Month: February 2014

Selcuk

Pronounced “Sel-chuck,” it’s the town we stayed in when visiting Ephesus.

Our family room opened up onto this rooftop patio with an amazing view.
What are they doing? Killing time while dad finishes packing by playing Duck, Duck, Goose. 

This second day we were on our own (no tour and guide) and it was a beautiful day for walking down the hill into town.

100s of orange trees lined the streets

Just an ancient aqueduct that runs through town

We walked down through town and up the hill on the other side to St John’s Basilica. 
Supposedly John lived in this region in his last years and wrote his gospel from here. This church was built on the site where they believe he was buried. 
It’s all in ruins now.
Looking across the valley toward Ephesus — the gate to the city is behind the first low set of hills. 
a cross shaped baptistry
A hundred photos later and this is the one where their eyes were squinting the least. :sigh:
The previous day, in Ephesus, our guide told us this was the secret symbol that early Christians used to identify each other. Each letter of the Greek word for Jesus, ΙΧΘΥΣ, can be made by following the lines that intersect the circle. It’s the original “fish symbol.” 

(from wikipedia)
 
Calvin had the idea to take the photo to a silversmith and have a pendant made.
(we did this after we got home)
Looking back across the valley toward our hotel.

On the street outside the church was this gift shop, that in addition to all the regular Turkish souvenirs, displayed shelf after shelf of penis themed sculptures. 

Come on Calvin! Just look at them! 
That’s what brothers are for, right?

Um, yeah. Quite educational. 

Further down the street was a very nice pottery shop. The artist was sitting outside painting and invited us in for tea. She paints these all by hand herself. So beautiful and thankfully, no penises. 

Back in town we passed a guy who makes leather shoes. He’s helping princess try on a pair. 

Super excited about her new shoes!

Drinking our way through Turkey — one cup of tea at a time. 

After shopping it was time to grab a little lunch — some of the best kebab we’ve had. We watched them make it and cook it in a wood fired brick oven. 

Mama got some new shoes too. 
Last stop on our Tour de Turkey, part 2: Istanbul again

New wheels

Josh has been on the hunt for a new bike, but he didn’t want to spend $400 or more when we don’t know if we’ll be here 6 months from now. Especially when he already has 3 bikes in storage (he says they all serve a different purpose: triathlon/road/mountain). 
He did find a perfect commuter bike online for half price (only $200), but then he couldn’t get it shipped here. Darn. 

The TCNs here all ride a particular style of bike — with a basket, rear shelf (that sometimes acts as a seat for someone hitching a ride), fixed gear, no frills. Josh tracked down one of our maintenence guys and asked where he could find that kind of bike. He said it was quite the accomplishment to have a conversation with him speaking Arabic, the guy speaking Urdu, and bits of English thrown in when possible. 
Josh test-riding
I wonder what sort of surprises are in the Surprise Department Store? (in the background)

The reason he wanted this kind of bike is because you can’t get it in America. It’s Chinese designed, Indian made, and he said this brand makes 4 million bikes per year (thanks Google!). It’s very low tech and even the breaks work via levers rather than cables. My understanding is it is designed specifically for 3rd world countries as an affordable mode of transportation. 

All that and a bell for $85.

The coolest part is that there are lights on the front and rear that are manually “charged.” It’s his pedaling that creates the energy to make the lights glow. Never afraid to be different, he’ll be the only guy riding to base on one of these bikes! 

Ephesus

I only have posted about half of our Turkey trip so far — since we’re spending extra time at home for our Day of Rage weekend (anniversary of failed revolution that brings a lot of protests and clashes), why not use the time to catch up?
After leaving Cappadocia, we flew to Izmir and then drove an hour south to the town of Selcuk/Ephesus. (The ruins are Ephesus, but the bordering town is called Selcuk). We stayed in a B&B type villa on the hill overlooking the city. Directly across is the castle/fortress that was under renovation so we couldn’t visit, but it makes for an incredible view, both day and night. 

We opted to join a tour for this day of exploring to save us the expense and hassle of renting a car (especially considering the price of gas in Turkey). We had a good day, but our tour group was way too big (31 people) and not what we were promised (15 or less). Our first stop was at the House of Mary. Supposedly after Jesus left his mother in the care of John the disciple (“this is your mother, this is your son” when he was on the cross), John brought Mary along with him when he came to this region and they say this is where she died. 

Next stop was the Ephesus ruins — I did not pick up a genuine fake watch outside the front gate.

