We participated in lots of fun social events in Ankara this year. Some of them are show below. These are in more or less random order.
Russian Manti at Sofia's House
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| Our chef for the evening |
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| Russian manti is bigger (and perhaps better) than the traditional Turkish sized version |
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| Manti happiness |
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| Justin Allred got to enjoy this special treat as well |
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| Ozge and Justin reminisce about days at Auburn |
Orhan Turns 35
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| Orhan's milestone birthday was a bar b que in the garden of Casa Dengiz in Golbasi |
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| The flowers were in their full glory |
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| More blooms |
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| Even the trees and bushes were blooming |
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| These are especially nice |
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| Alice can't believe this kid she met in Pittsburgh in the 1990's is now 35 |
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| Randy, Tahir and Justin enjoy a brewski in the garden |
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| Some of the super food which included grilled cheese and some pretty amazing kofte |
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| Justin timed his visit to Turkey well to participate in these festivities |
Going Away Dinner for Alice and Claudio
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| The Bilkent University IE department chose this nice restaurant, specializing in Black Sea fare, for the going away dinner for Claudio Arbib and Alice |
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| The guests of honor |
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| Osman Oguz and Yigit Karpat |
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| Claudio and Mustafa Pinar, his collaborator at Bilkent |
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| Sad to be leaving but happy to have had this experience |
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| Randy finally got his muhlama, melted cheese and butter which a specialty of the Trabzon area |
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| The group at the table |
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| Mustafa and his lovely wife |
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| Emre Nadar, the other instructor of quality control, and his wife |
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| Selim Akturk is the new department chair |
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| Sarah Tate chats with Yigit's American wife |
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| A typical banquet shot |
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| Nesim Erkip, in foreground, led the festivities |
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| The evening concluded with an amazing chocolate souffle |
Dinner and Breakfast at Casa Dengiz
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| Berna invited us and Sam Sockwell for dinner, spending the night and breakfast one weekend. She cooked a Black Sea specialty - hamsi (anchovies) with rice |
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| Also on the menu was kisir - Alice's favorite salad |
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| Happiness at the table |
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| The next morning Soraya (the home assistant) serves breakfast in the garden |
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| Sam and Orhan enjoy tea to wake up |
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| A full Turkish breakfast including the best fresh fruit |
Kalkan at Casa Sumer
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| Cevahir cooked kalkan, a flat large fish, she had shipped in fresh from the Black Sea |
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| In Black Sea style, it was pan fried |
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| Justin was again fortunate to time his visit to get in on this exceptional evening |
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Meeting High School Students at Casa Sumer
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| Cevahir arranged a get together of her former students who are now at different high schools around Ankara |
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| These students are all interested in studying or at least visiting the U.S. |
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| Alice enjoyed interacting with these fresh minds |
Yunus Visits Ankara
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| Mehmet, Yunus's friend who lives in Ankara and Yunus Alp |
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| Yunus was in Ankara for some training and stopped by on Friday evening to say hi. We all reminisced about our amazing trip to the Batman area in April |
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Dilruba and Haluk Visit Ankara
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| The group on the terrace of Bilkent University's 49 Restaurant |
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| Dilruba and Haluk Yapicioglu on a visit from Eskisehir. Haluk had a research project meeting at the university and Dilruba shopped |
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| Haluk and Mehmet, fellow advisees of Alice's, finally get to meet |
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Using Up the Lunch Card Money at the 49 Restaurant in June
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| Tore Fougner and Christina Hamer ate with us at the 49 terrace along with Tore's partner Ayca |
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| The lens got a bit blurred but it did not detract from the fun we enjoyed on this perfect summer evening |
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