Mustafapaşa.

T

he alarm on my cell phone rang at 9:30am. I had a hour to get ready before I had to meet up with Zeki at the coffee shop. He was going to be bringing me my rugs and I had to pay him. It was another 2 hours over coffee before we finally sealed the sales. Zeki then went off to get a car so we could go see the sights around the area. By the time we headed out, it was close to noon. It's been late starts each day for me - no need to rush :-)

It was a beautiful day today – fall weather with bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds. We headed down the road towards Ürgüp and one by one, we passed sights that I had already seen previously. Skipping all the fairy chimneys, we headed for the town of Mustafapaşa ("moos-tah-fah-pah-shah") which was, in years past, a predominatly Greek Ottoman settlement. Called Sinasos ("see-nah-sohs") by its Ottoman Greek residents, it is still called that today by many local people.

The homes in Mustafapaşa cling to the hillsides to Zeki had to carefully and slowly maneuver the car down r-e-a-l-l-y steep, narrow and windy cobblestone streets. The architecture of the buildings here is vastly different than what you would find in the surrounding areas – more Greek than Turkish in feel – lots of ornately decorated stone carved houses. Unfortunately, most of it is in a bad state of crumbling.

Oh, happy, happy, joy, joy!

My missing suitcase was suppose to arrive today but when it hadn’t by lunchtime today, Sahin called to track it down. He called Air France in Istanbul who told him to call their contacts in Nevşehir ("Nev-shuh-heer") who told him to call their office in Ürgüp who finally said that they have my suitcase and that it would be delivered this afternoon. I was not yet jumping for joy – need to see suitcase first.

This afternoon, when I heard the knock on my door and opened it to see Ali with my suitcase in hand, I finally jumped for joy.

I am now a clean AND happy camper!

....and to think, I had affixed a ribbon made of masking tape on the handle so I could easily spot it on the luggage carousel. Oh well, didn't need to do that after all.

…and the saz player took center stage.

L

ast night, Şahin and his friend Ali, Virginia,Fabio and I finally made it to Ürgüp to a music bar to listen to live Turkish music.

This time it was a different band and the saz player was definitely more talented. The band was already playing when we walked in. We found ourselves a spot to sit. Glasses of beer soon filled the table and cigarette smoke the air. I sipped on a Coke and Ali, the designated driver had his glasses of orange juice.

The Carpet Salesman. Part 2.

M

y cellphone rang at shortly after 10am this morning. That was my wake up call for the day. I looked at the number and didn't recognize it. I thought maybe it was someone calling me to tell me that my luggage had arrived so I quickly dialed back. It was Zeki on the other end of the line with an offer to have breakfast with him. It was a no-brainer decision on my part. Either coffee with a charming Turkish gentleman or by myself in the hotel kitchen.....hmmmm.

We made plans to meet at his shop and walk over to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast. Over two cups of coffee and some pastry, we talked for two hours about love and relationships. Not for a moment could I have ever imagined having such a conversation with a Turkish man whom I barely know but conversation seems to come easy to Zeki and besides, who am I to complain? I am enjoying my time with him. So far, he's been the ultimate gentleman, speaks English fluently, is very charismatic and if I might say so myself, easy on the eyes :-)