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Izmir, Turkey
Friday, October 5
A looonnnnng overnight bus ride (13 hours) finally gets us to Izmir and our lovely and lively friend Binnur and her husband Ertunç! We are thrilled to be here in this Western Turkish town and we are greeted with a warm welcome by Binnur and her father at the bus station. They take us home, feed us breakfast before Binnur has to work, and then we promptly crash for several hours. Sort of refreshed, we are awake when Binnur comes home, and we chat for a while until Ertunç arrives, then we all head out to dinner in the fashionable part of town along the water. Unfortunately, we are still tired, so the night ends early for all of us.

Saturday, October 6
This weekend will be a busy one of sightseeing and traveling. Binnur and Ertunç have opted to not own a car, so Ertunç's father is very kind enough to rent one for all four of us. It's a big outing - Binnur's brother and his wife and son are coming with us for the day. We all drive from Izmir to another town, Selcuk, where we have the most delicious kebaps we've had yet in Turkey! The "cop sis" are small pieces of meat skewered on a stick so they're super-fast to cook, and you're charged by the number of little sticks you use. Joe ate 54 of these little kebaps!

After lunch, we drive to a nearby hilltop containing the remains of a small house that is believed to be the last home of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. It is a tiny, quiet brick chapel now … a pilgrimage place for Christians the world over.

At the foot of the hill is the site of one of the seven ancient wonders of the world: Ephesus. Afterwards, Binnur's brother's family goes home and Binnur and Ertunç take us to Kusadasi, a resort town on the water, for dinner and a stroll. The drive to their summer home in Cesme is quite far, and we all fall asleep except Ertunç - the driver. Once there, the car-nap must have refreshed us all, because we stay up very late talking about everything.

Sunday, October 7
We all sleep until mid-morning, and Binnur and Ertunç make a delicious lunch of pasta with yogurt sauce. Jenni helps by making a fabulous side dish: grated carrots, lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Ertunç barbecues perfect chicken breasts on the grill, and it is all finished off with fresh pomegranates right off the tree! Never knew they could be so delicious! Their summer home is close to the beach, so we close up the house and head there for a swim and nap on the sand. Ertunç's parents live nearby, so we stop by to say hello and thank you for the car rental. Bonus for Joe - they have real mandarin oranges…not the canned kind!

We get back to Izmir around 6:00 PM, just in time to watch the U.S. bomb the Taliban on CNN. Bin Laden appears on the screen to babble on about how Americans deserve to die. We eagerly watch, hoping a cruise missile will interrupt his tirade and rip him in half. Not today, though. We also have a chat with Joe's parents via Instant Messenger on the computer. They thank Binnur and Ertunç for their hospitality and for "taking care of their children." Our parents are understandably nervous about our travels, but we try our best to convince them we are as safe as can be expected.

Monday, October 8
To Jenni's chagrin, Joe spends the day watching CNN and online monitoring the news sites. Binnur is nice enough to leave the makings for some pasta and chicken gravy behind in the kitchen, so we have a home cooked meal. We don't do much today, just catching up on our writing and doing laundry.

When Binnur comes home from work, she finds us lounging around her house like giant tigers. So she decides to go visit her cat at her mom's house. (Jenni is wildly allergic to some cats, and Mirnik unfortunately falls into this category. Binnur is considerate enough to take her beloved pet to stay at her parents' house up the street so Jenni can breathe.) While online, we find a travel advisory for travelers, which is a bit worrisome but vague:

Worldwide Caution (From the U.S. State Department Web site)

The U.S. Government initiated military action today pursuant to its inherent right of self-defense recognized in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, after the events of September 11 in the United States. This action may result in strong anti-American sentiment and retaliatory actions against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world by terrorists and those who are sympathetic to or otherwise support terrorism. Americans in Afghanistan, which continues to harbor international terrorist Usama Bin Ladin, should depart the country. Americans elsewhere are urged to monitor the local news, maintain contact with the nearest American embassy or consulate and to limit their movement in their respective locations. The Department and our embassies and consulates around the world will make every effort to keep Americans informed as the security situation unfolds.

Tuesday, October 9
Tuesdays are Binnur's free day from teaching, so we happily tag along after her as she runs her errands and goes shopping. Our mouse has broken, and since Ertunç works at a computer shop, we stop there first to buy a replacement. Just across from his office is Izmir's Bazaar, a smaller version of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and ultimately more varied and less crowded. Jenni bought a couple of rings there, and when Binnur went to the restroom, bought a ring for her that she had been admiring. Binnur is not easy to buy for…she wanted to take it back! We did our best to explain that there is precious little we can do with reciprocate their generosity of letting us stay in their home, cooking us meals, hanging out with us…this ring was but a small token. She finally relented, which made us both feel good. Next stops - the post office to mail postcards, the book market for some more used books, and a travel agency for info on how to get to Greece. It was an exhausting day, and Ertunç prepared a yummy dinner of whole fish caught yesterday, and bought today in the bazaar's fish market.

Wednesday, October 10
This morning we slept right through Binnur and Ertunç leaving for work…when we finally awoke late in the morning, we piddled around watching the news and taking care of our finances. We decided to take a walk before Binnur came home so she could for once come home to a quiet, private home. We left a handwritten note saying where we had gone, but Jenni's hurried scratchings made Binnur think we had left for a "week" - not a "walk"! We came back home in time to help cook dinner, play with their computer, listen to Turkish singer Tarkan, and watch as the fire department blocked the street in front of their home to help a family in the flat several levels above Binnur's get into their home from the balcony…they had forgotten their keys. (!)

Thursday, September 11
Thursdays are Binnur's long days at school, and after work she and Joe run to the open-air market for fresh produce and other groceries. Joe suggested earlier that they allow us to order in for dinner so they don't have to work so hard on our account, and they accepted, but then beat us to paying the bill when the pizza delivery guy showed up. A friend of Ertunç's and couple-friend of Binnur's showed up right after dinner, and we all sat around for the evening sharing jokes, talking politics, and gossiping.

Friday, October 12
Today is the last weekday we are in Izmir, so we head out soon after Binnur goes to work and make another trip to the post office to mail another package home and send more postcards. We have not learned a single thing about Izmir's public transportation, so we end up walking several miles for our errands, which is good for our bodies but tiring for the feet. By the time we are done, it's late enough that Binnur will be home soon and we don't want her to worry, so we taxi to an Internet place to do some quick research on Greece and head home.

The evening brings an unexpected treat - Binnur's mother and father come over and we spend the evening translating many thanks and compliments, and plenty of jokes! When they leave, we all four indulge in a little ribald comedy…Ertunç sets up the CVD and we watch "Ace Ventura" and "Meet the Parents" until we can barely hold our eyes open a second longer.

Saturday, October 13
We've decided to start the long trek to Greece today, with a bus trip to Kusadasi late this afternoon. Instead of Binnur cooking yet another meal for us, we persuade her to take one last walk with us to the bazaar, where we can buy her lunch and meet up with Ertunç when he gets off work. It's been a long, exhausting, and wonderfully rewarding week for us, but I know that we are all tired and could use some sleep. Ertunç instructs the taxi driver where to take us, and the bus leaves for Kusadasi around 5:00…we are asleep by 5:05, and wake up when the bus drops us at Kusadasi 2 hours later. Back to being tourists again, with no warm bosom of friends of keep us happy and on the right track, we take forever to find the hotel where we made reservations. Once there, we drop our bags, and go drinking.