Bead shopping

On yesterday's list of things to do, was a stop in a bead shop to purchase additional chalcedony beads for a necklace I am making.  Also, I wanted to find some similar, smaller and rounder beads to be the pomegranate seeds of a recycled tin brooch that is forming in my mind.  There are many bead and silver jewelry shops just outside Istanbul's  Grand Bazaar.  The jewelry shops can be wholesale only, but the bead shops are open to all!    

                             

I went to Onur Inci to find my magenta chalcedony.  They did not have the size I wanted, but did have a smaller diameter, which I decided was just fine.  And I found a dark pink chalcedony to use as the pomegranate seeds.  In another shop, I was attracted to a bright, light green strand of beads - calcite, which has been colored using laser technology.  Not sure what that means, but all shops are now saying that all beads are sourced in China.  It looks like stone and feels like a stone, but only the Chinese know for sure.

The Grand Bazaar is an old, massive, covered shopping area which will be featured another day, but here is one of the many entrances and the one by the bead shops.  Yucel Bufe offers fresh squeezed orange and pomegrante juices as well as hot sandwiches.

Another vendor has cut open some pomegranates to entice patrons to order the delicious juice.

I am pleased with the pink beads for the pomegranate brooch.  They look very close to the real thing.  But now that I see the beads I bought for three seperate projects, I like the look of them together - coloring of a fushia plant.  Possibilities are endless when it comes to beads!   

                                      

Turkish Ballet

Sureyya Opera House, located in Kadikoy, on the Asian side of Istanbul, is home to the Istanbul Opera and Ballet Company.  The building was originally completed in 1927 and underwent a major renovation in 2007.   It is located on a nice shopping street and on the path of the nostalgic tram which circles an area of Kadikoy.

The opera house was originally built by Sureyya Ilmen (1875-1955) and used as a movie theater until the recent renovation.  His bronze bust is located in the lobby.

The inside of the theater is richly decorated.  I have now been to three ballets.

Most recently, I saw the classical ballet "Don Quixote", which was so nicely performed, I will go see it again.  Four ballerinas rotate in the position of Kitri.  All of the dancers listed in the program have Turkish names, as do the performance management.

Earlier, I saw a performance of Othello, which was billed as a modern ballet.  No toes shoes or classical costumes, but lovely dancing.  In the last scene, a bathtub is on stage with real running water, in which, Desdemona is drowned.  Sorry if I spoiled the ending for anyone...

And the first ballet I saw, was Turkish choreography titled "Four Walls" performed to Mozart's Requiem.  The acoustics in the theater are very good and it is a great spot for a little entertainment.

We're Moving!

We are not moving too far away, just down the same street of the same housing complex in Istanbul.  This new apartment will have the additional features of non-rusty water,  no neighbors upstairs and a terrace above the main floor.  The only downside is the 42 steps down to get to the building's entrance, but its location eliminates the need to walk up and down a steep hill when arriving on foot.

The layout on the inside has just a few differences, including a small pink room off the master bedroom, which will be my study.

We have a large room upstairs, with a terrace,

looking out to the Bosphorus view.

Looking straight down from our hill, is a very quiet factory, which I went down to investigate.

 The entrance was very well maintained, but locked to keep out unwanted visitors.  The company is called Valley Farms, founded by Huseyin Kalealti.  They process spices and  soap root used to produce the Turkish helva candy.  Their website is located at kalealti.com  and it features a picture of the founder's birthplace - a home at the base of the Anadolu Hisari fortress.  The founder's family name, Kalealti, means, "under the fortress".

The location of the founder's birthplace would be among these homes which today sit under the fortress.

We'll move in the beginning of February, probably without our new neighbors down the hill ever finding out.

Kanlica

Kanlica is the village just to the north of us on the Asia side of Istanbul. Along the Bosphorus are beautiful homes called yali. These home goes for multi-millons of euros. Since I was not shopping for expensive real estate, I continued walking north of the downtown area to where the Bosphorus is open to all for fishing, walking or jogging.

Just opposite the walking path, is a shop for decorative terra cotta.

The primary reason for people to go to Kanlica is to savor the delicious Asirlik yogurt, which has been made and enjoyed here since 1870. The yogurt is served with a side bowl of powdered sugar! It's delicious with no sugar added.

The yogurt restaurant has seating outside next to the ferry landing.

The following day, I was on a ferry with a view of the yogurt restaurant from the Bosphorus.

