• My Journal
• Overview of Turkey 1999
• Istanbul
• Hagia Sophia, St. Sophia:
• Blue Mosque
• The Callers
• The Sultan's Palace and Harem
• Archeological Museum:
• Cabs:
• Race to the Bus Depot:
• Bus Depot:
• Bus Ride:
• First View of the Black Sea:

• Sinop
• Planned excavation/Bus Depot:
• Otel 57:
• Economics of Sinop today:
• The ancient port:
• Sinop museum:
• Waterfront Festival:
• Pasa Fortress:
• More members of the team arrive:
• Turkish construction techniques:
• The Dogs
• ROVs arrive:

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My Journal:

Through out my 1999 journey in Turkey, I kept a journal in which I recorded my activities as well as my personal impressions. Instead of a pen, I used my lap top computer, an indispensable tool these days for anyone conducting field research. back

Overview of Turkey 1999:

1999 was not a good year for tourism in Turkey. Abdullah Ocalan, an important Kurdish leader, was arrested for high treason, tried, and sentenced to death. The threat of retaliatory terrorist attacks anywhere in the country put the military and police at full alert. A large military presence was noticeable throughout Turkey, particularly in Istanbul. NATO activities in Bosnia and Kosovo also chilled tourism. The impending eclipse of the sun in August and the massive earthquake that occurred in mid-August were the two most monumental events to actually occur to Turkey in the summer of 1999. Both occurred shortly after I had returned to the States.

Dr. Fredrik Hiebert, an associate professor of Near Eastern Studies and Assistant Curator of the University museum, headed the University of Pennsylvania team. This group was composed of Alex Bauer, Jennifer Smith, Lisa Pompelli, Owen Dooman, Alex Gantos (Boston University), and me. Owen Dooman as directed the land survey since 1996, together with Alex Gantos (Assistant Director). By the time we arrived they had already done a month-long project including geomorphological survey (with Mark Besonen, Univ. of Massachusetts) and archaeological survey. All told they have found almost 200 sites in four seasons.back

Istanbul:

Five of the team (Dr. Hiebert, Alex Bauer, Jennifer Smith, Lisa Pumpelly, and myself) flew from JFK in New York to Istanbul on June 29. We arrived at the Ataturk International Airport named (like virtually everything else in Turkey) after the founder of the modern state of Turkey. I quickly learned just how much this man means to this country. His picture appears everywhere particularly in 1999, because this is the country’s seventy-fifth anniversary. During our drive into Istanbul, I saw many flags with the red backdrop, the white quarter moon, Ataturk’s portrait, and the year seventy-five emblazoned on them. They were hung outside all public buildings and even from the bridges spanning the Bosphorus. We stayed overnight at the luxurious Ceylon Intercontinental Hotel where we were treated like Sultans. This is where I had my introduction to Turkish cuisine which was really quite good although a bit heavy on lamb. Before leaving for Sinop, we were able to have a brief tour of some of Istanbul’s major sites. This included Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Sultan’s palace Topkapi Sarayi.back

Hagia Sophia, St. Sophia:

I recognized St. Sophia immediately with its characteristic support towers on either side of its great dome. Earlier in the year at Upenn, I had done a report on the great domed building of the world. My report focused on three structures: Pantheon in Rome, St. Sophia in Istanbul and the Domo in Florence Italy. Few structures before or since can match Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) in size, technical complexity, innovation and sheer splendor. Amazingly construction of this building began in 537 under the rule of Roman Emperor Justinian. It was completed in only six years. It was the greatest church of the Holy Roman Empire and Christianity until the Moslems captured it in 1453. Even though I had seen many pictures and even experienced a virtual (electronic) tour of the building, nothing can match the real experience of its great space. I discovered that this great structure incorporates many columns and stone pieces that once were in earlier buildings. Some of the columns for example may have come from Babylon or other ancient buildings. Recycling has been a common practice throughout history. back

