“Cici” Visit

Wednesday, 2 November

Today, Mom, Aylin, and I went shopping, had lunch downtown, and then visited family. The topic won’t be of interest to followers of the blog, but since it is part of my trip, I’m going to include a post anyway :-)

The shopping was for a few things I’d promised a friend in the US; that part of our day was quickly and successfully concluded. (I hope my friend agrees when I send a goodie box to her.)

Lunch was at Can, a longtime favorite eatery in Konak that specializes in döner (what’s called gyro in the US). The single portion of İskender, served over chunks of pide (pita bread), garnished with tomato sauce and yogurt, and drizzled with red pepper melted in butter was as tasty as always.

(Photo on the right is from when I ate at can in 2010.)

My father was the middle child of three — two boys and a girl; he passed away in 1995. Muzaffer, his sister — hala (aunt) to us kids — was the oldest; we lost her several years ago as well. Adnan — amca (uncle) to us kids — lives across the bay; we’ll be visiting him tomorrow.

It was my aunt’s son, Ruhan, and his wife, Cici, that we went to visit today. Actually, her name is Serpil, but when Aylin was just a toddler she used to call her by the nickname that sort of stuck (it means “nice or pretty”). I’d been told that my cousin was rather ill, so I was especially glad to see him doing much better and well on the road to recovery.

We had a nice afternoon, chatting around the kitchen table and enjoying tasty treats with the traditional cup — or two, or three — of çay (tea). I missed seeing their daughters — Aslı and Duygu — on this occasion; perhaps next time I’m in Turkey.

(Photo above was taken at mom’s apartment on Christmas Eve 1984; it’s one of the few “blast from the past” photos I have of my aunt and her family that I’ve scanned and have easily accessible.)