Are You Smarter than Your Phone?

We live in an era of smart stuff.  Our televisions remember our favorite shows, our automobiles remember and adjust the seat to fit us, and our microwave ovens pop every kernel of popcorn to perfection. And then there is the smart phone. I remember those heavy black rotary dial telephones. They didn't have many automated features and they didn't have the time.  You actually had to call a certain number and a nice female voice would tell you how nice it was to shop at some local business before announcing the time.  She always  gave the time in the briefest manner. Never "20 minutes before eight"or "20 'til eight" but seven-forty. And never "quarter after six" or "quarter past six" but six fifteen. She had a very nice voice. and sometimes I would call just hear her voice. But I was young then and had a fixation on Annette Funicello. Now I can see Annette in full color on my Samsung Galaxy SIII but somehow she looks different. I think I'll check out Carly Foulkes.

Do you remember the old portable phones? Boy, were they cheesy! We saw a lot of them in old TV shows.  I had a boss once that had a phone in his car that had dial-up.  Then we had those huge hand held things that very few people could afford.  Of course now folks on Medicaid can get a cellphone. 

I was somewhat reluctant to purchase a cellphone.  There are times when I don't want to be disturbed. With some cellphones you can lose all anonymity   There are times when I don't  want to be known. However, with some encouragement of my spouse, I became a part of the cellphone owning hordes. She convinced me I need one by using the old "What if I need you and you're not around" argument.  Now I carry a smartphone, and it's always within reach. Now it's as much of my everyday life as the belt which holds up my trousers. 

By definition a smartphone is a portable phone that is built on an operating system with advanced computing and connectivity.  In other words, these phones are not just for talking. To truly utilize the power of the smartphone you must use certain applications or "aps".  This is cell phone jargon for programs.  The aps have made me a true fan of smartphones. Here are a few of the ways I use my phone, and this is by no means stretching the capabilities of it. 

Evolution of the cellphone

While visiting a son in Phoenix he requested his Mom make him a banana pudding. We knew not where to find bananas in Phoenix, but by speaking the word "bananas" into the phone a kind voice directed us to the nearest Safeway store.  While in northern California we used the GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) feature to determine our location and dictate a route.  While on vacation in Turkey we used our smartphones to update our Facebook pages with photos and comments. At one attraction photographs were not allowed, but I was able to make sketches on the screen of my smartphone and used the drawings as illustrations on my blog. We frequently check our email as well as airline flight schedules. Photos and video shot with our phones are often used in my YouTube videos, on Picasa or Flickr, and/or in our Blurb or Shutterfly books.  At the gym I plug the earbuds into my phone and listen to my favorite music on Pandora or tunes downloaded from the internet. This list of uses is by no means complete, just some of my favorites. Literally thousands of applications are available. 

The technology of a smartphone is awe inspiring. The same technology in a smartphone is used for automatic pilot in airplanes, controlling military drones, anti-theft devices for our automobiles, and a host of other applications. 

 Am I smarter than my phone? Probably, but sometimes I'm not sure how!

Planes Over the Islands

Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 Type 0

On the 441 acre island in Hawaii's Pearl Harbor is the Pacific Aviation Museum.  This museum on Ford Island is a monument to aviation in the Pacific housed in old aircraft hangers from another era.  Don't expect to see and big collection of aircraft here.  Do expect to see a superb collection of aircraft depicting the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Hangar 37 has over 41,000 square feet of exhibition space including theater and gift shop.  My favorite part of this museum is what it does best. And that is it explains all aspects of the attack in graphic detail. When entering the first thing that catches your eye is the Zero.  Mitsubishi's superb fighter plane of the Japanese air force. It was faster and more maneuverable than American planes. Also seen is an American Curtis P-40 as flown by the Army Air Force from nearby Wheeler field. You may have seen Ben Afleck flying one in the movie Pearl Harbor. Seemingly out of place is a small red plane hanging from the ceiling which was flown by a  civilian on the day of the attack who saw the everything from the air. There is also a rather pristine B-25 Mitchell bomber on display depicting the aircraft used in Doolittle's famous Tokyo raid. Near the bomber is a kiosk with a computer screen, webcam and keyboard. You can use this to take your photograph in front of the B-25 and post it directly to your facebook page.  On the walls are graphics explaining the flight paths of the various attacking aircraft. A SBD "Dauntless" dive bomber sits close by showing the rigors of battle. No longer pristine, the paint is worn by salt spray and dents are on the fuselage.  We notice aircraft wreckage in one display and discover a very interesting story.  The Japanese Zero crash landed on the island and the pilot was rescued by a local Japanese resident. At this time there was a large Japanese population in Hawaii who had come to the islands as sugarcane and pineapple farm workers. Some were sympathetic to the enemy. This pilot, Airman 1st Class Shigenori Nishikaichi, was sheltered by a local resident. However, less sympathetic other local residents took the pilot from his protector and killed him.  The Japanese sympathizer later committed suicide.  There are two more planes in this exhibit hanger. A F4F "Wildcat" depicting the "Cactus Air Force" in a great display and the Boeing Stearman biplane trainer in which the former president Geo. H. W. Bush soloed.

