Western Turkey - Ephesus and Pamukkale

Western Turkey continued....
Some more photos from Ephesus, and then wrapping up the album with Pamukkale.

Western Turkey - Alacati, Ephesus and Sirince

Western Turkey with friends.
I found my favorite town so far in Turkey - Alacati - the wind surfing capital of the country. The first half of this album were from there - a magical town and I hope to go back and explore it some more this summer with Dylan.
The second half of the album is from Ephesus - exploring ruins whilst listening to an engaging description on the headset :)

Istanbul

Istanbul!
Two friends and I went on a walking weekend excursion to Istanbul in October.
Looking forward to going back next month when Dad comes out to visit.

I'm an Evil Witch

Just got back from my first make-up rehearsal.
There are still a few kinks to be worked out, but I'm going green and I like it!

Favorite three things from November Bayram

It is hard to believe I've lived in Turkey for three months. They have gone by so fast, and yet other times it feels like I've been here for so much longer.

I just got back from a fabulous trip where I went to western Turkey with my two closest friends here - they are my canims. That is the Turkish word for "dear". Christina - a middle school science teacher (who happened to be on my flight from LA) and Tim - a kindergarden teacher from Wisconsin.

While we were sitting at breakfast one morning during our vacation, I asked them what their three favorite things were that we had done that week. That question got me thinking about what my three favorite things were. After some thought, I shared.
1. Singing on the stage at the Grand Theatre in Ephesus
2. Swimming in the Ege Deniz (the Aegean Sea)
3. Strolling and shopping in Alacati - my new favorite little village in Turkey

Pictures are coming soon
;)

Olympos - Seker Bayrum

Seker Bayrum - Bring it on!
(Please click on the photo to see the rest of my excursions in Olympos.)
This was my first trip away from Ankara, and it was perfect. I had only lived here a few short weeks, and then I spent a mere 12 hours on three different buses that took me down the Mediterranean. Totally worth it!
I went with about 9 other teachers/friends, and we had a blast - dancing the night away in an open air bar, sleeping in a tree house, taking a day long cruise sightseeing and dancing on the boat.
Enjoy!

Kapadokya

Can't wait to go back to Kapadokya!
(Please click on the photo to see the rest of this album.)
This was an amazing, fun and fact filled weekend with other new teachers. Two of my friends in this photo are standing on a salt lake - in the winter it fills with water, but in the summer, all the water evaporates and all that is left is TONS of salt. The salt lake was a stop on our way to Kapadokya - which is about 4 1/2 hours by bus away from Ankara. In Kapadokya, we stayed in cave rooms (still somewhat questionable as to whether they are actually made out of natural caves) and during Saturday and Sunday, we went to an Open-air Outdoor Museum, a Turkish carpet maker company, an Underground City, and we hiked through Imagination Valley and the Fairy Chimneys. Enjoy!