Oran Istanbul

... find a plug, don't have to hope that I can get internet access without it costing me a 24 hour fee which I'll never use, and I can have drinks and snacks while I work. How great is that. Today I fly Qatar Airways but in Istanbul they don't have their own lounge so I am in the British Airways lounge. Oddly enough, I am the only one in here besides the desk attendant. I don't think I have ever been alone in a ...

... but you wouldn´t know it from how busy the place is!
As soon as we arrived, we had to navigate the curvy, hilly streets of İstanbul, with no map, and no English speaking help. We finally gave up and asked a cab driver to take us, but he wouldn´t even let us in! İnstead we just got directions in Turkish. Turns out we were 2 blocks away, and cars can´t drive down our skinny street. (Although they sometimes try). The döner and ...

... for work this week, not much to report. its my last week but im not sure of they realize that since the human resources person isnt in the office this week as she is on vacation. i will have to let them know tomorrow so they are aware that when i dont show up on monday its because im back, back in cali, cali... (tone loc reference anyone??)

my friend alice and i are going out one more time on friday night before i leave ...

... of miles away). The stuff was pretty darn good except for that it was swimming in some kind of sour yogurt which we would later learn was definitely a Turkish favorite.  Hakan is 36 years old and an attorney. He speaks Turkish, English, Persian, Uzbek and dabbles in German in French. He is a voracious reader and a very inquisitive person. I found conversations with him were always interesting and educational. He loves hosting people from other countries and has hosted dozens of ...

... a girls e-mail address scrawled inside it. It was called "A Guide for Youth" and seemed to be a series of excerpts from the writings of a prominent Turkish scholar. It seemed to be on sale in the Mosque and they had brought me a copy, which was very generous. I promised to read it and said goodbye before heading to an Internet cafe for some half drunk discussions on MSN messenger. I then headed over to the train station and brought a big ...

... country that boarders Georgia, Iraq, and Iran, right?` `Yeah,` he told me. One of Casey's house mates, Tim, is a soldier in Iraq right now. `I told Tim we are going to be neighbors again.` In many ways I don't feel any closer to Iraq here in Istanbul--I still feel safe and comfortable, and the war and my American accent have not been brought up by those we have encountered thus far. But it feels important that I am here, closer in some ways. It ...

... suppose. Spent the afternoon wandering the harbor/old town area of Canakkale, across the Dardanelles from the site of the Battle of Gallipoli. The Trojan horse from the movie is here. It's pretty cool looking. We are all getting tired of long rides in the van and the sameness of Turkish food. There is no such thing here as "international" restaurants. Every place is Turkish food and most serve the same menu. Being a vegetarian who doesn't like raw tomatoes ...

... outdoor group of tables near a little room where tea and coffee are made. (It was great). Now, coincidence number three. But since this is really Hannah's coincidence and this has been Jay writing this entry... I'll turn over the keyboard. (alas... that will have to wait. Day 2 part 2 has been a little too busy to keep up with the blog. So I'll send the incomplete part 1). Love to all... hannah and jay.

... of the place is about 2 feet deep of water with fish swimming around, yes, underground! It was here that the Romans had said Medusa lives and there is one stone that was underwater in the cistern with a depiction of Medusa on the base to guard the city - I wont take the time to explain it here but while you are boring yourself with my blog, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa , it is all very intriguing. We headed back to the hostel to meet up with the rest of the ...

... and the limited English of the kids). We also met a pastor from California, who was at the end of a 1 month trip around Turkey visiting all the sites Paul (ie the famous saint) was supposed to have visited (and there are heaps all over Turkey apparently), who was a wealth of information about the ancient sites we're hoping to visit while we are here. And then there was the NZ couple, Shar and Scott from Wellington, who we met when we got off the boat for a few hours at the small ...