Colors and Textures of Turkey

Breakfast

Turkish Pottery

 

Hiking high above Kas and Mediterreanean Sea

 

 

Antique Turkish Tea Service

 

 

Lovely views from the Lycian Way

 

 

She is asking us if we speak Russian, perhaps she is lonely to hear her native tongue as there are many Russian immigrants here in Turkey

 

 

Lunch!  Grilled chicken, eggplant and pepper, two types of salads and couscous, yum.  About $8 and tips are optional or just a little change if you have it, all quite exceptable here.

 

 



Cultural Differences

Merhaba from Kas, Turkey (pronounced like gosh but with a K)

I'm officially on vacation, hooray!  Cathleen and I arrived in Kas at Jeri and Curt's Spa for the Soul.  It is breathtaking here, the scenery, their home, everywhere you look is beauty, it is THE place to come for peace, rest and renewal.  I guess the stress of the last 3 weeks in Antalya got to me, because after arriving here I became sick.  I had a terrible stomach ache  that developed into chills, body aches and over all sense of yuckiness.  Today I felt much better even tho the stomach thing still lingers.  Now Curt is sick, we are hoping he will be better tomorrow so we can all go hiking in these beautiful mountains.

Some of you have already seen the next picture I'm going to post and there will be some you haven't seen following, but I'm putting it here because it was such a special time.  Jeri who lives here with husband Curt 8 months per year has relationships in this village and so she was invited to attend a fund raiser for a very conservative Muslim school.  So the three of us went.  We were treated like VIP's and escorted around to see the various projects going on to raise money.  Lots of food stands of local specialties, here is a fresh pan of baklava!

We bought 10 or so pieces to take home for around $3.  There were many handcrafts, the textiles here are exquisite.  I bought some homemade lace doiles and a scarf that the ladies decorate the edges of by hand.  In a separate area was where we came across a group of about 20 women of all ages on the ground with mounds of fresh yufka dough, rolling them, cooking them and turning them into the special turkish food called gozleme (gooz la may).

We stared at them and they stared at us!

Even though these ladies were somewhat isolated from the main attractions it was clear this was the heartbeat of the event.  The wonderful laughter and community that permeated from this area was palpable.  I wanted to join them but dare not say so!  So instead I turned to our escort and said that I was a cook too and as if she understood me a lady got up and started talking to him, Selcuk was his name.  "do you want to make one?" he asked me.  I didn't hesitate one bit, got down on my hands and knees and while the ladies watched I proceeded to make one mistake after another in rolling out my yufka!

Two days have passed now and one of Jeri's acquaintances was here this morning and he told us they are still talking about me in the village and wonder do I want to come back next year and help out with the yufka's!! 

I marvel at these beautiful women, denied of living up to their full potential and in some ways not even aware of it.  I'm grateful to be born American even though I am more and more discouraged with where the USA is headed.  But here in the Middle East women ARE treated differently.  My Iraqi friend who just returned from visiting her family in Baghdad told me being a women in Iraq is like punishment.  In one month stay she was only allowed out 4 times.  In church last Sunday we had an Iraqi man stand up and tell us in broken english that he fled Iraq otherwise he would have been killed for believing in Jesus Christ and that one and half million Iraqi believers have already been killed.  It was sobering to say the least.

Please pray for these lost souls, their culturals are marvelously different than ours, their thinking and their way of life too but in many ways they are the same as us.  They are much more warm and hospitable than we are.  Today Jeri's housekeeper is here and about noon we all stopped what we were doing, she called the neighbors over and we sat down and drank turksih cay tea and visited!  I thought I never do this at home!  I'm too busy!  But why don't I take the time?  Jeri admitted it was hard for her to adjust, it is hard for her, but she makes the time.  This is intentional living.

Learning so much here in Turkey! 

The last days of Antalya 2013

Posting date April 20, 2013

First of all I want to apologize for not writing another blog sooner!  We have been busy at the Cafe everyday with one thing or another, but I wasn't taking any pictures because I wasn't really doing anything that exciting, just making food all day and going back to my hotel room at night.

