Yesterday, we had very fine weather and I took the opportunity to ferry to the Princes' Islands located in the Sea of Marmara and inside the Istanbul city limits. As we departed from the ferry pier in Kadikoy, we had a view of Haydarpasa train station being repaired. The day I flew into Istanbul, toward the end of November, there was smoke in the air and the source was the roof of this train station. It was quite a blaze, although reports have suggested that the damage was solely to the roof. I was glad to see it being repaired so quickly.
As we headed out to sea, the seagulls joined us and escorted us the entire route to and from the islands. Passengers throw seeds and small pieces of bread to the birds, and are delighted when a bird catches the treat mid-air.
The ferry stops at 4 islands that are part of the Princes' Islands chain. The islands have some year round residents and many summer homes. No cars are allowed on the islands, so they are a bit more peaceful than the rest of Istanbul. We docked at Burgazada island to let some passengers off and more on. Students use the ferry for commuting to school on an island other than their home island.
I got off the ferry at the last stop, Buyukada, or Big Island, and took a walk around. The horses and carraiges are available for touring, and in this case, for delivery of a new washer. 
The island streets seem very large with no cars on them.
The harbor area had lots of boats, both in and out of the water.
My favorite home was white with pink shutters.
As you drive on the 2nd bridge over the Bosphorus, from Europe to Asia, you see a large Turkish flag flying on top of a treed hill. That hill, named Otagtepe, is home to the Vehbi Koc Nature Park. Today, the skies were very clear, so I called a taxi and had him drive me up there. The park is part of a conservation program established by one of Turkey's industrialist families, named Koc. 
The park had just received crates of pansies to plant along borders.
Vehbi Koc (1901-1996) is memorialized in bronze at the entrance to the park.
The park has a heliport, walking paths, viewing seats and a reflection pond.
Lovely views of the Bosphorus to the north,
directly across,
and to the south.
After my visit, I had lunch in a neighboring cafe with a more limited Bosphorus view and then walked down the steep hill.
Istanbul is decorated with lots of Christmas trees. The city is responsible for the trees of white airy balls entwined with lights. In the foreground, a vendor is roasting chestnuts.
A high end shopping mall has a tree made of artificial poinsettias, with unwrapped packages from the mall shops underneath to maximize advertising.
A stationary store has plastic trees, stocking and ornaments for sale. All made in China.
And live Charlie Brown trees are now available for home use and subsequent planting. Many people will have a tree in their home, although the celebration here is really for New Year's, not Christmas. As it turns out, Santa comes here on New Year's Eve and delivers packages to the children. So if you thought Santa rested after Christmas, you are wrong. He's busy delivering to Turkey on New Year's Eve.
I picked up a Turkish copy of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" (left) for my collector friend Nick. The shop also had an abridged version for younger children (right), the title of which has been changed to "A New Year's Day Story". The original ends with Tiny Tim saying, " God protect all of us, each one of us. Amen." and in the modified version, Tiny Tim says, "Have a merry and happy Christmas." I'll leave the rest of the translation comparisons to Nick.
At my own home, my Christmas tree is a candle taper - a minimalist year for decorations.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
For my husband's niece's 29th birthday, several of us went to Polonezkoy (literal translation Polish Village) for brunch. Polonezkoy is to the east of where we live, away from the city, but still in the official city limits of Istanbul. We knew we arrived when we saw the sign welcoming us in three languages, Turkish, English and Polish. The Polish arrived in 1844, leaving their homeland, which was being absorbed into other empires.
Polonezkoy had become a little village with lots of good restaurants for those in Istanbul needing some fresh air to visit. We went to a restaurant and parked the car by the chicken and duck pen. I was hoping we were not eating fowl after seeing these creatures. The family owning/running this restaurant is the 5th generation from the 1844 exodus.
We dined in a private pavillion, which was surrounded by a garden filled with natural flora and kitch. We dined on bread and cheese, more bread and cheese, eggs and special jams. One soft white cheese reminded me of the cheese in Poland, and was more agreeable to my palate than the salty Turkish cheeses. We took home the leftovers.
