Monday, April 28, 2008

Since we are moving soon, I thought I would show you a few pictures of the area we are living in at the moment. It is called Velibaba, on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Some parts of it are gorgeous. Lots of houses, especially the older ones, are often painted gorgeous vibrant colours (although sometimes not so gorgeous!).

A lot of the neighbours have been here for a long time and know each other well. This is both good and bad! It is very safe, with kids out playing in the streets all the time. On the other hand it means neighbours are always dropping in! Now personally I don't mind the occasional unannounced drop in at all (although I know some people hate it!) but sometimes it can really get to be too much!




Some parts of the area are modern, some have a village atmosphere. You can see a shepherd herding goats right next to large modern apartment buildings.
A lot of the buildings are old and ramshackle, built and extended bit by bit as families grew. Lots of new apartment buildings are being built. Health and safety standards are a little different here! You might not be able to tell from the photo but these guys are six stories up!
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People are always out walking around here, which I love. In the mornings there are so many groups of women out walking together. You can see in the photo my mother in law and Aunty taking baby Yashar for a stroll. One of the great things about living here is that when Yashar wakes up early my mother in law takes him for a walk while I have a sleep in. How good is that!

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