Antioch and Go Tigers

Continuing with the series of stories from the Big City folks coming to the village, let me tell you about our day in Antioch.

We were blessed to have Zach Morris and his family join us on our Antioch voyage. We borrowed the Party Wagon from Papa V and hit the road earlier than any man or woman should ever wake up. It should go unsaid at this point, but yes, believe it or not, we had a blast. The drive down there takes a couple hours, but it was full of good conversation, so it passed quickly. Once we were in Antioch, we had to find our way to our first stop, Seleucia.

The picture doesn't really capture the beauty of the place. The waves were incredible!
You might remember that name, but you probably won't. It's the port that Paul and Barnabas set sail from on the first missionary journey (Acts 13). The port isn't there any more and there isn't even a city there, just a few small villages sprinkled around. But there were some neat ruins.

There we explored Titus Tunnel. This is a tunnel that is dated to at least 79 AD by inscriptions found near it. It bears the name of Titus, Roman emperor who, before he became emperor, was the general who took Jerusalem and silenced the Jewish revolt in the late first century. His father, Vespasian, was the emperor who succeeded Nero, to give you a time frame to go by. This tunnel was worth seeing because it's really big (6 meters high and 6 meters wide) and long (220 meters) and old.

Approaching the tunnel. Even before you got to the actual tunnel, you had to walk through this amazing gorge.
Also of note was a place known as the Necropolis or "City of the Dead." It looked really cool, but the best part was the description on the sign. Read close.

"There are many grave. Yards can be seen."
I love this country.
Yes, that's an Elvis prayer rug in front of the Necropolis. I think it's actually funnier if you don't know the story behind it.
From there it was off to lunch at Liverburger. If you remember my quick description of Liverburger from last time (here, though unnamed), you'll remember that it was supposed to change our lives. Well, this time it was rather unimpressive. First of all, they seemed to have cut back on the mayonnaise a little. I'm not sure if there were some law suits or what that caused that. But probably most important, to me at least, is that they completely remodeled the whole place. Before it was a grungy, college bar-type place with old Coke ads on the walls and wooden furniture. This time it was a bright red and white plastic hell. Atmosphere is so important in a restaurant and they totally ruined it with the renovation. While letting our lunch settle, we strolled by the Orthodox Church.

The church has Peter on one door and Paul on the other as well as above the doors in a painting showing each of them offering the church up to Jesus.
From there it was off to St. Peter's church. My visitors and the Botanist were troopers and braved the tunnels above the church. This is the same place that we almost lost a few team members back in the spring. After crawling through these super short and sometimes pitch black tunnels, you pop out in a well that's probably 20 feet straight up. There's just a few small hand and foot holds on the way up. It's doable, but a bit intimidating for anyone I think. I have to give some major props to Ally for being the first one up (without any help from our Turkish guide that went up before her) and a lot of credit to everyone. Everyone made it up and no one really had any trouble.

Not that great of a picture, I know (but not because of the ladies). I didn't have time to take many since we were on our hands and knees most the way and then hanging on to the slick rock walls for dear life at the end.
After that adventure, we made a pit stop for some kunefe (awesomely sugary desert) that came out warm with a good glass of Arabian tea. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. The ride back was pretty chill, with some hot jams getting the van jumping from time to time. When we got back to Adana, the two guys made me proud by ordering yet another Adana kebap (their second in three days). They enjoyed their grilled meat perfection while we all watched one of the greatest films of all time... Tombstone.


And before I wrap this up, let me say GO TIGERS!!! I can't believe the score was as close as it was. It seemed like we did everything we could do to lose the game. Despite being able to move the ball almost at will, grabbing turnover after turnover, and blocking two punts, we still had to kick a field goal on the last play of the game to win it. But Buckholz redeemed himself, after missing two field goals earlier in the game, by nailing the game winner. There's no way to describe the joy I get from seeing us beat USuCk. To go into their house and do it makes it even sweeter. To know that it really hurt their bowl standing (and maybe whether they get a bowl at all) is very satisfying. And honestly, the tease we gave them, letting them think they were going to win, though it aged me beyond my years, made the victory all that more sweet for me, and all that more sour for them. Way to go Tigers! 9-3 and looking at a real good bowl and a chance to win 10 games for the first time since 1990. I love Clemson football.

