January Sunset

To mark the passing of the dark cold month the sun boiled away into a mountain of fire behind the Istanbul skyline. My walk home was breathtaking, and when I was nearly home I stopped by the hair stylist to set myself straight for another month. The trim was a bit more than I was expecting and my beard was reduced to artfully placed stubble, but I don't pay the stylist to keep me looking the same.

Tomorrow is February, the snow outside has been reduced to muddy patches, and the warmer days give hope for an early spring.

Early Risers see the Dawn

Good morning, last night I was rocked to sleep by the calls of passing junk collectors, making a last pass through the neighborhood. They move slowly, like glaciers, calling out for discards. But five comes early and soon I was back at it.

Unimpressed by my previous attempts at early morning photography I took the tripod with me and managed a clear photo of the predawn over Fulya Avenue.


When I was almost to school I ran into a very friendly cat who snuggled me in-between chasing birds off the sidewalk. Some of the street cats are very fine long-hairs who seem fairly well kept as if someone comes and brushes them. The relationship people keep with the cats here is not plain to see, for the most part people ignore them. But people also ignore the junk men for the most part, that is, until they are in need of an AC unit cheeper than wholesale.



Have a good Tuesday!

The Best is Yet to Come

Right, I can do better than that last picture. I ran into a kitty this morning on my walk, she was adorable and had these crazy orange markings. It was hard to get her to hold still long enough to get a photo, she kept rubbing around my ankles. Many people here ignore the cats, but occasionally I run into someone who is also a lover of felines. They usually start talking about how pretty and sweet cats are, and I play along like I speak Turkish.

Breakfast in Turkey is very different then America, at least how Asli and Ozan eat theirs. Eggs aren't usually included in breakfast but eaten later in the day, also cheese and olives are in abundant supply. We chop up some vegitables and sprinkle salt on them as well.

Now the workers at the cafe are amusing themselves by laying a fake hundred lira bill they found out on the floor of the cafe and watching people jump at it.

Back at the Funky Cafe

The weekend was pleasantly uneventful, and now Cafe Funky is open for business again! A whole week went buy, but everyone's back into the routine like they never left. Hasan took advantage of the impromptu vacation to visit family in the South of Turkey. Gokcha looks like she went shopping or perhaps she and her younger sister swapped wardrobes again. The students seem to have forgotten everything ever taught to them, but that's to be expected. So I'm back, sipping my Nescafe and speaking as much English as I can, as fast as I can.

The weather is supposed to make a dramatic recovery this coming week, perhaps even giving the illusion of spring. This morning it was still below freezing and the walk up was filled with many unexpected slips. And now, a picture.

This is one of the many high rises under construction around my neck of Istanbul. I thought the light looked so pretty on the concrete with the whisps of clouds behind it.

Wherever You Go the Sky is Blue.

Istanbul has taken the week off, and now that the weekend is a breath away the sun shows itself. With the melting snow came Ozan, Alsi's boyfriend who studies international relations in Ankara. Traffic had finally cleared enough to allow the busses to run and after he recovered from his overnight journey the three of us went out to eat. Asli's sensitive palate demanded Burger King, but after picking up a Whopper for her we turned the corner and went to the small restaurant we had gone to with Makena and Eric. Our kabobs were cooked over coals on an old grill made of hammered copper and after wards we sipped on nescafe because the restaurant was fresh out of tea.

We walked home in the setting sun and now we're staying warm around the apartment, listening to music and joking.

Chok Kar, Chok Solk.

The title contains an interesting term in Turkish, Chok, pronounced like the English word for depriving someone of air. Chok can mean a lot, but it can also mean too much. So this title can mean, "A lot of snow, very cold" or "Too much snow, too cold." Or a combination of those. I wonder if America would be any different if English had one term for both "a lot" and "too much." Then again, those who can afford it are as into conspicuous consumption here as they are in the States.

