Think of the Children

Each time I see a map of Turkey my heart skips a beat. Take a look.

Map of Turkey

Now think of all those little Turkish school children struggling to reproduce a hand-drawn image of the map for their notebooks on Turkish history, and you can understand why seeing a map of Turkey causes me unrest.

In elementary school I used to wish I were from one of those states that had maps with lots of straight lines like Colorado, Wyoming, or Utah instead of from Texas because drawing maps of Texas was just hard.  


I started looking at state flags.  The Texas flag wasn't so bad.  The lone star on the Texas flag always gave me fits, but the nice tri-color background with straight lines was easily reproduced. That means a lot. If I couldn't draw a picture of our state map, at least I could draw one of the flag.  Those poor kids in Wyoming will never, never be able to draw their flag, and it is plain sad.

State Flag of Texas

In fifth grade the big project was for the students to select a state, write a letter (using our newly learned letter-writing and envelope-addressing skills) to that state's department of tourism asking for pamphlets and maps, and use what we received in the mail to create an elaborate notebook about the state.

State Flag of Wyoming

It was so exciting to receive the big packet of information, and we all brought our packets to school to show them to our friends. The poor kid who choose Wyoming acted like he'd won a prize or something when his packet arrived, but I knew the ugly truth—we'd all have to include a hand-drawn map of the state we chose. And with the buffalo image and the state seal right there in the middle of Wyoming's map, well, not even a new box of map colors could save the day.

Think about this. If trying to reproduce the state flag of Wyoming could bring a strong fifth grade Texas boy to his knees, what must be happening in the elementary schools all across Turkey? 

Sobering thought, isn't it?

Hotel Karia Princess--Bodrum's Gem on the Aegean

You drink 3 cups of coffee a day, get a haircut, meet friends for lunch, mail some Valentine's Day presents, and another week has flown. If I am not more careful, life will pass me by and I'll still be trying to decide on paint colors. 

This week I've thought a lot about our January trip to Turkey, especially seeing the wonderful pictures the students are posting on Facebook. They inspire me to tell some tales. Especially before dementia sets in or I need more coffee.

When we began planning the trip we made to Turkey in 2008, we told the travel agent that we wanted to include several days in the city of Bodrum. “Bodrum? Why Bodrum?” he replied. Why Bodrum???

Look at this map of Turkey with close attention to the YELLOW arrow.  That is Bodrum.  See it?  (By the way, the red arrows indicate our route in January beginning in Ankara.)

 

What do you notice about Bodrum? Here's a hint. Look at the blue area on the left. Exactly. Bodrum is on the Aegean Sea! Now look at some photos of Bodrum.

Bodrum Castle built by 15th C Crusaders

 

Ruins of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (This looked considerably better before the Crusaders robbed the stones to build Bodrum Castle--well, at least they recycled!)

 

Bodrum architecture is white, white, white

 

Bodrum waters are blue, blue, blue--and a little green

Now you understand our concern when the travel agent asked, “Why Bodrum?” when he should have been asking, “Why anywhere else?” That was three years ago. We changed agents.  We were obviously dealing with a lunatic.

We arrived in Bodrum four weeks ago in the early evening and entered a world which is hard to imagine outside the confines of Turkey, the world of Hotel Karia Princess. Oh my. How to begin?

Which to choose?  Which to choose?

 

The hotel staff welcomed us with handshakes and smiles and plates and plates of savory and sweet cookies and crackers. And cups and cups of hot tea and hot coffee. We ate. We drank. Our luggage was whisked to our rooms.

Grand lobby of Hotel Karia Princess
Pink and white marble floors, Turkish rugs,
comfortable seating, and a wood burning stove

 

I finally tore myself away from the merrymaking and made my way to our room to discover a visual delight. Our bed was strewn with flowers and petals, and in the center of the bed were towels folded into the shapes of swans and hearts! It was terribly romantic!

 

 


Next up:  a glorious buffet supper. 

A few of the nightly salad offerings

More salads

 

Volcan describes the evening's selections of 
hot items to the students

 

Each evening the chefs grilled something
special for us in the garden

 

Adana Kebab--WONDERFUL!

When Hunt and I arrived in the dining room the chef emerged from the kitchen to shake hands and welcome the group.  He then did an astounding thing.  He offered to hold a cooking class for the group. Would we enjoy that? What foods would we like to learn how to cook? When would we like to schedule the class?  Be still my heart!

That was only the beginning as it turns out.  Four glorious nights at Hotel Karia Princess and three grand days in Bodrum.  I will post more pictures soon.  Right now I need more coffee.  

Hotel Karia Princess.  Book your reservations today.

Hotel Karia Princess