(clockwise) Zero wreckage, Dauntless, Wildcat, Aeronca

You exit this building  near the tarmac with the tower close by and walk toward Hanger 79. along the way pass the F-86 Sabre, F-4 Phantom II, SH-3 Sea King and others.  As you enter the hanger notice the bullet holes in the glass panels on the right.  Those holes were made by the invading Japanese planes on December 7th.  To the left is a guide with information about the contents of the hanger. Hanging overhead is the F-86 and MiG-15 from the Korean Conflict posed in attack mode.  Underneath are two jet engines representing the axial-flow and centrifugal types. Our guide was very helpful explaining the operation of each. Elsewhere in the hanger are newer aircraft such as the F-14 and F-15. And a number of helicopters. In the corner is a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk in the shark's mouth design of Chenault's Flying Tigers.  There's an F-15 cockpit for training purposes and a B-52 nose section.  One of the most interesting aircraft is the Soviet MiG-21 with U.S. insignia. The Fishbed was used as an aggressor in dogfight exercises.

Mig-15, F-86, MiG-21

The Pacific Aviation Museum is a great treat for the history or aviation buff. But it is only accessible from the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center via shuttle bus.

                   Museum Aircraft

• Grumman F-14D Tomcat
• McDonnell   Douglas    F-15C Eagle
• Bell AH-1 Cobra
• Bell UH-1 Iroquois
• Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King
• Convair F102A Delta Dagger
• McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II
• North American Aviation F-86 Sabre
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
• Curtis P-40E Warhawk
• Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk
• Lockheed T-33 (T-Bird) Shooting Star
• North American T-6 Texan
• Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat
• Douglas SBD Dauntless
• Mitsubishi A6M2 Model 21 Type 0
• Aeronca Model 65TC
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

                                                       Click here for Pacific Aviation Museum website
                                                                        Pearl Harbor Naval Base
                                                                        U.S.S. Arizona Memorial

These Houses Rock

Some of the most incredibly fascinating things we saw in Turkey were the underground cities of Cappadocia. Upon arrival in Cappadocia we saw what are known as "fairy castles".  These are stone , actually lava rock, monoliths created by natural forces shaping the stone.  These columns can be a few feet high to over one hundred feet tall. This is the land of few trees, and mountains jut from the lava rock plain reaching for the cerealean sky.  Dwellings have been carved into these stone mountains which were created by an eruption of Mount Erciyes.   It is an uphill walk from the parking area to the entrance of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The people in this barren land found that they could easily carve a dwelling place in the soft rock.  These man-made caves number in the thousands, and many are connected vertically and horizontally via shafts. Early Christians in the third century found refuge in these caves. Therefore, several of the caves are churches or places for Christian worship.  One of the most notable is the church of Saint Barbara, the first woman martyred for her faith.  The interior of the cave is small with religious symbols on the walls, most notably the sign of the fish and the cross.  A baptistery is also carved from the stone. These structures are very crude.  There are no square corners or indications of exacting craftsmanship. These are purely utilitarian structures.  As you return to the parking lot you will notice another church entrance. After passing the security guard you walk on a slightly elevated wooden pathway. This church is cruciform. The art on the wall is Byzantine and beautifully restored. All cave dwellings are not a part of the World Heritage Site.  Private citizens live in the caves as well as conventional housing.  There is also a hotel carved from stone with rooms renting for rates in excess of $1,000 per night. We did not stay in that hotel. However, the next day we would visit a modern family living in a cave house.

