Hello there, I'm back !!

Dear Readers,

Yeap... I'm back on the Blog. Hello to all of you, so terribly sorry I never responded to any of your comments for the last 10 years or so.  Frankly, I didn't even realised that you guys are still following my pieces.. I'm very touched by your support and kind words. Really.. see... I have tears down my face, I'm really touched, thank you again. 

I'm also overwhelmed by the 1000s of comments sent and I've simply posted them few minutes ago. Hopefully I can revisit them one day. Anyway I just posted 2 articles that I didn't publish previously. No photos but I hope that you won't mind the long tale. 

Will be back again soon. More to come.. but with a twist this time...

Stay tuned !! Sending warm greetings to wherever you are....

We truly are lucky creatures - Part 2

I was late in arriving home due to the crawl on the road. Thats very Istanbul.....Istanbul is not Istanbul without its famous traffic jam. You could obtain a double major degree if you spend time studying during the time you spent while in the traffic jam! Thank god for all those iPad, iPod,3G and whatnots....after sometimes, you hardly noticed the crawl and will continue being lost in your own world. Old fashioned me still prefer to look out and enjoy the scenery and going-ons.

Istanbul is one city where you can't leave home without a camera. Leave the Mastercard or the Visa (plastics) if you want but never the camera. There are simply too many beautiful, abstract and unexpected things that could happen along your way. The other day, we had this Audi TT car in front of us stopping in the middle of the road. For a brief moment we thought he must be having an engine problem when we eventually realised that he was talking to an incoming Mercedes sports, right smack in the middle of the road. He finished his conversation with a handshake with the other person in the next car and drove away! If only I had my camera with me at that moment....it would've been priceless!

Now....back to part 2 of my story. Pazartesi (monday) is fresh market day in my neighborhood. I always made a point of going as its a wonderful way of testing my turkce (turkish language). Believe me, when its a matter of Liras, you'd made sure you know your Turkce. Pazar (market) days in spring always have an air of festivity in it. There are more traders and the goods are more interesting and best of all.....kiraz (cherries) are now in abundance! I have been having kiraz for kahvalti (breakfast), ogle yemegi (noon meal) and aksam yemegi (evening meal). My pyrex bowl is forever filled with kiraz and I don't mind as I've been told that the season is normally short. Over here, when the season is finished, that's it, you have them no more. Even for fish...which stops from June till September...crikey!!

As I pulled the trolley behind me to walk home, I saw something that mortified me. Its a scene out of a movie and I never thought that I would see it with my own eyes. Across the road was a woman with a little boy, the boy barely seven years old. That is nothing strange but what caught my eyes was that...they were rummaging into this big council litter bin and trying to salvage some papers and things. And the boy was picking up a remnant of an ice-cream and wanted to eat it before the woman yanked it away from his hand. I was stunned as I knew how the boy must have felt. I love ice cream,too. The weather is now warm and having an ice cream or ice lollies is heaven on earth.

Without thinking I gestured to the woman to me as my feet was rooted and I could not move. And then....the picture became worse as I saw her hurried towards me. Her right leg is actually just a piece of wood! But let me tell you this.....she can walk faster than a person half her age, that I am sure of. When I handed her some Liras, she was just as stunned as I was.

First, a man crawling on all fours and now a woman with a stick for a leg? And all in one day? Is God really trying to tell me something? What is it? I already said my gratitude all the way home in the bus. What next? This sighting reinforce my deduction on the determined Turkish. They might be down on luck but they still exhibit the uncanny determination and integrity that I had witnessed twice today. And the best part is...the rest do not ostracize  them, rather they accept them as one of them. The tolerable and kind society allow and let them continue with their lives honorably and with full integrity.

I was made known that every evening, the shops selling bread or any food items would discreetly place their products outside their shops so that the less fortunate could go and take them for consumption discreetly. I was told,too that if you didn't have money, you can just go to any shops and they will give away food to you free of charge. They are really charitable and I had on many occasions got a free ride on the bus because I was out of coins or I seemed lost to them.

I believe that these traits are ingrained in them since kingdom came. I really must find out how the people started this traits or if it was brought in from somewhere or someone. Meanwhile, I'll just enjoy the hospitality that Istanbul has to offer me.

We truly are lucky creatures....

June 6th. 2011.

Sometimes....in going through our busy daily lives, we tend to overlook many blessings accorded to us and even forgot to stop and smell the flowers. Its spring time in Istanbul and the although its a bit late in coming, its a wonderful change after all those cold and wet days (and nites).

After the colorful tulips have wilted, its now blooming of great, colorful and biggggg roses. White, pink, red, yellow, magenta...you have them all here. Its crawling everywhere its tendrils can get a hold on to. Its on your fences, on the road divider, beside the swimming pool, in the garden, on the balcony....just beautiful! How wonderful to be in Istanbul at this time of the year. Many a times, i couldn't resist the temptation and just jump out of my car and went down to smell the roses. If they think i'm crazy...well, being a Yabanci (foreigner) do have its privilege !!

Today, something caught my attention, twice ! I think God must be trying to knock some humility into me and ambushed me with these two very significant happenings.

The first event took place in a very busy street where I was waiting for my 29C bus to go home after spending sometimes shopping at MetroCity. The three o'clock bus stop is always jam packed with people when a bus drew to stop in front of us. Suddenly....everything and everyone went quiet and you could hear and feel the thoughts that would be on everybody's mind.

There, coming out from the bus was a man. Maybe in his 40's and medium built in striped shirt and black pants. So, what could be so strange about a man alighting from a bus? Well....for a start, he's not walking. He's crawling out of the bus, on his own, unassisted. Picture this....he's crawling on all fours, with his legs and hands. He had a slipper (or slip-on) on his two hands to protect them from the road or whatever.

He crawled away from the bus, oblivious to us staring at him albeit speechless (how impolite we all were) and inched his way to wait for another bus. I am not sure about the rest but for me, I only saw one thing.....and that was the determination and 'calmness' on his face. He was lucky as he didn't have to wait long for his bus. He got it immediately he reached the other stop. And just as how he stunned us with his crawling out of the bus, he also fascinated us with his crawling onto the bus with no assistance as if thats the most natural thing for him to do. After that, we could see the excitement on the bus where someone gave up his seat to him.

Needless to say, I was deep in thought throughout my whole journey back and I started to count my blessings and thank God for everything that I have. What is the significance of this event again? Well.....for one, thats's how the Turks are. They are really determined people and very very resilient and innovative. Not to mention, helpful and kind people.

That man was not in rags or tattered clothes. Far from it. He was dressed properly and I won't be surprised if he was on his way to work. He was not any different from the rest and he had on him the same determination and dignity that any average Joe even failed to have. He could be somebody's husband, father or son and I am sure that they are proud of him for being so 'normal' in our prejudiced and stereotyping mind. He is such a 'strong' man even though he was only inches from the ground as compared to our towering heights. How lucky we are that we don't have to find out if the air is fresher 6 inches from the road or pavement.

WE truly are lucky creatures !!!

Will tell you about the second event in my next posting. Gotta rush out to buy some ekmek (bread) for my cleaner lady who's cleaning the my units today.

Iyi gunler !!!