Samos, Greece Road to Ephesus

The island of Samos is a few inches from the Turkish mainland. Nevertheless, it’s Greece. There must’ve been a battle for it at some point. If I were Turkey, I’d certainly fight for it. But the Gods favored the Greeks, as they often do.

I must be in Greece, cause I’m eating a ham sandwich. Ham, my belly says “welcome back.”

Samos is just south of Lesbos, home of some influential girl-on-girl poetry.

Samos is east of Santorini, earthquake-prone home to the ancient Minoans and probable origin of the Atlantis myth.

Samos is just north of Patmos, where St. John sat in a cave and produced the Book of Revelations to silence the voices in his head. If only all psychotic missives were afforded such gravity, what a world this would be.

Flew out of Jordan a week ago. I was heading for Istanbul, counting on a connection in Beirut, but the flight wasn’t leaving when I thought it did. I had a night to kill.

Caught a cab into the city. Inevitably, screaming was involved. They never just take you where you want to go. There’s always something. This something had us reversing back up a highway off-ramp.

Beirut is working hard to shed its image as a bombed-out crater and regain its prior image as the Paris of the Middle East. I don’t know if they’ve seen Paris lately, but these days there’s hardly a distinction.

Beirut has obviously changed a lot recently, but it still wears its scars openly.

I’m pretty sure that guy on the right used to have two arms, and I don’t think the bullet holes were an aesthetic decision.

I’d heard much talk of Lebanese cuisine, and my limited domestic exposure has been positive, so I decided to give it a go. I picked a sidewalk restaurant and explained to the waiter that I had only one meal in which to experience his country’s culinary spectrum.

The waiter ordered me one of almost everything on the menu. “Small portions only,” he said, but that message got lost somewhere between my table and the kitchen.

I ate as much as I could fit in my body. I even ate the fries, which I’m pretty sure aren’t a staple part of the cuisine. And don’t think I didn’t pay for it, cause I did. Full price for everything.

It strikes me that this is the sort of thing that makes some tourists wax rhapsodic about the generosity of Lebanese or Bolivians or Mongolians or wherever they happen to be. Not to sound grumpy, but that wasn’t generosity. That was being taken for a ride. That was being stuffed like a turkey and then eaten.

Overcome with guilt for my gluttonous ways, I resolved to work off the meal by walking back to the airport.

The airport in Beirut isn’t much closer than the airport in any other city. It’s not the kind of distance where you go, “I think I’ll walk.” Especially when it’s the middle of the night and you’re carrying 55 pounds of luggage. But I had a 4am flight and some time to kill. And some calories to burn. And I guess I needed to work some stuff out in my head. Walking helps.

Passed this sign.

Kind of a sad acknowledgement of cultural decline.

Istanbul was a welcome change. I spent my first evening eating kebabs at a bustling café in the shadow of the Blue Mosque. It was filled with burly mustachioed men and women playing backgammon and smoking from narghile (hookah) pipes. It felt like part of some elaborate municipal effort to maintain tourist expectations. I had to tap one of them on the shoulder to make sure he wasn’t animatronic. But no, evidently they still get their kicks the way they did a century ago.

I’m certainly not complaining.

Turks are also more willing to cohabitate with tourists in their leisure spaces. Coming from the Middle East, before that Africa, and Asia further still, I’ve been conditioned to accept the vast gulf between visitor and local. Europe, or at least that aspect of Europe, is something I’m ready for.

I slept a lot in Istanbul. First it was recovering from the 4am flight, but I eventually realized I was worn down by much more than that.

Blue Mosque. Nyeh.

Hagia Sophia. Whatever.

One aspect of Europe I’m not looking forward to is all the religious sites. The message never changes: “Look how much we love God!”

Great. Got it. Not interested.

I’m not sure God is, either.

