"No but of course yes"

This is a photo of the always impressive Sultanahmet Camii or The Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The inside is completely tiled with Blue Iznik tiles hence the English name. Must see. We were in Istanbul a few weeks ago...


















We were sitting in Traffic as you often do in Istanbul when I noticed all over the taxis were the no smoking signs, you know, the cigarette with the big red circle around it and a slash through it, pretty universal. Then I also noticed the taxi driver was smoking? Hmmm? So I asked my husband if you can smoke in Taxis? He replied, "No but of course yes." This along with "Burası Türkiye" is another one of my new favorite slogans for my Turkish experience that can probably be applied to other situations too.

It seems that a HUGE majority of the population smoke here. It is a very social culture, people always seem to have time to sit together, drink tea or coffee and smoke cigarettes while chatting. I enjoy it all very much except the everyone smoking part. I think most Turks are quite oblivious to the idea of second hand smoke and the awareness of whose air space they are invading with their smoke. When I first came to Turkey a few years ago you could smoke everywhere; schools, public buildings etc. Now those spaces have been banned and you have to pay a fine if someone catches you(that's the trick... if someone catches you or cares enough or has the authority to even fine you) but still every bar, cafe, restaurant and outdoor space is open to smoking.

Since I lived in San Diego, California it was always been a completely smoke free(indoors) state. When I would go back to Minnesota and go to the bars where smoking wasn't banned at the time I realized how it permeates your skin, hair, lungs etc. and now really appreciate that they passed the law to ban smoking inside. They are supposed to impose a similar law here in Turkey in July so you can't smoke in bars anymore. This law keeps being pushed back to a later time and I wonder how it will go over this July? A ban or the "No, but of course yes"? Slow changes I wonder? Please just be aware of your second hand smoke!


















We went to Bursa a year or two ago for my husband's work. It was a fair at one of the universities with bands, cotton candy and other fair food, pop the balloon games, a few rides, for the most part usual fair activities until I noticed the above game, "Ring-a-round a ciggy pack". If you can throw a ring around the cigarette pack it is yours. It made me laugh and I had to take a pic. I think my husband probably played a few rounds actually. The love/addiction to cigarettes is no joke especially when it is so culturally accepted. We'll see... "No but of course yes????"

The story of the three idiots and the sweet talkers...

We went to Izmir, the "big city" for the day to go to IKEA and a few other shops. We sipped our Starbucks on the boardwalk, I admit i miss Starbucks sometimes. This lady came by selling red roses. She had a few good lines about this and that...for your lady...blah blah...she was a sweet talker though. She got a few lira from us in exchange for the red rose that was going to die in the car on our two hour drive back down to Didim, oh well. She kept sweet talking, got a cigarette out of my husband...some more sweet talking(again in Turkish so I only understood some but knew it was sweet)...then she has my husband's friend's hand and plops a few beans in it and starts reading his palm. Talking about life and love, counting and giving good blessings. Then she moves on to my husband. He was hesitant at first but hey it's fun even though I wish I understood it all. More sweet talking about life, love and then she takes away Nazars...














The above photo is a Turkısh eye that helps protect from evil eyes. Evil eyes and jealous thoughts people may have towards you are reflected if you have these blue Turkish eyes about, the protection. People are always pinning little blue eye beads on ones they love, especially babies. But the fortune teller said she would take away Ç's nazar for a mere and measly 20 Lira. Ha-ha so Ç and his friend both handed this sweet talking gypsy 20 TL each...40 total and we brushed it off for good luck, of course purification from nazars and this lady deserved it for here sweet talking skills. She proceeded to talk to us more how she is a Roman...I think this really is the gypsies all over Europe. Always transient and not in their original country of Romania. Normally with poor jobs living in shanties. Does anyone have extra info on these people? She continued to tell us about her father in jail, her two kids and her husband whose job is "treasure hunter" looking or should I say looting the ancient historical sites in search of gold. All throughout she had kind eyes, a bluish green. I had my big sunglasses on so she wanted to see my eyes to make sure I was OK, this American I am. She was a character for sure! Took another cigarette and went on her way to sweet talk the next...














