THis is explained in the next picture.  These underground cities go down as far as 8 stories tho I only went down two stories.

These were hiding places for religious groups which were hiding from other religious groups.... I can't remember who was attacking whom at this time. But, they took their animals down with them and it was very interesting what they had carved out. The ground here is relatively soft too as its made from that volcanic ash like those tuffas where they made the caves.

This is a typical café carved into a tuffa.

We left Cappadocia and went to Ephesus ( you know...the Ephesians from the bible) where there are these fabulous Roman ruins.  They have found the paved roads so you can see how the town was laid out.  This was the second largest seaport in the eastern Roman Empire but now its actually inland as the river has silted in....but you can see where it was.

The Austrian government has built a huge roof over some of the ruins so their teams can restore the homes.  You can see some of the beautiful mosaics and wall paintings they have restored.  I don't know what the final plans are for this project.

More pictures from Turkey

Another view from the hotel...you can see they have built right into the "tuffas", lots of rooftop living, some solar panels, even a blue tarp with the streets below.

We took a back street but they found us anyway...and I bought a little necklace that she told me matched my eyes...sales pitch in very good english

Add cThis was a hike thru the Rose valley...I think its called that because the canyon walls are rose colored in certain light.  Grape vines, pomegranate trees, fig trees....all around. Not much soil unused.

This was a Greek town until in the 1940s Turkey sent 2,000.000 Greeks back to Greece and called 500,000 Turks back to Turkey from Greece.  They refer to it as "the exchange."  It was an awful time...families that had been in one place or the other for generations were made to leave.  There seem to be squatters in some of the houses but no one has really set up housekeeping in them..vendors are along the roads but the homes are basically empty still.

Went descended into a beautiful valley, Valley of the Kings, for a great lunch.  We walked down but they had a jeep to bring us back up after lunch.



The man is a local turk with raging blue eyes and ran the lunch operation..there were about 12 of us.  The woman was traveling with her husband and they had just finished sailing in the Mediterranean with their two sons and their wives.  Her youngest son went to Middlebury and has just completed his Ph.D at /CU in Boulder.  Small world again.

They put food in those little holes to attract the pigeons and then they collect their droppings and use it for fertilizer.  The owner says he pays young boys to climb up the ladder you can see  there and collect the droppings.  I hope he pays well !!!

Pictures from Turkey

I have just returned from a little trip around Turkey and Greece with a couple friends from college.  Here are some highlights.  Hope they are not too boring.

This is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. 



A light shop on the street in Istanbul.  One of many but we did not feel overwhelmed....it was actually very interesting and the shop keepers were not intrusive. ( As we had heard they would be)

I took this to show the Muslim ladies in the background and the variety of their dress.   It a very diverse group of visitors here in the Hippodrome section of Istanbul

Our first meal in Istanbul...the first of many wonderful meals.



I later asked one of our guides about this and another young boy who I saw in Istanbul dressed all in white with a white turban.  He told us that the boys were celebrating their circumcisions, an act which designates their transition from a child to a young adult.  I watched this kid for a while and he was still acting like a child.

I included this photo because I learned about meerschaum.  Its a rock that softens when its wet making it easier to carve and also it absorbs nicotine so that's why its used in pipes and cigarette holders.  

These are dried eggplants which are used for dying wool and also used during the winter to eat as stuffed eggplant.

Of course we got taken to a carpet market and had to later endure the sales pitch but we did get to see how they prepare the dyes from various plants for the wools.  This was a school partially run by the Minister of Education.    Actually, I learned a lot but didn't buy a carpet but not because I did n't want to.  They were beautiful, but....I don't have a floor.

After Istanbul, we went to Cappadocia where these fascinating caves are located.  Its complicated,  but these mounds were formed by prehistoric volcanic ash and the early Christians carved out holes and virtual homes when they had to hide from other religious groups. 