Hey, wow, Sistine Chapel. That’s fantastic, guys. No, really. I’m speechless – totally flattered. Tell me something, though…have you seen the Grand Canyon? Cause I made that. How about Dead Vlei in Namibia? Uh huh. That was me too…Boy, love the tile work. And those frescos. Man, that must’ve taken you forever. This is definitely going on the fridge.

The famous Grand Bazaar is an open market with over 4500 shops. It wasn’t until I got there that I started wondering why that’s a good thing.

This packaging is somewhat alarming.

Turks are very attractive people. Take this politician, for example, who like a young Jack Kennedy, is clearly coasting on his good looks.

Mostly they look the way Americans do in old pictures from back when we had to work for a living. Their skin is made of naugahyde. Their heads are crunched downward as if from years of backbreaking labor. They appear to have all just emerged from a coal mine.

After a couple days of recuperation, I decided to start touring the countryside. First stop: Troy.

Yes, that Troy. Who knew it was in Turkey? Did some research and it’s pretty well accepted that they found it. They don’t publicize the place much – undoubtedly for a reason.

Took a ferry across the Bosphorus. Bus to Bursa. Stuck there for 8 hours waiting for another bus to Chanakkale (lacking the patience to decipher the Turkish alphabet, I’m just going with rough pronunciations). The big surprise there: the Bursa bus station has blazing fast, cheap wi-fi. I pulled down loads of Arrested Development and Sopranos, then caught up on movie trailers.

Am I the only one who thinks the new Superman looks like he sprung out of some gay internet fan fiction? Aberkryptonite & Fitch.

Hey-o! Rimshot!

Arrived at Chanakkale at 5am, found every single hotel booked full by tour groups. One night manager took pity on me and let me sleep on the lobby couch until sunrise.

Made my way onto the Troy minibus. Fell asleep waiting for it to leave. When I woke, there was a guy sitting next to me named Xiao Wei.

Xiao Wei grew up outside of Shanghai. He lives in Germany studying chemistry, and is traveling Turkey by himself. He has a gentle manner. I liked him instantly.

We formed a fellowship. I speak English good, so I could help communicate for him and cut travel costs. In return, he could serve as a combination camera holder/alarm clock.

On display at the entrance to Troy: the actual, original, authentic Trojan horse.

Amazing. And in such good condition!

During the Enlightenment, kings and intellectuals marveled at the shrewd leadership and military bravura of Julius Caesar. Suetonius tells us that Caesar wept with humility before a statue of Alexander the Great. As a boy, Alexander went to bed each night with Aristotle's copy of the lliad under his pillow, longing to one day match the heroic feats of Achilles.

Point being: it doesn’t get much ancienter than Troy. And few legends wear more layers of polish.

There’s not much left of the original site. This is about as close as it comes to an actual, recognizable space.

This is what remains of the Greek-desecrated Temple of Apollo, where Brad Pitt first encountered Eric Bana.

There are at least nine different versions of Troy, built one on top of another over the course of millennia. The name has changed as well. Another of its names was Ilium (hence, Iliad). The Roman numerals at this spot indicate which version you’re looking at, and show how each one was slightly elevated over its previous incarnation.

This makes excavation a very tricky enterprise.

It’s believed that Troy VI was the one sacked by the Greeks. As for it being done over the blinding beauty of the proto-MacGuffin, Helen, no one can say for certain. But as is often the case with this sort of thing, skepticism runs rampant.

Xiao is pretty sure the red flowers are poppies. Another passerby felt confident as well. This may explain why I found it such a pleasant place to visit.

I showed Xiao the new dancing video over lunch at the Troy souvenir complex. He watched in silence, as if I were showing him my driver's license. Afterward, his only comment was that it would be a nice thing to have 10 years from now.

At first my ego was a little bruised. But on reflection, I suppose his mind went straight to the most important part.

Back into town, Xiao led me to a hostel with dorm beds available. I slept through the afternoon, then we left to catch the overnight bus to Ephesus.

Incidentally, the WWI battlefield of Gallipoli is just across the Dardanelles, maybe an hour's drive and a short ferry ride from Troy.

