Back in Istanbul..

Bodrum was whirl wind trip. Lots of chatting, lots of tea and great food. Highlight of my trip was meeting my cousin's son Kaya. He is 7 years old, very handsome smart boy. He is growing up in a nice environment in Bodrum. They have a beautiful house surrounded by tangerine trees. They share the land with several cats, dogs, chicken and other creatures living near by. Our flight is late in the evening. I am looking forward getting back to Istanbul.

Me and myself in the apartment. I don't know what to do with myself. I try to turn on the TV but can not figure out the remote control devices. I finally get the picture and the sound at the same time on the screen. It is nice to have some sound around me. I calm down and decide to do some house keeping when I wake up.

Zeki Muren

Second day in Bodrum and Şule has joined us for the weekend. Are we the Turkish Golden Girls? Well, maybe, we are about the same age, have similar tastes and really enjoy each others company.

I did not have internet connection when I woke up this morning for the reasons I can not figure out. We have been to Vodafon store  3 times in the last few days. The staff acts very knowledgeable. A good looking young man assured us earlier that I would have internet connection the whole week  after paying kontür price of 25 TL.

Every night I go to sleep thinking that I paid enough to Vodafon to last me for  a week of internet access to find out next morning I cannot connect. It has been a frustrating experience and it is costing me a lot. The word "KONTÜR" is engraved to their vocabulary of their employees.  They keep repeating it relentlessly.

We drive by the tangerine groves. It must be the season, tree branches are reaching to the ground with the weight of the tangerines. We see the seasonal workers picking up the fruit. We go through narrow streets making many right and left turns. I lost count. We stop by my cousin's veterinarian clinic and give him a hug and meet his new puppy pointer named Patato.  

After a brief chat,  we are on our way to Zeki Müren's house. I am pretty sure my Turkish friends know who I am talking about. Just in case you don't know about him; He was a a prominent singer, composer and actor. He dressed effeminately - think Liberace-, wearing large, ornate rings and heavy make up, throughout his very successful career as a singer. He had a voice of an angel and perfection of an opera singer. He was a cultural icon and loved by everyone. 

He lived the second half of his life  in a two level house in Bodrum. It is now turned into a museum.  The house which is close to the water and its decoration are modest when compared to his fame. His painting are displayed on the walls of the house and they are very good abstract water colors.My mom was a great fan of Zeki Müren. I remember a conversation with my mother when I was about 17 years old. It went like this:

- Anne did you know Zeki Müren is gay?

- No way he is an artist with great talent.

- Anne look at him.. don't you see the make up, bouffant hair style and manicured hands?

 -No way, he is an artist. He has to do those things to look good on stage.

-Anne, he wears pink beaded blouses.

-No way, he is an artist..

I couldn't convince her. When I think of it now I am glad I did not.

Bodrum.. Here I come

As we sit in the plane,  the third passenger next to us huddles into her seat. She is a chatty young lady. Immediately, she starts telling us her life story. She has done a lot for her age, 38 she offers without us asking.  Aygün is nice enough to listen and nod her head in agreement about the stuff she talks about. I am not interested.

I wake up to a million dollar view of Bodrum from my short nap. Blue skies, the Aegean, so picturesque!  It is a bit chilly outside. This place is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. There is not much to say, I am in Bodrum.

Morning starts with a nice breakfast. later Aygün goes off to run errands and I work the phones. It is amazing that I have so many friends in this little town. Each is from a different era of my life. This is too emotional. I am not sure how to handle each. I have my cousin Ahmet who is a well known veterinarian in Bodrum. I have not seen for many years. He has a 5 year old son whom I am looking forward to meet. That connection is from my childhood.

I have another high school friend living in Bodrum whom I haven't seen since the school days. There is a couple who has been our friends since we just got married. That means pre-America days. I  feel tired already thinking about the emotional ride I have to take.

Beyoglu to Bodrum. Nerden nereye???...

Yesterday I woke up to a beautiful day in Istanbul. I am going to fly to Bodrum with Aygün. We have four hours free before the flight. I suggested that we walk around Beyoğlu. We walk about 2.5 hours. Aygün is a very resourceful person. She is married to my cousin Ali. I let myself in her hands when we are together.  We have a saying in the family that "every family should have an Aygün" to survive in Istanbul. She know what, when, how to do almost everything.

We take the bus to Taksim Square - think the Union Square of NYC -. We walk down the main street - think Broadway -. It is also the oldest parts of Istanbul. It used to known as Pera from the Greek word Πέραν meaning across from the old city separated by the Golden Horn. In Turkish, it was called Beyoğlu because of Signor Gritti's* mansion that was located near today's Taksim Square. Those who watch Muhteşem Yüzyıl will remember who Signor Gritti was.

