Easter

Holidays

The holidays have started last Saturday and are going to last until next Friday for some, until next Sunday for others. We usually go somewhere but this time we decided not to.
So what is this holiday about? ...

Holidays

Today, Holidays are starting, for me. It started actually last night for those who don't work on Saturdays. This holiday is called the Kurban Bayramı, literally meaning "the festival of sacrifice". Eid al-Adha in Arabic, is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide as a commemoration of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah. However, God provided a ram in place once Ibrahim demonstrated his willingness to follow God's commands. The festivities last for three days or more depending on the country. Eid al-Adha occurs the day after the pilgrims conducting Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. It happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan. (source : wikipedia).
So Everybody buy a sheep or bull and have it killed in a religious way. In the suburbs or poor districts they would do that on the pavement which is actually forbidden since the city have reserved places to do that. The butcher comes and read some verses from the Quran and then cut the animal's throat. Then the animal is prepared and cooked immediately.
Some people would distribute the food to poor people. More modern poople or let's say people who aren't that keen to religion would donate money to different organizations such as the Red Crescent (equivalent of the Red Cross in Muslim countries) which seems more proper to me.

Bodrum Day 05

Engin And Reyhan came home for breakfast.









Sunset from the house over the Greek island Kalymnos.

Bodrum Day 02

Changing viez from the house. The land you see afar is the greek Island Kalymnos (belonging to the Dodecanese).























A cat and her puppies found in the area.

Bodrum Day 01

Last night we took the bus to come to Bodrum (south West of Turkey). We came here with two friends but on different buses. We had trouble finding 4 places on the same bus since it's holidays and all the buses were booked. Engin & Reyhan took the 9pm bus, I took the 9.30 pm bus, My dad took the the 10.30pm bus and Ekin took the 11pm one. You have to know that Turkish buses company are not like the one you can find in the U.S (Greyhound, Chinatown bus) or in Europe (Eurolines). Here you have many many different companies going everywhere and the services on board are like the one you can find on planes.
Anyway, We all arrived at different times to Bodrum but we enjoyed the calm and serenity of the place altogether.
The weather is a bit chilly but the water is very nice.

Bodrum Day 07 - Last Day

Last morning in Gümüslük. We had breakfast near the sea.









Somewhere on the freeway between Bodrum and Izmir.









Izmir. This is the first time I really go to Izmir. I've already passed through many time with the car but it's the first time I really stop but then again I won't count this time since we only stayed an hour or so.












Somewhere on the road between Izmir and Istanbul.









Oreo is doing really fine.










More photos here and here if you're interested.

Bodrum Day 06

My sister Celia and my nephew Lucas in Gumusluk.











More photos here and here if you're interested.

Bodrum Day 01

Here is the result. The table and 4 chairs in the front and the cushions in the back.









The other cushions in the living room :












Oreo









And Lucas and Juliette. They've already been here for a week.












More photos here and here if you're interested.

On the way to Bodrum

This morning we left for Bodrum for a week long holiday. The car was really packed because we brought a lot of new stuff to decorate our house there. We also had some cushions made for the sofas (you'll see later) and it took a lot of space in the car.
We also brought Oreo along for his first trip. He wasn't really thrilled about it but everything went fine.

On the ferry near Istanbul









We stopped at Ikea in Izmir and bought a table a 4 chairs for the terrace. And it fit. Incredible. If it hadn't, we were going to give it back and get a refund...

Day Three : Last Day, Holiday

Last day, Today is May the 19th, holiday here in Turkey. Atatürk Commemoration and Youth & Sports Day (the arrival of Atatürk in Samsun, and the beginning of the War of Independence).

This morning the sky is clearer and a lot of seagulls are flying over the water which is unusual here.
















Ekin got stung by some insects, probably mosquitoes, or even rowanberries (we have plenty here), a spider byte is not to exclude as well. She tried my mom's new Venimex machine which comes out unhandy in mosquito situations.












My parents' cat enjoying his summer life, he spends 6 months there during the summer.





















One last look at the house before leaving.





Goodbye Gümüşlük...

Kartalkaya

Yesterday and today, we went to Kartalkaya, a ski resort between Istanbul and Ankara. It took us 3 and a half hour by bus to get there. The weather was really nice. I really like snowboard, it was a lot of fun and we were a lot of friends. It's not a great ski resort but it was still great.








More pictures here.

Flag Day

Today is a National Holiday in Turkey, it is the Turkish 4th of July. In 1923 the (secular) Republic of Turkey was finally established. And as a good citizen you should put your flag at your window. If you are a real nationalist you'll put it in you car as well.
By law, Shops must put a flag on this day.