The Turks sure know how to repel a beachhead.

Dumped yet again at 5 in the morning, this time in the city of Izmir, which some claim to be the birthplace of Homer. Again, who knew he was a Turk? These days it’s a concrete, industrial wasteland.

Another hour by bus to Selchuk. Found another hotel. Got more badly-needed sleep.

Walked to Ephesus in the afternoon. Much more impressive than Troy.

In the amphitheater, a plump Bavarian couple took center stage and sung a duet of Amazing Grace, dazzling us with the unexpected acoustic resonance.

“Germans,” said Xiao Wei, a knowing weariness in his voice.

And onward to the main attraction: the façade of the Celsus Library.

It had to be reassembled block by block from the rubble. A couple thousand years of earthquakes left a lot of damage. They've done an amazing job putting it back together.

We continued past the tourist throngs, eventually finding the quiet, somewhat haunting road to Ephesus.

As I’ve grumbled before, I’ll take a few haphazard chunks of column over the big spectacle if it means I can see it on my own, without any guides explaining how it was put together; scaring away that intangible quality that transports us to another when, breaking the spell, ruining the ruins.

Xiao Wei and I had planned to rent a car and drive inland to see the weird frosted pools of Pammukale. After Ephesus, I had a change of heart and just wanted the extra day in Greece. We parted ways early the next morning and I caught the ferry to Samos.

The Athens ferry is getting ready to depart, so time to finish this up.

I’m loosely retracing the path of Ulysses. Seems appropriate.

Frankly, I don’t know what Homer was making such a big deal about. This is easy.

Comments

[Roy]

Germans do that in every ancient theatre ever. I was treated to Opera by a group of them at Epidaurus.

[Rich]

Boy you really laid the sarcasm on thick in this entry... LMAO!

[everybodyhatesmatt]

It looks like you were really pissed off about your trip in lebanon because of your dumb mistakes.

Although I agree with you about some things like that silly sign you saw on the road, I disagree with many. First, the statue is left intentionally damaged to show people the effect of civil wars. If you do not know the history behind it, then the world does not need a smart ass to make comments about it.

Secondly, it is not appropriate to insult Muslims by telling them they "worship Muhammad". It is like saying to Christians that Jesus is not the son of god as in the Christians belief. If you are joking about that, then the message is understood but it is inappropriate. I suggest next time you go to Saudi Arabia and tell some Muslim people that they worship Muhammad; maybe they will finally answer that question of where the hell is Matt. He is six feet under. And not only you insulted Muslims, but you insulted Christians too by your silly remarks. You pretty much would be hated by all Lebanese. Even Israelis did not manage to do that.

When you go to a restaurant, check prices first, ask the waiter how much the total cost for the full culinary spectrum meal will be before ordering. In general, I don’t see why the Lebanese should be generous to assholes that just roam countries and all they do is insult them, make fun at the people, culture, religion and then wonder why the people were not generous to them.
Lebanon culture and history spans more than three thousand years. I dont think a dumb american like you qualifies to judge it.

In conclusion, you are an asshole. Traveling countries, insulting people for a cheap laugh. It defeats the purpose of traveling and seeing the world. If all countries had the same culture, there would be no point to see other countries.

[Biancka]

Since I probably won't be able to see this country for myself, it was a divine pleasure to read your post! The pictures are incredibly helpful and I enjoy your sense of humor. The beauty of blogging is to see the world through another's perspective, and you accomplish that most effectively. I hope you keep blogging! Thanks! :)

[Jo-Dee Collins]

