Ramadan - 100% curfew 1st May

This morning at 8am the sun was hot and due to its position in the sky is shining on more of my terrace than it has been during the winter.  I can now sit in the sun, at the back of the terrace, watch BBC News through the terrace doors and look at the fabulous view whilst enjoying my morning poached egg on toast and an Americano.  

 It's even getting warm enough that I'll be able to eat my evening meal on the terrace in the shade.  These simple pleasures are the reasons I wanted to have a place in the sun.
This weekend's curfew started at midnight last night. 

 We all now know in Turkey that the 2 day, 100% curfews at the weekends will remain until at least the end of May.  We've also been advised of some extended curfews to include days that would normally be public holidays.  Last weekend was a 4 day curfew, to include Children's Day and this weekend is a 3 day curfew as 1st May is Workers Day.  Today the local village shops will be open for limited hours so that people can get their bread but they can only walk to the shop, not use vehicles.  It was similar last weekend.  I understand that some Turkish people shop daily for food and find it difficult financially to stock up but hopefully over the last few weeks they have been able to amass small stocks although I'm told that bread is a daily staple.  My neighbours seem to shop as I do in the UK with a big supermarket shop once a week or fortnight with fresh fruit and vegetables weekly.  I usually get a loaf of bread from them once a week and as I don't eat that much, I freeze it and take it out a slice at a time.  Mind you, the bread is so lovely I'm eating far more than usual and it's telling on my waistline, eek!

 The lock down and curfews are difficult for the Turkish, particularly during Ramadan, as they are very sociable people and would normally gather as a community every evening for their iftar (evening meal to break the daily fast).  However, they still manage to make it a celebration by sharing dishes with neighbours.  Most evenings, I get a knock on my door to be presented with a dish from their evening meal.  It's always delicious - and another reason my waistline is swelling!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dolmus - the Turkish mini-bus

Image
When I visited Turkey for the first time in 2004, the holiday reps in Olu Deniz told us about the dolmus with stories of them being old and battered, fitted with kitchen chairs strapped to the side to offer additional seating, everyone crammed in regardless of numbers and don't be surprised if someone gets on with a goat or hens.  Oh, and you get on sit down and pass your fare along the other passengers to the driver.   Whilst I didn't see any goats, hens or other animals on a dolmus, they were a bit old and battered and I once had to sit on a cushion placed on a wheel arch as a seat. On my return to Olu Deniz the following year, the old dolmus had been replaced with very modern, white mini-buses with automatic opening doors in the middle, proper seats, buzzers to request a stop and a limit on the number of passengers. I don't have a lot of experience of using buses back home but one day, I had decided to get one in to Halifax and I needed to be there by 12pm.  Me ...
Read more

When it rains, it rains

According to the BBC's weather app, today in Kusadasi we will have 'light rain showers and light winds' and it will last all day.  I have only ever seen heavy rain here, not light showers, although it generally doesn't last for long. Yesterday, after heavy rain and thunderstorms earlier in the day, we had warm sunshine later on. We've had lightning and thunderstorms this morning which normally knock out the internet but, fingers crossed, it's OK at the moment. Already, I can see the sky clearing up to the northwest and, whilst still heavy, the rain has eased off slightly from when I took the videos.  The chair at the far end of the terrace, started off next to the table!
Read more

Stormy Weather

Image
As I lay in bed last night reading, I heard a distant rumbling and at first thought it was a car coming on the complex but as it repeated and started to grow louder I realised it was thunder.  It hadn't been forecast; not on my BBC weather app, anyway.  It got louder and louder until I was in no doubt that it was thunder.  I had a quick peek out of the window but there was no rain......... Eventually, I drifted to sleep only to be woken very suddenly by an extremely loud, overhead explosion of thunder and lightning.  I decided to take another peek out of the window only to see absolutely torrential rain coming down.  So I jumped out of bed to go close the lounge full length window/doors which I leave open all the time as they aren't accessible from outside.  Luckily, being set back 40 cms from the outer walls, no rain had come in.  The washing I'd left on the airer on the terrace was protected but I took it in, just in case. I decided to chance leaving...
Read more