With a 5-0 win over Indonesia this afternoon, the USA advances to the knock-out round of the World Cup and will face Haiti on Wednesday. Nicolai scored 4 goals and had 1 assist. One of his goals was ruled an own goal but if you watch the video, there is little doubt that Nico’s shot was what created the goal. Haiti defeated the USA 6-0 in our last international friendly but we were playing without our full squad. During the World Cup Qualifier’s we defeated them by a one goal margin so it should be a very competitive match.

Nico emerged from the day’s match with an assortment of painful looking injuries. Whether they were inflicted intentionally or not, the result is a reminder of how rough this sport can be.

Earlier in the day Jeanine, Kyle, Maya, Alissa and I toured the Topkapi Palace Museum. I was blown away by the clock collection where we saw some incredible mechanisms that would be marvels by today’s standards. We learned that some of the clocks represented an entire lifetime of work for the maker. The weapons exhibit was also quite interesting and we had to send in a retrieval party to extricate Kyle. The Imperial Harem  contained more than 400 rooms and was home to the sultan’s mother; several hundred concubines and the four wives of the sultan; and the rest of his family, including children; and their servants. The men touring this exhibit seemed to agree that it was a pretty nice arrangement, an opinion not shared by the women.

Pictured above is the main greeting area within the Harem. The Sultan would have welcomed friends and guests here surrounded by his wives, children, and concubines. Formal state visits would have taken place in the Audience Chamber located in the Third Courtyard.