Dealings at the bank and more!
Hi everyone
I had my first dealing with a Turkish bank yesterday... I had received a gas bill (which I didn’t realise was a bill) at least two weeks ago (it looks like a computerised bus ticket). The bill was left lying near our front door. I discovered it & put it on the hall table & then promptly forgot about it. Recently we were having dinner with some German colleagues & they happened to mention paying bills & how they got cut off from the gas supply because their bill was paid late. They warned us to look out for the funny bus ticket style bill! ......(Hhmmmm??)
You can imagine I was a little worried and first thing yesterday I rushed off to the bank. The bank was crowded and there was no queue system. The Turks don't do queues!. Anyway the procedure is that you take a number from a machine and wait. I found a seat which was good and .......waited. It was amusing to see this automated number system in operation. Quite often nobody stood up when a number appeared at the counter, then the next numbers would come in quick succession, followed by a stampede of customers jostling to get served first!. As I saw my number approaching I stood up and edged nearer to the counter. Bling* 145*...Phew I made it without rugby scrum ! .... and WOW I managed to pay the gas bill without any difficulty. Gosh I must be getting into the hang of living here.
So after chatting to the flat administrator I know in what way to expect bills from gas, electricity, water, telephone etc.
The last few weeks have been a bit stressful (& painful)... I was bitten by an unknown insect and had an allergic reaction. I visited the German hospital (which is just around the corner) and received an injection in the backside (ouch!) to reduce the swellings & blisters which had developed all over my arms, back and waist. The bites have been so itchy & have driven me to distraction mainly causing me to be extra difficult to live with!! To make matters worse I was subsequently bitten by some other insects in the flat! (AARGH!). We haven’t managed to identify what the first insects were (the hospital verified that the bites weren’t from a mosquito, a flea or tick, but unfortunately they weren’t much help and made a down right scary suggestion that perhaps it had been a spider sting. A few days later I had a second outbreak of bites, suffice to say I have become paranoid about any insect spotted in the flat. They all DIE!. And every evening before getting into bed I shake the bedclothes and spray every inch of my body in Autan (a disgusting mosquito repellent...YUK!).
We will have been in Istanbul for seven weeks this weekend. It is difficult to sum up my feelings eloquently about being here. There are moments when I wish I wasn’t ... but on the whole I can say life is interesting. I know that sounds a bit ambiguous but some days you feel really elated by the delights of the city & then you have days when you are confronted with endless difficulties which make you wonder what you have done by deciding to move here.
Istanbul is a difficult city to land in as a foreigner as there is so much to figure out. I think it’s quite absurd that I finally grew accustomed to how efficient businesses & some people (there are a few exceptions, but not many!) are in Germany and have now ended up in a most disorganised city. Things are far from efficient here and G and I spent a lot of time lamenting how inept and unreliable some people & organisations turn out to be.
Finally after seven weeks of persistent reminder phone calls & endless broken promises I am getting some progress on the leaky shower. Meanwhile, in the interim the water temperature regulator broke down and we have had to endure scalding hot or freezing cold showers. It has been a test of our nerves and only be loosing it is progress starting to be made. What we discovered is that when you loose your temper you get action (of a kind!). The results are not always satisfactory but action is taken. Today a workman was over to repair the leak and he accidently cracked the glass shower door and now we have a huge crack and the leak is still not repaired. Its 7.30pm and a guy has turned up with a new glass door. We will see what happens next! And I guess tomorrow I might have to scream at someone else!. Good grief... what sort of social misfit I am going to be if we decide to leave Istanbul?
Ramadan is over and it was Bayram holidays last week. We had planned to go away but there were no bookings available as everybody else had made bookings to leave the city too. Instead we made a few day trips including a boat trip to the Princes Islands situated in the Marmara sea. The islands (nine of them) are about 12km away from Istanbul and the special thing about them is motorized transport is banned & there are only horse drawn phaetons (quaint carriages decorated with flowers). We enjoyed the scenery and laid back atmosphere, found a secluded beach, didn’t ride in a phaeton, G took a dip in the sea and I finished an Istanbul based murder mystery. It was a lovely day topped by a spotting of dolphins during the boat journey home.
