Saturday, June 15, 2013

Goodbyes to Ankara

We said goodbye yesterday and today to Ankara, our home for many months.  We spent time with valued friends and acquired new lifelong friends.  We ate an array of incredible foods and experienced history and natural beauty at is best.  Thank you, Ankara!  Thanks you, Bilkent University!  Thank you, Fulbright!  We hosted a potluck going away party last night (Friday June 14) for friends, old and new.  This event overflowed our small apartment with food, laughter, drinking and a little sadness at saying au revoir (not good bye) to our adopted home and our special companions.

Halit Oguztun (METU Computer Science)  and Carnot Nelson (Bilkent Psychology) get acquainted

Osman Oguz and his lovely wife with Mustafa Pinar from the Bilkent IE department

Haluk Yapicioglu (visiting from Eskisehir), Ali Haydar and Serin Sakinc and Sarpi Oguztun

The Oguztun children with Fluff in the background

Fulya Altiparmak from Gazi IE department

Alice, Serin and Sarpi

Ozge Sumer, Haluk and Ian, our friendly British neighbor from next door

Tore Fougner (Bilkent International Studies and leader of Bilcat) holds forth with Alice Nelson, attorney wife of Carnot

Ian and Tore share a beer

Fulya and Cevahir Sumer with a family friend (on left) who will be visiting the U.S. shortly to attend a basketball camp in Los Angeles

Alice and Christina Hamer share a giggle

Two lovely ladies who love cats

Alice warns this 15 year old of the dangers and pleasures of LA

Ozge, Sofia and Tuncar Sahin, Haluk and Cevahir

Sofia, Alice, Tuncar, Haluk and Cevahir - same place, same position

Elif Ozgormus, Alice's doctoral student at Auburn who is now conducting research in Turkey, gets to know Mustafa

Yasar Ozgormus (Elif's mom)

Christina wonders how the wine she brought all the way back from Slovenia could be so bad

Alice and Mehmet Gulsen

Alice and the Ozgormus women
Today, Saturday June 16, we had another very special going away event.  The Dengiz's invited us and some others to a huge brunch/lunch in their enchanting garden.  The weather was picture perfect and this was the best way to close out our visit to Ankara which began in January with cold and dark (also staying the first night at the Dengiz house) and is ending in summer sunlight surrounded by blooming plants and singing birds.

Dr. Kara from Baskent IE department and Mehmet and his son Selim at Casa Dengiz in Golbasi

A laden table in the garden

Waiting for the guests to partake

Tahir gives us all each a cherry just off the tree - a revelation in flavor

Orhan grilled kofte and chicken over a wood fire

Randy and Mehmet admire the gardent

Orhan shows off his new product that remotely controls things for businesses - he designed and built  this circuit board himself (skills he did not learn from Alice)

The garage includes an aged CNC machine which is being refurbished to machine the plastic housings for the product

Dr. Kara, Berna, Mrs. Kara and Tahir admire the CNC machine (yes, we are technical geeks!)

A plate of deliciousness including borek, kisir, eggplant and olives

Even picky eater Selim found a lot to love at lunch

The Karas enjoyed their lunch as well

Mehmet, Randy and Tahir did their best to eat up the food

Tahir and Alice
Finished grilling, Orhan finally got to sit down to eat

Fulya joined us after giving an exam at Gazi University.  We all lingered at the table drinking tea and reveling in the great company and ideal weather

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