Another day dawns in the driving snow. This time the hill isn't plowed and when I walked up it an hour ago I was the first one to put footprints in the snow. People shuffled around from building to building, some just walked up the middle of the street. Cars are useless on these hills. After stopping by a bakery I arrived at school, doors locked and security guard breathing slow and steady, not very aware of anything around him. After a while of knocking I got his attention and I was out of the wind and snow. Everything is again closed down and school is canceled, I have nested in one of the computer laboratories left unlocked, dedicated to finding diversions while I wait for the weather to improve enough to make walking home worth being home.

Istanbul, at least Mecideyaköy, seems ill-prepared for the weather. Salt on the sidewalks is done only on a local level, and some places do not receive any to melt away the ice. I haven't seen a snow plow, though their must be some about. From what I hear though, this kind of weather only lasts a a very short time each year, so perhaps the city just acknowledges the weather and calls a snow day.

Cold Town Shut Down

Arriving up at school this morning bright and early all that greeted me were two security guards. The cafe was deserted, the classrooms were deserted. Even when there aren't classes there is usually more activity. But the hill was a solid sheet of ice at sunrise, so I can see why people might have defaulted on work. I followed the group example and went home to wait for the weather to clear a bit. When there was a bit more sun I took another hike around the neighborhood to see how the snow changes things.



This last one is my street! The large yellow building is where my apartment is. Right after taking this I went in to warm up and spend the rest of the day reading and chatting with people.

Take care, good night everyone.

Snow Keeps Falling, the World Keeps Turning

The snowstorm hasn't backed off an inch. This afternoon winds picked up and the snow continued to fall. I left Maksem cafe at two in the afternoon with an address in hand. My destination the KTHY offices, North Cyprus Turkish Airlines. The cab driver couldn't make sense of the address, but that's no surprise, no one in Istanbul uses addresses, you'll be hard pressed to find the name of the street you are on here. We drove around showing the address to every policeman we saw until the cabbie got me within a few blocks of my destination, opened the door, and bid me good luck.
As it turns out, the KTHY offices are right down the street from the school. I just found out the long way.

One ticket to Cyprus later I was trudging towards Jess and Elsa's apartment in the snow. Tomato soup and grilled cheese awaited me there, but between here and there I came across a few pictures.





Keep warm folks!

The Black Sea Wind is a Fickle Mistress

When I walked out this morning the last thing I had expected was snow. Yesterday, while dreary, was still vaguely warm for January. By the time I got to the school my jacket and head were covered in snow.



Since the school was out today, (Today is a holiday in Turkey, I think.) I was instructed to go to the other cafe is Beshitash where school was also out. People were fighting over cabs on the street today, it took forever to find one unoccupied, and as soon as we got out of the taxi, another group hopped in.



The cafe here "Maksem" is really something, two of the walls were part of a byzantine cistern onto which a pretty classy cafe was built. I'm drying my socks on the radiator next to me now enjoying this respite from the elements.



I have a feeling there is still some excitement lurking today, I just need to to look in the right place.

Sunday and I'm out the Door Again

I went out an about today taking more pictures, it's been overcast since last evening. I think Saturday was our one nice day this January. Maybe February will bring another, but we can't be spoiled on nice days or we won't appreciate it when spring comes.

I took pictures out on the plaza in front of the mall today and then wandered home on back streets taking pictures as I went. These are a couple that I found had something special in them. I am putting up larger pictures now, click on the images to open higher resolution versions.







Alright this one needs some explaining, there are men that go around with these carts collecting any junk you might have, they also go through dumpsters looking for busted things that might have been thrown out without consulting one of them. They refurbish their finds or failing that, sell them as scrap. Behind him you see a graveyard, it's an old Christian cemetery, I don't know exactly how old, but some of the graves looked like they were from a few hundred years ago. It's exactly across from the mall, which makes for a strange juxtaposition, its stillness with the mall's motion.