In the late 1830s, an Englishman named William Hamilton traveled through Turkey experiencing its many sites and observing its very different cultures. In a way, I felt a kinship with Hamilton as we both – albeit 150 years apart – wrote down our impression of this strange yet beautiful country. Hamilton recorded his impressions in two-volume work: Asia Minor, Pontus, and Armenia with Some Account of their Antiquities and Geology. These volumes are surprisingly easy reads. The following is his account of his visit to Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia):

When I visit Hagia Sophia, conservators were in the process of disassembling scaffolding that had reached from the floor to the top of the dome. This had been erected to perform repairs on the dome and its mosaics. This scene made the whole experience all the more dramatic. What would William Hamilton’s reaction have been if he saw that? Christian symbols, instead of being covered up, were now being uncovered and expertly preserved. Hagia Sophia, although used as a mosque for almost 500 years, was made into a museum by Ataturk. It preserves both the Christian and Moslem elements of the building and is symbolic of the secular character of modern Turkey. back

Two Tours through the Blue Mosque:

As we were walking across the touristy parking lot in front of the St. Sophia, a guy came up to us and started asking questions. "How are you? Isn't it a beautiful day? The Mosque is this way. Saint Sophia is that way. The palace is that way. I can show you! No problem, I was going that way myself." I was thinking all this guy wants is a fat tip. However, we followed him toward the Blue Mosque. I was having a great deal of trouble understanding what he was talking about, because his English was quite broken and my Turkish non-existent. We arrived at the side entrance of the Mosque and he instructed us to the protocol of taking off one's shoes before entering. He also knew the entrance was in the rear of the building. When visiting the Mosque, I realized its design is similar to that of Hagia Sophia except it has four half domes, not two. The central dome is smaller than that of Haggis Sophia. Given this area is earthquake prone and Hagia Sophia had experienced several monumental crashes over the centuries, this design was appropriately conservative. Here, I met some Australians who had been paragliding on the South Coast of Turkey. What they had been up to sounded intriguing. We carried our shoes in bags through the Mosque. After exiting, we were dragged by the guide to a carpet store. I later learned that for a free tour of anything this was standard operating practice in Turkey. We dropped by the shop and promised we would be back on our way home. He seemed disappointed but didn’t demand money. He then wanted to take us to the palace We told him we had no intentions of seeing any more of the city and we were returning to our hotel (Otel). We truly planned on seeing the Palace but not then. With the tourist season experiencing such a horrid slump, shopkeepers were very innovative in ways to entice tourists into their shops.

In the later part of my trip, I returned to the Blue Mosque with my Dad and his colleague, John Olsen. Upon entering the mosque, the gentleman taking our shoes asked if we wanted a tour. The quoted price was 1 million Lira. Sure! We shed our shoes and entered. It was simply beautiful with blue tiles dominating the interior space. Built for Sultan Abmet between 1606-1616, the building is known to Turks as Sultan Abmet Camii. The structure is not as tall as Hagia Sophia but in many ways is more integrated. It was designed and built as a mosque and, unlike nearby Hagia Sophia, never has been a church. Men prayed on the lower floor and the women in special rooms located at the back of the mosque. No pictures of persons or representation of animals are allowed. Six minarets surround this mosque. Only the holiest of all sites Mecca has seven minarets. Unlike a Christian church, there is no music inside a mosque, only sung prayers. A sermon is given on the high of holy days, which is on Fridays. The mosque’s four main support pillars inside are massive and are sheathed in marble. Our guide tried to lead us to believe that inside the columns are great water tanks designed to keep the interior space cool. He said slaves in earlier times would crank the pumps to keep the water flowing into the great tanks. I found the story a bit fishy and latter discovered this simply was untrue. So much for tour guide misinformation! At the end of the tour he announces the charge would be 1 million lira per person. When we objected, he said it was simply a misunderstanding on our part and he would "never lie in the house of Allah." He ended up with two million lira. back

The Callers:

Modern technology has somewhat altered ancient tradition in the mosque. To be a Muslim, one only needs to perform a few basic religious duties. One of these is praying five time daily: dawn, noon, and mid-afternoon, dusk, and after dark. To remind the faithful of this basic duty, callers (müezzin) standing on the balconies of the high and slender minaret towers attached to Moslem mosques, call the prayers to Allah (God). However, the callers no longer climb the minaret towers from which to call. Large loud speakers (and do I mean loud!) project the caller’s voice from a microphone located at the bottom of the tower or from tapes. The caller or tapes (one never know which) broadcast the prayers though out the day and night. It doesn’t matter if you are sleeping or not, the prayers continue. They are not usually melodious but rather quite flat in pitch and booming in intensity. I thought that perhaps voice training for the callers would greatly enhance the quality of the prayer. I rarely found anyone paying much attention to the calls: work, dining, game playing, or whatever would go on uninterrupted. What is particularly confusing is that there is no one set time for the calls. They are timed in such a manner that always there is a prayer arising from a mosque someplace in the world. Each prayer last for about 8 minutes and is sufficiently loud that it downs out all other sounds. Istanbul probably has the highest concentration of minarets in the entire world. The birds scatter into the air when the horns start up. It is a hum that drowns out all other noises for miles around. Fluorescent lights on the sides of the minaret’s high platforms are lit only for holy days. I initially mistook them for cellular telephone receivers although using the towers for such a purpose would be a great idea. To ever suggest this, even in jest, would be considered rude and blasphemous. Apparently the lack of vigorous exercise in climbing the towers on a regular routine has resulted in weight and other health problems for the callers. Once again, adoption of modern technology can be hazardous to one’s health. back

The Sultan’s Palace and Harem (Topkapi Sarayi):

Two soldiers with semiautomatic rifles guarded the Palace gate! Located behind St. Sophia’s, Topkapi Palace is a maze of buildings that was the ruling center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. Inside this complex is the harem of the sultan. It is both large and mysterious. The imagination runs wild at what type of debauchery went on there. We saw much of the collection of china and metal work collection. It was mostly gifts given to the sultan by other royalty and by the people he ruled. While beautiful, the items were really quite boring. Today it is hard to get excited about ornamental gold goblets and silver plates. It belongs to a past era.

Just as we were leaving the Palace we heard loud sounds. Through the park marched approximately fifty men dressed in traditional Ottoman military dress. There were drummers and horn players. One of the participants used a large set of kettledrums to direct the beat! Some men carried large banners and others held military standards, a custom I found most interesting. Lisa Pumpelli later described one of the standard holder’s costumes as resembling a "toothpaste tube with the screw end cut off fitting over a soldier’s head." A British recording company was filming the pageant and recording the music. back

Archeological Museum:

Istanbul’s Archeological Museum is a little known world-famous collection housing some of the greatest classical treasures that have been found in Turkey. To me the most impressive item in this very rich collection was the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus. Actually it was not Alexander’s (he was not buried in it) but rather was intended for Abdalonymos, the last king of Sidon. Abdalonymos owed his throne to Alexander and one of his (Alexander’s) Generals named Hephhaistion. This particular item was one of a group of twenty-two sarcophagi that were discovered in 1887 at Sidon. It is one of the most important and best-preserved pieces of Hellenistic relief sculpture in existence. On one side of the chest are carved battle and hunting scenes with horses so realistic one believes they could leap off the surface.

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The story is told that the Sultan was quite anxious to please German Kaiser Wilhelm who was passionate about classical art. He offered the sarcophagus as a gift. The Turkish people were aghast! When the Kaiser came to the museum to inspect the piece, the museum director arranged to shroud the room in which the sarcophagus was located with drop cloths and had painters busy at work repainting the walls and ceiling. Fearing he might get paint on his elegant uniform, the Kaiser left in disgust.