Matt, This is a very interesting web blog and I love the pictures. The dancing is very entertaining as well. I am writing mostly because of the post by "everybodyhatesmatt". I think this person's outrage goes deeper than your comments on this blog. However justified they may be, it does not help to respond in that way. I think now, even that person will have to retract their statement that you are hated more than Israelis by the Lebanese. But they are correct in saying that the reason to travel is to learn more about other places, people and cultures. Now that being said, I think the purpose of having a web blog is to express your thoughts and ideas freely. No one needs to read it if they don't want to. My only concern is that you don't judge an intire culture based on a few days traveling in any specific spot. This can be and usually is, very dangerous and non productive. My family, (husband and two children ages 11 and 8) traveled to Turkey last year and had a wonderful time. We felt the Turks to be THE most hospitable people we have ever entountered in our travels. But you did not miss anything when you ventured back to Greece. Pammukale is pretty much a disaster of a tourist attraction. It had promise but the lack of controll distroyed any kind of admiration for it. They have realized their mistake and are taking measures to improve the sight. I say give it another 10 years and it may return to its once impressive state. Oh and I am Christian and did not take offense by your comments. They were justified in many ways. It is hard to know if the art "dedicated" to God were really to God, or to man himself. But let's be honest, people cannot create the wonderful things God has and to try and compare is a bit harsh. It's like a child bringing his finger painting to his father as a gift he made for him, and having that father reply by saying, Oh that's sweet, but did you see this "starry night" I painted last night? No father would do that. They would see the love and limitations and not judge. Maybe it's time to start a family, and go on the real adventure of life.

[Mariela]

Just because Izmir is in Turkey doesn't mean that Homer was a Turk!
I would understand an honest mistake but for God's sake don't murder history. I'm not going to teach you, you should have bothered to do that yourself, but for future reference if you don't know something you 're better off shutting up about it. This can be down right insulting.

[Arman]

Your video rates above a thousand we are the world charity concerts. I swear to god, you touched me man.

Arman the Turk

[Steve]

Hey Matt,
You've missed a great spot in Turkey by changing your mind. Pamukkale is a magnificient place to visit. You feel like you're walking on the clouds, or cotton. Makes you feel like a kid again. My wife and I visited Turkey 4 months ago and all of those great placed you had mentioned, We loved Pamukkale the most. If you go to Turkey again, this time don't forget to visit there. Have fun.

[Mike Drake]

There are a lot of people who have attempted to do crazy things near the Parthenon and that is why security is so tight there. Unfortunately your dancing routine got caught by an overzealous security person. Regarding your comments about Homer - yes Turkey is filled with interesting historical sites from the past but the vast majority date to the pre-Turkish period when Anatolia was ethnically Greek. Izmir was Smyrna before the Turks burnt it to the ground murdering and exiling the Greek and Armenian populations in 1922. Troy, Constantinople and Ephesus are in what is now Turkey but represent Greek history. I find it bizarre that with all your travels (and obviously plenty of time to read) you would not have a clue that one of the most famous pieces of literature - the story of the Trojan War (The Illiad) was written in Ancient Greek times by Homer of Smyrna. The Turks were not present in what is now Turkey until their invasions after 1071 A.D.

[can emre tibet]

"Anatolia was ethnically Greek" and "Troy, Constantinople and Ephesus are in what is now Turkey but represent Greek history"
very funny
to say such words, you must have get your historical information from fairy tales. Before the persian invasion, anatolia was the center of culture. greek colonists came to anatolia but they migrate and effected by the culture of "ionians". if you look back to the ionian or troian culture you can see their anatolian ancestors, Luwi's. Yes, Homer is from smyrna, one of the cities of anatolia and ionia. one of the grandchildren of Luwis'. As a turkish archeologist and turkish citizen, i call my self Turkish, live in turkey, anatolia.. i dont get my turkish title from my blood but from my anatolian culture, like my ancestor Homer.
there is another easy way. simply open an archeological book and count the sites of orientalizan and classical periods in greece and turkey. you'll see the answer ;)

[Mike Drake]

