Istanbul Dreams: Waiting for the Tulips to Bloom

The first time I came to Turkey I found myself living in Göreme, a small village in the Anatolian heartland, for three months. There I learnt that anything is possible, as long as you act from your heart. I had come to Turkey by chance and from the moment I set foot on Turkish soil I was enchanted. I was one of many tourists fascinated by the lure of the wonderful historical and archaeological sites, the beaches and other scenes of natural beauty, but these are not the things that have kept me coming back. In that small Cappadocian village I met women who had never ventured more than ten kilometres from their birthplace. They couldn’t read or write, yet they welcomed me into their lives and homes without any reservations. We had no common language but we cooked, ate, knitted and laughed together, and managed to share our secrets and dreams. I became their sister, cousin, auntie or daughter. Even the men, more worldly than their wives, were equally welcoming. No problem was too big or too small for them to help me.

Preface

Sink or Swim

European Apples in Istanbul

Stumbling in the Dark in Asia

Lost in the Labyrinth of Byzantine Housing

From Dreams to Reality

Talking Bureaucracy in Turkish

Come Henna Your Hands and Celebrate Love

Turkish Baths and Turkish Traditions

Headscarves and Other Fashionable Beliefs

You Can’t Take the Village Out of the City

When the Tulips Start to Bloom

The Drums of Summer Fasting

Full Circle