AK80 (Aaron Kelly), who missed the game winner against BC last week, came up huge. His two biggest catches were the 14 yarder on 3rd and 18 and the 12 yarder on the next play, 4th and 4, that set up the game winning field goal.

Speaking of game winning field goals... Mark Buckholz had already missed two very makeable attempts earlier in the game, but came through when it mattered the most.
Enjoy a few more random pictures from our Antioch trip.

Rickety old bridge over the gorge. A truck drove across that old thing as we were approaching.
The Anti posing on the nice bridge over the gorge.
Looking out the mouth of the tunnel.
Well, I am a haus, but...
Almost out.
MC graduate-miş. These are the people I am forced to work with.
Another shot of the Necropolis.
Peter and Paul on the doors of the Orthodox church.
And finally, the streets of Antioch.

Sweet Times with Steve and Ally, Great Birthday, Merry Thanksgiving

The group from Istanbul had to split up on Sunday. The couple that came are not believers and did not want to attend church, so they took off for the coast. They had a nice day visiting the Chasm of Heaven and the Pit of Hell, the Girl Castle, and the great city of Mersin. But, thankfully, Steve and Ally follow Christ and were excited about seeing what church is like down here in the village.

I had had that rough conversation with the White Guy the Friday night prior. That was the background for a rough Sunday for me. The first thing the White Guy said to me when I walked in was, "Welcome Chris, how are your Kurdish friends?" It really caught me off guard and angered me greatly. It was extra hard for me because we stood shoulder to shoulder playing guitar in the worship band. Not only was it hard because I was angry at him and knew the hate in his heart, but I was convicted about how filthy and sinful I am at the same time. I'm tired of being so mediocre. This was what I was thinking about when the pastor asked me some question during the sermon. Of course I was off in la-la-land and looked like an idiot because I had no idea what he was asking. Add to that another awkward Kurdish conversation with the White Guy and the Shark telling me that I look "bigger," and you can understand why I've had better Sundays. Special K wanted to get everybody together at our house, but honestly, I didn't want to be there.

Not with Steve and Ally, but a good pic of the best döner place in the world.
So, Steve, Ally, and myself headed for a little cafe for dinner. We had a pretty average dinner, unfortunately. I was a little disappointed in my cafe there. But what really made the meal was the conversation afterwards. These guys were so gracious to let me blow off a little steam and to really open up and spill what was on my heart, which really wasn't that pretty or encouraging at the time. They were both full of wisdom and grace during the whole conversation. We shared some things from our lives and, to me at least, really seemed to connect. It was a great time to sit around, relax, and have some good, deep, emotional conversation. It was exactly what I wanted and needed. From there, to brighten up the night a little, we headed over to the V house. It's always warm, welcoming, and LOUD there. With four boys in the house, there's always something going on. We had a great time. Unfortunately, Tom Tom got caught by the Yeti and may have gotten a bad case of the cooties. But besides that, it was a wonderful evening.

Thanks to everyone who made this birthday special.
You da man Gouge.
I have to give a shout out to all those that made this birthday really special. I hope I have thanked you all already, but I had to throw this in here. I got a package from my boy Gouge recently and it reminded me again of why I miss that guy so much. He knows exactly how I think. He included an awesome Dave and Tim at Radio City Music Hall DVD, two good, challenging books, a stack of old magazines, a nice pair of wool socks, some tasty candy, and some quality cigars. It was awesome. I really enjoy my Peru pants and picture collection that came all the way from South America. I also really appreciate the entire fall wardrobe I got from my local friends. I don't mean to take away from you guys by saying this. But Robbie Gouge, you did good my friend. It was great to get that package and I miss you something fierce at times bud.

