2.16.2013

G-Tep stylin Sunday morning

Sunday morning here in the Fertile Crescent. It's sizing up to be a beauty of a day here. I'm back in bed thinking about purchasing a robot that can make coffee for me on weekend mornings... I should not complain as I was already out early on a super sweet, albeit cut a bit short, run through the ormani (forest) behind Gaziantep University. No wild dogs to chase after me either- winning.

I've been traveling for the past month and this is my first weekend back and just wanting to chill. Portugal was amazing. Castles galore. And pork. And wine. Yea I already told you guys all that stuff. So, last weekend I FINALLY had friends from outta town (Ist and  Kabak) visit me... Geeze, what across the street from my apartment that sells Bomonti Unfiltered- in addition to the requisite Efes). I kid. I kid. There is much beauty to be seen here in Gaziantep. Of course, though, the highlight was traveling East. We hit up Halfeti, Bircik (an absolute MUST is the Bald Ibis bird sanctuary that Mustafa Çulcuoğlu runs), Şanlıurfa, Harran, Mardin, Göbekli Tepe & loads of specks on the map in between.

Nothing like a road trip...Some of my best times ever have been on cross-country road-trips, either with family, friends or boyfriends- they are all memorable. I hope it never ends!

Here are some links to pictures:

 For Göbekli Tepe:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151302342688301.455394.595448300&type=1&l=4eb6daa307

For Mardin:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151302265708301.455388.595448300&type=1&l=b2f3bd8096

For Şanlıurfa:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151302224033301.455382.595448300&type=1&l=da3a721c9c

For Harran:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151302187453301.455379.595448300&type=1&l=e15d09a771


For Halfeti:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151302187453301.455379.595448300&type=1&l=e15d09a771

For Portugal:
coming soon...or soonish...

INTERMISSION: i-Robot is getting outta bed to make some coffee...

Ahhhhh. Okay. Not to harp on the subject, but I still have not really acquired a taste for Turkish tea... I just see so many people putting in loads of sugar cubes and think to myself, 'If you need to put 4 sugars into anything, this cannot be good.' Don't get me wrong now. I do drink the tea on occasion (w/1 cube MAX), but it is just so-so.  I dare someone to brew me the cup of tea that will convert me... So, in the meantime, I continue to drink my beloved cuppa-joe! Which, by the way, is like aromatherapy right at this very moment as its scent wafts from my brilliant French Press. It entices me outta bed once again (i-Robot) to pour myself the 1st of the morning. I've waited long enough. I am incensed- intoxicated even- from the smell. It leaves me stuptified. Okay, enough

INTERMISSION: you know the reason

Okay I was discussing travel I believe... So next weekend, perhaps, I'll trot off to Kayseri/Erciyes for a little snowboard action. A colleague went last weekend and lamented about the, well not lack of snow as much as icy conditions. Perhaps a better idea is to stay in Göreme and hit the slopes. That way, if conditions suck, we can play in that sweet village. I wonder if there is a yoga studio in Göreme yet. If not there needs to be...

Okay, here's an interesting kinda-correlation. Between Göreme and Mardin.  I've been to Cappadocia 3X in the past 12 years; 2001, 2007 and 2012. Each time it has a more 'boutique' feel.  Now Mardin, which I've been to 2X over the past year, has this same kind of 'feel' to it. I guess what I mean to say is that it envokes the same kind of feeling that I had living in Hawaii. It's like too much of a good thing, the natural beauty. It gets more difficult every year to see an increase in tourists, yet this is also a good thing for the locals. It's a catch-22 for sure. I wonder how the people deal with these issues as I dealt with it in Hawaii. Well, for me, I just kept moving deeper and deeper into the jungle- where less tourists were likely to come.

Speaking of Hawaii... I'm SO looking forwards to returning home for a bit this summer.

As you can read, my thoughts are all over the place this morning. Also on my mind is the fabulous weather we've had here in the southeast this winter.  I only recall 1 episode of snow, and hardly any rain. Last year was so bloody wet/rainy/snowy. I have not had the heat on hardly at all this winter, and have already started sleeping with the windows open! You all know how much I adore boots (yet hate having my feet covered up all day). I have amassed SO many the past 2 years, yet I have hardly worn any this winter-seriously, just my biker-chic 'go-to' Fluevogs. FYI boot lovers, Fluevog is THE name in boots for this boot lover. And a Canadian at that- Fluevog rocks.

Thinking also about Saklikent Gorge, near Kaş. It looks like amazing trail rides through there. Weather is warming up... Days are getting longer... Only 4 more months left of work until summer... Why is Kaş so bloody difficult to get to from Gaziantep?

INTERMISSION




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