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ankara

    12. 12 Lira. 12 Lira, 30 Centimeters Looong!

    February 6, 2013
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    Last night we went to a mall to pick up a few groceries and supplies. (Our neighborhood has a few small grocery stores, but they do not carry everything. When we need certain items, we shop at the larger grocery stores in the malls.) We decided to grab some dinner, too.

    We were very excited the new Subway in Kentpark’s food court had opened! Subway is a favorite of ours, and it’s always nice to get a taste of home while we’re overseas. (There are several American chain restaurants in Turkey like McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks, KFC, and Arby’s, though the taste and quality is usually quite far from what we have in the States.)

     

    Subway in Kentpark

     

    Subway in Kentpark

     

    While they did not have the full Subway spread of meats and cheeses, they did have some familiar favorites. I got the teriyaki chicken on honey oat bread. They had sweet onion sauce, and my sandwhich tasted just like it does at home. David got the spicy Italian.

     

    David with Subway in Turkey
    The people that work there are super nice, and some of them spoke English.

    We also ran into one of the families from our school. Just a bunch of forigners at eating at Subway!

     

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    The U.S. Embassy Bombing

    February 4, 2013
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    Friday was a half day of school for the kids and a teacher work day for us. Our students went home around noon, and we were treated to a lunch provided by the parent association. Most of us were working in our classrooms when we received the news that the U.S. Embassy in Ankara had been bombed.

    There were a lot of unanswered questions. Some initial online reports said many were killed, some that one or two were killed, many were injured, several were injured, it was a suicide bomber, someone just threw a package… We were concerned for our kids and their parents.

     

    Ankara snowline

     

    We later learned the embassy had been hit by a suicide bomber. The man killed a Turkish guard and injured several others. (Read the CNN report at this link.) A Reuters article said “the bomber was a member of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), a far-left group which is virulently anti-U.S. and anti-NATO and is listed as a terrorist organization by Washington.”

    Thank you for all of the messages asking if we were okay. We so appreciate your prayers, concern, and support.

    The embassy is far enough away from our neighborhood that we did not feel threatened the day of the event. We felt and continue to feel safe. In talking with family, we were reminded events like this could and unfortunately have happened everywhere in the world – riots near colleges, extremists in big cities, and shootings in places you’d never imagine a tragedy occurring.

    We rest in God’s good and perfect will. We will be cautious, and ask that you please remember our school and this country in your prayers.

     

    PRAYER REQUESTS

    1. Safety for the country of Turkey.
    2. The safety of our students and their parents: Many of our students’ families work for embassies and government offices.
    3. Please also pray for those that were injured and for the friends, family, and coworkers of the Turkish guard Mustafa Akarsu who lost his life. He is survived by his wife, an 18-year-old son, and a 15-year-old daughter.

     

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    Daniel Meets Our Neighbor

    January 30, 2013
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    Before Christmas break, David and I visited our neighbor to drop off a plate of goodies. She was excited to hear Daniel would be visiting us in Turkey. This past weekend, she asked if she could meet him. One of our friends is taking language lessons from her and offered to translate.

    We thought she coming to our house for çay (Turkish tea). Some friends told us it is traditional to serve two salty things and one sweet thing with çay. We stocked up on simit (bread with sesame seeds), a dry bread, and cookies at the grocery store. Our neighbor must have thought the plan was to meet at her place. We walked over to check if she was still coming. She invited us in, but we got things figured out and she and her husband came over shortly after. We had our çay pot on the stove and were surprised when she walked in with her pot. Little did she know these foreigners have learned how to make çay!

     

    House visit with our neighbor.

     

    Our neighbor is always a teacher. She loves to help us as we stumble through our limited Turkish. She zeroed in on Daniel when she learned he was taking a language course. She flipped through his notebook from class and gave him a mini  lesson on dishes.

    We were so glad our friend was there to translate! There was a lot less charades this visit. However, we did use a lot of our Turkish to English dictionaries.

