Sumela

I made another trip to Turkey two weeks ago. I missed the Georgian Easter celebrations, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately- I'm suffering from serious supra-fatigue these days. And anyway, I got to enjoy the leftover dyed, red eggs and paska (sweet bread) for a week after I came back.
Turkey is an amazing place; the more I go there, the more I want to go back. The goal of our journey this time was, appropriately enough for an Easter Sunday, a 4th century Greek monastery called Sumela located in a canyon near Trabzon, only a few hours from Batumi. The weather was great, and the location of the monastery was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. A sense of a adventure may have been lacking, compared to a similar excursion in Georgia, due to the superior quality of the Turkish roads and the convenience, comfort and cleanliness of public transportation there (Turkish buses often have a conductor cleaning up after you, serving tea, and pouring cologne on your hands at every opportunity) and the general absence of domesticated livestock as passengers (though there was a lamb in a box on one of the buses). But vacations need not be adventures when your job is working at a Georgian public school. Some photos:


I don't know if the photos do justice to the scenery. you can see the monastery in the cliff side, there. See it?

From below.

Byzantine fresco work, Lizzo in the foreground.

Out the window!

My English classroom/library (cabinet, as they say in Georgia) is nearly complete. I'm putting up the finishing touches this weekend. The grand opening will be on Tuesday. It may be difficult to find resources to make a library, or anything else for that matter, in Georgia, but it is never difficult to find the resources to have a party, so our grand opening should be fun. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. I'll leave you with a photo from Batumi that Lizzie's friend took in January that I like.