Turkish Rug Factory

Turkey is known for their beautiful rugs. We visited a rug factory in Turkey and also one in Beersheba when we got back to Israel. Here are some pics of the steps that they go through to make the rugs. They are super complex and super expensive too!! They make two different kinds of rugs - wool and silk. The silk was my favorite, so soft!! I loved watching them spin the silk thread from the silk worm cocoons. It is a crazy process and the cocoons come apart like strings of a spider web. The whole process that we learned was so hands on. We were able to touch everything and they even taught us how to do the double knot that they use on the turkish rugs. It takes about 4-6 months for one person to do each carpet. What a labor of love!!

All the threads are dyed with natural dyes.

These are the silk worm cocoons that they boil to make the silk thread

This video is my favorite because in the show room the guy in charge was ordering his little flingers around. They were basically flinging this rugs all sorts of ways and we agreed that it is officially a new sport. WE were laughing so hard!! Check it out!!

Some of my favorite things about Turkey

Besos and little old ladies - We were able to spend a few nights walking the bay and experiencing the night life. It was so pretty. A couple of our hotels were located right on the coast. This little old lady we met on the dock and I just smiled and said hi to her. The next thing I know she had me cheeks in her hand and she was kissing me, like they do in Argentina. She kept saying things in Turkish and she seemed so excited. You can see how happy I am in the picture. She was so sweet and we bonded in that 5 minutes, even though we couldn't understand each other. I really love those besos!!

This was sunset on the bay!!

We saw shepherds herding their sheep in the plains of Turkey. It was beautiful. One day we stopped to talk to a shepherd and he let us pet some of his sheep, it was so fun to live the Bedouin life for 10 minutes. It really brings to life the reason behind why they call Christ the shepherd. Each shepherd knows there sheep and the sheep only respond to his voice.

Best Baklava EVER!!! Our guide to us to a shop in Istanbul that was simply amazing! All they make is baklava and they specialize in Pistachio baklava. It was so good!

And yes, they had to show us their pan of baklava that they made into Obama. We all were pretty impressed.

We ate at some pretty good seafood places right on the coast. This is the fish that we ate, eyeballs and all! It was good and a great adventure.

The grand Bazaar is the biggest shopping place in the world, dedicated to mostly tourists. There is over 4000 shops there and it is almost too overwhelming because a lot of them sell the same thing. It has been there for years, so it is pretty famous. And of course, I did find some pretty sweet souvenirs there.

This awesome picture I took was of a huge underground cisterne that held water for all of Istanbul for a long time. It was so pretty inside.

So Picturesque!!!

While in Turkey we were able to take quite a few ferry boats. We even got on a ferry that we loaded while still on the bus, that was cool!! But because of that, we were able to get some really cool photos from the water, and it was the first time I had been on a boat for about 2 years, maybe longer. I really enjoyed it!
Turkey is almost completely surrounded by water so it is so pretty!! Here are some pictures of our ferry adventures.

Mosques and Arab Women

While we were in Turkey we visited many mosques. You could spend a year in turkey and visit mosques all day, everyday and still not see all of them. About 90 percent of Turkey is Muslim, so they need a lot so all the people can worship. They are asked to go to the mosque 5 times a day to pray, so they are always going to the mosque. In Istanbul alone there are 3,000 mosques.
You have to take off your shoes before you go in and the woman have to cover their head and wear long sleeves. The Muslim people wash their hands, feet and faces every time they go into the mosque. They are very devoted worshippers.
One thing that I love about he mosques is that there are no idols or statues. They do not worship any kind of statue.
Two of the main mosques we went to were in Istanbul and they are the "blue mosque" and the Aya Sophia. They were both so pretty. We took some good pictures of us as Arab women. It was really fun and adventurous.

I am back!!!

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. . . so I will be posting little by little my adventures in Turkey. There is so much I can say about the amazing adventures we had.

Gobble, Gobble! Turkey here we come!!

This morning we are packing up to go to Turkey for a week! We are going to study a lot about Pauls missions to the people there and also some history stuff. I have heard so many amazing things about this wonderful place. It is beautiful! I don't know much about anything, but here are some pictures of some of the sights we are going to visit, they make me so excited!

Topkapi Palace

Ancient Outdoor Theatre in Ephesus

Celsus Library in Ephesus

Largest Shopping center in the world with close to 4000 shops - The Bazaar in Istanbul

Hagia Sophia in Istanbul

My Birthday in Jerusalem

This is David and his harp. Mom and Dad, can I get a harp like that for my birthday?


Who can say that they celebrated their birthday in Jerusalem? I CAN!! It was such a good day, really chill, and filled with emails and letters from those I love. The day was pretty normal except everyone in the center knew it was my birthday, so I don't think I have ever heard that many birthday wishes in one day. All 80 of them made sure to wish me happy birthday at least 7 1/2 times each. haha, that is a bit of an exaggeration. But really, way to many times!!
After lunch I went out with a couple friends, Scott and Jason, and we explored the city. We found some awesome places and our favorite was the dormition abbey. A huge christian church, but downstairs is a round stone room. People came down to sing and pay their respects to Mary, the sound was incredible and we loved sitting and listening to the beautiful sounds.
We also went to 2 places where they claim the last supper took place, that was really interesting.
And before dinner we grabbed a few of the delicious Israeli pastries that remind me so much of Argentina. It was so Fun!!
The students wrote me notes and taped them on my door and my young women also made me a big poster. I also received a few gifts from other students. It was such a fun day!! I can't believe I am another year older. Doesn't 23 sound old to you?