Rise of the Tripod

Today I walked out into the living room wondering why it was so bright. Had someone, probably me, forgotten to turn out the lamps last night? Nope! It was a bright sunny day outside with a flawless azure sky. Since I don't go to the school on Saturdays today was my day to shop for a few things I've been hankering for. About a twenty minute walk from my flat is the Apple Store I went and they had some RAM for this computer at a price that was nearly identical to what it sold for in the States. Then I backtracked and went to the enormous mall here. I swear it might be visible from space, it's certainly visible from just about anywhere around here. In an electronics store in the mall I found a camera tripod! I've been meaning to get one of these for a while as I become more serious with my ventures of picture taking.











I haven't figured out why seven cats were on that porch, but they seemed to have a reason.

See you next time, iyi akshamlar

Like a Breath of Fresh Air in a Sweat Lodge, Thursday

Something magical must be in the air, I haven't noticed people smoking very much today. Perhaps the powers that be have relaxed their grip and let seep in a sense of well being. There was rain this morning, but even it was light and refreshing rather than the cold downpour we've been treated to for the last week. I chatted with one of the Turkish teachers here about my experience in Istanbul, the unexpected encounters I've had, and how I've been spending my time. We have much to look forward to in the summer, merchants selling watermelon and pomegranate juice on the street. Apparently every year has it's own fad of merchandise available on the sidewalk, last year it was tiny battery powered personal fans.

If today is like the other Thursdays before the break, we will have live music in the evening here at the cafe. Strangely the workers remodeling the cafe have been absent, perhaps they do not work before noon.

Wednesday Brings the Renovation

Good Afternoon and Happy Wednesday! Getting back into the work routine has been a bit mind numbing and time consuming so I haven't been able to explore much. At the cafe the English continues to flow along with the Nescafe. One student tried some slang on me today, coming up and greeting me with, "What's up my brother, keep it chill, man." and a firm handshake. It might have passed if he didn't keep such a straight face through it all.



The mornings have been growing lighter as we swing around towards the vernal equinox. (Or, if you're Ptolemy, as the sun moves up by the motion of the other towards the equator.)

Walking up a large hill in the morning is an excellent idea if you're crazy like me. This is a picture of the neighborhood across Fulya Avenue that I took from the easy part of the hill. Right at the bottom of the hill is a Shell gas station, where you see the Turkish flag is the driveway of Champion Supermarket, a good central place for food and products for the domesticated. The farthest away hill you see at the horizon is Asia.



Today workmen have begun renovating the cafe, their power-tools fighting the pounding Turkish techno. I think they're planning to put in shelves, but who knows? We may lose a few walls too!

I enjoy all the mail you send, keep it coming!

Early to Bed and Early to Rise, We're Back

We're back into the swing of things at the Funky Cafe, all the workers were in bright and early and they picked up right where they left off two weeks ago. It was so cold this morning, but everyone I remember from along my morning walk was up and moving. The cats have been taking shelter and aren't out on the streets until the late morning when it's much warmer. One sat outside my livingroom window the other night and meowed pitifully until I grabbed a bag of food and decided to go lay some out for him. When I came outside he was gone but had actually run around to the window from which I usually feed the cats. These street felines are pretty keen, they've certainly picked up on my habits of feeding them.



Heading out, about to walk up the hill from my flat this morning.

Here is a picture from the Church we visited I forgot to post. Behold the majesty of St. Peter in mosaic.

Back from the Holiday, not Quite Back to the Grind

Well, the whole gang is back. Asli came in last night and Jeff's plane came in this morning. And Monday it's back to the school to see how much english these kids retain after two weeks away from it. While I was out walking the last few days it was very apparent the holiday is finished. The empty city was such a captivating dreamscape I had forgotten when the press of traffic around the mall can be like, or the people pulling their cars up onto the side walk to park for lack of room on the street.

