Went with friends to see an apartment which a friend of theirs is renting... way beyond my budget but oh what a fabulous view!
To the left of the balcony, Dolmabahce Palace, Ciragan Palace and Ortakoy Mosque and the First bridge (of the two bridges that cross the Bosphorus and join Asia with Europe) and lit in colours, changing the lighting design and colour every few minutes.
In front the Bosphorus, serene, graceful, mysterious and alluring with the lights of the city shimmering reflections to the Asian side, night boats chugging gently through.
To the right, Topkapi, the Blue Mosque and Agia Sophia over in Sultanahmet and the old city district of Fatih.
It is a view to kill for with a long balcony perfect for the comfortable chairs small tables and tomato plants that live on it. A small barbecue in the cornet just big enough to sit and grill a few fish, sardines maybe or a tsipoura (or sea bream)....
And there is a fireplace inside in the sitting room for winter and a cosy seating area. All in all a wonderful place, but too expensive unfortunately for the kind of use I would have for it and too big for one person's "pied a terre"...
Tomorrow I will take my breakfast in one of the cafes by the street markets in the lanes of Ortakoy and watch the ferry boats cross to Asia and then I will go and look at a place in Bebek near the Bosphorus University... I have a feeling this might be the place for me.
I have a great affinity with this neighbourhood and there are superb walks to be had along the Bosphorus watching the fishermen. This is a place I could come to and sit and write songs, read books, stroll aimlessly, listen to music and enjoy a glass of wine in the terrace bar of the Bebek hotel or eat fish and drink raki by the sea.
But tonight I sat on a wonderful Istanbul balcony, ate fresh juicy cherries, drank red wine, indulged in gentle good humoured conversation and watched the night boats pass through the Bosphorus.
And that was perfect.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Istanbul... Istanbul...
Arrived in the city last night and instead of spending my night in my hotel room working hard on my presentation for today, I went out to dinner with one of my colleagues and his fiance who were holidaying here. Obviously a much better call - even though it immediately meant getting up with the sparrows or pulling an all nighter...
The Four Seasons Sultanahmet and a lovely dinner in the courtyard restaurant sitting outside. Pink champagne, a respectable Turkish Sauvignon Blanc, squid ink pasta and a lovely aged sirloin... Perfect.
The Maitre D - an Australian lady (so perhaps that should be Maitresse D?) - remembered me from my last time at the restaurant and greeted me warmly enquiring after the friends I'd been with before. To be fair the last time we ended up staying 7.5 hours and drank our body weight. Twice. So it was logical she remembered such a good customer!
My colleague let on that he had spent a vast sum (around $1,000 US) on what he described as an "antique Breitling" in the Grand Bazaar. I pointed out that Istanbul's bustling indoor souq is not the most likely place to find authentic vintage timepieces... And that in fact it was known globally for being a centre for knock-off watches and copies.... He considered his purchase in light of this information and took a couple of deep breaths before pronouncing that he might not rush to get the watch valued any time soon... Ahem!
After a long day and reasonably liquid dinner there seemed little point in flogging a dead laptop so retired more or less gracefully and slept.
Unfortunately I awoke several times in the night paranoid that I had slept through my early alarm only to find it was 3am, 3.45am, 4.30am and 5.15am. When my alarm went off at 5.30 I of course snoozed it several times feeling exhausted.
Hauling myself out of bed I worked on my presentation for a couple of hours before ordering up a lovely plate of menemen (Turkish scrambled egg with onions, tomatoes and chilli) and strong black coffee.
Then off to morning and lunch meetings before the big presentation to the C-suite team of a major Turkish multi billion dollar conglomerate and its operating companies. . .
3 floors below ground I went into a super hi tech auditorium and set up my gear and sat back and waited for my audience to arrive.
About 40 CEOs, Managing Directors and CxOs arrived and then we waited for the Chairman whose company it is.... He flew up from a meeting with World Bank officials to attend the session.
I ended up speaking almost literally non-stop for 4 hours. There is barely an aspect of corporate communications I didn't cover... All standing under spotlights and no chair in sight.
It seemed to go very well and the Chairman - whom I have met before - was pleased. I was presented with gifts and shook the Chairman's hand in front of the company photographer.
After it was all over I almost collapsed from tiredness. The same driver that picked me up from the airport yesterday took me back to my hotel. He looked like a natural born killer and had muscles in places where I haven't even managed to grow fat yet and no hair - but his voice sounded like a falsetto Mickey Mouse. I managed not to laugh and thus get myself whacked by the Disney Serial Killer of Istanbul.
And now I am about to go out with friends for drinks and view an apartment which I might rent. It looks over Topkapi Palace.
Tomorrow I go to see another place near the Bosphorus University...
Soon I will have a home in Istanbul! Hurrah!
The Four Seasons Sultanahmet and a lovely dinner in the courtyard restaurant sitting outside. Pink champagne, a respectable Turkish Sauvignon Blanc, squid ink pasta and a lovely aged sirloin... Perfect.
The Maitre D - an Australian lady (so perhaps that should be Maitresse D?) - remembered me from my last time at the restaurant and greeted me warmly enquiring after the friends I'd been with before. To be fair the last time we ended up staying 7.5 hours and drank our body weight. Twice. So it was logical she remembered such a good customer!
My colleague let on that he had spent a vast sum (around $1,000 US) on what he described as an "antique Breitling" in the Grand Bazaar. I pointed out that Istanbul's bustling indoor souq is not the most likely place to find authentic vintage timepieces... And that in fact it was known globally for being a centre for knock-off watches and copies.... He considered his purchase in light of this information and took a couple of deep breaths before pronouncing that he might not rush to get the watch valued any time soon... Ahem!
After a long day and reasonably liquid dinner there seemed little point in flogging a dead laptop so retired more or less gracefully and slept.
Unfortunately I awoke several times in the night paranoid that I had slept through my early alarm only to find it was 3am, 3.45am, 4.30am and 5.15am. When my alarm went off at 5.30 I of course snoozed it several times feeling exhausted.
Hauling myself out of bed I worked on my presentation for a couple of hours before ordering up a lovely plate of menemen (Turkish scrambled egg with onions, tomatoes and chilli) and strong black coffee.
Then off to morning and lunch meetings before the big presentation to the C-suite team of a major Turkish multi billion dollar conglomerate and its operating companies. . .
3 floors below ground I went into a super hi tech auditorium and set up my gear and sat back and waited for my audience to arrive.
About 40 CEOs, Managing Directors and CxOs arrived and then we waited for the Chairman whose company it is.... He flew up from a meeting with World Bank officials to attend the session.
I ended up speaking almost literally non-stop for 4 hours. There is barely an aspect of corporate communications I didn't cover... All standing under spotlights and no chair in sight.
It seemed to go very well and the Chairman - whom I have met before - was pleased. I was presented with gifts and shook the Chairman's hand in front of the company photographer.
After it was all over I almost collapsed from tiredness. The same driver that picked me up from the airport yesterday took me back to my hotel. He looked like a natural born killer and had muscles in places where I haven't even managed to grow fat yet and no hair - but his voice sounded like a falsetto Mickey Mouse. I managed not to laugh and thus get myself whacked by the Disney Serial Killer of Istanbul.
And now I am about to go out with friends for drinks and view an apartment which I might rent. It looks over Topkapi Palace.
Tomorrow I go to see another place near the Bosphorus University...
Soon I will have a home in Istanbul! Hurrah!
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