Thomas' Talk Turkey: OPPORTUNITIES

Geoff's profession in agriculture has afforded our family, and now us as a couple, many opportunities to see and/or experience things and places on 4 continents that we might not have seen or done. So, when an opportunity arises, we try to make the most of it... like a meeting Geoff had at a dairy in the Ephesus area, which gave us the opportunity to explore that corner of Turkey some more. However, with those opportunities, comes decisions, like which route to take, where to eat, where to stay and sometimes more personal....do you sit, do you squat, or do you just keep driving!!

Sit...

or Squat...

And sometimes, it is just a no brainer...

We arrived in Selcuk (Sell chook) early afternoon, the decision of a hotel easy, The Kalehan Hotel, the favorite from our previous visit.

Our room, lower left

The name of our room

The "evil eye" protected our room

This sweet little lady set outside the hotel everyday selling her handmade lace and crocheted items. She spoke more English than we did Turkish, I think.

Geoff proceeded to his meeting at the dairy, returning to the hotel a few hours later. Thanks to daylight savings time, there was still plenty of time to wander about the streets in our area. We enjoyed a cup of tea and enlightening conversation with the owner of a shop that sold handmade items of woven fabric from Eastern Turkey. We learned a lot more about the making of Turkish carpets from another shop owner. They love to engage in conversation when business is slow to improve/use their English, but also hoping to close a sale. Doesn't always work.

You have heard of Lawrence of Arabia? Well, this is Thomas of Turkey. He makes an appearance at unexpected times throughout our adventures.

Then it is time for dinner. Our carpet vendor recommended a restaurant up the street, owned by his friend, and he escorted us there, introducing us to the owner. I am sure he felt this gesture would result in a carpet sale...hmmm...maybe another trip. The weather was quite cold that evening and the restaurant basically catered to Al Fresco dining. It did, however, have a VERY tiny indoor eating area which we shared with a German couple, some kids from Thailand and an American/Japanese couple. We had wonderful Turkish food and interesting conversation with the owner and the other guests. The owner had a competition of who had been married longer....at 38 years we won over 34, 32 and 10 yrs

This restaurant was well protected by the "evil eyes" from the entry, to the ceiling, to the menu, to the planter boxes outside. Maybe that is why they are so popular...good vibes.
Funny, after we investigated the history of the "evil or bad eye" we see them everywhere.

We learned the Selcuk Markets were on Saturday morning so we walked over to see them before heading out exploring. Our market consists mostly of produce and fish with minimal clothing and household items. This market had produce, household products, hand made brooms, bedding, rugs, hardware and ag equipment, tack, clothing and hair accessories, and of course what everyone needs, a belly dancing outfit. There was even a "flea market" area with people selling old/used items and artisans selling their crafts. We smelled fresh baking bread and were lucky enough to see the baker pulling fresh loaves out of the fiery ovens. The paddles he used to pull out the loaves were approximately 12 feet in length.