The 3 beautifuls..and they are really unique!!! The "tops" remained there after the water, wind etc... finished carving out these images.

Yes, there are people trying to get inside the "hole". Those people are some of our friends. One of them did get up in there. He said there was a "Bad smell". I can't imagine why....these were tombs at one time.

A larger than life "Gary" (Spongebob's pet snail)!

The guys -they tried to get on top but the police blew his whistle at them!

People actually used to live, work and worship in these caves!

I never knew camel's lips were floppy-funny what you learn at 40!

Our friend was the only person brave enough to try this. Kind of wish I had now....keske (if only)

All of us thought this was the funniest road sign! They need these in America, maybe then there wouldn't be so many turtles ending up as road kill.

Ahhhh...the beauty of a Masterful design!

My meal was cooked inside a clay pot and then broken upon being served. It was sooooo good and entertaining as well!

The last night there we shared a special supper together. This place was almost all open-air dining but it was really beautiful! We sat next to the fir pit so it wasn't all that cold.

Scenes from the long, LONG ride home. This country truly is beautiful! The ride gave us plenty of time to do crazy things among friends (mildly crazy things, that is!)

Since we are now one Facebook-we haven't kept up with the blog as well as we should have. We have also both added new students that we are teaching English to so our"free" time just got cut in half. Hopefully, we will have a weekend that we will be able to load some new photos from the Cappadocia trip. There are so many, I can't do them right away. Keep us in mind-things are really busy right now and it doesn't look like it will lighten up any time before Christmas. Thanks for visiting-check back for our photos and tales from the trip, or-join FaceBook and see what we have posted on our profile pages! :)

AHH! The joys of camping! Last weekend we got to take a camping trip with three of our local friends and a team member. We took a bus to a fishing village about an hour and 1/2 outside of our city. When we arrived, we trekked to the campground with all our stuff only to find it was locked and closed for the season. We then had to locate another place where we could set up camp over night.

Quaint, quiet, and uncrowded-great for a weekend venture!

Behind this "outdoor cafe" was our camping site.

This is what it looked like. (This was after we took the tents down the next day because I forgot to take pictures before we set up camp)

Here's Mandi taking a break! (This was also after we broke camp-she's catching up on the night of sleep she lost)

The cliffs of insanity! It was pretty insane that I tried to climb over to the cave in this photo!

On the rocks! All of our crew -except for the one taking the photo. The next day this whole area was covered by crashing waves. The wind picked up during the evening, so the waves were significantly higher the next day. (The top 2 photos are of this same place in January). The ocean was Much more calm during this trip.

Under the "cave". Getting to this point was pretty challenging. Parts of the ledge were only a foot wide-sometimes less than that. We were only about 3 feet from the water (to the left of Brian) so I didn't think climbing up the ledge to get inside was really necessary.

Sleepy Sumer!

This is how they pulled the fishing boats from the water-with a farm tractor!

A beautiful sunset to end a beautiful day!

After a long day of traveling, setting up camp and swimming we were ready to eat and play a few games then hit the sack-literally. However, camping on the dirt in the back of a cafe with vacation rentals all around, has it's drawbacks. Mainly, people in this part of the world all sit on the porch to eat meals, and visit with family and friends. Normally, they do it until late at night. When they are at their vacation home, they do it until the weeeeeee hours of the morning! I think everybody decided to call it a night about 3 or 3:30 in the morning. Shortly after it got "quiet" the local mosque"s call to prayer went off. So, this is what we looked like the next morning. You know-I'd do it all over again tomorrow! (Only with ear plugs and an air mattress!)

Yet another month has past and still no current photos. We did do all the things we said we would but there is little time to tote around a camera when you're having so much FUN! I did manage to get a couple of shots from the beach trip with my tutor but that's about all! So, if you are a frequent blog checking fan (you might just be the only one), keep on checking. There will be more in the future as we anticipate the return of our university friends!

I suppose that since the Acts students left almost 6 weeks ago, I should update the blog with more current photos. Except that there aren't any to post! Which would lead one to believe:
1. We were so overwhelmingly exhausted from the ACTS program we stayed in bed for a whole month
2. We have lived such a boring life for the last 6 weeks
3. We are more busy than ever being a part of our culture that we don't have time to post anything!

Actually, it's a mix between 1 and 3. We have enjoyed a relaxing and busy month at the same time. We were able to slow down a bit but are also preparing for a really busy August. We have already spent some quality time with our friends this week. Monday, we went bowling with our friends from the English club. (Since I have already posted bowling photos-I didn't want to be redundant). We also had a young couple over for dinner that we have been wanting to get to know better. Hopefully, after the end of Ramadan, we will be able to get together again.
We will also be taking my tutor and her family to a beach on the northern shore for a day trip. They don't get to go out of town or on vacation because he is still out of a job, so this will be a real treat for them.
At the end of this month we will be joining other individuals in our region at a mountain retreat outside of our city for a conference and R & R. Maybe by the time Sept. rolls around I'll have more than enough to post on this blog for all our bloggin' fans (all 3 of you! )
Until then- if it's photos you want-you will just have to be satisfied with revisiting all the older posts. Enjoy!

On the weekend prior to the students departure we took a boat trip to the sea. The American students had asked several of the local university students to join them as their last time to hang out together. It was great fun but the water was SOOOO cold!
Yes, I did jump in but there are NO photos on this blog of that event
(and hopefully no one else's).

Brian and the guys

Playing the "gossip" game posed a little challenge in 2 languages but they got it right at the end every time!

By the end of the trip we were all exhausted but some were still shining like the sun!

Last outing at the beach-saying goodbyes never gets any easier!

On the student's last Sunday with us, we went to the beach for our worship time. It was certainly one of the most beautiful place of worship I have ever attended on a Sunday! We did have a time with praise in music and a message from the Word. Afterwards, we ate like any normal fellowship does.

A few of the students (even the girls) wanted to climb the cliffs to dive into the sea. They did it! I decided that flip flops are not the proper gear for rock climbing!

Best Sunday school activity ever-burying kids in the sand! Everybody had a great time!