Guest Blogger Weighs In

A few random observations of the city by today’s distinguished Guest Blogger (Stan the Man):

• In our neighborhood we occasionally see people lowering small baskets from a rope out the windows of upper floor apartments down to street level for a delivery from the corner grocery, etc. This morning I saw a man on the 4th floor of the building next door lower a basket to his wife on the street who had forgotten her purse and didn’t want to make the trek back up the stairs.
• The tap water is not safe to drink in Turkey, but bottled water is widely available.
• Lots of stray cats all over and some dogs too.
• Looking out the front windows of our flat we can see past the buildings at the end of the alley, down the hill to a small slice of the Bosphorus (the narrow channel of water that divides the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, and connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and eventually the Mediterranean) and past it to the Asian shore. From here we catch glimpses of the constant traffic on the water: ferry boats, cargo container ships, giant cruise ships, oil tankers, tug boats.
• Buildings here generally don’t have screens on the windows.
• Lots of laundry hanging on lines out of apartment windows as well as women shaking rugs from apartment windows.
• We hear the call to prayer during the day from a nearby mosque, and also church bells from a church down the street that ring out on the hour.
• A very large percentage of the population here are smokers. Ever heard the expression “smokes like a Turk?” Not a big deal in nicer weather with lots of sidewalk and outside seating, but it’s tough to avoid the smoke when it gets cold and everyone moves inside.
• Most of the streets in this part of town are cobblestoned or paved with small square bricks.
• In this part of part of town, like many others, it’s common to see a decrepit apartment building in complete disrepair right next to a well-maintained or recently rehabbed structure. This obviously has its drawbacks but it’s refreshing in the sense that everything is not uniform. One of the tonier restaurant/bars around here, Leb-i Derya, is located on the rooftop (6th floor) of a building that’s seen better days and is on a run-down looking, narrow street. But when you get off the elevator on the top floor you are shocked by how nice place is and the fantastic panorama of the city (and the prices).
• Due to the plumbing in many older buildings, like the flat we are renting, it is necessary to put the TP in a wastebasket next to the toilet and not the toilet itself.
• The seatbelts in the taxis (and most vehicles for that matter) are usually non-existent or non-working.

• For sale on the streets of Istanbul:

simit -- a toasted ring of bread with sesame seeds (tasty)
fresh roasted chestnuts
trays of stuffed mussels (Lisa enjoys these)
roasted corn on the cob (not my favorite, tastes like field corn to me)
popcorn -- freshly popped on a cart with an open flame
bottled water (“su”)
lottery tickets
prayer beads
small packets of Kleenex
incense
scales where you can check your weight for a small fee
shoeshines
socks
bootleg DVD's