One surprising thing about Ephesus was the 100s of cats that roam the ruins. She found them more interesting than anything else we saw there.

Overlooking the city road

Camille and Caleb running down the ancient streets

Visiting the men’s public toilet. The marble seats lined three sides (50 or more total) and the guide told us there used to be a fountain in the middle and sometimes musicians would play to cover up the “noises.” Also fascinating: the rich men would sent their servants ahead of them to “warm the seat.” 

In front of the library

strutting her stuff inside the library

At the amphitheater featured in Acts 19 (Caleb was too busy running up and down all the steps to pose for a photo).

Family photo in front of the amphitheater
Repeated point of the day: “When you read the Bible and hear about Ephesus or read Ephesians or think about Paul and his travels, remember that you’ve been there and picture this spot!”

desperate times call for . . . chocolate

Chapter 3,157 in the novel Camille Seeks Sweet Sleep. It’s sure to be a bestseller someday. This week I tried an herbal homeopathic supplement that actually seemed to make her more chatty. 3 nights of that and I discontinued usage . . . her system obviously doesn’t recognize calming herbs. I’m about to get myself some herb and then maybe I won’t care that she doesn’t go to sleep.

I also read that bananas were a miracle cure for a kid who had tried everything for his sleep issues. Magnesium and potassium as a natural muscle relaxer? Why not? She ate bananas and then fell asleep. At 11pm. Then woke up in the middle of the night. Thanks banana! 
Last night I was over the whole thing. Someone stole Josh’s bike off the back of our car and our car had a flat tire that Josh spent all evening patching. Because we only have one car the loss of his bike meant that we have to juggle car usage until we can get a new one. I just wanted something to be easy for a change. So I told Camille that she could have an M&M for every 5 minutes that she lay in her own bed without crying. She didn’t go for it at first and cried and wailed on my bedroom floor, but curiosity eventually won out. Would I really give her chocolate in bed? 
The first 5 minutes were touch and go. A little whining, some whimpering, but no crying. Then I came in offering her precious prize. She giggled and asked, “Do I get another one?” “In 5 minutes,” I replied. Kisses exchanged and I left without wails of “Mommy! Mommmmeeee!” for the first time in . . . well, probably the first time ever. 
Tick tock, tick tock. Perfect silence from her room, my jaw started to relax, and I did a silent celebratory dance. Oops! 6 minutes had elapsed before I knew it and I tiptoed back in with another chocolate reward. I could be an M&M relayer all night if it gave me guaranteed quiet in between. Paradise in 5 minute increments. More giggles and kisses and I reminded her that if she fell asleep, she could have her M&M in the morning. 
The 3rd visit of the M&M fairy wasn’t even required. I could hear her relaxed breathing from the doorway. A chocolate miracle. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to bribe her with candy before it loses its charm, but I’m thankful for one day of bedtime ease. 
Next up, the sequel: Camille’s Cavity Caper

Should I Stay or Should I Go

I was talking to Josh this past month about how much this lifestyle of perpetually moving takes out of me/us. At least 6 months before we go we begin to feel unsettled and wonder where we’ll be sent next, then we experience the financial and emotional costs associated with moving, and finally it takes a solid 18 months before a place feels like “home,” and guess what? Now we’re back in the 6 months pre-move and preoccupied with our next set of orders . . .

We’re no closer to finding out where we’ll be sent next — in fact, we’re further away than before because what was looking like Tampa is now probably/possibly not Tampa and includes any number of locations that are NotGermany. And NotEurope. 
So we started kicking around the idea of staying here. We’re feeling more at home here, I don’t get turned around when I go to the store anymore, it would save us money (it’s a huge expense every time we move), even though it’s not Europe, we can travel to Europe easily from here, desert life creates great community, and sometimes the enemy you know is more appealing than the one you don’t.  
It’s not up to us, of course, but after conferencing with the kids we decided to put Bahrain at the top of the list of places we’d like to go (along with CA, FL and Okinawa Japan) and see what pans out. If we don’t stay here it will be very clear that our orders were written by God himself since volunteers to come here are few and far between and since we already live here it would save the government a bunch of money. Though as we’ve experienced firsthand, the logical choice is often not the military way . . . 
We’re hoping that in two years we will be far enough removed from all these cutbacks that some of the more interesting jobs that would take advantage of Josh’s Arabic skills will pop back up and we’ll be in the perfect place to jump on one. For now I hope you’re enjoying this roller coaster ride with us!