TURKEY STUFF, PART DEUX:

Here's a picture of me squishing Hodja, the fairytale character after whom my beloved temporary abode is named. As the saying goes, "It is not me who is sitting backward on the donkey. It is the donkey who is facing the wrong way."

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

That's Turkish humor, I guess. The best thing I can say about my lodging is...at least it's not in Kabul.

After the somewhat smart-aleck comment from my continental sibling regarding the position that the highly-revered country of my current vacation holds among his snooty European amigos, amis, freunds, and amicos...I give you this. Where else, I ask, can you find restaurants like Pacific Med? I'll let its sign do the talking.

That's what I thought. On with the tour.

Next door to the Pacific Med is "Ed's Bar and Swimming Pool." Yes, there's nothing like basking under the tin roof, sucking down cold Tuborg lagers while lolling around in a chlorinated bacteria bath! I ask, does the Rue de Montmarte have an "Ed's Bar and Swimming Pool?

(Soon after this picture was taken, the construction team at Ed's completed the ambience by covering the whole front of the rooftop "porch" with chicken wire. There is argument about whether this is to make it harder for IED-toting Muslim loonies to toss explosives IN, or whether it keeps drunken GIs from tossing the aforementioned Tuborg bottles OUT. I come down on the side of the latter, having spent a couple of hours last evening at "Cheers" across the street with a bunch of Rickenbacker loonies who were holding court, three stories up, in the open air.)

I leave you with a picture of several of my compatriots and myself, hoisting a glass of the national drink (RAKI) at the carpet factory where at this very moment, in another room, well-paid 12-year old girls are weaving expensive wool and silk carpets for American consumption.

More later if I get another chance to post...

TURKEY STUFF, PART DEUX:

Here's a picture of me squishing Hodja, the fairytale character after whom my beloved temporary abode is named. As the saying goes, "It is not me who is sitting backward on the donkey. It is the donkey who is facing the wrong way."

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

That's Turkish humor, I guess. The best thing I can say about my lodging is...at least it's not in Kabul.

After the somewhat smart-aleck comment from my continental sibling regarding the position that the highly-revered country of my current vacation holds among his snooty European amigos, amis, freunds, and amicos...I give you this. Where else, I ask, can you find restaurants like Pacific Med? I'll let its sign do the talking.

That's what I thought. On with the tour.

Next door to the Pacific Med is "Ed's Bar and Swimming Pool." Yes, there's nothing like basking under the tin roof, sucking down cold Tuborg lagers while lolling around in a chlorinated bacteria bath! I ask, does the Rue de Montmarte have an "Ed's Bar and Swimming Pool?

(Soon after this picture was taken, the construction team at Ed's completed the ambience by covering the whole front of the rooftop "porch" with chicken wire. There is argument about whether this is to make it harder for IED-toting Muslim loonies to toss explosives IN, or whether it keeps drunken GIs from tossing the aforementioned Tuborg bottles OUT. I come down on the side of the latter, having spent a couple of hours last evening at "Cheers" across the street with a bunch of Rickenbacker loonies who were holding court, three stories up, in the open air.)

I leave you with a picture of several of my compatriots and myself, hoisting a glass of the national drink (RAKI) at the carpet factory where at this very moment, in another room, well-paid 12-year old girls are weaving expensive wool and silk carpets for American consumption.

More later if I get another chance to post...

Howdy from Turkey. I went on a little tour yesterday on the day off to see some Byzantine/Christian/Roman sites.

Our trip took us up and over a mountain range which is Southeastern Turkey, near Adana. So, the first part was straight up. Then, at the top there was a huge plain with mountains on all sides -- it was pretty cool. We saw the second highest mountain in Turkey, but I forget the name of it. The tallest is Mount Ararat. I didn't go there, but supposedly some ancient derelict junked his old boat there. Maybe I'll see that on the next tour.

One of our guides, Mustapha, was crazy. He would describe stuff at these underground caves, then point down a small passageway and start sprinting to the next room. Since he was about five feet tall, this wasn't difficult for him.

Me, that was another story. I had to duck-walk.

As you may be able to tell from the picture, he also sported a rather goofy toupe', and our main guide told us he was 26 years old. Right! If he's 26, I'm the ruler of the Ottoman Empire!

Anyway, I asked him what was the Turkish word for "rug." He didn't get it.

As this photograph shows, we were up at a significant elevation, and there was snow. Some idiot just wore shorts and sandals, though. I took a picture of his feet in the snow.

For the record, Japanese tourists DO NOT appreciate a good Turkish snowball fight the same way that Americans -- like me, for instance -- do. What I saw as a harmless invitation for a little multinational pseudo-conflict using nothing but frozen precipitation as a "weapon," they seemingly took as a serious challenge to their national sovereignty! Doesn't it snow in Japan? Aren't they a constitutionally pacifist country? Wow. I guess not.

TVOR

Zoe with her medal!

TOURNAMENT CHAMPS!

The girls obliterated a series of Muskingum County opponents over the course of the last two days, outscoring them by a total of 186-13 in four games.

Zoe had a good time and played well, and she actually got a couple of steals today. She scored and played hard!

I'll be gone, but they play in another tournament next weekend.

Well, for good or for ill I am now a member of Google Nation, having transitioned to the "new blogger."

I'm not noticing any major mental or emotional changes, but the hair is falling off of certain parts of my body. (Hmmm...?)

On the other hand, the hair in my ears is going through a growth period that I can only term "extraordinary." I could braid it. Seriously.

Anyway, I'll try to post some pictures this weekend of Zoe's big basketball adventure. It's been a fun season, and with my normal crazy winter schedule, we've been very busy. I recently completed a week in which I attended two boys and one girls varsity game at U-TEEK-A, coached at one biddy league practice and one game, helped coach at two traveling team practices and two games, and...I think that was it. It's a good thing I love basketball.

Zoe's team is doing well, having smacked around New Albany's fifth-grade team on Sunday to stretch their record to 6-1. It's really a talented class, and I hope Zoe sticks with it. She's having fun.

More later...I hope to post again before my annual spring trip to the lovely Middle East...(What the heck? We elected some DEMOCRATS, dang it!! What's the deal?)