It’s good business in a hot city, of course, selling soğuk su (cold water) on the street. Soğuk su soğuk su soğuk suuuuuu!, you hear everywhere. The vendors either sit in the shade with a bucket of ice containing ten bottles, or they wander around looking for a sale at the bus stops or to drivers stuck in traffic jams.
…
Istanbul is an amazingly big city, and the district of Güngören is far away from where I live. That’s why I didn’t hear anything about the bombing until I got an email about it, about half an hour after it happened. I heard explosions last night, many even, but I had learned not to pay too …
Sometimes, when I’m on a boat on the Bosporus, I get this urge to shout YAHOOOOO very loud, just out of happiness. And yesterday, I finally did it. Only I was not on a boat, but in the Bosporus, swimming back-stroke beneath Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge (the northern-most of the two Bosporus bridges). Now and then a wave …
A first aid kit, a flashlight with spare batteries, a stock of non-perishable food and a fire extinguisher. Where to get the last one, no idea. But I should buy these things, according to a website that informs about what to do when an earthquake occurs. There is an earthquake about to happen in Istanbul, that’s for sure, although …
I read a lot of newspapers, but the local rag is not one of them. Probably it’s called ‘Our Istanbul’ or something like that. I’m told this rag publishes a list of which days the water will be cut off in which parts of the city – that’s how the municipality tries to make the water supplies last for …
You want to adjust a bit in a society that is not yours. Also waste wise. But I just can’t do it, throwing waste on the street. I try sometimes, really. For example when I have an empty water bottle in my hand. I’m walking, or waiting for a bus or a boat. I’m about to throw the empty …
What a game really! One moment it seemed Turkey would be out of the tournament, next thing they turn a 0-2 score in favour of Czech Republic into a 3-2 victory, and that in about fifteen minutes! Istanbul will be celebrating a wonderful match tonight. At the moment, everything that is able to make noise, makes noise, even the ferries join …
I saw a guy in a wheelchair on Taksim Square. First thing I thought: that must be a journalist spending a day or two on wheels to discover what it’s like to be bound to a wheelchair in Istanbul. I mean, it must be impossible to actually live your life in Istanbul sitting in a wheelchair. The cobbled streets, …
An overwhelming success, Anadolu’nun kayip sarkilari, ‘Lost songs of Anatolia’, premiered last night at the Istanbul Film Festival. A marvelous and touching journey through Anatolia, based on old traditional songs from different cultures with roots on this soil. Village women singing from their hearts the songs they learned from their ancestors, little girls and boys listening and picking …
Today, the Istanbul International Film Festival opens. Tomorrow at 4 p.m. the festival would really start for me: I have a ticket for ‘Kaotik Ana’. It’s on top of a whole pile of tickets I bought beforehand. Finally finally finally I’m going to a film festival in Istanbul. I let a few other festivals pass by, like …
Recent Comments