voy

Our home for the next few days is quite magical…an island off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey called Büyükada, the largest of nine tranquil islands known for their quiet and welcome serenity. The only cars on the island are ambulances and a few little trucks for hauling. The primary source of transportation here are horse drawn carriages. Yasemin was not joking when she said tonight, “They fart a lot”. They do.

But the clip clop of horse shoes along small winding streets is so romantic and other-worldly, I can deal with the stinky aspect. Other local fauna I have seen include stray dogs and cats, frogs, donkeys, cows, strange crows and bats. The baby kittens on the docks were too cute, but the men at the harbor looked at me very strangely…why would someone want to take a picture of stray cats?

Most of the houses on the island are very old, and I feel like we are in New Orleans or something, there is a distinct creole/southern feel to the white lattice-work and shutters and pervasive bougainvillea. Apparently there was some political event in the last 50 years involvıng both Turkish and Greek governments sending the Greeks out of Turkey and the Turks out of Greece, but the Greeks were allowed to keep their property here (gee thanks) so many houses were left behind and not sold. These homes stand vacant to this day, for maybe 50 years now.

So we managed to travel by plane, subway, taxi, boat, and horse drawn carriage all in less than 48 hours! I guess the only mode of transportation we are missing is a magic carpet, and this mıight be the best place to find one…

Engin and his wife Yasemin are wonderful hosts. Chris has known Engin since college so they are like family. I feel so lucky to be here to enjoy the beauty of their home and the warmthof their kindness. Their daughter Mina is a sweet 2-year old with a social personality and great sense of humor. Here are some pictures from my room and balcony:

And Mina with her Baba:

Today we relaxed in the pool and hot tub, then enjoyed delicious lunch and walked around the island a bit before sunset. From the top of the island you can see mainland and the other smaller islands in the distance. There is an old monestary across the water on another island that Engin pointed out, it is no longer open but ıs home to one of the oldest libraries in the world.

The children were later tucked into bed and we went down into the center of town to have dinner at a local fish restaurant. Apparently the island is quite crowded during the summer months but it is now winding down to the slow winter season. Engin ordered us authentic Turkish foods, insisting that we try everything, which I did happily. I especially liked the seaweed dish, and a Turkish sushi-like appetizer made with smoked raw fısh over red onion and drenched in lemon juice. Turkish coffee and a sweet birds-nest desert pastery wıth pistachio topping finished off the large meal. The whole time we were eating, a stray kitty was rubbing up against me begging for scraps. Katy, would you have said no to this face?

Tomorrow we journey into the ancient city of Istanbul! For more pıctures you can visit my Flickr account.

(please excuse poor spellıng and typos, I am writing from a Turkish computer with dıfferent characters! ğüöçş etc.)