One of the first places I visited in Gaziantep was Bayaz Han, a restored Han (or caravanserai), which serves as the city museum and houses shops

that sell items which are typical of the region. There is "our favorite jewelry store" and also a large Turkish restaurant.

If you happen to go there and the waiter suggests that he serve you a special meal for tourists rather than offer you a menu -- take him up on it. We did and were quite pleased -- and threw in the towel (or napkin) on the fourth course. We just couldn't eat any more, but it was delicious. The first course was perhaps the most interesting. It was a yogurt based soup containing small rice balls and grains that is a regional specialty.

The design seen on the stonework arches of Bayaz Han are not the result of painting. The black stone is basalt; the lighter colored stone is the local light colored stone. A number of buildings in Antep (Gaziantep's old name) have this distinctive use of stone.

Not from Bayaz Han is the older part of town. Our tour took us along old streets to several mosques (cami in Turkish - remember c sounds like our j), the private Glass Museum, a Military Museum, as well as the castle which contains a full account of the 1921 struggle with the French and the British, which resulted in the city's name change from Antep to Gaziantep (Gazi meaning veteran of war).

My New Home Away From Home

I made my first trip to Turkey at the invitation of Selcuk University to speak at the International Symposium on Shepherd's Dogs. That was in 1996. I came back to visit friends I made as a result of that Symposium in 1999, 2005, 2007, and 2008.



In the summer of 2009, our Intensive English Language Program was contracted to help set up a new English Language Program at Zirve University in Gaziantep, Turkey. It is now the end of 2009, and I am living in Gaziantep and working at Zirve University.

Living somewhere on your own is not the same as visiting. You discover much more about a country and a culture when you live in it and have to manage all your daily affairs -- especially if you are trying to manage those daily affairs in a language that you do not really speak. At times I feel less competent than my verbal 3 year old grandson.



But enough about me -- here are some photos of my apartment and my neighborhood. This is city living - with buses that run everywhere (as long as you have enough time) and these wonderful little yellow boxes with buttons that you push to call a taxi at any time of the day or night!

Our apartments are really new -- mine looks like this but is two buildings to the right. We come up the walkway you see in the right edge of the photo to a main street to catch the bus, go to a restaurant, or walk to the grocery store. We are right across from Gazintep University so there are lots of students around and lots of places to get pizza and doner (gyros like meat on bread -- with or without wonderful yogurt on it).

Here is a view from my (tiny)balcony behind my apartment. The little tin building seems to be a thriving auto repair shop. However, you can see that it sits surrounded by bare ground. Development is happening al around us.

The photo to the right is looking at the back of my apartment building -- just about from that little auto repair place. My patio is the second one --we'd say it's on the third floor but here the ground floor is not counted!

Here is my kitchen. The sink is just to the right, next to the refrig and the front door. I took thi shot sitting on my "living room" couch. The gas bottle that runs the gas burners sits under the sink. It also runs the "on demand" water heater, which is in the cupboard above the sink. This is like living with our BBQ grill. You turn the gas bottle off when not in use and on when you want to use it.

Cooking on two gas burners has given a whole new meaning to "one pot" cooking. However, a great reasonably priced meal is just down the stairs and around the corner.