I had gone to bed with music wafting in the window . . . and woke up to music playing as they set up breakfast below . . . and then a tropical downpour interrupted the sunshine. I looked out of my bedroom window to the breakfast area below . . . I enjoyed hearing the rain falling of the metal roof. We have not had rain on this trip, so this was a welcome sound. The storm moved through quickly, bringing blue skies after breakfast.
I love all of Handan's interior decorations . . .
Breakfast was sitting under the awning and hearing the rain fall . . . looking over to the fort . . . and watching the clouds and rain move through . . .
The hotel had an amazing breakfast feast for us, including fruit, cheese, olive, tomatoes, cucumbers, jams, breads, yogurt, etc. And lots of cups of tea and coffee as well . . .
Looking out to the beach beyond . . .
And these women were making hot homemade donuts - without the holes . . . or only the holes . . . which ever you think has less calories . . .
I love these serving trays (red) that they bring the tea and coffee on . . . a tripod with a tray below . . .
A friend in the dining room . . .
I love the ceiling treatment . . . colored paint representing an old painting . . .
The sun beginning to appear after the shower . . .
Some local boys headed to school . . .
The remains of my breakfast . . . red poppy jam . . . berry jam . . . ripe cherries . . . feta cheese . . . fresh apricots . . . bread . . .
After breakfast I joined Christine and Penny, two Americans staying at the hotel, on a walk around the town . . . Everything looked so fresh and rinsed in the rain . . .
Christine and Penny, while we are waiting to take a bus around the island . . .
As it turned out, this local bus went only to the beach and back . . . not a tour of the island . . . so we had about 1/2 hour to explore the almost empty but pristine beach . . .
One of the restaurants by the bus stop at the beach . . .
And go wading in the Aegean . . . so clean, so blue, so refreshing . . .
They have these wonderful beach umbrellas, that move with the wind. The wicker shade moves with the wind, and the whitewashed pole is in a cement base that is buried in the sand . . .
We headed back to town, getting an appreciation of the island vegetation . . .
Back in town, the children were out at recess at the school . . .
playing games . . .
and some playing their recorders . . .
We decided to get our bathing suits on, and take another bus back to the beach. This bus took a different road, and we saw more of the island. There are a lot of grape vines, and wineries on the island. They make delicious wine and are famous for it . . .
Camping area . . . with tents and campers . . .
Inside the local bus . . .
There were a few market stalls set up on the green when we returned from our swim. This woman was selling dolls and other hand made items. But what I really wanted was her pants! Through non-verbal communication, I was able to find out she would sell me her pants. After washing them tonight, and she would be at the market by 10 a.m. the next morning with the pants. These traditional Turkish pants are almost a skirt, that is sewn shut along the bottom . . . and the Turkish women in the country seem to wear them everywhere, and working in the fields . . .
The dolls she made, were dressed in pants and scarfs and were carrying sticks on their back, or pine cones in baskets . . . each was unique and very charming . . .
This lady wearing the pants while watering her plants . . .
After returning from the swim, we decided to go and see where we might have dinner later, down by the harbor, and go shopping in the town. There were many restaurants to choose from along the harbor overlooking the fishing boats . . .
I love these four tiles at the little ceramic shop . . .
This is the covered market where I bought some red poppy jelly . . .
We were to meet to head to dinner around 7:30. One of the visiting friend of Handan, whose wife is half American, and his daughter, offered to give us a tour of the island in his fancy Audi. We accepted, and headed on a wonder tour up to the wind turbines. They are huge! Apparently one of the turbines provides enough electricity for the island, and they sell the rest back to the mainland. Very enterprising.
Our tour guide, who lives in Istanbul with his wife and daughter, makes elevator parts in bronze for companies all over the world. He had recently cast a bronze bell for the Greek Orthodox church in Bozcaada when they lost their bell; we could hear the bell from the hotel. The 17 year old daughter was very sweet and speaks very good English; she is 1/4 American, as her grandmother is American, she also lives in Istanbul.
He told us that Bozcaada also has a moratorium on any new buildings. You can restore existing buildings, but you can no longer build new constructions. The buildings are also limited in the size, even if you own a lot of land. This is fabulous for this small island, for it will really preserve its character, and ensure that the old buildings in town will be restored. We saw the pine barrens at the top of the hills, and two houses that they had owned and sold over the last 3 years . . . It was a great overview of the island.
When the car tour was over, we headed to one of the restaurants on the harbor, and then wandered back to the hotel. We sat in the lounge chairs on the beach, looking for stars ~ and I saw a shooting star . . . so I will return to Bozcaada one day!
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