WARNING this post has tons of pics (like 90 I think)...I won't bore you by explaining each one! It was a beautiful place! ENJOY!
We recently returned from a trip to Central Asia to visit some friends after a very eventual plane ride that was supposed to take a day and a half and ended up taking about 5 days. I won't go into detail because it would give you a headache but we finally arrived and were grateful to be there. We were there on July 4th so we celebrated by having an American picnic!
We saw many mosques and museums, one of which is below. This one was built by Constantine for his mother....
Old cave churches...
There are many mosques there and this one was in our view each day as we looked out our window. Such a reminder that many are in the dark and need the ONE that can make them whole.
99% of people there are Muslim and most women are "covered."
There are very few "freestanding" homes there...most people live in a 2-4 bedroom apartment and most apartments have at least 2 balconies some as many as FIVE.
There are 600 mosques in this city alone...one on almost every street corner....most are very elaborate and ornate.
We tried LOTS of local foods and loved everything we tried except for one thing (and even our friends said that batch of cheesy bread wasn't good).
This is brought complimentary in most restaurants as an appetizer. It is their version of a "salad." It has tomatoes, cucumbers, sometimes peppers and usually drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice. It comes with a side of parsley, red cabbage and a version of salsa that they dip with pita bread. It is all delicious!
This is a kind of lamb burritoish...with rice and greek yogurt in the back.
The landscaping and flowers are BEAUTIFUL there!
The tallest one on the right is an inactive volcano...
One afternoon we hiked down this to some cave churches...
We got to view the sunset out our window almost every night...
This is a water fountain that is outside every mosque. Before they enter they must wash their hands, feet and inside their noses.
Very devout...
News crew...
We met a very neat man who sold carpets....
Sidewalk markets are everywhere....
Smoking is very common...
They have beautiful, elaborate scarves....
This is what they do after a wedding for the newly married couple to drive off in....
Carrying "tea"...they drink it ALL. DAY. LONG!
They are known for their BEAUTIFUL parks!
These fountains were beautiful!
I'd say the swans have it made!
This flower was HUGE! You can see its enormous size next to a 2 1/2 year old child!
Drove through this valley to one of the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen!
The water was turquoise blue and it was so clear you could see the bottom!
We loved seeing our friends and experiencing a new culture! Grateful for the opportunity!
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