…well, the pre-dawn call to prayer rang out loud and clear on day three, but I managed to return to the sleeping world of the "un-faithful" on this early morning. I suspect that I will grow increasingly desensitized as my stay lengthens.
When Doris and I awoke, it was quite late and we made our way downstairs to see what Ellen was doing. She had been active for several hours already and was concerned that we had not shown up at the breakfast table.
After a light meal of bread, cheese abd coffee, we made plans to explore the village of Çengelköy. This is the village (on the Asian side of Istanbul) where Husam’s family villa is located and also the location of Ellen’s winter apartment. Ellen wanted to take us there to gather some dishes for use during the summer at the villa and she also needed to collect some music needed for the Audubon Quartet concerts next week.
While we were there, Ellen thought it would be fun us to explore the village, do a little food shopping and grab some lunch, which we happily agreed to. The village down below her apartment was only 50 yards away or so, walking down the narrow cobble stone streets. Passing by a very old Greek Orthodox church and former church school, we emerged onto a busy and crowded street, filled with people darting in and out of shops and generally appearing to go “somewhere” at an up-scaled tempo.
Our pre-lunch errand was to buy eggs, bread, cheeses, olives, and naturally, some yummy Turkish pastries. The fruit and vegetable bins of the neighborhood markets were overflowing with an assortment of vegetables and fresh fruits, including piles of both red and white mulberries. I mused over many happy boyhood fights with over-ripe juicy mulberries with my buddies, in my childhood years growing up in Florida.
Probably the most interesting vegetables on sale were the famous specialty of Çengelköy, the gherkins, very small and very delicious cucumbers. We were allowed to sample them right out the bins and did not hesitate to buy a bag of them on the spot! Amazing food, these small cukes!
After a brief shopping spree and bags in hand, we blended back into the stream of people and navigated our way to the Erbap Café, a popular local eatery overlooking a stunning view of the Bosporus.
After a meal of kabobs and salad, we return to the street and headed to the tea garden, located next to the café, where planned to have coffee before returning to the villa.
In the courtyard between the café, I saw the next most amazing sight, after the view of the Bosporus from the deck of the Erbap Café and the stalls of cucumbers on the street, an 800-year old sycamore tree, with limbs so large, they needed to be held up by iron support bars.
This magnificent tree would have been more than 200-years old during the siege of the Constantinople in 1453, which led to the fall of the Byzantine Empire. I can’t wait to share this story and images of this magnificent tree with my music literature classes, when I talk to the class about the “Fall of Constantinople” and the Greek scholars who fled the city and found refuge in the Latin west, bringing with them knowledge and documents from the Greco-Roman tradition that further propelled the Renaissance.
Not only did the size and beauty of this tree take the breath away, it was an historical wonder. Its history earned the nickname of “murderer plain tree” (sycamores are referred to as plane trees in Europe), because a man drinking tea under its shade was struck and killed by one of its falling branches.
Safe from falling branches and full shopping bags in hand, we headed back to the villa for a cooling afternoon swim.
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