One Last Time

While we were looking for a house to move into, this is one of the things that Doug inspects. How much amperage does the house hold and what is the condition of the electrical box?

The one in this picture is a fairly new setup; however, the city is going around to houses and blocking the amount of amps they can run at a time, which greatly reduces the amount of cool and heat you can use when you need it.

Oh well, looking for a house will have to wait.

Kylie needed one last hurrah around town.

Kylie, Karis, and Doug went downtown and had fun acting like tourists for one day just taking pictures, buying last minute things from here that Kylie wanted to take with her, and generally, just enjoying the city one last time.

We hated to leave when it looked like it was going to be such a mild summer. 

These are the actual summers you WANT to be here for, but alas...

Castle on a Hill

We went to the top of the original city during the first week of March 2020

with some friends. They hadn't been up there yet, and we always enjoy going 

for the history and the view. They took their two kids and we took Keira.

Only a few people live up there now while it is being restored, 

but people still visit up there every day, walking the streets and looking around

This is the first time I had visited this particular shop.  I've been to a couple of the museums and one of the rug shops, but I don't think this shop has ever been open.

It was crammed full of interesting items.

Some of the restored buildings.

An old mosque.

We also visited a small amphitheater

Before heading out the other end of the city.

The buildings and high walls of the original city shielded us from the sun, 

so we were pleased to walk out to this warm glow hitting us.

The old bazaar was just below us. I've shown you 

other pictures of it here when Karis' friend came to visit.

Some of my favorite parts of the bazaar are the crafts on these steps.  

They are so colorful!

You'll see them again when I post Kylie's graduation photos, 

because she took some of them down here in the old city.

Keira is always a popular attraction.  You can see the men behind her, 

looking at her, while she looks at me.

Some of the many carpets and bags for sale..

Pomegranate and pomegranate juice are some of my favorites, 

ESPECIALLY when someone else does the work of peeling the fruit for me!

The old city really is built higher than you think.  

Civilization built on top of civilization for a few thousands years 

resulted in where it is today.

And the new city is always bustling below.

 

March 4, 2020

The End of Life as We Know It

February 20, 2020, was Keira's last day in a brick and mortar school until February 2021!

Keira's school was the first to tell its students not to come back, but that is because they had a natural holiday break starting the 20th. The rest of the country shut down its schools on February 26th.

We felt so blessed that the city didn't go on lockdown until March 14th because we were able to renew our visas on time (February 24), and the girls were able to get their braces off (March 8).

This sign (and others like it) was the beginning of the government taking notice and trying to make the people aware.

Anti-bacterial soap was the first item for sale as I walked into this grocery store.

And this man's basket was filled with sanitizing items.

February 26, 2020

I actually thought people were going a little overboard, but at this time, the death rate was very small, and I wasn't seeing how it was going to reach our country.

So, we continued on with life for a very short while.

On the 18th, some friends of mine and one of their mothers had breakfast together and then went shopping at a bazaar.

February 18, 2020

And Kylie and Karis taught their last ballet class on February 29.

February 29, 2020

Searching for a Magic Carpet in a Middle Eastern Bazaar (plus a birthday)

Doug's birthday came and went without much to-do.  This year it fell on a Saturday, which is our busiest day as a family.  I take all the girls to the dance studio in the morning so the older two can teach and Keira can go to ballet class.  After a 2 1/2 hours, I take everyone home, where Keira has 25 minutes to eat, and then I take her back for gymnastics.  After gymnastics, we go home where I start cooking dinner, and Doug and Caleb prepare to go to soccer in the evening. They get home around 9:30pm, and that's when we have dinner.  I think this is why I don't have any pictures of his birthday this year. Sorry.

Of course, Doug has never required pomp and circumstance. He is solid, strong, bold, full of integrity, confident, and a truth-teller. He loves his family well. Our well-being, health, safety, and spiritual growth are always at the forefront of his mind.  He gives freely to others but never at the expense of us, and we know that.  Thank you and happy birthday, Doug!

As an example, he gave to others two days after his birthday when he cleared his calendar to take two single ladies to the rug bazaar. They moved here last summer, and with winter coming, they wanted to get some carpets for their floors.  I got to go along.

I hadn't been to the rug-portion of the bazaar since we bought ours back in 2016, and back then, I didn't have much language to use.  These ladies are learning a different language, so Doug was the spokesperson and bargainer for the day.

This particular bazaar sits at the foot of the citadel that is the center of our city.

(this was taken from the bazaar, looking back up to the citadel)

It's not a beautiful bazaar, but it does have a lot of nifty things.  This is where we have had kitchen sinks and cabinets made. There are desks, lamps, bedroom sets, dishes, vacuum parts, car parts, and pretty much parts for everything.

Unfortunately, you might have to dig through piles like this.

This was a pile of re-claimed plastics, and I really don't know if anyone ever goes through this stuff, but who knows?

This is one of the "carpet roads." It's not glamorous from this view, but each shop you go into is well-maintained, clean, and the men in there can unroll and re-roll any carpet you want to look at faster than you can say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."  

Sometimes, when you walk in, the space opens up into a large warehouse that would hold 50 cars, and it's all full of carpets!

It's apparently very important to be able to buy balloons for not-so-happy children almost everywhere you go in this city.  I don't understand it, but seriously, I've never seen more balloons for sale anywhere except maybe a State Fair.

The man beside him is waiting to "trolley" someone back to their vehicle or taxi.

It's pretty amazing how small they can get giant floor carpets when they fold them.

The carpets are still heavy, so we hired a guy to get the ladies' rugs back to our vehicle. 

Well worth it!

November 4, 2019

Garage Sale on Fire

Last fall, one of my favorite places to shop for treasures was destroyed by fire.  Historical and cultural significance were not anywhere near the scale of Notre Dame, but it was just a cool "garage sale" to wander around in.

I've written about this bazaar before, so if you look back at pictures, you can see that there was plenty in there to feed the fire.

Reports of the rescue effort were just as sad as the fire itself.  One news station wrote about shop owners beating up the firefighters.  Each shop owner wanted their shop's fire extinguished first, and in their anxiety and selfishness, they couldn't see that the firefighters were doing the best they could.

With rain falling steadily, the fire department requested help from a helicopter.

But sadly, you can see how little of a difference it made.

This bazaar is a FULL CITY BLOCK of small shops connected by brick walls and tin roofs.

The fire started in the early morning hours, before opening time.  Shopkeepers who arrived early tried to drag their belongings out; however, the bazaar is made up of about 2,400 shops, with long, long walkways far away from the edge.  It was reported that about half (1,200) of those shops were destroyed.

The good news is that they are re-building.

With brick this time.

And it's almost finished.