    This was the first time we had Turks over to our apartment. It is customary for the woman of the house to serve the guests and refill glasses. And aside from a slight mishap of me dropping the lid of the çay pot, the visit went well. We all had our fill of çay and understood most of the conversation (thanks to our translator!).

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    The Greatest Artist

    January 16, 2013
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    I was running around the apartment working on laundry when I looked out the window and noticed the sunset. God is such an amazing artist! At times it looked as though the sky was on fire.

     

    Sunset in Ankara, Turkey

     

    Sunset in Ankara, Turkey

     

    Sunset in Ankara, Turkey

     

    Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. – Psalm 148:4

    Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. – Psalm 105:2

     

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    Daniel’s Here!

    January 14, 2013
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    David’s brother Daniel arrived in Ankara yesterday! (There are five boys in the Benedict family. David is the oldest and Daniel is two years younger than him.)

     

    Picking up Daniel at the airport

     

    Daniel is finishing up his undergrad in Psychology at Liberty University. He will be staying with us during his 3 month internship where he’ll be learning more about the Turkish culture, language, and people. He also hopes to assist in some humanitarian efforts with refugees.

     

    Daniel's first Turkish meal

     

    After taking his luggage to our apartment, we took him for a tour around our neighborhood. We showed him the school and went out for dinner. Daniel’s first Turkish meal was lamb śiś kebap. He also had his first of what will be many cups of çay!

    We are excited to have Daniel with us and hope he will enjoy Turkey just as much as we do.

     

    PRAYER REQUESTS

    1. Daniel’s Transition: Please pray he will get over jetlag quickly and for his transition into a new culture.
    2. Finals and Testing: This week is finals week for our high school students. In addition, many of the elementary kids – including David’s class – have standardized testing. Please pray our students will do well and not stress.
    3. The New Semester: I am busy preparing for a new elective class (yearbook) that starts next week!

     

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    Eating in Ankara: Pakistani Restaurant Masala

    October 14, 2012
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    [Update: Unfortunately, this restaurant closed sometime in the fall of 2014. We will miss it a lot!]

    Several weekends ago, our friends invited us to go to a Pakistani Restaurant in Ankara called Masala Cafe. It’s nice to escape our neighborhood on the weekends, and we were excited to try something new.

    The restaurant was a short taxi ride away in the GOP district of Ankara. Masala had outdoor seating, but we sat indoors. The menu came in a newsletter format with text in English and Turkish.

     

    Masala Restaurant in Ankara, Turkey

     

    We were really hungry and destroyed the appetizer before I got a picture. We ordered the Keema Samosa, a puffed pastry filled with mince, coriander, and special seasoning. The sauce that came with it was amazingly delicious. It had ginger, but I don’t know enough about Pakistani seasoning to figure out the rest. I wish I could have taken home a huge bottle of that sauce. Yum.

     

    Masala Restaurant in Ankara, Turkey

     

    With the meal came complimentary chips and a chickpea salad. We also got a Turkish-style salad and rice with our entree:

     

    Masala Restaurant in Ankara, Turkey

     

    I ordered Ginger Chicken (not spicy) and David ordered Curry Chicken (spicy). This food was so good!!! It was my first ever taste of Pakistani food. I loved the spices on the Ginger Chicken – sweet with just a little bit of a kick!

     

    Masala Restaurant in Ankara, Turkey

     

    The restaurant had super comfy seating and a pleasant atmosphere. The waiters spoke English, which was helpful. (Very few Turks know English!) We later found out the owners of the restaurant lived in Canada for several years.

     

    Masala Restaurant in Ankara, Turkey

     

    The restaurant was colorful with plenty of artwork:

     

    Masala Restaurant in Ankara, Turkey

     

    We finished off our meal with the most delightful tea. It was a little bit sweet and spiced oh, so nicely. The waiter told us the tea helps calm your stomach (for those that got spicy dishes).

     

    Masala Restaurant in Ankara, Turkey

     

    If you’re ever in Ankara, we definitely recommend Masala! They have great service, very reasonable prices, and fantastic food.

     

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