Boats of İstanbul

For this season I choose a photo of a Bhosporus boat as the header of my blog...Why??? Because I love them and I also think that they are one of the greatest symbols of İstanbul.

If you are lucky and could grap a seat by the window or outside if the weather is good, it's the best place to dream and relax while the silhouettes of a beautiful city flows in front of you. Every day they carry millions of people from port to port as well as from Asia to Europe or vice versa. Its definitely the most convenient way from one continent to another.

When I was a young banker the early morning boat from Uskudar to Eminonu was my mode of transportation to work. A glass of hot tea and a bagel was my breakfast while the boat was slowly moving in the dark blue waters of Bhosporus.It was the most refreshing way to start a new day and it still is...Dont forget to jump one of them if you ever come to this part of the world.

Back to İstanbul

Finally we are back to İstanbul after 4.5 months. After spending so much time at open space and at the beach, first days at home rather brought a mild depression to Hubby and me while Hera is having a major one..After a big re-packing session, we ran to supermarkets and the farmers market to make a reasonable food stock..and I started to fill the baskets and bowls at home with season's products...

 and in the meantime our little Hera had an operation 2 days ago..She is sooo sweet with the big kone on her head but as you can guess she is quite unhappy...

So our life in İstanbul has started. So far I couldnt go out except food shopping but hopefully this weekend. I already miss so much of your posts but as I have a proper internet now, I will see you soon..

Good Bye Datca

It was a beautiful summer and autumn, but now its time to move...Time for winter and time for İstanbul..So Good Bye my dear Datca until next summer..We will miss you..

The Door

Nowadays I am madly packing as we are soon moving to our winter home and life in İstanbul. There are tons of stuff to be arranged before both here and there..While we are still enjoying a beautiful Mediterranean autumn over here, winter scenes and even snow started to appear in and around İstanbul in the TV news. It looks like it will be a big climate change for us..

Soon I will change the header of my blog and make it something more appropriate with the life in İstanbul. I know many of you like my summer and Datca themed header. Before changing it here is a full photo of the door..

 It is the entrance door of a lovely stone house in old Datca..

Wish you a great and colorful weekend....

Life in an Ottoman Mansion

Last week Hubby's twin brother and his family came to Datca. During their stay, their choice of hotel was a 200 year old Ottoman Mansion. Their stay gave me the opportunity to take some photos of this beautiful place.

The mansion is one of the oldest examples of civil architecture still surviving in Anatolia. It is named after Mehmet Ali Aga who was the governor of Rhodes in 1890s...

As I was not able to take photo of the suites of the mansion here are some for you from the web site of the hotel..

and of course the integral part of an Ottoman House :The Hamam

For more info and photos please visit their web site : http://www.kocaev.com/  and if you ever decide to come don't forget to stop and say 'hi' to me..

Places from Cuba: Trinidad

I wasnt sure what I was expecting to see when I decided to go to Cuba. All I know was I wanted to see Cuba ( with the dissatisfied hunger of a traveller) while Fidel was alive. I wanted to see the creation of his life time..

Well, at the end of my trip, the hunger has satisfied. I saw good things, I saw sad things. I listened frustrating life stories, I listened happy life stories. So actually not much different from the other places I have lived and visited.

Of course I couldnt see Fidel with my own eyes but had the opportunity to see the first lady of the time: Mrs Castro (Raul Castro's wife). She was entertaining her guests from South Korea at a restaurant where we were also lunching and when she learned that our small group came all the way from Turkey, she did not hesitate to stop and graciously welcomed us to her country.

Well, so many words but no photos so far. As for my 'Places from Cuba' post, I want to take you to the town of Trinidad. A wonderful, beautiful and a MUST see place.

Faces From Cuba -2

Today here find some faces from Cuba from my camera, including a very happy tourist.

A painter couple from the Cojimar village. He was drawing, she was painting and today the painting he holds is hanging on my home

I always consider my time in Cuba as the beginning of my travel to find me....I remember I had so much problem at the office back home at the time. I was hating my job but I was making tons of money and I was spending tons of money. The usual dilemma...But in the 10 days I spent in Cuba, filled with music, dancing, and wonderful friends, my whole attitude towards life has started to change. It was the first time I really considered that I could actually quit my job and trade it's perks with a more happy, more simpler and more productive life. Of course it took me couple more years to do it but the little precious seed was already planted under the Cuban sun at that time.

I received a complaint from dear Mitr that I am neglecting her.. I know, I am not visiting your blogs as much as I wanted to nowadays and trying to figure out what you wrote by just looking at the titles but since we did not extend our high speed internet connection deal as we are soon moving back to İstanbul, I am struggling with a very slow connection. It is taking ages just to load a single blog. So please excuse me, I will be back with my visits soon...

Faces from Cuba

Last night Hubby was out of town and it was my fish menu night. As he hates the smell of the cooking fish at home, I prefer to make it for myself when he is out.

It was a beautiful night. I had my fish, green salad and couple glasses of wine. Candles were lit at the veranda, Cesaria Evora was playing on the background, her beautiful voice was mixing with the sounds of the waves. A perfect scene for one of my habits.

After dinner I made myself a thick, black Turkish coffee and smoked a Cuban cigar. I have never smoked in my life, but in a Cuban trip I made 6 years ago, I somehow acquired the habit of smoking cigars.  I found out that after a good dinner, in a pleasant night, there is nothing better than the rich and strong taste of a cigar to end the feast.

I am extremely selective for my cigar dates. It has to be a Cohiba and the setting should be perfect and I only smoke 8-10 per year. While I was enjoying my coffee and cigar, I realized that I have never posted about Cuba on my blog. I have to say that, so far I have travelled to many different countries but Cuba and couple other places will always have a very special place on my heart.

Last night it was also the wedding night of my dear friend Erdem. As of today he and his wife Sema are flying to Tibet for their honeymoon. I am wishing them a wonderful trip and a great life together from here.

I already posted some excellent photos of  Erdem's trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar  on Turquoise Diaries, and today for the first post of my Cuban series, let me start with some of his photos. So here are some faces from Cuba from the eyes of Erdem Kütükoğlu:

Next post : Places from Cuba