The 19th of May is celebrated each year as Ataturk Remembrance & Youth Day and is a national holiday, with the next day being an extra day off for schools. It felt like a Sunday during the middle of the week as we went for a stroll along the tree-lined boulevard in Izmit, listened to a military band in the park (who were really game and played nursery rhymes for the children), had pizza and then went to a book fair.
You would think an active little 4 year-old would get bored and restless at a book fair but it turned out to be quite magical for my little son. There was a shadow puppet game which he never tired of, and a brilliant concert by a Peruvian band - comprising 35 ethnic members, making Native American-Indian music and promoting world peace and unity - who had traveled to Turkey just for the event.
I absolutely love Turkey, we are over again in August for a precious 11 days. We visited 2years ago and fell in love with the country, although we probably didn't see a lot of the REAL Turkey. The one thing I didn't find when visiting was any yarn shops. We are staying near Ole dinez, (apologies for poor spelling) in a place called Hisorano. I can't remember the nearest big towns name but this time I would really like to find a yarn shop. Well enjoyed reading your blog and got the link via Heike.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Nicky x
Hi Nicky,
ReplyDeleteThe interesting thing about Turkey is that there are yarn shops literally everywhere - even in the smallest village you'd find half a dozen! Yarn shops are nothing new here and very much a part of a Turkish woman's life as the baker : ) But, they're not usually classy-looking shops in trendy places or on the high street like back home. They look tiny and unwelcoming but once you walk in they have everything. They're called 'tuhafiyeji' or 'yuncu' (pron.yeunjou) and they sell everything for sewing and knitting. They're normally located behind the high streets, near the houses, where regular inhabitants do their daily shopping. Sometimes you'll find 3 or 4 in a row!
Oludeniz is beautiful, I hope you enjoy your stay!