Istanbullient

Here’s how I spent my birthday: sitting in Istanbul, looking over the Marmara Sea, listening to the call of worship from dozens of mosques around the city.  A different world for sure.

Lynne and I were in Turkey to speak at a Christian School administrator’s conference for leaders from across Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Again, I found myself in the position of speaking to people I should be listening to.  I am in awe of their commitment to teaching students in a Christian context. Many of their students (in some schools, most of their students) are not Christians. The stories they shared and the enthusiasm they exude made it a wonderful and humbling experience for us.

Here is Lynne in front of the historic Blue Mosque.

Here is one of the entrances to the Grand Bazaar.

We just returned. It took us 36 hours to get home. Flying from Istanbul to New York was fine. Once we got into the US, the travel deteriorated. We ended up having to stay in New York overnight but get up at 3:30 am to take a bus to the airport to get on an early flight to Atlanta so we could catch another flight to Cincinnati so we could . . . you get the point.

We knew we were in for an unusual travel day (and a half) by how it started. At the Istanbul airport, Lynne had some problems with security because she had a tube of toothpaste in her carry-on. The tube had a few more ounces than allowed by Turkish law.           

Lynne was taken into a back room by three security guards (female) and searched. No doubt they were looking for a toothbrush. Unable to find anything else, they let her go – but only after taking her passport, adding her name and number to an official form and having her sign it.

Now that Lynne is on the toothpaste terrorist list, I’m wondering if it will be a hassle to travel with her.

To make it all rather rummy, the fellow in front of me in the security line looked like he could be on the al-Qaeda recruiting poster (“We want you – but only for a little while”).  When the security officials searched his carry-on bag they pulled out no less than five large bottles of liquids. He rattled off what they were all for: body wash, hand lotion, plastic explosive, shampoo, hair conditioner.

They obviously were not paying attention and just smiled and waved him through. All this while my wife was being searched because of two extra ounces of Crest.

Now that we are jet-lagged and brain-dead, we are ready for our Trustee meetings and all of the celebrations that accompany graduation. These are bittersweet days because we know that we will not see many of these students again in this life. But, as C. S. Lewis reminds us, “Christians never say goodbye for the last time.”  

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. Have a blessed week.