Early risers got pictures of small sheep herds and a woman leading her ducks through the village. We left the hotel at 8:00 a.m. and drove through Kars to an ancient bridge whose mortar was mixed with egg whites. When we arrived, there was a group of women sitting by the bridge creating a perfect photo opportunity. A young girl leading a gaggle of geese gave us another perfect photo setting. Continuing our drive we came to a house where wool was drying in the sun. With a Mosque in the background we had more photo opportunities.

 Then we arrived at the Kars Museum, Meli started her lecture off with a “Laz” joke. Meli’s lecture consisted of a description of the different empires that existed in Anatolia through the ages. The museum contained objects such as rugs, textiles and pottery from the Kars region.

We then drove to Ani arriving at about 10:30 a.m. Ani was the Armenian capital in the 10^th and 11^th centuries. After entering the city gate, Meli described the “meander” figure that was on the tower. The “swastika” figure has been used by many civilizations as a sign of prosperity. She explained how Muslims and Christians coexisted in the city. Then we walked to what was the first Mosque in Anatolia. Walking to the edge of the gorge we came to the remains of a church (Saint Gregory). Meli described the numerous frescoes, but was interrupted by the arrival of a small rat. After walking through the remains of the city, we visited a friend of Meli’s. This was a small home were we met the grand mother, mother, daughters and their children. They told us about the heart problem of the baby. When the baby gets a little older he will have the heart problem corrected at the University Hospital. They served us tea with cloves which was delicious.

 Drove back to our hotel for lunch, which consisted of stuffed peppers and tomatoes  with pasta. After some shopping we left at 2:30 p.m.. Meli opted for the scenic route to Erzurum. This gave us many photo opportunities. These included a lady tending her cattle, wild flowers, scenery and a caravansarai. We arrived at our hotel in Erzurum at 7:30 p.m. Soon after arriving we met for dinner and the hotel management bought us wine.

 
the family living in the very last house of Turkey

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