You WILL Drink this Tea

Turkish people are friendly and very hospitable, as far as I have seen. This evening Johan and I took a 10 hour bus ride from Pamukkale to Cappadocia. Usually there is an attendant on the bus that serves tea and, if you're lucky, some sort of desert-in-a-package. In the past, I have had no problem simply shaking my head "no" to indicate that I am not interested in tea. But not tonight. The bus attendant was insistant that I drink something. Time after time he would come up to us and start talking to us in Turkish, like we understood what he was saying to us, trying to convince me to take a tea bag and plastic cup. I kept shaking my head no, and I guess he finally realized that I didn't want tea...so he poured me a cup of Pepsi instead. The next time he came around at 3 am, I decided to pretend to be asleep.

I have a couple of pictures to share too:

This is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. I haven't been inside yet, but Johan and I will be going back to Istanbul at the end of our Turkey tour.

In the sleepy town of Pamukkale, there are pools formed by calcium-rich water that springs from the ground. The water is really warm, hence the steam. It felt good to stick our feet in the water since the air temperature was rather cool. No snow here, though.

Sitting on a Roman toilet in the men's bath house in Ephesus. After sitting there for awhile, Johan and I busted out our delicious Turkish delights and ate a few while admiring the Ephesus library, shown below...

The library in Ephesus, one of the largest in the world in its day...

Standing among the remains of a temple in Pergamum.

I have a ton of other pictures that I want to share, but those will have to wait until later!

For most people I'd say it's Sunday, so have a good Sunday!!!