Queen of the Cotton Castle

After Friday's night class, my academic faculty student and his wife invited me to the movies with them. I graciously accepted, and the three of us headed to see the last installment of the Twilight series: Breaking Dawn.

The film was in English with Turkish subtitles, so I was able to quench my thirst for pop culture with ease. Cinematic genius, it was not, but it was a fun way to end the school week.



The next day Erik and I hunted around Afyon for an accordion. His ladyfriend is coming next weekend, and her accordion is way too big to bring on an airplane. No accordions were to be found, but we picked up a few other necessities along the way. After dinner, I took a bus to Usak and stayed the night at Kara's. We headed to Denizli and Pamukkale Sunday morning and saw this:

Hierapolis Ruins

Travertine

I don't know him

Peynir!

At the theater

Ok, so Pamukkale is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And as you can see, it's beautiful. Despite going in December, the weather was warm enough for just a sweater, and those thermal springs we dipped our feet in are naturally heated.

On my trip back to Afyon I sat next to a generous young woman who kept offering me sweets and not taking no for an answer. I grew up my whole life being told, "Don't take candy from strangers." This advice is sound, and I would pass it along to my future children. However, in Turkey, this advice is not practical. Strangers will often offer you candy, tea, and in this case: eclairs. Most times their generosity is pure. My bus seat buddy's eclair was a perfect match to my complimentary Nescafe. Afiyet Olsun.