Another day we went up the Golden Horn to Fener, Fatih & Balat (old Greek and Jewish neighbourhood). The Golden Horn is a river inlet that divides the old and new quarter of European Istanbul. The areas of Fener, Fatih and Balat are all residential quarters and we enjoyed seeing more dilapidated areas with higgledy piggledy houses with washing lines stretched from their gables, children and families sitting on their doorsteps. In amongst the quarters were ancient churches from the Greeks, synagogues and mosques. We walked from quarter to quarter and saw colourful shops selling handmade chocolates & sweet pastries & cakes, women in the full black burka, gypsies living in poorer quarters & children riding ponies in the streets. What I especially enjoyed seeing where the local children running from door to door collecting sweets and nuts (which is done after Ramadan). The look of excitement on their happy faces with their goodies was lovely to see.
G and I enjoy walking around quarters of the city. We do this for several hours with coffee breaks in between and visits to historic buildings etc. I like to photograph and watch the locals go about their daily business. Sometimes I do have nervous moments when I think have we meandered too far!? Worrying about whether we are safe in a slightly rougher or run down area of the city. I usually start to blame G for not reading the map properly (which is unfair, but it helps to blame someone!). You would think I am used to this by now, as this is what almost always happens every holiday we have. But in retrospect I do enjoy getting off the regular tourist beaten track, you so very often come across something interesting, which isn’t mentioned in the guide book. Footnote: I wouldn’t be so brave if I wasn’t together with G (and well it is dangerous enough walking around as a woman alone!).
A few days later I suggested visiting Bebek. This is one of the most fashionable village along the Bospherous and famous for marzipan! (main reason for going there...I love marzipan). Anyway it was about 1pm and G suggested taking a bus up the Bospherous to Bebek. Off we set to Taksim (the bus station) and there were literally forty buses coming from all directions every few minutes and no actual bus stop. The buses all different sizes and in different states of repair from regular size to smaller dolmuses (which are shared taxis with fixed routes). In Turkish the word dolmus means full and drivers wait until every seat is taken before setting off. G was pretty brave and ran around from bus to bus asking if they went to Bebek. Eventually we found a bus that went close to Bebek. Initially it was quite interesting to see some areas of Istanbul which we hadn’t seen. The bus didn’t drive along the Bospherous (the strait that separates Europe and Asia and which joins the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara) as we had hoped, but drove inland and then out to the Bospherous. Most tourists take boat trips up the Bospherous. After twenty minutes of seeing new parts of Istanbul all we saw were other passenger’s backsides. The bus got so crammed full, at every bus stop more people got on and nobody got off. I really wondered if we would make it to our final destination.
As we arrived (after a sweaty 45 minutes ride) in Sariyer (a town north of Bebek) situated almost at the widest point of the Bospherous were it widens out to the meet the Black Sea we both felt sick. We decided to have a drink to recover and afterwards searched for a boat to take us to Bebek. We saw a boat and G and I lined up. Soon it became clear that this boat wasn’t going to Bebek but across the Bospherous to the Asian Side. I didn’t want to take it but G urged me to get on and from there we could still get down to Bebek. “Where was my sense of adventure?”. I was standing in the middle of a large crowd of people that were ready to embark on a boat and I was stuck. I could have turned back but oh well; I wanted to prove that I do have a sense of adventure! Shortly after we got underway we saw the start of the Black Sea!. At the mouth of the Bospherous there were at least ten immense cargo ships waiting to travel down the Bospherous it was quite awe inspiring seeing them so closely. As a child I loved watching the cargo ships on the Rhine during summer holidays in Holland. The boat trip took twenty minutes to get to Anadolu Kavagi on the Asian Side. Before disembarking (& just to be on the safe side) I asked one of the crew if there were ferries to Bebek or Istanbul from here? …Surprise, surprise there weren’t!. G was just stepping off the ferry and I literally grabbed him back on board. He didn’t seem perturbed by the news, whereas I was slowly loosing it!! We were no further forward and no marzipan in sight!! I was pretty unimpressed with G’s idea of a day out of jumping on whatever mode of transport came his way.
I insisted we do it my way from now on and follow the instructions in my Istanbul guide book. Take the number 41 A from Sariyer to Bebek. After returning to Sariyer on the same ferry that we had just got on, I marched to the bus stop muttering under my breath. After trying unsuccessfully to cross the busy road to get to bus stop (there is one in Sariyer) a number 41A careered passed us on its way to Bebek. I was speechless and down right depressed!. I give up I moaned ...I surrender….let the Gods take over..”do with me what you will?”
