Firstly, a little shop talk. I wanted to let you all in on a little secret in case you have been thinking about buying a print but hadn't got around to it yet. From Monday 29 June I will be raising the prices of the prints in the shop by US$4. This is due to a combination of the falling US dollar and the expensive costs of the materials I use. I still think the new price is very reasonable, but I just wanted to let you special people know before I do it...so be quick! And on to more exciting things...it is definitely party season here in Istanbul! We had a couple of weddings over the weekend, and most interestingly a huge Sunnet party! A what? ...it was basically a huge party, verging on large wedding in scale, to celebrate one of Yashar's cousins getting circumcised!
Circumcision is pretty standard practice here. If you see a little boy all dressed up in what looks like a king's outfit then you know he's had 'the chop'. He's usually given gold, money and presents by friends and relatives. Here is the little king himself, making a grand entrance! This party was lots of fun! Unfortunately I only took a few hopeless photos but at least you can get an idea. My excuse is that it was dark and everyone was moving around a lot. The real reason ... I was too busy eating!
It was in a huge garden, surrounded by lots of forest, and there was a magician for the kids - Yashar loved holding the magician's bird! There was lots of yummy food, and of course dancing! If you are not familiar with Turkish dancing, I. basically and very roughly, put it in two categories - all lined up, holding hands up in the air and moving around in a circle (think Greek dancing -except Turkish!) and the kind of belly dancing style (except with more clothes on!) with arms up, hands clicking and lots of fast shaking -I can't get my body to move that fast!!
One thing I love is that most people are up and dancing the first chance they can...no alcohol needed here to get some confidence up (all the parties this weekend were alcohol free...well except for a few guys I spied having sneaky swigs behind the fence)... and just as many men were up dancing as women. Those who know my husband, know he loves to dance!!!
2 comments:
Yes, you are right about no alcohol and still so much fun!! At Renai's wedding there were approx 430 Turkish guests and 20 of us from Australia. No alcohol at all, and all the Aussies had the greatest time, up dancing non stop. The music makes you want to move and the other guests were all so welcoming and loving dancing with us. I hope to go to another Turkish wedding in my life time...so much fun!!!
It looks like everyone is having a fantastic time dancing to the Turkish music (what a mischevious grin from S) and I bet the food was delicious. I have been to a Turkish wedding and it was lots of fun so I can just imagine what it was like. I hope the 'little king' was able to enjoy it too!
Post a Comment