Leaving Bodrum

We are leaving Bodrum today, traveling to Istanbul tonight and then on to Atlanta via Frankfurt tomorrow. We have packed the bag full of things to keep kiddo entertained. Hope it works.

It was been a lovely relaxing week. Now back to work.

More Bodrum pictures from this past week are here and here.

Ephesus

We have been relaxing in a little Turkish resort town called Bodrum for the past few days. This place is hopping in the summer months, but it is nice and sleepy now. Our little group took a minivan up to Ephesus yesterday, a two-and-a-half hour drive north.


Ephesus is supposedly one of the best preserved Roman cities, besides Rome itself of course. Under Emperor Augustus, it was the capital of the Roman province of Asia. The city used to lie right by the sea, but the centuries have shifted the coastline about 10 mile west (which actually led to Ephesus' eventual decline). Instead of the ocean, the ruins now lie next to a large open plain. This story of change is one that suits Ephesus particularly well, perhaps best symbolized by the statue of Livinia, Emperor Augustus' wife, which was found broken to pieces and "Christianized" by a cross crudely carved on her forehead.


I couldn't possibly retell all of the interesting stories from Ephesus here on this little blog. But if you have some time and are interested, you can start to read about it here.

Take, for instance, Anatolia, the Mother Goddess. She predates the Roman occupation of Ephesus, and took up primary residence at the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. The many round items on her chest are either a) breasts b) bees' behinds or c) bull testes - no one is quite sure. All of these things are fertility symbols, though, so perhaps it doesn't really matter.



More pictures from the Ephesus trip are here.

Aya Sofia

Built by Emperor Justinian in 1532-1537,


the Aya Sofia was considered the "greatest church in Christendom" for almost a thousand years -


until the Seville Cathedral was built in 1520, that is.


Merry Christmas.

We hope your celebrations were fabulous, wherever you are.

Harem

Inside the Harem


at the Topkapi Palace:


Very cold and wet outside, but definitely worth the wait.

Istanbul Day 1

It is almost 5 pm in Istanbul. The call to prayer echoes outside of our hotel room window as Gioia dozes for her nap. We have been here only 30+ hours, but we are settling in nicely.


This morning, we saw the Blue Mosque - so named for its famous blue tiles adorning the walls and inner domes. We also visited the Islamic art museum, viewing its fabulous antique carpets.


Everything we have eaten here has been delicious. It is kind of like eating fairy food: once you have tasted it, you can never go back to normal food.


More pictures from today are here.

Oops

Apparently Gioia is afraid of animated dolls. We first noticed it when a friend gave us a giggling and shaking Zoe doll (something like this but with animation), whom she did not like at all. Last week, Chris also saw that she was terrified of the dancing and singing animated penguins at the mall.

So the Stitch bubble machine that I got her for Christmas... How do you think that went over? Ummm, not so well.

Not good that I made her cry when opening her presents. Oops.

More Christmas present pictures are here.

Anticipation

The stockings are hung, and the gifts are wrapped and under the tree. We celebrate our Christmas early this year, as we board a plane to Istanbul tomorrow night and will not be taking presents along.

It is a bit odd for us to be celebrating Christmas in such a warm place, but things are feeling rather cozy despite the warm temperatures outside. Even though I felt unprepared for the season a few weeks ago, everything seems to have gotten done. Cards were mailed last Monday. Gift baskets sent to favorite peeps back home have arrived on doorsteps already (according to UPS). We have watched the Grinch (new version) and Polar Express. All we have to do now is open our own gifts and board a plane tomorrow.

Oh and pack. That too.