The Odyssey

Wooo! Back in Paris now after about 10 days of traveling through Turkey. The trip was a great time. The weather managed to be shit for most of it, but we got a few beautiful days at key points. Wandered around Istanbul at the beginning and got to see the Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia), which I've always wanted to do. It's truly an incredible building, and something everyone should see. The mosaics and frescoes inside are beautiful, and the structure itself is crazy. I can't imagine how a dome so high was built almost 1500 years ago. The Blue Mosque, right across from it, is beautiful, too. The highlight of Istanbul, though, was Chora Church, almost a millenium old and full of the most amazing mosaics I have ever seen. Breathtaking stuff. The food in Istanbul was also great, and fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice in the morning is hard to beat.

Then it was on to Cappadocia to see the crazy rock formations there. They're called 'fairy chimneys,' but you make your own judgements as to what they look like. The cool thing, though, is that people have been carving out churches and homes in them for hundreds of years now. Many of the churches have frescoes that are still surviving to this day, which was very cool to see. We also toured an underground city, which people there used to shelter themselves from invaders. There are tens of the cities, and many were actually connected by tunnels kilometers long.

After, we headed to the Aegean coast (on a night bus through an Anatolian snowstorm, nonetheless) to see the Greek and Roman ruins at Ephesus (Efes), which is the most complete Greek city that survives. Up next, though, was Troy in the north. The sense of history you feel being there is insane. I mean, the city is responsible for three of the greatest literary works/epics ever--The Iliad, The Aeneid, and The Odyssey. I mean, damn... The site itself isn't that impressive, but it's powerful.

Overall, a great time. Really good food and surprisingly good wine almost everywhere. Also, it helps that, unlike in Latin America, the national beer, Efes, is actually a good pilsener, instead of shit. It actually manages to come close to Pilsener Urquell in taste and quality. And the Turks really know how to do leisure. You go into a cafe, order some tea, sit and smoke a hookah for a while, then maybe later you go sip some raki (basically anise-flavored grappa). Not too shabby.

So now Paris for a couple more days before returning to New Haven on Saturday night to kick off to final couple months of university. Scary, but exciting. Lots of work to do, lots of things to figure out, but lots of fun to be had too. But for now, I'll just listen to music, eat baguettes and cheese, drink fine wine, and maybe play some petanque, too.

So, the obligatory Paris-themed tune for today comes to us from Ladyhawke, appropriately with a remix by Frenchman Alex Gopher. The original track is off Ladyhawke's self-titled debut (buy it here) and you can check out more of Alex Gopher's work on his Beatport page.

Ladyhawke - Paris is Burning (Alex Gopher remix) [divshare]

I just got in an awesome new track from my favorite German producer Digitalfoxglove called 'Remedy.' It'll cure what ails you. He continues to carve out his own niche with a mix of retro and progressive sounds. I love this song! It's his last unofficial track, as his talents have been recognized and Digitalfoxglove is now signed to On The Fruit Records, the label that also has Junior Bondage and Note Found, hopefully meaning an EP will be in the works. Keep on the lookout.

Digitalfoxglove - Remedy [divshare]

Also, another sweet song courtesy of Dom Terrace. This time he mixes things up a bit, using two different beats and alternating between them. Unorthodox, but I think it works out well.

Dom Terrace - Makin' It Happen [divshare]

More new tunes to come soon.

BONUS: Ladyhawke - Paris is Burning (Cut Copy remix) [divshare]

This one's off the 'Paris is Burning' EP, which you can cop here.