Ozkaymak Park Konya

... where our hotel was so dropped us at one of the exits to a huge roundabout...fortunately about 10 people came out of their shops to help us and escorted to the correct address!

The main attraction Konya held for us was the shrine to Mevlana aka Rumi. The best known Sufi and the founder of the whirling dervishes. I have grown up hearing his poetry and seeing miniatures of his life, so to see his tomb which is a very ...

... because Konya is very conservative. We also had to put blue plastic baggies on our feet to cover our shoes. (When entering a mosque, you remove your shoes but there were so many people there, there wasn’t time, hence the baggies). Anyone in a head scarf with blue baggies on their feet is definitely not bringing sexy back…

So the shrine was nice but mobbed and for a “sacred” space, very touristy. The interior of the shrine was beautiful but no pics were allowed.

... s plate number) and there is a cafe at the top. Konya is a true Seljuk Capital. There is a wonderful park on Alaettin Tepesi. A park with so much green can only be found in Gülhane in Istanbul. Many of the mosques, such as the Alaettin Mosque, lack domes and have perpendicular walls. Konya is a better organized version of the Eminonu Municipality of Istanbul. I like etliekmek (similar to Turkish pizza) and sacarasi ...

... but, after my first night. I relax and take in everything, the warmth of the air is carried strongly in the atmosphere of adventure and unknown factors. Waking up the next day has a new face, one of excitement and eagerness. How often do we always look for something new in our lives? Traveling has a something new everyday. Except on this day Im writing this, but I will get back to that later. Coming back to being solo, one thing I had to learn before now was how to deal ...

... of a diet of nothing but deadly nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant/obergine) has done me in. My arthritis has flared up so bad that I spent most of today being grumpy and doing anything to avoid walking. I have not been in this much pain since I was about 18. Jules gave me some pain killers that she was given when her wisdom teeth were pulled out so that at least dulled the pain but by no means got rid of it. I asked Lynn (my supervisor) for ...

... West Side Story. When the West Mound was being excavated 4 years ago by a different team, they had made a t-shirt that said, West Mound Story and I am now beginning to understand why. One of the woman in the group came up to me and asked if I was ever at UCL. I was surprised because, although she looked vaguely familiar, I had never met her. She also told me that she recognized me from TAG, the conference in the UK I attend at Christmas. Strange world. But as you ...

... morning, I asked everyone if they had any CD's I could copy. The problem is that everyone has ipod's , these days, so everyone's music is electronic. The irony is that John gave me a few CD's that I had burned from him last summer so I did get at least 4 of my CD's back. So let this be a lesson to us all- revolt against Apple (sorry Chris), boycott Ipods in favor of MP3 players. Never again. Musicless, Serena

... kitchen while the cook was asleep and found their secret stash! I took 2 of the 3 yogurt buckets and walked the long way back to my lab so not to be noticed by the cook. I thought I was being clever until I tried this little trick again the next day and oddly found there to be no buckets. Now, I KNOW we emptied one at breakfast because I had my eye on it but mysteriously by lunch, it had disappeared. Sneaky buggers. I have a suspicion this game is going to continue for ...

The weather has turned cold, with fast winds and cloudy skies. This must be just a cold snap but I tell you, I'm feeling it. I did half expect this so I did bring warm clothes (not many but enough to layer) but I have been cold at night. So far, I have not been warm enough while sleeping until I was smart enough to grab a third blanket. But this morning when I woke up in the exact same position I fell asleep in, I realized why. The ...