A little more Art today, this time in the walled city. One I liked. It was in an old assembly hall just outside the city. There were some very nice cartographic pieces on paper cutouts, a large one of the world of Tipu Sultan’s grandson, and a massive Boschian 2-parter. A few more forgettable ones, […]
Creating a market
I forgot to mention yesterday the ridiculous ad that was played before the film. It was for toilet paper, and clearly a struggle in a society where lotas and hand-held bidets are the default and toilet paper is regarded with some disgust. So they went for toilet paper for drying to avoid humidity around the […]
Spring clean
This evening I started on my spring clean, inspired by the GF. This was clearing out clothes, largely, and as usual my mind went quite blank, unable to determine what I needed, or indeed wanted, to keep. Finally I decided on a simple rubric, whether or not I found something comfortable, which got rid of […]
Sun and rain
The morning was sunny after several days of living under a steel bowl. We went to Postane, the neighbourhood community centre and vegetarian cafe (which also provides our weekly vegetable box, yoghurt and, when available, fresh milk) for lunch. Postane can be hit and miss but is generally wholesome and today they had yayla corba, […]
Winter arrives in Istanbul
Winter begins properly today, the temperature has plummeted and the sky was heavy and grey, with the tiny pellet-like light rain that falls like snow. Unfortunately we have had to start reducing our heating temperature, as the underfloor heating must be taken down a degree a day, and we are going away soon. I bought […]
Bus bhai bus
This morning we caught a bus, unusually, but something we has tried last weekend, and we’ve been rather slow in using the city’s bus system. There are a lot of buses, but there is also a lot of traffic and the buses are often crowded and their routes are not the clearest. The morning’s bus […]
New arrangements
There are many new arrangements in place since I last posted. Most importantly, I have purchased a very small wooden desk and a very large wooden chair. Actually, most importantly we have purchased a bed and mattress that is actually comfortable, but after that, this desk and chair are the greatest improvement to my well […]
Visitor from afar
A visitor from afar arrived last night. I went to the airport to collect her. The airport and the way to the airport have evolved greatly over the years, such that they are virtually unrecognisable every time I pass through, at least the outside of the airport, but the inside is the same miserable beige […]
Past the barricades
A neighbour is a senior politician and though one notorious for cutting his sail to the wind, is wanted by the authorities in the current situation. All the streets around our house are barricaded and full of very miserable policemen (one told me, plaintively, that he wished it would all end as he was sick […]
Lungis
Went down a rabbit hole of sorts, thinking about lungis, the sarongs worn in Pakistan, now largely by ancient farmworkers, at least in the urban imagination. There must have once been a whole spectrum of them, as they were handwoven. Each region with its own patterns? In Jhang I hear the weave could you tell […]