Last weekend, we had another Wingfest and had about 45 people show up.  It was pretty much the limit of our apartment.  So, the next one in a few months will have to be somewhere else.  As I took these pictures, I tell people they are for my 900 year old mother.   No one objected, so I will post what I want.   Below are the beginnings of margarita fixens. The chicken wings The chicken wing cook.The chicken wing cook’s damn cat before the fest.  Once it started, we neither saw nor heard, hide nor head of her.Some of the finished delicacy.A strange variation with rum.One of the special quests of the party, Donna (working in Afghanistan) on the left and our good Turkish friend, Ayda on the right. Zeynep and Ayda, both Turkish beauties.

And various shots of good people.   A few shots of some of the good Marines who attended. Finishing the evening with Marines and cigars.We plan to do another one in a few months in honor of another good friend who will be leaving soon.  D.

I recently came across writings from years past and decided to create a new page to post them.  The first words are what I saw when I helped with the building of a giant cross on Interstate 40 in the Texas Panhandle.  Later I will post things I saw from a pilgrimage in Medjugorje in Bosnia/Herzegovina, close to the border of Croatia.  Then some writings from Afghanistan, which I would guess have affected me more than anything else I have written.

The new post is on the left under Page Three – What I Saw.  But you can click: The Cross to get you there quicker.

I just finished reading the autobiography of Harpo Marx.  I would have placed this on Page Two under the I’ve Always Hated Book Reports but it is such a long read, I placed it by itself.  Look on the left under Page Two and click on Harpo Speaks!

The Marines.

These are good guys.  I’ve yet to meet one I did not like, and I’ve met many that I liked very well.

Less than 1% of the US population is in the Military, and 6% of the Military are Marines. Take that a bit further and I am told only 1% of the Marines work in the coveted roll of the Marine Security Guard Force at Embassies around the World.

The US has a consulate in Adana Turkey, where a detachment of Marines were installed for protection.  Before everything was set up for them, the Marines sent in a special group to watch until it’s ready for the “normal” group to come in.  This group had some acronym which basically stood for a special team for the initial entry into harmful areas.  Even though the Consulate did not require such a sophisticated group, they had to send them because of the attack at the US Embassy in Ankara on February 1st, 2013 which took the precious life of a Turkish guard.  This initial force had older and more seasoned Marines.  They take their job very serious.  As I stated years ago in writing, if you ask them a question and the answer is No, there is no way that answer will change.  No pleading, begging or bribery will get the answer changed.  And they are extremely polite in telling you, No.

I spent several weeks working in that location and got to know several of them personally.  They initially called me sir, as I did them; but over several weeks of joking around with them and seeing they indeed do have normal personalities, if there is ever such a thing, we resorted to first names.

I spent a few years in Afghanistan many moons ago and my first encounter with the Military, was when I stepped off a wore-out bus at a US base in Karshi, Uzbekistan.  It was the end of four long flights and a very fast bus ride through the streets of the city driven by a guy with only one good eye.  I stretched and looked up at the wet gray sky, then glanced to my right and notice a 30 cal machine gun pointed at me from an opening in a wall of Hescos – basically big cardboard boxes filled with dirt that will stop a rocket.

I jumped a bit, likely drawing a smile if not a chuckle from the eyes behind the weapon.  But it was a stark awaking of the magnitude of where I was.

Since then, I have developed an acute friendship with the Military, a tight bond with a few.  These are good guys.  Yes, there are some personnel that are not good to be around and I met a few in Afghanistan, but for the most part I find they have more common sense than many people on the street.

A few months ago, a good friend of ours invited the Marines to her apartment for a BBQ, and invited us.

I personally have become good friends with their boss – referred to as the “gunny”.  He describes himself as “An American by birth and Texan by the grace of God.”  So I explained to him that my mother likes Marines and would like a photo of them.  He replied, “Absolutely.” and spoke some command and the next thing I knew, we were standing for a photograph.  The picture is not very good but will work.

The man in shorts is the gunny and the dog is a bit crazy as most dogs are.  One thing about Marines, they may be tough, ornery and walk around with Popeye muscles, but they appreciate the value of “mother”.

This post is for you MotherDear.  Love D.

A few more pictures of the city.  Below is posted several I took last week when I had to make a quick trip to Istanbul again.  These were taken of the Bosporus Strait from the 15th floor balcony of the hotel.  In one of the pictures you will see what appears as beads which are just the reflection in a window.

Istanbul is the only city in the world that sits on two continents.  What you see across the Strait in these pictures is Asia.  Where I was on my side, is Europe.

   And a few views of the surounding area.

Later, D.

I‘ve written a little before about this vibrant city.  It has an incredibly rich history and is listed at the 5th largest tourist spot in the World.  With a population of 14.1 million, it is the fifth largest city in the world by population.  Wikipedia states: Istanbul is a transcontinental city, straddling the Bosphorus—one of the world’s busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical centre lies in Europe, while a third of its population lives in Asia.

I have been to Istanbul about a half dozen times and fell in love with it right away, and I see it as a tempting place to retire.  On our way to work in the mornings to the Consulate from the hotel, we travel along the water’s edge and see many people jogging, threading themselves through the men fishing on the docks.  We always stop for coffee at a Starbucks which I am told, with its three levels facing the water, it was voted as the Starbucks with the most beautiful view.  Haven’t been to too many of the Stores, but I can see how it is so well liked.

Archeologist found evidence of life as far back as 7000-6000 BC in that area.  Again, Wikipedia: The same location was the site of a Phoenician trading post at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC as well as the town of Chalcedon, which was established around 680 BC…

However, the history of Istanbul generally begins around 660 BC, when Greek settlers from Megara established Byzantium on the European side of the Bosphorus.

As with all ancient cities, there were conquerors. The city experienced a brief period of Persian rule at the turn of the 5th century BC, but the Greeks recaptured it during the Greco-Persian Wars.

Byzantium then continued as part of the Athenian League and its successor, the Second Athenian Empire, before ultimately gaining independence in 355 BC. Long allied with the Romans, Byzantium officially became a part of the Roman Empire in 73 AD.

Constantine the Great, the ruler of the Roman Empire in 324 AD., converted the region to Christianity and changed the City’s name from Byzantium to Nea Roma (New Rome), but people began to call it Constantinople.

During the Middle Ages, the great city was the largest and wealthiest on the European Continent and at times the largest in the World.  In the 14th Century, the Ottoman Turks slowly took over the region, and after an eight-week siege, the City fell.  Sultan Mehmed II declared it the new capital of the Ottoman Empire, and the famous Hagia Sophia cathedral was converted into an imperial mosque.

Throughout the life of the City, it served as the capital of four empires: the Roman Empire (330–395), the Byzantine Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922)

I could continue with much more history of this beautiful city, but I’m running out of ink.  But it was after the first World War, that British, French, and Italian occupied Istanbul.  The final Ottoman sultan, Mehmed VI, was exiled in November 1922; the following year, the occupation of Istanbul ended with the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne and the recognition of the Republic of Turkey, declared by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Today, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is known as the Father of Modern Turkey and is revered all through the country.  Every shop you go in, you will notice pictures of him.  On many buildings, you will see his image inside and out.

The last time I was there, I took these pictures of the Bosphorus Strait.  I find it comforting to sit and watch the ships traverse through it.  In the bottom image, you can see the Hagia Sophia and the famous Blue Mosque sitting on the peninsula to the right. This is a city rich in so many ways.  Its history is as complex as the Jerusalem’s, and most likely many lives were lost in the conquest of this city was well.  I look forward to going again.

Keep kicking.  D.