Responding to the nonsense posted by can emre tibet about "Anatolian culture". You are clearly the one reading the fairy tale version of Turkish history. The Ancient Greek city-states of Anatolia are well documented and Greek history and culture spanned both sides of the Aegean. Furthermore during the long span of the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods of Anatolian (a Greek word btw) history one can clearly see that it was Greek people who populated the region prior to the Turkish conquest. It is really quite sad that modern Turks perpetrate this revisionist history garbage due to their inability to accept the fact that their country evolved into the nation we see today through a policy of cultural eradication, forced religious conversions and genocide against the original inhabitants of Anatolia. I hate to burst your bubble but Homer is not your ancestor. You know all these classical sites you keep touting about being in Turkey - whats up with all that GREEK writing on the marble ruins! Kind of blows your theory but then again you probably believe in that ridiculous "Sun Turk" theory that Ataturk was babbling about claiming that all people on earth had Turkish origins. Please spare us the BS and read some real history so you can get a clue as to what really happened.

[nuri]

I don't want to continue the argue between turk-greek about history but i am sure that after a nation conquer another , culture doesn't get absent, it continues to live. So if greeks tell that they are owner of anatolian culture , turks can tell the same thing ,as well. Already , i don't think that homer or other ancient anatolian people named themselves geek or turk, we say them greek or turk. I think, the correct idea is that "cumulative culture belongs to all the people who make them and want to own them" if you don't want to wars.

[Andrew Webber]

Mike Drake, you Armenian?

[Talha]

"Izmir was Smyrna before the Turks burnt it to the ground murdering and exiling the Greek and Armenian populations in 1922."

What Mike Drake said above is really showing his ignorance. In 1922?? Isn't is a bit late for Turks to conquer "Smyrna" by burning it to ground and killing everyone as they have been living in Anatolia since 11th century. So, Selchukids and later Ottomans had the ultimate reign in Anatolia for 10 centuries but the old ancient Greeks were still living in "Smyrna" until 1922 =) What a thesis...

[nic vee]

to can emre tibet;

you're an archaeologist living in turkey and think the entire universe revolve’s around turkey.
For your info.....http://members.dodo.com.au/~nicvee/foryourinfo/index.htm ......we all, we, includes turko people for the sun does not only shine from your ass, are derived from Africa 1,500,000 years ago, or thereabouts. If you ever get the chance please go and re-educate yourself outside a nation where ego’s and hot air run amok. All turks, except for one, I have met in my entire life think they are the grandest of nations peoples but in actual fact are just a bunch of brainwashed little minded mutated mongolian peoples that the EU wont accept and for obvious reasons. America loves you though, till you consent to their oil pipelines through your little country and into the Mediterranean.

[can emre tibet]

"brainwashed little minded mutated mongolian peoples"

there's nothing more to say. no need to discuss with a racist like that.

dear nic,
get a life!

[ege]

oh god, why do people get so quick tempered when the subject is Turkey?! I am so sorry that we are a nation that live peacefully in your "greek" land... i really don't understand.

[Mericcan Usta]

One thing to remind, the trojan horse is not the actual, original, authentic Trojan horse. It is a "replica", actually made by Turkish artist (sculptor) Izzet Senemoglu in 1975 (research started in 1973) and opened officially in January,4 1976 (opened to public in 1975).
There is no explicit information (including Homeros' writings) whatsoever for the real shape and size of the trojan horse.

[Mericcan Usta]

Another thing to remind, the politician posters that are placed on the wall belongs to an "urban demarch" candidate, which have merely no authority other than slight financial gain because of associated paperwork (required for location identification) that should be approved by them. (They have a legal price list for approval of every paper)

[Kat]

"Izmir was Smyrna before the Turks burnt it to the ground murdering and exiling the Greek and Armenian populations in 1922." = ?
Smyra was conquered by the Turks in 1076, re-conquered by the Byzantines in 1098 and in 1389, Ottomans captured the city. I don't know where you got that information from, but it's completely wrong.

[Isa]

The turks don't burn any city they conquer. They actually bring peace to the places they take control of. A live example of that would be Iraq, eversince the Ottoman Empire left the middle east, there has been war going on. During all the time when middle east was in Turkish hands, Kurd,Turks, and Arabs lived in peace. You cannot find any evidence that a turkish army burned down or attacked innocent people at the time of a counquer. Anrew Webber, all of your information is wrong!