The remaining items in the museum are quite impressive although not displayed to their full potential. The storerooms are full of all sorts of classical stuff, any number of which if displayed in the US would be the talk of the nation. There were two great statutes of Alexander on display: one full figure in armor and another a head bust. My Dad was so impressed with the museum reproduction of the latter that he purchased it and carried this 40-pound head back to the US. It is now in our home in Virginia. back

Cabs:

Cabs are ubiquitous in Istanbul and are probably the most efficient way to get around particularly if you don’t know where you are going! If you board a cab in the tourist areas, the driver knows he can over-charge you and get away with it. You have to make sure the meter is set for daytime rates. If you know your way around the city, the best bet is taking public transportation, because the taxis tend to run up the meter by taking you the long away. Alternatively, before you board the cab and he starts the meter, agree on the fare. We tried this one time and sure enough the meter racked up an enormous tab but the driver was content on the payment we had agreed upon. This proves the point that Turks are not crooks but rather crafty businessmen. back

Race to the Bus Depot:

The UPenn team left the Intercontinental Hotel and made their way to the Istanbul bus station via cab. We were able to just fit all our gear (and ourselves) into two taxicabs. With the help of bungee cords and some heavy hitting, we smashed our belongings into the trunks of the cabs. In Turkey, it’s not a good idea to ever have a group divided between two cabs. The cab divers like to race each other. This practice must date back to the Charioteers. After a few close calls, the cabs dropped us off at the bus station. back

Bus Depot:

When I walked into the bus station I was awestruck. I had never seen such a huge bus station in my life. There appeared to be hundreds of signs for different bus companies. Indeed this was a happening place. Bus transport is the primary means of long distance travel around Turkey. Almost every city or region in Turkey has a bus line and an hourly, daily, or weekly scheduled route to Istanbul. A porter grabbed our bags before we could remove them from the cabs and placed them on the ground. We simply thought he must be a porter for the bus company. He wheeled our bags to the bus platform and demanded to be paid not only money but also with cigarettes. After a long protest, we finally paid him. back

Bus Ride:

Trains are not used much any more for intercity transport in Turkey. They run only from Istanbul to Ankara and are not modern. These days there appears to be a thousand bus companies in Turkey, a few hundred running out of Istanbul’s main terminals alone. After a delicious meal of Bursa or Iskender kebap which is sliced off a doner (large piece of meat roasted vertically on a spit and then placed on an oblong boat shaped piece of bread to create a tasty sandwich), we then boarded our very modern Mercedes Benz bus. We then started our overnight journey to Sinop. I had no idea how long this trip was going to be. I quickly noticed when I got on the bus that, unlike busses I have ridden in the US, there was no onboard bathroom.

Turkish background music played almost the entire trip. To my ear it sounded very foreign. At our second stop, a man took the seat beside me. I noticed he was moving prayer beads back and forth through his fingers for the first few hours. Then he started talking to me in Turkish and I simply nodded my head. Soon I realized he was not going to stop. I politely said, "American." He stopped. Professor Hiebert loved the bus, because he could sleep, again demonstrating he was very familiar with Turkish bus protocol.

We made our first "pit" stop just outside Istanbul. It was in the middle of nowhere at 11pm and consisted of WC’s, a full market stocked with all types of food and supplies. Of course it costs money to go into the WC (bathroom) like most places in Europe. At the stops, the buses are hosed down to keep the windows clean. Virtually all the Turks from the bus are busily smoking during the stopover since smoking is no longer permitted on board (except for the driver). This country is addicted to tobacco and the ban of smoking on buses is a recent and promising effort to change Turkish habits. Some really corny Italian musical theme would be broadcast over the intercom and then the announcer directed us back onto the bus. back

First View of the Black Sea:

On the morning of July 1^st there was a very early morning light at about 4am. I could see the glow of the sun start to appear on the surrounding hills. Our bus then started climbing a very steep mountain road that reminded me of the Appalachian Mountains. From the top, we could see the Black Sea. It appeared to be a large lake at the base of a very long plane. We arrived at Sinop at 6am in the morning and I realized I had not slept much of the trip. back

Sinop:

As our bus drove into the Sinop bus depot, the nearby thick walls that had once protected Sinop amazed me. I later learned Sinop was once surrounded by a series of 25-30 meter walls and towers rising to a height of 50 meters. Today only four of the tall towers remain. The defensive walls and towers span the entire history of Sinop. They have been constantly rebuilt up until the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Remains of ancient Greek and Roman temples are visible in walls. The ends of column drums are visible to the eye and tie the elements of the walls together. Marble cornice pieces from the classical period were used along with limestone blocks that comprise the majority of stones in the walls. Latin or Greek inscriptions are visible on large and finely cut blocks of stone. This raises an interesting point. When survival of the City was at stake, any shaped piece of stone was utilized. If this meant salvaging the stone from an old temple, so be it. Preservation was not of importance until modern times. Interestingly the modern day bus depot is built into the ancient fortifications of Sinop.

