On the road to Sardis

Al didn't feel like breakfast.  I was getting pretty worried about him.  The bus was going to leave at 7:30 and he did get ready in time.  He slept much of the day.  Maybe we should have stopped here.

The retired

Verandas

Country life

Windmills -  old and new

not just in Kansas!

Homes - new and old

Cemetaries

 It almost looks like they are buried above ground, but Belgin told us that no, bodies are buried underground.

As we were driving through one small village, Jim told us about a custom of putting an empty glass bottle on the roof if the family has a daughter of marriageable age.  We didn't see any bottles this day. Jim once played a joke on Belgin by putting an empty bottle on top of the bus!

I found this on the net:
Driving by smaller villages in Turkey, you may notice an empty glass bottle on the roofs of some houses. Traditionally, this is done when a girl reaches marriageable age. The bottle is broken by an interested bachelor, who then seeks permission from her father to marry the girl. To prevent disappointments, the boy finds out if the match is agreeable before breaking the bottle.

Traditionally when the boy’s family visits the girl’s house, she does not have a say in the matter, but can express her vote only through the coffee she serves. If the coffee is extra sweet her answer is yes, if it’s just sweet, she will think about it, and if there’s no sugar, her answer is no. If she has added salt, she means there’s no way she’s even going to consider it.