Thanksgiving in Turkey

The Black Sea region of Fulbrighters met in Ankara to celebrate Thanksgiving together.....to have turkey in Turkey! We had a good time swaping stories and experiences of the past 2 months in our respective towns. There are definitly some "hardship" posts out there.......there were also lots of inspiring stories. Our friends in Bartin seem to be having a great time. Kayseri and Duzce don't sound like terrible places either.

We all needed some time with other Americans that understand our situations. Only 3 months in and we squealed with delight at the Dunkin Donut French Vanilla coffee that Martha (our senior advisor) brought for us! The dinner was hosted by our advisor from the US embassy, Brad Horn and his wife shopped for and made most of the dishes. Since he is a State department employee, he was able to buy us some other American products from the Commisary......like peanut butter and cranberry sauce! Exciting indeed! It was a nice time and very relaxing.

Unfortunatly, I didn't take any pictures. I was too busy talking, listening and eating! Just wanted everyone to know that I wasn't all alone for the holiday! Love you all and miss you!

Bayram Holiday Part 2

After Antalya we took an overnight bus to Izmir. Izmir served as the base for side trips to the world famous Ephesus ancient ruins and the house of the Virgin Mary. It is believed that after Jesus entrusted Mary to John's care(St. John 19:26-27), he took her to Ephesus where he started his ministry. It is believed that Mary lived the rest of her life here and was buried here. Ephesus is also mentioned in Revelations 2:1-7 as a site of one of the 7 churches.

We also visited Sirince, a small town that is famous for its wine. It was settled in the 15th century. Beautiful little town. Many little wine shops, souviner shops and resturants. We had dinner there one night and tasted some great fruit wines!

Bayram Holiday Part 1

Hello Friends and Family! I just returned from a week long journey through the south and western parts of Turkey. It was an amazing trip and I was able to see many unbelievable sites along the way.

First I will briefly explain what the holiday is. The full name of the holiday is Kurban Bayram and it is celebrated for 1 week in the month of November. Because of this, we were out of school and free to travel of course. It is a very important religious holiday celebrated by muslims worldwide. Long story short.......It begins with families buying and sacrificing a sheep or cow as a commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son Ishmael for God. Families cut the throat of these animals in public places and use part of the meat for their own family and give half to the poor.

My trip started when I met 4 other Fulbrighters (Tess, Hayfa, Sarah and Cassie) in Antalya on the Mediteranean coast. Antalya was beautiful! This is a resort town for Turks and other Europeans. The weather was lovely. We even were able to swim! In November!!!

While in Antalya, we hired a car to take us to the ancient city of Termessos. It is one of the best preserved ruins in the world. I can't even put into words how breathtaking it was. So much history! It was a Pisidian city that began in 333BC. It has temples, a theatre, gymnasium and many other structures still partly standing! It was like we discovered this place on our own. It costs less than $10 to enter and you can wonder around and see and touch pieces of history. What a day! To think that hundreds of people lived here over 2 thousand years ago and here we are up close and personal with what they left behind.

We also went to Olympos, founded in the Hellenistic period. Coins found there date back to the 2nd century BC. The ruins of this ancient city were near the sea and were also very beautiful. Near this site was Chimaera. This rocky hill had flames coming out of the ground! These flames were said to have been burning thousands of years and burn because of the methane gas that is seeping out of the ground. These flames served as landmarks for sailors many years ago.

Trabzon & Gıresun

This past weekend, Tory and I went to visit 2 fellow Fulbrighters living in Giresun....Tess and Christina. There apartment ıs awesome! It overlooks the Black Sea. These pıctures are of the day that we were exploring Gıresun and Trabzon (an important port city) next to Trabzon.

The pictures of the ısland are of the mythical island of the Amazon women. These women were said to be a trıbe of warriors that were very strong and fıerce in the tıme of Homer. Supposedly, there were no men on the island, they only caught them as slaves/prisoners. I have always found the story ınterestıng. It is just off the coast of Giresun and is visible from the wındow of our fellow fulbrighters. Boo on them!

Sumela Monestary

On halloween day, 3 other Fulbrigters, Tory and I went to Sumela Monestary ın Trabzon Provıence of Turkey. Beautiful place! İt was a nıce 20 mınute walk up to the sıte. The day was misty and chılly. Perfect Halloween trip!

It was founded ın 386 AD by 2 Greek Orthodox priests who found a mıraculous ıcon of the Virgin Mary. It sits on the sıde of a steep cliff 1200 meters high.

Kastamonu Kale(Castle)

On Sunday we went up to the Kastamonu Castle. We have been admiring it from afar since we arrived here. It sits up on a steep hill overlooking our city. Fortunatly, the weather was nice and the views were gorgeous!

The Black Sea

On Saturday, our lawyer friend took Tory, Katie(Tory's friend who was visiting) and I to the Black Sea. The drive was about 2 hours and the views were beautiful! We drove through a lovely mountain range (can not seem to find the name of it) with little towns sprinkled throughout. The town on the sea where we stoped was Inebolu. Cute town. We also bought fresh veggies and mushrooms at the outdoor market there.