Hot Air Balloon!

I've always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon, and what better time than in an exotic place?  Cappadocia seems to be the perfect spot:

If I go with this company, I get breakfast and champagne.  Fortunately, probably for safety, the champagne happens after you land.  

Language

I've travelled enough to know that it's helpful to know at least a bit of local language from the country visited.  For one thing, the locals appreciate at least some effort being put forth.  So, I'm going to learn some Turkish before I visit.  Right now, I know two words:

Merhaba: Welcome
Bocek:  insect; bug; beetle (This happens to be my friend's last name)

Here are the options I've found for studying Turkish here in Portland:

1.  Audit a class at Portland State University - I confess I was very excited about the idea of auditing a class. I know people who did this when I was in Undergraduate and I thought it was supposed to be cheap.  Well, I was wrong. For some reason, they charge you the same tuition and fees to audit a class as they do to take the class for credit. I'm not paying $600+ for one class that I don't even get credit for.

2.  Purchase Rosetta Stone - I can't tell you how many people have recommended this option to me. I'm considering it particularly because it's not as expensive as it used to be.

3.  Take a class at the American-Turkish Cultural Center here in Portland - I love this idea, but I have yet to hear back from them as to how much the classes cost and other such details. 

4.  Mango for Libraries - A friend of a friend passed this information to me.  It's going to be my first stop because it's free.   Looks like something I can do from home via the computer. 

5.  Talk to Turkish people in Turkish - This will happen after I've at least learned the alphabet and have learned a few things. Fortunately, through my tango network, I've met a couple of Turkish people here in the states who have been more than happy to help me. 

I think my goal will to be through at least a level 2 speaker. I want to know a bit more than just the basics.

Op...one more for me to check out, sent by a friend currently living in Istanbul and studying Turkish:
Pimsleur  Will be checking it out soon!

Ancient or Old?

Being a Biblical Historian who focused on studying the development of the Torah, I am undeniably interested in things that are ancient.  If something isn't AT LEAST 2000 years old, my curiosity is generally not piqued (and that's being generous, I generally prefer at least 3000 years old).  The first time then I stepped into a Neolithic structure (about 5,000 years old), my heart was a flutter...

With this in mind, I've been just slightly disappointed to read that most history books date Istanbul to about 700 BCE (yes, I know this is old, but not old enough to make my hear flutter the way something 5,000 years old did).  The story is that it was settled by Gerek cononists. The leader, Byzas, was told by the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi that he should settle across from the 'land of the blind ones."  When sailing into what is now Istanbul, Byzas determined it to be what the Oracle meant because previous settlers must have been blind to have overlooked such a wonderful location. 

But you see, I don't buy it.  I know that most historical places are built upon older historical places.  (For a fun Historical-fiction on this idea, read "The Source" by James Michener).  So I did a bit more digging and found this little gem:

Istanbul's Ancient Past Unearthed!  They claim to have found a burial sign from the 1600 BCE's.  Now THAT's what I'm talking about!  The article is very interesting. It points out that the Bosphorous Strait wouldn't have been formed yet, which means the landscape and such would've been much different from today.  I'm going to have to do more research, but it would be interesting to know what happened between the time of those first settlers and when teh Greeks came.

I am delighted.