Eat 'em

My Turkish friend once told me that Turks love babies so much, sometimes they say they just have to eat them. Last week when Benaiah showed up at school in this little under-the-chin hat, I knew exactly what she meant.

Saffron Bolu Final Post

This was, by far, my favorite spot in Saffron Bolu. We putted through the city on our golf cart tour. As Campbell Clansman and I were discussing if the golf cart ran on battery or gasoline and whether or not it was going to be able to get up the hill, we were suddenly awe-struck by this.

Saffron Bolu has an enormous gorge. The people built homes right into the rock hanging over the cliffs. Such beauty.

It is definitely a place to which we'd like to return...if you come, it'll give us a great excuse.

Saffron Bolu Part IV

I almost abandoned this string of posts. Almost. But since I had already uploaded the pictures and since it is representative of 700 year old history and very interesting, I persist.
The reason I almost abandoned it is that my mind/heart/camera are so full of other things now, I didn't want to go back to this topic. This weekend in my country of residence, we had our annual "Place Where Like-Minded Women Travel To The Same Spot and Fellowship and Worship for a Weekend." It was wonderful. Campbell Clansman insists I go, and when a man tells you, "Go away for 3 days, take no children, and focus on the Lord with no home or children responsibilities," you just don't say no to that. But the blog posts from the weekend can wait a few days while I finish what I've started...So here we go...

Perhaps the most interesting city feature to me were the fountains. This particular home had a carved stone clock that showed a time on its face. However, the clock was a key/symbol of the year the home was built. It was in the 1300's. And it still stands! The owners of these homes built fountains for the insides of their homes so they could have water, but they made the fountain have a face to the outside of their house as well. That was an act of kindness to the people of their city. Anyone could come and draw water from their fountain. I like that idea. And I like round cheeks.

As I stated before, this is an old Ottoman town. This was another interesting feature of the homes. The doors have no windows, so just above the door, they built a little peep window. Can you find it? It is on the top right side. Nothing fancy, just a way to see who is knocking.

Then we were shown evidence of an ancient city sewer system. I didn't know they had sewers 700 years ago.

Another interesting feature was this...when you walk through the city and turn a corner, there is no danger that you will run into something else coming around the opposite corner. They shaved off the corner itself so you could see what was coming.

Tomorrow I plan to post my very favorite spot in Saffron Bolu, then I'll get on to the refreshing weekend I was given. Campbell Clansman kept all 5 kids all weekend. And he is still standing. That's blog-worthy.

Saffron Bolu part III

You know how it is with kids. You go to a place where there are 700 year old houses, some of them still occupied. And they beg to ride in a golf cart! When they saw this enormous golf cart and realized it was a tour, they begged, they offered to pay for it, they turned on their charm. We asked... some of the kids would be free, the rest would be 1/2 price, it was cheap. It turned out to be a great idea. The factors, in my mind, to seal the deal: the possibility of carrying Benaiah for several hours, getting rained on, walking on uneven cobblestone streets with little hands to hold, and not having a clue where to go. So, they got our business. I am not sure these fellows ever saw kids as excited about sitting the back of their golf cart!

Like good Turks, they insisted every kid have blankets under them and over them. Do you see how I start to get spoiled here?

Of course, Benaiah was all about the golf cart: going, driving, moving. I am not sure he understood the historical significance of our tour, but we sure got our money's worth on his ride.

And She's Off!

I am interrupting my Saffron Bolu postings for an important announcement! I have written about Heybet before. We've known her since the summer we arrived here. She became our weekly babysitter and more like a daughter/sister to us. She is a refugee from Iraq who has lived through, in her 23 years, more than most of us in a lifetime. She has waited 9 years, 2 months, and 10 days to have a country to call her own. Well last night at 1am, she boarded the plane to AMERICA!!!!!!!!!

We had our goodbye with her on Sunday. We treated her to her last Turkish meal, and the kids filled her with descriptions and stories of America and specifically their grandparents' house (where she will be living).

We will miss you, sweet Heybet, but we are SO happy for you!!

Saffron Bolu part II

First Stop: lunch. Benaiah is used to an 11:30ish lunch, and by 1:00, he was ROARING. As we walked down the cobblestone street, we found this nice place to lunch. It was a real tea garden, with grass growing all around and ivy climbing the walls. Even the tablecloths were the local type, from the Hittite design. One other thing we liked is that their prices were posted. We didn't get the 'special foreigner rate.'

Esther and Papa ordered ayran (a Turkish drink made from yogurt and salt). They were thrilled to discover this place serves it homemade.

It came in a metal cup with a huge froth on top. Since it was homemade, it had a slightly fermented taste. Is is legal to give your 7 year old a fermented drink? She proudly downed it as we all watched in anticipation.

We had a delicious meal. Grilled meat, buttery rice, fresh and pickled vegetables, and hot tea to end the meal. As always, we became celebrities. All the waiters wanted pictures of the kids, especially Benaiah. Then a table tennis team came and wanted a photo shoot as well. It doesn't bother us at all. These kids are a gift from God, a bridge to friendship, and one way we can begin to give those around us an accurate picture of Whose we are.

Saffron Bolu part I

We normally get out of our city for the week between Christmas and New Years, and then sometimes again over our Spring Break for a few days. This week we had the entire week off of school unexpectedly due to the swine flu outbreak in our city. We home schooled all week, and then on Friday Campbell Clansman surprised us with the idea of driving out of the city for a day trip.

We had never been to Saffron Bolu, but it is just a little over 3 hours away for us by car. What an amazing place! If you come see us, we'll take you there. Hopefully you don't mind my travel logs. There was just so much history and culture there, I kept snapping pictures. So, let this begin my several day snapshot journal of our time...

The streets are all cobblestone. The houses are made differently. Timber is readily available there, so basic cross-structures are made from beams, then filled in with cement bricks.

Quaint is an understatement for this town! We LOVED it!