Turkish Family

I spent three days in Izmir with my Turkish family. They were unbelievably gracious, kind, hospitable and funny. And that Mama was one amazing cook.

I mean seriously amazing. I arrived to stuffed grape leaves, beef stew, rice with slivered almonds, fresh baked bread, a yogurt and eggplant dish and apple turnovers.

And that was just for lunch.

Let's just say that I am not lighter on my toes, people.

If you knew them you would fall in love with them just like I did. They have amazing stories of survival, persecution and redemption. They laugh as much as my Oklahoma family does at a family reunion and they taught me how to play Settlers of Catan, which we played every night.

An American girl learning a German game in Turkey. Go figure.

My Turkish Mama

a.k.a. the Spunky Lady

My Turkish Sister, Esra, and her husband Ho

Isn't she gorgeous?

My Turkish brother Goksel and his girlfriend Secel

Cetin, my Turkish brother who went to Denver Seminary. He is one of only six Turks in the entire country who have attended seminary. God has big plans for him.

Group shot (minus Goksel)

Esra, yours truly and Cegdin (Spunkmeister) in downtown Izmir

 

A beautiful sunset on the Mediterranean. Love it.

I loved my visit with this family. They are amazing people. Truly amazing. I cannot wait to visit them again.

So...

I am now in Jordan. Eight flights down, two to go! There is still so much for you to see about Turkey, including trips to Cappadocia and Ephesus. But those will come, I promise!

But for now, I have bigger fish to fry.

Cue music.

When you read this I will be retracing the steps of our esteemed predecessor, the world-renowned intellect whose smile could charm the stink off a skunk: Indiana Jones. 

We are off to Petra!

Oh, the Horror!

It's time to be honest, people. I am just going to give it to you straight:

I have had a bad hair day for two weeks.

It isn't pretty.

It is half-curly, half-straight. Mostly fuzzy, non-cooperative. It has a life of its own.

It is like it is saying to me: "Ha ha, Sarah! We've got you now! What can you do about it? You are stuck in a world where your electrical plugs will not work. You are a prisoner and we will be victorious!"

Or something like that.

This pretty much says it all:

Are you scared? I would be.

I am.

How to Embrace a Layover

The infamous Istanbul posting has arrived!

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Okay, here it is. Sit back and enjoy, peeps. It is a feast for the eyes.

Pretend this was written a few days ago...

Our original plan was to fly from Beirut to Kayseri, Turkey with a connecting flight in Istanbul. However, a few days before, we discovered that our flight out of Beirut was delayed, thus making us miss our connecting flight in Istanbul.

Oh darn.

So, we took advantage of that delay and embraced a day-long layover in what could be described as one of the world's most incredible days in one of the world's most amazing cities.

We woke up on Wednesday morning at 2:45 am.  Did you catch that? That's 2:45 AM, people. Who plans flights that early? Seriously, who is it because I need to talk to him. Ridiculous.

Anyway, we knew this was going to be a jam-packed day because we were going to have to squeeze in a ginormous city with thousands of years of history into twelve hours.

Difficult? Yes.

Tiring? You better believe it!

Impossible? Absolutely not.

Just call us Wonder Women. All we need are capes.

I could ramble on and on about the beauty, intrigue, history, culture, food, sights, sounds, smells, food, and desserts all day long, but I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

The Blue Mosque (right next to our hotel)

Pomegranite in an open-air market

Scarves in the Grand Bazaar

Colorful lights in the Grand Bazaar

Spices at the Spice Market (go figure)

Turkish Delight...so delightful!

Market outside of the Grand Bazaar. Um, yum.

My colleague Tami and I at a literal hole-in-the-wall eatery. The guy who took this picture was standing in the street because there really was a hole in the wall.

Dried fruit and hazelnuts.

The Hagia Sofia. This is one of the oldest churches in the world. The original structure was built by Constantine as a Christian place of worship. However, since the Ottoman Empire, it has been converted to a Mosque. The Blue Mosque (directly across the street) was designed after this church.

Inside the Hagia Sofia

The Roman Cistern. This cistern was dug during the Roman Empire for the royal family. After the fall of the empire, this cistern was forgotten and was later discovered by a house wife who dug a whole in her floor thinking she could fetch water. Suspicions grew when she never ran out of water and an official investigation began to see what was below. Quite a lot of water was below!

Moral of story: don't knock housewives...or dig a hole in your floor to see what you can find.

Blue Mosque (at night, just in case you were wondering)

Inside the Blue Mosque

The End.

I hope it lived up to the hype. If not, don't tell me. It is better for me to think that your life has now changed because of this posting. It is what keeps me going.

Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday...

Worth Every Mile

Do you remember the spunky lady who stole my heart when she asked for the Super Chunk? 

Well she fınally received her gift...and it was worth every mile just to see thıs kind of joy.

I know that kind of joy. Ah, the blessed peanut.

Today İ attended a church service in İzmir...otherwise known as Smyrna. I encourage each of you to read Revelation 2. It puts things into a new persepective.

My internet connectiıon is a bit fragile these days so hang in there with me, folks. And there are new keys on this keyboard...apparently the Turks thought they needed to add a few more letters to theır alphabet. Trust me, it is overrated.

İ head to Jordan on Tuesday, my final leg to this crazy trip! But İ did get the word that a stop in Petra is on the agenda. İ am pretty darn stoked. My face looks like my Turkish mother´s above.

Happy Valentine´s Day to all of my Valentines. You are loved from afar this year.

Random Central

CONGRATULATIONS to Sara Laverty for winning the Biblical Scholar Trivia Game!  Wahoo!! I am going to have so much fun shopping for you!  And great job to all of you who accurately used your concordance to find references to Sidon and Tyre.

