A 1972 article about enconters on the hippie trail and the ensuing heartbreak and romance. All in the Pudding Shop, Istanbul.
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The Pudding Shop, Istanbul
Let’s turn the clock back some 49 years and imagine it’s 1970. You are a young person who wears loose clothes that never match; some with flowery patterns. You have read Kerouac and have heard about The Beatles’ 1968 trip to Rishikesh in India. You, too, want to learn to meditate; you, too, want to…
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Exploring Warsaw, Poland
Ah, Warsaw. I spent my student years in the city and revisited recently, to attend a friend’s wedding. So, I feel somewhat qualified to give you a few tips, which will probably be interspersed with various memories from Eastern Europe of a very different era. My first impression of Warsaw was that it had changed…
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Coincidence – a matter of life and death. Remembering Manchester Arena
I tend to think about coincidence a lot. Marriage, work, friendships, even death – nearly all that surrounds us is a result of some form of coincidence. Where and how did you meet your best friends, your husband, wife? Why did you get the job and another candidate, perhaps more deserving than you, didn’t? My…
Read MoreTrying Turkish food – mumbar
I was somewhat reluctant, but it had to be done. One evening, I was walking with a friend in the residential area of Acibadem, when we saw this tiny food joint. Initially, we just wanted to take a look at the somewhat unusual shape of this local delicacy – intestines of sheep, stuffed with a…
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The long, drawn-out goodbye
It had seemed impossibly remote – an eternity, or maybe two, away. But I felt it all along…
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Memories from Bulgaria
Bulgaria of days gone by. Grocery-hunting and cordiality. And more…
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Life in Istanbul
Another day, another cement mixer. Why Istanbul is amazing, despite the concrete…
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Fisherman – Song translation
This is a DIY translation of a song I love, performed by the Italian singer Pierangelo Bertoli. Italian is a beautiful language and the original is incredible, but my translation was seriously lacking in poetic value, so there are some minimal additions here and there in the text, which I hope are in keeping with…
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Istanbul’s Polish village – Polonezköy
How did the Polish find themselves in Turkey? A few words about the turbulent times that brought them over. Saint Andrew’s Eve fortune-telling. And more…
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Purple Travel Path 