John and Louise Dalton Visit us in Turkey

We had the most wonderful visit with Louise and John Dalton, my sister and her husband. They had been on a Greek Islands cruise, which ended in Istanbul. From there they flew to Ankara on Sunday morning, where we spent two fun days together. They arrived in time to speak in our meeting, and then we visited Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s tomb. The next day we went to a museum, ate börek from a stand (a mistake, I discovered later) and saw many sights in Ankara.

Tuesday morning we all flew to Istanbul together. We stayed in a lovely and interesting hotel filled with “ceiling ornaments,” lamps made from all sorts of beautiful glass pieces. It is just down the street from the Basilica Cistern, and we could see both the Haghia Sofia and the Blue Mosque from our front balcony. After visiting the Haghia Sophia and having lunch with the Istanbul missionaries we took a small cruise on the Bosporus. It was a beautiful day, and we really enjoyed just relaxing and soaking up the beauty of the day and the city. On the way home we walked through the Spice Market.

We spent our second day at Topkapı Palace, the Blue Mosque and other nearby sites. Louise and I linked arms and walked and talked as fast as we could. We had a great visit! We had lunch at a little restaurant in a park, overlooking the water. In the afternoon we sat in front of the hotel and watched the street action and talked more. We even found time to shop; Louise bought me a beautiful necklace for my birthday.

After dinner at an outdoor restaurant we strolled around and looked at the lights on the Haghia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. It was a beautiful evening! The next morning we took a shuttle to the airport together, and the Daltons returned to the States and we to Ankara. It was a wonderful, wonderful visit!

As you can see, rules for Senior Missionaries are less strict than for young missionaries. We are able to have visitors—so we’d love to see you, too!