Khatms

Alhamdulillah, I was able to get three khatms, or closings, of the Qur'an over the past day. Because I found the masjid that was going to complete the Qur'an, I was able to attend as they finished last night. I wasn't sure if they had already finished on the 27th, but I lucked out. Alas, the dua wasn't so inspired, but the Imam (Tayyar) was a nice enough guy. He and the muezzin, Muhammad, will help me distribute the clothes mom sent with me.

The second khatm was by this muezzin, Muhammad, I guess he is the one who was reciting before fajr. His dua was a bit more elaborate. I finished my Qur'an after Asr after dropping off the clothes at the mosque to Muhammad, and did my dua at home.

Alhamdulillah, we got off early today, and the office is basically closed until Friday. A pleasant surprise, to say the least. I'm not sure how much celebrating I will do - a bit tomorrow, but after that, I really need to work on apps.

Erkut gave us all a nice box of chocolate covered Turkish delight. He was explaining to me the history of how Turkish delight became popular. Apparently, the brand I brought back home last time, Haji Ali Bekir or something like that, is very famous, popular, and old (1700s). Some British guy was in Istanbul, liked it, and brought it back to the UK, where it was well received, in part because of the connection between London and Istanbul by the Orient Express.

He also advised me to go to the Blue Mosque for Eid prayer and see some museums over the break (the museums, like Topkopi and the Hagia Sophia, will be open except tomorrow morning). My initial inclination was to go to the Suleymaniye, but he said that is still under construction. He recommended keeping my shoes close to me, but I told him about my separation strategy, and he liked it. Apparently, public transporation over this holiday will be free - that is pretty neat! The city is suposed to be relatively empty though.

I was on Skype again last night, and talked to Mom, Rabia, Sulaiman, and Yusuf. Let me know if you have Skype, and I'll add you.

I finally withdrew some money from an ATM - I've decided against using the traveler's cheques unless absolutely necessary. I withdrew in dollars USD 300 from a TEB ATM - they give out dollars, euros, or liras (so does Deutsche Bank/Fortis, though for how long, given the day's news, who knows?). I'm not sure what the fees will be - I'll post when I find out. I only exchanged USD 100 for YTL 120 because the rate had fallen. Still, I had money to spend now.

I spent the afternoon and early evening doing some Eid/Bayram preparation. Mom sent some packages of sheer korma mix with me - I just have to add milk and cook. However, I needed more milk (YTL 1.45 each for two) as well as a metal spoon (YTL 2.95). I bought almost a pound of candy to pass out (YTL 3.38), bag of noodles (YTL 0.89), honey (YTL 9.45), juice box (YTL 1.09), and yes, an umbrella (YTL 4.99) (I am reading my receipts). I decided to get a better lighter as well, so I wouldn't burn my fingers (YTL 1.25).

I have noticed that water doesn't evaporate in Istanbul as easily as it does in Detroit. In Michigan, if I make wudu and leave the water on the counter, by the time I come back, the water is gone. Not the case in Istanbul. The water left in my tub does not evaporate all day. My clothes, hanging since Saturday afternoon, are still damp after about 48 hours. The sink is wet almost all day. At first, I thought someone was breaking into my apartment and using the facilities. Now, I just can't believe how the water is not evaporating. It must be really humid (understandably so); I'm lucky it is not very hot out, otherwise it would be quite oppresive. In light of this, I bought one of those sink water collecter things we have back home (YTL 3.35) so I can keep the sink dry.

Now, I just have to get up early tomorrow and make the sheer korma, get ready, and go to the Old City. We'll see what happens.

I came across an interesting and somewhat relevant article on CNN.com today (http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/09/26/journaling/index.html). While I don't really follow that structured of a methodology when writing these entries (they are little better than streams of consciousness), maybe there are some tips in it for you if you go somewhere (ehm, ehm, Osman!).