The visit to the underground city was fascinating. The entrance was a portal in a low hill of lava rock.  We entered the cool darkness after walking about twenty feet down to the entrance. The walls were rough carved stone just like we had seen in the churches. There were passages off the the main corridor which led to a large room. The walls and ceiling are curved, which reminded me of some of Gaudi's architecture.  Our guide showed us a cistern which caught water from the outside and the huge stone which was rolled into place for security, effectively closing off the city from the outside world. There were twelve more floors beneath us.  At one time 20,000 people had lived here with all their livestock.  There were olive presses, stables, storage rooms, chapels, and of course  living areas. Smoke from the fires were dissipated through hundreds of small vents to the surface revealing no evidence of life underground.  I held Claudette's hand as we walked through the dimly lit passageways.

"Something about this is familiar," I said to her.

"What? You've never been to Turkey before.  The only tunnel like this we've ever been in was in Chattanooga, and you banged your head on the overhead there," she said with a smile.

"Oh, I know what it was. I saw this show on the History Channel about it."

"What did it say?"

"They thought it was built in the 7th or 8th century B.C. The experts thought these underground cities were built for folks to hide in, and some thought that they may have been built with the help of aliens, I replied"

"Yeah, right!" said she in disbelief.

"I don't know about aliens, but I believe that the third century Christians could have used them to escape persecution.  Remember, the Romans would douse them with oil, light 'em up and use 'em for torches in their gardens."

"I guess that would be incentive enough to hide," she said.

We continued our walk through this subterranean metropolis before emerging into the cool air of a September afternoon. There were local women  selling dolls in native costume.  These small dolls, some of which were about ten inches tall and some taller, were only about three or four Turkish lira each.  We bought some for the little girls next door. These women were the stereotypical peasant women  dressed in baggy pants with kerchiefs covering their heads. I'm sure they were much younger than they appeared.  They appeared, as we would say in the southern vernacular,  "Rode hard and put away wet!"

Evening was rapidly approaching as we went to our hotel nearby.  We wanted to retire early because we had a 4:30 wake-up call to go for our hot-air balloon ride. But, before I drifted off I remembered.  Inside the passageways in the underground city was like walking inside the lava tubes in volcanic areas of Hawaii.

The Goreme Open Air Museum from a balloon

floor plan of church carved from lava rock
Samsung Galaxy SIII

inside a house carved out of lava rock

The City of Two Continents

Sultan Ahmed's Mosque

The Swissair A-300 seemed to bounce on the runway as we completed the flight from Zurich. Finally, journey's end. It seemed like forever since we had left our home on the Carolina coast, and now we were going to spend a few days in Turkey. Prior to our trip friends asked me "Why Turkey?" To which I responded, "Why not." But actually I wanted to visit a Moslem country that we deemed safe.  When you are no longer young nor fleet of foot you tend to pick destinations that don't require any quick actions. Therefore, Turkey seemed like a logical choice.

We deplaned and caught our bus to our hotel in Istanbul, a city of 12.5 million. The Attaturk International Airport is on the European side of the Bosphorus Strait, which flows between the European and Asian parts of the city. Later our guide, an English speaking Turkish woman in her early forties, briefed us on what to expect. Certain caveats prevailed, the most important of which was "Don't drink the water." But according to Yesim bottled water was readily available on the tour bus.  The price was right; 1TL (Turkish lira) for 2 bottles and 1 TL was equal to about $.70 U.S. We took advantage of the service by "stocking up" every day before we left the bus. We dined that night in the hotel restaurant with a view of the ships moving on the Bosphorus, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara.

