Turkey ROCKS!

I never thought that I would want to visit Turkey. Actually after talking with Larry we both never thought about it. Rome, Greece, and Barcelona were always talked about between us and how someday we would visit.

I must say after visiting Turkey we both want to return!!! I actually want our "get away" house to be here. Larry just laughs at me when I talk about it.

It is a beautiful country. We were in Izmir first, which was Sunday. Izmir is actually on the Asia side but still considered Turkey. This surprised me, I thought it was middle east, so we can say we were in Asia for a while. In Izmir the history is unbelievable. We went to Ephesus, which was leveled by an earthquake and has been unburied and continues to be unburied. This city is 3000 years old. We actually stood in the theatre, that was outdoor of course, Where Peter talked about Jesus and who he was and what he meant to them. AMAZING!

We also went to the House of Mary. This house was found up the mountain from Ephesus, hidden away from everyone and close to water. This is believed to be where St. John took Mary to live her last years of her life in safety. They had found St. John's remains by the house but Mary's remains are not found as of now. The city is still 90 percent underground and is still be escavated currently. We would love to come back in a few years and see what else they have discovered!

Yesterday (Monday) and today we are in Istanbul. What a city! This place is crazy but fun. We went to the Grand Bizarre, where we bartered our way through Turkey. Larry and I are now considered the bartering couple. We work very well together and ended up with some lovely things! Yesterday was hot and we did a lot of walking and sweating. Last night was our big party at a Turkish Palace. WOW!!!!!! I cannot describe it any better than that. It was amazing and huge! The firework show alone was great and the fact that they shot off huge fireworks from 3 tugboats, fireworks that Chicago would use barges for, and they were all timed and together. The whole experience made us feel like royalty. UNBELIEVABLE! After the party we went out with our friend Katy and her fiance, who has a friend in Turkey. Her fiance's friend, Tim, is an actor just like him and they met in California for college. After college his friend Tim came back to Turkey and is now a famous film and television star here. So we not only had a royal party but also hung out with a famous star in Turkey. WHAT A NIGHT!!!

Tim took us to a bar that had a Turkish band that played American music. Their english was great and they even sang Sweet Home Chicago. After they would sing in english they would talk in Turkish to the fans in between songs. Crazy! This really is all so surreal. We both today are just staying on the boat and recovering. Laying low, which we should.

Tomorrow is a sailing day and we will make our way to Santorini Greece. I am considering taking the donkey ride up the moutain. We will see what Larry thinks about this idea.:)