My Gypsy Life

Where I giggled in the ocean

(near Datça, Turkey, 2011)

Blue Mosque in the background

(Istanbul, 2011)

sunrise

(Turkey, 2011)

For a few days I found myself in a wonderful place called Eski Foça, a fishing town outside of Izmir packed with Turkish tourists and locals. Picked up from the airport, I was whisked through the Turkish countryside through the farmlands outside of Izmir until we reached the ocean.

(tomatoes being dried in the sun)

I ended up spending most of my time laying in the sun, jumping into the crystal clear water, then drying off in the sun again. It was also a wonderful opportunity to practice my Turkish since most people spoke little English. The experience though was complete with miscommunication as I missed a lunch date with a friends mother and ended up eating köfte (I’ve been a vegetarian for 20+ years).

My last night in Foça I went for fish and raki then off bar-hopping with friends. We laid on the beach watching the stars, Tarkan playing in the background, only to find ourselves later standing on the cliffs outside of the city drinking Efes watching the sunrise. It was a long and fun night. 

(watching the sunrise through Kayne colored glasses)

sunset on the Aegean

(Foça, Turkey)

street art

Istanbul, 2011

Ayasofya

(Istanbul, 2011)

My first morning back in the States and I’m already missing Turkey (surprised?) On my last day I indulged myself on a traditional Turkish breakfast at my favorite neighborhood restaurant, Galata Kitchen. It was recommended by my roommates Nicole and Michelle. Galata Kitchen is just two women, a kitchen, plus casserole dishes and one of the best places to eat traditional homemade Turkish food.

(Traditional Turkish breakfast plate with cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, jams; menemen, turkish tea, and bread)

Songs that will remind me of my 6 weeks in Turkey…

• Yakar Geçerim - Ajda Pekkan & Tarkan
• Unuttun Mu Beni - Sezen Aksu
• Senden Daha Güzel - Duman
• Atma - Hande Yener & Sinan Akçıl
• Je Veux - ZAZ
• Şıkır Şıkır - Gülben Ergen ft. Mustafa Sandal
• Haydi gel içelim - Yüksek Sadakat
• Hayat Öpücüğü - Murat Boz

Can someone make me a mixed tape now…yeah I said tape!

It just hit me (I gasped and my chest tightened) …I’m leaving in a few days. Tears welled in my eyes and a few escaped.

This trip has been a full range of emotions for multiple reasons. Meeting the boy in the grand bazaar who is from where my great-grandparents are from, standing there as he told me the same stories my grandparents told me (there were tears then too), to the amazing 9 friends who traveled halfway across the world to celebrate my big birthday and experience this country with me.

We all make excuses of why not to travel but it is with traveling with a curious heart your senses ignite.

In December, I decided to take the literary plunge and purchase a kindle. I was on my way to China for 6 weeks and I didn’t want to lug a lot of books around. Since then, I’ve used it very little finding myself unable to read any novel on such a device. 

Yet, I still brought my kindle to Turkey just in case something would click and magically I would be able to be engulfed into a novel electronically on my travels. It hasn’t been touched in 6 weeks.

So one day, I found myself wandering down Istiklal and into a bookstore. I was looking for a collection of Rumi poems for a dear friend. Of course, I ended up with 2 books for my reading pleasure (see below). I just finished Elif Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love. Every chapter I was underlining sentences that touched me in my present moments. Shafak is by far one of my favorite writers.

There is something to be said about holding a book, turning its pages, bending its spine, as you sit on a beach watching the waves splash against the sand.

“How can love be worthy of its name if one selects solely the pretty things and leaves out the hardships? It is easy to enjoy the good and dislike the bad. Anybody can do that. The real challenge is to love the good and the bad together, not because you need to take the rough with the smooth but because you need to go beyond such descriptions and accept love in its entirety.” - The Forty Rules of Love

Treading water in the sea today and I could see my shadow at the bottom…I giggled

I’ve been here for 5 weeks, more than I originally planned. It was love at first sight of my pale white skin moving through the crystal waters of the Ege outside of Izmir…love at first smell of the kestaneler roasting on istiklal in Istanbul…love at first taste with lokum as it melted in my mouth (lets not forget menemen, borek, ve raki/balik)..love at first sound as the call to prayer woke me up that first morning in Galata..love at first touch as I rubbed my hand against the weave of a bright red and pink rug in the grand bazaar. I imagine I’ll post pictures when I leave, but until then I’m drinking my beyaz sarap, sitting on the beach, enjoying my last week in this lovely country.

Merhaba Istanbul!

I love hearing the sound of people speaking Turkish and the call to prayer from my window.

Countdown! my heart flitters…

fuckyeahturkey:

Turkish Coffee by burak.gursoy on Flickr.