Then grandma sweet talker came over...the mother that probably taught all these ladies "working the boardwalk" to sweet talk. She had seen the para(money) we had handed out. Instead she went to me...grabbed my hand and before I knew it my palm was being read even though I didn't know what she was saying my husband tried to translate best he could. Something about a key is coming soon(it's about time we get our house key I hope:)) and more blah blah and oh no...seems I have a huge nazar against me. Could be the pregnancy, could be her using my husband's love she knows she can get some money from him...20 lira nope not enough...she needs more to banish this huge nazar from me...but sorry sweet talking grandma...para yok...bitti...We had just given away far too much money in a short amount of time. Oh good for a story, "The three idiots and the sweet talkers". haha!


















We proceeded to IKEA, to note a Swedish company, when Ç slams on the brakes because he sees a man selling Native American headdresses and bow and arrows on the side of the road. I snapped this pick of my hubby and his peace pipe but really just want to mention what an interesting global world we live in. I am an American married to a Turk in Turkey and we just bought Native American replica paraphernalia for our cafe that was made in Indonesia, that's why it was so cheap the man said...crazy...

Gezgin garden remodel...

We have been working hard landscaping our Gezgin cafe's garden with the help of two gardener's and our beloved university student helpers. So far we added spruce? tree "fences" on both sides to really distinguish our area from the neighbors. They will look great once they grow in a bit.


















My sister-in-law and I worked hard painting our picket fences and all the bricks around the garden beds. Now it seems to be more hurry up and wait. The pace is just different in this country. We are waiting for the gardener's to come back to plant a bunch of lemon trees around the corners and to bring the flowers for the beds. Hey, Master gardner's club...could you guys please fly out to give us some good advice...he he...if only it was closer huh? We are still trying to decide which carpenter to use to make new chairs, tables and benches. We are looking for new lights to border our area and lights to hang from our trees. I think we are going to put a small bar out under my favorite huge pine tree. It is going to be good we hope and of course the natural view of the sea is the real prize!!! Come and have a cold beer or a smoothie(I'm going to start making ice cream and fruit yummies for this hot weather)! Will post completed pics later...


Gezgin Cafe
Seaside bar and cafe
Fevsipaşa Mah.
Cennet Cad. No 28/A
Sahte Cennet/ Didim/ Aydin
Turkey

Tel: 0.256.846.2218

I have plans to make our website just need to figure out how first???? Any suggestions?

Winter showers have brought April flowers...

The seasons in Didim are a bit different than the rhythm I an used to...April showers bring May flowers. There have been flowers popping up everywhere for weeks helped by the previously rainy winter season and all this sun we have been having. I am pretty sure the rain is finished and the temperature will escalate from here on out! I am going to be a hot pregnant momma...whew! The above tree is fabulous right now with it's playful pops of yellow puff balls. I like the light in this photo too. It was dusk and Çağlar and I were out for a nice romantic dinner :)...


















One of my favorite passed times recently is walking Tequila and picking bouquets of flowers to stick anywhere people will let me. There is always some new bud or variety to notice. These I placed on the cafe tables outside. I think it is a welcoming touch.


















The wild poppies with there vibrant red hue and translucent paper like leaves still impress me every year! The grow all over the Aegean seaside this time of year. The above photo is from one of my husband and I's first road trips together two years ago(how time flys) through Ephesus historical site and after it was on to meet his parents for the first time. The funny thing was my hair had streaks of red about as vibrant as those poppies from my first encounter with a Turkish hair dresser, (seriously funny other story!), but his parents still welcomed me, the punk rock American girl with open arms.

Burası Türkiye...

This is Turkey...

