I can't remember the exact statistic, but well over 90% of Turks identify themselves as Muslim. It's mid December and, aside from the day I picked Brewer up from his weekly kindergarten visit and they were "learning about Christmas" (They were listening to "Here Comes Santa Claus" and baking Sugar Cookies, if that qualifies), I hadn't heard a single Christmas carol. Nope. Not one. Unbelievable huh?
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The festival; Taurus Mountains
in the background |
That all changed this past Sunday when we went down to the harbour for the Alanya International Noel Festival. Yes, Alanya has a relatively large European expat community and so we were treated to some familiar Christmas cheer for the afternoon, including those beloved Christmas carols. We even got our annual picture with Santa. It was lovely. As we mingled between the artisan booths listening to the familiar call to prayer waft down from a nearby mosque and mix with the Christmas atmosphere, I was reminded once again how lucky we are to have landed in this open and loving community.
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The kids with St. Nic. Separate picture
taken with the big guy. |
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One of the few Christmas trees we've seen
this season |
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| Brewer playing on a ride |
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| Goodbye beach. We love you! |
The next day we enjoyed what was likely our very last beach day in Turkey. Feeling like we could not let the opportunity pass, we all even went for a short dip in the sea. It was sunny but only about 68 degrees. We didn't last long. - Kelly
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