samiyam wrote: 
well it's the sea, and up up the dardenelles on the western part of Thrace, very very close to the Greek border (50 miles?) 

 meower wrote: 
Wow... look at all that water!  Beautiful and smooth... not like the Pacific at all.

 meower wrote: 

 triskele wrote: 
Right now Turkey is producing some of the best films about humanity and human growth.  It's an exciting time there.

 triskele wrote: 
absolutely,  Especially in Istanbul and larger cities, very cosmopolitan, women who wear it are very religious..... at the Aegean we saw a few women swimming in full wear...... they actually make "bathing suits"interesting,,,,, I think I have a pic somewhere......

meower wrote:
thanks for the suggestion!!

i've also heard that turkey is SO eclectic now, because of all of the different influences.  perhaps that is another reason women do not have to wear hijab in public.

 triskele wrote: 
no, not at all.  They are very secular here and many people dont respect the scarf..... When you visit a Mosque they ask that you cover your body (arms/legs,) and in some mosques they give you something to cover your head.  If you are interested, there is a very good book called Snow by Orhan Paumk about the Turkish feelings about the scarf.....

meower wrote:
kewl...i've seen video/heard about the speaker system, thanks to my other friends who have traveled in turkey. modern technology meets old traditions.

do you need to wear a head scarf when out in public?

 meower wrote: 
Looks a lot like Constantinople to me...

 triskele wrote: 
yes..... everytime.... they use a sort of speaker system so you hear it all over.... you can hear it from a few Mosques at one time..... the village we stayed at on Aegean had no Mosque to speak of. it was very strange to go for a few days with no calls. 

meower wrote:
i suspected as much.....gorgeous view.  can you hear the calls to prayer?

 triskele wrote: 
yes! 

meower wrote:
is that the blue mosque?

 smokinsean wrote: 
that's old Istanbul

 meower wrote: 

...great view!...

this is the view from the apartment I''m staying at....

Saturday I saw two young deer and a Bambi fawn standing together in a beautifully landscaped front lawn, then they turned and ran. ... What? Where is the "What did you see the day before yesterday" topic?

 BlueHeronDruid wrote: 

He is a rock.  Standing strong against overwhelming odds.

 BlueHeronDruid wrote: 

Where you are now is beautiful too, so either way, we need to find you more often.

 OlderThanDirt wrote: 
It is. After an entire day of me working hobbitt over about it though, he finally allowed as how he likes not having to worry about spending money. St. hobbitt doesn't ask much of me - so I guess you'll know where to find us!