And finally, a great big Merry Thanksgiving! (that's for you Ding Dong) My favorite Ethnographer came over for Thanksgiving this year. Having him around really made for a great holiday. But it wouldn't have been Thanksgiving without the incredible feast the ladies prepared for us! The turkey was great, all the fixins were incredible, and whatever that secret ingredient in the rolls was, it was perfect. I ate till I couldn't eat any more, then we waited for a couple hours, and had desert. I had some amazing apple pie, some tasty and unique pumpkin pie, and a little sliver of chocolatey goodness. Yes, three slices of pie. And since everyone was in the holiday spirit, the Anti-Girlfriend sacrificed some of her Starbucks for us to enjoy. I think I drank 5 cups before it was over with. All in all, it was as good of a Thanksgiving as I've ever had. An abundance of good food, great friends, lots of laughs, and a little splash of American football made for a Thanksgiving to remember.

A Team from Istanbul Came to Play Here

That's the explanation one of my Turkish buddies gave to the official at the rec office when he was trying to get the lights turned on for us. With it getting dark around 4:30, we don't have much time to play ultimate anymore. But that's beside the point. The point is, friends from Istanbul came!!!

What a great host! I wasn't at the bus station when they arrived and made them wait as I took pictures from across the street.
Some of the gracious people from Turk Kasi came down for a little Southern hospitality last weekend. They wanted to see some of the sites of the Mediterranean coast and get a taste of why this area is, according to people more qualified than myself, the culinary capital of Turkey.

We took the first day to see the city of Adana. Some great friends were having an open house and we got some good food there before heading out on the town. There's really not a whole lot going on in this town, but I tried to make it as interesting as possible. We saw the Stone Bridge, built by the Romans a long time ago. It's amazingly long for a Roman bridge and is, for the most part, still structurally the same as when it was first built. From the bridge, you can see the new and large mosque and the Hilton, both built by the same man (and both bear his name), which stand opposite each other on the shores of the Seyhan River.

He gives the Adana tour a big, bronze thumbs up!
From there we glimpsed some of old Adana, including the Big Clock, a clocktower built in the 1800s that serves as a symbol for the city. It is ironic to me that this clock would be on the city emblem when it doesn't even keep time correctly anymore. We saw an old church built by the Crusaders that is now a mosque along with the Catholic church in town.

"Old Adana" could use a fresh coat of paint.
We also spent a few minutes in the ethnography museum (which is also an old Crusader church). Unfortunately, I found one more English word that I have a hard time pronouncing. Why exactly do we change pronunciation so much!? (ethnography-ethnographic, or photograph-photography)

The gang checking out old clothes, tools, weapons, and some interesting under garments from days gone by.
But I saved the best stop for last. For dinner, we had an Adana kebap from my favorite new place. For the equivalent of about $6, you get a wide assortment of salads (lettuce salad, tomato salad, cucumber and yogurt salad, raw onions with spice, grilled onions and tomatoes, and fresh mint and parsley), a nice, tall, frosty mug of ayran (think salty buttermilk), and an Adana kebap (which is something that you will just have to taste for yourself). Not only were they blown away by the taste, but coming from Istanbul, the price really just caught them off guard. The place we went to was just your average, run of the mill, kebap place. The price was middle of the road. But a meal of equal taste and quantity would easily cost you twice as much in Istanbul. I was so proud of my city. We found some baklava and made our way back here, to my apartment, for some tea and conversation. It made me so glad to have these friends here, in my apartment, sharing my life. It was nice to relax with some people my age and have some fun. It was a good first day, and things just got better. (More to come...)

