Wednesday 26 December 2007

A Turkish wedding

One of Estella’s friends got married the other day. A Turkish wedding is, of course, similar to any other wedding, but some oddities make it worth to share in a blog post.

Here is the bride gathering her strength for the ceremony, with the omnipresent Ata Türk looming in the background.


The bride and groom make their appearance at the wedding place accompanied by confetti and party crackers.


They give each other their ‘yes’ in the presence of two witnesses, a wedding official (in purple gown) and all the guests.


Then the happy couple opens the dance. The red sash around the bride’s loins is a virginity symbol, as is the white dress.


The male friends of the groom dance around the couple.


The most awkward part of the ceremony is the pinning of money or gold coins on bride and groom. Somebody holds a dish with pins and you fasten your offering without sticking the pin in human parts. Because the gift is openly displayed, thriftiness is out of the question!


The fastening of presents is accompanied by happy drumming.


Exhausted by all the festivities, the bride badly needed an smoke. That had to happen in the bathroom, because well brought up Turks never smoke in the presence of their elders, no matter how old they have become themselves.


She also needed a pee.


Greatly relieved, she goes back to the festivities.


The cutting of the cake. The knife is very similar to a Turkish scimitar. If the girl has second thoughts, this is the moment to act upon them, one should think.


The couple, tired and happy, at the end of the evening with the friends of the bride. As the Turkish say: ‘That they may grow old on one pillow.’

Monday 3 December 2007

Little visitor


This little guy was playing with the keys at the back door of our studio.
There are thousands and thousands of feral cats in our small town. In summer, they find plenty of food in the waste of all the hotels and restaurants. In winter, when the tourists have mercifully left and the town is deserted, well, than is survival of the fittest.
It is a blessing in disguise that we are both extremely allergic to cats, otherwise we would probably end up with fifteen cats as well.