merhaba, hosca kalin!
i'm alive and well in istanbul, and it just took me ten mins to find the sign in button (yendi gonduri, with oomlaut, duh) and locate the silly 'add post' (gonderme oluster, with squiggly s, of course) button on this 'blogu'. at least this is my computer and not a turkish keyboard like the one i have at work. sorry if i've been out of touch, i only have internet access at work and unlike most of my coworkers feel really awkward taking long personal email breaks at work. (i have begun to grow accustomed to frequent 'cay' - tea - breaks, however. i don't take them every half hour like most of the office, but i'm learning.)
i can't write much now but i had to share this: i am sitting in a cafe seeking internet access after a long wireless-less period, and what song comes on the radio?
"istanbul not constantinople..."
i don't know whether to cringe, laugh, or simply sit in bemusement.
oh wow, "my humps" just came on. puts things in perspective.
again, i can't write a long post now but here are some highlights of the last few weeks: going to a traditional pre-wedding henna party; going to the wedding on a boat on the bosphorus; taking a boat trip on the bosphorus to the black sea to eat delicious fresh fish, swim, and visit a castle; staying out till 3 or 4 in a terrace bar with sweeping views of the city dancing with friends to gypsy music and being joined by a ridiculously man that resembled a leprechaun in size, general demeanor and dancing style (i am an expert in leprechaun dancing, of course); finally finding permanent housing and having it be FREE and with an amazing roommate; buying delicious food SO cheaply; seeing glorious mosques and an ancient roman cistern and spice bazaar, among others; having crazy small world moments; from now on out, being free to report on whatever i want whenever i want for the turkish daily news.
i had an interesting day today: after staying out till 4 (oops) i woke up early to attend a chaldean catholic mass nearby -- chaldeans are a tiny catholic sect that still holds masses in aramaic! and this congregration, which holds masses in a basement chapel right off of istiklal street, modern istanbul's 'main drag' (where i live), is mostly made of iraqi refugees. and what's more -- the priest leading the church only speaks french and turkish. so i have found myself in turkey -- a 99% muslim country where turkish nationality and the turkish language dominate overwhelmingly -- speaking french with the priest of a catholic church of iraqi refugees.
whoo.
this is a fascinating place. it has been so interesting to just arrive in a city knowing literally no one, nothing, no turkish and jump right into work and the center of modern istanbul. i have learned to find nothing awkward, like the fact that much of my time at work is spent with me as an english-speaking island (perhaps the princes' islands, right nearby) in a turkish language sea (sea of marmara, or black sea - take your pick, they're at both ends of the city). yay for bad metaphors.
ok - tis all for now - i'm thinking of all of you in your respective locales!
iyi akshamlar! (i'm not even going to pretend to know how to spell that...but it is a general 'good evenings' phrase. yes, plural. weird.)
katharine
1 comment:
the whiffs are in instanbul apparently; you should hunt them down or see where they're performing. assuming you want to see the whiffs, which may be a big assumption.
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