Turkey Trip: Blue Mosque

One of the memories that will stand out for me from Turkey is the sound of the ezan, the Islamic call to prayer which comes five times per day.  We heard it broadcast from loudspeakers that were on nearly every mosque minaret we saw.  Sometimes, we could hear the call from multiple mosques just slightly out of sync, and it was an amazing sound.

Although we heard the ezan in many places, we actually visited only one active mosque: the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (popularly known as the Blue Mosque).

View of the Blue Mosque from Sultan Ahmet Park

View from the entrance to the courtyard

We visited the mosque the same day as the Hagia Sophia.  We arrived during a period for prayer, so we walked through the courtyard and took the opportunity to read educational signs about Islamic tenets and culture.  Once it opened for visiting, we joined a long but surprisingly quick line and were able to enter after removing our shoes (they kindly provide plastic bags to carry your shoes) and, in the cases of Geek Girl and Mama Geek, donning head scarves:

Geek Girl and Mama Geek looking pretty in head scarves

The interior of the mosque is gorgeous.  Practically every square inch is covered with lovely tile - white, red, green, and the eponymous blue.  The domes are beautiful, and the light coming through the stained glass windows is really something to behold.

Interior of the mosque with some of the domes.  See the owl?

Gorgeous tile and stonework

I found the chandeliers intriguing - both for themselves and because their supports hanging down from the ceiling made me think of vines in a jungle.  I thought they made the mosque itself seem alive in a way I hadn't expected.

Chandeliers and interior

Interior with chandelier-supporting chains

Turkey Trip: See, Mom, I do take pictures of people!

My mother always complains that I never take pictures of people during our trips.  Mom, this post is for you:

Geeks getting ready for an early morning balloon ride

Geek Girl and goofy-looking guy at the Göreme Open Air Museum

Mama Geek looking dynamic as she navigates a slot canyon

Parental Geeks at the Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia)

Mama Geek and Geek Girl with the Hagia Sofia

Mama Geek and Geek Girl in their scarves at the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

Geek Girl and Mama Geek on the Istanbul city walls near the Gate of Charisius, with the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque 

Mama Geek and me showing steep steps on the city walls

Mama Geek and me at the Topkapi Palace terrace, with the Bosphorus in the background 

Mama Geek looking pretty with the Bosphorus in the background

Geek Girl contemplates the frescoes at the Chora Church

Geek Girl being a Portal Lion at the Istanbul Archeological Museum 

Geek Girl with a cool dress we saw at the Archeological Museum

Turkey Trip: Food

We ate well in Turkey, including some new treats I had never had.  Some of the highlights for me were:

• Poğaça, a bread roll that we had with various fillings including olive and olive paste and peynir cheese, and plain
• Mantı, Turkish dumplings similar to ravioli or aushak, filled with minced meat or potatoes and served with delicious yogurt sauces
• Pide, Turkish flatbread pizza with a wide range of toppings including eggs, pastrami, and peppers
• Börek, pastries made with phyllo dough and stuffed with spinach, cheese, etc.
• Gözleme, which were basically Turkish crêpes.  We had savory (cheese, spinach, minced meat, etc.) and sweet (apple and cinnamon, chocolate, etc.)
• Testi kebab, a Cappadocian specialty of meat and vegetables cooked for about three hours in a clay pot that is broken at the table
• Simit, available everywhere and basically like a Turkish soft pretzel
• Puddings - I had no idea pudding was so popular in Turkey
• Dondurma or Turkish ice cream, which has a texture that's an interesting combination of the smoothness of gelato and the elasticity of chewing gum.  I read later that is because it includes mastic gum

We also had lentil soup everywhere, partially because it was delicious and warming on cold evenings, and partially because it came with bread for our carb-loving Geek Girl.  I got to indulge my taste for döner kebab with fries, which is an old habit from Zurich days.  We had tea everywhere, and baklava, and of course Turkish delight.

Three places stand out in my mind:

• Nazar Börek Cafe in Göreme.  We had börek, pide, gözleme, and lentil soup here, all of which were delicious.  The owner, Refik Ciftci, and his main assistant were really friendly - telling us stories, showing us books of things to see in the region, and generally making us feel welcome.  Refik even offered to make us the apple/cinnamon gözleme when he was out of the börek listed on the menu. 
• Ficcin Restoran in Beyoğlu, Istanbul.  We had Carcissian cuisine (food from the Caucasus region), which we had never even heard of before.  Delicious mezze, mantı, liver, and a special meat pie that we really enjoyed.  We must have liked it -- we went back twice.
• Cuma in Beyoğlu, Istanbul.  We indulged in one Turkish breakfast out, and this was it.  Geek Girl was thrilled to get her usual Sunday pancakes, Mama Geek got to enjoy salmon and eggs and my olives, and I got a fun Turkish spread including several different cheeses and yummy bread.  

