The Color Red, or Happy Years

I was surprised to see a clothing store rearranged, now featuring red underwear in the very front of the shop. For New Year's, the Turkish people wear red underwear! Oh, my! I am unprepared for this holiday. You name it, it is available in red - boxers, bikinis and granny panties. Many feature Santa, who will be bringing the presents on New Year's eve.

And no, it is not Valentine's Day yet, but hearts are featured on many shop windows, also for the New Year.

A shoe store made their New Year's Christmas tree out of red shoes.

The town decorated the normally red nostalgic tram with large, sparkling red bows.

The evening of the last full moon was very mild, weather wise, and when returning home, I first went in the opposite direction to take the longer one hour ferry ride home. As we approached the first bridge, the lights made a rotation in red as I took a lopsided picture from the moving ferry.

The direct translation of the Turkish wish for New Year's is "Happy Years". No one can tell me why it is plural. There are always some unexplainable mysteries in this city.

Where ever you are, and what ever color of your underwear, have a happy and healthy 2011!

Frida and Diego

Newly opened at the Pera Museum is an exhibit of paintings by the Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The pieces on exhibit are part of the Gelman collection. The Gelman's lived in Mexico for a number of years, were art collectors, and became friends with Frida and Diego. The majority of their life collection was donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a smaller portion to the Mexican National Cultural Heritage. On display are pieces donated to Mexico. The Gelmans knew and admired Diego and when Mrs. Gelman was introduced to Frida and saw this self portrait with Diego on her mind, she purchased it immediately, and became an instant admirer of Frida and her work.
Diego is most famous for his mural work, none of which from this collection left Mexico. There were some large canvases, including "Calla Lily Vendors".
Both Frida and Diego were commissioned to paint portraits of Natasha Gelman in 1943. Frida portrait is small and very precise. The fur collar looked soft to the touch, which of course, I didn't. Diego's canvas was large, with the full body painted and calla lilies in the background. Here is a closeup of just the face. Both paintings were lovely and drew your eyes to them.
"Girl with Gloves" is a watercolor done by Diego with lots of character.

This is the first time Frida and Diego have been exhibited in Turkey and a special treat for all of us living in Istanbul at this time. Many Spanish speaking visitors were at the museum as well as a large group of students from one of the universities with a robust art program. The exhibit continues until March 20, 2011.

Princes' Islands

Yesterday, we had very fine weather and I took the opportunity to ferry to the Princes' Islands located in the Sea of Marmara and inside the Istanbul city limits. As we departed from the ferry pier in Kadikoy, we had a view of Haydarpasa train station being repaired. The day I flew into Istanbul, toward the end of November, there was smoke in the air and the source was the roof of this train station. It was quite a blaze, although reports have suggested that the damage was solely to the roof. I was glad to see it being repaired so quickly.

As we headed out to sea, the seagulls joined us and escorted us the entire route to and from the islands. Passengers throw seeds and small pieces of bread to the birds, and are delighted when a bird catches the treat mid-air.

The ferry stops at 4 islands that are part of the Princes' Islands chain. The islands have some year round residents and many summer homes. No cars are allowed on the islands, so they are a bit more peaceful than the rest of Istanbul. We docked at Burgazada island to let some passengers off and more on. Students use the ferry for commuting to school on an island other than their home island.

I got off the ferry at the last stop, Buyukada, or Big Island, and took a walk around. The horses and carraiges are available for touring, and in this case, for delivery of a new washer. The island streets seem very large with no cars on them.

The harbor area had lots of boats, both in and out of the water.

My favorite home was white with pink shutters.

Bicycles are the fast mode of transportation for residents and are available for rent to the tourists.

After walking around for a few hours, I jumped back on the ferry for the return one hour and 15 minute trip back to Kadikoy. The cats were waiting for returning school children at one of the island stops.

I'll repeat this trip, stopping at another of the islands for my walk around. It will be sooner rather than later if this good weather continues.

Vehbi Koc Nature Park

As you drive on the 2nd bridge over the Bosphorus, from Europe to Asia, you see a large Turkish flag flying on top of a treed hill. That hill, named Otagtepe, is home to the Vehbi Koc Nature Park. Today, the skies were very clear, so I called a taxi and had him drive me up there. The park is part of a conservation program established by one of Turkey's industrialist families, named Koc. The park had just received crates of pansies to plant along borders.