Things I Hate, Tapping my Foot, Closing in on a Championship

If I had to make a quick list, off the top of my head, of the things I hate, it would look like this:

1. Injustice
2. Indecisiveness
3. Rude People (that includes myself)
and tied for fourth, Cold French Fries and Warm Pepsi

Ok, that's just the things I hate at this very moment, but let me explain why this is even on my mind. Friday night, after a wonderful prayer meeting with believers from all over the city, the White Guy came back to my place to eat and chill. Myself, Special K, the Canadian, and the White Guy had a ton of laughs. We talked for a couple hours and never stopped laughing the whole time. That is, until the topic of the Kurds came up. The White Guy has been known to lean towards racism. I have been known to get incredibly angry when confronted with racism. Friday night was no different.

I said a lot of hard and harsh things, none of which I am sorry for. I meant it and I don't think I said anything that couldn't be backed up by scripture. I was angry, but I don't think I let myself fall into sin, despite my anger. But I did tell the White Guy what I thought. I don't think you can continue in that sort of mindset and call yourself a Christian. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness, says 1st John 2:9. Racism is hate. If you won't let go of prejudices based on skin color or ethnic background, then you are going to have a hard time reading the whole book of 1st John. You will never understand how Christ could die for all the world. No people group is inherently better than any other, not even God's own "chosen race," the Jews. Paul opposed Peter to his face, according to Galatians chapter 2, for this very thing. Jew or Gentile, White or Black, Turk or Kurd, we are all sinful, in need of God's grace, unable to acquire it by any good deed of our own, but offered it freely through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is also clearly stated in Galatians 2 and 1st John 2, among a myriad of other places in Scripture.

I went to bed pretty upset that night and the feeling would come back on Sunday when the White Guy's greeting at church was, "Hello, how are your Kurdish friends?" Not a great way to start the day after making a regular butt of yourself just two nights before. It was especially sickening when you consider that not only were we at church, but we were getting ready to lead the church in worship. That's right, me and the White Guy stood shoulder to shoulder, playing guitar, leading the worship service, just a few short minutes after he made such a show of his prejudices. It was hard for me to swallow and lingered with me most of the day after that.

All of us have prejudices. I'm willing to say that most of us are racist to some extent. We judge entire people groups by the small interactions we have with them. I am as guilty as the next man. I pass judgment and talk bad about Turks all the time despite the fact that in my short time here, I have met a small, small fraction of all Turks. We all do it. It's human nature. It's sin nature. As Christians, we must see it for what it is and fight it. We can not passively just let it control our thoughts and attitudes towards others. Growing up in the family that I have, it would be completely normal, natural, and understandable for me to hate blacks. After all the crap I've taken over the past year, the horrible stories I've heard from some dear sisters of mine, and watching three brothers get slain here, it would be really easy to write off all Turks as barbaric. These are easy and natural feelings. We must, as Christians, fight them. We are commanded to love all people. It's not easy nor is it natural, but it is what we are called to. With that in mind, I still love the White Guy, but God knows how angry he made me this past weekend.

Secondly, I'd like to throw some recommendations out there for all of you. I went on a small shopping spree and downloaded some new music over the last week or so and wanted to share what's been on my iTunes a lot lately.

First of all, Michael Buble.


A very cool friend of mine dropped this name to me a while back and I finally got around to trying it for myself. He's a crooner. It's jazzy, big band stuff in the style of Sinatra. It's classic music that really gets you tapping your foot and snapping your fingers. I've had it stuck on my iPod and in my head ever since I downloaded it. Songs to try: Everything, Lost, The Best is Yet to Come.

Secondly, I have found comfort in the sounds of The Fray.


These guys came out back in 2005 and are from the Denver area. Somehow, despite me living within a few miles of where they met and started playing together, I never heard of them until recently. They are a piano based band, which lends itself to a softer sound and more relaxed feel. To my knowledge, they only have one CD out at this point titled "How to Save a Life." If you are just looking for a song or two, try Over My Head (Cable Car) and the title track "How to Save a Life."

And lastly, changing directions totally, I found some smooth jams and some music that really makes you want to get up and dance in the Gorillaz.


