I've realized my life here has revolved solely around work and will continue to do so. Fortunately, because we have so many exciting projects in the pipe, it makes me happy. But I guess this is my life for the next year and a half... We are expanding our company substantially, probably tripling in size! Very exciting stuff that I'll be talking about more in future blogs. Right now, I'm just trying to finish the rest of my projects so I can focus on training my geologists, hiring new geologists and engineers, and setting up our engineering department in preparation for the upcoming projects. Can't wait! Last Tuesday I officially moved out of my Dubai apartment. When you move out here, you need to demonstrate that all the utilities have been paid up to your landlord ... read more

Since our network has been down all week and our electric was out today for area maintenance, Indiana and I decided to rent quads and go dune bashing. Tony was supposed to go with us - in fact, it was his idea - but he wound up having to work. So, Indy and I headed down towards the Mesaieed area. I had tried to find dunes previously, but I guess I didn't go far enough south. We stopped at this pretty resort area, Sea Line Beach Resort, to get money - that would be a nice place to spend a day, FYI. Then we were able to rent quads for 150 riyals each for one hour - not too shabby. Note: it may be a bit more, but we figured on a weekday when everyone else ... read more

I absolutely loved Turkey, especially Istanbul, and I'm really sad about the problems they are having at the moment. I hope a peaceful resolution is reached because I really would LOVE to visit again! Until then, here the observations I've had in my head in Istanbul and Pamukkale: 1. Turkish people don't seem overly nice, but they are pretty helpful, open and tolerant. They are fiercely proud of their city and country. It's hard to believe sometimes that this is a primarily Muslim country because it is so liberal. Almost all older women from the country wear some sort of head covering, but almost no young women, and few city women in general wear head coverings. Alcohol is plentiful. The call to prayer is long, but people seem more of the opinion to live a good ... read more

I woke bright and early this morning to catch my 6:20am flight to Denizli and start the second phase of my trip: Pamukkale. First of all, let me just say how absolutely amazing our hotel in Istanbul was. We stayed at the Ferman Hotel in the Sultanamet area and they were just phenomenal. The rooms were nice, the rooftop terrace was perfect, the location was the best, and the staff are pretty much the most helpful and genuinely nice hotel staff I have ever (EVER) come across. This hotel gets my highest recommendation. Anyway, so as I'd requested the previous evening, I got a 4am wake up call and a 4:30am shuttle to the airport. Still not overly impressed with the airport - the layout is strange and the employees are just generally not friendly. This ... read more

Today was a busy day! I woke early, took a relaxing shower, and went to the roof for a nee breakfast of eggs, olives, cucumbers and cheese. In the reviews for the hotel, some people complained about the breakfast, but this is typical arabic breakfast - a lot of light options. There were meats, bread, cereal, yogurt, fried potatoes as well. We then walked to my friends hotel nearby and waited for our personal tour to arrive. Sibel was our guide and she was fantastic! She seemed a little shy to start but soon she just became a wealth of valuable information. We started at the area of the Hippodrome and she explained the previous chariot races and the extent of it. She knew not to go to the Blue Mosque at the moment because it ... read more