IMÇ

I finally took my Bernina to the service guy. With visitors over Christmas it seemed the ideal time (since Turkey is secular - there are no 'Christmas holidays') It's been over 4 years since the last time I felt I would have no time to sew - when the twins were born. Then I had to nag the service guy that I wanted it back when they were 3 weeks old. I've been to this place once before, and past once. I have never driven there myself, though had an idea where it was in relation to the dolphinarium from a couple of weeks back. Sadly my sense of direction failed me slightly - though I did get there. I know where I went wrong. I saw some fabulous bits of Istanbul, but it was raining icy rain and being very grey didn't lead to any photo opportunities. I got the machine there in 1.5 hours and made it home in 45 minutes.
'Just around the corner' is the Mısır Çarşı I treated my self to a walk through - always interesting to see what language you get addressed in - a few German, some English, some surprised faces with my Turkish replies. Most folks think that the Spice Bazaar is part of the Covered bazaar - it's not, though not so far away. Plus it's small - really you can walk through it in 10 minutes flat - if you're not browsing. I did find a 'new to me' antique textile shop, the prices were outrageous, but the oya delicious. Sadly I left empty handed. I had a wander in the streets around there, didn't buy a thing - lots of looking. Then went and had Ezo gelin soup and peppery potato kol borek (for less than the price of a Starbucks Latte) and came home.
I love that area of the city though I rarely visit. I find it frustrating, the aggressive sales pitch and the lack of certainty over prices - I can get most of the things locally now - the big difference is the buzz - the atmosphere there is quite different - the mosque was calling the faithful - who were outside in the rain performing ablutions.

The Bernina dealer is in the IMÇ which is an ugly monster of a building, built in the 60's or early 70's, a huge testament to the power of poured concrete. It serves it's function as the main textile center for the city and all those from the regions buying for their shops - retail and wholesale together - boy it is ugly - did I say that?

I snapped just a couple of pictures, one inside of the beautiful architecture, and I spied a small Ottoman cemetery sandwiched between the buildings - neat - there are both male and female headstones.