Finally By the Water

We're here in a tiny town called Bitez, near a larger overrun-by-tourists-at-the-moment town called Bodrum, on the southern coast of Turkey. Our hotel, the Manuela, is a fav for middle-class Turks, thus making it affordable for long-term traveling Americans also. The heat has come and with it the hotness, the sunnyness, the temperatureness, and the stickyness. Yesterday, we went to a real Turkish bath where we got soaped down, scrubbed, and pulverised into a delectable mélange that had us braving the crowds with ease. (Check the Daily Snapshot under Shirl's entry for some shots...we couldn't take any pictures inside due to the steaminess and the bathiness of the hamam.)

So, we eat, and rest, and really don't do much. Along that line of thought is Shirl eating breakfast here (she's in beween the leaves, away from the simultaneous music and Olympics playing):

And then there the evening meals where the cats come out to beg and the views are peaceful and serene. (Scroll down the larger picture to see a Macha-look-alike waiting for the American suckers to hand over their shrimps.)

So that's like nearly the whole story for our fun fest on the coast of Turkey. Tomorrow we'll fly to Istanbul for more fun in the unrelenting sun. Overall, the Turkish people are very sweet and the little town here, which closes in the winter since it only exists for tourism, has been great. Rowan's always been curious what the coastal areas look like in this part of the world, so now he knows.