Istanbul’s Got My Digits: S1 E2

Istanbul’s Got My Digits: S1 E2

Yesterday was a fascinating array into the world of Istanbullu ‘Mall Rats’. I had bought an electric water kettle early last week so the coffee could keep flowing uninterrupted. I hated it as soon as I put it into action.  First, the metal element was exposed at the bottom of the kettle and I hate that old style function as you can start to visibly see the corrosion that will soon develop and then have nightmares about what that is in fact doing to the water… Secondly, which has been confirmed by Jelly as well, is that the lid doesn’t stay open.  Just an annoying feature to be sure.

I had it in my mind that I needed to return it ASAP. Of course it was Sunday yesterday and Cevahir was absolutely flooded with 'Mall Rats'. :)  Just for the record I knew it would be, but I decided to brave it anyway.  It was another beautiful day and there was some walking involved along with various forms of public transportation that I am managing to navigate through quite smoothly.

The exchange went without a hitch considering my basic Turkish skills. I happily trotted off to look for some other things on my treasure hunt list: goose-down comforter, toaster, high-pressure cooker, pot, pan, and another electric kettle.  The coveted goose-down comforter has been rather elusive and indeed difficult to procure… I was foiled yet again in my efforts. As well the cool toaster I wanted. All else I found, with great effort I might add.  Looking for heavy bottomed pans that are a reasonable price is a difficult quest, but I was determined to not walk out empty-handed.  In the end, I managed to get all in one store!  I was temporarily mesmerized by the cast-iron pans and started fantasizing about owning one, but they looked a little too ‘new age-y’ I guess is the word I’m looking for.  What has happened to the cast-iron pans of yore I wonder? 

The end result? I was a good consumer on a busy Sunday at Cevahir Mall.  I have some observations to share that I found interesting; overtime I saw a cluster of people, they were waiting for the elevator, couples tend to hold hands on the escalators and don’t let go when you are trying to enter into the area and chaos ensues briefly while navigating, the staircases were not the preferred method of movement and so were empty, many people like to stand like a zombie staring at their phones and tend to do so at the entrance of escalators, stair cases (that they don’t use) and at store entrances. I suppose this is typical mall behavior in any country.  I just don’t tend to see this back home in Hawaii. 

So it’s Monday morning and I’m back in the courtyard striking keys and amusing myself watching the kitties in their morning lounge patterns. An adult is goading a juvenile to climb up a tree and cheering it on.  It seems to be at an impasse and undecided if it should climb up further or abort mission. Popolo immediately ran up to me and shared the chaise lounge that I have commandeered. Two kittens down by Erin’s are scampering around and playing ‘Bat-Cat superhero training camp’ while their mother looks on cautiously. I’m going to make ‘kitty hotels’ with all my big boxes from kitchen stuff purchases! The trees are shimmering as the sun rises through the clouds. These huge crows are all atop the Armenian church and cackling away. All seems well in my world.

Today marks my one week arrival. Tomorrow marks my first day at work, thus tonight marks my first time to turn on an alarm clock in 2 months… So many achievements in a mere 24 hours!  To celebrate the last day of weekday freedom I’m going to walk up to Garipçe. I think there might be a beach there… On the way back I figured I’d hit up the Monday fruit/vegetable market in Sariyer.

Aha!  There is a house bordering the property here and something start jiggling and all the cats stopped immediately and ran to the house.  An old woman is putting out food and drink. I’ve also noticed that the church caretaker (?) was feeding the cats on the other side of the property.  I do love that about Turkey; all these cats are homeless, but taken care of by people.  Some obviously are more fortunate than others, but this is definitely a ‘thing’ here that I love to see.

On a domestic note, my apartment is slowly starting to come together.  It’s still too hot to actually sleep in my bed upstairs so I’m nesting on the couch instead.  The university is taking all the new teachers to IKEA on Wednesday I think.  This is a sweet gesture of a welcome wagon.  I’ve actually never been to an IKEA so I’m intrigued.  In fact, during my jet-lag phase I went onto their website and figured out what I need and then took measurements of my space. 

With that in mind I will leave you all with this titillating cliffhanger: what WILL Holly come home from IKEA with?  Will it be solely what is on her ‘need’ list, or will she find other non-essentials to purchase as well?  The suspense is already building in her mind…

some links:

Garipçe

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/garipce-a-little-village-untouched-by-istanbuls-third-bridge.aspx?pageID=238&nID=61399&NewsCatID=379

Sariyer. 





https://www.google.com.tr/search?q=Sariyer+Turkey&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CBsQsARqFQoTCMflna3g0scCFUmQLAodMfkMug&biw=1440&bih=708

peace