LaLa Land

On Christmas Eve, I met with Erdem, a professor of engineering at Mississippi State University where my aunt Tammy works. She must have threatened his life because he took time out from visiting with his family while his father is ill to show me around Istanbul. We took a drive up the Bosphorus and he introduced me to the joys of Iskender kebap. Thanks to Erdem for a fun night and best wishes to his father for a speedy recovery!





I unfortunately came down with a cold on Christmas, so I had to skip dinner with Amelia and Emre. I'm still getting over it. It's been cramping my style a bit -- I have a lot of shopping to do and still many places I want to visit. But the to-do list in Istanbul will never be complete regardless of how much time I spend here. Bob had told me that people here confuse Christmas with New Year's Eve. This point was driven home when I saw that the large trees decorated with ornaments were being put up on December 26 in Taksim Square! Yes, that's the same scrappy Satan Claus selling lottery tickets by the Christmas tree. This guy never sleeps, I swear.

















I took a walk recently with the intent of getting lost and wound up at the old walls that were built around Istanbul during the Crusades. They were quite lovely at sunset.

This is an old Roman aqueduct that we drive through going north from Bob's house. How nice of them to make it wide enough for the dolmuş to drive through!

Off to meet Amelia for a visit to the hamam!!!

Sending warm Christmas wishes to all my friends and family!!!! Here's a photo of the shabbiest Santa I've ever seen -- he's selling lottery tickets on Istiklal Caddesi and looks more like SATAN Claus!!! Tomorrow I will probably spend the day Christmas shopping since it's just another day in the Muslim world. I'll be missing my family on this first Christmas with my beautiful niece, Wiley!!! Kiss her for her Aunt Lala!!!!








I finally went to Sultanahmet -- I can't believe I have been in Turkey a month and have only just made it over there. I visited my friends Salih and Mehmet Can and saw the Hippodrome and Sultanahmet Camii (The Blue Mosque). It's a gorgeous old part of town but I don't miss seeing all the tourists and getting hassled by the touts ("Hey, lady -- where are you from?!? You dropped something -- my heart."). Offfff.




Last night I went outside for more firewood and it was snowing HARD! It's slushy and not sticking much during the day but quite lovely coming down.

I made it to the hamam again recently and had the works done! The waxing took quite a while -- cutting down old growth is hard work! The ladies were disappointed that I didn't bring my camera again so I'll definitely get some more photos next time.

Off to Taksim -- Merry Christmas!!!!

I've been enjoying some wonderful music here in Istanbul. First of all, I get to live with Bob Beer and hear his gorgeous voice and saz playing. Last Tuesday, Bob's friend, Yvonne Hunt, was in Turkey to deliver a paper on Greek folk dance at a symposium. We were walking along Istaklal Caddesi (dodging large machinery and potholes while it is being repaved) and stumbled across a concert by Erkan Oğur and İsmail Hakkı Demircioğlu. We took a right down a side street to the theater, bought our tickets, and found our seats just in time to see the show. Erkan played mostly kopuz and a little cura. They played lots of lovely vocal pieces and encouraged the crowd to sing along -- a great night!

On Tuesday I went with Bob to his weekly work stint at Saz Aletleri, a music shop specializing in sazes where Bob does some translation work. The owner, Hasan, took me to his storage room where the saz bodies age. The bodies must age for at least 5 years; here, Hasan points to some bodies that are 40 years old.










Yvonne was back in town after her symposium, so we went with her and her friends Cenk and Jaini to hear Selim Sesler at Araf Bar. What a hot night of music! I love this bar -- great view of Istanbul and you can just grab a seat right by the band or dance your bum off! Always a treat! This group provided the music for the German film "Gegen Die Wand" (Head-On), an excellent movie about Turkish immigrants in Germany that was rated the best movie in 2005 by MSN/Newsweek. Check it out!

I have been enjoying a wonderful visit with my friend Evrim Karaçetin and her family in Ankara. I first met Evrim almost two years ago at Oregon State University when I was the statistical consultant for her PhD research on cinnabar moths. Since then, we have become friends and she has helped me with Turkish and music. This is her first trip back to visit her family in 2 years so I am happy that she made time for me to come visit her and her family.




















The Karaçetins are wonderful and have adopted me, giving me the name Lale (Tulip) Karaçetin! Evrim’s mother, Yasemin, is an excellent cook. She makes jellies from foods she grows in her garden, such as apricots and rose hips. The first night, she made a delicious soup with chicken, broad beans, garbanzo beans, and mint. The next morning, she made an amazing bread. Last night, Evrim’s father Habib grilled chicken that was fabulous. Today, Yasemin made mantı, a ravioli-type dish filled with meat, onions, and parsley. I helped with the stuffing of the dough but, as usual, mine were the ugly ones. The mantı is boiled then served with yoğurt and pepper paste -- YUM!









Yesterday Evrim’s brother, Altuğ, drove Evrim, Yasemin, and me to two museums. First we visited the Anatolian Cultural Museum, which was amazing! It begins with the 9,000-year old Çatal Höyük, which is the largest known Neolithic settlement in the world. We saw rock art and goddess figurines from a culture that obviously appreciated a voluptuous figure. There was also amazing art from the Hittites, Selçuks, and Romans. I have just too many photos! It was a great museum. Habib is a retired archaeologist. He used to work at this museum and also at many excavations of Roman ruins in Turkey during his career.


