Last Saturday, we had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Turkish wedding, between good friends of ours. Allison is in the Foreign Service and hails from the small Texas town of Stinnett. Serkan is one of the guards at the Embassy. Both are incredibly good people and we are fortunate to be a part of their lives.

The actual wedding service is simply the couple sitting at a fancy table on one end, the witnesses on the other, and the Officiator in the middle.  Allison and Serkan as they enter.They sat at the table and listened to the Officiator ask the proverbial question, “Do you …”  Serkan was asked first and he grabbed the microphone and firmly stated, “Evet!” (yes!)  Allison was asked the question and with a demur smile, she stated, “Evet!”  Then they sign a paper which is passed on to the witnesses and then the Officiator.  After that, it is stated they are married.  All this took place with a very casual atmosphere.  People were joking with everyone on stage as the  photographers walked all about taking their pictures, all during the process.Then they stood in a reception line and people filed past them congratulating them and wishing the best.  This took place at a wedding palace which had couples come in and do their thing, then move out so the next couple could come in.  Below are pictures of the couple during the photography session afterwards. And below is a picture I had to take and present, because it typifies many places of the world that few Americans see and appreciate.  The man below is selling balloons and simit, which is a pretzel with sesame seeds.Later that evening, the dinner was held which is the essence of the celebration.  We sat in a table in the back end, which to me was perfect, because it enabled me to to see and watch people.  And I love taking pictures of shiny things. Food was brought in four courses.  This was beef and delicious.  This small portion is common throughout most of the world which is just the right amount.  Any larger and I would think I was in America.

The music played and the people danced.  Allison would dance as long as she could, but Serkan continued to dance all night.  I don’t think he ever stopped except to find someone else to drag out onto the floor.  At one point, he grabbed my hand and led me out there, and I made some resemblance of a dance until he turned to someone else.  Maybe 5-10 seconds then I disappeared, with full intention of avoiding that area again. The energy typifies the joy of the evening.  Weddings are naturally joyous and it’s good to see people you know and love enjoying life as all people are meant to.  My heartfelt congratulations to these two and I hope to continue our freindship.  In May, they will travel to America, specifically the Texas Panhandle for Serkan to meet the rest of Allison’s family that did not make it to Turkey.  They are planning to make a stop in Lubbock to meet a friend of Allison and to let Serkan meet an incredible 96 year Texas Lady.  I wish I could be there.                  D.

Heading to a wedding between an American and a Turk this afternoon.  Hope to have some pictures to show you later.

Terese and I spent 5 weeks in the States and got to meet with many of our families and friends, but we are glad to be back home.

Until I generate more words for reading, I have posted a Christmas story from many years ago.   It’s a long read but worth it, and titled, Roses.  Click on the red link and it will take you there.

Kick butt and have a good Christmas if you don’t hear from me before.

D.

… as we are in the States on R&R.

Will find something to post soon.

In the meantime, keep kicking butt.   D.

Bodrum, Turkey.

Few weeks ago, Terese joined up with a friend and flew down to Bodrum on the southwest coast of Turkey.  They spent four comfortable days at a very nice resort.

    Below are pictures taken from the resort with the full moon.     Experimenting with my little camera.     One of the many fine meals the women ate at the resort.  Octopus.I flew down and joined them the last day, then we lounged on a sailboat for five days and four nights.  We boarded the boat about 10am and just gently motored along.  Even though it was a sail boat, the sails were unfolded only one time.  Terese and her friend Andrea, quickly changed into bathing suits, but I just wanted to sit, do nothing and decompress.  That day, while they sunned and swam at the coves we dropped anchor at, I just sat in my jeans and T-shirt doing nothing.  I needed it.

The boat was called, “Small World” and had three cabins.  The crew comprised of Captain Zafar who owns the boat and is a gourmet chef.  The 65 year old man does long distance swims as a hobby.  He is currently training for a 6 kilometer swim next year, I think in Istanbul.  So once a day, he would emerge from the cabin in swim gear, and jump off the boat and literally swim out of sight.  It was an amazing thing to see.  65 years old and he would jump into the water and swim until you could no longer determine it was a swimmer.  30 minutes later, he would return.

Along with Zafar, is his girlfriend, Bieron.  She is 51, cute with straggly hair.  I enjoyed watching her and Zafar interact.  While he steered the boat, she would come and stand next to him and talk.  He would look over at her and gently touch her cheek.  I think they kinda like each other.  Looking at the two below, I was most impressed by the faces that had seen a great many more sunrises and sunsets than I have.  Such rich faces that only the sun and sea could carve.

Then, last and certainly not least, was Gokhan.  I don’t know what you call the guy who helps the captain, but whatever it is, he is that.  He is suppose to also be a fisherman, but he did not seem to be too good at that.  He is the young man who is sitting with Terese and her friend Andrea.  These two pics were the last two I took on the boat at the end of the tour.A few pics of the boat itself.  The first one is from the tour company, and the second is the little dingy which always trailed behind, coming to get us from the dock.  These cruises are also known as the “Blue Cruises” because of the color of the water.  Most places, when the GPS/fish finder said 10 meters of water, you could still see the bottom and the fish swarming around.

To get an idea of what we ate; first lunch right after Zafar found a quiet place to drop anchor.  Incredibly tasty pasta!Here we had a strange meal of octopus and ink pasta.  Wasn’t too happy with the pasta.  The color just did not work for me, even though my mouth was happy.This was a typical breakfast.  At first they gave us a lot more, but we told them just a light breakfast only.Now a mess of pictures taken from the boat throughout the trip. The following are pictures I took one morning when only Zafar, Bieron and I were up.  There was a quiet mist floating above the water. … and as the sun came up.Various pictures throughout. Gokhan’s method of fishing was something I had never seen before.  He took a sponge imbedded in a small loaf of bread, wrapped with a string with about a dozen hooks on it.  He threw it in the water and just waited.  The fish would swarm around it and somehow would end up on the hooks.  Or were suppose to.It was a good trip. If there are any duplicates in the post, pretend you don’t notice.  Until next time, kick butt.       D.

Many years ago while working in Afghanistan, I sent writings home telling about the things I saw and the people I worked with.  One such document was titled, “I Walk Among Them”.  Many people thought it was compelling and even the small Texas town newspaper where I grew up, printed it in an edition.

The other day I happened across a version on my computer where I added other thoughts from that time period.  So I edited it to where it was readable and converted it to a PDF file and posted it.  This writing probably best describes what I saw and how I felt during my 26 months in that war zone.

To get to it, go here.