Ohhhhh the jetlaggggggggggggggg

My body and mind don't know what time it is. Last night I fell asleep early, woke up at 3AM went back to sleep at 8AM and woke again at 1:30PM! I was supposed to see my friend Dee last night but I fell asleep so early and when I woke up it was too late. Anyhow, her daughter had been pistol whipped at work and Dee had to stay with her because she had a concussion (and stitches, etc.) Also, a woman where she works was robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot yesterday, and today someone stole food out of my car while I was at the Cooper Young Festival! Welcome back to Memphis :-( My goal is to move away from here by next summer!

I finally posted the photos of Izmir and Ephesus. Ephesus is amazing. It was first settled in the 10th century BC and later became the capital of Asian rule under the Romans. I think what I enjoyed the most was the fact that it has a gladiator graveyard and that the Temple of Artemis was there (Diana). Ephesus was one of the 7 wonders of the world and the Temple was the largest building at that time. Pillars from the temple were taken to Constantinople and used in the Hagia Sophia. Ephesus is also where Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and is one of the seven cities mentioned in the book of Revelations. Apostle John also lived there, and his gravesite is located in the ruins of St. John's Basilica at Ephesus. According to our guide, his bones were exhumed not long ago and were taken by the Vatican.

The museum of Ephesus is not very large and a lot of things are in storage. I asked out tour guide about it and he told us that the entire area by law can not have any more building construction, due to future excavations.

When in Izmir, we went to visit the ancient Agora. It closed at 5:00, but some locals showed us how to scramble over some old rubble and get in....which is what we did. I was thinking how nice it was to have the entire place all to ourselves when I heard Igor say, "Briget", I looked up and a security guard was approaching. Uh-oh! I played the clueless American, "Merhaba!" and smiled and waved. I pointed to my camera and asked him to take a photo of me beside a pillar? So he did, and he then led us out, and everything was ok :-)

Also in Izmir we went to an Anatolian arts festival and to the local bizarre. At the festival was a fashion show, only invited guests and blocked off from view. I asked a security guy if we could go watch for a few minutes? He said "no" and Igor walked off. The security guy said to me, "You can go in but he can't!" I walked over and told Igor, "I'll be back in 15 minutes, I'm going to the fashion show!" HA! So I went in, had a quick glass of wine and sat beside the elite locals and photographers and watched :-)

At the bizarre we saw several stores selling outfits that are fit for a prince. The boys wear these clothes at their circumcision celebration, around age 10 or so. The deed is done, money is pinned on the boy's clothes by friends and relatives and there's a party and feast, while the boy lies on an nice bed, richly decorated and is distracted from the pain by jokes, animation and presents. This is a rite of passage for boys in Islamic Turkey.

Naming children is very important, as well. All names have meaning and all boys in a family have names that start with the same letter. Once the name is chosen, an Iman or elder in the family holds the child in the direction of Mecca, recites the name three times in the right ear and recites from the Koran in the left ear.

At death, the departed are buried only in a shroud, not a coffin. When I was in Ayvalik, at the call to prayer the Iman stopped and talked. I wondered what this was and asked a Turkish friend. It was the announcement of someone's death and funeral time, which is usually the same day or next as long as relatives don't have to come from far away.