I can't resist some pictures, so here you are - selected culinary pictorial highlights.

Crew working in pide restaurant, Göreme

Testi kebab in Göreme

Refik and crew at Nazar Börek Cafe, Göreme

Ashure (Noah's Ark dessert) from Saray Muhallebicisi, Istanbul

Breakfast out at Cuma on a sunny Sunday in Beyoğlu, Istanbul

Turkey Trip: Picture Post The First

As Mama Geek posted, we went to Turkey for the holidays in 2014.

Along the way, we had a stopover in Zürich and were able to visit some of our old haunts from when we lived there.  Just two highlight pictures here:

Peaceful morning over the Limmat

Mama Geek and Geek Girl with the Fraumünster

A Long Overdue Visit to Milwaukee

My mom died when I was two. I would try to keep in touch with that side of the family, but it was hard. The last time I saw my grandma was in 1996. After Geek Girl was born we kept saying we had to go visit her, but we never got around to it. So part of our reason for picking Chicago as a destination was its proximity to Milwaukee.

On Friday night my aunt and uncle had driven down to Chicago for a meeting and they took us out to dinner in Chinatown. Saturday morning we had breakfast in the condo and had fun watching a "boat" parade pass by below.


After my aunt and uncle picked us up we drove up to Milwaukee to see my grandma. She's 96 years old and still doing great. I think she was quite happy to meet Daddy Geek and obviously very happy to meet Geek Girl.

Here are some pictures of the family reunion.

(Addition by Daddy Geek: note that four generations of Mama Geek's family are in this picture!)


Tai Po had fun stealing kisses from Geek Girl. We thought Geek Girl was rubbing them off, but she said that she said she was rubbing them in.

My uncle is recently retired and one of his projects has been scanning in family pictures. I was thrilled to receive a CD of pictures of my mother and her family. More than a few tears were shed. I was very happy that we had finally made the trip. Afterwards we went out to lunch and then my aunt drove us to Chicago O'Hare to catch our flight home.

Day Trip to Boston

We decided to take a day trip to Boston to visit the aquarium. Yes, there was a tropical storm on its way, but why should we let a little weather keep us from having fun?

Dear friend's husband was out of town, so we loaded up the three kids in the back of the car. Did I mention dear friend had another son on my birthday two years ago? Here he is modeling a Lego Star Wars while the bigger kids talk in the back.


The drive went surprisingly quickly. Near the end of the drive, little brother started trying to tell knock knock jokes.

Little Brother: Knock knock
Everyone Else: Who's there?
Little Brother: Boo hoo
Everyone Else: Boo hoo who?
repeat endlessly

Actually it was quite cute and the big kids were pretty good sports. They did start pretending to fall asleep so he would hopefully stop.

Boston was glorious and pleasant. Along the way, dear friend and I hatched a plan to take the T to Chinatown so we could go to a Malaysian restaurant for lunch. Happiness is Roti Canai, Chow Kuew Teow, and very yummy fish cooked in ginger & garlic sauce. This was my third visit to Penang and I was happy we were able to squeeze it in.

Several years ago Daddy Geek went to Boston for a business trip and returned with the book Make Way for Ducklings. Geek Girl wanted to go to the Public Garden to see the statues made in honor of the book.

Here's Geek Girl with Mrs. Mallard.


Dear friend with her two boys.


And Geek Girl with the rest of the flock.


By now we were ready to head back to the air conditioning of the aquarium. We were there in time to see the penguin feeding, the seal information session, and admire the sharks, giant turtles, and cool fish in the big central tank.

Then we went to see the IMAX 3-D movie Under the Sea. Here are Geek Girl and friend testing out the glasses.


Geek Girl really liked feeling like she was in the ocean and I was happy to learn that she could watch a 3-D movie without getting sick.

We ended the day with some ice cream at Emack & Bolio's and then headed home before the rain.

Six-year-old Moments

It is sometimes easy to forget that Geek Girl is really only six ("six and a little more, almost six and a half, Daddy!"), but yesterday afternoon reminded us of it in a big way...

I left work early and we decided to go to the Zoo yesterday, when it was relatively cool and dry, rather than tomorrow when it is supposed to be 95 F and "oppressively humid". (Note: we have been told that when the local weather guys say "oppressive", any normal person would say "why am I living here again?" and stay in the A/C all day.) Geek Girl was initially excited by the idea, and then Six Year Old Moment #1 popped up and she played every stalling tactic in the world to not leave home to get there. Eventually, we more or less had to drag her out the door and carry her down to the car. Grumble.

