Mosques and Minarets in the Skyline

Go to Istanbul and you will see a very different skyline than what we see back home.  The skyline here is peppered with over 3,000 mosques and accompanying minarets...and more are being built.

Minarets are a visible indicator of a Muslim community nearby as their spires reach towards the sky.

The domes of the mosque are unique as well.

Our first mosque visit took place on our first full day in Istanbul.  With our very knowledgeable

tour guide, Taner Unal, we were hooked up to devices where he could talk right into our own headphones so as not to distract others in the mosque with our conversations.

 Here it is - the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii). The mosque, built in the early 1600s,

is not blue on the exterior; the name comes from the blue Iznik tilework decorating the interior of the mosque.  This is a mosque with six minarets which is most impressive.

One must follow the rules when visiting a mosque in Istanbul. Women are required to cover their heads/hair and will be required to wrap a cloth around her waist if too much leg is visible.

No shoes for anyone once inside the mosque.  And, no loud conversations!

The tile work is simply beautiful!

Female Muslims are not allowed in the main area to pray.  They have small rooms to the side of the main area to congregate and pray.  Five times a day the stereo speakers from the minaret send forth

a "live" summons to the devout with a somber chant-like call to pray: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and night. As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a heavy population of Muslims here, but few actually practice their faith in the mosques.  We never saw big crowds here aside from the heavy presence of tourists.

Our second mosque visit was to the New Mosque (Yeni Cami).  It really isn't all that new.

It was started in 1597 and completed in 1663.

Located near the Spice Bazaar, it was easy to see and visit and was pretty with tile work as well.

Two minarets for this mosque.

 

 Thankfully, mosques can be visited in all kinds of weather.

We had our share of rainy days, but the sunny days and NO SNOW more than made up for it!

Following RC in Istanbul: Please Be Seated

On our first full day in Istanbul I managed to sit ---not once but TWICE --- in the same place as a famous actor ( I am not writing his name officially here as I do not want Internet stalking) who is from Australia and who won recognition for his role in the film Gladiator.  Initials:  RC with a further clue of his last name being the same as a black, squawking bird with an "e" at the end.

This actor is filming a new movie in Istanbul and here is a link to that movie:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russell-crowe-comes-to-turkey-to-shoot-his-directorial-debut-movie-on-gallipoli-battle.aspx?pageID=238&nID=62817&NewsCatID=381

On that first day we were out and about in the city.  One of our stops was to a fabulous

Turkish rug establishment.  We were given a history of the craft as well as a show of different samples.

It was most impressive, and not only was tea served, but we were told that Wes and I were seated in the place where RC sat just a day ago!

Where you see the tea cups is where we sat and he sat! 

Normally I don't sit where famous posteriors have sat, so I felt like I had experienced life in a faster lane than my usual traffic pattern.  I know, I know...don't let this get to my head, right?

Later that same evening, we had our Welcome Dinner at a fun restaurant at water's edge.Wouldn't you just know it; RC had been there just a day before, too!  Due to a very friendly waiter and a bit of friendly pushiness on my part, that same waiter escorted me right to the place RC had sat the day before.  I posed by his private table and a picture was taken.  I must've seemed quite starstruck to the staff because they escorted me to the office area of the restaurant and brought up the picture of RC at the table on the computer monitor!  Gutsy me asked if I could take a picture of that picture and here you have that, too.  Notice our expressions are much the same in each picture.

I know...I know. Must. Not. Let. This. Give. Me. A. Big. Head.

By the way, I must also confess I have never been a big fan of RC.

Istanbul: 10 Days of Terrific and 20 Minutes of Terrible

We're back!  Istanbul is a place like no other we have ever visited and we enjoyed our ten days in Turkey very much --- with the exception of about 20 minutes. (More on that later.)

The purpose for the trip was to explore the economy, culture, businesses and nonprofit organizations

within the country with a group of graduate students, alumni and faculty from North Park University.