All of that changed last Sunday evening when my friend Cathleen Lawler stepped off the airplane in Antalya in her role as head of development for TEAM and to hang out with ME!  Here's a picture of her hard at work!

Seriously though she does work hard it's just that she does most of it online. 
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At St. Paul's Cultural Center (SPCC) we are hosting a group this week from the AICEME the Association of International churches of Europe and the Middle East, they are all pastors and their spouses.  They are an exuberant group, joyful and engaging with one another and with those of us who are working to make all things run smoothly.  More about that later!

Renata has placed on me a tremendous responsibility to oversee all the food preparation and service.  It has been very stressful and hard work but today Sunday is the last day and we end tonight with a Gala Dinner party.  I have a great team though and we are running like a well oiled machine:  Belgin the cook and 3 short termes, Eunice from Vancouver BC, Janelle from near Seattle and Daniel from Virginia.  

These three are gifted in so many ways and they keep me entertained and laughing.  Eunice shines in the kitchen and has a love for food plus great knife skills, she is my rock, Janelle is a pianist, dancer, singer and actress we can count on her to be goofy, Daniel is here working on his doctorate sings like an angel and also is a dancer and has boundless energy.  And then of course there is Belgin the cook who has treated me SO differently this year.  She smiles at me every morning, we laugh, we joke and we have become a team!  I also have tried not to take myself too seriously and just let her do her thing.  Anyway it's been a lot of hard work but these four people have made it fun for me and very manageable.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Kas to visit my friends Jeri and Curt who live 8 months a year here and 4 months a year in Sequim!  I have more stories and pictures to share then.

Day One April 4, 2013

It's late Friday afternoon here in Southern Turkey, it's sunny and about 75 degrees the first such day I'm told.  I put in a half day of work at the Center and am now off until tomorrow so I thought I would work on getting this blog up and running again.

First of all, I have to say what a blessing it is to be back here.  When I arrived in Chicago and was entering the International terminal I caught a glimpse of the plane sporting the "Turkish Air" logo and my heart literally skipped a beat.  I was excited and thrilled.  I do like it here very much.  When Renata first saw me she said "it's seems so normal to see you here." I have been warmly welcomed by one and all, it feels as if I never left.

The day after my arrival I was invited to join a group of 10 others to go and see the beachfront camp where every year for 9 years they hold a Youth Camp during 3 weeks of the summer.  Atttendance is generally 110 kids and 40 staff, it is a huge undertaking.  It's about a 50 mile drive west of Antalya.

It is an idyliic setting, covered trees for shade, plenty of land to run, the sea a short walk away and a citrus grove resplendent with blossoms that perfumed the air.  Here is Jim greeting one of the owners of the camp where they are housed and fed, one of the year round guests and a small sampling of how fat the blossoms on the trees were.

 

 

After a picnic lunch we left Jim and Renata alone to have a meeting with the owners and set out for the beach; a beautiful stretch of the Mediterranean, the waters of which are a captivating turquoise color.  Lovely!

 

 

 



 





 

 

Then we all went for a hike up the mountain behind the camp and in the shadow of 10,000 foot, snow capped Mt. Olympos in the Taurus mountain range to see the eternal flames.  At a crest of the hill we found the ruins of a monastery and evidence that this sight is very sacred.  With views of the Mediterrean in the background Jim proceeds to tell us some of the history of this area including how the natural methane fire pits were used for ship navigation as mariners could see the flames from their ships and know exactly where they were.  Spiritually this holy ground has seen many forms of religious ceremonies including human sacrifice some babies or young people marching up to their final resting place.  Jim's vision is for this ground to become fresh with the Spirit of the One true God as they bring more and more of His holy people to pray over and sing His praises here.

 

 

And if all that wasn't enough we then went to a restaurant, one of many that line one of the rivers that feeds into the sea.  Here they farm raise trout right in the river and upon ordering they end up on your plate!  The dinner was served family style with 3 courses: appetizers, salad and then the main course: TROUT and all served with their homemade bread hot out of the brick oven.  Food doesn't get much better, we drove home in the dark all quite happy about this unforgettable day.