The little carts are back on the sidewalk, men selling chestnuts they roast over propane camping stoves, others with scarves and umbrellas. I'm interested to see how the merchandise available on the sidewalk changes as the seasons turn. Sunglasses and baseball caps for the sun of course, but perhaps there will be some real surprises I have never seen before.

Spa Alex

This is Jess and I'm writing a tribute to my red bearded angel. I'm surprised that I can actually type as my muscles are so relaxed from the massage I just received. After 3 weeks of no hot water in our apartment (this is not a Turkey thing, more of a Jess-not-feeling-like-hot-water-is-a-necessary thing to repair) hot showers have become something divine. Elsa and I came over this morning to Alex's pad which is delightfully empty right now. He prepared a fabulous breakfast of eggs with onions, tomatoes, sausage of some sort, yogurt, juice, simit with nutella and honey and coffee for us. With Gypsy Kings playing in the background, we luxuriated enjoying the feeling of breakfast with family. Then the spa began. First, lengthy hot showers with various accouterments. Next the spa master himself spoke gently to us as he massaged each of our tired muscles. I want all of you that are far away and reading Alex's blog to know that we LOVE him here in Istanbul!

Waiting out the Holiday

Last night while waiting in line at the supermarket "Champion" I overheard the conversation of two women behind me. They were talking in French! Of all the major languages I hear spoken in Istanbul, I have heard almost no French. English is very common, then Russian and German, I've overheard a few Italians and Greeks, but so far almost no French. It made for a fun time in line when I turned and said good evening and introduced myself. We talked a bit then I was out the door through the rain and back to the warm apartment.

People haven't returned from Byram yet, though later today or tomorrow the tide of humanity should wash back into Istanbul.

The Only Sounds are the Raindrops

Istanbul seems deserted because of people's mass exodus to the rural towns for the holiday. Looking out from a high building last night I noticed whole apartment buildings without a single light turned on in them. Traffic is non-existant and going to the super market this morning I must have only been sharing the store with a dozen other people. Rain has been coming down steadily for the last few days, it's given this city a strange feeling, but certainly encourages me to stay indoors and relax. There is very little to do in Istanbul this holiday.

Iyi Byramlar!

Iyi Byramlar! This is the big day of the holiday, and there were a few notable bits that occurred in my day. After breakfast came a ring at my door, I opened it to see about four or five young teen age boys standing around my door. I said hello and they said a few words to me, then one of them took my hand and kissed the back of it. I vaguely knew this had something to do with the holiday, but I wasn't sure what my response was supposed to be, so I thanked the young man and we parted. I did a bit of research and found that during Byram it's common for children to kiss the hand of their elders (or someone a generation older than them) and for the elder to give them a bit of money. This usually is only done to people you know, but I suppose these guys weren't that discriminating. Though I suppose I wasn't exactly in the wrong for not giving them money, I couldn't have been more than ten years older than the youngest one there. At twenty-two, I sure am not considering myself an elder.

So in keeping with the holiday spirit, I sent a text to Fatosh wishing her a happy Byram. She replied and asked if I was disturbed by the holiday or thought it was a massacre with all the people killing sheep. I explained to her my thoughts were that the people were eating the sheep they killed, and since I eat meat I don't think of it as cruel. This holiday seems a lot like Thanksgiving in America. Families and neighbors come together and celebrate being a family. It certainly has more religious connotations than in the states, but Thanksgiving isn't exactly a religious holiday to begin with.

Then Makena, Eric, and I left the apartment to take one more stab at Sultanahmet to see the archeology museum. We arrived only to find everything closed. So we had our shoes shined and caught the ferries back. Everything worked out alright since Jess and Elsa got a break from work and we were all able to go out for dinner. I'm getting ready to hit the hay now, I'll miss Eric and Makena. Having family around makes for a healthy respite when you're out exploring. They are people who you can keep an honest relationship with so you don't end up tricking yourself.