The Gorillaz are best known for their extremely strange animated videos and the fact that they are to my knowledge the only "virtual band" to make it in the mainstream. They are not real people, but cartoon people. The music is made by a collaboration of artists under the guise of these cartoon band members. Despite that, or maybe because of that, the music is great. For some good chill music, try Tomorrow Comes Today, 12d3, and New Genious. If you want to get up and dance, try the feel good grooves of Rock the House and (one of my personal favorite songs now) 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix).

And to close things out, let me say that your Clemson Tigers are one win away from going to the ACC Championship Game. We absolutely destroyed Wake Forest this past weekend to set up a winner take all game with Boston College Saturday night.


It's been a long, long time since we have had this type of a game in Clemson. It's in the Valley, at night, on ESPN2, which means it will be rocking. I hope my boys can see this golden opportunity for what it is and not let it slip by. BC is coming off two straight losses and they are in a rut. We, on the other hand, are soaring, playing our best football of the year. Though I have to admit to being a bit hesitant in this prediction (I've seen us come up short one too many times), I am too blindly optimistic at this point to even care really. I'm saying Clemson 41 - BC 16 and we are going to Jacksonville!

The Ups and Downs of Life

After my visit to Germany with the Istanbul team, I came back to Adana determined to at least try and get a team of my own together. I love ultimate, I am here for another year, there's a large university just a short bus ride away, it all made sense.

Unfortunately, all of my friends are working people. They can't take off to play frisbee. So the first week back, it was just me and another American throwing the disc. The next week we got a boost when one of the Istanbul players was down and another American showed up. We had two random guys walk up and join us to give us enough for a small game of 3 on 3 hot box. It was fun and it gave me hope that we could build something from that. The next week I got in touch with some Americans I know that are doing some sort of exchange program on campus to see if they had people that'd like to come. Man, did I hit the jackpot! We had close to 20 people show up, with only four of us being foreigners. It was exactly what I was hoping for. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I had hope that maybe they'd keep coming back. Then, this happened.


Over the next weekend, a terrorist group called the PKK attacked and killed a dozen or more Turkish soldiers in the southeastern area of this country. That led to people taking to the streets. They were denouncing terrorism, praising nationalism, and showing their support for the troops that are trying to keep them safe. I can support that. On the other hand, there was a streak of racism throughout some of the protests and a growing feeling of distrust and even hatred towards America, since we were telling Turkey not to pursue the terrorists into Northern Iraq. Those are things that I can't agree with.

We were forced to cancel ultimate due to protests on campus. Obviously, at that point, frisbee was not the most important thing going on. It's just a small picture of how frustrating it is at times to feel like you have something going or find someone you think may be interested in what you have to say, only to have it blow up, turn sour, or be canceled due to a thousand different reasons.

I got to hand the Bartender a New Testament and then I leave for a week and have not talked to him in a month. I find a guy (the Barber) that I really enjoy talking to, is a serious, religious man, and is willing to discuss things in a friendly manner, yet he won't take a Bible at all. I meet a guy to have tea and we do the usual small talk stuff. As soon as the conversation starts to go towards some deeper, more serious issues, the house band decides to start playing. I start teaching English at our church, in support of a local NGO, and then our church leaders decide that it's not safe to have the classes there. I get invited to help lead worship at the church on Sundays and then am forced to sit on the front row and play my guitar sitting down because the pastor is afraid it would make a fuss to have an American up in front of the church during this difficult time.

Just when I think the frisbee game may become a weekly staple, politics postpone it a week. This past week, there were only 5 of us again, 2 Americans, and the 2 original Turks that came with a friend of theirs. Maybe this week we'll get back on the upward swing of things. But even as I type this, rain clouds are gathering. The way things are going, it wouldn't surprise me if we ended our 6 month drought with a deluge that washed out the field before tomorrow afternoon. That's the ups and downs of life in this country.