LaLa Land

I arrived in Istanbul last night! My saz teacher Bob sent me a note in Turkish to give to the taxi driver so I was able to get to his house by about 7 PM last night without any problems (other than making the taxi driver laugh at my pronunciation of the word "Kocamustafapaşa"). Bob lives in the bottom floor of a house with a big yard, a rare treat in this crowded old city. I brought him some plants and seeds that he'd requested and he's already planted the kiwi plants in his new garden bed. We sat up late visiting last night with his Zaza friend Emre (Amelia's fiance) who also plays saz. We relaxed in the living room by the coal-burning stove and they played and sang. We sipped raki and ate pears, cheese, and tasty beef sausage dipped in pomegranate sauce. Heaven!

This morning at about 4:30 AM it became obvious how close Bob lives to a mosque. The morning ezan (call to prayer) sounded like it was coming from within my brain! Today we walked to the old city walls that were built to protect Constantinople from invading Crusaders. We also went to the weekly market in his neighborhood where big tarps are set up over the streets and every kind of produce, clothing, cookware, etc. is sold. I picked up a pair of fuzzy orange slippers and some tasty salad supplies. Bob cooked some lovely quinces when we got home. We are planning to visit our friend Selman in the Kurdish area of Turkey this weekend for about a week. I'm very excited!

Bob's house doesn't have electricity right now except for an extension cord running from his neighbor's unit. But we have a lamp and can play CD's, so we are surviving somehow! I am planning to visit one of the three local hamams (Turkish baths) tomorrow and get thoroughly clean! Woohoo!