I had to drive my in-laws to a neighboring city of Aydin where my father-in-law has been receiving treatments for the cancer he still doesn't know he has after 9 months. I think in the States that this unrevealed fact wouldn't be possible legally but his family has decided that to keep this man going, instead of worrying himself to death, that they just tell him he is receiving "treatments" and everything will be fine. But hey he;s alive with stage 4 lung cancer that spread to his brain so they might be on to something here?? But I think I would want to know, anyways. Our extended family has become somewhat of a Broadway play. I think he just trusts his family to do the right thing for him and he just goes along. My mother-in-law has been the most impressive lead/supporting actress in this "play" and seriously deserves an Oscar or Tony, whatever. She is always first inside talking to the doctors and nurses getting him where he needs to be and reflecting comments that include the word cancer and making sure that the other "actors/nurses/doctors" know that they in fact need to become actors and play their role accordingly around the "C" word. Oh the interesting dynamics...

As my mother-in-law was inside the hospital taking care of papers, future appointments and check-in for her husband of 32 years. Father-in-law and I went to get some çorba and çay, soup and tea. As we were sitting inside on our third cup of tea attempting to communicate with my still flawed Turkish and he was "shooting the shit" with the restaurant workers as he LOVES to do(with anyone!) we wondered where mother-in-law is because we were supposed to be at the doctors appointment an hour ago??? When m-i-l calls and says the doctors still hasn't shown up for the day and no one knows when he will be in. Well I am thinking what the heck...this is not very professional...this would never happen in...blah blah when the restaurant manager says, "Burası Türkiye!(This is Turkey)" And I just start cracking up so loud(those of you that know me know my loud laugh can get really loud) because this simple statement(which I was stoked I could understand even) sums up so many things so beautifully and it was coming from a Turk not just a yobanci(foreigner like me) out to complain about the inefficiency.

Burası Türkiye is now my new "motto" for life here, frustrating and beautiful as it can be I am in a foreign land, Türkiye. Where things move at a different pace but family is important.

The above photo is our hopefully new house. It is getting remodeled with the new sun awnings being installed and painted, fresh paint inside and there was a promise of a new remodeled kitchen but... burası Türkiye and they ran out of money to do the kitchen. So now we are stuck possibly doing it ourselves, seriously the kitchen is the heart of the house! But this is our rented house not bought house so I don't want to put tons of money into it...ahhhhh but through my frustration my always positive husband assures me we can make it work...hopefully sooner than later!!!!! Hurry it up people!

Positives: the awnings will be beautiful and will help this summer to keep my hugely pregnant self cool and the views from the walk on roof are beautiful! And it is a decent ways away from other houses to help for our privacy and our puppies craziness!

We'll see...

recycling

I have decided to start recycling at our house. Unlike the states there doesn't seem to be a pick-up service. I have heard rumors of one inside Didim city center and I saw a truck once from çevko but there aren't any specifics on their website. Recycling is not yet a routine in Turkish culture. I must say they reuse alot though such as plastic grocery store bags in the garbage cans.

I found the above recycling bins in the Migros supermarket so i plan to save my recycling and load it up in my car to take to town. I guess start small. Maybe after I can get my in-laws interested and eventually our cafe. I think I would need a pick up service for the cafe though.

Does anyone have any information regarding this? Ideas?

Happy birthday Çağlar!

So I made some of my gram's chocolate crazy cake for a surprise...honestly it turned out just ok. I am not sure why? Different ingredients? I wasn't sure about the cocoa or the vinegear I used was grape vinegear? Or maybe I think I could have cooked it just a few minutes longer??? I'll consult my momma later...

My cute auntie gave me the recipe(thanks Janie) and then my dad scanned my mother's hand written recipe cards which I adore(also thanks mom and dad)!!!!The 8 hour time change can be really tough sometimes! That double frosting above is the best and I promise this recipe is good for those that try.

Either way it's my husband's birthday and he was of course gracious about my ok cake and reminded me that I am the best cookie maker(he hasn't had my dad's yet)...

He is so sweet.

Çağlar seni seviyorum!