[tauiota2]

Yeah, tell this to Armenians and Kurds! Come on you, snap out of it. Don't you see none digs you for what you are but only your 60 mil potential buying market? Just take another look at that very nice Italian movie called "Mediterraneo" and the scene with the Turk. What was said there, purely describes the sentiment of every European from Greenland to Ukrain. Turks are good only for buying our stuff and for taking care of our pipelines. Homer a Turk, ha, "o tempores, o mores"! What next? Alah being a...Scott?

[ybnccgm]

I think this platform is not a proper place to discuss on the national or political issues. Thanks to the Matt we had a chance to see different places and cultures from his own perspective with a good dancing..

I know that it's impossible to alter the minds of the people who are prejudiced against muslims and turks also against the people from different nations and religions..

Only for the people who are willing to know historical facts:

- Historical events have to be evaluated in their own conditions scientifically. On the other hand the events may be interpreted fictionally and subjectively as an art form.
- Ataturk never claimed that all people in the earth is Turk and Turks never commit genocide
- As a modern and democratic country whether Turkey shall be one of the member of EU.

[relax2]

you didn't answer the question: why was Homer writing in GREEK? maybe he was learning foreign languages? why are his works full of Greek heroes and Greek Gods? Oh, I know, he was an Anatolian investigating other cultures! Come on, get over it! It's as if Greeks would claim that Kemal was Greek just because he was born in Thessaloniki! You can't say these things if you want to be takes seriously

[Faisal]

"Sums up how far Arab culture has fallen better than I ever could. That’s right, fellas, you invented the alphabet. That was what, 3500 years ago? What’ve you come up with lately? …suicide bombing doesn’t count. Technically, you've gotta give that to the Japanese."

"Istanbul was a welcome change. Still Muslim, but the friendly kind."

"Moderation seems like a difficult concept for the Middle East. No sooner are the veils lifted and beards shaven than out comes the skank parade. If it’s not Muhammad they worship, it’s Kevin Federline."

Good job. You managed to offend Arabs, Muslims, and Middle-Easterners in one single post.

Ignorant ..

[steve_leb]

"I’m pretty sure that guy on the right used to have two arms, and I don’t think the bullet holes were an aesthetic decision."

man what the fuck do you know.. The martyrs' monument in lebanon was done perfectly at first and that was long time ago.. then during the lebanese civil war it was destroyed like everything else in my country.. then after all went back to normal we fixed and still working on fixing our country back.. and so that we dont forget what we have done to our country we have left the bullet holes there and did not fix the arm so that we will always see what we have done to even our martyrs.. this is something very sentimental for us that you little fuck dont understand.. PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU WRITE - LEARN BEFORE YOU START TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO LIFE..

[tommy]

by wikipedia

The "Ottomans" became first known to the West in 1227; when they fled the Chinese Tang Empire, into the Seljuk Empire, in Anatolia. However, the Ottoman Turks would create a state in Western Anatolia under Ertugrul, the capital of which was Sögüt; . But the Ottoman Empire came into its own, when Mehmed II captured the Byzantine Empire's capital, Constantinople (subsequently to be known as Istanbul), in 1453.
------------------------------------

This article is on the ancient Greek city of Smyrna, principally in connection with the ruins remaining to this day. For the modern city, including its full history, see İzmir.

--------------------------------

Homer (ancient Greek: Ὅμηρος, Homēros) is an ancient Greek epic poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.

[gvliou]

Homer was Turk?? YOu are dangerous man..

[snake13]

Dear matt nice video ,you impel my curiosity to come to this site.But when i got in i realised that you are at least an ignorant American traveler who dont care to learn something about the countries,the places and furthermore you make so stupid and embarassing comments.Mike Drake and for a few of you!!! when you dont know history dont make comments."""SMATTER IS WORST THAN THE IGNORANCE""""..Matt i m so hapy that you hadnt good time here in greece and after your comment ,not only for my country,God bless security guy

[snake13]

Mike Drake sorry the comment was responding to can emre tibet.Mike Drake You are right. Can emre tibet:GET ANOTHER JOB QUICKLY

[Mandrake T]

@ can emre tibet

I know this is not the place to make such comments, but some times the effort to forge history just goes beyond the line!

