Cappadocia

Cappadocia is famous for fairy chimneys which are rock columns, pyramids, mushrooms and other formations that were formed when a volcano Mt. Erciyes erupted into an inland sea. The soft rocks are affected by wind and water erosion causing these unique land formations.

Cappadocia isn’t a town, but rather a historical region in Central Antolia. It is known that people have lived in this region since about 3000 BC. The earliest people to live in this area carved homes from the soft rock. They also carved out dove cotes in order to collect pigeon droppings to use as fertilizer for their own use and as a means of income.

The area was a stopover on the Silk Road which allowed travelers and their camels to rest in safety underground.

It was once under the rule of Alexander the Great and later part of the Roman Empire.

During the early days of Christianity, Christians created underground cities where thousands of people to avoid persecution. They used large round stones to block doors and even had holes in the ceiling where defenders could drop spears on their attackers. There was a huge tunnel system connecting the homes and churches. Often the lowest level was used as a stable and for storage. The living areas and churches were located at higher levels for protection. There are wonderful friezes in some of their churches that have been uncovered.

We were able to see these fascinating land formations on two days, one of which was spent on a 4 km hike through the Rose Valley. Many people take hot air balloon rides early in the morning. We got up early one morning to watch from the highest point in our guest house.

It was fun to stay in a guest house that was built into the side of a fairy chimney. The guest house only had 10 rooms but was built on four different levels.

In the town of Goreme we visited a museum the at one time housed a monstary that included a university with “dorms” for both men and women.

For addition photos click here.

Shopping in Instanbul

One of the fun things to see and do while in Istanbul is visit the Grand Bazaar and Spice Markets. The Grand Bazaar is overwhelming with over 4000 shops. We were much more comfortable in the Spice Market. It is part of the Yeni Mosque and rent for the shops help pay for the upkeep of the mosque

Turkish Delight

Pastries with dried fruits and or nuts.

Dried fruits in front, spices in the background

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Teas in front and spices further back

Scarves of all kinds and prices!

Beautiful hand painted pottery

While we were in Istanbul Daniel Craig was also there for 15 days filming the newest James Bond movie. They constructed a "spice market" as part of their props. You can tell that it doesn't look anything like the real thing. No, we didn't actually see him.

Ephesus

We have just returned from a wonderful trip to Turkey. We would highly recommend a visit to Turkey for anyone. It is a beautiful country with very friendly people. The recorded history of the area is incredible going back thousands of years.

Part of what made the trip so special is that Andrea and Melissa joined us for a week. John and I toured Istanbul by ourselves. Then Andrea and Melissa joined us while we visited Ephesus, Cappadocia and Parmukkale. For this blog, I’m only going to talk about Ephesus.

The city of Ephesus has been rebuilt five times over the centuries due to fires and earthquakes. According to the guide book it is “the best-preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean.” The earliest recorded information about it was in the 2000 B.C. It was originally founded by Amazons, women warriors. They cut off their left breast in order to be more effective archers. Men were only allowed in the city as eunuch slaves or once a year to procreate. After that brief time, they were killed.

Alexander the Great visited this city in 334 B.C.

The third city of Ephesus was built by the Romans when this area of the world was the Eastern Roman Empire with Constantinople as its capital. Ephesus was the capital of 500 towns in Anatolia. At that point in time, it was a port city with a population of 250,00. However, today it is 6 kilometers from the Aegean Sea.

You probably know Ephesus because of the book of Ephesians in the New Testament written by Paul. Paul also visited Ephesus. While preaching he was arrested and imprisoned for three years. When released he was forced to leave the city. What you may not know is that the Apostle John took Mary to Ephesus for her protection. She lived here her final years and is buried here. St. John continued living in Ephesus while writing the Gospel of John. He died and was originally buried there.

Click here to see more pictures.

