Something on the lighter side:

I have been in Turkey now for 19 months and have been back from U.S.A. now for a month and I would like to post some pictures of Turkey.

I went to a small city named Marmara Ereğlisi. I went there the first time with Long Rock when I had only been here a week or two. It was in the winter time and hardly anyone was in the street. The city population is about 3,000 and in the Summer time people come from mainly Istanbul to visit. These people are usually Turks and hardly any Europeans visit. It is a fisher city. A lot of the industry in the winter is fishing.

I have been to this city about 4 times. twice with Long Rock and twice with Long Rock's Teyze (teyze means maternal aunt). The last time I went about 10 days ago with Long Rock's teyze, teyze's husband, Yaşar, and Long Rock's two cousins. Upon coming I have found a park. This park is an Ancient Burial site for Maximus, his wife, His Brother, and his daughter!!! What a discovery!!! I was amazed to find this. Not only did I find the park but I found a sign in Turkish and English explaining a bit about the history of this city! It really helped me because in Wikipedia it had a little but this helped me a lot. This city is filled with Cisterns! I want to see them so much! I love them!!! I should have been an explorer. At least I love seeing new places.

I took some pictures and thought I would share them with you all. I hope you enjoy them and I hope my posts make you want to come see Turkey, but some of the Turkish places that are not always the more Tourists spots. The non-Tourists spots, in my opinion are little hidden treasures. Peace Out

click here to learn about Marmara Ereğlisi

This is a burial site for a man named Titus and his wife Amilia. I assume he was a Greek Leader in the region. About 200 years BC

there is a sign near this that translates this. It says here lies Maximus the Great, The Lord of the Earth and Sea, Lord of the Universe... Etc etc... I am like... Yeah, They thought he was great but I am really the Lord of the Universe. hehe

There was no translation near this one. There was some Roman and some Greek ruin. Interesting!!! Of course... The rise and Fall of both where here: IN TURKEY!!!

This one laid Maximums' uncle and his uncle's wife...

This says who is laid to rest... I just could not believe this bit of History in front of me!

The previous tomb goes to this sign!

Pondering Things

It is September 11, 2011. 
today has marked the 10 year Anniversary that Americans lives have been forever changed. 
 
I posted this on my Fb wall but feel I should repost it here
I am so tired of hearing how bad Americans are. I am tired of hearing how it is our fault for everything gone wrong with other people's Nations. I am tired of hearing how Democracy is this or that! I say... We are here as humans put on this big planet to learn to love and get along. Many people have lost lives regardless of skin color or nationality. My country is not perfect, and by all means I do not agree with everything my presidents do, but, We are trying to move forward and move on and we want peace in all lands. We want people to live good happy lives all over the world. That is really the true American Spirit. the American dream is that people can live where they are happy, where they are free and where they can prosper. That is what we really want. And yes... I think I will have to use the Delete Button for anyone that does not wish to have something about peace or kindness to humanity. 
We Americans have in our own way been through many many hardships before and since 9-11. 
We- the majority of us Americans do not believe that our own Government took part in conspiring to the events of 9-11. 
If anything we were very complacent. We thought that nothing like that would happen to us. We thought that we were too far from other places that have this happen so often. We hear about terrorism in other parts of the world but we did not understand where parts of the world are. 
Dear Reader, we are not ignorant to the world, we are just wrapped up in our homes, jobs, families, work, school, our own problems we never thought about other people in other lands that would hurt us only because we never think of hurting them
  We have a different way of thinking than other parts of the world. 
We all want the same thing, that is peace. We all want the world to be a better place. 
We want people to have what we have because we hold dear the freedom we have. We feel it is something everyone deserves to have. I do not believe in forced democracy, but I do believe that we can all find a way to peace and I hope that everyone has the same freedoms I was raised with. I mourn for 9-11. It was a huge trauma for me and my friends.
But I look to the future with hope that our lives will turn for the better for all the world. That we will all have the freedom, joy and carefree lives that I was raised with in my Motherland. 
 Peace to you all. Love and Harmony to the world.

I am announcing:::

A week ago I got it!!! I got my camera that The Long Rock (a loving name I so fondly call him from time to time) bought us. 
 It is for snap shots and just until we can get another one. He wants a Cannon and I want an Alpha... BUT we have one for now! We are so excited! my only problem is that he wants to use it for a couple of days and I will miss it terribly! 
 Let me show you the one we have. It is very simple and very basic but I really am excited to learn about it and I have been having fun learning its capabilities. 
  We have now a Nikon Coolpix P80. It is really really nice and takes really great pictures. If you recall, I might have mentioned that last year I did drop my own Nikon CoolPix, and I was so sad. The Second camera I did inherit was a Samsung, but by my birthday (about three months of using it) the lens did not open and close correctly. I did not drop it either... It just stopped working. The weird thing that happened is it started to not charge the battery as well and then the camera would not focus correctly. You could have it on any setting and every picture ended up so fuzzy. Then, the lens would not open and close. So, By March The Bear had let me use his Camera. It was a Sony and it was really nice one. I really liked it. But for some reason I was distracted once sitting with him and did not notice someone stealing it from my purse. It is the only way I can think of that it left me. So May I had none. Now I have a new Coolpix P80. I am excited. I love Cameras so very much and I love taking pictures. Here is a pic of very own camera:

Sleek, lighter than most cameras, simple to use and easy to learn, a great camera for new photographers learning the trade!

I am really excited to learn how to use this and I think I will really be taking some marvelous pictures with this new machine of mine (ours... I keep saying mine! Hahaha) 
Thanks to the Bear it is all possible. What a sweet heart! He is so good to me

I am so so happy!!!