Inside The Blue Mosque

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel.  It was buffet style with a variety of unfamiliar foods. There was a huge variety of pastries and fresh honey still in the comb.   I did recognize  a croissant and ate it with some butter and honey.  Fresh fruit and yogurt was good, and I had a glass of fresh guava juice that was delicious.  Yogurt is very popular in Turkey and is eaten at every meal.

After breakfast we were off to see the sights of this famous and fourth most visited city in the world. The first site we saw was the Hippodrome. I mentioned to Claudette that the name sure sounded like hippodome, which, as everyone knows, is an aquatic structure for use by hippopotamuses.  Actually, hippo means horse in Greek, and a hippodrome is a horse racing track.  The one in Istanbul was build in 203 A.D. and was the site of many chariot races, to the delight of up to 100,000 spectators.  Today the grandstands are gone as well as most all of the lavish adornments. However, a obelisk from Egypt and a spiral column remain from its heyday. There is one relic from the twentith century, Kaiser Wilhelm's Fountain. I seem to recall that  the Kaiser sought and received Turkey's support in their ill-fated attempt to win the "war to end all wars".  It was a bright sunny morning in September, and we were inundated by street vendors. Many were selling guide books, hand made flutes, scarves, and various trinkets. One man balanced six layers of giant soft pretzels on his head! The peddlers were persistant but not near as pesky as those in Tangier.

Inside Topkapi

Topkapi is one of the most famous sites in the world, and this palace of the Ottoman sultans is within the old walled city; which was the first walled city in Europe to be besieged by cannon. As gunpowder and firearms moved west from their origin in China, the great city on the Silk Road then known as Constantinople was a formidable target.  Construction began in 1459 on the huge palace, which is a single level structure covering 7.5 million square feet, or about 130 American football fields.  Within its walls are the national treasury, living quarters, bakeries, armory, library, harem, and of course, a mosque.  At its peak it housed 4,000 Turks. Unlike  other palaces such as Versailles, which were designed and built by one man, Topkapi evolved from its original builder over hundreds of years.  Most of the changes were made by Suleiman the Magnificent, the same Suleiman who recaptured Jerusalem from the Christians during the crusades. The site is guarded by Turkish military and other security guards.   We passed through the metal detectors unobstructed after running our tickets through the scanner to unlock the turnstile. One of the big advantages of being a part of a tour group is that you get your tickets to attractions before entering, and that means that you don't have to wait in the ticket line. The actual entrance is inside the massive Imperial Gate. At such a famous historic site as this there are always crowds of people, and every attraction had a queue. Photographs were not allowed in the interiors, but  I was able to make a few drawings. Virtually every object on display was covered with precious and semi-precious stones. There were all sorts of bracelets and necklaces as well as jewel encrusted daggers. There was also furniture gilded with inlaid jewels.  The rooms were dimly lit, but everything in them sparkled.  We did not have a chance to visit the harem (it required a separate ticket) or the armory. Our time was short, and we needed to be at the Blue Mosque.

Inside Hagai Sophia

Sultan Ahmed's Mosque was built in the seventeenth century and has several unique features. It is normally referred to as the "Blue Mosque" because its interior has thousands of blue ceramic tiles lining its walls. A unique feature of the exterior is that it has six minarets. The norm is four, but in the case of a very small mosque I saw near Ephesus, there was only one minaret. When first constructed, minarets were the place where the call to prayer was given by a mauzzin over fifty feet off the ground. Now the call to prayer is from a loudspeaker mounted high in the minaret.  "God is greatest! God is greatest! God is greatest! I bear witness that there is no witness except God... " This we heard five times per day. We had to remove our shoes before entering the mosque and were given a bag to carry them in. Each mosque is equipped outside for worshipers to wash their feet before entering but we did not have to do that.  The women were not required to cover their heads, because there was no service during our visit.  Worship areas are separated according to gender. The interior of the mosque was a thing of beauty even though over the years much of it has been plundered by conquering nations.  Many verses from the Koran adorned the walls, and calligraphy of gold and precious stones sparkled in the light from the many stained glass windows.   Lush carpets covered the floor, which was nice for our unshod feet.  After exiting we had a glass of tea while waiting for the tour group to assemble.

