I believe she just did the interior design and the building itself was designed by a man. Here is an article in Turkish and some lovely photos of the new mosque.

http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalGaleriHaber&Date=12.05.2009&ArticleID=934315&PAGE=1

With that you hit the nail on the head. So very very true.

Goreme tends to attract a slightly younger crowd. Urgup is slightly bigger. But both are centrally located and either place would be good. I know you said you don't want to do the hot air balloon but it is absolutely spectacular. I am afraid of heights and I loved every second of it. I would recommend visiting the Soğnalı Valleys -- great hiking, interesting crumbling churches, lovely scenery and I did not run into a single visitor the the whole day I spent there. As for how long to stay I could stay there for weeks but I love hiking around and exploring. I think you can easily see the main sights in 3 days.

The Tombs are Lycian. Lycia was especially famous for the Lycian League which was a network of city states that were quite democratic. There is book on Lycia by George E. Bean that while informative practically put me to sleep when I read a few years ago.

Here is a fairly good article on the tombs.
Lycian Tombs

I don't know about Marmaris as I only passed through and didn't really spend any time there. But Istanbul has a pretty good salsa scene and there are a lot of good dancers. I found everyone to be incredibly friendly and welcoming. Here is a link to salsa places in Turkey I didn't see any in Marmaris but it doesn't mean there isn't some small little salsa place somewhere -- I've danced salsa and tango in the least expected places...
Salsa In Turkey

Farmer cheese is a good choice. Ricotta would also work well if you can't find fresh farmer cheese. I've made something similar with chevre which adds a nice tang to the pastry.

Since your are there for 3 weeks you might try a vacation rental. I've rented a few places with flatsinistanbul.com and they were great. Vacation rentals are great alternatives to hotels more space, a kitchen and the only prying eyes are the neighbors...

Caliptrix -- Excellent explanation, well done.

çok yakışıklısın

I can’t wait for the photos. I am in Istanbul for the month of December, I can’t go to a place until the summer months. If you come I would love it. Come for the New Year’s holiday.
P.S. What did it mean? I did not understand. Anyways what type of music do you listen to/are you listening to?

How was your day?

When I travel I usually bring a box of See's candy or something from a local chocolate maker, since I live in San Francisco my favorite is Rechiuti expensive but beautiful and delicious. Their fleur del sel caramels are out of this world

http://www.recchiuticonfections.com/

I think this means something along the lines of:

He has found someone who is just as bad as he is.

Anladık, yel değirmeni, ama suyu nereden geliyor?

Not sure about the first part but "ama suyu nereden geliyor" is literally "but where is the water coming from?" Which in English is like "Who's paying for all this?"

I think the closest meaning in English would be -- he brings bad luck to everyone/thing he meets/touches.

In English I believe it is like the idiom "to cut off one's nose to spite one's face" which is along the lines of hurting yourself in order to punish someone else. However I'm not 100% positive on this as I always have a hard time with idioms.

What I normally do is after I've fried the whole eggplant I cut a slit in the middle of the eggplant and scoop out most of the seeds. When you cut the slit be sure not to cut all the way to the ends. I then stuff it with the filling, don't overstuff. I then place the stuffed eggplant a pot, slit side down pour mixture of crushed tomatoes and water around them cover and cook for about 20 minutes.
Hope this helps.

To visit friends, dance tango (Istanbul has some fabulous tango dancers), eat every type of meze I can possibly try, drink tea, visit old mosques, walk everywhere even though people tell me it's too far and not safe, and, of course, to practice Turkish.

For 3 weeks I paid about 1000 Euro plus a 400 euro security deposit that was fully refunded to me on the day I departed.

Norae

I've stayed in flats 101 and 504. Both flats were lovely however just behind flat 101 is a hamam and the smoke from the wood fire was quite strong especially in the evenings. But the location was perfect.

I've used both of the following for short-term rentals in Istanbul:

www.flatsinistanbul.com

www.istanbulholidayapartments.com

They both have apartments in great locations and some of them have fabulous views. Flats in Istanbul has a decent selection of 1 bedrooms and they tend to be slightly less expensive than Istanbul Holiday Apartments.

Please correct any mistakes.


-dikten sonra
Sigarayı bıraktıkdan sonra kilo aldım.
After I quit smoking I gained weight.


-medikten sonra
Konuşmadıktan sonra dava bitti.
Unless he talks the case is finished.

-meyip
Işe gitmeyip de ne yapacaksın?
By not going to work what will you do?

Would someone explain the difference between these? I understand -meden to mean without for example:

Sinema gitmeden eve döndük.
Without going to the cinema we returned home.

but -meyip and -medikten sonra are confusing me they seem so similar to me I'm having a hard time understanding when to use them.

Teşekkürler

Thanks so much for you help, I actually understood it better than I thought.

Sorry it's a bit long I hope someone can help me understand it.

Thanks!

Evet aþkým anladým sorumu tamamen yanýtladýn Amerika Türkiye farketmez dediðin gibi aþkým sende bir problem yoksa bende hiç yok ama aþkým git gel özle belki bunlar daha iyi ama insan bazen yanlýz hissediyor kendini hayatý tanýyamýyor karamsar olduðum anda seninle olmak istiyorum sorunum biraz bu yanlýzým aþkým mutsuzum güvenebilecek insan az kendime güvenmekten baþka yavrum anlayabiliyor musun. Þuan seninle mutluyum hayat düzeyimi izinlerimi zamanýmý bilmiyorum aþkým yani zamanýmý hiç bir þeye ayýramýyorum iþ çok saat iþ ev çok yorgun uyku sonra sabah yine iþ anladýn mý. farklýlýk yok sen istanbula gelicen iþe yeni girdim para kazanýyorum nasýl izin alýcam onu düþünüyorum insanlar çalýþan insanlar çok deðiþik iþ baþka bir þey yok hayatlarýnda aþkým bir þekilde bir þeyler yapýcan bebeðim. Bana yorum ne yapmam lazým aþkým çünkü sen çok akýllýsýn bebeðim senden baþka kimseyle bularý konuþmuyorum yavrum annem ve babamlada aþkým çünkü onlar anlamaz beni aþkým.

I think I understand it fully but I just want to double check especially before I answer back....

Thanks!

Aþkým sana bi soru sorucam neden Kerem aþkým neden bende ne buldun ben sende iylik cana yakýnlýk güzellik hoþsun aþkým ve temiz bir kadýnsýn ben sende bunlarý buldum
aþkým sen farklý bir kýzsýn aþkým ve benimle en son neyi düþünüyorsun seninle hiç son olmasýný
istemiyorum aþkým ama hayat bilmiyorum çünkü hayat çok karmaþýk ne olur ne yaparýz nasýl gider bunlarý konuþmak istemiyorum ama bazen düþünüyorum aþkým.. Ama seni seviyorum senle konuþmak beraber olmak çok güzel ve çok zekisin yani çok akýllý kýzsýn çok merak ediyorum aþkým........? Sen ne olmasýný istersin benimle en son aþkým düþüncelerin ne böylemi yoksa senin hayal ettiðin söylemek istediðin düþündüðün bir þey varmý.