Kariye by the Wall

Since the Archeology Museum is closed every Monday we decided to head to a small Byzantine Church near the edge of the old city. Getting there was a real adventure, it was raining a bit, but we decided to walk around and up to the metro. We rode the metro up to Taksim where we caught bus 87 for the cross town, under the aqueduct, out to the far side of old Constantinople, express. We got off the bus a bit early and walked up the streets and around the corners until we came to what was called "the old residential quarter" there weren't the apartment buildings we're used to seeing, hardly any of them were over three stories. Walking down the brick streets we'd catch occasional glimpses of the old city wall.

Kariye is a small Byzantine church, with two entry halls, a main gallery and two side galleries. One of the side galleries was closed, either for restoration or because it was crumbling and uninteresting. The ceilings and walls of the entry halls and main gallery were done with mosaics while the side gallery was covered up the walls and the ceiling in frescos. This was some great stuff, have a look.









We walked around the old neighborhood a bit after we left. Near the wall we stopped, a woman was holding her child up in a window and they were waving at us. I smiled and waved back, the child was adorable, maybe two or three years old. People here are so friendly, you can experience so much just by riding the bus and watching people's faces, or walking down a quiet residential street.



Then we caught a cab back to the apartment, for a relaxing evening of cards. I'm going to miss Makena and Eric when they leave. They know this so they're trying to make me sick of them. It's time for bed here, tomorrow we go back to the Archeology Museum for round four. I love hearing from all of you, iyi akshamlar and good night.

No Touring for us on Sunday, so we Shop!

After a great breakfast this morning Eric, Makena and I left the apartment to go on a shopping excursion. Our list was vague and we weren't sure where to go to shop, Makena wanted yarn and I wanted to see the Apple store near the yarn store in Shishli. Walking through the stores around our neighborhood we noticed most of the specialty and luxury type stores were closed, either they were closed on weekends or were closed on the holiday. But the little markets were all open. After finding our stores were closed we hoped in a cab and headed down to the market in Beshitash to walk around and see if we found anything interesting. The rain had cleared and the walk around the market was great. The Beshitash market is great because it's not a tourism spot full of souvenirs and high pressure salesmen. It's where many people from Istanbul do their shopping.

We departed the market up a side street briefly, we thought maybe there were shops that way, but it was all residences. A few turns in the maze of narrow streets and we came to a beautiful neighborhood on the side of a hill. Walking through there was a very special feeling. The Turks know how to live well, when you get off the main roads you always see people sitting and talking, or a small peaceful park tucked away. This city is really full of surprises, and Turkey is worth a lifetime.



Returning to the market we stopped in a small cafe and had a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. We ended up buying a few good, soft blankets before as we were leaving. One of our goals was to furnish the living room apartment, folding out one of our futons and turning it into a sort of "love nest" of cushions and pillows. But we just couldn't find the kind of cushions we were looking for in the market. So we caught another taxi for a quick trip up Fulya to the super mall.

Think of the biggest mall you know of. This one is probably bigger than it. Five stories of mall glory, I had never been it. It is decorated in neon green and pink with golden mirrored pillars. Any kind of store is there, including the Turkish version of home depot where we went for the pillows as well

Then it was out of the mall down the street to a little Turkish pizza place, we had a lamb and peppers pizza, and a fish pizza. I didn't know what to expect in a pizza place, there is little caesars pizza and domino's pizza here, so I thought it would just be an imitation of their fare, but this was different. The dough reminds me more of flat bread and there was less cheese and sauce than American pizza. The fish pizza was the most delicious I thought, it was served with slices of lemon on it that you could squeeze over the bits as you ate.

Tomorrow we plan to see a Byzantine church in old Constantinople near the old city wall.

Round Three at the Archeology Museum

Cats chased each other around outside the window while we prepared breakfast. This one was chased up onto this tree then watched by two cats for the better part of an hour.