Jewelry Class

My attendance at the jewelry class came to an abrupt halt when, after filing silver for 3 hours, my tendonitis flared up. Well, I did get to learn some new techniques, and have a couple of rings to show for it. In class, we learned how to carve wax, which is later dipped into a plaster to form a mold. The wax is melted out and molten silver is poured in to create the item in metal. Here is my wax carving of what was to be a ginko leaf pin. My first project was a ring, which in profile looks a bit like a bird. Before the ring's final polish, the green mold was made of the ring, in case I may want another one just like it. Blue wax was poured into my green mold and this can be used for a similar ring. I have a broken gold necklace, that I thought I would melt down to make a thinner bird in gold.

As you can see, I am no hand model, but this is my second ring.

And the ginko leaf pin is in progress and will remain that way for an extended period of time, while my hands get back to normal. I still have much more filing to do on surface as well as solder on a stem.

As I left the jewelry studio, I realized the source of the musical "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" tunes. The local patchwork painted primary school uses phrases from these tunes to call the children in from the playground. The music always stops mid-phrase, which caused me to wonder why these songs were playing in the first place. Now I know.

Walking Around Beyoglu

Every couple of weeks, I visit the Beyoglu section of Istanbul, as there are lots of galleries and museums with new and changing exhibits. After ferrying to Kabatas, I jump on the funiculer to Taksim. On the left of the picture is one of the fused glass murals made by Ebru Susamiciolu at the Glass Furnace.A new cinema and theater museum opened, founded by the Turkish film director Turker Iananoglu, and complete with red carpets at the entrance doors. The museum was moved from its original location in Kavacik and contains more than 1000 devices, 4200 copies of Turkish films, 6000 Turkish film posters, 10,000 theater and cinema lobby photographs, ... documenting the early film, theater and TV industries in Istanbul. No picture taking is allowed inside, but some of the ground floor exhibition area can be seen from the large front picture windows. Movie posters are hung on the walls as well as placed on a dropped wire ceiling.

From Beyoglu, there is a good view across the Golden Horn of the Eminonu and Fatih sections of Istanbul, where there was evidently a fire.

Next stop, was a visit to the Grand Hotel de Londres, built in 1892 and used to house visitors arriving on the Orient Express, who did not stay at the Pera Palace Hotel down the street. The hotel has lots of its old charm, and was mentioned in a book I read, titled "Life with a View" by Toni Sepeda. Toni Sepeda stays at this hotel while passing through Istanbul on the way to her dream spot on the Black Sea, where, over ten years, she has a house built.

The inside lounge area is filled with period pieces, talking birds and lots of atmosphere for a cup of coffee.

Walking back up Istiklal street, the number "20" is being filmed, ...

A photography exhibit titled, "City of Silhouettes" by A. Halim Kulaksiz, is on display at the historic water depot, which provides a good space for his very large panoramic shots of Istanbul.

Our apartment building was recognizable in a photo of the Asian side of Istanbul.

After an enjoyable visit to Beyoglu, I returned to the Asia side of Istanbul by ferry as the sun was going down.

Beykoz

Today was a bright clear day in the upper 40's, so I took a ride on the 15TY bus heading north on the Asian side. The bus was just about full when I hopped on and then it emptied when we got to the town of Kavacik. But just a stop or two later, the bus filled with school children and suddenly the public bus seemed converted to a school field trip with me being the only adult. I asked the boys sitting behind me if they had school today (Sunday). They had their extra classes, which students take to help prepare for annual school exams. A very nice and chatty boy named Mert sat next to me and started firing questions at me. We conversed in Turkish and I learned that he is 12, lives in Ortacesme, goes to regular school in Ortacesme, Monday through Friday for 6 hours each day, extra classes in Kavacik on Saturday and Sunday for 4 hours each day, his favorite subject is Turkish, he likes the Fenerbahce football (soccer) team, Miami basketball team , has a cousin who lives in Germany and his birthday is June 23rd. He received an equal amount of information about me. He asked if I had children, and I said no, but my husband is a big baby. He had a laugh and I was glad he understood my humor. I should have taken his picture, but did not and left him on the bus when I got off in Beykoz.

Beykoz downtown area is right on the Bosphorus and the water today was a pretty shade of blue. Beykoz was developed later than other areas of Istanbul, so there is a nice wide walking area along a good part of the coastline. Just opposite, is a cemetary with the old carved headstones in the shape of turbans.

Purple primroses were the first indication that it would be a purple day.

An old fountain is in the center of Beykoz with marble floor and walls and faux painted ceiling. The fountain provides a place to wash before praying at the nearby mosque.

The Zumkinoz Selahaffin was docked with quite a crowd working on the black and purple fishing nets.

Just how many people are needed to check the nets? At least a dozen.

Only one person was needed to repair the nets.

Opposite the ship is the entrance to the Beykoz forest, which I would call a park. The local black and gray crows, which live for up to 400 years were also admiring the pansies, trees and view of the Bosphorus.

The 15TY took me back home after a nice walk around town.