This is the view from our hotel in Cappadocia out over the valley.  Very interesting and beautiful place but you can't go in the summer as it gets way above 40 degrees centigrade and in the winter it gets snow.  But, in May, it was fantastic !!!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A7vqOqYV9Cs#t=14s

Well, I hope this works.  This is a video I just received from a volunteer who served here a couple years ago and now is back as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer, like me.  Most of these shots are from her very small mostly muslim village near the Greek border.  Its very typical of the rural parts of Bulgaria, tho.  The green leaves you see them working on are tobacco leaves.  Too much sheep footage for my liking and not enough of the kids... but it is terriffic.

Hope you enjoy it...and hope the link works.

OMG, I always panic a little when Google tries to upgrade..... but I think this blog will work pretty much the same way.  I have some more photos for you. 

This is a taxi ( tacsi) called OK, Supertrans.  This is just another example of the Cyrillic alphabet...it just intrigues me. If you're intrested....the p has the r sound, the c  has the s sound, the upside down  u has the p sound and the h has the n sound...its so intersting.  Incidentally, Peace Corps recommends we use this company.

..

This is the entrance to the local market....my neighborhood is called Krasno Selo and that sign says " Pazzar ( Bazzar) Krasno Selo"

 . The backward 3 is a z... Its a slow day..Sunday..

This and the next photo are views of downtown Sofia whici  I took from the restaurant on the top of the conference center which I have a picture of later.



This is a tram stop near my apt.  Their public transportation is very good

A service dog on the Metro

This is the entrance to the "Military Club".  Its a huge building with a couple restaurants and a big theate

 r type room and I b elieve several floors of office space.  This evening a Mardi Gras type band was playing as part of the program by the US Embassy Cultural Affairs attache.  Apparently Bulgaria at one time had a huge and very powerful military, but not now, and this building is a holdover from earlier times. It is beautiful and very well maintained as are a lot of the older buildings in downtown sofia....they call it city center. 

This is a bakery that I have to pass each day.....not easy !!!!!

THis is their conference center...pretty fantastic.  You can see Mt. Vitosha in the background...they have skiing there.

This is the Sofia Art Gallery.  They were set up for a free Bluegrass concert sponsored by the Irish Embassy in honor of St. Patrick's day, see the next picture.

This is the lead singer and the bass player of the band " Lily of the West".  The lead singer is coming to Nashville in August on a Fulbright.  There were also a mandolin and a guitar player. They also had a guy playing drums which is pretty weird for bluegrass  They sang most of the songs in English but did a few in Bulgarian.  The seats were all full with SRO.  It was a big success but their actual music was not too polished...but it was OK.

I am still working in the clinic with the kids with Disbilities 4 days a week and next week I'll start every afternoon in an English instruction school working with some of their teachers.  Life is a lot easier here than it was in Nicaragua but there are still challenges....just fewer and much more manageable.  Its a very good experience.  Thank you for paying your taxes  :)

This is Felicia giving some info to teachers about the upcoming Spelling Bee.  Nice classrooms thanks to money from the EU and the teachers are very friendly...just like our teachers..underpaid, overworked and real friendly

A relic from the communist era at the entrance to the bus/train station. Not sure what it is......big.  At the bottom is a fountain but its not working right now...winter.

This is the kitty of my language teacher.  Its a calico "persian" or long haired...very cute

Not a very good picture but this lady was classic....fur coat and hat...very Bulgarian looking

These are the credentials of the man who cleaned my watch....he has a degree in mechanical engineering and htat is a photo of a watch or what  he calls a "computer" he worked on at a university in Berlin.  I think he is  a tad over educated to be a watch repair guy but that is a prob lem here....lots of highly educated people but not much work for them. Part of the document is his transcript...the grades he got in his various engineering classes. 

This is my apt. building.   Its home.....

These are now abandoned buildings that were part of the communist cooperative effort.  I am told that the communists built the places and all the people had to bring their animals here and they were housed together and then the products of them were shared among all the people.   Now, its just abandoned.  don't know if all worked out as planned or not...but, now ...nothing.  These are in that community referred to above, Dragoman.