Makena and Eric noted that I'm eating more like a Turk, my breakfast was sausage and eggs with chai, yoghurt, and lots of olives. We sat around the apartment talking with Asli before she had to go prepare for her trip. Then slowly we got moving out the door, we hailed a taxi and headed over to Beshitash to the ferry boat, something changed with the meters in the taxis, or perhaps it's just on Saturday, but they are starting out at 1.50 YTL and going up 0.1 at a time at a faster rate than before. It used to start at 1.30 YTL and go up 2.somthing at a slower rate. Anyway, it seemed about the same cost, maybe slightly cheaper for the trip. A side note about taxis, they are so cheap here, even when you get burned, you're paying less than a third of what you would pay in the States.

After we unloaded in Beshitash we went to find a ferry that would take us to Sultanahmet, none to be found. That ferry only runs during certain commuting hours, but there is another option. We took a ferry over to Asia to Katikoy and then walked over to a ferry that would take us back across to Eminonu. A ten minute walk from there and we were at the Archeology Museum. The ferries are a blast here, when you're on board you can sit at little tables, they even have nice whicker chairs with cushions on them, and they will bring you chai, fresh squeezed orange juice, or even hot sandwiches. And all for really, really good prices. Istanbul knows how to take care of the locals. Just get away from the tourist places and you just feel the tension melt away.

But enough chatter, Archeology Museum time! Round three, baby!



Re, Isis, and Osirus.



What was really amazing about this cat figurine was it didn't appear to be just an abstraction, someone thinking about what a cat looks like and making the statue. There was a slight bend to it's posture that suggested real character. It sat like a real cat.



Okay, these are a bit strange. They're tweezers from the bronze age. I begin to wonder if they weren't dropped accidently by an excavator and then found later by another excavator... Or humans just found something that worked and have stuck with it.



Stranger still, while browsing through small figurines and engravings from mesopotamia I came across these three carvings labeled "Erotic Scenes." These people must have taken their smut seriously if they sat down and chiseled it into rock.



This is a Hitite Slab I took a liking to, most of their markers like this are carved from basalt.



This is a sarcophagus made featuring Alexander the Great. Too bad he never made it back from India to be laid down in it. But shoot, rulers then sure knew how to die in style.



From another sarcophagus in the necropolis. This one was covered in figures of women in mourning, the skill used to carve these is just amazing.



My trip to the museum was a short one, we were hungry and decided to return Monday for round four.

Before breakfast I think of Retail

Service in Turkey is amazing, here no one will just politely smile at you and tell you they can't do something for you. If a store is out of bread, they will send someone running to the bakery to get some for your sandwich. The little inefficiencies and seemingly backwards aspects really make for more than funny anecdotes to tell your friends back home, they are the working system in Turkey. Sure, more is demanded of both parties in any situation, but if you want draconian efficiency lacking in meaningful interaction, go shop at Walmart.

The holiday is upon us, sharpen those knives and find a sheep.

Makena and Eric are coming over for breakfast. I think we're going to have real coffee.

Friday is an Empty Cafe in Beshitash

Beshitash campus is empty today, most of the students have taken off for the holiday and there aren't any classes being held. But since the WiFi started sputtering at the apartment the change in scenery is welcome. Asli will leave for her hometown (and hopefully a dentist) tomorrow for the holiday. That means I'll have the apartment to my lonesome for a few days. Tomorrow I'm taking another trip to the archeology museum with Makena and Eric.

Im very happy with the neighborhood in which I'm living, people aren't always trying to sell me things or treat me like a tourist, like in Sultanahmet. I'm just a guy buying bread who speaks just enough Turkish to say 'thanks' a whole bunch. I stopped for a coffee and a roll this morning in a little cafe that had photos on the walls of what looked like peaceful Austrian country side. The owner asked me in german if I was German "Nein, traurig. American." He just smiled and served me a cup of nescafe. Everyone in Turkey just drinks Nescafe, you'll be very hard pressed to find a cup of real coffee, I don't even think the supermarket near me sells real beans.

