From this month's newsletter

NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER NEWSLETTER 2007

Do hope you all remembered to put your clocks back okay and enjoyed the extra hour in bed! It is lovely to have the lighter mornings, but the dark evenings make me want to find more things to do at home. Maybe some of you got one or two ideas at the Arts & Crafts coffee morning hosted by Ann Potterton. We have some very talented ladies in Corona who demonstrated their skills. Cynthia Royce showed some of her beautiful patchwork. She also sold a festive Christmas piece and very kindly donated the money back to Corona, so thank you Cynthia. Angela Kuzucu demonstrated her jewellery and beadwork and Alyson showed us her Ottoman Tugra silk painting. Some of the ladies tried their hand at this – it’s definitely not as easy as it looks! Thank you Ann for hosting this and making it a ‘different’ kind of coffee morning.

Jenny Smith went on the day trip to Buyukada Island. She very much enjoyed the day and has written a lovely piece about it and also took some nice photos. Thank you Jenny for your contribution to the Newsletter. I am sure everyone will enjoy reading it.

Corona Day Trip to Büyükada (Prince’s Island), 17th October 2007

Wednesday, 17th October, dawned bright and clear so the relatively early meeting at Kabataş Iskele saw all the participants turn up ready to board the ferry to Büyükada, the largest and genuine “Prince’s Island” situated just off mainland Istanbul in the Marmara Sea. The boat trip was a great chance to get to know unfamiliar faces and mix some of us “Oldies” with both “New Arrivals” and visitors to Istanbul. It proved to be an excellent group, with friendships consolidated or freshly forged.

Vera, our guide for the day.	A great way to get around!

Our wonderful guide, Vera Bulgurlu, met us on arrival and we set off at a brisk pace to try and fit in all the sights that had been worked into the itinerary. We started at the Greek Orthodox church of Panageia and right from the start we appreciated the professionalism and knowledge that Vera imparted. She gave us a very clear and lucid history of the island and then explained the ritualistic symbolism of the Greek Church and its icons, so that in future we can more fully understand any other Orthodox church we visit. Then she showed us an antique funereal horse-drawn hearse carved in dark wood with golden angels for church burials, a real secret, tucked away and carefully locked up, only revealed to special visitors!

 

Next, we walked past the colourful market and shops to visit Vera’s own house, but on the way we were distracted by a beautiful Art Deco villa, so Vera just called out, and lo and behold, the caretaker appeared and opened up! It turned out that this lovely old house had once belonged to a cousin of Vera’s grandmother, so she knew it well and we were able to explore each floor and get the feel of what it must once have been like to have the house filled with myriad members of the family over the summer, passing up and down the glorious wooden staircase, peeping at the sea from lovely engraved glass windows, gazing at passersby in the street from the intricately carved balcony.

On to Vera’s own house, where the atmosphere was even more evocative, as this pretty villa has always been in her family and is still decorated with its original lamps (once gas, now converted to electricity) and its walls covered with family photos and memorabilia. Time was pressing now, so we left the nostalgia of the seaside villas and marched up the hill to visit the Hamidiye mosque, a real jewel of light and colour, which was built to blend into the scenery discreetly, and be pleasing to the eye.

Back down to the heart of the village to pick up our ‘phaetons’ or picturesque horse carriages, and then off we trotted to the central meeting place of the island, from where we then slogged up the steep cobbled hill to the very summit of Büyükada, the Monastery of Saint George. Once at the top, we headed straight to the rustic wooden tables and chairs of the outdoor café, where magically a delicious lunch appeared! Whether it was the stiff walk that did it, or the spectacular view out over the sea, the typical salad and köfte and chips was transformed into a gourmet meal!

Unfortunately we had no time to linger over coffee or tea, but clustered together once more outside the remains of the monastery where Vera explained the history of the building (the wooden parts burned down and have not been replaced) and the priests that now take care of it. We entered the lovely church and were now able to identify the icons, and some of us lit candles so that wishes or prayers could waft upwards with the gentle flames and smoke.

Now it was time to get back down to the boat quay and not miss our ferry, so we hurried away regretfully, and arrived just in time to jump aboard. It was an old ferry with a wonderful open top deck, so many of us soaked up the warming autumn sunlight while gazing out over the sparkling blue, calm sea….

