Turkey - coffee

Let me start by saying that I love Turkish coffee.  I knew I would like it before we even set foot on Turkish soil.

If you get to any country and expect their food and drink to be what you left in your homeland, you will be disappointed.  They do serve Americano coffee in Turkey, but why would you drink American coffee there?  Actually in Turkey, any coffee with milk seems to be Americano coffee.

While we were there our leader explained how to make Turkish coffee in the copper pot.  Bethany actually brought me one from her visit in 2010, and I have used it a few times but not with extra energy, I am going to use it more.

The one observation I did have trouble with, is that the Turkish men sit in coffee shops and smoke and play backgammon while their women are at home, raising children and working.  I really tried not to judge this but I have to say the hair on the back of my neck was raised many times as I observed the men talking politics.  I was very careful to not sit in an area where as a I woman I was not welcome.

At the Spice Bizarre in Istanbul, Rod's Diet Coke and my Turkish coffee

We asked them if we could take their picture in the village we visited

Nurdan, our guide, taking their picture

So, the coffee is thick, dark, strong and gritty.  You should let the grounds settle to the bottom of the cup before you drink it.  One of our travelers had people read his fortune in the grounds.  Apparently you turn the cup upside down on the saucer, wait for it to settle, and then read your fortune in the leftover in the cup, not the grounds on the saucer.

I have to admit, that I did miss my Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks coffee while in Turkey but not enough to frequent the Starbucks we saw in Taksim Square in Istanbul.  I cannot say I loved the Turkish coffee at first, but I learned to love it the longer we were there.

It does seem that many cultures or countries do have their special coffee routine.  In Italy, you stand up at a coffee bar, and down a cup quickly.  The Parisians love their coffee shops and in Morocco we got a lot of cafe au lait because of the French influence.

Adding a story about tea, we got very used to drinking our tea in Turkey in an hour glassed shaped glass.  We got so used to it that the last night when we were served tea in "American" mugs we were a bit miffed and asked the waiter.  Apparently the last OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) had complained about the glasses so they figured we were the same.  We had become so adjusted to the glasses and in a way we were honoring the Turkish way, rather than imposing our American expectations on the server.  It was so interesting to realize the difference between our two groups of similar American travelers.

I cannot understand traveling and expecting the same environment as the one you are familiar with.  I like to notice the differences AND I like to try to adopt the way of the country I am visiting.  I can return soon enough to my Dunkin' and Starbucks, and enjoy them as familiar.

Turkey - WCs

After our experience with toilets in Morocco last year, I approached Turkey with a bit of trepidation.  I use the WC a lot, every hour if possible so knowing that there are Asian (equating) and European (toilets) I was a  bit worried.  In the spice bizarre in Istanbul, they have a sign pointing to Asian versus European.  Because of this worry, and because there are some interesting ways that WCs are represented, I decided to take some pictures of interesting ones.  In my very first few days I made the mistake of using a Mens bathroom.  How was I supposed to know that Bay is for men, and Bayan is for women? A fellow male traveler met me coming of the Gents and looked at me askance.  He also visited a WC every hour as well.  I ended up using squat toilets 3 times, and was so glad our guide told us about raising your pants to your knees before starting.

Here are some of my favorites and before the WC pictures here is one in the Blue Mosque.  

When we asked our guide why women pray separately in mosques and at the back of the room, she said that husbands don't want other men looking at their women.

In the caravan where we saw the whirling dervishes.

I guess it is clear which one to use, if you wear high heels and smoke a pipe!

At the rug making factory, one of my favorites

What is it with Smurfs popularrity?

Yes, this was in the middle of a field

which way?

Turkey - our guide Nurdan

I will blog several times about Turkey and my first one has to be about our guide, Nurdan.  If anyone is traveling to Turkey, I would suggest Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) and I would suggest you find a tour that Nurdan is leading.  I am sure another OAT guide would have been OK but Nurdan was so far superior to anyone that could ever imagine.  She brought her whole self to us for 2 weeks, and she has such a broad knowledge of Turkey, the culture, the people, the history and human nature.

So what did she do that was so terrific? She primarily role modeled for us, how to be in the world.  She made it so comfortable for us to get to know real Turkish people and to be travelers, not just tourists.  From the very first evening in Istanbul, when we walked to a restaurant, she pointed out things along the way.  Primarily, she was talking about Syrian refugees, since we walked right past a park, where they congregate, and wait with their bags packed to be picked up and driven to another country in Europe.  Little children, waiting with family and all of their worldly possessions with them in 4 stuffed bags.  She knows the difference in language and physic, and can pick that up easily in the Syrians, something that was very hard for us to do.  She pointed out a bar which had a life jacket outside on the sign signifying that many refugees came by boat and probably without a life jacket.  The lift jacket represented a Syrian friendly place.

