“Over and Out or A Deep Breath” We don”t know for sure?

What an amazing 13 months it has been since we started this blog.  We wanted an adventure and we had one.  Thanks to all of you who read  about our journey.  There is nothing we would change about our experiences especially meeting all the kind and generous people in Eskisehir and in other parts of Turkey and Europe.  We’ve included a few pictures from Munich Germany and Zurich Switzerland which were our last stops after leaving Turkey. Both beautiful and interesting places (very expensive compared to Turkey). Our next stop will be Ft Collins Colorado where we have a home already leased.  Not sure we will make it through the winter  but that will be part of the new adventure.  Jerry has more work with his consulting clients so he will have plenty to do.  I (Carol) will be reinventing myself in this new phase of life.  

We’re looking forward to visits in our new location.  It’s certainly a lot closer than Turkey and hopefully will be cooler than Tucson.  We’ll be in and out of town over the summer but you can always reach me at clittle1946@gmail.com or my cell 520-909-3112.  Hope to see you!!!

Exception:  We want to add a few pictures of Tucson and Colorado to the blog for our Turkish friends so when we get this done I will e-mail everyone and let you know what our home in America looks like.

The Rest of the Trip

We’ve had limited internet and time for the past few days; however, Ephesus was a highlight of the trip (see previous blog post).  We traveled to Troy which obviously has interesting history but the ruins were not nearly as interesting as Ephesus.  The town, Canakkale, had the Trojan horse which was in the movie with Brad Pitt.  We never saw the movie.  Turkey is truly a spectacular country and we would recommend it highly for any future vacations you might be planning.  (In case anyone has noticed,  we are now in travel burn out! )  

Another WOW, Ephesus

 

Ok, I promise this is the last ruins I will put pictures of on the blog.  We’ve heard others rave about these ruins and we couldn’t agree more.  It’s described as the the most fascinating city of the ancient world.  Looking down the street at all the tourists it didn’t take much imagination to believe that it was Romans walking along among the pillars and shops.  Well, maybe a little imagination, but it was still amazing.  The picture of the guy sitting down is Con (Jon) our guide on a Roman toilet.  I believe the restoration of these ruins was done by German archeologists.  Not only do I have a better appreciation of teachers after our year in Turkey but also archeologists.  I would never have the patience to figure out all the pieces of a gigantic puzzle.    We also visited the house of the Virgin Mary where she was suppose to have stayed during her later years.  Whether she lived there or not the place was beautiful and serene and was a nice ending to a busy day.

History is all more real now even though we studied it so long ago.  People did some amazing things and in many ways they tried to do many of the things we are trying to do today.  Eat, drink, and  be merry.

Aphrodite and Pamukkale

Sunday morning was spent at another jaw dropping ruin, Aphrodisias which is an ancient Roman city dedicated to Aphrodite.  The statue of Aphrodite was in the enclosed museum along with about 100 other excellent Roman statues, but the real stunner was the coliseum.  30,000 Romans could attend and watch races,  gladiator fights etc.  This is the most well preserved coliseum in the world. 

Then it was  on to Pamukkale which is a mountain where hot waters have created limestone deposits and made a landscape of petrified waterfalls and basins.  The ruins of another Roman city called Hierapolis was known as an ancient Roman health spa because of the waters.  Apparently there is quite a cemetery here (didn’t see it) due to a lot of people coming to the town to cure an illness and not being cured.  How do they know all these things??  Inquiring minds want to know.