We met Owen Donan and Alex Gantos at the Bus Depot. Both had been in Turkey for several months working on surveys. They clearly knew the City and customs well and for some time showed us the local "ropes." back

Planned Excavation of the Bus Depot:

The Sinop bus depot will be the focus of next (2000) season for the Black Sea Trade Project. A section of the embankment holding up the ancient walls eroded in such a manner that various levels of occupation can be observed. Bones stick out of the muddy wall and carbonized remains show evidence of ancient fires. According to the Black Sea team, this one location needs to be preserved because evidence of Bronze Age settlements probably lies at a lower level. Presently the entire hillside is eroding into the Black Sea. I visited the site both before and after a rainstorm and was surprised to observe the rapidity of the erosion. Hopefully an excavation permit will be granted so that this promising site can be explored and before further deterioration occurs. This would involve building a retaining wall to support the hillside and stabilize the site. back

Otel 57:

Alex and Owen drove us to the Hotel (Otel) 57, which is located in the middle of the Sinop waterfront area. This will be the base of operations for the underwater portion of the summer of 2000’s exploration project. It is a multi-storied concrete slab constructed building which is typical of most of the smaller hotels in Turkey. The rooms are small, without air-conditioning but with windows that open to catch the sea breezes. There is one WC on each floor. On the ground floor is the main desk, a small bar (Yes, Turks do consume alcohol.), several small tables where breakfast is served, and a TV that is always on. Turks love American style cartoons and MTV type programs. From the windows on the upper stories in the front of the hotel you can see Sinop harbor. My room overlooks one of the ancient walls and an old Ottoman house that members of the Black Sea Expedition hope the University will purchase and use as a base of operations in future years. This particular building has two stories, is built of wood with much ornamentation, and appears in reasonably good repair. It is said that it would cost about $30,000 to purchase, exclusive of improvements. It would be a neat place for offices, sleeping space, computer terminals, and equipment storage. back

Observed Economics of Sinop today:

Sinop is a relatively small city of about 26,000 and once housed a NATO "listening" (i.e. intelligence) facility. Located immediately across the Black Sea is the former Soviet Union making Sinop an ideal site for electronic eavesdropping. The Turkish military now uses these facilities. Large white domes housing radars and other gear can be observed on the Sinop highlands. It is rumored the Sinop highlands are honeycombed with secret caves and passages. Because of this past history, the people of Sinop are very comfortable with Americans and quite western. Whenever you engage a Sinop resident who speaks English, they invariably tell you they learned English when working at the base. Fishing, small fishing boat construction and tourism appear to now be its major industries. Sinop also is a government center and marketplace for local farmers. One of the city’s specialties is making model boats. I was struck with the fact that every one of these handmade boats appear pretty much like another. I could only conclude that the Turks are not all that innovative. back

The Ancient Port:

The narrowest part of the peninsula is only about a half-mile wide. The great advantage Sinop had in ancient times and to this day is having two harbors. The north harbor faces the Black Sea and the Sinop peninsula protects the southern harbor. This makes the north harbor prone to the harsh weather of the Black Sea. Jason and the Argonauts on their journey to find the Golden Fleece probably sailed past this stretch of the Black Sea coast.

William Hamilton, the Englishman, describes Sinop as he observed it from shipboard in the 1840’s shortly before the outbreak of the Crimean war.