A street near The Grand Bazaar

The streets were crowded with cars, trucks, scooters, and trams, which frequently do not move due to the heavy traffic.  There are tourists and locals on the streets. Many men are moving heavy cartons on hand trucks. We had a lunch served cafeteria style and continued to the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is the largest covered shopping mall in the world.  Yes, larger that the Mall of America in Minnesota.   There are over three thousands shops, some only four feet by six feet in area along the sixty-one streets.. There is a great view of the Bazaar roof of many domes in the James Bond film, "Skyfall".  Outside the Bazaar the street shops have a variety of products as well, and with exception of the fumes of motor vehicles, you get a whiff of the exotic; some of the same odors smelled by the travelers on the Silk Road centuries ago. The aromas of spices and foods being cooked are most notable. Prices in this area are usually quoted in euros and are always negotiable. I think the quality of goods in this area should probably be questioned.  Five euros for a large bottle of Chanel No. 5 may indicate that the product may not be authentic.

Our next  site was Hagia Sophia, one of the most impressive structures in Istanbul.  This huge mosque, built as a Christian church  in 360 A.D., was the largest Christian church until the construction of the cathedral in Seville, Spain, in 1453. The huge domed structure is large enough to house the Statue of Liberty.  It is over 30 feet taller.  After its conversion to a mosque during the Ottoman Turk Empire, the Christian mosaics and decorative elements were covered by paint or stucco.  In 1935 when Hagia Sophia opened as a museum some of these elements were uncovered. Most of the wall art is in the Byzatine style.   Since it was not built as a mosque, the altar for the worship leader had been moved to the corner so that worshipers faced Mecca. It was a real treat to see a place of worship pay homage to two of the world's great religions.

A view from the Bosphorous

Rumelian Castle

We then  boarded a boat for a voyage on the Bosphorous Strait, which separates Europe from Asia. This waterway allows passage from the Mediterean Sea via the Aegean and Marmara Seas to the Black Sea.  Needless to say, it is always busy with watercraft. We boarded a motor vessel about 75 feet long for a  late afternoon cruise.  It was windy and cool when we left the pier, but glasses of hot tea soon warmed us up. A voice in heavily accented English pointed out landmarks on the shores. From the fantail of the boat we could see sunset over the city's mosques. It was a Kodak moment; actually, the first of quite a few. Upon the shore were the palaces of the ancient sultans who once ruled the area, many of which had been converted into luxury hotels. One of the most impressive structures is the Rumelian Castle, built between 1451 and 1452 on the European side of the strait.  Darkness soon surrounded us, and the light on the water came only from the stream of vessels and the full moon. There are only two bridges connecting the continents here, but more are in planning stages, as is the construction of a tunnel. One of these suspension bridges has lights on it which change color every twenty minutes.  We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on the Bosphorus, which wasn't included in the tour package, but we were glad we opted for the extra tour. We were hungry when we disembarked and glad it was time for dinner at Kervanardy's, a popular restaurant.

Belly Dancer

This was quite a treat.  There was a delicious three course meal, including adult beverages, and a fantastic show. The show featured belly dancers as well as folk dancers. The dancers were awesome. We thoroughly enjoyed the show.   The wait staff put flags on our tables according to nationality, and there was a singer who sang in different languages.  And yes, he did get me up on the stage for an inspiring version of Old MacDonald's Farm.  It was a memorable night.

We climbed into bed exhausted.  Tomorrow, Ankara.

Efes: It's Not Just a Turkish Beer

Ruins of the Temple of Artemis once
the size of a soccer field

One of the most interesting places we visited in Turkey was the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus.  In Turkish the name is Efes. (Efes is the name of the the local beer.) It was a beautiful fall day.  The air was brisk. The sky was cloudless and a light shade of cobalt blue. The sun was brilliant, making the reflected light from the ruins almost blinding. This city is one of the most famous in the ancient world, having its beginnings around 6000 years before the birth of Christ and over 300,000 inhabitants at its peak. You enter the site at the high part of the city, and your first view is the sprawling metropolis below you. There was once a harbor here, but silt deposits over thousands of years have relocated the harbor six miles away.  Every major empire has ruled Ephesus under various names.

