Turkey at Total Eclipse
 

Like Australia, Turkey lost tens of thousands of men at Gallipoli (Galebolu). The blood red wild poppies of Turkey remind one of that shared carnage, tragically matched again recently when as many men women and children were crushed in the quake that followed a few days afer the total solar eclipse.
 
 

Total Eclipse at Corrum, NE Anatolia.
At totality, stars come out, chooks go to roost, the sky turns a deep blue with an orange horizon and the sun can be viewed directly, without filters, to reveal its angry red prominences (not visible on the overexposed pic) and spectacular corona. In 1999 the corona stretched almost two solar diameters out, in keeping with the high degree of solar activity and the large sunspots at that time.
 

Turkish Friends:
Some Corrum locals were very helpful in helping to find a good viewing spot. They included Murat Dogrusoz and Murat Yilmaz (middle 2), both post-graduate students from the University of Ankara.
 

Close to Corrum is Alacahoyuc, a famous Hittite site, around 4000 yrs old. There were evidently links to the Egyptian civilisation (see sphinx at the gate), but their own culture was impressive, with granite masonry comparable in precision to that of the Incas, and beautiful sculpture and icons based on deer.
 

Inca-like precision of Hittite granite masonry at Alacahoyuk.
 

Hittite Sun-God...........an appropriate icon for the total eclipse.
 

This is what Jack wants to be when he grows up.

Isn't it a romantic notion to have all those thousands (?millions) of busy altruistic workers, collecting organic sweet produce and pharmaceuticals for you? Perhaps Galen will let Jack help out a bit with the bees.