May 22. 1839- On coming on deck this morning as we were passing within two miles of Cape Lepte, a low, black, volcanic looking coast, then we saw the town of Sinope with its remarkable promontory about ten miles ahead of us. It is situated on the low and narrow isthmus, which connects the promontory with the main, and is surrounded by a wall fortified with turrets at short distances from each other. A rich and well-wooded country appeared to extend to the south from the town. About forty miles beyond Sinope we passed near a low and thickly- wooded tongue of land apparently marshy in places, running out into the sea, at the northern extremity of which were the mouths of the Lalys, by their extent could not be seen in consequence of several islands which lay off them. The sea was much discolored for six or seven miles before we reached the point, made by the mud which the Halys had brought down, so that there could scarcely be any doubt that the whole of the long point was an alluvial delta…

Although there are no major rivers immediately around Sinop, looking for archeological remains is difficult because of the high rate of siltation on the coast of the Black Sea. The silt would have long covered anything of archeological importance. However finding remains in deeper water is much more promising.back

Sinop Museum:

Owen provided us a tour of the Sinop museum. It contains artifacts from all the major time periods dating back to the Bronze Age until Ataturk. Inside the building are collections of ancient coins, pots, and garments. Outside the museum are some very interesting items. This includes large amphorae (I will see literally thousands of these throughout my travels in Turkey.), Greek and Roman column drums and capitals, grave steles, and Turkish gravestones. Carved on the tops of the stones are hats denoting the place and station within Ottoman society of the deceased person. There also are old guns dating back to the Crimean war and the foundations of an ancient Egyptian temple indicative of the multi-cultural character of the ancient city.

Sinop once was a major trading port for the silk trade to the Orient. Ships sailed across the Black Sea from this point to Russia and thence onward through Central Asia via the Caspian Sea. Apparently the prevailing winds across the Black Sea are ideal at Sinop. I learned that Black Sea actually means "Sea of Death," so named because ancient mariners, if caught in a storm, would likely perish because of the absence of islands and the ferocity of storms. I guess it was preferable to shorten the trade route by taking the enormous risks of crossing the Black Sea rather than taking the longer land route and the risk of being hijacked. back

Waterfront Festival:

Fortunately we arrived at Sinop just in time to experience their yearly waterfront festival where athletic events, races and water sport contests are held. This includes rowing races, diving contests, and a race involving single cylinder diesel motor launches. My favorite contest was one in which a greased telephone pole was suspended over the water. A flag was stuck on the end. The objective was to climb out on the pole, retrieve the flag and return. No one succeeded in even getting half way out.

The wreckage of Turkish warships from the 1850s lie under the bay where the festival takes place and is mentioned in festival events recalling a violent part of Sinop’s "recent" history.back

Pasa Fortress:

In 1853, a Turkish (Ottoman) naval squadron anchored in Sinop harbor was attacked and destroyed by a much better gunned Russian fleet. This initiated the Crimean War. The story is that the Russians sneaked up on the Ottoman fleet on a dark and stormy night (Sounds a bit like the opening line of a very bad mystery story!). They anchored close to the Ottoman fleet and without warning, opened fire. The Russian warships swung on their anchor chains and fired broadside after broadside into the Turkish fleet sinking all but one ship. The Russians were so elated by their glorious and decisive victory that celebrations were held throughout Russia. The British and French, however, were appalled by this savage act of aggression and became very concerned that Russia might have been attempting to conquer the then rickety Ottoman Empire. Keeping the Ottoman Empire in one piece was important to the French and British as a matter of geopolitics and balance of power. The story follows that the Turks in memory of the Ottoman fleet’s sailors built a memorial with the money found in the pockets of the victims whose bodies washed up on the beach. The monument is on the grounds of the archeological museum. Many of the huge anchors and canons from the sunken fleet are also located on the grounds of the museum.

I had the opportunity to look at the fortress from the Coastal Road that runs around the Peninsula. There is a great deal of new building going on next to the Pasa fortress as the city of Sinop expands farther out the South side of the peninsula. Today the bunkers that stored the gunpowder for the Ottoman fleet is a Disco. What an appropriate use! back

More Members of the Team Arrive:

Soon after our arrival in Sinop, other members of the expedition began to join us. They included Dr. David Mindell, Justin Manley, Sarah Webster, Katherine Croff, Margaret Watters and Brendan Foley from MIT, Kathleen Carrol from Princeton working with IFE (Institute for Exploration), Hannah Anderson from the University of Missouri working with National Geographic and Erkut Arcak, Atauz Ayse, and Dr. Sharon Ward from Texas A&M University representing INA (Institute of Nautical Archeology).

