A cultivation of friendship

Trip Start Aug 15, 2007

Trip End Jun 20, 2010

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Flag of Turkey Uchisar, Cappadocia, Turkey
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Cultivating a friendship is akin to working the land... we break the ground... plant the seeds... water and nurture with care... watch it grow... and are occasionally rewarded with an abundant harvest that can nourish and sustain...

Uchisar

This past week my family and I had a rare opportunity to meet up with, and foster, a closer friendship with a family traveling from the States... from our old neighborhood...

Kapa Kids

Laundry, the old fashioned way

We picked them up at the train station... watching them emerge from their train compartment... exhausted after a long and languid overnight ride through the mountains... bringing them back to our apartment and allowing them to "land" and recuperate felt like repaying an old debt...

Hiking the Tufa Hills

After a few days in Ankara... meandering the windy streets of ancient Ulus... a hike through the hills... a spell at Ataturk's mausoleum... and dinner at an upscale Turkish mall... yes, the Ankaran's love their malls... and as the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do"... they headed off to one of the most mystical and magical realms this planet has to offer... Kapadokia... a land where numerous civilizations have eeked out a living... most interestingly, the early christians that hid in the hills... burrowing underground and inside of strange volcanic formations, carving out homes, stables and churches, in order to survive and practice their faith without persecution and death...

The land of beautiful horses

A few days later we loaded up our van and headed out of town to meet up with our friends... William the Wise, Katherine the Kind, Jesse the Brave and Eva the Gentle One... With each passing conversation we found an increasing affiliation for this interesting family...