Celebrations!

Max and his soccer coaches. They were kind enough to come and celebrate Max' birthday with him. We rented a moon bounce for the event. We got it on a Friday afternoon and got to keep it until Tuesday evening. It was well worth the money we paid for it. Max was out there even at night.
Max and one of his guests, Sekai. They were acting like dinosaurs, the theme of Max' party.
Happy Birthday, DADDY! We celebrated Brett's bday with a castle cake. A castle for the king!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We celebrated Thanksgiving with 7 of our Turkish friends (one had already left).

More Pictures of Karatepe

This is Karatepe again. Max and Sophie are trying to look like the Hittite carvings. This dates back to 800BC and was a summer palace for a king.
Brett making faces.
This was one of the gorgeous views. The lake was not there when it was a summer palace. The Turks added the lake. It is a beautiful picnic and camping area. Pine trees tower and shade the area.

Hieropolis - Castabala and Aslantas - Karatepe

This is a self timed photo at Hieropolis - Castabala. We are standing under some Greek columns which line the "road" up to the theatre (the last picture in this set). There were many ruins with beautiful inscriptions. It is thought that Darius of Persia passed through here with his army in 333BC. Three hundred years later this area was the capital of an independent kingdom under Tarcondimotus. He sided with Pompeii against Caesar.
Inscriptions on the Greek columns.
We were driving down the road and in the middle of the road goats were coming. This was the second group of goats we "ran into". Mommy couldn't get the camera ready for the first one because she was so amazed at the sight.
This is at the Aslantas Museum - Karatepe. This is a summer residence of a Hittite King. The ruins date from the 8th century before Christ. The ruins show liveliness and gaiety, suggesting a place for relaxation and fun. We bought a wooden dish and spoon here that was handmade out of sandalwood trees, which are located here in Karatepe.
This is still in Hieropolis - Castabala. This is a Roman theater. It was incredible being "inside" the theater. The kids did some "acting" and we saw some really big lizards. We sat in some of the chairs. The ones at the top seemed to be curved for comfort. (Comfort on a stone seat?)

Payas

These are the castle walls left from the Genevians and was restored in Ottoman times. The castle at one time protected the caravanserai, a place people would stop and rest on their travels. We had to cross a now-dried-up moat to get inside the castle walls.
This is an olive tree located inside the mosqe court area. It is considered to be the oldest fruitful tree at over 1000 years old.
These were the walls we climbed. At first I was very excited to go up, being the leader of the pack. After I was halfway up, I realized that there were no railings on the steps!! I hugged the walls the whole way!
This is the caravanserai. It was constructed by the famous architect Mimar Sinan (Dave Dorsey, that's for you). It consisted of luxurious accommodations, stables for horses and camels, a covered bazaar, baths, and a theological school and mosque. It is from the 16th century.