Streets are narrow. They end unexpectedly or crossed by another street which connects you to a passage etc. Narrow streets end unexpectedly and start again somewhere else. The area is like a spider web. I think Byzantines liked conspiracy and there were a lot of distrust to each other etc. 

Beyoğlu and its surrounding areas were built mostly by the minorities of the Ottoman Empire.  One can still see their influence today.**

Our stroll takes us from İstiklal Caddesi to Serdar-ı Ekrem Street and by the German Hıgh School. We take a coffee break at a place called LITERA which has a 180 degrees panoromic view of Istanbul. Aygün knows all the tall buildings where you can see Istanbul.

From there on we walk to the Galata kulesi area visiting designer boutiques on the way. That area brings us to Bankalar Caddesi, a narrow street which used to have headquarters of the all the major banks built by Italians during the Ottoman years.

We end up in Karaköy where we take the tram to Kabataş. Kudos to Lale for taking the public transportation all over Istanbul.

Not much has changed in and around Beyogğu, I am happy to report. Actually I find that area has improved a lot. We are chatting while we walk and cross the streets, enter the stores. I feel like "The Girl from Istanbul" I used to be- fearless and carefree. I am hopping from one cobblestone to the another easily. What a freedom! I am so glad to be in Istanbul. I am so glad to be part of this culture.

We are in the THY flight to Bodrum. Thanks to great public transportation we made it to the flight on time without any major hassle. More to come my friends.....

*Beyoğlu means "Son of the Bey (Doge) of Venice", referring to Lodovico Gritti (alternatively known as Alvise Gritti among the Venetians), The area was the base of European merchants, particularly from Genoa and Venice. Following the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and during the Latin Empire of Constantinople (1204–1261), the Venetians were more prominent in Pera. The Dominican Church of St. Paul (1233), today known as the Arap Camii, is from this period. In 1273, Pera was given to the Republic of Genoa by the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus in return for Genoa's support of the Empire after the Fourth Crusade. In 1348 the Genoese built the famous Galata Tower, one of the most prominent landmarks of Istanbul. Pera (Galata) remained under Genoese control until May 29, 1453 when Constantinople was conquered by Sultan Mehmed II who allowed the Genoese to return back to the city, but Galata was no longer run by a Genoese Podestà.

  

**In the 19th Century, it became home to many European traders, and housed many embassies, especially along the Grande Rue de Péra (today İstiklâl Caddesi). The presence of such a prominent European population - commonly referred to as Levantines - made it the most Westernized part of İstanbul, especially when compared to the Old City at the other side of the Golden Horn, and allowed for introduction of modern technology, fashion, and arts.  

(from Wikipedia)

A Day by the Bosphorus

The weather has not changed ever since I arrived in Istanbul. It is rainy, foggy and sky is gray at all times. Just the way I like it. 

My mother loved Istanbul when it was rainy and foggy. She said wolves which was her maiden name, love rainy and foggy days. My feeling must have a lot to do with that.

My day started just like yesterday. Ayşegül and I talked about what to do for breakfast and got ready for the day. Phone rings and my high school friend Zuhal says that the day belongs to me. The waves of feelings are going through my mind and body. She is my friend for the last 40 years. We were in a group of students in Ataturk Kız Lisesi (girl's high school) assigned to 1B class. The only common thing among us that our elective foreign language was German.  I ended in that class because the English language classes were filled. I remember sitting next to Zuhal first day and feeling really comfortable. I never forgot her and that feeling rest of my life.

She says she is going to be in front of the building in 10 minutes, Ayşegül and I rush down to the lobby. It is pouring down in Istanbul. I am not sure if the wolves like that much rain.

She drives us to a place to have our morning coffee and catch up on the years that we have not seen each other. As we find a table and sit down we start kaynatmaya (chatting to the point it boils). We offer each other intimate information about our kids, husbands, ourselves and mutual acquaintances. She  has to know everything and I have to know all about her. In the meantime, we take turns to explain some of the things we talk about to Ayşegül. I can see that she is amused about the whole situation.

Ayşegül splits from us and I ask Zuhal to drive us by the Bosphorus. We start from the very beginning in  Ortaköy and drive all the way to Sarıyer where the Bosphorus meets Black Sea. It is a long drive, two way street that goes between the water and the historic houses.  Water is choppy. It is emerald green and gray mix. The water is caressing the boats that are lined next to each other on the shore.