I am going to let you know upfront that this post has no clear train of thought. I am a bit tired and perhaps a little disoriented; hopefully I don't go and wander off into the Turkish countryside where I will probably be forced into a lifestyle of nomadic shepherding.

Although, I bet I could find a husband that way.

Just kidding.

Sort of.

Anywho, here are a few random thoughts I have had since this trip commenced. They are in no particular order:

• Ambien is my best friend.
• I love Middle Eastern/Turkish food. Probably a little too much...
• I do not blend in very well. Apparently a ginormous camera around my neck is a dead give away. And that I am Irish.
• When I don't understand what someone is saying I respond to them in Spanish. That does not help. At all.
• I could use a nap.
• I could use a LONG nap.
• Lebanon is much more beautiful than I ever imagined. And the people are really friendly.
• I do not like turbulence on planes. This morning's flight was a bit touch and go. That's never a good phrase to use when flying. I almost sucker-punched the pilot but I am trying to avoid international incidences. I wouldn't want to show up in the news or have my parents come and get me out of a Turkish prison. I bet they don't serve Turkish delight in prison.
• I did not pack enough sweaters. It has been raining a lot lately and I could use another one or twelve.
• I am not sure what time zone I am in.
• I am not even sure I know what day it is.
• Who am I?
• Who are you?

Okay, I digress.

I also wanted to show you some very cool pictures of random things in Lebanon. Since I arrived in Turkey yesterday, I want to bring closure to all of you about the first country on my itinerary. I love closure. I need closure. I crave closure. And I don't want to leave you hanging. Besides, this country deserves a bit more attention.

Beirut from the top of a nearby mountain. Isn't it glorious?

Beirut zoomed in

This row of apartments is on the Green Line, which is an old "line" or street that runs through Beirut. It still separates the Christians from the Muslims and is across the street from where our Associates work.

The beach in Tyre

The Mediterranean

An orange tree...or more like a bush. They grow everywhere and are so delicious!

So, don't freak out, but that red sign says that on the other side of that barbed wire are an unknown amount of land mines. They were left by the Syrians during the civil war. Good thing that measly little wire is there to protect everyone. Thankfully I still have all of my digits.

Okay people. That's all I got for today. Now we can move onto Turkey.  Just wait until you get a glimpse of Istanbul. It is amazing. I must go back immediately. Anyone want to go with me??

Oh, and I just heard that the Saints won the Super Bowl. Apparently they don't care about that over here. They are obsessed with another kind of football...whatever that is.

Tyred

My ever-changing internet connection has been shaky at best so thanks for hanging in there with me!

So for the past few days I have stayed with our Associates who live and work in Beirut. On Monday, they graciously loaded up their kids, who are unbelievably cute and funny and on their way to speaking three languages, and took us on a road trip to Sidon and Tyre.

Now some of you may know that these two cities have been around since dirt (maybe longer) and are mentioned in the Bible. So, as a way to invite participation to the four of you who read my blog, I am creating a transcontinental challenge:

I will bring back a prize/gift/goodie to the first person who sends me a Bible verse(s) that mentions these two cities. Be sure to leave your name in the comments section, my friends!

On your mark...get set...go Bible scholars, GO!

Okay, so back to this road trip. Now, please keep in mind that Sidon and Tyre are south of Beirut, meaning the longer we drove, the closer we got to Israel. But, the closer we got to Israel, the stronger the anti-Israel presence became. And when I say "anti-Israel," I am talking a little bit more than just peace protests and Facebook campaigns. But I will let you know (Mom) that I did not once feel scared nor was placed in any immediate danger.

We did not stop in Sidon except for a shawarma (um...yum) and for me to take pictures of random buildings that I thought were of great importance but come to find out that they were built within the last millenia and are therefore considered "modern."

However, Tyre was a different story.

Tyre has a plethora of Roman ruins that have been around for over 2000 years. As a history buff, I soaked this stuff up. It was fascinating, especially when you are surrounded by apartment buildings, mosques, cell phones and honking horns. The ancient and the modern were colliding. It was a dual reality.

Wow, that sounded very sci-fi of me.

Here are a few pics to give you glimpse. And for those of you who are not a fan of ancient rocks, feel free to get an early start on that Bible quiz.

Archway to the road

The Roman road and the remnants of the aquaducts, with a few modern apartments in the background

Sarcophagi

Side by side.

These bones, according to the man who sells the tickets to get into the park, are the original bones from the unfortunate soul who passed away oh-so long ago. Amazing.

These are the "bleachers" at the hippodrome. This is the place where they filmed "Ben Hur." It is one of the best preserved hippodromes in the world.

A thirty year-old artifact. :)

The Best Bird Seed Ever

I promise this is not a food blog but part of my adventures (and life) seem to be wrapped around the culinary treasures that are just waiting to be discovered!

Three nights ago my colleague and I took a taxi to another part of Beirut for a meeting with yet another non-profit that we may partner with. This gentleman and his mom hosted us in their home to discuss future partnership opportunities and other various what-nots.

His mom, named Hugette, was a stunning woman, full of grace, charm and spunk. She quickly served us tea and then she brought out something that I can only describe as bird seed for grown-ups.

Now, don't write this off just yet. It may look like something you would set out on your deck for the local squirrels, raccoons, birds and who knows what other types of varmits you may have in your area, but it was just good, people.  REALLY, really good.

 Aren't you just loving my mad picture-taking skills? Actually, I claim no talent. It's the stinkin' camera. It is amazing.

Let's give it up again for the man in short brown shorts. He has really contributed greatly to my trip.

Okay everyone. Now don't all run out to Costco at once and grab bird seed to make your own. But if this stuff came in bulk, I would definitely buy it. It is delicious and simple...sesame seeds and honey. And with a cup of tea on a cold February day in Beirut, it doesn't get any better.