Oh boy!

That's right, our baby has a penis! The ultrasound today was totally amazing. It was unbelievable to see all the little parts and see him moving around! The coolest moment was seeing him yawn! (see picture below) We're very excited and grateful things looked good today.

The dancing

Part of Jacob's excitement to return to Turkey was a chance to practice the belly-dancing skills he learned the first time he was there (see video on this post). I haven't been able to get my video to post from this last trip, so I'm posting Mike's photos. Great photography, Mike. And to both Mike and Jacob: great dancing. :)

It was a competition, and Jacob made it to the final 2. He was defeated by the Dutch man, but the prize was a personal dance by the gorgeous belly dancer. So I was fine with Jacob not winning. :)
[If you can actually view the below video, it's the point where Mike was eliminated from the competition.]

Man-date

We're good friends with Becky & Mike, which is why it was great to spend 10 days together. But Jacob and Mike seemed extra-close. Here are just a few of the many photos of their togetherness.

Turkish delights (markets & bazaars)

We've blogged about markets before, and we love visiting them because they're such a rich cultural experience. We were especially looking forward to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, and it really was incredible. We also visited the spice market there, which was a highlight of the entire trip. At the Grand Bazaar we bought Jacob a new wedding band (he lost his a few years ago, and we need to replace it because women keep asking him out!). Here's a photo of the little impromptu ring ceremony we had in the middle of the crowded bazaar. Here are a few more photos...

spices and tea at the spice market

Turkish delight (of course)

dried fruit (and candy in the background) at the spice market

pottery from the Blue Mosque's bazaar

and honey from the weekly market in Marmaris

Istanbul (not Constantinople ...or Byzantium)

Let me just start by saying that we LOVED Istanbul. It's such a fascinating, wonderful city. And I have to confess it was never on my list of cities to visit, but when Jacob went to Turkey in 2008 he decided he really wanted to visit Istanbul someday. I'm so glad!!

We started our tour of Istanbul with a visit to the Hagia Sophia (above), the most important example of Byzantine architecture in the world. It started out as a Christian Orthodox basilica in the year 360, then was converted to a mosque when the Ottomans conquered (then) Constantinople in 1453. Since 1935 it has been a museum, and it retains both Christian and Muslim elements. (It's nothing special from the outside, but inside...) You can see from the above photo that the dome isn't exactly round anymore.
Below is a portion of the Deësis mosaic, one of the many impressive mosaics in the Hagia Sophia. I really like the depiction of Jesus' face here.
Then we toured the Blue Mosque. This place is unbelievably impressive, both from the outside and inside. The tiling inside is exquisite. As part of our organized tour we saw a rug-making demonstration. Dad, this photo's for you! I'm sure you would have been drooling over these. They really are beautiful. And apparently all hand-made.I took the below photo as I stepped out of our hotel. This is what a typical street in Istanbul looks like, and we enjoyed watching these boys play. The people in Turkey were among the kindest we've ever met; they went out of their way (sometimes MILES out of their way) to help us, and they were just so nice.

Ephesians

If you know Jacob, you know he's not fond of ruins, but he was excited about Ephesus, and we both really enjoyed it. During Roman times it was the second-largest city in the Roman Empire and an important commercial center. We were also interested in visiting Ephesus because of Paul the Apostle’s time there in the New Testament. Also, it’s widely accepted that Mary (mother of Jesus) spent the rest of her life near Ephesus after Jesus’ death. [We did visit the supposed site of her house, but it wasn’t even picture-worthy.]

Below, Jacob scaled the wall to give this statue a head; and (below that) as I was contemplating how to get off the column, Jacob took a photo where you can see a good angle of the baby bump.

A day on the Aegean

After we got to Turkey [and had the most fascinating cab ride imaginable] we spent a lazy day on a boat trip. The boat stopped at a few deserted little coves where we got out to swim. It was so beautiful!

Jacob and Mike enjoyed diving off the top deck of the boat. I love these photos of Jacob diving. Notice Mike taking photos from the lower deck. :) (PS-We realize many of you have tuned in to this post just to see photos of Jacob in his speedo. So sorry to disappoint. He didn't don it at all on the trip!)

Ρόδος (Rhodes)

We spent a few days on Rhodes, one of the beautiful Greek islands. The beaches and coastal scenes were gorgeous! (Sorry, no beach pictures. Toplessness was rampant.) Below is a residential street in Rhodes City's old town. Apparently those who live there have to live like they did 100 years ago, but we felt air conditioning coming from a few windows. Below is the outside portion of our hotel room. We stayed on the top floor of the hotel (and had the entire floor to ourselves), which was really cool.

We visited a town called Lindos on the island, where the streets are cobblestone. There's also an acropolis after a hike 380 feet above the water. (Photos: acropolis; a view of Lindos village from the top; a view of the water from the top; and a street in Lindos)

Acropolyptic (Athens)

We just got back from a 10-day trip to Greece and Turkey, and it was great! We traveled with Jacob's coworker Becky and her husband Mike (whom we've mentioned on the blog before, such as here and here). We had a fantastic time with them, and seeing the awesome stuff we saw. It might take a few days to get all the posts up there, but we're starting where we started--Athens.

In addition to the Acropolis, we also visited a museum of Greek antiquities and found plenty of interesting stuff. The Grecian urn below is fairly hilarious, and the frieze below that is part of a scene depicting the ancient Olympic games. I wasn't aware that dancing was an event back then...