Istanbul: She wanted a Christmas

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Istanbul: She wanted a Christmas

On a cold damp misty December morning I awake with anticipation of the day ahead, the date is Sunday 21st December 2008 the day I had been waiting for since early November. My wife then who was my partner was flying to Heathrow London Airport. The feeling inside my stomach was full of anxiety and excitement I had not seen her since early November back in Istanbul .For weeks prior to this I had a picture in my head of the days ahead.

By 9:30am I am ready to head off to London from West Malling, I take a train into Victoria, London a pleasant 40 minute journey through the open agricultural fields of Kent then the skyline of tower blocks become the reality once into the outskirts of London. I do my usual routine on arrival head off to the cafe outside the Victoria station, Vende Mocha and a cigarette or two before I head of down to the underground, my route is Green Park direct to the new terminal 5 at Heathrow. Once on the tube everyone has same idea, all listening to their mp3 players or iPods. Are our heads bobbing to the music or is it the no thrills ride on the tube throwing us about, just like in Istanbul this form of transport offers no luxuries in terms seating arrangements priority is the same elderly and disabled are offered  in politeness and etiquette  the seats.

[SinglePic not found]Just like the journey from Levent to Taksim on the metro the view is bleak through the window just the occasional advertisements in fact if you closed your eyes you could be on any subway you wanted in the world. After another 40 minutes the Vende Mocha has gone through me and I need a fast exit direct to the Gents (public toilets) on arrival at Terminal 5, but I start to panic I have no small change (30 pence) for the Gents .Having awkwardly made my way to a kiosk to buy something I don’t need to get some change, the woman looks at me and quotes “it is over there Sir”! Meaning if you need to go it is right behind you, was it that obvious I thought and then only to find you don’t need to pay. Never the less I was thank full and returned to the kiosk to thank them in way they had just saved my life!!

Sitting in the arrival lounge glued to the arrival board I see my wife’s flight arrived delayed 1 hour from take-off but that’s airline travel for you , now I have downed 3 or 4 Vende Mocha’s and chewed my way through a pack of chewing gum ,smoked 10 cigarettes and suddenly my phone rings ! Evet and there she is standing there glowing in her natural tanned colour looking beautiful and surprisingly relaxed after a long journey which she had started in the early hours ,Istanbul being 2 hours in front of UK time. Suddenly I pull out a bunch of roses knowing full well she loves surprises and that sets the mood for the next 2 and half weeks.

For me Christmas has never been an event in the last 15 years due to the nature of my work back then, often working Christmas eve and returning on Boxing day it was same for many of my colleagues Christmas just didn’t exist but this year I was determined to make it happen. Two days before Christmas day I was working till 10pm so we decided to go midnight shopping for the traditional festive food .My wife Figen like any other woman and people like me also love shopping in these places, my local supermarket had everything under one roof from food to electrical gadgets, you name it was there, these places can bankrupt you quickly, you go for food but come home with a 42 inch flat screen TV!.

Finally getting home around 2am after an amusing taxi ride home, the taxi driver having one of those annoying talking GPS navigational systems, every 30 seconds you heard this robot voice command turn left, turn right, go straight for 1 mile, then after being dropped off my mobile phone rings and I hear a voice apologizing your taxi is stuck in traffic he will be there to pick you up in 10 minutes, I responded thanks but the automated robot driver just dropped us off Tamam!

Now for the first time in years I had no work on Christmas Eve and that meant I could take Figen Christmas shopping in the Sales, I made no secret to her this is the best time of year to get the bargains at silly prices, because every shop wants your business and they do it by reducing the prices to non-profit prices!! .Unlike here in Istanbul it is very hard to find fake goods due to the strict policing back in the UK ,however if you know where to look you can find them but it is just not has open as seen here. Having spent Christmas Eve trawling the shops for bargains and finally arriving back home where the sense of Christmas had really started to kick in.

[SinglePic not found]At home the smell of pine coming from the tree and the glow of the dimmed flashing lights greeted us and suddenly it really felt like Christmas again, under the tree presents we had bought each other all wrapped up in the spirit of the festive season. Figen on numerous occasions begging me to open them, but I suddenly felt like my father responding not until tomorrow! However at 1 minute past midnight 25th December 2008  I gave in and what a joyous moment it was to watch her open her first Christmas presents ever ,truly a moment I will never forget it was special so special. For the next hour we laughed ,cried and I knew this was a special moment ,in the background I had played Christmas songs and before we knew it was almost 4am in the morning.

We both woke up around 10am excited like little kids but there was a task ahead the cooking of the festive meal, thankfully there was only us two to cater for, we blended Turkish food alongside roast potatoes,peas,carrots,broccoli and so on with thick gravy and the  turkey roasted with bacon wrapped around it ,Christmas pudding cooked in brandy .The aroma of a  Christmas roast cooking was like a trip back in time to when my parents were alive. Both of us wearing new clothes we bought each other for gifts trying to prepare our meal ,me trying to block the smoke alarms has the air was full of steam. Preparing the crackers and the table and then it was time to enjoy the traditional walk whilst the turkey cooks.

For the next hour we walked around the local lake and fed the swans and ducks dodge the cow packs in the field we were in our own little world, many other couples and families doing the same, it is a time to cherish a peaceful moment .The district I lived in completely shuts for the day no shops, no pubs, no restaurants and no traffic it is a day to see old friends or just switch off from the week in week out routines of a working life. Walking home you could smell the air full of food  has we walked past houses full of lights and decorations in their windows, the town having a tall Christmas tree decorated in blue turquoise lights set the scene for a postcard picture, it doesn’t look like that everyday simply no  traffic just a quiet surreal atmosphere surrounded us  that day.

I don’t think either of us could believe the day we were having it was just a surreal feeling, Figen so used to the busy lifestyle of Istanbul, myself just content to going to work 6 days a week and suddenly there we were without a care in the world almost if the world outside of the apartment didn’t exist .Both feeling so happy not only because we were together but having manage to come up with such a festive meal blending our own tastes and backgrounds together. Later I took her for a walk around the town in the dark and once again everything lit up by dazzling fairy lights and no sound of traffic just the occasional couple passing and probably doing the same has us.

 I never planned christmas in detail that year it just happened that way , religion didn’t come into it ,it is not what I had grown up believing ,to me Christmas was and is still is about sharing and being close to family , friends and loved ones that’s all. If you have the time please read this story from the First World War in 1914 “Christmas truce”. I am not sure what will happen this year 2009 but deep down I will think of the day back in 2008 from now on the 25th December.

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