This morning, Easter Sunday, the GF woke with a quest in mind. So off we went to Kurtulus, in search of a legendary baker of Greek Easter bread, described as brioche-like, flavoured with mastic and mahlep, and baked by a Turkish family whose patriarch had been apprenticed to an old Rum baker. We went on […]
A walk in the sun
We took the new tram to Eyup, what a lovely journey. I was a little distracted, but could enjoy the slow glide on the edge of the water, and sometimes over the water itself. Until the tram line opened all of this had been behind scaffolding and construction barriers, so though we’d walked past many […]
Day off
A partial day off today, the first in long time. I finished up in the morning, and then the GF and I went for breakfast, after a very long time indeed. The plan was to go to Nisantasi and stock up on bulgur etc from our favourite shop there, but instead we wandered through Cihangir, […]
Back to the wall
We went back to the city walls, this time to the southern bit that we accidentally missed last time. This we did, and among the highlights were to arrive at Yedikule to find it closed and being restored, but a workman let us into the courtyard so we had the pleasure of seeing its sweep […]
Delightful extravagance
This morning I looked out of the window and everything was snow covered. There was a strong flurry yesterday, which had been quite a shock – very large flakes and swirling like a snow globe – but nothing stuck. Clearly overnight it was cold enough that it did stick, at least for a few hours. […]
Ground down
I am feeling rather ground down today. Oppressed particularly by work, as I have taken on too much, but also by the grimness of the world so that I can’t bear to listen or read the news, or anything to do with politics and society. Even the magazine is making me feel raw – not […]
Shopping experiences
This morning, the GF and I went to Levent to meet the young Pakistani worker who promised us a warehouse of excellent quality lights and other housewares. He met us at the metro stop and we stopped for a glass of tea, at which I pressed him a little about his background. I did not […]
Unwanted help
The Pakistani labourer who works for our contractor is very eager indeed to show me his friend’s warehouse of second-hand housewares, especially the lights. I must say, I’m sceptical, both that the lights will be any good and that the GF will approve, but I might go take a look. Not sure if there is […]
Long walk home
This afternoon we went to visit the carpenter who is making our doors. It was a very long journey there as our contractor and architect decided to drive and there was a great deal of traffic on the first sunny weekend afternoon after the lifting of lockdown. The carpenter seemed good – he showed us […]
Satisfying
A satisfying trip to the flat today, as the electrician, plumber, contractor and architect were all there and we came to some solid decisions. Our accidental interpreter, the labourer from Gujranwala was there as well, and in a cheerful mood, including a secret offer, made in Punjabi, to hook me up with a seller of […]