Phillip and Rebecca Mefford

Lara Beach Summer is in full swing—sunshine, sweat, parks, and sand. The days are long, but with three children anything but lazy! Phillip meets with students, we are putting more effort into daily exercise, and we take great pains to herd our little troupe out of the door at least once a day to get some fresh air. Most days we spend close to home at local parks or with neighborhood friends, but every so often we venture a little farther away to a lake or the beach. One day we made the two-hour journey to Antalya for church, but on leaving for home couldn’t bear the thought of going all the way there without even seeing the Mediterranean. A spark of spontaneity rose up and we spent a good hour or so splashing in the waves. Well, we dipped our feet in and the boys splashed, that is. It was fun seeing everyone else at the beach laughing and having a good time too. It’s those summer moments that just make life as sweet and refreshing as ice-cream on a sunny July a

Adaçayı, Sage tea We have come to discover that Turkey has a cornucopia of beverages. There is the staple, water, which comes filtered through the tap, the more trustworthy bottled variety and, even better than that, the kind gleaned from the oh-so-praised spring waters. There are the ubiquitous hot beverages, tea and Turkish coffee. There are the daily favorites like ayran, a slightly salty yogurt drink, and cola. There are the regional drinks, like şalgam suyu , a spicy black turnip juice (it will put hair on your chest, so to speak). There are the alcoholic drinks—wine, the legendary Efes Pilsen beer, and the even more popular rakı — available despite the fact that alcohol is religiously forbidden. And there are the holiday beverages, mainly ho ş af, a cinnamon and clove spiced fruit compote. Homemade compote, called komposto , is enjoyed year-round, but it is ho ş af which is particularly made to enjoy during Ramadan’s breaking-of-the-fast meals. It is sweet and spiced and,