Watching The Freighters Pass By

I've been watching the scene of the Bosporus underneath blanketing overcast skies. People stroll along the quays and large vessels of all sizes ply the waters. Behind the Beshiktash campus of Bacheshehir University are a few cherry trees blooming next to the docks and passenger boats that had moored for the winter now ferry about throngs out to enjoy the weather. It's Saturday and more people have free time, I'm spending mine sitting in the Akademi Cafe, and many groups of friends and couples are out enjoying lunches next to the water, or walking past swinging shopping bags.


And here is my istikan, my chai cup. Tea is made differently in Turkey than America, and I don't just mean using lose leaf as opposed to bags. Tea is made in large electrically heated pots filled with water containing a smaller chamber for tea leaves held in a cylindrical filter. This keeps the tea near boiling and makes for a very dark, concentrated tea. On the front of the tea cooker are two taps, water and tea concentrate. You mix to your liking, some people ask for their tea to be açik, or light, and others specify they want theirs to be siyah, black. I prefer mine a bit on the light side with two sugar cubes

As we approach noon (remember noon actually comes at 1 pm during daylight savings time) the sky is growing lighter and the clouds are drawing back. With a bit of luck we'll be sunbathing in an hour or two.