Star of the East

Thursday, 15 January 2009

Istanbul Day 3

So, we forgot to take pictures yesterday of the supplier we went, today we needed to go back for one tiny thing, BIG mistake, very big mistake as we bought even more. To understand the temptation you have around here, here some pictures untill you get dizzy and bead-sick...

This is a huge shop of 3 floors full of beads and everything you can dream of...

Mum looks pretty smug between all these supplies...

The store is so full that even the staircases are full with yummy supplies...

If you ever come to Istanbul, the address of the huge shop is:

Orijinal Bijuteri

Marpuççular Cad. No: 4/6

Eminönü/ istanbul

So if you think that one shop is it all, you are wrong, there are a few buildings, full with only beadshops, nothing else....

Supplies....

and more supplies....

Feeling dizzy?

Even mum- the biggest supply lover you can imagine- run away eventually, it was just too much :)

Wednesday, 14 January 2009

Istanbul Day 2

We found this wonderful shop today, dangerously close to our hotel. They sell gorgeous handmade felt dolls, hats, jewelry but also bags and shoes made of old carpets.

Beside the items, the atmosphere of the shop was wonderful too.

All items where very nice showed, with a Turkish style but still different then usual.

Also some small furniture pieces in the same style.

Of course we couldn't resist to walk out this shop without buying something, mum got her self a beautiful felt glass case and needle felted doll. And I got a yummy bag.

After that we went to Eminönü the place to buy jewelry material. You first go through the Grand Bazaar, and after that you come to a huge mess of tiny streets and tons of shops.

We also needed some packaging and found a perfect shop for that, shopping takes alot of time here, people get easily distracted by others but eventually after some patience you get what you want.

Shopping doesn't go without tea and a fight about prices...

We also went to a huge supply shop with 4 floors but forgot to take pictures, we bought a few kilometers of chain and other things, spending money makes you tired and the day was gone already, so we went to a restaurant to eat something and then back to the hotel to rest from all the shopping, to continue tomorrow :)

Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Istanbul Day 1

Yes, we are in Istanbul! Finally a little vacation we have been wanting for a while. The main reason that we went in January instead of May, when the weather is better, is the exibition of Salvador Dali . We arrived last night and are staying in this lovely hotel in the old cetrum(Marmaris-Istanbul is a 12 hour car drive or 1 hour plane flight, we went by plane). Went to the exibition today.

The nice part of this exibition is that they are not showing the famous paintings we already know but hundreds of his sketches which are not known at all.

Pictures are alowed but too many to take pictures of all the drawings and sketches, but this hall was so nice because it was like his famous painting had become real.

Art can relax a person, and some people relax a little too much, like this guy who became one with the art around him :)

There where also photographs of Dali taken by the Turkish photograph Ara Güler.

On the way back to the hotel we got a little lost, which is very normal here in the city of a population of about 17 million. Here you see the Hagia Sophia, looks magical in the evening.

And Sultan Ahmet another famous mosque and close to the hotel we are staying in.

In the garden of Sultan Ahmet we saw this amazing tree, the tree it self had no leaves left but the hedera grew so much, that the tree got a new blanket.

Aaaaah we found it! And look what we bought in the gift shop of the museum! A book of the exibition, a DVD of Salvador Dali.....

....and look at my sexy Dali Lips earrings!

Don't I look sexy??? Hi hi :)

More adventures tomorrow...

Friday, 9 January 2009

Friday Findings: Picture Frames

Besides a huge collection of bags, I also have a huge collection of picture frames, I just love them! Found some gorgeous handmade frames on Etsy...

blackeyedsusan

courtneydell

4TheSparrowsNest

Monday, 5 January 2009

Some Days I Think I'd Prefer To Be A Cat

This cat was lying in a tree, with the view of the sea, how good can life be?

Somedays I think I'd prefer to be a cat

snoozing on the sofa

dreaming of this and that

when my life is full of misery

I think of the cats that have it easy

no need to apologise

no need to worry

no need to be sorry

they yawn and just close their eyes

When they're stretched out by the flaming fire

it's plain to see

they have no guilty desire

they just let it be

no need to apologise

no need to worry

no need to be sorry

they yawn and just close their eyes

so carefree

fueling my jealousy

carefree

what kind of cat would I be?

Lucy Marskell

Friday, 2 January 2009

Friday Findings: Eye's

When you write 'eye' in the search engines of Etsy, you find about a 1000 pages on the subject, here some that caught my attention (I didn't check all those pages).