Climbing in Cappadocia

The first place we visited was an underground city.  It made me think of the cave system in Stephenie Meyer's The Host. 


Rolling stone door used to keep raiders out.

Ben ended up exploring deeper into the caves with Mark and Krystal Bowen while the rest of us took the kids back to the surface. While they were climbing around they came across the remains of  a cow and a sheep that were partially decomposed. Yuck! They also took quite a few pictures...as you might be able to tell by his face, Ben could have done without the photo ops. haha

 

 

Ben and the older three kids did lots of climbing on the hills and ruins, as well. It sometimes made me nervous, but they did really well. If you look really close in this picture you'll see two figures on the ridgeline...they're my kids...this is one of those times I was nervous.

 

 

There were cliff dwellings too.  We even saw some that were still occupied, but I don't have a picture of those.

 

 

Mark in a crevice

 

Ben and Krystal are up in that shadow.

 

I like this picture of Ben and Alex.



 

Climbing was by far Ben's (and the kids') favorite part of the trip.  

 







Shopping in Cappadocia

Cappadocia offers great shopping opportunities. From small stands set up near other attractions (such as the fairy chimneys) to larger shops in the villages, there is always something to spend your money on.  And we enjoyed all of it.

 

There were a number of stalls outside the underground city that we stopped at on our way to Goreme. We looked at a lot of fun things, even tried some on, but bought very little. Each of the kids got a small soapstone carving, but I didn't get a picture of those.

Garret in a hat/headwrap.

One of the things I was looking for was a great bag like the ones I had seen so many of the other ladies carrying.  They are made locally and are beautiful.  There were different varieties in a number of places, but I got mine in a shop in Goreme.  I found a cream-colored (linen, I think) one with deep, earthy colors and a black velvety one with bright colors and a touch of silver thread.  I couldn't decide which one I wanted.  Ben said the black one didn't really "look" like me, but I think that was just his way of saying that he didn't care for it. He knows me better than that (or should after 13 years). In the end he insisted on buying both of them for me. I love them and use them all the time.

 

While I was mulling over purses, Ben was checking out tablecloths and placemats. We didn't end up getting any because we couldn't agree on a pattern. We enjoyed browsing, though. Quite a few of the patterns reminded me of ones you would find in the southwest United States.

 



 

 

We also bought a desk lamp and some pottery. Both are still wrapped up because we don't have anyplace to display them yet. Here are some examples though:

 

 

 

Our lamp globe is blue. Our pottery (a plate and a small vase) are off-white with a black pattern...similar to the design on the far right of the picture.

 

The next find reminded me of my belly-dancing relatives and couldn't not be photographed. :)

 



 

 

 

 



Exploring Cappadocia

Back in April we spent part of the kids' Spring Break in Cappadocia with some friends.  We were only there for two days, but they were jam-packed with fun.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a camera with us (other than my iPhone). The Bowens, however, are prolific photographers and were nice enough to make us a couple of discs of photos. So...I am going to be doing a series of posts.

We drove up on Friday and stayed at the Travel Inn Cave Hotel in the village of Goreme. We were in the family room. There were 5 twin beds and a double.  It was a nice hotel for a fair price and included a traditional Turkish breakfast. The air was a little humid and musty, but it's built in a cave so that's to be expected.

 

We explored an underground city, climbed around some fairy chimneys, watched hotair balloons at sunrise, ate good food, did some shopping and saw craftsmen (and women) at work. I will get more into all of those in the next few posts. My overall thoughts are that it was a great time with some great friends in a beautiful area.

 

Family picture in front of fairy chimneys.

 



Keri getting a ride from Mark Bowen.

Home Alone

The older three kids have been in school for about a month now, and Keri started Sure Start (preschool) two weeks ago. This means that I am home alone for the first time ever! It's still a little strange to have the house so quiet during the day, but I've been enjoying it. Ben hoped that it would mean a sudden change in my housekeeping skills, but he should know me better than that by now. LOL

Seriously, though, I am trying to be better. I'm also trying to make it to the gym at least a couple times a week.  I had lunch with the ladies from church twice (the first time Keri came with us) and with the squadron spouses group and Ben's leadership once. I finished a Christmas present for someone special and got some more of Ben's blanket done. I've read (or listened to) a few books. On a side note...audiobooks are fabulous for multi-tasking. All in all, I've enjoyed my "me time".  Perhaps the next step is some schooling...

Speaking of school, the kids are doing pretty well. Lizzy seems to be enjoying middle school and has taken up the flute. She practices daily and its starting to sound like music. (heehee) Middle school and high school here is a block schedule, so she has 4 90-minute classes a day. They alternate A days and B days. The only class she has every day is Language Arts/Reading.
 

Starting middle school in her gym clothes.

Alex is doing pretty well. Part of his homework is on the computer, which he thinks is SO cool. Some days are harder than others, but I think overall he's liking school. He's also excited about starting soccer last week. 

All ready for 3rd.

Garret is doing really well. He is excelling at reading much earlier than the older two did.  He's playing soccer, too.







1st day of 1st grade.



Keri was so excited to start school. She told me when the other kids started that she didn't want me to be her teacher anymore. So it's a good thing she was accepted into the Sure Start program. She's loving it, too. She is also starting soccer on Saturday.




Small Town Girl

I am a small town girl. Through our many moves growing up, we almost always (one exception, I think) lived in small towns. I love the feel of them, the sense of community. I love knowing the people around me.

I have now lived in not-so-small towns and rather large cities, and I always feel a little lost. Not geographically, though that is sometimes an issue, but socially and emotionally. I'm just another face in the crowd.

So, who would've thought that I would find a little bit of that small town vibe halfway around the world?  Living on a small base, especially one in a foreign country, is similar to living in a small town. It's easy to get to know a large portion of the population when you see them EVERYWHERE. The clerk at the BX knows us by name because we are in there at LEAST once a week. The clerk at the commissary praises Ben's soccer skills while we check out. That little girl I helped get unstuck at the park this summer? She's in Keri's class. That other preschool mom? She's one of the Key Spouses for the squadron.

Okay, so where did this rant come from? It came from thinking about schools. My graduating class was 45 students (most of which had been in school together since kindergarten). Ben's graduating class was around 1000.  That's crazy!

The school here is down from last year. There are currently less than 500 students from preschool to 12th grade. We went to graduation last year to support, and celebrate with, the daughter of some friends of ours. This was the graduating class:

 

 

I hope wherever the Air Force takes us, our children have the opportunity to be in schools that are small enough to allow them to not feel lost in a crowd.