Dog Day Afternoons

A friend I met in Georgia

As I am getting ready to go to Turkey I wanted to blog something before I leave for three weeks.  My friend and I pretty much have set our Itinerary for our travel.  We will meet in Istanbul and site see for a few days, then we will make our way south to Ephesus to visit some of Paul sites.  I found an awesome cruise (goolet small yacht with about 12-16 people) out of Bodrum, so we will be having a week of island hopping off the Turkey and Greece coast.  One of the islands we are visiting (Patmos) is where John (the Apostle) was exiled and wrote the book of Revelations. After a relaxing cruise (lots of swimming breaks per the itinerary) we will head back up to Istanbul for sites we may have missed at the beginning of our holiday. So hopefully, lots of pictures and lots of stories when I get back.



Road Side Vendor selling Candy in Georgia Yep that's candy!

It has been hot here in Zaqatala, in the low to mid 90's and sometimes a little breeze but it is still a lot cooler than the rest of the country (which could get up to 115-120 degrees) , so I consider myself blessed. It cools off in the evening, so it is bearable.  This month all Muslim countries are celebrating Ranadon (including Azerbaijan)  which means it is total fasting during the daylight hours and that includes all liquids. Because of the heat, most people who do fast sleep during the day and are up all night.  This makes for very noisy evenings, even the children are up at all hours of the night.  On a positive note, it is pretty quiet during the day!! Total fasting makes working in the day time with the heat very difficult as it just gets hotter in the afternoon and does not cool down until the evening.  The Russian school (the one I was going to teach at) is being built with a large crew, they work 12 hours a day in the heat, 7 days a week but I don't think it will be completed in time.  But they still have a month and they do not have any building codes or inspectors so they may get it done in time, we will see.  I will definitely have pictures for you when it is completed...

Well, stay cool (I know it is HOT in California and elsewhere in the states), I'm sure I will have a few stories for you when I get back from Turkey!

Life Challenge: As we advance in life, we learn the limits of our abilities.... Henry Ford