Turkey Time

Before we left for a cluster meeting in Turkey, I took a walk through our yard which was really suffering from lack of neglect and cold weather. The only thing in bloom were these humongous, gorgeous Chrysanthemums.

The flowers are so colorful and I have enjoyed them so much each time we pass by them on our way out the gate.

We arrived in Antalya, Turkey last Friday, 10 days ago. Above are our visas for entering the country, for which we paid $20 each. This was our 4th trip to Antalya, our 6th to Turkey.

Again, because we go to Turkey during the off season, we can stay in nice hotels for a pittance. Some of the hotels close for the off-season, some try to stay open. Those that stay open want to keep their staff year-round so that they don't have to keep hiring and training new folks every year so therefore they drop the prices extremely low in order to keep the hotel semi-full. And that is how we get to stay in these nice hotels :-)

And that is how we get to see some of the most fantastic views!

At these cluster meetings, there isn't a lot of free time, but I managed to get out and peruse the tourist shops which lined the main street that passed in front of the hotel.

We peeked over one of the walled yards and saw these young children playing in their school uniforms. It was sweet and reminded me of when our children were little and attending the local French school; they had cute little uniforms too!

And one last picture to give you a good laugh! We found this one store that advertises tattoos, only they spelled it wrnog.

On another note, we have company with us for this week that we are back in town. Erin used to be one of our Journeymen, having served for 2 years in Ukraine but our connection with her goes back to when our daughter Kari was a Journeyman in Senegal. Erin worked with Kari for two summers so when Erin came to Europe, we already felt we had a special relationship with her. She and her husband are here in town for a few days representing a university in Tennessee at the college fair at the local Christian school.

Next trip? Ukraine! More on that trip next week!