Simple Chalkholder

In the States most schools no longer use chalkboards and chalk. Why? It is messy, dusty and seems to cause allergy and breathing problems in both students and teachers. With the prevalence of asthma, schools have switched to white boards that use special markers or use technology such as smart boards or overhead projects to display information to get rid of the health hazard. We don't have that luxury in Kenya. Here it is a common practice to shake hands with a person the first time you see them each day. Often, a fellow teacher doesn't offer his/her hand to shake in the usual way because it is covered with chalk dust. Instead they offer the back of their hand to touch. I have often joked when this happens, "I can tell that you have already been hard at work this morning." One of the items we asked Andrea and Melissa to bring to us last month was a chalkholder. It is a simple tool that holds a piece of chalk. Only a small amount of the chalk is exposed at one time like the lead in a pencil. You hold onto the chalk holder rather than the chalk so that your hands don't become entirely covered with chalk dust. They kindly obliged and brought one for each of us. I've been teaching for a week now. No one has seemed to notice or commented on it until yesterday. One of the Form IV girls asked, "What happens when you run out of chalk?" When I showed them how it works, pushing on the end to move the chalk forward, they were amazed. I showed them how you could remove the chalk and simply insert a new piece which even increased their awe. At that point I had to go around the classroom to show them up close. Isn't it amazing how something so simple that we take for granted and really don't use anymore because it is outdated can cause such a reaction in Kenya.

Thanksgiving for KCSE Results

Students, as well as schools, live and die by the results of the KCSE (Kenya Comprehensive Secondary Education) exams. All secondary education is focused on it. Those of you that know education in the States know how stressful the state assessments are. That is nothing compared to the KCSE.

School's reputations are totally based on the KCSE results. If the school obtains good results, students want to attend and are willing to pay the school fees. The higher your test scores the better quality students you can attract. The higher your test scores, the higher the fees can be. A student's future is based on how well they do on the KCSE. If you can score a mean grade of B, the Kenyan government will pay your tuition at university. Your major at university is based on the KCSE scores. There is such a thing as a parallel program in which you can attend university, but you must pay all expenses. The majority of Kenyans are not able to afford this. In 2010 the KCSE scores at St. Monica's dropped from the previous year. To put it mildly, this was a disaster. Parents were concerned and upset. Teacher's reputations were on the line. We had many a staff meeting about what changes needed to be made to increase test scores. Several meeting were held with students about what they needed to do to score well.

We had great news when the KCSE score were released in late February. (See the previous blog.) Our scores were the highest they have ever been. We had many alum stop by to congratulate us. Bishop Crawley who is on our Board of Governors stopped by to offer congratulations. He also donated $200 to celebrate with a feast. As he is a busy man we had to wait almost a month until his schedule was free so he could hold a Thanksgiving Mass with us on our feast day. It was indeed a day of celebration. The day started with a Mass celebrated by the Bishop, Fr. Peter (the students' favourite), and Fr. Maurice, our new school chaplain. We had singing, dancing, poetry and drama presentations and ended with a feast. For additional photos click here.

Easter 2012

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. We went to our typical 7:00 am Mass at Immaculate Cathedral. Typically the Bishop Crowley says this Mass. The church was decorated beautifully with yellow bunting and ribbons. You can see the heads of some of John's Weaver Bird students in the foreground of the picture.

We invited Joe and Nancy, our compound neighbours over for brunch after Mass. I tried making my mother's egg casserole. Things just taste different here. It was OK, but we sure missed the Velveeta! However, the fruit salad accompaniment was something we couldn't have had in the States: fresh mango, banana, pineapple, and cashews.

That evening the Maryknoll Lay Missioners gathered at Kathy's house for an Easter feast. We invited several other guests: Terry, an Australian lay missioner, Jacinta, a Dutch lay missioner, and Lilly and her husband, Swedish lay missioners. We had a great evening with plenty of good food, great companions and conversation.

May you all have a blessed Easter season.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is celebrated here with a little more gusto than in the States. There is a real procession of the palms. Of course the weather here is a little more conducive to beginning the ceremony outside at this time of year.

We attended Mass at St. Monica’s yesterday to celebrate Palm Sunday. The girls themselves went out and cut the palms on Saturday for Mass. We gathered on the lower athletic field for the blessing of the palms. Father Maurice, our school chaplain, began the ceremony. After the blessing, palms were distributed to the students. Then we began the procession to the dining hall for Mass.

Mass was the regular Palm Sunday Mass with the reading of the passion of Christ. Just as in the States, many of the girls had taken part of their palm and already made crosses out of them by the end of Mass.