Once on the Metro, things were relatively good until we had the Kicking the Seat in Front Crisis, followed shortly thereafter by the This Train is too hot Crisis. Once we got past those and arrived at the Woodley Park stop, all was OK until we reached the This Very Gentle Uphill Slope is too Steep Crisis and its partner in crime, the I Have to Walk on Every Wall, Curb, Planter, and Other Flat Surface That Isn't the Sidewalk Crisis. These collectively made up Six Year Old Moments #2 through #27 and kept us occupied until we reached the Zoo.

Finally some time of relaxation -- whee, the cheetahs came out! We learned that cheetahs cover 23 feet (7 meters) in a single stride at top speed, go from zero to 45 MPH in 2.5 seconds, and can top out at about 30 meters/sec (65-70 mph) for short distances. We also learned that Geek Girl tops out at about 3 meters/sec. We also visited the giant and red pandas, elephants, prairie dogs, zebras, and various other animals. And the misters set out to keep folks cool. And the Tiger Treats snack stand for a soft serve ("Daddy, this is not ice cream, so this doesn't count against ice cream for the day." Nice try, dear. Six Year Old Moment #28 and counting - but at least that was a good one.)

We had about 90 minutes of peace before it was time to slog up the hill on the way home.

Now, I use "slog" advisedly here. To be fair, the far end of the National Zoo is down a fairly long steep grade into the bottom of the Rock Creek watershed. To get back, you have to go up and there isn't really any easy way to get a whiny, hot, tired, whiny, and hot six year old back up the hill but to grit your dang teeth and do it. Did I mention she was whiny, tired, and hot? How do we know that? Because, Six Year Old Moments #29 through #856 happened on the way up the hill: "I'm hot." "I'm tired." "I'm hot." "I'm tired." Yes, dear, we heard you the first 800 times. We've also suggested many solutions to the problem, and you didn't want to use them. So, enough with the hot and tired bit, OK? Yeesh. (I know, I know, she's six, and she whines. But man-oh-man, was this in the winner class for her...) Can you hear the teeth gritting?

Finally at the top and heading for the Metro. Now comes the choice: baseball game or straight home? Geek Girl wants baseball game, but she is also six (did I mention she's six?) which means baseball games sometimes get boring for her. And in the prizewinning mood we had last night, we decided we needed to consider that one carefully. So we told her: If you stop whining, and start doing what we ask, we can go to the game. "OK, Daddy!"

Now, here, you should start hearing ominous music, perhaps something like the Toccata and Fugue or maybe the theme to the Terminator, because I'm sure you see what's coming next.

Six Year Old Moments #857 through #998 involve Geek Girl not ending the whining and not doing what we told her to do. #999 involves refusing to get up off the floor of the Columbia Park Metro station. Moment #1000 was total meltdown at the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station - crying, running away from both of us, kicking Daddy when he retrieves Crying Six Year Old. Quite the scene.

Needless to say, we did not go to the baseball game - we went home. Which led to The Crying on the Train Crisis and the I'm Really Angry and Going to Make Huffing Sounds for 15 Minutes Crisis and finally to the I Am Now Going to Admit What Daddy and Mama Have Known for the Past Hour Which is That I'm Actually Tired, Not Just Whiny Tired Crisis, which was resolved by the Daddy Carries Me to the Car While I Rest and Cry on His Shoulder Maneuver.

Thus endeth the Crises for the day.

In the end, the only thing that we could do was laugh -- grimly -- and I enjoyed running the following bit of dialogue from Vacation through my head (RIP, John Hughes):

Well I'll tell you something. This is no longer a vacation. It's a quest. It's a quest for fun. I'm gonna have fun and you're gonna have fun. We're all gonna have so much f*cking fun we'll need plastic surgery to remove our g*dam* smiles. You'll be whistling 'Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah' out of your....

Sorry, this is meant to be a family blog, after all.

OK, so lessons learned. Geek Girl really is still only six and can be a world-class whiner. Daddy Geek needs to start drinking heavily or at least visit the doctor for meds that change whining into bluebirds and sunshine. Mama Geek has patience beyond that of mortal mothers. Or maybe she already has those meds and I just need to find them.

The princess, the pirate, and the castle

On Friday, Geek Girl and I went to see a performance at Wolftrap -- the National Park for the Performing Arts. The show we saw was Instant Opera!

Five opera singers sang parts of two different arias, and the audience voted for which aria would be part of the opera. Then the audience made suggestions for setting, characters, and activities. Geek Girl was thrilled when they selected her suggested character of a Superhero Tiger. The opera singers put together a short opera featuring a princess and superhero tiger dancing at a castle. Then along came a witch and a pirate who tried to steal and eat all of the corn dogs. Don't worry, the audience voted for a happy ending so everything turned out okay.

