Marhaba

The Latter Days
Theses are the ones I'm in right now and they kick the former one's tushie! You'll be hearing more about these in the future. Turkey is awesome! We are in Anatolya which is right on the coast of the Mediterranean. We have done a lot of walking around. It's gorgeous. Today we went to Perge (where Paul and John Mark had their issue). It was phenomenal. We walked through the remnants of the city and it is so well preserved, you can still see the chariot tracks down the main drag. We also went to a theater that has continually been in use since the 2nd century. They still perform operas there today! I climbed to the top and you could hear someone from the stage with absolute clarity. All this and it seats 12, 000!! I have heard a lot about Roman architecture and technology, but there's nothing like seeing it firsthand! I will have to attach pictures at some point, but I'm being charged by the second I think.

The Former Days
Travel was brutal. We left JFK and went to Frankfort in the smallest aircraft known to man which was completely full. I must say the food was awesome, but we were all cramped, especially after the extra time spent cruising the tarmac at JFK (about 40 minutes). During which time I desperately had to go to the bathroom (this was due to an aggressive hydration plan meant to combat jet lag which apparently has worked). From now on when I gotta go, I just call it "memories of JFK." Of course, we were very rushed at Frankfort since we only had an hour to transfer in the first place. That plane was very roomy and I sat to a nice couple who were on a different tour. It took us to Istanbul where we discovered our luggage had not been quite as quick as we were (one poor man on our tour has yet to receive his).

Layover in Istanbul
It began to sink in that we were in a different world and out of our minds. We tried to get ice cream which is a simple enough task, but we were clearly doing something that was bringing the waiter great consternation. The more we worked to figure it out, the more we seemed to upset him. It was back to the sights and smells of the airport (pretty much sweat and cigarettes). Another small comment--there was no customs. Ironically, they seem much freer than do we in our airports, hmmmm.

Final Leg
On the final leg to Anatolya I sat next to a young man and woman who had a toddler. They were not traveling together, but he took the baby and played the whole flight (only about 1 hour 15 min). He also handed the baby off to me! It was so pleasant and lovely. I thought that it was quite wonderful. Everyone looks out for the children everywhere. There is a real sense of community in terms of that. After landing (keep in mind that few have slept for 24 hours including yours truly) we went to the hotel and had a fabulous dinner on the balcony while being seranaded from below by a Turkish guitarist. We went to bed exhausted, dirty, and completely sated. Fantastic! Wish you were here!! More coming on adventures in the city--there's just too much to say!!!!!!
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