I am writing in Red to personally give my thanks to the Turkish PM Erdoğan. A few months ago it was announced that he will be shutting down the internet. Many people protested. Many people were so angry. 
But I posted some really nice things about him and I think that is why My internet was not effected by all this hullabaloo. I think that protesting is not what the PM wanted but rather, he wanted to read about how cool he is and how nice he is and how much I like him. How could he resist my sweet words about what a great guy he is???
So, I hope that I continue to have a FB account, and be able to correspond with my family so far from me. And so, from time to time I shall be writing about this wonderful PM of Turkey. This is a great place to live. 
 Just now, We need to get Çorlu in shape. That is going to take more work. The Mayor of this fine city is not so grand. I am not proud to say... 
 I will have to blog that for another time because this is Thanks, MR PM of Turkey for not shutting off my internet!!!

Tired of being lonely....

I set out to make friends. 
  My friends are not ordinary friends. I have found that I have more friends that like me that are children. 
 So, I have little children that call upon to see me about everyday. 
 I have decided that because I can not make friends with adults here, I will greet all the little children and be kind to them and love them for they are the future of this country that I live. 
 I have become unbearably lonely lately, and to pass time I have been hand sewing, mending clothes, organizing my room, reading and children will come and visit me at my door step to practice their English about 10 minutes a day. I have been noticing more scowls on most of the peoples faces. Why? I do not understand. I do not like how people yell at the kids here either. They are so crabby and impatient with them. These kids are just so curious about what Americans think, what they like, what they wear and what they think of Turkey. It is not much to just give them a little conversation every once in a while. I do not understand why people have to yell at them to tell them to go away! I really get bothered by it. I think it is so rude to the kids. I much like how they ask me little things. 
   I have these cute little friends in the meantime. they are really fun. I think my Wedding Guests will be filled with a lot of Children and their parents... TONS of my students. I have to see though. I am still thinking about what to do with my job... so many things to think about, and I just want to sit in the sun 

Pictures of Making Kavaltahlık

There are pictures of cooking Kahvaltalık. It comes from Bulgaria and every Village has their own way of cooking it. It is a Tomato Sauce used for breakfast. I haelped make it. It is made every September and we make about 50 Jars to last us all year.

Friday night Long Rock was home and so for our time together we cleaned up the garden with Anneanne and Anne so that we can prepare for cooking and getting Kavahltalık all ready

Teyze (means maternal aunt)

Straining the cooked vegetables and waiting for it to get cool so I can use my fingers to get every bit of the vegetable meat through the strainer

I kept thinking of "Bubble bubble toil and trouble" hehehe

This is the Dafne (Daphne ) Tree that we use parts of it for our Kavahltalık (also called California Laurel Bay) It is fresh and adds such a wonderful flavor to our Balkan-Turkish Breakfast Sauce

Added potatoes to the fire, but accidentally burned them! :(

Our Neighbor Muradiye came over to visit us and help stir this... Sometimes when you build a fire some people pop over uninvited and since we do not have a door to have privacy,, it can be a little inconvenient

It is that time of year!!!

I have chosen a wheat- golden color because it reminds me of a "Harvest" color. I love this time of year! 
Children returning to school soon, the night air becoming more crisp, in Utah the colors of the mountains are changing to yellows and reds.I miss this time of year in Utah. My home. 
 Reader, in Turkey the family I live with, my in laws to be, are from Bulgaria. In this little village they were removed from, all the women got together and would cook what is called in Turkish "Kavahvatalık". This means "With Breakfast" in a literal translation. But, what it is is a special tomato sauce. This type sauce is only made in this Village. Now that time is passing and people are getting older and even the Generation of my people, this Tomato Sauce is becoming obsolete. People are becoming less interested in making it because it is really time consuming. It is cooked in an open fire and the reason why is because it makes this special flavor. This flavor can only be achieved with the ingredients and the open flame cooking. I am thrilled this year because every year Anne, Anneanne and teyze all get together and cook it. Last year, I was able to witness some of this because I was here. I felt bad because I did not understand Turkish enough to know what was going on and so I visited but was not able to help much. I did not understand when they were cutting things and buying the ingredients etc... So I asked them if the next year (which is now) to please let me help and teach me how to make it and I would be better at helping because my Turkish will be ore to par. They agreed and so Anne told me on Monday that we will be making it this week... Right now tomatoes, red bell peppers and egg plant is all in high season and at a low low price. 
  We went to the Tuesday Bazaar. Oooh how big it is in Çorlu!!! I have never seen anything like it! Anyone of my friends would love seeing all the sights. The Farmers Sales men singing and shouting "Buy from us... Fresh Tomatoes, Sweet Strawberries!!" people selling all manner of things, not just fruit or vegetables, baby chicks are sold in the spring, clothing, pashminas, etc. 
 We went to the Tuesday Bazaar and bought 200 pounds of vegetable ingredients for the tomato breakfast sauce. Today we made the fire pit, and we cut the ingredients for tomorrow, when we will cook outside. 
 I am so excited. I will take a lot of pictures. Count on getting some posts of this wonderful, marvelous succulent breakfast sauce. I wish everyone can taste it. It is really heavenly. I am so happy I am learning how to cook this Family Fall Time Tradition. I will cook this every year all the days of my life. I feel so honored that I am a part of this Tradition. I will add it to my traditions along with canning pumpkin, and any other traditions. 
 I shall post said pictures in a couple of days.