Kopalak is back in town

Well after a long hiatus Kopalak is back in Ankara. For more details on what "Kopalak" means and where the name came from, you can go to the beginning of this blog, started way back in May 2009 in my third trip to Turkey. Just click below:

http://kopalak.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-hell-is-kopalak-anyway.html

From there you can click "Blog Archive" on the right hand side and select a month for more background to my blog.

So here I am in Ankara and a married man with my beautiful wife Ayşegül. We were married October 16 in Bergama (Pergamum), one of the oldest cities in the world. In Bergama you will find one of the oldest churches in the world and the steepest ampitheatre in the globe, as part of the Akropol ruins looming triumphantly on the far edge of the city. My whole family and a friend from Toronto was there, along with Ayşegül's family, and her many relatives and close friends. We all took over Bergama and boosted Bergama tourism with all the activity there! The few wedding photos here are from inside the Kizil Avlu (Red Basiica), taken on a wild afternoon from teasing sun showers, intense thundershowers, and glowing sunlight.

Quite the adventure for Ayşegül in her high heels and wedding dress, and for our friends there taking our photos, enduring the volatile weather conditions protecting their cameras while simultaneoulsy climbing over rocks in the rain to capture the magic in Ayşegül and mine eyes.

After our magical wedding day and night, we had numerous adventures and family time throughout Bergama, including a trip to the Akropol and the Red Basilica, rug shopping down Izmir Caddesi, brunch in the deep forest, parading around a beautiful mountain village of Sirince, the historic, ruins of Ephesus, and culminating with a weekend in Istanbul and a trip to the magical island of Buyukada (Big Island), a captivating island of horse carriages, no cars, bright gardens, colourful trainquil homes, and and endless view of the Marmara sea and the great city of Istanbul in the distance.