Welcome to Bill and Carol's Senior Years Abroad, our travel journal for Months 8 and 9 of our two-year adventure in Turkey. This journal's theme, "Burada Turkiye" (This is Turkey), is a phrase that we've uttered a lot recently to express admiration, befuddlement, or frustration. For example, when we moved into our flat, an old, unused building across the street was quite an eyesore. We learned that it couldn't be refurbished because it had an illegal third story, made of thick concrete. Then, one day, two men with sledgehammers showed up. With bare hands and their own brute force, they knocked down the top story. We watched as huge chunks of cement, glass, and plaster came crashing into the street (which was not closed to cars or pedestrians). Now legal, the building is being renovated as
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