One of the first places you see among portions of fallen columns is a theater.  It's a small one, only seating 1500 people. It was a roofed theater; the roofs were usually of canvas and removable. The masonry of the structures always amaze me.  So much of the stonework is mortarless. "Isn't this theater a lot like the one in Vaison la Romaine?" I asked.

"Yes," said Claudette, "but the one in France is still being used."

Ionic and Corinthian capital

She and I left the theater and ventured through the agora, marketplace, lined by columns. On one of the capitals, the top of a column, we spotted something quite interesting.  "Look at this capital," I said, "It's  weird."

"It sure is," said my architecture fan wife. "It's a combination of Ionic and Corinthian styles."

We continued our walk down the paved street with the ruins of ancient buildings on either side.  On the left we saw a large relief carving of the goddess of tennis shoes, Nike. It is a beautiful piece of work.

The city of Ephesus relates prominently to the spreading of Christianity. The Apostle Paul was here for three years, and John was here as well. The book of John was probably written here. It is believed that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was here also. History is littered with the names of the people who have walked these streets: Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great, Emperors Hadrian and Constantine. Today Claudette and Tony were here.  We stopped to take a good look at the Temple of Hadrian. This was the second structure in our travels we had seen with the Roman emperor's name on it.  The other was Hadrian's Wall in England. The Roman Empire was indeed vast, from the British Isles to Asia Minor and North Africa.

Looking down the main street of Ephesus

The street is of rough paving stones as we continue downhill with the white stone of ancient structures all around. We stepped into an ancient restroom.  The ancient toilets still exist.  They are communal, with no privacy, and with a fountain in the center.  Fragrant shrubbery tended to camouflage any offensive odors. There is one thing I don't understand about toilets. Over two thousand years ago the Romans had sit down toilets,  but today in much of Europe and Asia we see squatter toilets. Did they not learn anything from the ancients?

As we continued walking we found ourselves at a narrow gate. Claudette stood and measured the width with her outstretched arms.  She could barely touch the vertical posts of stone decorated with a relief of the ancient Hercules. This gate served to render the street pedestrian only, since no vehicle would be narrow enough to enter.

We continued our walk with the tourists of many other lands. The sounds of many voices in many languages rendered a cacophony of sound. It was almost musical.  Little groups were clustered around guides carrying different colored flags.  People were posing for pictures in front of the ruins. There were Americans in baseball caps, Moslem women with heads covered, Indian women in saris, and an unbelievable variety of hats worn by Japanese women.  At the bottom of the hill the street ends in front on the Library of Celsus.

Our tour group.  Our guide has an umbrella rather than a flag. 

It is a great restoration of its former glory.  It once held 12,000 scrolls in the large room behind the huge Ionic and Corinthian columns. It was the third largest library in the ancient world. The building faces east to provide the morning light for readers. Celsus, a Greek, had been a governor of Asia and counsel to the Roman government. His son completed the library in his honor. The library entombs Celsus.  It was extremely rare for someone to be entombed in a public building or even inside the city.  Supposedly, the building facing the library was a brothel and there was a tunnel leading from the main reading room in the library under the street to this building. Neither the apostle Paul or John would have visited this library because it was finished some eighty years after their visits. But there is the image of a minorah carved at the base of one of the columns. Our tour group lingered here long enough to have a group photo taken.

We walked through the ruins of another  agora with many toppled columns and then climbed a small hill.  From the shade of some olive trees we had a great view of the Grand Theater. It was one of the largest and best preserved of the ancient world and had seats for 24,000. It was the site of gladiator fights and theatrical productions, many of which were pornographic.

The apostle Paul may have spoken here during his three years in Ephesus.  We do know that he was jailed here for preaching against the pagan religions of the day. Paul caused a riot led by the silversmith Demetrius, because the silversmiths believed Paul was hurting their business of making small statues of the goddess Artemis.  Paul was imprisoned in Ephesus before continuing his third missionary journey.

We left the best preserved classical city of the eastern Mediterranean and were soon back at our hotel overlooking the Aegean Sea.  We were were ready for an Efes of the liquid kind.