Capturing Cappadocia: New Friends

Almost as soon as we arrived, Sweet Cheeks made a new friend, Ziren. She was not quite four, but quite capable of organizing people. I kept hearing her in Turkish say, "Come on kids! Let's go!" Her mom was one of the housekeepers and a relative of Hassan Bey, so she came to work with her mom each day. The weather was so beautiful each day! I let them play outside on the terrace, but like a good Turk, the other mama was horrified that they were playing right on the ground. (The belief goes that your ovaries will freeze if you sit on the cold ground directly or go barefoot in the house. I tried to see if this wives' tale might work. It did not.) She brought them out a Turkish rug and pillow to play on, I thought it was so sweet and so Turkish.

Also very Turkish, Ziren did not smile for pictures. But she was one very happy little girl, and she and Sweet Cheeks played for hours each day.Firstborn wanted to bring her home with us.

I made friends with the ladies working there. One elderly lady was making bracelets from beads, string, and needle. It was amazing and reminded me very much of the old skill "tatting." She let Firstborn and Miss Middler watch her do it for such a long time. We purchased one of her bracelets to support her skill and time. She insisted on making Sweet Cheeks a free bracelet, so we ended up buying one for the other two girls as well, as a thank you.

 I love this picture. She wanted to hide just behind Sweet Cheeks, but was proud to have her picture made.

 We enjoyed our new friends and look forward to seeing them again.