Vehbi Koc (1901-1996) is memorialized in bronze at the entrance to the park.

The park has a heliport, walking paths, viewing seats and a reflection pond.

Lovely views of the Bosphorus to the north,

directly across,

and to the south.

After my visit, I had lunch in a neighboring cafe with a more limited Bosphorus view and then walked down the steep hill.

December flowers

All pictures taken outdoors, in our recent mild, mid-50's F temperatures.

There are no flowers in this picture, but some brave soul is growing lettuce...

Christmas ? Trees

Istanbul is decorated with lots of Christmas trees. The city is responsible for the trees of white airy balls entwined with lights. In the foreground, a vendor is roasting chestnuts. A high end shopping mall has a tree made of artificial poinsettias, with unwrapped packages from the mall shops underneath to maximize advertising.

A stationary store has plastic trees, stocking and ornaments for sale. All made in China.

And live Charlie Brown trees are now available for home use and subsequent planting. Many people will have a tree in their home, although the celebration here is really for New Year's, not Christmas. As it turns out, Santa comes here on New Year's Eve and delivers packages to the children. So if you thought Santa rested after Christmas, you are wrong. He's busy delivering to Turkey on New Year's Eve.

I picked up a Turkish copy of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" (left) for my collector friend Nick. The shop also had an abridged version for younger children (right), the title of which has been changed to "A New Year's Day Story". The original ends with Tiny Tim saying, " God protect all of us, each one of us. Amen." and in the modified version, Tiny Tim says, "Have a merry and happy Christmas." I'll leave the rest of the translation comparisons to Nick.

At my own home, my Christmas tree is a candle taper - a minimalist year for decorations.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Polonezkoy

For my husband's niece's 29th birthday, several of us went to Polonezkoy (literal translation Polish Village) for brunch. Polonezkoy is to the east of where we live, away from the city, but still in the official city limits of Istanbul. We knew we arrived when we saw the sign welcoming us in three languages, Turkish, English and Polish. The Polish arrived in 1844, leaving their homeland, which was being absorbed into other empires. Polonezkoy had become a little village with lots of good restaurants for those in Istanbul needing some fresh air to visit. We went to a restaurant and parked the car by the chicken and duck pen. I was hoping we were not eating fowl after seeing these creatures. The family owning/running this restaurant is the 5th generation from the 1844 exodus.

We dined in a private pavillion, which was surrounded by a garden filled with natural flora and kitch. We dined on bread and cheese, more bread and cheese, eggs and special jams. One soft white cheese reminded me of the cheese in Poland, and was more agreeable to my palate than the salty Turkish cheeses. We took home the leftovers.

After eating, my sister-in-law and I took a walk in the local area, where there are green rolling hills, and ...

a protected park with a walking trail. After walking downhill for some time, we retraced our steps uphill and did a good job of cleaning out our lungs.

On our way home, we passed the "Do Widzenia" and look forward to another visit to this village.

Galata Tower, musical instruments

I was over in the Pera area of Istanbul for the International Women of Istanbul's Christmas luncheon, and afterwards, I took a walk to find the Galata Tower, which is a famous landmark in the Beyoglu section of Istanbul. This picture is taken from the Eminonu section of Istanbul, with the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn in the foreground and the Galata Tower on the hill.

This was not my first time looking for the Galata Tower. The tower is not at the top of the hill, but down a bit. I took the narrow lane which is home to musical instrument shops. Modern day cymbals were invented in Istanbul in 1618 by an Armenian alchemist who was mixing copper, tin and silver to make gold. He did not get the gold result, but did get a metal with a nice sound to it, which impressed the sultan, who gave him the name Zildjian; zil being the Turkish word for cymbal. Zildian cymbals are still made today.

Turkey also claims the invention of kettle drums, and here, a pair from the Military Museum. Kettle drums were used by the military in the 17th to 19th centuries.

I reached the Galata Tower, which was built in 1348 by the Genoese community who lived in this area. Walls were also built, although not many remain.

The tower is 9 stories tall and is made of stone with an occasional brick.

Tourists and locals were posing by the tower for pictures. I was by myself, so had a bird pose for me.

There is panaoramic view of old Istanbul from the top of the tower, that I am saving for another day - one that does not start with a large Christmas lunch.