Next we visited the Atatürk Museum where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of the Republic of Turkey, is buried. The complex is very large and holds many of his belongings, such as his personal library, cars, and wardrobe. There are exhibits outlining the role of Turkey in World War I and the War of Independence. We were not allowed to take photographs inside the museum but I have a few from the outside.




That evening we stopped at a restaurant for food. Altuğ suggested kokoreç, a dish made from --- you guessed it – intestines! I said that I would stick with the lamb. However, Evrim gave me a piece of her kokoreç and it was GREAT! The spice was wonderful and it was chopped up so that the source of the meat was hardly discernable. I stand corrected! Later Evrim and Habib taught me how to play backgammon (tavla). It is very fun and they showed me some strategies. I’m sure I will need much more tea and practice!




Today Evrim and I met one of our other Turkish Corvallis friends, Kahraman, and his partner Emir, who lives here in Ankara. Kahraman is working on his PhD at Oregon State and works with hazelnuts, of which Turkey is the largest producer on this side of the globe. We enjoyed some lahmacun, sweets, coffee, and good conversation. Emir may be moving to West Virginia for work and school this spring (he’s a mechanical engineer), so hopefully we’ll be seeing him soon in the US.

Tonight Altuğ and his wife, Serap, had us over for sweets and tea. They have a lovely apartment that they have completely remodeled. Had I not been so gluttonous, I would have remembered to take some photographs. Serap gave me a lovely necklace, earrings, and nazar (blue eye to ward off the evil eye) as a gift – so sweet!

It has been a great trip to Ankara! I plan to go back to İstanbul on Monday. The time is ticking by and there’s still so much to see and do!!!

Today I finally made it to the hamam and don't know what took me so long! This hamam is close to Bob's house and was built in 1550. It was designed by the architect Mimar Sinan who designed many beautiful mosques and baths in Istanbul. The bath is divided into separate sides for men and women. Just inside the women's entrance is a large room heated by a coal stove where the women who work there were relaxing, talking, and enjoying coffee.





I was led to a private room where I undressed to my undies and wrapped myself in a towel. The main bath room is round with lovely porticos and fountains surrounding it. In the center of the room is a large marble slab that is heated from below. The ceiling above is domed with little skylights to let in the natural light. The attendant rinsed me in hot water at one of the fountains and directed me to lie on the hot marble slab. It was a special treat to be the only person there. I really enjoyed relaxing in that beautiful room in total silence save the occasional drip from the ceiling. Twenty minutes later, I had a nice sweat going and she returned to give me a bath and massage.


She began by scrubbing me from top to bottom with a loofah mitt. She removed skin I didn't know I had. When she was finished, I looked like someone had put a large gray eraser through a cheese grater and sprinkled it over my body! It was pretty gross. Then she gave me a soapy bath and massage and took me to one of the fountains where she washed, conditioned, and combed my hair out. Having my hair washed was an exercise in controlled breathing because you never know when she might wash your face or ears or pour a huge tub of hot water on you. I was feeling quite relaxed and pampered.


Then I went back out to my private room and relaxed on the couch. Someone came by with a sweet strong cup of Turkish coffee so I went out and relaxed by the stove with the ladies and talked about work, life, and Michael Jackson's religious proclivities (well, at least that's what I THINK we were talking about. They wouldn't let me get up and get my dictionary.). For only 13 Turkish lira (about $10), it was a well-spent two hours of bliss. Next week I'm going back for a leg waxing as well!


Tomorrow I am visiting my friend Evrim in Ankara!

I've enjoyed more mellow days here in Istanbul. I've been getting lots of work done so now I can feel free to explore and have more fun! I've been lazy about posting new things but Mary Alice Beer will keep me on track!

On Friday, I went with Bob to meet Erol Parlak, a well-known saz player that was Bob's teacher. Bob had helped him with a talk he was giving in English and Erol Parlak wanted to give him a gift for his help. We met him at his studio and had tea and then we were invited to listen to a little of the lesson he was giving to some students. I videotaped a couple of magical pieces and really enjoyed hearing him play. He'd just had two concerts in Istanbul a few days before and I was sorry I had not known about them.





Yesterday Bob and I went to the Asian side of Istanbul. He had some business in Kadıköy so we took the boat over. It was so nice to be on the water. Kadıköy is a lovely little area with lots of Armenian and Greek churches. We went to the Church of Eufemia and the water there is supposed to heal eye problems.




I loved the cobblestone street patterns in different colors. We were disappointed to find that these old streets are being ripped up and replaced with granite pavers, just like what is being done on Istiklal Caddesi in Taksim. I guess these old streets are hard to manage in spiked-heel, pointy-toed shoes...

We also had a nice dinner of pide and some amazing chocolate desserts!!!! We came home and stoked up the soba with coal, which resulted in an early night. Today Bob is working at the saz shop and I'm feeling the effects of the pide and chocolate. Today began with a mellow breakfast of potatoes and antibiotics! It's a beautiful sunny day and I'm looking forward to a nice walk in this lovely city.

Bob and I went to the local weekly market today and had to take lots of pictures to share. Folks here put a lot of effort into making beautiful displays of their food, constantly futzing with the produce and arranging food into delicious and delightful cairns.







You can find just about anything you need for the kitchen here: produce, spices, fish, and kitchen gadgets and other domestic things like dresses, head scarves, vacuum cleaner bags, bras, and pantyhose.

Need a refrigerator magnet???? A fish? An Abdullah Ocalan salt shaker???? No home should be without! I bought two!

Yum! Save an eyeball for me!!!