My husband and I currently find ourselves making our home under the Turkish sky of Izmir. Every city seems to have a different sky, and I’ve become fascinated with God’s creativity that I see in His design of clouds, color, sun, rain – all the plethora of ways His power is displayed in the Above vastness. I agree with those that marvel at the sea, but for me, it’s in the sky that I see His immense power and glory. Every streak, every cloud seems astounding when I look and remember that it was simply breathed into existence by the Creator of….everything.
The Izmir sky is generally blue with hardly any clouds. Bruin blue, for all you UCLA fans out there! It is warm, and the sun shines across the buildings; although can be hidden amongst the cement jungle. On the balcony of our apartment it feels like 80 degrees, but as I walk along the cobblestone sidewalk and wait for the bus I need to have long sleeves. The sun’s warmth does not reach this far at this time of year. There were a few days a couple weeks ago where the weather turned suddenly and the entire city got out their wool sweaters and heavier jackets. It only lasted three days though. Now, it again feels like summer, but gets cooler at night. Clothes dry quickly as they hang on the rack on the balcony. Even jeans and hoodies only take a few hours. (I am not looking forward to the days of rain I hear about.) We sleep with our balcony door and windows open every night. It lets the air in and sounds of the city.
Every couple of hours, the Imam sings out from a mosque and his voice carries over the buildings and brings melody to the sounds of car motors and kids screaming out “Anne!” (mom). There is an occasional seller that walks down the street calling out his goods: “Gevvvvvrekci.” “Suuuuuutttttt.” (Geverek – bread roll; sut – milk). I’ve never run down the stairs to buy anything from him, but I plan to one day. Under this sky is also the sound of the abundance of street cats and dogs. Every block has its group of dogs and its numerous cats, jumping out of dumpsters, sleeping under cars and sun bathing on the sidewalk. We have grown to love a particular dog who acts like a puppy and usually follows us a block or two as we walk between our apartment and our friends’. One night, we watched him snatch a shoe from a step (it’s tradition to take off your shoes before entering into a home) and carry it after us, wanting us to play. We now affectionately call him ShoeDog. He makes his home at the bus stop closest to our apartment. The cats are not quite as friendly, unless they are sitting under your table outside at a restaurant begging for food. It’s funny that the cats do this, but the dogs do not. As we walk around, we never know if a cat is scrounging in the dumpster until we throw a bag of trash in or just make too much noise and it jumps out right across our path. More than once it’s made me jump myself.
Izmir loves its animals. Theses cats and dogs are owned, fed and loved by everyone. Even birds get special attention. We were recently with a group of people and there was a completely mangy looking, big bird in the middle of a busy street. We wondered if it was trying to end its life! The Turkish friends we were with would not allow that though! They walked into the road and rescued the bird from the taxis and other cars. I’ve felt a few times that I myself could use rescuing from the taxis in the street! The cars and buses do not stop for pedestrians. There are not crosswalks except at occasional very busy intersections. For the most part, you just have to go for it and hope for the best, like playing the video game, Frogger. There have been a few close calls, but we are learning. The other thing we have to watch out for are the food delivery guys on motorcycles who drive on both the street and sidewalk. In the majority of streets, the traffic is only going one way and the motorcycles are loud enough that you hear them coming, so it makes it much easier to stay alive, and there are some streets that are not crowded at all, and we have freedom to walk anywhere.
The streets are lined with shops and restaurants. Within a block of our apartment is a main road with a variety of food places from which to choose, although the food itself having little variety. The basic items we choose from are: tuvuk (chicken), kofte (meatball) or karsik (similar to fried bologna, surprisingly good); then the choice is one of those meats on either ekmek (bread) or in a durum (wrap). If we want to mix it up, we can order pide (similar to pizza dough) with a topping on it, such as potatoes, meat, meat and egg or spinach. We like the food, although in time may get tired of it, but for now it is good and cheap. We love eating at restaurants because, typically, after a meal, you will be served cay (tea). Turkey is very hospitable and we love it!
Riding the bus, walking, carrying groceries home and living under this Izmir sky has been wonderful so far. It is a friendly, alive city, and the sights and sounds are becoming familiar and starting to feel like home.