Mud Pies: Serious Business

Mama Geek's post on our San Diego trip left out a blog-worthy quote from Geek Girl.

Geek Girl loves to play on the beach on vacation. She can spend hours digging holes and canals connecting them ("lakes and rivers, Daddy!"), making mud pies, and getting sand in her hair. Splashing in the water is a distant second in her opinion.

Apparently, Mama Geek and Geek Girl were building mud pies and lakes/rivers on the beach when MG went out to splash a bit and cool off in the waves. After a few minutes of this tomfoolery, GG marched up to MG and said sternly, "Mama, come back now! We have work to do!"

Mud pies: serious business.

Can't go home anymore

The day after Geek Girl's last day of kindergarten, we flew out to San Diego for a long Father's Day weekend. And a farewell to my ancestral home. My parents have sold the house they lived in for the last 31 years and we were happy to be there to help with the final clearing out.

We also went to the beach as often as possible. (And a baseball game).

Daddy Geek and GG posing in front of the sea wall after a Father's Day breakfast at Brockton Villa.


GG riding a wave on a boogie board.


GG happily playing in the sand.


GG and Alice the Tiger at the coast. Yes the water really looks like that.


Note: GG was tired of being referred to as Little Geek Girl in the last blog ("but I'm a big tiger") so we have promoted her to Geek Girl in this blog. However, now when I see GG want to pronounce it Gigi, which means at some point I might revert to Geek Girl.

A Capitol Third

One of the best parts about living near Washington DC is that there are lots of very cheap - or free - cultural events going on. We can just pop into the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum or National Museum of Natural History for a couple of hours (or, like the other day, bail out right away when they are much too crowded, knowing we can go back). Or go to the National Zoo, or just take a walk along the National Mall and watch people fly kites.

Every Fourth of July, there is a huge concert and fireworks show on the Mall: A Capitol Fourth. It attracts a giant crowd, so if you want to see it in person, you have to be willing to go really early and sit with many thousands of your closest friends. Or go watch the dress rehearsals on 2 July and 3 July, like we did last night at Mama Geek's urging.

The concert is held on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol building. We got there about two hours ahead of time, found a spot to spread out our blanket and break out the picnic, and settled in to pass the time with books and Geek Girl's horse cards, a Christmas present from friends in Colorado. We had a great view of the Capitol:

and the Washington Monument:


We had time for a Geek Family Portrait or two:



The show started with a briefing from the head of the organizing committee, then Jimmy Smits did his emcee bit and introduced the various acts. We got to see Aretha Franklin perform the National Anthem and later, R-E-S-P-E-C-T and a medley of other classics. We got to see a video message from President Obama. We got to see them perform the 1812 Overture with real cannons. We got to listen to Raphsody in Blue. We endured Barry Manilow, which led to (a) me realizing that a disturbingly large number of people seem to really like Barry Manilow and (b) Mama Geek noting: "I guess you really do love me."

There were also some other special guests, including this large yellow guy as guest conductor:


He brought along some friends, and I got to torment Geek Girl by singing "C is for Cookie" in my best Cookie Monster voice. (I've been playing Cookie Monster for years; ask Nai Nai about The Racetrack Incident.) GG also loved the trash song from Oscar the Grouch. Thankfully, she finds Elmo mystifying.

The highlight, though, was definitely MG and GG dancing a duet to the Jersey Boys' rendition of "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)":





After the show, we walked for a bit along Pennsylvania Avenue to see the White House at night before hopping the metro home.

Tonight, we get to go see the fireworks show from a friend's apartment - on the 20th floor of a high-rise building with a great view directly up the Mall. It should be good fun.

Fourth of July First Post

Welcome to 2.5 Geeks, our new blog to go with our new life back in the United States. This will probably be a lot like our previous blog - random bits from life starring Daddy Geek (DG), Mama Geek (MG), and Girl Geek (GG). From time to time, Auntie Geek, Nai Nai, and other folks will hopefully make appearances...

The short version of the past 10 weeks is:

• We've found a place to live near Washington, DC and have started the usual process of setting things up here. We've managed a few small trips and events along the way (more posts on those to come), and are starting to find some restaurants we like nearby. And the nearest Trader Joe's.
  
• Daddy Geek has started settling into his new job.
• Geek Girl started, and finished, US kindergarten. She's now looking forward to going to first grade when summer is over.
• Mama Geek is also looking forward to Girl Geek going to first grade when summer is over. She's also reconnecting with old friends in the area and making new ones, plus working out the lay of the land and dealing with daily life. She already wants a GPS to handle the irregular road layout nearby -- DC is on a grid, but where we live is decidedly not.
  

Watch this space for upcoming posts on the Geek life.