Manyak misin?!!!!

If you have ever been to Istanbul you will know that sometimes the traffic can be pretty crazy here. My favourite Turkish phrase at the moment is 'Manyak misin?!!!' that is 'Are you a maniac?!!!' I have managed to drive a few times here now (of course with Senol directing me every step of the way). The first couple of times were surprisingly easy. No near misses, no incensed drivers bashing their horns.

The most recent time was a little more stressful! Lots more traffic, cars darting in and out in front of me, narrow streets winding up steep hillsides with Audis and Mercedes parked on one side and sheer drops to the other. Let's just say that it ended with @#$@!! and me throwing the car keys at Senol! Hehehe - very funny...in retrospect.

So this morning we decided to take a more leisurely form of transport and caught the ferry from Yenikoy to Eminonu. It was very early in the morning and was gorgeous and refreshing.


The visit to the Police Headquarters for my temporary residency was not quite as relaxing. It's a funny old place. All the Turkish police women are gorgeous, you have to line up early for a number and then wait around for hours in crowded hallways while the Police go outside and have long smoke breaks. The visit ended with two Russian pros sizing me up in the hallway.

Ahhh...is this the sweet life in Turkey???

And she's back!

Wow, that took longer than I thought. We have been busy moving, buying new things for the apartment and generally getting settled... and I have been totally mesmerised by the views. I often look out and can't believe I'm living here!

There is, however, a price to pay for these views. Let's just say that we now have no need to go to the gym. Poor Senol went up and down these stairs so many times with our things that he has already lost weight! (conveniently Yashar always needed looking after at exactly those moments)

It's pretty steep around here. No gentle strolls allowed. But still I love it! The area where we are is so close to Senol's work but has a little village feel. The neighbours are friendly and the kids play soccer every evening on the street. Vegetable sellers make their way up the hills every day yelling out 'green beans! tomatoes!' as old ladies emerge from their gardens to buy something for dinner. Plus soon I will have a very toned up husband!

Moving!

Yay! We are moving into our new apartment at the moment so I won't be posting for the next few days.

The Euro Cup comes to Velibaba

A Euro Cup qualifier in Velibaba. The weather was perfect for a match.

The star striker stopped to sign autographs and to allow the paparazzi to take a few shots.

The match was intense.


The spectators were on the edge of their seats.










The umpire's decisions were constantly disputed.








The match ended in a draw, with a rematch planned as soon as the players finish school for the day!

Since we are moving soon, I thought I would show you a few pictures of the area we are living in at the moment. It is called Velibaba, on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Some parts of it are gorgeous. Lots of houses, especially the older ones, are often painted gorgeous vibrant colours (although sometimes not so gorgeous!).

A lot of the neighbours have been here for a long time and know each other well. This is both good and bad! It is very safe, with kids out playing in the streets all the time. On the other hand it means neighbours are always dropping in! Now personally I don't mind the occasional unannounced drop in at all (although I know some people hate it!) but sometimes it can really get to be too much!

Some parts of the area are modern, some have a village atmosphere. You can see a shepherd herding goats right next to large modern apartment buildings.

A lot of the buildings are old and ramshackle, built and extended bit by bit as families grew. Lots of new apartment buildings are being built. Health and safety standards are a little different here! You might not be able to tell from the photo but these guys are six stories up!

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People are always out walking around here, which I love. In the mornings there are so many groups of women out walking together. You can see in the photo my mother in law and Aunty taking baby Yashar for a stroll. One of the great things about living here is that when Yashar wakes up early my mother in law takes him for a walk while I have a sleep in. How good is that!

It is my duty to shop!

Great news! Senol (my husband) accepted a job offer and that meant we got to sign up to rent the apartment we wanted! I am both excited and relieved! The apartment is a bit old but has gorgeous views of the Bosphorus. It is in an area called Yenikoy, a beautiful green part of Istanbul that I am looking forward to getting to know better. We had a good chat with the owners of the building. When they first moved there, about 40 years ago, the whole area was just full of quince trees. Now the area is part of busy Istanbul, but it still has a little village atmosphere I think.

