İkinci devre TÖMER'de: The second term at TOMER

It was a hard act to follow, and the second term just hasn't lived up to the first term at TOMER. A number of us continued in the second session together and a few people from other classes joined us. The new teacher has been pretty good but less patient unfortunately. In our first week, we did get some momentum as a group. Then, yesterday, we had yet another new teacher... hmmmm... without reason. She is plowing full steam ahead and leaving a lot of us in the dust! Her explanations are just as confusing as the original problem. During the middle break yesterday, two of my classmates left because they were so frustrated. I'll try to ask her to slow down today. We'll see what happens. (If nothing else, it is a lesson for me on how not to teach a beginning class!)

Yunanıstan'a da gidiyoruz: We're going to Greece, too

Yesterday I went to the Istanbul Gar (train station) and bought tickets for the overnight train to Thessaloniki! Alex has two days of exams, today and tomorrow, and on Wednesday, we'll store most of our luggage at the apartment and leave for three days in Greece. Thessaloniki was once part of the Ottoman Empire (but we don't need to remind them of that) and it has a lot of similar history and architecture that we've been focusing on in Istanbul. It will be very interesting to see how this history is presented in Greece. Also, we plan to go swimming at a beach on one of the peninsulas near the city :D
And, of course, our Turkish skills will not be useful in Greece... We're going to have a crash course in the Greek alphabet and key phrases during the train ride...
I can't believe that we're so close to the end of our summer! It doesn't feel like two months have passed, more like a few weeks. On one hand, I'm not quite ready to jump back into my other life in Tucson... on the other, I can't wait to see our cat, Athena, and have our own space again.
I'll write more as I can, depending on access to the internet, etc. There will definitely be more to report and pictures to post from our time in Greece, as well.
Görüşürüz ~ See you later ~ Hasta luego ~ Ciao ~ Até logo

Galata Kulesi: Galata Tower

Just 15 minutes away from our apartment, hiding in plain site, is the Galata Tower. It's old, it's iconic, and it's expensive. Nevertheless, we paid our dues to take the spiffy elevator up nearly 200 feet to see the panorama. It was originally built by the Genoese in 1348 as part of the fortifications of the Byzantine Empire. The plaque on the tower emphasizes the surrender of the tower in 1453 to Fatih Sultan Mehmet.

We took way too many photos from the balcony of the tower. Here are just a few...
A closeup of the old stone of the tower's balcony

In the foreground there is the Golden Horn (Haliç), Topkapı Sarayı is in the middle, the Sea of Mamara is just beyond and the shore of Asia is in the background.

Looking down from the tower to the south, there are the remains of the rest of the fortifications still standing in the neighborhood.

To the west, the city stretches on to the horizon (and beyond)!

To the northeast, there are the neighborhoods of Tophane, Cihangir, the Bosphorus, the first Bosphorus bridge, and the Asian side.

For the other 40 photos we took from the tower, see our Picasa site :)

Konsere gittik: We went to a concert.

Didem, one of the Boğazici Üniversitesi teaching assistants, knows the muscians in the bandCümbüş Cemaat. We saw them play on Thursday night at Araf, a bar on Istiklal Caddesi. The music was a great combination of Turkish, Roma, pop, and a dash of punk. Alex said that his favorite instrument in the band was the lead singer's mustache! The bar was packed with happy, happy dancers. Now, I am feeling very old because it's taken me two days to recover from being out until 2am...

Sinemaya gittim: I went to the movies

Everything has a backstory... Today, as I was packing my bag to go to class, I couldn't find my keys anywhere! I was getting pretty stressed when Alex called. Guess what! He had taken both sets of keys... ha ha ha ha... At least mine weren't lost! Since he wouldn't be back until late afternoon, I needed to find something to do after class. Plus, today was one of the hotter days we've had lately. Near my language school, on Istiklal Caddesi, there are several movie theaters. Some look inviting, others not so much. I asked a few of my classmates where I should go. I was advised to avoid one in particular because "it's really a brothel." Hmmmm... I went to a modern multiplex style theater and saw the "Batman" movie (with subtitles in Turkish). Honestly, I hated it, but it certainly kept me in a comfortable place for a few hours. A couple notes about the Turkish movie theater experience. One, there is assigned seating and an usher finds your place. I followed what others did, but later Alex told me that some people tip the usher. (They didn't this time.) There were the usual ads and previews and then the feature. In the middle of the film, I thought something had gone wrong with the projection. But, no, it was time for intermission! (Batman is long enough that a 10 minute break makes sense.) When the film finally ended, I checked my phone for messages. Alex had called me six times... apparently he hadn't gotten my text message that I was going to the movies. Oops. By this time, he was home, and let me back in the apartment ;)

Duvar yazısı her yerde: Graffiti is everywhere!

Paris, London, New York all have it... Why should Istanbul be different? Graffiti comes in all forms--scatalogical, artistic, political, personal, practical, and commercial. It's nothing new, for sure. All of the historical buildings have historical graffiti as well! Here is just a sampling:
At the bottom of the stairs that lead from our apartment building

Graffiti advertising on Istiklal Caddesi

Some practical and personal graffiti

More personal stuff


Not technically graffiti, but a curious placard on the disused fountain near the Galata Tower

And, of course, the graffiti in Aya Sofya

Here's a bonus... It's not in Istanbul, but in the Cappadocian underground city of Derinkoyu.

Mutlu Haberler: Happy News

Yesterday was much better... The camcı arrived and replaced the window in the bedroom door.

Also, Black September ate and drank a little after I temporarily removed the collar. She got a chance to groom herself, too. I had to watch her pretty closely so that she didn't get at her stitches. Of course, Alice thinks it's always playtime and her mother isn't up for that at all! Alice did finally settle down to be cozy...

Zor bir gün: A difficult day

It's not always tea and baklava in a cafe overlooking the Bosphorus, you know? So, the mother cat, Black September, yowled her way into a vet office to be spayed. She came home yesterday, poor thing. What a mess... disoriented, exhausted, and looking awful. In the meantime, the wind blew our bedroom door so hard that the glass shattered everywhere. Great. After I swept up the glass, I tried to contact the kapıcı (apartment maintenance /doorman) all afternoon. Not home. Finally, around 5:30pm, I made Alex go find him. He was there... and came up to see the damage. He helped get the rest of the glass out of the door, and has arranged for the camcı (glass repairer) to come Saturday afternoon to replace the glass. Now, for a minimum of privacy we have a lovely orange sheet covering the gaping hole. Of course, the kitten quickly figured out that she could jump in and out of the room at will, which she did all night long. We hope she doesn't smash the new window...
The poor cat... she has a protective collar, but I took it off for little so she could rest.

The wrecked window

The classy curtain solution

Benim kursam TÖMER'de: My class at TOMER

So today is the last day of the first 4 week course! It's hard to believe that so much time has passed. I'll take two more weeks of the next term... but then we have to go back to the U.S.! My Turkish class has been a lot of fun, and I think I've learned a lot. It's very different from Alex's program, which is more academic and heavily focused on reading and writing. Mine is general adult education with a primary emphasis on speaking and the secondary on grammar. I plan to enroll in a Turkish class at the University of Arizona for the fall term and keep the momentum going. Here are a few photos of my class:


The teacher, Sinan, who is patiently waiting to get the class started again...