On the way in, at least three different guys will try to sell us a carpet (“Today is the perfect day to spend money”). On the way out, three other guys will try to shine our shoes (“Your shoes no good.I give good polish”). We’ll try to resist. (We bought 2 carpets and 1 shoe shine.)

Back on the bus we’ll have our hand doused in a lovely lemon scented liquid, be served tea by one of the three cabin stewards and then we will settle in for another five hours of twisting, honking,sometimes white knuckle cruising through the wild and beautiful Turkish countryside.

We really liked ancient Istanbul, except for the carpet sellers and shoe shine hustlers. (We picked up snail mail - Thanks ya’ll!) Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, Topkapi Palace, the Dardenelles - old religions, modern battlefields and the 84 carat diamond that Pam Brown has been holding out for all these years. In Ankara we bought carpets. In Mersifon we met American friends, Chuck and Linda, video taped a talent show and were swept away in Turkish/Ameican hospitaity. (We got to wash clothes!) In Cappadocia we saw the surrealistic landscape of Star Wars movies and what had to be the natural inspiration for the strange Gaudi architecture of Barcelona. They say these underground cities and cone shaped hills full of tunnels, chapels and homes hid thousands of early Christians in times of war, but I’m sure they were built by Jawas and Sand People. In Kas we drank beer, watched waves and wrote postcards (Did’t get yours? Send snail mail!). In Selcuk we walked through the ruins of Ephesus in the sandle prints of John and Paul and maybe even Jesus’ mother Mary and a few thousand lesser known Greeks and Romans.