My Goztepe

Within Istanbul, there are many districts, which are subdivided into towns and villages, which are in turn subdivided into the smallest governing body, each with it own responsibilities.  My local area is called Goztepe, literally eye hill, probably meaning nice view from a hill.  With all the hills in Istanbul, there are many Goztepe's.  The border of mine starts at the Goksu stream, which feeds into the Bosphorus.

Our town hall is not large, but does have the office of our token elected official.  I have met him and am registered in his office as someone who lives in the area.

Behind the town hall, we have a park.  This is where I will meet my husband in the event of an earthquake.  Recently, there was an earthquake in the eastern part of Turkey.  We are in western part of the country, so safe. But Turkey has fault lines throughout, so all should have a meeting place planned.

We also have an archaeology park, that is not open to the public.  The earliest finds of the Istanbul area are from a paleolithic settlement here.

We have a nice shop that sells pottery...

And behind the shop is where they make it.

A fenced in piece of property was recently the home of oversized marketing campaign props, but it is being dismantled for who knows what.  There had been a security booth at the entrance to the property, but that is now gone, and the dummy that was inside has been tossed to the side.  I hope he is able to find another job as good as his last.