It’s at times like these when G starts to be quite charming giving me lots of sympathetic hugs to cheer me up. Of course I’m not ready to laugh about this yet...(oh the joys of relationships!). But on the way back winding through the narrow streets on a bumpy little dolmus, the evening sun casts its spell on me and my mood cheers up as I see the banks of the Bospherous in a rosy glow. It is so pretty. We spot a picturesque village called Yenikoy and get off. Whilst walking along we discover a busy cosy fish restaurant. Things started to improve and we are treated to a delicious meal & friendly service (like at home with the parents) with a few yummy freebies. Oh the Gods did a good job that evening after depriving me of Bebek and its marzipan delights.
I am flying to London on Saturday 11th October & will stay with some friends in Lancing near Brighton till Monday. I have an appointment at the Turkish consulate in London and hope to organise my Turkish residence visa. Then on Tuesday I'm heading for Aberdeen.
G is already in mourning. He says he can’t imagine Istanbul without me and I although I feel quite sad to leave & guilty that G cannot leave, I need a break badly and a change of scenery from those nasty insects & unreliable workmen. I can’t wait to sit beside the open hearth fire, watch some British telly, have refreshing countryside walks & meet up with friends and family. Hhm...... lovely!
Well I am back from Scotland now….can that really be three weeks gone in a flash? It was a good trip but after five days back in this city I feel weak. This city just grips you so tightly… Life has the effect of making you quite dazed & at times it feels as if there is no let up. Tonight (on the 7th November) I am wishing I was 20 years younger and that I feel too old for all of this. Perhaps I am getting sick?
I have been wondering since I got back how to create the inner calmness that I feel when I am in Scotland. What I have worked out is that I require plenty of chilling time & to take part in some therapeutic pursuits such as a perhaps a visit to the Hamam (Turkish sauna). I’m also looking for a meditation group & a few days a go I discovered a masseur on an expat link (She’s German) who comes to your house. I’ll let you know how I get on.
G had a busy time while I was away. He seemed to be out and about most nights even on school nights!. Where he gets all that energy & stamina from I don’t know?. He really is in his element living here. When I arrived back I had the feeling I was caught in a time warp & was visiting him in Berlin…I felt very much the country bumpkin visiting the big city!. I guess in many ways Istanbul is quite similar to Berlin for him.
Girls, the flat was tidy (just a disorderly pile of newspapers by the bed). The only mishap unfortunately was that G burned my welcome home meal and the flat smelled like singed cat!. (I should explain this …My cat Olga (predecessor to Maisie!) used to sit too close to an electric radiator and burn her fur coat leaving brown singed patches …..the smell as you can imagine is very unpleasant).
But oh well every cloud has a silver lining….& as an alternative G suggested trying a nice expensive restaurant close by that we hadn’t tried yet.. I was very curious to hear how everything was going at school.
Last week G let the pupils listen to a song from Tocotronic (German pop group) and after translating the lyrics and discussing them he and the class sang the song together. G said they sang and sang….(they were quite euphoric). I can imagine G puts a lot of thought into his work and creates fun, clear and imaginative lessons. The children are enthusiastic & enjoy his lively creativeness. He is also setting up a theatre group which will take place after lessons on Wednesdays.
I think I forgot to mention that about six weeks ago I went to an expat event at the Istanbul Hilton
Hotel. The event was hosted by International Women of Istanbul (IWI) who have an incredible 500 members. The event had over 50 tables with schools, charities, interest groups, international clubs and mums and kids activities.
I joined about three or four different groups; Istanbul for Art Lovers, a photography club, IWI and Corona (a smaller English group). I met a lot of very nice people at the Hilton Hotel event and came away on a higher note. The event came along at a very good time as I was just beginning to feel a bit wobbly about making any new friends in this vast place.
Two days after I returned from Scotland I had my first trip with the group Corona. The ladies (who all speak English) come from all over the world. On this outing there were ladies from Holland, Sri- Lanka, Bulgaria & a few Brits including another Scottish lady who left Girvan aged 17 and later whilst studying in Paris met and married a Turk. The women were aged 40 plus with quite a few in retirement. I quite enjoyed myself particularly discovering a few new places of interest but it wasn’t a patch on the Network of English Speaking Women in Freiburg.
