Izmir

Arriving at our friends' place in Izmir was like stepping back in time. Most people we know have moved house since we were last here, so it was great to be in a familiar place. It was hard to get used to there not being young kids running around though! We've enjoyed our time catching up with friends, some of whom we've known since 1991. The city itself has changed a lot in ten years. It's a lot cleaner, and the water front is a lot nicer. We visited two church services on Sunday (to catch up with friends) and in between wandered along the bay.

We're now staying with some other friends and, as usual, Uncle Dazza is a big hit at story time!

Tarsus

We’re part way through our quick tour of the south and west of the country. We spent a few days in Adana with friends, then went to Tarsus. Tarsus is famous as the birthplace of the Apostle Paul and has a number of historical sites in and around the town. When excavation began in the centre of town a number of years ago this old basalt Roman road was discovered. The planned construction hasn’t taken place, and the site is being developed into an open air museum. Here’s a few other pics from our day wandering around the town…

The Bosphorus at night

Not much sight-seeing being going on lately, but we did get down to Üsküdar the other night to take photos of the bridge before it started to rain. We've had a bit of rain where we are, but aren't near any of the major flooding.

Views from a bus window

We've done a bit of travelling, but have spent the time at the other end with friends, so there aren't many pictures of exotic sites. We did have fun taking photos from the bus though! There's such a contrast between rural and urban, and of course the variety of vehicles is amazing.