From this month's newsletter

January / February 2008

Do hope you all enjoyed the Bayram, Christmas and New Year celebrations and that the Corona Christmas cakes and puddings went down a treat!

How beautiful Istanbul looked when the first snowfall of the year came a few days ago. Thankfully, it seemed to go as quickly as it came, though I have the feeling we will see some more soon. January always feels a little flat after all the festivities so do hope you can make time for a little relaxation and join in a few of the forthcoming Corona activities.

Our Christmas lunch seems a long time ago now, but the memories of an enjoyable day still remain!

The boat picked everyone up and delivered them all safely to the quay at the Sumahan Hotel. What a fantastic way to arrive for lunch. Even though the sky was a little grey and overcast there was a very warm welcome waiting inside! The view from the windows was stunning. The tables were set with festive cheer from the red napkins and the green ivy garlands to the beautiful red candles glowing on everyone’s plate. The Christmas tree lights twinkled in the corner and the warming mulled wine and canapés went down perfectly before sitting down to a traditional Christmas dinner. The chef had made a great job of cooking a succulent turkey. I always smile when I think of eating turkey in Turkey!! The meal was rounded off nicely with none other than Corona Christmas puddings – delicious!! A very big thank you to all 46 of you who helped make the lunch so memorable.

2008 started the Corona year off with a very interesting coffee morning hosted by Janita. Murat Bilir, our guest speaker, gave a fascinating talk on his collection of antique copper and metal. His oldest copper plate was 2000BC - amazing. It was so nice to make sense of what some of the objects we so often see in places like the Grand Bazaar actually are. Apart from the fabulous plates, dishes, milk jugs and incense burners there were a few items which were so unusual. There was a Hamam wash case which was a beautiful little copper and tin ‘handbag’ shaped box in which soap and cloths would have been put in when going to bathe. There was also a small copper stick with a dome on one end and a wheel on the other which turned out to be a pastry cutter and wheel. Murat really made the items come alive and it was so interesting listening to the meanings of shapes and styles. Thank you so much Janita welcoming us all into your home for our first coffee morning of the year.

 

 

Events for January and February are listed on our calendar page.

 

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