We visited Eyüp Mosque which is a place of pilgrimage for Muslims from all over the world. It features almost as highly as Mecca. The mosque was pretty and had a delightful courtyard offering shelter from the hustle and bustle of the town. I didn’t find the mosque as impressive architecturally as say the Blue Mosque. I also found it unnerving to witness how some of the Muslim women became excited to the point of hysteric on entering the tomb of Eyüp Ensari (who was Mohammed’s standard bearer). They were trying to kneel, wringing their hands, bowing their heads, reading the Koran frantically.
After the mosque visit we went to Pierre Loti Café which stands on top of a hill in Eyüp Cemetery. This was very impressive. It has wonderful views looking down on the Golden Horn. It is named after the French novelist Pierre Loti (a French naval officer) who fell in love with a married Turkish woman and wrote about their affair. He is said to have frequented this café. We took a little cable car up to the café and enjoyed a cay (Turkish tea) and tostie.
The graveyard is amazing and huge… it has many weird and wonderful tombstones most of which date from the Ottoman era. From their decoration you can tell sex, occupation, rank of the deceased and even the amount of children a woman had, for example some women graves have a flower carving for each child. The often Arabic lettering inscribed on the tombstones also adds intrigue.
Culturally this week we saw the Bill Frisell Trio. It was a great concert located in a bank in Levent. (Levant is a commercial quarter). The bank had a cultural centre with art exhibitions and an auditorium (very impressive). The concert was great and it was a very innovative jazz performance with film. The trio accompanied some early Buster Keaton films. This was very funny and we had occasions we laughed solidly for twenty minutes. Great therapy!
Other news is that I have signed up for a Memoir Writing Workshop Unlocking the Words on November 19th. It is an event organised by the International Women of Istanbul group. I am really excited about taking part in the workshop to get some further tips about writing a memoir.
I have started sketching and will be designing some lino cut designs based on an old hamam which is located next door to our flat. During my trip to Scotland I facilitated a workshop inspired by Turkish Textiles. I have some lovely examples of Ottoman textiles and am enjoying studying the motifs and wonderful colours. I hope to build up a new collection of work. There seems to be quite a few opportunities to sell work here but I am keen to have a period of research/ study and no pressure. I always seem to do everything & I just want to have time to experiment and play.
That’s all for now
I had my first dealing with a Turkish bank yesterday... I had received a gas bill (which I didn’t realise was a bill) at least two weeks ago (it looks like a computerised bus ticket). The bill was left lying near our front door. I discovered it & put it on the hall table & then promptly forgot about it. Recently we were having dinner with some German colleagues & they happened to mention paying bills & how they got cut off from the gas supply because their bill was paid late. They warned us to look out for the funny bus ticket style bill! ......(Hhmmmm??)
You can imagine I was a little worried and first thing yesterday I rushed off to the bank. The bank was crowded and there was no queue system. The Turks don't do queues!. Anyway the procedure is that you take a number from a machine and wait. I found a seat which was good and .......waited. It was amusing to see this automated number system in operation. Quite often nobody stood up when a number appeared at the counter, then the next numbers would come in quick succession, followed by a stampede of customers jostling to get served first!. As I saw my number approaching I stood up and edged nearer to the counter. Bling* 145*...Phew I made it without rugby scrum ! .... and WOW I managed to pay the gas bill without any difficulty. Gosh I must be getting into the hang of living here.
So after chatting to the flat administrator I know in what way to expect bills from gas, electricity, water, telephone etc.
The last few weeks have been a bit stressful (& painful)... I was bitten by an unknown insect and had an allergic reaction. I visited the German hospital (which is just around the corner) and received an injection in the backside (ouch!) to reduce the swellings & blisters which had developed all over my arms, back and waist. The bites have been so itchy & have driven me to distraction mainly causing me to be extra difficult to live with!! To make matters worse I was subsequently bitten by some other insects in the flat! (AARGH!). We haven’t managed to identify what the first insects were (the hospital verified that the bites weren’t from a mosquito, a flea or tick, but unfortunately they weren’t much help and made a down right scary suggestion that perhaps it had been a spider sting. A few days later I had a second outbreak of bites, suffice to say I have become paranoid about any insect spotted in the flat. They all DIE!. And every evening before getting into bed I shake the bedclothes and spray every inch of my body in Autan (a disgusting mosquito repellent...YUK!).
