Rainy Days

The Black Sea imposes itself once again.

To celebrate the 91st Anniversary of the Founding of the Turkish Republic, we are given a two-day holiday in the middle of the week. Of course, the weather turned to cold, windy, bone-chilling rain, so I have made applesauce, knit a cowl, graded speaking exams, done laundry, drunk copious amounts of tea, watched several episodes of Firefly, read, waterproofed my shoes, planned for classes, and have not yet gone outside!

Post Big Breakfast Walk

Last glimpse of the glow of the sun... the rainy season is here.

Migration at Sunset

The little flecks are birds in migration...

Big Dog Bully

Someone put catfood out for the little stray kittens, but the dog was hungry too. I saw their standoff, and it lasted long enough for me to get this photo! Seconds later, Big Dog Bully, pulled the paper towel away and started gobbling the food. Jerk!

Fall Colors

It has been a slow transition to autumn. The leaves are changing, but the weather has remained surprisingly mild and sunny. No complaints about that! 

The Princes' Islands

Yesterday we took a day-trip to the Princes' Islands, stopping at the Big Island, Büyükada, for a good hike up the hill to an old monastery dedicated to Saint George, Aya Yorgi. I guess it is now an annual tradition; you might remember last year's expedition. Needless to say, it was fun again! Here are some views from the day:

Bougainvillea everywhere!

Apparently other people had the same idea as we did.

The easy uphill part

One of...

...many!

Just a simple summer cottage

The real uphill part

Bunnies!?!

The Monastery of Saint George (Aya Yorgi)

Resting and regrouping for the trek downhill

Who's this guarding the soccer field?

It's Kocayusuf; Big Joe, that is!

Cat adoration time

What is parking like at the neighborhood mosque during Kurban Bayramı?

Probably you didn't wake up asking yourself this question, and neither did I. I woke up to horns honking obnoxiously on a Saturday morning. Of course, it's not just any Saturday morning. It's the first day of Kurban Bayramı, the Feast of the Sacrifice. So, the one road leading to the mosque was packed like this:

That middle row is also parked cars.

Apparently, some people wanted out, and that wasn't going to happen on their personal schedule. After much honking, and some shouting, the cars in the middle started backing out. About 15 minutes later the scene changed to:

Movement at last!

Still stuck on this side

Until, finally, it returned to normal:

Ahhhhhh.....