A few days later, Neal Conan (Nation Public Radio, Morning Edition) and his soundman Charlie Thompson also of National Public Radio arrived. Dr. Robert Ballard, the discoverer of Titanic, and head of the IFE arrived later. Earlier in the summer, Ballard conducted a dive off of the coast of Israel and discovered an ancient Phoenician Galley, the oldest known ship ever found underwater. This event was headline news around the world and was very exciting. It suggested to us that we might have equally dramatic success.

This was becoming a star-studded expedition with experts skilled in a vast array of academic disciplines. One could sense a high level of energy and expectation. I could only believe that I just might be part of something really big – the kind of event you read about in book or see in movies. The question however that continually went through my mind was: what the devil am I doing here? What do I, a rising sophomore at that, have to offer this distinguished team? I felt in a way I was part of an Indiana Jones movie. We were seeking not Noah’s Ark but perhaps Noah’s farm. The underwater place we were seeking would have been the location from which the animals in the book of Genesis came. Noah was a man who clearly was part of a developed civilization. Maybe we would find evidence of that. Maybe Dr. Pompelli was right after all. Maybe there was another cradle of civilization and part of it lay beneath the Black Sea.

To make the sense of excitement all the greater is the fact that at a certain depth in the Black Sea, all oxygen in the water is depleted thereby preventing deterioration. According to the experts it was conceivable that if ship sank in the Black Sea it still would be intact. Because Sinop is in the northern most point of Turkey, it would be a natural destination for ancient sailors from southern Russia and Ukraine. Sailing across the sea would cut several weeks off of a journey of traveling in continual sight of land. The currents and prevailing winds in the Black Sea allow mariners to make this trip both ways. Utilizing this combination of currents and winds could date all the way back to the Bronze Age. As I indicated earlier, the Black Sea was indeed treacherous and certainly many vessels must be lying on the bottom, unless modern day dredges haven’t destroyed them. But how deep would dredging be conducted since there is no sea life at the depths we were interested in? This had the makings of an expedition that, with luck, had the potential of rewriting history.back

Turkish Construction Techniques:

Early in the morning, I took a run up the coastal road to gain a better sense of Sinop and its environs. Life starts early in Turkey. The bakers and the sheepherders are the first to rise. I was struck with the fact that virtually all the buildings are slab concrete structures with their non-bearing curtain walls made out of ceramic tile covered with stucco like material. These techniques probably had not evolved much from the mud and dabble type construction I had read about being employed by ancient people. The only difference now is that reinforcing rod (and not much of it) is used in place of wood. It made me wonder how resistant these buildings would be to an earthquake. Unbeknownst to me, the world would soon discover the answer to this question in August 1999 when the great quake occurred.back

The Dogs:

During my run, I attracted a number of dogs that ran after me. These were not the usual variety of neighborhood dogs I was used to back in the States. These dogs were quite snarley, big and mean. I ran as fast as I ever had finally vaulting a fence. In the process I tore the bottom out of my running shorts. It was a terrifying several moments and I could accept the ridicule I received for being practically naked as opposed to the treatment I would have received from the dogs. Brooks later told me about his experience being mauled by dog in Bodrum.back

ROVs Arrive:

A truck soon arrived at the Sinop pier delivering crates containing the electronic gear we would use in the exploration. I helped unload the boxes containing the ROVs and components. Moving a number of large heavy boxes with cables and electronics I discovered one of my roles – that of being a stevedore. We used both a forklift and manpower to shift around these heavy containers. The MIT crew spent the day tinkering with all this highly sophisticated gear. It was great to have such expertise around – they combined the skills of the engineer with those of archeologists. We were to be using the most advanced technologies available for undersea exploration.back