We will have been in Istanbul for seven weeks this weekend. It is difficult to sum up my feelings eloquently about being here. There are moments when I wish I wasn’t ... but on the whole I can say life is interesting. I know that sounds a bit ambiguous but some days you feel really elated by the delights of the city & then you have days when you are confronted with endless difficulties which make you wonder what you have done by deciding to move here.
Istanbul is a difficult city to land in as a foreigner as there is so much to figure out. I think it’s quite absurd that I finally grew accustomed to how efficient businesses & some people (there are a few exceptions, but not many!) are in Germany and have now ended up in a most disorganised city. Things are far from efficient here and G and I spent a lot of time lamenting how inept and unreliable some people & organisations turn out to be.
Finally after seven weeks of persistent reminder phone calls & endless broken promises I am getting some progress on the leaky shower. Meanwhile, in the interim the water temperature regulator broke down and we have had to endure scalding hot or freezing cold showers. It has been a test of our nerves and only be loosing it is progress starting to be made. What we discovered is that when you loose your temper you get action (of a kind!). The results are not always satisfactory but action is taken. Today a workman was over to repair the leak and he accidently cracked the glass shower door and now we have a huge crack and the leak is still not repaired. Its 7.30pm and a guy has turned up with a new glass door. We will see what happens next! And I guess tomorrow I might have to scream at someone else!. Good grief... what sort of social misfit I am going to be if we decide to leave Istanbul?
Ramadan is over and it was Bayram holidays last week. We had planned to go away but there were no bookings available as everybody else had made bookings to leave the city too. Instead we made a few day trips including a boat trip to the Princes Islands situated in the Marmara sea. The islands (nine of them) are about 12km away from Istanbul and the special thing about them is motorized transport is banned & there are only horse drawn phaetons (quaint carriages decorated with flowers). We enjoyed the scenery and laid back atmosphere, found a secluded beach, didn’t ride in a phaeton, G took a dip in the sea and I finished an Istanbul based murder mystery. It was a lovely day topped by a spotting of dolphins during the boat journey home.
Another day we went up the Golden Horn to Fener, Fatih & Balat (old Greek and Jewish neighbourhood). The Golden Horn is a river inlet that divides the old and new quarter of European Istanbul. The areas of Fener, Fatih and Balat are all residential quarters and we enjoyed seeing more dilapidated areas with higgledy piggledy houses with washing lines stretched from their gables, children and families sitting on their doorsteps. In amongst the quarters were ancient churches from the Greeks, synagogues and mosques. We walked from quarter to quarter and saw colourful shops selling handmade chocolates & sweet pastries & cakes, women in the full black burka, gypsies living in poorer quarters & children riding ponies in the streets. What I especially enjoyed seeing where the local children running from door to door collecting sweets and nuts (which is done after Ramadan). The look of excitement on their happy faces with their goodies was lovely to see.
G and I enjoy walking around quarters of the city. We do this for several hours with coffee breaks in between and visits to historic buildings etc. I like to photograph and watch the locals go about their daily business. Sometimes I do have nervous moments when I think have we meandered too far!? Worrying about whether we are safe in a slightly rougher or run down area of the city. I usually start to blame G for not reading the map properly (which is unfair, but it helps to blame someone!). You would think I am used to this by now, as this is what almost always happens every holiday we have. But in retrospect I do enjoy getting off the regular tourist beaten track, you so very often come across something interesting, which isn’t mentioned in the guide book. Footnote: I wouldn’t be so brave if I wasn’t together with G (and well it is dangerous enough walking around as a woman alone!).
A few days later I suggested visiting Bebek. This is one of the most fashionable village along the Bospherous and famous for marzipan! (main reason for going there...I love marzipan). Anyway it was about 1pm and G suggested taking a bus up the Bospherous to Bebek. Off we set to Taksim (the bus station) and there were literally forty buses coming from all directions every few minutes and no actual bus stop. The buses all different sizes and in different states of repair from regular size to smaller dolmuses (which are shared taxis with fixed routes). In Turkish the word dolmus means full and drivers wait until every seat is taken before setting off. G was pretty brave and ran around from bus to bus asking if they went to Bebek. Eventually we found a bus that went close to Bebek. Initially it was quite interesting to see some areas of Istanbul which we hadn’t seen. The bus didn’t drive along the Bospherous (the strait that separates Europe and Asia and which joins the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara) as we had hoped, but drove inland and then out to the Bospherous. Most tourists take boat trips up the Bospherous. After twenty minutes of seeing new parts of Istanbul all we saw were other passenger’s backsides. The bus got so crammed full, at every bus stop more people got on and nobody got off. I really wondered if we would make it to our final destination.
