rebecca soble

1  a newly-finished project.  it was so fun, I want to start another one right now.

I’ve heard news of a yarn store in Göztepe that might actually have some nice natural fibers (as opposed to most Turkish yarn stores, don’t get me started) so I’m thinking to wander by there this week.  The weather has cooled off enough to make random outside wandering not seem unbearable any longer.

2 I’ve been keeping an uneasy eye on US presidential election polls.  The numbers are disagreeably close, which then naturally leads to the intolerably painful consideration of a Republican win in November.  I think back to the New Hampshire Democratic primaries where Obama was polled to win rather strongly but ended up losing to Hillary Clinton.  The Washington Post assures us that wasn’t related to latent racism, but really the reason doesn’t matter, what does matter is who is the ultimate winner.  Since I’m living in a foreign country, I really don’t want to be further embarrassed by my country if Obama is not elected.  I saw a  poll on the net with a great interactive global map graphic which showed worldwide people support Obama by huge numbers (for example 70% Obama/20% McCain in Germany) so why is it so close at home?  I’ve temporarily lost that link but when I find it I’ll update this post.  BTW, 63 days until Election Day.

3 Simple food.  It may be related to the stomach bug I picked up this week, but I’m into simple foods these days. three super-easy recipes for you:

Yogurt-Wheat soup:  Ingredients - plain yogurt, water, salt, dried oregano, whole wheat grains (see pic below).  Cook the wheat like oatmeal (approx 2:1 water to wheat) until the grains are soft but still pleasantly chewy.  Let it cool.  Dollop some plain yogurt into a bowl, add in water until it’s a nice degree of soupy, not too thin, not too thick.  Sprinkle in salt liberally (basically you are making ayran).  Spoon in some of the cooled wheat grains and top with oregano.  Yum!

Cold carrot salad:  Ingredients - carrots, olive oil, sugar.  Grate the carrots and saute them in olive oil until soft and tasty.  Sprinkle a small amount of sugar over the carrots and stir in.  Serve cold.

Cheesy scrambled eggs:  Ingredients - eggs, feta cheese, vegetable oil.  Heat the vegetable oil (small amount) in a frying pan, crumble up the cheese and stir it into the pan, letting it melt into the oil.  Crack the eggs into the pan and stir until lightly scrambled.   Eat with sliced tomatoes (preferably a yummy heirloom variety).

This is my third year in Turkey but it will be my first full Ramazan (Ramadan), as in both previous autumns my visits home overlapped with this special month of the year, though not intentionally.  So this year I’m gearing up for the full experience.  Though let me clarify that “the full experience” will not include me actually following the Ramadan practices (though I might once or twice, when I’m not working) but observing and experiencing what happens around me.

For those who don’t know the practice, observant Muslims follow Ramadan by not partaking of any food, drink (including water), cigarettes, gum, or sex during daylight hours for the course of the month, and tend to be more observant of the five-times-per-day prayers as well.   Each day starts in the wee hours with the banging of a drum in the streets to wake people up to eat before sunrise.  They get up early enough so that they can eat slowly and thoroughly, at least I hope they do.  And then after a day of sacrifice, everyone comes together for the iftar, the meal that ends the fast after sunset.  This is a celebratory and festive meal, best partaken with lots of family and friends to support each other through the month.  For the people who have to break their fast alone, I imagine it isn’t as enjoyable an experience.  Because the Islamic calendar does not coincide with the Gregorian calendar, the month of Ramadan moves through the seasons over time.  In recent years, Ramadan has been in the autumn, when the days were relatively short, making the fasting a bit easier.  This year, coinciding exactly with the month of September, the fast-day is getting longer and I’ve already heard several people comment about how it gets longer and harder every year….

Of course, there are a lot of non-observant Muslims who won’t be following Ramadan (just like there are plenty of Catholics who don’t observe Lent and Jews who skip Yom Kippur - and Emrah is Alevi, so he doesn’t observe Ramadan either) but I’ve been asking around in preparation and several of my students will be fasting.   For the ones whose lessons are in the 8-10pm time frame, they’ll have time to eat something before their lessons (the sunset time will start around 7:45 at the beginning of Ramazan and gradually get earlier over the course of the month) though it obviously can’t be a complete iftar meal because of lack of time, but I’m a bit concerned for the ones whose lessons are in the 5-8 time frame, the very end of the day when they will be at their most hungry, thirsty, most caffeine-and-nicotine-deprived.  Not really conducive for learning, so I might have to modify my lessons a bit.

Out on the street, it will pay to be a bit more careful in traffic, as drivers who already have a rather high baseline of impatience and scofflawdom (if that isn’t a word it should be) will be even more so, especially later in the day.  Also I wonder about the overall levels of productivity and whether Ramadan is visible as a blip in the quarterly GDP of predominantly Muslim countries.  Do companies make allowances for fasting employees?  What about ones who work with dangerous factory equipment or need to make split-second important decisions or be very detailed about accounting figures?  How many more mistakes will there be, and will any be life- or business-threatening?   I actually have no idea what percentage of people observe Ramadan in Istanbul, I would guess a lower percentage than in the rest of Turkey, but still a significant number.

At the end of the month, there is a 3-day holiday called Şeker Bayramı (Sugar Holiday) which apparently is a big hooplah.  I have three days off from work so I’ll have to find somewhere to go, something to do.

Well that’s about all for Ramazan, starting tomorrow morning.  I’m clearly not a food photographer, but here is a picture of the dinner I ate tonight:  mucver (zucchini patties), cold carrot salad (sauteed with olive oil), and wheat grains.  I had been eating the wheat in a cold yogurt soup and had some leftover.  Plus yogurt and cold tea.   Hugs to all my friends and family!  xoxo!