I will be doing quite a bit of blogging about this trip in more detail in future posts.

For now, the basic facts:

*Istanbul has a population of about 15 million people.

*Though considered a secular country, Muslims account for about 99 % of the population.

*What a history this city has:  evidence all over of the Roman Empire,  the Ottoman Empire and the Byzantine Empire.

*Water surrounds the city with the Black Sea, the Bosphorous River and the Marmara Sea.

*Temperatures at this time of year - mostly in the 40s.  We had both sunny and rainy days.

*The government is known for its corruption and election results are highly discussed.

*Great cuisine!  Mediterranean basics with fruits, veggies and great baked goods!

*Lovely people!

 

Are you senses piqued yet?

Each day brought us new delights for the senses.  Then, late Tuesday night of our second week, we had a new sense to experience:  tear gas.  It was terrifying and horrible.  We were sitting in a restaurant close to our hotel with three others from our group.  There was a confrontation between the police and demonstrators (the link is available for your perusal below as to why) and the action spilled into our restaurant unexpectedly.  The gas was fired from a police canister right near us and immediately made vision impossible with thick smoke.  And intense burning to the eyes, breathing difficulty, and pain to the skin.  Chaos.  Tables were tipped over and glasses were breaking as the crowd tried to find fresh air and safety.  Our group also was separated and I "lost" Wes in the scuffle.  It was about the scariest time in my life thus far...and then it was over.  We reunited with our group and walked back to the hotel,

grateful to be safe but still very much in a state of shock.  I will never forget this experience, but am determined not to let this be a defining moment in the negative aspect of our travels.

Unfortunately, others weren't so lucky to escape unscathed.

Here's the link about the event:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/12/funeral-turkish-boy-berkin-elvan-thousands-istanbul-streets-protests-tear-gas-canister

If I would be given the question as to whether I would have cancelled the trip if I knew this was going to happen, I would say no.  It's good to keep a perspective as to what others have to live with on a more regular basis, and how one should never take safety for granted!

Now, from this point forward, I will not dwell on this 20 minutes of terror, but rather the 10 days of pleasure!

The Send-Off

Yesterday I was employed; today I am not.

But, oh-my-goodness-gracious,

What a send-off!

  It started off with surprise visitors: my Sis, John, Kari, Kaden, Anne, Maja and Ellie coming to my final Storytime session.  (Wes was the only one who I knew to be coming from my family.)

Meanwhile, busy staffers were doing this and that behind the scenes.

More surprises: Vicki and Janis showed up!  Dearies, both!!

9:30 and Storytime is about to start.

I hope and pray I can hold it all together.

But seeing all those little faces, eager and ready for stories, dancing and fun is a lovely reality check.

All systems go.

Singing the final Good-bye song is tough.  

It's the same farewell song that has been sung since 1981.

I like it because it's tradition and a child's first intro to winking ;)

Following this, there's the sweetest community reception with snacks and a craft.

 

Thanks, Jan, and others for pulling this together with such style and mindfulness as to 

what youngsters would like to have as a snack! YOU NAILED IT!!!

Thanks, kids, parents, friends and family for making this time so much fun --- I loved your smiles, hugs, cards, flowers and bakery treats!!!!

 Next it is time to celebrate with fellow staffers.  Kind speeches and that kind of thing. 
Thank you!

Great potluck appetizers, foods and desserts with the cutest cake EVER...check out the words.

Then it was time to check out what was inside those lovely cards and packages!


OOOOeeeeee!

Thanks, so much, everybody for making this send-off so special and memorable!

 

You really made a very bittersweet occassion one of the best memories of my professional life and I thank each one of you from the bottom of my heart.  <3, Deb

P.S. I miss you already!

 

Out Takes

Yesterday my family managed to pull off a surprise retirement party for me!  I loved every minute of it.

What really gave me the giggles, though, was trying to get the three Grands captured in action on the couch.  (More like guffaws than giggles, actually!)

