We had a roundtable conference this afternoon, with the contractor, his architect daughter and our local friend. It was a very good meeting: much was clarified and agreed and we now know what the next steps are likely to be. There is one neighbour who is likely to cause trouble, even though we have all the approvals and permits we need. The windows will be replaced, we discussed the floor (an engineer will tell us exactly what should be done there), and lots of other details. Again, it all felt very real, though I am worried about costs but also reluctant to always be the spoiler.
We were also shown our hostess’s bathroom which I must say made us instantly envious. It’s on a lofted floor, with a view across the city to the Sultan Ahmet mosque, and is divided into two halves. One is a while marble bathroom with an old Ottoman era marble sink. The other side is a hammam, with heated marble slabs, antique marble basin and taps, and even a little pierced dome. Our bathroom, will not have a dome of course, or much in the way of natural light, but I was instantly determined to take some elements: a slab in the shower area, an old basin, etc.
She was immensely helpful, and we must now think how best to thank her.
We also had a nice chat, and she seemed rather relaxed as, I think, she has a better sense of us as well.
Although whenever she alluded to dodgy dealings in Turkish business or officialdom she would turn to me and say, you know how it is, of course, you know how they are. And the pity of it is, I usually did. So it is to be Pakistani.
Afterwards we went through the antique shops in Cucurcuma and found Ottoman era basins ranging from a thousand lira to a thousand dollars. The former are the ones we are likely to go with, of course, as I don’t think they are particularly old, but as long as the carving is refined, I don’t care at all if they are new.
I was rather drawn to massive brass bust of Genghiz Khan, seemingly removed from a park somewhere, but that would not be appropriate anywhere in the flat, really.