Istanbul Lights

From our most recent trip to Istanbul. Well, through Istanbul.

A few more

I forgot to post a few photos that were left on the camera from our last night in Istanbul. We took a stroll through a beautiful section of the city, from Taxim to Bayolu, and stopped for some appetizers at a quaint restaurant. We got to sit on the upstairs terrace, so we could watch the hundreds of people bustling by. It kind of reminded me of somewhere in NYC. You can see the last 10 or 15 pictures and captions in the "Istanbul" album.

Ephesus Pictures

Pictures are up.

Ephesus

For most of the week, we've been in Istanbul, a truly amazing city. There is so much to do there, and so many things to see that there is no way we'll be able to catch it all on this trip.

Last night, we took an overnight bus to Selchuk, a town just 3km from Ephesus. We left at 10pm and arrived around 7:30am this morning, with our day trip starting at 9:30. We visited the ancient city until about 12:30, after which we ate lunch, saw Artemis' temple (what's left of it), saw Mary's supposed living place, and visited businesses where they make ceramics and rugs by hand. Without morning showers and with a day full of hiking, we were feeling pretty crummy by this evening. Thankfully, we splurged on a nice hotel for the night, where we just cleaned up and ate dinner. We've met lots of neat people along the way, too, which has made the trip fun.

Tomorrow, we lounge around in Kashadasi, where our hotel is right on the sea. We'll take another bus back to Istanbul, stay the night, and fly out to Boston at 6:30 on Sunday morning (11:30pm EST Saturday). And then, it's really time to relax.

We're so looking forward to seeing everyone after about 10 months of being away!

Round #2

I. AM. SO. TIRED.
But, it's kind of a delirious, happy tired.

We have had a crazy last few days. From traveling to Antalya, Turkey on Friday and Saturday to flying back to Istanbul today, I am wiped out. In the last 48 hours, I have flown in and out of the country, canceled our residency until it's changed in the Fall, made sure everything was out of our old apartment, gone to church, made several errands, forgot my passport at the bank and had to return immediately for it, said my goodbyes for the summer, and slept a grand total of 9 hours. It is nap time.

While our last days in the region were really busy, I can say they were good. I am content to have accomplished everything that was on my list, only to make another for the summer. The big difference will be that this one includes a few more fun activities.

In Antalya (be sure to see the pictures!), we enjoyed the luxuries of being in the Western world while technically still being in the East. We spent time at the beach, waltzed around the city, swam at the hotel, and generally just lounged for two days in-between five days of being busy. It was a much needed and well received respite. If too much sun is my greatest worry, I would say I'm doing well at this point. God is good.

For the remainder of the week, we will make our way through Istanbul and around Western Turkey, hopefully including Ephesus. Ultimately, what we do is up to my sidekick, but I am putting in some more votes for relaxation.

6 days to the U.S.