The main reason I stopped by the cafe was to try to break a twenty, the taxi drivers seldom can make change and it's awful running out to some market to try to make change while the backed up traffic lets you know they're upset. Turkey seems to have a shortage of small bills, maybe someone should tell the mint, but at all the cafes they scramble for small bills about halfway through the day since everyone pays with twenties and fifties and eats up their change. I begin to wonder where all the small change goes, maybe it just gets kicked down the line or dumped into vending machines. But if you come to Turkey get lots of small change, ones and fives, giving exact change is a very good way to avoid being short changed too. Sad to say, that is fairly common in the touristy areas, just because you can't speak Turkish doesn't mean you can't do basic math, geeze...

So I suggest doing like me, stay in a flat in a quiet, normal neighborhood where you do all your day to shopping, and then take excursions out to the tourist and market centers. That way you don't only see one side of Istanbul and get to thinking the Turks are all rug merchants who want your money. Knowing Asli and her boyfriend Ozan, since I am able to experience Istanbul with them, as a friend rather than a tourist.

You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd...

Hello hello, Today has been pretty nice. The good weather is still holding out, it might be overcast, but it's not raining, and I'm sitting inside next to a heater. I started out showing up at Funky Cafe where I was expecting to lie around for a while. On the stairs down I ran into Gokcha and her sister who is about a year younger than her. The cafe was locked, but a little while later Apau came down and opened the place up. We cleaned a bit, and ate some food, but most of our time was spent taking pictures of each other.



Gokcha enjoying Cushion Land



Gokcha and her Sister

But then the phone rang, I had to leave for Beshitash, Gokcha had to go there too for her paycheck, and out of nowhere Gokcha's little sister started howling from a toothache. Wisdom teeth pushing, it's a strange coincidence, because my roommate Asli is having the same problem. So we ran outside and waited for a friend of the family to pull up and we piled in his van. Fist stop was the dentist, then Gokcha and I were taken down by the ferries in Beshitash. We walked a ways, parted ways, and I found myself having to tell the security at Bacheshire University that I had legitimate business at their campus without any form of ID whatsoever.

So here I am, in the other cafe with nothing to do. The students aren't here to learn english, they're architectural design majors or something. But I'm with people I like, and they're running the show here well, I suppose I can afford to just look pretty for today.

From Hillside to Seashore

Hello from the Funky Cafe, where we've turned off the heat while the school is on vacation. It really isn't that bad, after spending the weekend in the snow 8 degrees C feels nice and refreshing. Plus I'm wearing a scarf and jacket.

A quick phone call from Omral and a crammed taxi ride later we're hanging around the offices in Beshitash waiting for something. It's an overcast day, but really pleasant and not raining. I'm just playing around with dashboard widgets and other little goodies in 10.4 while I wait. (Did you know holding shift while opening or closing the dashboard makes it load/close in slow motion?) I don't think we'll be going back to the school after this, but maybe we'll get that paint for redoing the Funky Cafe.

Don't forget the Red Elvises show on the thirteenth of January in San Fransico: Cafe Du Nord, 2170 Market Street (415) 861-5016 Sadly the show is 21 and up, so get those fake IDs ready kiddos.

Have a good week, enjoy your Wednesday.

I'm in Turkey, so where's the Coffee?

Today all I had planned to do was hang around the cafe for five hours or so and go home, but wow did plans change fast. Fifteen minutes after walking into the cafe and poking around for a little while on the laptop I decided to pay my usual respects to the ladies of UKNOW until the call of cushions of Funky Cafe was too much to resist. Returning downstairs Hasan told me Omral had just called and now I was to go to Beshitash and fix their espresso machine. Now, I have never 'not' fixed an espresso machine, and I saw the guy who would come to Caffino do it on more than one occasion, so I hoped in a taxi, "Merabah. Beshitash, Bacheshire University, Lutfen." "Tamah" I was on my way.