As we arrived (after a sweaty 45 minutes ride) in Sariyer (a town north of Bebek) situated almost at the widest point of the Bospherous were it widens out to the meet the Black Sea we both felt sick. We decided to have a drink to recover and afterwards searched for a boat to take us to Bebek. We saw a boat and G and I lined up. Soon it became clear that this boat wasn’t going to Bebek but across the Bospherous to the Asian Side. I didn’t want to take it but G urged me to get on and from there we could still get down to Bebek. “Where was my sense of adventure?”. I was standing in the middle of a large crowd of people that were ready to embark on a boat and I was stuck. I could have turned back but oh well; I wanted to prove that I do have a sense of adventure! Shortly after we got underway we saw the start of the Black Sea!. At the mouth of the Bospherous there were at least ten immense cargo ships waiting to travel down the Bospherous it was quite awe inspiring seeing them so closely. As a child I loved watching the cargo ships on the Rhine during summer holidays in Holland. The boat trip took twenty minutes to get to Anadolu Kavagi on the Asian Side. Before disembarking (& just to be on the safe side) I asked one of the crew if there were ferries to Bebek or Istanbul from here? …Surprise, surprise there weren’t!. G was just stepping off the ferry and I literally grabbed him back on board. He didn’t seem perturbed by the news, whereas I was slowly loosing it!! We were no further forward and no marzipan in sight!! I was pretty unimpressed with G’s idea of a day out of jumping on whatever mode of transport came his way.
I insisted we do it my way from now on and follow the instructions in my Istanbul guide book. Take the number 41 A from Sariyer to Bebek. After returning to Sariyer on the same ferry that we had just got on, I marched to the bus stop muttering under my breath. After trying unsuccessfully to cross the busy road to get to bus stop (there is one in Sariyer) a number 41A careered passed us on its way to Bebek. I was speechless and down right depressed!. I give up I moaned ...I surrender….let the Gods take over..”do with me what you will?”
It’s at times like these when G starts to be quite charming giving me lots of sympathetic hugs to cheer me up. Of course I’m not ready to laugh about this yet...(oh the joys of relationships!). But on the way back winding through the narrow streets on a bumpy little dolmus, the evening sun casts its spell on me and my mood cheers up as I see the banks of the Bospherous in a rosy glow. It is so pretty. We spot a picturesque village called Yenikoy and get off. Whilst walking along we discover a busy cosy fish restaurant. Things started to improve and we are treated to a delicious meal & friendly service (like at home with the parents) with a few yummy freebies. Oh the Gods did a good job that evening after depriving me of Bebek and its marzipan delights.
I am flying to London on Saturday 11th October & will stay with some friends in Lancing near Brighton till Monday. I have an appointment at the Turkish consulate in London and hope to organise my Turkish residence visa. Then on Tuesday I'm heading for Aberdeen.
G is already in mourning. He says he can’t imagine Istanbul without me and I although I feel quite sad to leave & guilty that G cannot leave, I need a break badly and a change of scenery from those nasty insects & unreliable workmen. I can’t wait to sit beside the open hearth fire, watch some British telly, have refreshing countryside walks & meet up with friends and family. Hhm...... lovely!
Well I am back from Scotland now….can that really be three weeks gone in a flash? It was a good trip but after five days back in this city I feel weak. This city just grips you so tightly… Life has the effect of making you quite dazed & at times it feels as if there is no let up. Tonight (on the 7th November) I am wishing I was 20 years younger and that I feel too old for all of this. Perhaps I am getting sick?
I have been wondering since I got back how to create the inner calmness that I feel when I am in Scotland. What I have worked out is that I require plenty of chilling time & to take part in some therapeutic pursuits such as a perhaps a visit to the Hamam (Turkish sauna). I’m also looking for a meditation group & a few days a go I discovered a masseur on an expat link (She’s German) who comes to your house. I’ll let you know how I get on.
G had a busy time while I was away. He seemed to be out and about most nights even on school nights!. Where he gets all that energy & stamina from I don’t know?. He really is in his element living here. When I arrived back I had the feeling I was caught in a time warp & was visiting him in Berlin…I felt very much the country bumpkin visiting the big city!. I guess in many ways Istanbul is quite similar to Berlin for him.
