The only downside of having a property in another country, that you only visit occasionally, is that you spend the first couple of days cleaning and repairing and making it feel like home again. In our case it was two days of weed clearing - the garden looked like a meadow, when in reality it should be crazy paving (whoever invented that dreadful phrase and concept was certainly crazy). So, yesterday morning I cycled down to the local garden centre and tried to explain, in my non-existent Turkish, to a very sweet man, with non-existent English, that I needed weed killer. The killer bit was easy, katil. But when it came to weeds ise yaramaz ot, ayrik otu, I was a little stumped! Despite this, after 15 minutes of gesticulating, I had a coke bottle with some dubious looking liquid in it, that we had agreed needed to be topped up with water, 1:5. And after all this debate, he refused to let me pay for it! That is what I love about this place, everybody wants to help and there is no ulterior motive, ever. A couple of hours spent in the internet cafe trying to download lectures I have missed, came free with Turkish apple tea and a bunch of geraniums! Sometimes being female is just the best!
So, a routine is very soon settled into. I am woken by the local military base....my alarm can be anything from the morning drill being called (perfect for getting me out of bed!), a boogle, a round of rifles or a full brass band! The base is only about 500 meters from the house
and if the wind is blowing the wrong way it sounds like we have thirty soldiers in our back garden. A thirty minute run to the headland is followed by a swim in the sea (bit of a shock this time as we are here earlier than normal and it's pretty cold!). After a quick shower, a breakfast of muesli, fresh local strawberries and local natural yoghurt. Unlike the Greek yoghurt we get at home, this Turkish yoghurt is thick and creamy, but also very smooth. It also has a crust on top like that of a home-made rice pudding - almost chewy, and absolutely delicious. If I was cast on a dessert island and only allowed one meal it would be this yoghurt and honey....forever!
After that the day consists of laying on the patio, strolling into town to do odd jobs or buy more food, and walking the two minutes to the sea for another swim - it's hell!
The other thing that has to be mentioned is the cats. They are everywhere. And I mean everywhere - there are hundreds, all colours, and sort of semi wild - they will let you feed them but are unlikely to let you touch them. We have adopted a couple at the house in the short time we have been here and already they feel comfortable enough to sleep on our chairs, but not for us to get too close.
Tonight is our last night so we are going out to dinner. We will go to the same place we ate in on our first night, despite saying we would try different ones.......the problem is they are so nice and constantly give us more than we order or ask for, so it seems rude not to give them out custom. Obviously this is why they do it but what the heck!
No comments:
Post a Comment