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Excerpts from postcards sent in October 1986, Dean's World Tour I:

Athens, Greece, 08 Oct 1986: Kalimera (Good morning)!  I spent some time on the beach with several Brazilians and a couple Americans I met on the ferry coming from Italy.  Now, I've been in Athens a couple days to get my Egyptian visa, get another injection, check out future destination opportunities and costs, and of course see the Acropolis.  Lately, I've been roaming with a couple of Canadians.

My Eurailpass runs out just on time for me to leave its area of coverage.  In three months time, I must have gone 10,000 miles by train and 1,000 miles by ferry using the pass.

Also, in a couple of days, I'll be leaving the European continent after exactly 8 months (minus 16 days in Morocco).  Now, the hard part begins.  I've been to the first and second worlds, and expect to spend a large part of the remainder of my trip in the so-called "third world".  This means, hopefully, no more McDonalds, as well as no more hot showers, a rare sit-down toilet, and more frequent health irregularities.  I've been looking forward to it for a long time.

Antio (Goodbye),
Hercules

Istanbul, Turkey, 13 OCT 1986:  Gunaydin (Good morning)!  I think I'm going to like Turkey a lot.  There's much of historical interest and natural beauty, the prices are very cheap, and the people are as friendly, sincere, easy going and respectful as anyplace I've been.  It's different from Morocco, the only other "developing" country I've visited thus far, where it becomes a rather tiring game of avoiding hustlers and, occasionally, a person who resorts to intimidation when all other efforts to get at your wallet fail.  Even though there are many poor people here who try, sometimes very hard, to sell you things, the behavior never digresses to the outright deceit, insults or threats that I witnessed in Morocco.  On the contrary, in Turkey, I'm more likely to become weary of the people's kindness and friendliness.

On the other hand, I have witnessed several passport police accepting bribes, one of which may have been in the form of a sexual favor on the night train on which I was traveling -- (although this may be just my speculation).  So, while I feel quite at home with Turkish culture, I sense that, in some slightly unusual situation, my civil liberties are not as likely to be as firmly protected as in America.

I have been spending some time with a guy from South Africa the past few days in Istanbul, and I'm finding it quite interesting to discuss the issues of his country with him.  Meanwhile, we've been to our share of mosques and Turkish carpet dealers, and we spent a day on the beach at the Black Sea.  Now, I'm going my own way again, heading across the bridge from Europe to Asia and more deeply into Turkey.

Allahaismarladik (Goodbye).
Mustafa Kemel Ataturk

Goreme, Turkey, 16 Oct 1986: Merhaba (Hello)!  Don't let tourists ever get a whiff of Turkey or they'll destroy it as they have the rest of Europe.  Don't tell anybody, but the cultural history, the natural beauty, the climate, the people, and the prices are all greater than great.  Don't spread the word -- leave this place for me.

The food is great here too, but it has occasional side effects.  Yesterday, my rear end opened up and all hell broke loose.  The new microorganisms I introduced into my system had a battle for territory and have since defeated the old ones.  I'm ready now for more kebobs.

I am staying in a cave with a bed for $1.40 a night.  The cave has been carved out of a 50 foot tall strange-looking cone-shaped landform.  My surroundings are similar to the Badlands (of South Dakota) except that the rock is hard enough for people to carve out cave dwellings, and they've been doing so for thousands of years.  Even whole underground cities housing up to 5000 people have been created in this rock.

(One hour later) -- For some reason, the Turkish police are closing this place down for 5 days, so I'm moving across the street to another pension.  In countries like this, things make even less sense than in our own.

Some of the time, I think about the possibilities of cutting my trip short, saving money and going home to invest in something like opening my own youth hostel.  More often, I think about ways in which I may extend my trip beyond two years.  I can live in the third world for 1/3 the cost of what I was spending in Europe, or less.

Pamukkale, Turkey, 18 Oct 1986:  Aside from the usual things one sees in Turkey, a mixture of modern and antiquated ways of living, many mosques and people in Islamic dress, I've also met or caught glimpses of some unusual people.  I met a man with his pet bear, a man with the world's longest mustache, and I also watched the President of Turkey cross the street.  I might have taken a picture of the President, but the 1000 men with machine guns inhibited me.

Today, I relaxed in a thermal bath in an area very similar to Yellowstone Park.  I was also invited into the homes of two families of farmers.  Their homes are quite simple with no furniture.  We ate sitting on a floor which was covered with Turkish carpets.  One family is quite large and picks cotton for their income.  Everybody seemed very impressed by the fact that I came into their home, and the children were quite entertained just watching me eat.  These people are very, very poor, but they did have a black and white television on which was playing the American series "Knight Rider".

Tomorrow, I will go to the Ancient Greek city of Ephesus in western Turkey with a man I met who pilots planes for the Turkish military.  (I later discovered to my horror that he drives his car as a fighter pilot would).

Ephesus, Turkey, 20 Oct 1986:  This is one of the greatest cities of the past ... settled, destroyed and resettled 5 times in the last 300 years by various empires.  At one time, it was one of the largest cities in the world.  From the top row of the 24,000 seat amphitheater where I now sit, I have a good view of what was once a huge city, and I can hear clearly, from perhaps a hundred yards away, a man drop a coin on the center stage.  They certainly knew acoustics 2000 years ago when this was constructed.  I wish I had my guitar now.  The Apostle Paul preached to the Christians from here, but the Ephesians shouted back, "Great is the God Artemis of Ephesus!"

Not far from here is the House of the Virgin Mary, where many believe Paul brought the mother of Jesus to spend the last years of her life.  It is now a place of pilgrimage for Christians, approved by the Vatican.

I've been finding comfortable accommodation (or should I say, it has been finding me) for about $1.40 a night.  No sooner do I step off the bus then there are a half dozen or more ready to escort me to their pensions, or drive me there on their tractors.  Big, tasty meals in Turkey cost about $2.00 in the small towns, $3.00 in Istanbul.

I head down the coast from here in western Turkey to catch a boat to the Greek Island of Rhodes, and from there to Cyprus or Crete, I'm not sure which.

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