes your change back.
The inside of a Dolmus before
becoming packed with 12-15 people.
I rode the dolmus to Adana,
site of the Sabanci Mosque. This is the
second-largest Mosque in the world.
The inside of the Mosque is
one large open room. Note the huge
circular rings suspended from the ceiling.
There have been as many as
28,000 worshippers in this building at once.
I would not want to be
in the middle of that crowd and have to go to the bathroom. There are none in this
building; you must go outside to the next building.
This appears to be the place
the person leading the worship performs his duties.
Across the street from the
Mosque was this gentleman selling pistachios, a popular treat in Turkey.
Yumm Yumm. I did prefer the baked pistachios to the raw
ones.
As I returned to the base,
many of the Turkish workers were lining up to get rides home
in the back of several
trucks. Most probably do not own cars.
Leaving the next day from
Adana Airport. In addition to high-tech
security (x-ray luggage and metal detectors),
the airport also relies on
low-tech methods. After checking your
luggage in at the counter and getting your ticket, you must stop at the luggage
cart on your walk out to the airplane to place your luggage back on the
truck. This ensures no “extra” luggage
makes its way on board. Simple, but
effective. Just don’t forget to put your bag on the truck! It will be removed from the parking lot by
the guards after the plane has departed.
Just west of Adana, the Tarsus
Mountains are home to many villages and lakes.
The middle section of Turkey
is a large, treeless plain. A close
look will reveal a network of dirt trails.
As we approached Istanbul
and the Black Sea, there were many beautiful lakes and mountains.
Here is an interesting
picture. Turkey is located in both
Europe and Asia. This small water
passage
marks the border. In the bottom of the picture is Asia; on the top
of the picture is Europe.
You can locate this site on
the map just east of Istanbul.
Click here to learn more about
Turkey online
Click here to learn more about
Adana, Turkey online
Hope You enjoyed
Turkey