Sunday, September 24, 2023
The tables are set up by Alice, Adya, and Gum - and the hall fills up.
There's barely anything blooming n the garden. I find some amaryllis stems and some berries. That's enough for the tables.
It's nice to walk into the prayer room now that it's finished.
After the Gathering, W and walk home and close the suitcases. Traffic is typically "Sunday-slammed" with everyone weaving in and out.
We leave the house at 2:00 and are at the Jakarta airport by 7:00. Matching outfits are a thing, especially for Indonesians going to the same location or families traveling together. It's a custom W and I have not adopted.
Monday
Our flight is delayed from Jakarta, which messes up the connections. The airline offers us a new flight with takeoff 6 hours after we arrive in Doha (Qatar). W refuses it; we don't want to sit around that long in Qatar. We'll try to run for it.
A tall long-legged employee meets us and a handful of others at the arrival gate. He winds about 1/4 mile through people with a line of transfer fliers.We're glad to be aboard even as among the last on the plane. We lose our good aisle seats and are sent to the back of the flight.
Breakfast - a mushroom frittata, is pretty good.
In less than 4 hours, we're in Istanbul. Our luggage is rescheduled on the later flight but we're promised delivery tonight. "It may be very late. We have 200 suitcases to deliver today." The taxi driver is a long walk away. My watch records 22,000 steps by evening. W walks even further, exchanging money, checking things out as usual.
We leave the airport terminal for the city but have to loop around and go back for my passport. It is at the lost luggage desk where we filled in the paperwork.
Traffic is snarled in central Istanbul. We cross to the Old City, watching the fishermen leaning over the sides of the bridge.
Everywhere you look, there are mosques with double pointed spires and rounded domes. The speakers are loud - no conversation is possible during the chanting.
We hop out of the taxi to walk the last block to the hotel. Our room - which for some reason has an extra twin bed, is old-fashioned and spotlessly clean.
I like the hand-blocked wallpaper.
After check in, we take the hotelier's advice and walk around a few corners to #Bitlisli. First you wash your hands with perfume.
A little way down the street we spot someone smoking a hooka pipe. Can you find him?
The chef recommends flatbread and various sauces as appetizers.
The owner recommends some dishes. They're all delicious. It's too much for us to finish so we have evening leftovers.
The owner takes a selfie with us. We're going back - the food was exceptional.
We end with baklava and tea.
Around the corner are streets of spices, office and art supplies, and restaurant upon restaurant.
The is a typical shop selling spices, dried fruits and oils.
Sunrise and sunset happen at 7:00. By 6:15, W is fast asleep.
Read more:
*See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Isaiah 55:5
*For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvationn to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.nFor in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17
*I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. Ephesans 3:14-15
Moravian Prayer: Today, dear God, we take in the great mystery of your gathering all people and nations into your family. We are no longer strangers when we worship you and share your love with each other. Thank you, God. Amen
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