Istanbul

"So if you've a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul" - They Might Be Giants

We recently returned from a fun trip to Istanbul. There is a part of me that thinks it would be a good idea (for family history reasons and because a few of you might enjoy it) to blog about each day of the entire trip. BUT, the truth is that to do it justice would just take too much time and energy.

Instead, I'm going to share a few of the highlights and let the photos do the talking.

Our original plan was to spend about half the time in Istanbul and the other half in central Turkey. However, the overnight trains (with sleeping berths) out of Istanbul are currently not running due to maintenance and our other option was a 12+ hour bus ride. We decided a bus ride with four little kids was out of the question and opted to stay in Istanbul for the entire time. We do not regret our decision. Istanbul is a great city and we highly recommend a visit.

One of our goals was to escape the Dubai heat. Well, that didn't really work as planned. Although it was significantly cooler in Istanbul... significantly cooler than 115-120 degrees can still be in the high 90's. Plus,  everywhere you go in Dubai is air conditioned and you basically never go outside. In Istanbul we were outside constantly, walking everywhere we needed to go, and there was never any AC. So, while we beat the head, we were still hot and sweaty the entire time. Every picture we took includes shiny faces and sweaty matted hair.

A few Highlights:

• The Blue Mosque - a most beautiful building inside and outside. Talon especially loved jumping off every raised platform he could find.
• The Aya Sofya - I don't think there's too many kids in the world who have played "red light green light" and "mother may I?" inside this ancient and breathtakingly beautiful building.
• The Basilica Cistern - The kids were fascinated by the story of Medusa and looking for the two carvings of her head in this underground creepy dark place.
• Istanbul Archaeological Museums - All our kids wanted was to see dead bodies and this place delivered. There were lots of carvings of naked men and they wanted to know "Why did people steal all those men's pants?".
• The several tombs of Sultans we visited and hearing the girls discuss how we should bury dad here when he dies.
• The Prince's Islands - We took a tram and a ferry ride to get there. Talon was thrilled to ride the "train" and they loved the big boat as well. We sat by some fun Turkish teenagers that entertained our kids.
• A Cinderella Ride - The best part of the prince's islands was the horse drawn carriage ride around the island (no cars allowed here only bikes, carriages, and feet). Sheer joy radiated from the girl's faces as they pretended they were just like Cinderella. The driver even let each of the kids sit on the horse beforehand (part of his sales tactic I'm sure and it worked on us)
• Discovering every park and playground withing reasonable walking distance of our hotel - "reasonable varies depending on if you are an adult or a kid".
• The sheer number of people who wanted to touch, hug, kiss, photograph and mug on our kids. No one in the US would touch a stranger's kids the way they do in the Middle East.
• Our kids absolute refusal to look at our or any stranger's camera on request - even when the beautiful Turkish bride asked to be photographed with them. (we were lucky to get this)

• The joy the kids got out of watching Turkish cartoons before bed every night (even when they couldn't understand a single word)
• Watching Yvonne try to communicate with a group of Deaf teens she met in the park one afternoon
• Talon's utter refusal to use a Turkish toilet and holding his pee the ENTIRE day everyday. (you'd think it would've been more a problem for the girls)
• Splashing in the fountain in Sultanahmet Park and rinsing off in the German fountain next to the Blue Mosque
• The cobblestone streets and beautiful old buildings
• Friendly Turkish people
• Trying new foods - this experience was pretty limited thanks to kids who were not very daring and felt a lot more safe with the security of McDonalds (not to mention their inexpensive ice cream).
• Yvonne's Turkish Bath - She says "Let just say if you have anything against public nudity and being scrubbed down by a Turkish lady clad only in undies in a room full of other mostly naked women, this isn't for you. I thought it was HEAVENLY!"
• Lots and lots of TOWERS. The kids were in Rapunzel heaven.

Well, there's the recap.  We had a lot of fun, even though it was hot and sweaty and the kids reminded us often that they do not like walking "so far". If you want photo overload, you can check out a bunch of adventure here: https://plus.google.com/photos/105900843158334459530/albums/5778314651184600529?banner=pwa

Independence Day at Dreamland

"Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter" - Don McLean

We asked the kids what they wanted to do to celebrate the 4th of July. Fortunately, they are still young enough that they aren't expecting fireworks. Those are pretty hard to come by over here. The kids unanimously declared that they wanted to go to a "water playground." You can probably guess what that means... a water slide park. 