Of course it is true that other people lived in Asia Minor (as it was called for 3000 years) or Anatolia (as it is has been called since 1922) before the Greeks came there. The Greeks arrived there during the first colonisation wave some time between the 10th and the 8th century BC. And the other peoples they found there (such as Hittites, Lydians and other ethnical groups) continued living in the area together with the Greeks, some of them maintaining their national identity, others being influenced by Greek culture and way of life, until they were largely hellenised, like the greatest part of Near East, after the conquests of Alexander the Great. I don't claim they "became" Greeks, but they adopted Greek culture, language and religion - what else can you ask for? Talking about bilogical descendence is misleading and can never be proved. In the meantime, several other peoples had come and gone in the greater area (including e.g. even Gauls who were recruited as soldiers by the Roman emperors or local leaders). However, metropolitan Greece and Asia Minor largely remained the core of Hellenism until the Seldjuks arrived in the area and established themselves, especially after the battle of Majikert in 1071.

The main problem with the Turkish theory of Anatolian origin is the following: Turks claim that they absorbed and assimilated all peoples that had lived in Asia Minor prior to the arrival of the Greeks in the 8th century BC. If this is the case, then one can very easily claim that those Anatolian peoples had already been assimilated by the Greeks in the 1800 years that they lived in the area before the first Turks arrived. Moreover, the mixing of Turks with the local populations was more difficult for another reason: the locals were mainly christians and the Turks muslims. The element of religion was a very important factor in the Seldjuk and Ottoman empires, essentially distiguishing freemen (Muslims) from slaves (Christians or giaour). The only populations mixed with the Turks were those converted to Islam; and those converted were fully absorbed by the Turkish national identity. Have you, dear "archaelogist", ever heard of Muslim Hittites or Muslim Lydians? Any such allegation is at the least unsubstantiated, at the worst ludicrous.

In a nutshell: What Turkey displays so proudly in the splendid photos of this blog was constructed by Greeks who lived there at the time. They don't live anymore, that's for sure, but history cannot be wiped out like that, no matter what nationalism and professed epistemology try to do. If you are indeed an archaelogist, I pity the university establishment that granted you the degree. Take your intsruments and go and read some inscriptions in Efessos, Miletos or Alikarnassos - that is, if you can read Greek. And don't forget to check the names of your major cities, many of which derive from the original Greek names:
Efessos -> Efes
Istanbul -> Eis tin Polin (meaning "to the City", since Constantinoupolis was so important that everybody just called it the city)
Prussa -> Bursa
Ippodromion -> Bodrum
Trapezounta -> Trabzon
Smyrni -> Izmir
Sevasteia -> Sivas

the list can go on forever...

[Ahmed]

Are you sure you're 30 years old? You sound more like a stupid teenager with all these ignorarnt comments. Very disappointing!

I thought the stupid dance was a humbel act on your part to reach out to the world and build bridges between nations. Turned out to be more of a reflection of your character as a douchbag.

I wish I never read this blog. At least I would've kept the "nobel" message I thought the video was given.

Maybe this wasn't a task you qualify for anyway.

[ilyas]

oh god, how many little Homer visited this blog? Typical turkish, greek discussions.. By the way, where the hell are the armenians:)

[Marwan]

Matt, I left a comment for you on "Jordan" and I wanted to be polite... man, after reading your sentence about my culture "Sums up how far Arab culture has fallen better than I ever could." I gotta say that you gringos have no respect for any culure, because you don't have any culture (unless if you call McDonalds a culture:-))
An asshole like you are should not be let in countries like ours (Greece, Turky, Jordan, Lebanon...you know, the countries you are insulting their people)
Do you still wonder why there are a lot of people who just DO NOT like you gringos!
Fuck you, fuck your holy fat nation, fuck your "pseudo culture"
I hope it hurts, matt!