Beshitash is right on the water, and it has this huge commercial district much like Taksim, but more open air fish markets. Right as I walked up to the University Asli, who works at the cafe there and is my roommate, stepped out from a side door and noticed me. She let me in and went off to buy some simits which are a kind of sesame covered roll that taste great with nutella. It didn't take too long to find an english copy of the instruction manual online and I got to work on this machine.

Unlike Caffino and other self respecting coffee shops, this was an automatic machine that even sucked in milk and frothed it, though there was a steam wand as well. Now the beans they had in the machine were a few months old and needed replacement, so was the milk. After that cleaning was done I had the task of finding beans to grind. Looking around the produce stalls I didn't see a single coffee bean, so Ozan, Asli's boyfriend visiting from Ankara, left with me for a more thorough search of the market district. We finally found a beer and cigarettes stall that sold coffee beans on the side. We bought a kilo, mission accomplished.

Returning to the cafe the machine still didn't work with new beans in it. As the resident expert I declared something was wrong with the grinder and since the tool to loosen the grinder was lost, we would have to wait for another time for the cursed contraption to work. One of the workers suggested throwing it in a dumpster. "Tamah." Heading back to Funky Cafe now.

It was a little after four in the afternoon, Hasan might still be there, I'd be able to say hi before going home. I walked down to the cafe to see Apau locking up the gate, "Where is Hasan?" "Beshitash." I laughed to myself, we probably passed each other in taxis. I got a quick snack and went upstairs to see the ladies of UKNOW again after saying good bye to Apau. Everyone was in the office, Geoff even showed up to announce his trip to Tel Aviv leaving tonight. And I walked back down the hill watching the sun set as I went, found a cat to pet, and got to my door.

What a day, but this really feels like a vacation, even working feels like vacation, different and endlessly refreshing.

A Whole Cafe of Funky with No One Around

Today I'm lay on the huge cushions we have around the cafe watching cartoons or going to bug the ladies upstairs. I think we're going to get into the redesign project tomorrow, but everyone's just taking it slow. We're keeping the cafe barely open just incase the workers staying on the break want a soda or snack. Makena and Eric have headed out of town for a couple of days on another expedition, they use my computer for their image storage. It's nice because I can browse through the pictures they have taken. Yesterday they met my ill-tempered feline friend and took a video of him picking some chicken bones clean.

Perhaps we'll get the espresso machine moved in tomorrow, that would make my days a bit more perky.

Ski Vacation: Day Two

Happy New Year! We celebrated the new year at the top of the mountain in a little restaurant. Ski lifts up in the middle of the night with clear skies and brilliant stars, it was wonderful! The four of us brought along two British engineers we met skiing, Luc and Sam, so we had quite a group for the celebration. One fellow was tossing around a flaming bottle and everyone was dancing. We saw fireworks exploding somewhere far below us at midnight.



Luc and Sam, carbon fiber yacht builders from the UK.



Jess, showing us how they dance on the asian side.



Elsa and Omral, posing as comes naturally to them.



Happy New Year from a crazy little freezing club on the top of a mountain!

The next day, or later that same day if you want to split hairs, we went back out to the slopes for our final go at Olulag Mountain. Omral was up and out very early, this was his first time skiing, and he has fallen in love with the sport. Jess, Elsa, and I followed later. The weather was perfect again, though towards the end of the afternoon when we were packing up it started to snow again. But that's alright since we were on our way back home.



Here's Jess and Elsa, looking cute as can be, about to hit the slopes in the morning.



Snow clouds beginning to roll in on the ski basin.



I snapped this out the window on our drive back, this is well below the serious snow after the trees cleared enough for a shot of the sunset. This trip was so fun, we all had a blast, and I think we are going to return there later this month. We were talking about it at least.

Enjoy 2006!