The apple Farmer in Capadocia

On a hike in Capadocia, Nurdan ran back to the bus to get plastic trash bags, and we filled 2 of them that hike with trash left behind.  Twice, she stopped our group and brought a bag up a flight of stone stairs for older people, and in the airport when we were leaving she spent the entire time talking to a woman about her travels, and yes, she carried her bag onto the airplane.  Tom said at that point "Nurdan is a den mother for all of Turkey".

The Sugar Beet farmers posting a group photo on Face book

Role modeled collecting trash

OAT has a philosophy of getting to know the people so on most trips there is a "Day in the Life of".  We visited a family on the way to Ephesus, and spent the better part of the day with them.  The mother and daughter had made us lunch from vegetables they had grown on their farm, and the father grows gourds, that he makes into musical instruments.  We then continued to a little village and we saw most of the villagers, and the children peeked around houses, or ran up to us and followed us.  We saw their school, watched a woman making cheeses, helped a woman sort figs, sat in the coffee shop displacing some men to the one across the street, and Tom got a haircut from the local barber.  This was all facilitated by Nurdan, and her introduction to the family, and then the Mayor of the town and his son and nephew.  Some of us gave a donation to the school to rebuild their toilets.

Nurdan told he to get out of our comfort zone, which is the only reason I tried nagile/hooka in Istanbul.  Because she is constantly pushing herself out of her comfort zone, it was easier for us to do the same.

She had to sign a petition in Taksim square around freedom of speech

Befriending a little boy in Greek ghost village

Nurdan is also the most empathetic, caring and gentle person.  Each of us told her our life story privately or publicly, and she told us hers.  She is a feminist in Turkey with an adopted son, and is hopefully allowing other Turkish women to find their voice.  Meanwhile, she is guiding groups of tourists around her beloved country, and imparting her knowledge.  What she does not know she googles and then brings us the answer.

The MOVE and purging - AND - IT ALL FIT IN

I have promised some people that I would write a blog about our recent move.  Honest, it was a manic 6 weeks, but now that we are on the other end of the tornado, I feel great.

We decided to put our house of 23 years on the market right before our daughter's wedding.  Don't ask!  We had some very good reasons and it was NOT an impulsive decision.  Trust me on this one.

Right before we put the house on the market we became familiar with the Japanese book on Tidying Up which is on the NYT best seller list.  We decided that moving from a 3-bedroom house with two sheds for storage into a one bedroom condo called for extreme measures.

This guy did not make the cut

Both of us followed the principles of the book, which is to gather ALL items of a certain category, and then touching each one ask "Does this bring me joy?"  Items that have survived several moves and many years of gathering dust were recycled or reused.  After a few 100 of these decisions the muscle memory became pretty strong.  In our new condo we have a NO JOY box, which is collecting things that survived the first cut.

We did it.  We moved everything into the condo with room to spare.  The storage unit is almost entirely taken up with Bethany's riding stuff which we will store until she rides again.  It has been quite a journey, and in the middle of it while questioning our sanity, we did not know we would be able to finish.

So where did the stuff end up?

• We recycled mattresses to an organization ,  UTEC Lawrence which recycles mattresses and provides young people with a job.  I think about that every time I drive by one on the curb.  What a waste!
• We took 20 boxes of books to More than Words in Waltham. They also have an excellent mission statement of running a cafe and book store on Moody street and selling used books run by young adults.
• All home goods and clothing we took to Global Thrift, also on Moody Street in Waltham.  I support them more than a huge organization like Salvation Army.  (Just not sure where their stuff ends up)
• Food and paper goods I took to Bristol Lodge soup kitchen.  I stayed to help serve the homeless one day.  That was very rewarding
• All baskets and vases any flower store will take with much appreciation
• Best Buy has an incredible recycling program.  We took all electronics, old audio tapes, VHS tapes, DVD, and unbelievable they take CD Jewel cases.  They also take any cables from electronics.  
• Sheets, pillows, and any house hold items we took to the Middlesex Human Service Agency.  There are something like 108 homeless facilities in Waltham alone.  They welcome anything like this.
• I also ran a virtual yard sale on my blog and raised over $200 for WATCH in Waltham.
• ADDED 12/3/2015 - AFTER THE MOVE I discovered two others recycling opportunities Yarn and needles can be taken to Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program located near Boston Medical Center.  They have a program that involves knitting for respite care patients
• Some Whole Foods Markets, and probably other stores, recycle corks from wine bottles