"A little bit of this, a little bit of that".....

In March our little Branch presented a musical fireside -  Kenneth Cope's "Women at the Well".  Beautiful words and music.  For a small Branch we have an amazing number of pianists and several women have beautiful voices.

Spring is slowly coming to Ankara.

Planters and sidewalk boxes have been planted with a variety of pansies - very pretty.

















At the beginning of April we had to say a sad farewell to Elder and Sister W., (Fred and Nori), the Senior Couple Missionaries that have been serving in the Ankara Branch for the past 6 months.   We will miss them very much.

As with any large city, there is another side of Ankara....

I think these are Syrian refugees camped out

These  3 pictures were taken near Roy's office in the middle of an upscale neighborhood and fancy Mall.  Begging is rare but I'm seeing more as the weather warms.  Most of the beggars, many children, appear to be Syrian refugees; Turkey has taken in over one million of these poor  displaced people.

This is near the "castle" and a typical old neighborhood.

So, my friends, wherever you are living you are rich.  Very rich.  Count your blessings.

We are surrounded by Embassies

Our apartment is in the Kavaklidere neighborhood in the Cankaya district of Ankara.  Whereas Roy's office is in the Cukurambar district and the Church building is in the Gaziosmanpasa neighborhood.   Sorry, this is probably boring, but this blog is my journal and I want to remember these little facts.  As we have discovered we seem to live smack dab in the Embassy quarter.

This red roof is the Polish Embassy as seen from our apartment window.   If my part-Polish beloved step-mother were still alive she would get such a kick out of this.

I know you can't see them in this picture, so you will have to trust me when I say that to the left down the hill are the French, German, Italian, and the United States of America or Amerika Birleşik Devletleri.  I would add pictures of these but come to find out pictures of Embassies are frowned upon and the rule is enforced by stern looking young men with machine guns (at least for larger Embassies).  All have big gates and fences of some kind so as to block all views.

Behind our apartment is the Czech Republic embassy, and behind them is Slovenia

further up the hill are Switzerland, the Israeli Ambassador's residence (not sure where the Embassy is), with the Japanese Ambassador's residence at the top of the hill (currently under major reconstruction/remodeling).  At the top of the hill on one side are the British and nearby India.  The Russians are down the hill from them and over several streets.  On the other side is Pakistan and the US Ambassador's residence.  From the entrance to our apartment complex the Iranians are between us and the Hilton hotel.  On our walking rough to the Church is Brazil, South Africa, and several other smaller countries.  For a while I would find a new one on each of my daily walks - Finland, Greece,  Denmark, to name a few.