Now, in the US, a water park may be one of the last places you want to be on the 4th.  Everyone and the dog will be there and you will likely spend more time waiting in line for the slides than actually in the water. We hoped the crowds wouldn't be quite so big. So, we called up some friends and headed to Dreamland Water Adventure Park with a carload of kids excited for some wet and wild times.

On the way, we got to share the road with something you won't see much in the US on the 4th:

We arrived at the park about the time that they opened.  I think we were the third car in the parking lot. We went in, changed clothes, and made our way to the kid pool area.  There may have been 2 other kids.  Lets just say, we did NOT have to worry about crowds.  In fact, we never had to wait in a single line all day long.  We had just about every slide, ride, and pool pretty much to ourselves. We did have to wait a couple times at the top of a slide (notice I didn't say in a line), but just for the workers to start the water running down the slide. Nice.

What wasn't quite as nice, and may have contributed a little to the low numbers in the park was the heat. When we first arrived, it wasn't too bad.... probably around 100 degrees.  The water felt nice. It only took about 1/2 hour before things started heating up. The walkways, sidewalks, stairs... anything that wasn't in the water was too HOT to walk on. We had to wear slippers (flip flops for you non Hawaiians ;) everywhere. Even a couple steps and your feet were literally getting burnt. The rides were great, but a little different because you were holding shoes in your hands the entire way down (apparently it is against safety policy to wear them on your feet in the slides).  By mid-day, the temps were around 115 degrees and the water was probably close to 90. The kids were having fun, but that kind of heat takes a lot out of you. Luckily, we found some cave pools where the water was significantly cooler and made that our home base.

In the end, we made it until sometime between 4-5 o'clock.... pretty much the entire day with the park mostly to ourselves. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast.  They even went on some of the 'grown-up' slides. A few tears were shed that we couldn't stay longer, but those same eyes were closed and fast asleep practically before we got out of the parking lot.

Abigail

Saylor

Blossom like a Rose

"I dream of rain
I dream of gardens in the desert sand" - Sting

Well, it looks like our time of good weather is almost over.  We have already had several days this year over 100 degrees.  It is back to AC indoors or sticky sweat outdoors.

It gets so hot here in the summer that it is actually quite incredible that they can keep green things growing at all. On the other hand, in the winter, things can turn green and the desert can be made to blossom.  We have a friend who has at least a dozen different plants flowering in his yard.  It is practically a little garden of Eden... and literally amazing considering we live in one of the biggest deserts/harshest climates/hottest places on earth.

To do our part in helping the to greenify (is that a word?) the desert, we have a few plants outside of our home.  Neither Yvonne or I have a green thumb, and never expected them to blossom... Mostly we just hoped to keep them alive.  But, in the last month or so, we have seen some color.  It is a treat amidst all the browns and grays of the desert.

These were taken the other day in front of our house.  The hibiscus help remind us of Hawaii and the desert rose currently has about 20 blossoms on it. (thanks Elisa for helping us add a little spice to our front porch)

Creepy Weather

"Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'alls neighborhood" - Michael Jackson

As we get closer to Halloween, we've had some very festive weather.  As the temperatures change here in the UAE from Super Hot to just Hot... on the way to warm, we get some crazy fog in the mornings.  The last 3 mornings it has been so foggy outside that it has been hard to see the road on the way to work.  We were aware that this happens from our experiences last year at this time, but it is still a surprise. 

This isn't just a little fog... it is so thick get drops of moisture beading on the windows.  When you walk outside, you can feel it like a blanket, and a large inhale of breath almost results in coughing like a drink of water went down the wrong pipe.  It is HUMID and sticky.  In fact, at one point two mornings ago, the humidity was at one hundred percent.  100%!  I don't know really know how that is possible without it raining, or being in a swimming pool, but apparently it is.... and no, it hasn't rained here for months.  

I guess it is just a sign of the times that Halloween is coming