I am very happy to see that not much has changed in the neighborhoods we pass by. I see the familiar pastry shops, restaurants, apartment buildings, little parks, boats, tiny streets.

The Bosphorus is breathtakingly beautiful even on a day only the wolves were happy to have.

First full day in the city

Tuesday morning starts with a breakfast with Ayşegül, again. She is a beautiful young lady with a mild smile. She says she will spend the day with me. We stop by the hair dresser and get a wash and blow dry on the way to Nişantaşı. It is a fancy area which can described as the 5th Avenue of Istanbul. It is in a walking distance from the the apartment. She suggests to take a short cut by climbing a few steps. We start climbing but I don't see where they end where she is pointing at up there.   She says she has counted 180 steps, and cheerfully adds that I can do it. We climb the steps one by one to reach the top. 


Then a steep hill awaits us. We keep walking up and chatting. This is a residential area. Both sides of the street lined up with mid size apartment buildings that were probably built in the 1970s.  Each building has a name like Lale Apartmanı, Cevdet Koçer Apartmanı as if they were named represent the strength or personality of the property's owner.

Finally, I see  the boutique signs:)  My hunter instincts are in full gear. I want to visit each and every one of them. I am now in heaven. Leather jackets, coats, shoes, frilly dresses etc. adorn the storefronts. Each offers something better than the other. I try on a leather jacket and like it very much but this is just a start we will look further.

Aygün meets us at a restaurant that Ayşegül wanted to try. It is a nicely, simply decorated restaurant with a pub feeling. Lots of nice looking ladies with expensive outfits having lunch.  There is hardly any man in the whole place. Actually there was only one maybe two guys in the place. I suspect that this place have very small portions that are expensive. Eventually I find out that it is both.

I had the most expensive soup of my life in Nişantaşı. You, my friends will never know how much I paid for a cup of soup. Because it is an embarrassing amount.

My brother and Nevin came over to have dinner with us. Ayşegül and I decide that we can not afford to go out to dinner. We made fettuccine with marinara sauce and had a wonderful time laughing and reminiscing old times.

OMG!

My brother and Nevin live in a suburb of İstanbul.  My dear brother gently lets me know that he is going to deliver my luggage to Ayşegül's (his daughter/my niece) apartment sometime in the afternoon before he leaves for the hospital. I will stay with her for the next few days which is going to be a great treat for me. I will be in a luxury apartment in a fashionable part of the city. OMG…It is so cool.

Ayşegül and I decide to take the express bus from Bahçeşehir to the Taksim Square after breakfast. Public transport is the way to go around in İstanbul. We get to our destination in 35 minutes. I have been hearing from friends that traffic is worse than before in İstanbul. I convinced myself that it is just a rumor, an exaggeration by the people who are not familiar with İstanbul which never had a good traffic in the first place.  We hop off the bus feeling good.

I follow Ayşegül who immediately waves down a taxi to take us to her apartment. We settle down comfortably in the cab but my confidence in the İstanbul traffic starts to wane quickly because we have not moved for the 20 minutes or so.  I suggest that we should get off the taxi and just walk.  Ayşegül does not think it is a good idea. So we sit quietly. I can feel the driver is getting impatient with the traffic and he says he is sorry that he took us. But he says he tries not to be choosy when he picks up his fares! Then he goes "Everyone deserves a fair chance after all". Ayşegül chimes in with agreement that's how it should be.  I feel threatened but keep quiet.  We are moving very slowly.  Ayşegül asks the driver make a right turn, all of a sudden traffic opens up as if  it was never congested. İstanbul!

I am not familiar wıth the area but I have a general idea where we are. We stop in front of a recently built skyscraper. Ayşegül opens the doors with her magic card and off we are to the 13th floor. Her apartment is beautiful, wıth a million dollar view of Bosphorous.  In meantime, I work the phones and Aygün is coming to pick me up to meet Nesrin who is also a very good friend and married to my other cousin in a couple of hours in Ortaköy.

I surf the web and check in with one of my favorite sites, Pomegranate Vintage to see what is new there. It is only 2 o'clock ın the afternoon when we meet Nesrın. It feels good to be friends. We walk by the street vendors who are hawking. Aygun responds "yok, yok teşekkürler" (no, thank you) One of them shouts back that he appreciates her saying thank you. These guys are funny but he probably genuinely appreciates it.

We are at a coffee house/ bar with Xmas tree in its midst in Ortaköy by the Bosphorus. Tankers are cruising up and down. Kisses, hugs and without losing any time, we start chatting, pouring our hearts out to each other for the next 3 hours with the waiter pouring tea or coffee in our cups.  We order pastries and fruit tarts but never stop chatting.