tamam
Jim Kuras Joined: December 28th 2007
Logged in: September 19th 2011
Logged in: September 19th 2011
Geographer.
I currently live in İstanbul with my wife.
Travel Blog Posts
Starting to run late
“So, will I have the chance to use the toilet beforehand?” Throughout the day Mick had been placing cold bottles of water in any hands he found empty. “I don’t know. I really need to go too, but we’re already late” replied Mehraneh. “I seriously doubt they’ll start without us.” The smelly horse-and-buggy continued to crawl slowly up the hill under the hot afternoon sun towards Club Mavi. Our driver, tanned perhaps less by the sun than by his acerbic disposition, would thankfully not be in attendance at the actual ceremony. The vile equine chariot, possibly my least-favorite form of transportation ever, had been an unavoidable part of our nuptial commute as bicycles (the island’s other option for getting around) are a bit rough to manage in a wedding dress and 35 (95) degree heat. Somehow ... read more
December 24th 2010
so that's what a tandoori oven looks like...
“You go wait downstairs” said the customs official, offering nothing in the way of an explanation as to why Mehraneh had been led away to some inaccessible place elsewhere in the building. I was livid. I was worried. But, we’ll get to that later… The sun was low in the sky by the time we reached Melaka. We had breakfasted in Mersing after getting off the boat and later paused for a coconut and some other fresh fruit at the JB bus terminal. Three short jumps and some waiting around had made it another fairly long day of travel. Ravenous again by the time we reached the city’s main bus terminal, we resisted the urge to grab the first meal we could find and wisely waited until we actually got into town. A dirt cheap ride ... read more
December 14th 2010
points for presentation
After an impressively long night's sleep, we rose to find that Mersing still wasn't Paris, though it was warm, extremely laid back, and turned out to be quite a pleasant little fishing town. First things first: breakfast. Mehraneh was a bit disappointed to discover that breakfast in Asia is often very similar to every other meal of the day; she adapted. After checking out of the hotel, changing money, and walking down to a restaurant near the ferry port, we assumed that we’d be able to effortlessly find transportation to Tioman Island after filling our bellies. Our waiter, however, informed us that it might not be so simple. As we were cleaning our plates, Marina, a Russian woman who we’d end up spending the next few days with wandered by and confirmed this news: the only ... read more
December 13th 2010
Singapore
“I just love living in a place that has four seasons…” Millions of times I’ve heard some variation of this utterance. It’s always delivered in that same dreamy tone that seems to imply that deep down inside everyone should feel this way. It's infuriating. I DO love one season, and I can tolerate some parts of two others. Winter and I however will never see eye to eye, and it’s hard for me to express just how happy I’d be if I never had to experience another day of it. Nothing bah-humbugs me more than winter coats, cold wet shoes, and snow. Many people get depressed in the winter; I feel downright outraged by it. The feeling I have when cold wind blows in my face might be compared to the feeling I get when I’m ... read more
by the water in Moda
It's been a busy, yet uneventful month. Absolutely nothing interesting to report from İstanbul. Here are some pictures. Hope you all are well. A shout out to my uncle Dave, who is recovering from a rather nasty 2nd degree oil burn. Get well soon.... read more
commuting
I remember realizing at a very young age that if I stare at something long enough, it looks different. If I relax my mind, the whole context can change. I remember watching power lines from the window of a car as a child; they would slowly bend to one side and then bounce back into place, again and again. They stopped serving their intended purpose and became an abstract art instillation barely entertaining enough to keep my attention. But enough... for a few minutes at least, until my mind drifted elsewhere. Yesterday evening, on the ferry to Beşiktaş, I saw a seagull flying backwards with all of its might. It was west of the boat, but the sky was cloudy enough that the setting sun was not blinding to look at. From my point of view, ... read more
Steev & Neşe waiting to board the nuptial ferry boat
"She said 'yes' and we're going to get married on the ferry..." (a few months back) "Congratulations Steev! Did you say 'on the ferry'?" "Yes, on the Kadıköy-Beşiktaş ferry." "Do they allow that?" Steev smiled down at me and I knew the answer before the words could even come out of his mouth: 1. No, of course they don't. 2. For Steev and Neşe, of course they would. And the rest is history. So, a large and excited group of friends and family boarded the 13:45 ferry in Kadıköy, along with a perplexed crowd of local citizens making their way across the Bosphorus. We had the flower-filled top floor of the boat, which was thumping to a PA full of Turkish and English gettin'-down music. The rest of the guests got on board in Beşiktaş, at ... read more
the Brand New Heavies in İstinye
please pardon the delay. The weather in İstanbul today is as close as it could be to my definition of perfect. I just returned from a long sunny walk around Moda. Shorts, sandals. The wind today is in more of a hurry than any of the people on the street; it managed to be refreshing and cool without coming close to being cold. Yesterday was Şeker Bayramı (Sugar Holiday), an appropriately named end to the long Ramadan month of fasting observed by some of the city's Muslim population. Many people are enjoying a 4 or 5 day weekend away from work - my girlfriend, unfortunately, is not one of them. So, I set out alone. Around 3:00, I paused in Moda's seaside park to sit and read under a tree. After a while, I moved to ... read more
splash!
Day after Christmas. Day off from work. Outstanding weather. I literally walked next to the sea in a t-shirt today. Life is good.... read more
