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| Here lies the most beloved loyal dog.. |
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| sketching... |
Today we had a big breakfast again because it is the most
important meal of the day. Every
morning, it’s cheeses, jams, bread, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, sausage of
some kind or some other yummy treat , AND Cay (tea) of course! Every morning, Suha and I walk to the corner
store for a sparkling cider drink. I
have been wearing my fuel band and don’t know how to change to goal, but days
we go out, I blow my goal within the first half of the day. Today, Anne decided to walk to the corner
store (unheard of!!!) and was proud to show me her STEPS number. It was so cute, she is adorable in every way. We also then take a family nap…aka, too hot
to stay upright. AnnAnne called
today! I got to speak to her, my Turkish
is limited but I said “Merhaba, nesselsun! …..(unlumudum)….sen seviurum Annanne!” (not sure about all the spelling, but “Hi,
how are you….(I don’t understand her response)….I love you, grandma!” She was so cute and SO very happy to hear me
AND she understood me!! Even more
important, for I had to yell due to her hearing. She cried and said she wanted to see Suha
before she dies. That was the plan
before we got here but Anne said we didn’t have to so Suha said we weren’t
going. Needless to say, no we are!! I am very glad about this as I was upset when
the plan changed in the first place!)
Suha took me to the aquarium and the museum today. We wore ourselves out!! First we took a mini bus (otobus) to the aquarium. It was a first for both Suha and I. It was an adventure as the doors were broken
and one driver was hanging out it trying to fix it while the other was driving…Then
they switched. The driver left and the
other changed the bus number in the window…I thought, does this mean we are
still going to the museum?? Suha got
nervous and asked, we were still on the right bus.
We arrived and the building itself is an architectural masterpiece!! It also contained a water park, a natural
science cinema and a snow world (yes, an entire floor dedicated to making its
own snow to play in!!) and an Aquarium.
We decided we were only interested in the Aquarium since it was very
touristic and very expensive. 60 lira
EACH, which is $30/person, but he got us in by saying I was his wife for a
small fee of 35 lira for both of us, Turkish prices. Eyes down, keeping quite and handing him
money goes a long way, I guess I look Turkish!!
As soon as we were in, I became typical tourist, camera came out and I
couldn’t stop pointing and exclaiming with the rest of them. It actually wasn’t that busy, thankfully, we
had perfect views of everything. It was
the best aquarium EVER, each tank had a theme for the fish and area of the
earth it was highlighting. The music was
very awe inspiring and the whole experience was rather dramatic. There were giant eels, sharks, sting rays,
tuna, sturgeon, and all kinds of colorful reef fish. The tunnel was the coolest thing I have ever
experienced. You seriously feel like you
are underwater, though the shape of the tunnel made me sea sick a few times do
to the movement of the fish and the distortion from the glass. I sat and sketched for 45 minutes , we finished
the tunnel and decided to go back upstairs to the bathrooms before we
left. HA! We literally waded through people to get back
and I couldn’t believe how many people could actually fit in the halls!! How could they see ANYTHING!! It took us a while to get out. Then we hit the money maker, the REAL tourist
trap! They had 4 guys photo shopping
pictures of us and selling them for a pretty penny. Of course we bought some, grin!
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| Eels!! |
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| NEMO!! |
When we walked outside there was a parking lot FULL of tour
buses! We were happy to grab some cay
and ice-cream and get off our feet for a while.
Next we crossed the highway and walked the “boardwalk” back up the beach
to downtown. It was a great walk!! It was also 40C outside, so our energy was
sapped by the time we reached the museum.
We decided to re-enter the AC and keep going just cause it was cooler
inside than out. I couldn’t keep up with
the audio guide as not everything was numbered, so I randomly pressed numbers
and got myself familiarized with the different “ages” of tools and artifacts,
different ways of life and death and gawked at the small details on even the
oldest pieces. There were amazing
sculptures that I just cannot get enough of EVER. I could visit that place again and again and
stare for hours. I wish we had had time
to sit and sketch! We saw some tash
mezar (stone grave box?) that were beautifully carved, sometimes with different
Roman gods, sometimes with a geneology, sometimes with epitaphs like the one
that was made for a lady’s beloved dog that had a poem on the side. “here lies, fido, the most beloved dog…” Some people had too much money, even back
then!
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| Notice the guys in back photo shopping away!! |
We saw some of the oldest coins made, treasures captured and
later returned, a painting of Sante Clause, beautifully and intricately cut
paper, Aribic words painted by writing tiny words inside and more very artistic
and wonderfully executed pieces. Their
clothes, “high heels!!”, purses , wooden doors, intricate ceilings, gold rings,
jewelry, blown glass bottles and oil lamps…the wonders were endless!! We bairly got out before it closed. Again it was practically empty as the buses
were leaving as we arrived. We just hit
everything just right today! Suha said,
did I save the day? He means was the day
a success, and yes, EVET!! It was a great success!! We were so tiered we caught
the trolley to our favorite tea garden and gave our feet a rest before the trek
home. I noticed a bone in the floor near
one of the tables and exclaimed, “IS THAT A BONE??” and in true Suha fashion,
he responded, “yes that’s what we do with tourists who can’t pay.” He cracks me up.
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| Mado - very popular ice cream |
We stopped at our favorite spice store as I told the shop
keeper we would be back to by some of the tea he made up for me. The one that was so strong it would clear the
worst cold with one whiff. We spent 80
lira!! I had no idea it was going to be
THAT expensive!!! Next time we send
anne, she always argues them down. They
definitely know I’m American and even my 20% discount for coming back obviously
didn’t go very far. I will love the tea
though. Its potent!!
Suha took me to the aquarium and the museum today. We wore ourselves out!! First we took a mini bus (otobus) to the aquarium. It was a first for both Suha and I. It was an adventure as the doors were broken
and one driver was hanging out it trying to fix it while the other was driving…Then
they switched. The driver left and the
other changed the bus number in the window…I thought, does this mean we are
still going to the museum?? Suha got
nervous and asked, we were still on the right bus. 
We arrived and the building itself is an architectural masterpiece!! It also contained a water park, a natural
science cinema and a snow world (yes, an entire floor dedicated to making its
own snow to play in!!) and an Aquarium.
We decided we were only interested in the Aquarium since it was very
touristic and very expensive. 60 lira
EACH, which is $30/person, but he got us in by saying I was his wife for a
small fee of 35 lira for both of us, Turkish prices. Eyes down, keeping quite and handing him
money goes a long way, I guess I look Turkish!!
As soon as we were in, I became typical tourist, camera came out and I
couldn’t stop pointing and exclaiming with the rest of them. It actually wasn’t that busy, thankfully, we
had perfect views of everything. It was
the best aquarium EVER, each tank had a theme for the fish and area of the
earth it was highlighting. The music was
very awe inspiring and the whole experience was rather dramatic. There were giant eels, sharks, sting rays,
tuna, sturgeon, and all kinds of colorful reef fish. The tunnel was the coolest thing I have ever
experienced. You seriously feel like you
are underwater, though the shape of the tunnel made me sea sick a few times do
to the movement of the fish and the distortion from the glass. I sat and sketched for 45 minutes , we finished
the tunnel and decided to go back upstairs to the bathrooms before we
left. HA! We literally waded through people to get back
and I couldn’t believe how many people could actually fit in the halls!! How could they see ANYTHING!! It took us a while to get out. Then we hit the money maker, the REAL tourist
trap! They had 4 guys photo shopping
pictures of us and selling them for a pretty penny. Of course we bought some, grin! 
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