Toy "borrowing" and distraction

Hair tugging and hiding behind action

Concern and squawking

Holding hands and belly

Expressions galore with a bit of bib grabbing

This pretty much sums up my three biggest reasons for early retirement!

Embarking With my Sis

As many of you know, my sister and I go all out celebrating each others birthdays. This year was certainly no exception!

For a change, though, I thought I would start with the end and end with the start.

 

The outing:  Swedish American Museum in Andersonville at the "Dressing Swedish" exhibit.

This is one special show and filled with inspiration for these two Svenska Flickas.

 

 Good thing we went there on full stomachs with French crepe fortification.

The lunch:

Le Creperie is a gem on Clark Street.

It actually closed after many years of

operation - and satisfied customers.

The retired owner decided he missed

the restaurant business too much and

recently reopened the place.

Oui to this decision!

Before going to lunch, Diann showered me with gifts at our City Nest.

The theme for this year:

Embark!

 This was the large tag that came with a box full of items to use on my new journey.

She is some kind of a digital wizard to come up with this!

 

The gifts had a lot to do with taking trips - neck pillow, blanket, adaptor plugs, guide book, travel slippers, totes, etc.  

She also knows me well enough to give items for the interior journey, too, for transitioning from being a working gal to a retiree.  There is some rather serious embarking going on these days with just three weeks before my step onto the platform of a library-departing train.  I boarded that same train in 1981 after a devastating personal loss and it has been a wonderful trip (with a break for refueling/teaching) for more than a couple of decades now.

There you have it:  the gift, the lunch and the outing.

Like I have said many times before, I am blessed beyond measure - and now have another year under my belt.  With comfort to come via neck wrap and warming blanket as the journey unfolds..

Thanks, Sis!!!  C'mon along with me?

Taking a Bite out of this Birthday

Oh, this birthday week has been fun!  
Friends and family have really come through in spite of the frigid weather and snowy days. Some plans needed to be altered. Some plans needed to be tweaked. Some surprises came along the way as well.
But all the celebrations had food involved. Talk about full platters!

Celebration #1 started out with Lindt chocolate sampling and ended up with burgers and fries and a bit of shopping in between.  Thanks, NB!

                                                                            

Celebration #2 involved a stop at a local hospital (not related to any medical procedures, thank goodness) and ended with a great lunch at Walker Brothers Pancake House. There was a movie in the midst of that celebration which is currently an Oscar nomination.

Oh, baby for this Dutch Baby!  Powdered sugar and squeezed lemon juice top this puffy, eggy pancake  perfection. This treat may have the appearance of snow sprinkled on a mountain range, but it is anything but cold and unwieldy! Thanks for this treat, MJ!!

Celebration #3 was an omlette whipped up by this dynamic duo, Miss E and Wes.

I promise she was heavily supervised with this far-too-long serrated knife.  The omelette was great and loaded with fresh veggies and cheese.

Celebration #4  followed naptime on this same day with a surprise (for her) tea party for three with hot cocoa and muffins- and candles on top of those muffins. 
Sorry, these Three Bears left none for Goldilocks this time!

Celebration #5 happened not long after the tea party with our whole family arriving for dinner made by Wes.  This wasn't our original plan but we just didn't feel right about the little ones out in the extreme cold.  On - hand supplies in freezer, fridge and cupboards would have to do!

(FYI: Swedish meatballs work out just fine in a spaghetti sauce.)

Side note: how could we subject these two Grands to shivering in the cold if we went out to dinner as  planned?  No way!! 
Miss M and K-man are getting to be such buddies these days.  Though 10 months apart they weigh the same.

And now for the cake!  Cheesecake!

You can see I ate very very well during my birthday week and this isn't even the whole week.
 
Celebration #6: work break with a homemade cobbler, cookies and chocolates!

Holy tight pants, Batman! 

 Good thing birthdays only come around once a year.

Coming next:  the final birthday celebration (and the theme reveal) with my Sis because you asked for it.  Yes, the food in this one is pretty impressive as well!