As happens here - we got a last minute invite to attend a special concert from the Choir of World Civilizations. I appologize ahead of time for the lack of quality in the video but the song and the solo singer is amazing so it's well worth the listen/watch. For those of you who don't know, the Choir has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and encompasses religious songs from all the local religious groups here in Antakya. The choir is actually being studied at length by my musically talented friend Chris who can offer a much more sophisticated view of their performance. For me - it would have been nice to have a program with the names of the songs listed. As I don't speak any of the languages - it was enjoyable yet ... read more

So I went to the museum today. It was stunning! There were so many mosaics, busts, sarcophagi and coins. Many of them were from the 2nd and 3rd century. I'll let you do the math quickly.... Ah - but there was more. Satyrs and Goddesses, Oceanus, and even Hercules. It just made my little historian heart go Thump Thump! I am planning on sending a few of the photos to one of professors for translations. (as none in these cases had been provided) You could touch the art too which was nice. It was strange to run my hands over something so old, so cherished - and in some cases so religious. I stopped at the gift shop on the way out and picked up a few things. It was fairly cheap. It was a beautiful ... read more

So last night was the "Super bowl" here in Turkey. Granted it was really soccer - no one scored an actual goal and the Budweiser frogs were noticeably absent. Regardless, it was a major event. The people sing, yell - smoke too much while watching and then after such a victory the city comes alive with the sounds of honking, yelling, singing and frightened cats darting out of the way! We were crowded into "the Oasis" which is a restaurant here near our house. They removed the couches and placed 400 white plastic chairs to accommodate the crowds. The game itself was brutal – many injuries and the fans set fire to the stadium twice. I’m assuming that they must be used to this sort of thing because no one panicked. They just put it out ... read more

This is the part where I am supposed to tell you how wonderful our trip to the Church of Saint George was in Iskenderun, but where I enjoyed the church it had little if any to do with the excitement of yesterday. After trekking thru Antakya for 20 minutes we caught a bus to Iskenderun. It is an odd thing their buses. They are “mini” with four seats against the back and a series of 2 seat….aisle….one seat set up. This is to accommodate the many people who ride the routes all day – every day. The cost is very reasonable – the trip took us roughly an hour – and the cost was a mere 7 TL – or roughly 4 ½ $. Cheaper than a taxi across town! Once we got there we had ... read more

Doors fascinate me. When I travelled in France I was mesmorized by tiny doors that seemed to lead nowhere - they were just "there". In my last blog I mentioned the blue door that leads into our courtyard. I decided it would be best to supply a picture. If you look closely - you can see how it steps down into the yard, off the street. My door is blue. And everytime I see it - I think about the book The Secret Garden. This city has the feel of hidden things, of doorways that might open to butterfly gardens or a little girls tea party. The little streets are a maze of color and stone - and I find myself able to move through them easily, using only instinct as there are few markers and ... read more