Okay, I have been busy and haven’t written much for a while, so here goes…

Olivia and Brad visit
After Cappadocia, Brad and Olivia came to Mersin on the 16th to see me (what other reasons are there for visiting Mersin? ;-)

They were wonderful guests.

Food
We sampled as much food as we could in 4 days:

Tantuni; Kunefe; Adana kebab; cezerye; Turkish delight; a lamb, chicken and capsicum shish kebab bbq, Turkish style, with Hanifi amca blowing the coals with a hairdryer; grilled chicken; lahmacun; chicken sote (sauté); icli kofte; kizarmis (roast) chicken, salad and hot pide bread; Mado ice cream; and various pistachio sweets.

Wedding
Saturday night (17^th) was work mate Iklim’s brother, Oral’s, wedding in Tarsus. I drove the work car, picking up Serkan, Sebiha and Buket on the way. By the time we arrived at the venue there were 6 of us in the car. The music, dancing, 7-tiered cake and fine company ensured a fun evening. I am completely sure Olivia, Brad and my Antipodean dancing styles really stood out :-) By the end of the evening I was very tired. For most of Saturday I was completely worn out. Luckily, the tiredness only lasted this day.

Historical Mersin
Sunday afternoon we cruised around the town, visiting the Roman road at Soli and the artificial hill called Yumuktepe. Yumuktepe was built up by almost continuous civilizations stretching back 9000 years. The only previous time I visited in June 2003, 2 lowlifes attempted to rob me. The hill itself is not that exciting and the Mersin Museum paints a better picture of the hill’s history

Okey
Hanifi amca entertained Brad and Olivia (and myself) 3 or 4 times with the tile game ‘okey’. Brad and Olivia rapidly increased their knowledge of the game. If they stayed in Mersin any longer they would have become experts, beating the locals (a capital offence to say the least).

Shorts
Olivia visited many shops in Mersin searching for proper fitting bathers. At Carrefour she eventually found a set. Next to the bather display was a box of cargo shorts. I bought myself a pair of half-decent shorts. I was going to do it last summer. Clothes buying is not my expertise or passion!

Baby
Olivia was anxiously waiting news from her sister, Katrina, who was 9 months pregnant with her and Darren’s first child and Dig’s first grandchild. Today (the 27^th), Caitlin Lilly arrived. Congratulations Katrina and Darren!

After Mersin, Olivia and Brad caught a bus to Side before visiting southwest Turkey and the Greek Islands.

A Healthy Medine teyze

Around the time Brad and Olivia left, my neighbours Medine teyze and Handan abli returned from Ankara. They were there for a month or so as Medine underwent a leg operation (a hip replacement I believe). In Turkish public hospitals the patient requires a family member or friend to support them and provide certain services (supply of linen, clothes washing, etc.) taken for granted in Australia.

Previously, Medine used crutches and experienced great pain. Now she can walk around independently and freely. Mashallah!

Last weekend was fantastic

LOTTO

Huseyin abi and I shared in proceeds of a second division lotto win!

As seen on the ticket, the final 5 numbers matched those selected by the machine Saturday night. On Sunday afternoon, 735,000,000 TL, half of the 5/49 prize, landed in my pocket. It was the first time for several months I had participated in any such gambling. Needless to say, Huseyin and I are having a further small dabble in the upcoming draws.

Digital Camera
With the money I plan to buy a digital camera. A digital camera will facilitate a more interesting blog by allowing me to photo daily occurrences in Mersin and post the pictures straight away on this page.

All day Saturday the Atas fire was visible from Mersin. The smoke covered drifted across the sky to the north of the city. In the evening the fire glow was still viewable from the apartment rooftop. A digital camera could have transferred the scene from Mersin to your computers almost immediately. The strong favourite in the digital camera race is the Olympus Camedia C-310 Zoom. The camera will also be brilliant for the upcoming August/September Iran trip.

To celebrate our lotto win, this Sunday Huseyin and I will have a fish and raki meal on one of yacht restaurants in the harbour.

Stuck in the block lift

On Sunday the apartment block lift stopped mid-level and wouldn’t restart. I was stuck there with another prisoner. Luckily, Hanifi amca came to the rescue and opened the door.

Other news

Live at Benaroya
Today I received the new Pearl Jam CD “Benaroya Hall October 22^nd 2003”. This was an acoustic performance raising money and awareness for the charity Youth Care.

Train Accidents
Oh, there were also a series of recent train accidents in Turkey. Traffic accidents in general are a far greater danger than terrorism. I’m sure this vehicular danger is not deliberate, but have a look at the acronym in the second paragraph of the article ‘More Than 77 Thousand Motor Vehicles Registered In May Of 2004’.