After eating, my sister-in-law and I took a walk in the local area, where there are green rolling hills, and ...
a protected park with a walking trail. After walking downhill for some time, we retraced our steps uphill and did a good job of cleaning out our lungs.
On our way home, we passed the "Do Widzenia" and look forward to another visit to this village.
I was over in the Pera area of Istanbul for the International Women of Istanbul's Christmas luncheon, and afterwards, I took a walk to find the Galata Tower, which is a famous landmark in the Beyoglu section of Istanbul. This picture is taken from the Eminonu section of Istanbul, with the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn in the foreground and the Galata Tower on the hill. 
This was not my first time looking for the Galata Tower. The tower is not at the top of the hill, but down a bit. I took the narrow lane which is home to musical instrument shops. Modern day cymbals were invented in Istanbul in 1618 by an Armenian alchemist who was mixing copper, tin and silver to make gold. He did not get the gold result, but did get a metal with a nice sound to it, which impressed the sultan, who gave him the name Zildjian; zil being the Turkish word for cymbal. Zildian cymbals are still made today.
Turkey also claims the invention of kettle drums, and here, a pair from the Military Museum. Kettle drums were used by the military in the 17th to 19th centuries.
I reached the Galata Tower, which was built in 1348 by the Genoese community who lived in this area. Walls were also built, although not many remain.
It's been a while since I last posted... I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family in NJ and returned to Istanbul after a short two weeks in the USA. The weather was still warm here (up to 70 degrees F) and I was happy to walk around outside. It takes me 45 minutes to walk to my local ferry landing and here are some of the sights along the way. On this walk, I noticed sheep grazing on the adjacent hill for the first time. I don't know if they are new neighbors, or old neighbors that I can now see with fallen leaves.
I stopped by an enclosed gravesite of Hasan Efendi and family, evidently people of importance to this area. Another walker asked me if I spoke German, and then told me that the dates on the marker were of the Arabic system, and were about 300 years old. Ottoman grave markers for men have carved turbans or hats, which depict their status or position in life. Markers for women have carved flowers and designs.
When I got to the Anadolu Hisari fortress, I saw a black pickup truck, which may be a common sight in the USA, but not here, and ...
upon closer look, was sporting a sticker from Cabela's in PA. Hunting is not legal in Turkey, nor ownership of guns, so this may be a one man political statement.
A new restaurant rolled into town, and it looks like it could just as easily roll out of town if we do not give it enough patronage.
By the ferry landing, a new home is being built. Homes along the Bosphorus can only be rebuilt to look like the traditional home that was there. Traditional homes are wooden, although I see vinyl siding in recent rebuilds. For this home, a wooden frame was started and is now being reinforced with steel. I would guess the steel is insurance for earthquakes. Homes along the Bosphorus are called yali and they go for many millions of dollars a piece.
The warm weather was not to last forever, and a storm blew in, initially with snow. There was no accumulation, and I don't believe a flake of snow actually touched the ground. It was whirling around sideways, which I tried to capture in this picture of our adjacent hill of pine trees.
The snow was short lived, followed by torrential rains, high winds and flooding. It will be a different winter, for sure.
The ferry stops at 4 islands that are part of the Princes' Islands chain. The islands have some year round residents and many summer homes. No cars are allowed on the islands, so they are a bit more peaceful than the rest of Istanbul. We docked at Burgazada island to let some passengers off and more on. Students use the ferry for commuting to school on an island other than their home island.
I got off the ferry at the last stop, Buyukada, or Big Island, and took a walk around. The horses and carraiges are available for touring, and in this case, for delivery of a new washer. 
The harbor area had lots of boats, both in and out of the water.
My favorite home was white with pink shutters.
Bicycles are the fast mode of transportation for residents and are available for rent to the tourists.
After walking around for a few hours, I jumped back on the ferry for the return one hour and 15 minute trip back to Kadikoy. The cats were waiting for returning school children at one of the island stops.
I'll repeat this trip, stopping at another of the islands for my walk around. It will be sooner rather than later if this good weather continues.