What a perfect way to spend an October day and what a rare joy to be shown round by island resident who can claim several generations of local history and can really recreate the carefree spirit of the Belle Epoque! And to think I nearly didn’t go…….!

Dr Phillip Mansel’s talk on ‘Turkey & the West over the past 400 years’ was a very interesting one. Thirty of us, including some husbands, enjoyed his talk which was accompanied by some beautiful art slides. The venue itself at Baltalimani was lovely with night time views across the Bosphorous. The food was delicious and so much of it!

The monthly coffee morning gave us chance to catch up and it was nice to see two new ladies who made it over from the Asian side. So a warm welcome to Robyn and Eda. Hope to see you at some of our other events.

Elaine Graham escorted the Corona members who went on the Antique hunt in the Grand Bazaar. It gave everyone a fascinating insight into some of Istanbul’s heritage. Mike, the host for the day, really has an amazing Aladdin’s cave. We saw his amazing collection of some 4000 lamps. He showed us some beautifully made, natural vegetable dyed carpets and various other odds and ends. Then it was off for a spot of shopping in the labyrinth of streets around the Bazaar. After a lovely lunch at Havuzlu everyone was up for another little jaunt around some of the Antique shops most of us never knew were there. Everyone who went had a great time and gave such positive feedback.

Roz Kirton our cooking co-ordinator has had a very busy time – and a few sleepless nights too I think, organising and planning the preparation and cooking of all the Christmas cakes and puddings for the IWI Christmas Bazaar. It took a huge effort on her part when you think there were about 70 kilos of dried fruit, 10 litres of brandy and 300 eggs as just part of the ingredients! Just the logistics of buying and collecting all these was enormous.

It was great to have some of you helping out at the Ceylan Intercontinental hotel on the Monday and Tuesday for the actual preparation and mixing. We had a great time despite being on our feet all day.

Busy at work in the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel kitchens.

A very big THANK YOU goes to Roz and her merry group of helpers – Carol Wells, Linda Harraghy, Ann Soguksu, Elaine Graham, Edi Benson, Alyson Sarioglu, Lynda Walker, Lee Boehr and also Jonathan Morris of the Ceylan who without him and his staff we would have had a near on impossible task – they really were all wonderful. It was a fabulous sight to see all the cakes and puddings come out of the ovens. Do hope you will all buy some!

Thanks Jonathan! 

Corona would also like to thank all those ladies who have been busy making chutney’s, mincemeat and marmalades for the Bazaar as well. They are Victoria Short, Cynthia Royce, Gaye Hicdonmez, Ann Potterton and Ann Soguksu, Filiz Venns, Carol Wells, Angela Kuzcu and from the Asian side Janice Beaney, Dawn Oztamur and Beatrice Tuncbilek. Ladies you have done a fantastic job!

 

Roz with the finished cakes fresh from the ovens!

Well, with Christmas well and truly on our minds we do hope you will be able to make both the Christmas events. The first is a coffee morning hosted by Jackie Anderson on Tuesday 4th December. Jackie’s home will be full of festive cheer. There will be mulled wine, mince pies and a Corona Christmas cake. We will also be holding a raffle to win a ‘Hamper full of Christmas Goodies’. We will also raffle a ticket for a free Christmas lunch!

We then have the Corona Christmas Lunch. This will be a wonderful event at the beautiful Sumahan Hotel at Cengelkoy on the Asian side. Nedret Butler’s hotel has the most stunning views over the Bosphorous. The dinner will be a traditional Christmas one with roast Turkey and all the trimmings including of course our fabulous Christmas pudding with brandy butter! We have arranged for the hotel to collect us by boat from Kurucesme to take us across the Bosphorous straight to the venue. Should the weather be bad then there will be alternative transport. Please read full details in the events programme below. Do hope that has whetted your appetites!!! Do remember that places are limited so be sure to reserve a place as soon as possible!

Could we also remind you that if you have not paid your membership fees, the cut off date will be November 27th. This will give you the opportunity to come along to the Corona table at the IWI Christmas Bazaar. Anyone who has not paid by then will no longer be included in the Corona membership list. So please don’t forget!

Lastly, if any of you have some spare time on Friday 23rd November the Christmas cakes and puddings need to be wrapped ready to take to the IWI Christmas Bazaar. The Ceylan Intercontinental has kindly allowed us to do this there. If you can help please contact Roz for details.

 

 

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