Monday, December 29, 2008

Snowfall

It's snowing in Istanbul! Winter come swooping in on us this afternoon in its grey cape, cold and damp.

Monday, October 27, 2008

The View From 30-Something

So here I am, now a couple years into my thirties (I'm 32 now, by the way. No point in hiding it; the math and my mother don't lie) and honestly not noticing much of a difference from 31 or 30. The difference I do, however, notice - and thankfully, I might add - is the one between being 20-something vs. 30-something. This side of 29 feels some much calmer. As if a settling into myself has taken place. Gone is much of the self-questioning, the comparing myself to others, the frantic fuzziness that seems (in hind-sight) to have accompanied all my major decisions. I have a better idea of what I want, what I need, to be happy.

To celebrate another year on the planet, some friends of mine and I had dinner at Mikla. The only word to describe Mikla is fabulous. Fabulous views (the best in Istanbul, in my opinion), fabulous food, fabulous atmosphere, fabulous service, fabulous company. Absolutely fabulous all around. If you're ever in Istanbul, it is a must!

Sunday, I "ran" a 6k run - the Intercontinental Fun Run from Asia to Europe. Sigh. I wish I could say it was a stellar performance on my part or the weather's. I only ran about 4 of the 6 kilometers (good heavens Istanbul is hilly!) and it was a literal downpour the whole way. So while I ran across the finish line, I walked a good part of the way before that, and I crossed it almost soaked to the bone. But I'll tell you what, I felt like a serious bad-ass running across the finish line of an intercontinental race cold and sopping wet. Grrrrr!

Last night was Cumhuriyet Bayram (Turkish Independence Day) and they celebrated it like so many other countries - with a fireworks display. But a fireworks display the likes of which I have never seen before! It was a full scale, eight launch point (yes 8!), fully coordinated on both sides of the Bosphorus display that lasted for nearly 20 minutes. It was stunning!

I'm not going to be able to post pictures to my blog site for a while. Blogger.com was recently added to the list of websites blocked by the Turkish government so I can't access it from home. This happens periodically and means I have to write my entries from work for the time being, but that, in turn, means no pictures for a while. Sorry.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Run, Kellie, Run!

Next Sunday, I and some friends are running the Intercontinental 6k Fun Run. It starts on the Asian side and ends on the European side (hence the "intercontinental" part). The coolest thing about it? We get to run across one of the two bridges linking the two sides of Istanbul.

So of course I've been training - sort of. Given the semi-old-lady condition of my knees, I decided not to wear them out by training on concrete so I upped my time on the elliptical machine at the gym (I managed to do 7.75k in 35 minutes this morning! Not too shabby!). I have to admit, it feels damn good to have a training goal again. I've missed running.

http://www.istanbulmarathon.org/course.html

The bridge I'm running across (right side is Asia, left side is Europe)

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Ramadan

The last week of September was Ramazan Bayram - the celebration at the end of the month-long Ramadan. And it is a hard earned celebration; for practicing Muslims, it marks the end of the month-long, sunrise to sunset fast. During Ramadan, nothing can be consumed between sunrise and sunset so Muslims eat 2 large meals a day - one in the evening after sunset, called Iftar, and one in the morning before sunrise. As Ramadan is a floating holiday, it moves backwards through the months of year meaning, as it gets further and further from the winter months, the days of Ramadan get longer and longer.

In Istanbul, observing Ramadan is not as big of a deal as it is elsewhere in Turkey, or the rest of the Muslim world. Istanbul is very secular so restaruants and grocery stores were open during the day (though going to the grocery store at 5:oopm was to be avoided. Best leave that time to Istanbulites - seeminly every single one of them - shopping for the Iftar meal). As you can imagine, going 17 hours without food or water (the more devout Muslims don't even swallow their own spit) makes people rather cranky. Traffic was worse than usual (which is saying a lot) and tensions were high.

But Ramazan Bayram also meant an entire week off from work and provided the perfect opportunity for visitors. Jason came in from Oslo and we spent the week being tourists (strolling with the rest of Istanbul down Istikal Street) and being lazy.

Busy Istikal Street

We did make it to the Salvador Dali exhibit that is here in Istanbul through January 2009. Hosted by the Sabanci Art Museum, it is an extensive collection and follows his career from early works to working with Walt Disney to his return to the classics. Not only was the exhibit itself beautiful, but the grounds of the Sabanci Museum are stunning! The Sabancis are a power-house family in Turkey and the museum sits on the grounds of the old family mansion on the shore of the Bosphorus. There is also an incredible cafe on the muesum grounds that serves dishes like fried zucchini flowers stuffed with goat cheese and pine nuts and ginger and jasmine iced tea. Delicious!

We also spent a delightful afternoon wandering through Gulhane (Rose) Park, taking pictures and meandering through the various walk-ways. It was here we stumbled upon a tea garden with the most incredible view of the Bosphorus! So we stopped and warmed up with some strong turkish tea.

Saturday was a night of photography - an art studio down in Sultanahmeht is showcasing 3 photographers with ties to the Consulate. Several of us headed down to show our support and see some incredible photographs.

Kishor, Karen, and Jonathan enjoying at night of photography



All in all, a nice, relaxing week!


Kiz Kulesi (Maiden's Tower) from the Gulhane Park tea garden


A ship making its way through the Bosphorus to the Marmara Sea


Tea Time!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

"The Dive Trip That Wasn't" and "You Can, In Fact, Go Home Again"

It's been a while, I know. I seem to be back to my Peru schedule for posting blog entries. Old habits are apparently harder to break than I thought.