So, since we have just moved to Istanbul from Australia we will need to get everything for the apartment - woohoo - it is now my duty to shop! So I scoured the internet for some inspiration. I was thinking Danish design, some cool second hand/collected things, timber, handmade, not too over done and not like a store catalogue -and I couldn't find anything like that -until I found Emma's Blogg. It is fantastic! So much inspiration in the one spot! All of the photos in the post were found on her blog (wish they were mine!)
Now I just have to find stuff even half as cool! Tried to find some second hand/collected type things today, but no luck so far. It seems that buying second hand just isn't the thing to do here. Usually when I ask someone if they know a good flea market in Istanbul (in Turkish 'Bit Pazar') they look slightly incredulous and don't really understand why I would be interested when I could buy new things. I think there must be good stuff somewhere in Istanbul, I just have to find it! I will find super cool second hand goods even if it kills me!

April 23rd = Children's Day!

Today is Children's day in Turkey - what a great idea! The kids stomped through the streets, bashing their drums, blowing their trumpets and wearing some very cute little outfits. Here are a few pics.

Emily & Leo

I am so exciiiiited about this! (note: read in squealy girl voice!) A very talented young designer (who just happens to be my sister) used a beret I made in her photo shoot! This is for her brand spanking new label Emily & Leo. I knitted the beret using a bamboo cotton mix yarn that was gorgeous - so silky and soft.


I am so proud of my sister and her new label. The clothes have a feel that is classic but with a modern urban edge. I love them!...and have already put huge orders in to be sent over to Istanbul. She is doing such an amazing job - I don't know how she finds the time to do it all! One thing that I think helps a lot is how decisive she is. Something I could definitely work on!

I can't wait to get this pure Australian wool dress and this crop trench I ordered! The range has such gorgeous, high quality fabrics - apart from the Australian wool, she has also used silks, bamboo and organic cotton. Yay for organic cotton!

Crazy Crochet Cool!

Did you know that people are crazy crochet cool around here?! These are just a few of hundreds!! Here a bride might take around 50 crocheted creations with her to her new home!

So I decided to get in on the act and made this little singlet with a little square of crochet on it - it was so easy and it is so cute!...ahhh except I have no idea how to crochet so I actually just sewed the crochet square on the singlet...

But I really want to learn how to crochet (for those of you that don't already know, crochet is like so hot right now - all the cool crafters are doing it!)

So I bought this book and it was pretty cool but it didn't satisfy my crochet cravings and then I remembered that Alicia Paulson mentioned the book

Vintage Crochetby Susan Cropper (owner of Loop -a totally cool store in London that is on my wish list of places to visit).

The book arrived today and it is soooooo good! It definitely satisfied my crochet cravings. There are so many things I want to make from it, including Alicia's 'Maisie Cardigan' and Bee Clinch's 'Chevron Blanket'. You can read about the book and see some more pictures over at Alicia Paulson's blog (Alicia contributed two gorgeous items to the book and is the queen of crochet!). Alicia's blog and website are must sees! I have been reading the blog for almost a year now (although I am guilty :( of never leaving a comment -but have resolved to do so right now!) and it is full of inspiration and gorgeous goodies.

Here comes the sun...

Today the sun was finally shining through again - it was gorgeous! So what did I finally get around to doing? Knitting something warm and wintery!

I started this cute little cardigan just after I finished up at work before my little baby boy Yashar was born. I never got to finish it because he arrived a couple of weeks earlier than expected! Then there were the sleepless nights (still happening), packing up our apartment, moving to Turkey etc etc that took up my time! So I am finally getting it done just as the weather warms up! The pattern is from this very cute little pattern book from Cleckheaton (book no 951).

The picture to the right shows how it will look when it's finished (I hope! - this is a picture from the book) It is so cute!! All of the patterns in this book are beautiful.

I also knitted this little beenie from the book and we love it! You can also see the gorgeous little jacket my Mum knitted for Yashar (thank you!)