Settling in to the apartment

The last couple of days have been pretty much focused on getting settled in to our new apartment. I am grateful that we have housing provided by the university; there are many positives: it's rent-free, the utilities are subsidized, it's furnished, connecting to wireless internet was a snap, there's a ton of storage space, both Alex and I have office space, it's in a nicely landscaped complex, there's a pleasant patio with a table and chairs, nearby there's a little grocery store with good veggies and fruit, it's close to the university, and it's not too far from a shopping area in Sarıyer. I have to remember these things when I consider the difficulties.
The number one issue is transportation to other parts of Istanbul--Alex has a monster commute to the Ottoman Archives in Kağıthane (1.5 to 2 hours one way)! The other problems include: the microwave starting smoking the first time I used it, the wash machine doesn't work, there were no kitchen or cleaning supplies when we moved in, the pilot light on the stove doesn't work (we use matches, but the natural gas doesn't have the "smell" added), there was random extra furniture in bubble wrap taking up space, there are no screens on the windows (but plenty of spiders to eat the yummy mosquitoes), and there is no one onsite to deal with maintenance issues. Luckily, my colleague Mary, who has been helping me get acclimated, knew who to contact about the appliances/furniture.
We now have some very basic kitchen and cleaning supplies. Today the extra furniture was removed, and the missing part for the washing machine should be installed soon. I did two days of hand washing in the tub. All I needed was a washboard and a wringer; at least the previous tenant left behind a drying rack!
Today I took a little field trip to Koç with Mary so she could show me around and answer questions. I also picked up my Koç ID card and my debit card for my new bank account with its zero balance ;P (I'm still waiting on the corrected version of my residence permit.)
Step by step as they say...

Walking around İstanbul University and Süleymaniye Mosque

Thanks to our friend Ayşe, we enjoyed a great tour of the area around İstanbul University, where she works as an facilities engineer. While we were waiting to meet, Alex and I enjoyed some time in a tea garden.

 self service

Starting our walk towards Süleymaniye Mosque 

 Views from the cafe, Şehrim İstanbul (My City, Istanbul)

Refreshing breeze

 

Social Butterflies

Saturday, the day after we moved to Sarıyer, we enjoyed a long day visiting with a variety of friends. This involved getting ourselves back to Taksim, which required a bus trip to the metro. We walked to where we thought the bus stop would be (there were two different places shown on two maps) and asked someone if this was the bus stop. He told us to go up the hill and turn right, and as we were approaching, the bus came--and we ran! The last person had just gotten on and the bus was pulling away, so I banged on the side of the bus as it was going... and it stopped for us! *phew* The trip to the metro took longer than I expected, but we got there. Then it was easy to take the metro to Taksim.
First, we met a former CESL student, Ayşe, with whom I used to meet for a language exchange. We enjoyed a nice lunch together in a terrace of a cafe.

Ayşe works as an engineer for the facilities department of Istanbul University. She mentioned an interesting website that gives panoramic views of Istanbul University. After lunch, she had to go to work to climb up a tower and figure out why the lights were out. The lights are supposed to change color to indicate the weather:

We also stopped by a nearby church, Saint Anthony of Padua, that we could see from the terrace of the cafe.

Then, we met up with a friend of Alex from Bursa, Murat, who was in Istanbul to see the Belle and Sebastian concert with his friends. We hung out for a while talking about music, history, language, and getting confused between the topics of Oprah and opera. From there, we all wound our way to a restaurant where we were to meet with two more friends from the University of Arizona, Jessie and Gail. Here's some graffiti I noticed as we walked over:

The restaurant, Adahan, was on a rooftop terrace with amazing views! Of course, the drinks and appetizers were priced to suit the view. 

But wait, there's more! After Alex's friends left to see the concert, we moved on to the Cumhuriyet meyhane, where we had mezeler (appetizers) and rakı. It's quite an experience--great food, crowded, noisy, music and cats all around! 

(Hmmm I thought there was a picture of Alex in the mix, too, but it must be on Gail's camera. I'll add it later, I guess.)
We stayed pretty late, but we had to keep in mind the trip back to Sarıyer. As usual, the metro was easy, but the bus was a no-show--or it was early. There were a number of people waiting at the stop for the same bus, all looking a bit concerned. Around midnight, Alex and I decided just to take a cab back to the apartment complex, back to our new home, that is.
Today has been mainly spent getting settled, getting basic kitchen/bath/bed stuff. We'll be able to start cooking at home soon!

Home for a Year

Alex and I packed our bags once again and said goodbye to our hosts (both human and cat) in Gümüşsuyu. Around 1:30 in the afternoon, we carefully dragged our luggage downhill toward Kabataş to get a taxi to take us all the way up north to Koç University. Before we got to the bottom of the hill, we flagged down an empty taxi, and the driver agreed to take us there (although he did have to call his dispatcher to get directions). Once we got on campus, we found the housing office where we filled out a couple of forms, they handed us a key, and called us another cab. The apartment is not on campus, but in a nearby complex called Sinpaş Boğaziçi Malikaneleri. Here are a few photos of how the apartment looked when we arrived:

Ooops, the mattress for the double bed is missing... but that was delivered later! 

 This is the view from our balcony, and now you know exactly what our building looks like outside.

There are no pots, plates, utensils right now. So, we have to do some strategic shopping. We took a dolmuş* down to the Sarıyer waterfront and enjoyed a nice dinner and walk there. Now we're relaxing in our own space... not bad for one day!

*This is a kind of shared taxi--a minivan with few seats and the rest is SRO. It's very cheap and a bit of an adventure. When it gets crowded, passengers pass their fares up to the front, and their change gets passed back. Oh, and the driver doesn't always bother to close the side door. Thrills!

Born in....

South Korea (according to my new, defective Turkish Residence Permit)!

Yes, it will be corrected, but really? How on earth did that happen?

Here are some more photos from Koç University, where I spent most of today while the HR guy dealt with the Residence Permit nonsense.

Scavenged pieces of classical buildings on display

The library

 The room at the top of the clock tower (I wonder if it was really a public space!)

 Views from the top of the clock tower

 Stairs to the top floor

 A goofy looking lion at the Gate of Knowledge