Part of my absence was a literal one - I spent 2 weeks away from Istanbul at the end of August. A dive trip to Roatan, Honduras that turned out to not be a dive trip and a week at home in Colorado were much needed refreshers.

Sigh - the Dive Trip That Wasn't. With all expectations of a week of great diving ahead of me, I landed on a sunny, swampy afternoon in Roatan, Honduras to celebrate a friend's birthday (I won't say which friend or which birthday as the birthday-person seems quite sensitive to their new age). Calm waters, an unbelievably close reef and relatively few people promised diving adventures there for the taking. But I only got one dive in and one adventure. During the ascent on the first dive of the trip, I developed a problem with my ear. While it turned out to be nothing major, blood coming from one's ear is unnerving to say the least. A short taxi ride and a staggering $15 to the dive doctor and I was assured there was no lasting damage but warned to stay out of the water for the rest of the trip. No diving, no snorkeling, no swimming.

Once the initial disappointment wore off, I found little to complain about - I was, after all, on a paradise of a tropical island. I found a good book, my camera, fresh shrimp ceviche and several pina coladas were more than adequate substitutes for the diving. I left Roatan, a bit tanner (i.e. a darker shade of white with some red spots thrown in for variety) and much more relaxed than I arrived.

The next leg of the trip was a week at home in Colorado. I used the time to stock up on supplies (greeting cards, jeans, shaving cream, dirty martini mix - you know, the essentials), meet up with family and friends, get to know my god-daughter Teagan, and hang out with her big sister Addison. I'm happy to report that everyone is doing well and going about their lives quite happily. It was good to see everyone and re-enforced that while I don't live there anymore, Fort Collins and the people there are most certainly Home and will always be Home.

I'm back in Istanbul now, looking forward to Jason's upcoming visit, putting pictures up on my walls, and thinking (as always) about where I'll be off to next.

Addison and Teagan



Me and Teagan


Roatan, Honduras

Monday, August 11, 2008

Welcome to the World, Teagan!

Congratulations to Kallie and Travis who welcomed their 2nd little princess, Teagan, to the world August 8, 2008! And to Addison who will be a great big sister! I can't wait to see you all!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

And The Newest Stamp In My Passport Is. . .

. . .Norway!

Last weekend I hopped a Turkish Air flight to Oslo, Norway to spend some over-due quality time with Jason (yes, I'm seeing someone and yes, he lives in Oslo and yes, he is the aforementioned Jason). Oslo is a city built for meandering. Parks and statues and fountains lead from one to the other; taking you from one end of the city to the other. So that's what we did - we followed the parks and the statues and the fountains to from the bed and breakfast past the Royal Palace, down to Aker Brygge, over to the new opera and ballet house, and through Vigeland Sculpture Park. It was an incredibly relaxing and focusing weekend that went a long way in helping me get my head and heart around the events of July 9, 2008.

Oslo's beauty is the polar opposite of Istanbul's - where Istanbul is chaotic, an organic maze of streets and buildings and mosques, Oslo is orderly, it's plan deliberate and straight forth. They are so different that at times I found it impossible to imagine them existing on the same planet, on the same continent. And yet here they are, these two opposites, growing, changing, filling the role of Home for their inhabitants, existing beautifully.

The trip to Oslo was also the maiden voyage of my new camera - a Nikon D40. We had a great time trying it out, playing with features, and figuring out what all those settings do.

The first Official Picture of my Nikon D40


Vigeland Sculpture Park (at 11:00pm - the land of the midnight sun)


Me and Jason at the Oslo Opera and Ballet House

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

In Memory

To the brave police officers who died or were wounded this morning at the U.S. Consulate General Istanbul and their families - you are in our hearts and prayers.

This morning, three gunmen attacked the police checkpoint at the entrance to the consulate. They shot and killed three police officers, wounded others, and were themselves shot and killed. The attack has left the entire consulate shaken and rattled. The next few days and weeks will be difficult ones as we mourn the loss of life on our very doorstep.

During training, we were told it was not a matter of if, but when we would experience a terrorist attack. Who could have known "when" would come so soon into my first tour? My beliefs about the security of the world I live in where challenged today; as were some of my beliefs about myself. And now, at the end of the day, I go to bed with questions and a deep, deep sadness.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

You Always Remember Your First

Hello from the gateway, the bridge, the link between East and West! Istanbul, Turkey; my first post as an employee of the Department of State. I've been living here for about 4 months now - time spent learning parts of the city (I'll never, ever see even 1/2 of it!), meeting some incredible people who have already touched my life in enduring ways, getting used to the title of "U.S. diplomat", and, as is my want, looking at the map and thinking about my where-to-next.

This is not a city that does things half-assed - the summer heat, the carpets, the population, the views, the mosques, the ships, the traffic, the history. It's all big and close enough to touch; so infused in daily life it is impossible to separate one from the other. For a girl who has never been to Europe, Istanbul seems so close to everything! Athens, Paris, Oslo, Bucharest, Vienna - all are less than 1/2 a day away. Having said that, I have spent almost no time outside the city yet - a trip to Cyprus in May and an upcoming trip to Oslo being the only exceptions. A 2 week vacation in August will take me out of Istanbul to Colorado and Honduras.

For those of you familiar with my Peru blog, I'm hoping you will find this blog just as entertaining and more frequently updated (Istanbul is a far, far, far technological cry from Jocos).


The Blue Mosque