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Hotel Sultanham, Istanbul
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This is just a short post to show why we loved this hotel. In addition to the staff being very kind and attentive to our needs, it was in a perfect location within a quick walk to all the historic sites we wanted to visit (this is critical as Istanbul…
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The Grand Bazaar
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No blog about a trip to Istanbul would be complete without an entry on the Grand Bazaar! Our hotel was about five minutes away and this allowed us to visit several times during our stay. We actually did very little shopping but found it a nice place to walk, a…
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Istanbul: Seeing My Homework In Person
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Living in Ankara, Turkey was a wonderful experience and being there long enough to regularly go to work, make friends at the local market, have quiet family movie-nights and home-cooked meals was the goal of this grand adventure. However, being on a brief “vacation” to Istanbul has been a dream…
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Oh, No! Our Flight is Cancelled!
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Please feel bad for us. We are being forced to stay in this glorious city for one more day! We were supposed to leave tomorrow at 4:00 AM for Naples, but instead we leave about 4:00 PM. AND our hotel has allowed us to stay past check-out for no fee…
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Cats!
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Hello from Istanbul. As I write the post today I am sitting near a cat that looks just like my cat Mazurka who passed away a few years ago. This is a comforting experience as Sarah, Tommy, and I expected that missing our cats might be the biggest challenge of…
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Goodbye Ankara, but hello Istanbul, or Constantinople?
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After an amazing farewell Turkish dinner with Elia, this morning we got up, packed our luggage, cleaned our apartment and took a cab to the huge Ankara train station. After going through security, we had a nice cup of coffee and a muffin, and made our way to the express…
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Living in Ankara
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As we planned this grand adventure there were several things going through my mind. The overarching rationale was to train teachers and guest conduct music festivals in schools and regions that often lack the type of musical and educational opportunities more easily accessible in the United States. However, we also…
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We Are Teaching Kids!
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The reason we have been in Ankara is to help a young high school band/orchestra teacher transition into her requirement to teach Choir, General Music, and Pre-K on top of her high school work. I guess life in foreign schools is no different than the music education world in the…
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Freedom of the Press; National Monuments; Ancient History
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It seems bizarre, but the two-hour time difference between Munich and Ankara seems worse than longer time differences I have experienced. We did not get going until late and the day’s planning was also affected by the fact that I have to be back to the apartment and ready for…
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Turkey – Is that Asia?
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Today, after about a month of traveling, we finally get on an airplane! Since January 2nd it has only been Uber, Trains, Boats, and Busses. We leave Munich and head for Istanbul and finally Ankara, Turkey! Home to the school for American Military children as well as the children of…