heading to the southeast

Hey there my party people.

I'll promise to improve the layout of this site soon and add all the "bells and whistles" that my advisers have told me appeal to the youngsters today.

Tomorrow I am headed to Southeastern Turkey for the week. My roommate Andrew and I will be in the eastern city of Van for the first two days. After that he heads back to Istanbul and I will make my way west, traveling through the cities of Mardin, Hasankeyf, Sanliurfa and Adana. These cities are a bit off the beaten path, but I've heard that *true* Turkish culture still exists in these parts, as opposed to Istanbul, which has managed to suffocate much of the charm and quaintness out of living in Turkey.

I've heard in Mardin there are many Syrian Orthodox Christians, many of whom still speak a form of Aramaic. There's even an operating monastery near the city that has monks who use Aramaic (or at least a form of it) in their liturgical language. I suppose I could try to watch the Passion of the Christ with one of those guys and see if they have full comprehension or not.

anyway, I'll be back next friday. There likely won't be much Internet access in those parts, so don't hold your breath on a blog post. I'm bringing my camera with me so I'll try to post some pics once I return.