Girls, the flat was tidy (just a disorderly pile of newspapers by the bed). The only mishap unfortunately was that G burned my welcome home meal and the flat smelled like singed cat!. (I should explain this …My cat Olga (predecessor to Maisie!) used to sit too close to an electric radiator and burn her fur coat leaving brown singed patches …..the smell as you can imagine is very unpleasant).
But oh well every cloud has a silver lining….& as an alternative G suggested trying a nice expensive restaurant close by that we hadn’t tried yet.. I was very curious to hear how everything was going at school.
Last week G let the pupils listen to a song from Tocotronic (German pop group) and after translating the lyrics and discussing them he and the class sang the song together. G said they sang and sang….(they were quite euphoric). I can imagine G puts a lot of thought into his work and creates fun, clear and imaginative lessons. The children are enthusiastic & enjoy his lively creativeness. He is also setting up a theatre group which will take place after lessons on Wednesdays.
I think I forgot to mention that about six weeks ago I went to an expat event at the Istanbul Hilton
Hotel. The event was hosted by International Women of Istanbul (IWI) who have an incredible 500 members. The event had over 50 tables with schools, charities, interest groups, international clubs and mums and kids activities.
I joined about three or four different groups; Istanbul for Art Lovers, a photography club, IWI and Corona (a smaller English group). I met a lot of very nice people at the Hilton Hotel event and came away on a higher note. The event came along at a very good time as I was just beginning to feel a bit wobbly about making any new friends in this vast place.
Two days after I returned from Scotland I had my first trip with the group Corona. The ladies (who all speak English) come from all over the world. On this outing there were ladies from Holland, Sri- Lanka, Bulgaria & a few Brits including another Scottish lady who left Girvan aged 17 and later whilst studying in Paris met and married a Turk. The women were aged 40 plus with quite a few in retirement. I quite enjoyed myself particularly discovering a few new places of interest but it wasn’t a patch on the Network of English Speaking Women in Freiburg.
We visited Eyüp Mosque which is a place of pilgrimage for Muslims from all over the world. It features almost as highly as Mecca. The mosque was pretty and had a delightful courtyard offering shelter from the hustle and bustle of the town. I didn’t find the mosque as impressive architecturally as say the Blue Mosque. I also found it unnerving to witness how some of the Muslim women became excited to the point of hysteric on entering the tomb of Eyüp Ensari (who was Mohammed’s standard bearer). They were trying to kneel, wringing their hands, bowing their heads, reading the Koran frantically.
After the mosque visit we went to Pierre Loti Café which stands on top of a hill in Eyüp Cemetery. This was very impressive. It has wonderful views looking down on the Golden Horn. It is named after the French novelist Pierre Loti (a French naval officer) who fell in love with a married Turkish woman and wrote about their affair. He is said to have frequented this café. We took a little cable car up to the café and enjoyed a cay (Turkish tea) and tostie.
The graveyard is amazing and huge… it has many weird and wonderful tombstones most of which date from the Ottoman era. From their decoration you can tell sex, occupation, rank of the deceased and even the amount of children a woman had, for example some women graves have a flower carving for each child. The often Arabic lettering inscribed on the tombstones also adds intrigue.
Culturally this week we saw the Bill Frisell Trio. It was a great concert located in a bank in Levent. (Levant is a commercial quarter). The bank had a cultural centre with art exhibitions and an auditorium (very impressive). The concert was great and it was a very innovative jazz performance with film. The trio accompanied some early Buster Keaton films. This was very funny and we had occasions we laughed solidly for twenty minutes. Great therapy!
Other news is that I have signed up for a Memoir Writing Workshop Unlocking the Words on November 19th. It is an event organised by the International Women of Istanbul group. I am really excited about taking part in the workshop to get some further tips about writing a memoir.
I have started sketching and will be designing some lino cut designs based on an old hamam which is located next door to our flat. During my trip to Scotland I facilitated a workshop inspired by Turkish Textiles. I have some lovely examples of Ottoman textiles and am enjoying studying the motifs and wonderful colours. I hope to build up a new collection of work. There seems to be quite a few opportunities to sell work here but I am keen to have a period of research/ study and no pressure. I always seem to do everything & I just want to have time to experiment and play.
That’s all for now
posted by Annabel Pattullo at
08:15
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