Turkish coincidences
Met my brother tonight in Istanbul, and his name is The Dawn. If you’re reading this hi welcome online. Just one of those not so surprising coincidences that make up our daily lives in SGI. The person I went to meet, Anna, brought him along, for company, security or to help his English I don’t know but I’m glad she did
Dolmus in Uzkadar
as we are obviously going to be great friends and he put me on the dolmus home. No dolmus is not a food, although the connection with dolma is that it does mean ’stuffed’, but this time it is stuffed with people, and acts like a cheap taxi when it’s full it drives you to specific points, unless it breaks down as mine did of course. In that event the driver gets one of the other passengers to walk you home, and give you a handy pack of wipes for the journey home. I don’t actually speak Turkish, but Turkish people don’t care, they talk to you anyway.
To back track, I rendezvoused with Anna and TD at the ferry port in Kadikoy after some adventures getting on the wrong boat - but only because I was following an English speaking man who got on the wrong boat as well. We walked up the amazing jungle of streets and markets, and caught a taxi to her house. On the way, she asked if I knew Rhona, an English Buddhist she knows. My first thought was, yes of course Rhona is here, that’s what brought me to get in touch with this lot. My rational thoughts stopped this and thought , how could I possibly know every English Buddhist? Then the thought, but Rhona is an unusual name. Turned out it was our Rhona who first taught me to chant and inspired me to become a teacher of French, following in her footsteps. She’s here teaching English and French, which is what I’m just about to apply for a job doing.
She will be surprised - can’t get rid of me that easily Rhona!!
Anna has so many connections with me, she’s French, she lived in Newcastle, her mother lives in Manosque…. when will it end?
After a chant, TD and I came back on dolmus taxi to Taksim Square, where I have managed to avoid up to now. It is madness, full of parties, live music and people who are not drunk but having a good time. By the way we did some experimentation with not drinking. If you go out for the evening but don’t drink, you end up feeling drunk anyway, but minus the hangover, and the cost. It is the night out relaxing with friends that makes you feel high my friends, not the alcohol after all.
That’s where TD put me in the dolmus, who drove past Topkapi Palace which is pictured here in daylight, with the Bosphoros Bridge behind, pretty eh? And the bridge is good too. He pulled in for some petrol just before he broke down, which is where he picked up the guy who walked me back. Travelling round Istanbul is so easy, and there is so much choice, but it took one and a half hours to get back. Friday traffic is bad, not going to the Mosque though oh no, going dancing.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I wondered what had happened to Rhona..
BTW, nice pants!
August 24th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
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