landlocked country?

mongolia?

nope, none of those countries and not in a landlocked country.

island nation?

not an island nation

east of india?

west of India

turkey?

Armenia?

gobble gobble...yes I am in Turkey.

If you know me, you might ask why I'd be in Turkey and that might point you to where I am.

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar AKA the Covered Bazaar?

constantinople?

not anywhere in Istanbul (aka Constantinople by foreign dogs and Crusaders)

I'm way south of there. This city is significant because it's some ancient old guy's home town.

salonika?

Nope, not in that town..."The City of Ghosts!!!" ooohhh ahhhh. In fact, I thought it was actually in Greece...but in any case, I'm not there.

Well no one told me about her, the way she lied; well no one told me about her, how many people cried. Well it's too late to say you're sorry. How would I know, why should I care. Please don't bother trying to find her. She's not there...

^ this was just a tune flowing through my head at the moment and has nothing to do with where I am...just a bit of free entertainment for my fellow WITWAI participants.

sea of marmara?

nope. Head down to the Mediterranean.

mersin?

much closer, but now a bit too far east.

I'm restraining myself from giving too obvious of a clue so I'll just say this again:

Alanya?

keep heading west and look for me...when you find me I'll have a little present for you

Anamur?

Edit... other west, D'oH!

Antalya?

I am in Antalya Province. Find the town and maybe even guess why I'm here.

Demre?

OK, you got me! I'm glad you found me, Tully, because unc was adamant about not winning again and I was concerned that if you didn't find me tonight he'd get his shot in the morning.

This almost sounded threatening!!!


The reason I'm in Demre is because that's the home town of St. Nicholas of Myra. Demre is the modern Turkish city where Myra used to be.

The tradition of Saint Nicholas Day, usually on 6 December, is a festival for children in many countries in Europe related to surviving legends of the saint, and particularly his reputation as a bringer of gifts. The American Santa Claus, as well as the Anglo-Canadian and British Father Christmas, derive from these legends. "Santa Claus" is itself derived from the Dutch Sinterklaas.

Metamorphosis in Demre
The metamorphosis of Saint Nicholas into the more commercially lucrative Santa Claus, which took several centuries in Europe and America, has recently been re-enacted in the saint's home town: the city of Demre. This modern Turkish town is built near the ruins of ancient Myra. As St. Nicholas is a very popular Orthodox saint, the city attracts many Russian tourists. A solemn bronze statue of the Saint by the Russian sculptor Gregory Pototsky, donated by the Russian government in 2000, was given a prominent place on the square in front of the medieval church of St. Nicholas. In 2005, mayor Suleyman Topcu had the statue replaced by a red-suited plastic Santa Claus statue, because he wanted the central statue to be more recognizable to visitors from all over the world. Protests from the Russian government against this action were successful only to the extent that the Russian statue was returned, without its original high pedestal, to a corner near the church.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...kolas_myra.jpg
Russian Orthodox statue of Saint Nicolas, now in a corner near the church in Demre.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...a_op_Plein.jpg
Noel Baba at the square in front of the church in Demre.

Took me a while, been running back and forth to Oregon lately, so I'm a little rusty. I almost went to bed after going east when I should have went west..

Should have got it when I saw birth place of Santa Claus. Santa Claus... St. Nick... Duh. Have no idea why I passed that the first time I saw it.

Ok, let me sleep on it and I'll find a place in the morning.

Ok, find me.

EH?

No

NH? Tully, is there a dog involved in your travels to and fro Oregon?

Sofa?

Sofa.

No, no dog. That was last winter, never doing that again. All travels have been family illness related.

East of Miss?

South of the 40?

(complementary map in case it's a close call)

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ngitudeMap.gif

landlocked state?

East, south and no.

In Florida?

Yes

west coast?

basically both.