[whereisthesillymatt..]

first off all i was so enjoyed watching ur movies but after all i seen your comment about cultures and make joke about it..it makes me things where the hell matt is going with that brain!!!
thought you were dancing and let us know where you were...so disapointed about matt now..people doesnt need silly comment about cultures ..people need laugh and happinest...
you acting like a teenager who doesnt know anything about cultures...
i wonder how you become famoush but i am so sure if you go this way you will be forgotten..

[Marwan]

Hey you stupid american asshole,
Do you want to know something more about your own "culture"? Have a look at this!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2213313694779618745&vt=lf&hl=en

[Marwan]

Or this,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Bj5_AOico

[Marwan]

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Palestinian+Massacre+at+Sabra+and+Shatila&search_type=&aq=-1&oq=

[asli]

as a person who has a rational perspective on history - not to mention being turkish - i certainly believe it is just ignorant not to admit the well-proven facts.

yes, greek people were the inhabitants of the asia minor for a long time in history and yes their culture is so vast and influential on many other nations who have emerged around the area. there's no argument in that.

but openly insulting people depending on their looks or based on information heard from 3rd parties? that's immature. totally respect your right to comment subjectively on your blog - after all, that's what all blogs are for - but I do not respect you as a human being.

I believed you were a free spirit matt. a world citizen.

but you are just a paid wanderer.

[antonios]

1) Please stop the fighting here.-
2) I can't understand why they didn't let you dance near the Parthenon!!... I'm greek and when I went there I remember the security wasn't so strict! I think you were just unlucky!..
3) Try Thessaloniki's White Tower next time! ;)

[drop_the_entitlement]

you write about countries like an entitled privileged ignorant American. Stop making fun of everything and everyone you meet when you travel and instead set an example by opening yourself to actually learning about them instead of just trying to get your readers to laugh at your cheap jokes. thanks

[apostolos]

read some history man!!!!oh my god my hair fell of my head!!!what do you believe about the similarity of ephesus ruins with the ancient greek ruins?eh?they were greek once!so maybe the greeks would say they wanted to have all their ancient places back and not the turks to have samos and the other greek islands.read some things for the places you visit and don't be so snobish about greeks or turks or anyone.you are not the center of the world as you think.

[KinG]

Turks don't tell much about touristic places because their economy is based on tourists.They just show a bit of the best places,tourist comes,faces with suprises and turns happy.Tells to his friends about his trip like "that was awesome.you know Homer was Turkis?and i walked on clouds.also santa has house in Turkey.Their religion brings them art" etc.Listener don't believes and needs to see with his/her own eyes.Thats how Turkish economy works.They have amazing places to show but they don't show them to everybody.This makes the place more valuable.

Also Matt is doing a great job.Greeks-Turks-Zambians-Americans-Africans etc.They r all humans and does the same things.Yesterday is a history,tomorrow is a mystery.Everybody can have fun with this stupid dance.Reign is not important :)

[thisIsSoStupid]

I am utterly fed up with the verbal-fights between Turks and Greeks on internet. I am a Kurdish guy, living in Turkey and I must say some people here (including Kurds) are totally fucked up! What is the point of bragging about one's nationality and history? It makes you guys more repellant! I haven't met enough Greeks (in real life) to make a comment about them but I can see that they are like people here... YEs this is sooo stupid...
..
Matt, I am grinning at what you wrote a.t.m. LOL! As someone already pointed out, it puts an extra credit to the American ignorance and arrogance... Really pathetic!
"Blue Mosque. Nyeh.
Hagia Sophia. Whatever." ---> LOLz...EPIC! This is the most clever and subtle "RUNNING DOWN" I have ever read...Very original indeed.. (srcsm)

I love the main video, though. Nice work.

Cheers