Istanbul

Istanbul is one of those places I have wanted to visit for as long as I can remember. 

Is this because of the song by They Might Be Giants? ("Istanbul was Constantinople now its Istanbul not Constantinople, why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks")

Or was it the scene from A Room with a View where Lucy tells everyone she's going to Constantinople ("Athens, I mean," she says), but insists it has nothing to do with George Emerson?

Maybe it was neither of these things. Maybe it's the fact that whether I read about Byzantium, the Ottomans, World War I, or a myriad of other periods in history, Constantinople/Istanbul is in the center of the action. 

After all that build up, you'd think I would have dozens and dozens of photos and amazing stories to share. But I don't.

In 2012 we planned a four-day trip to Istanbul, but then, for reasons involving Pia's love of cruises, we switched gears and decided to go to Ephesus instead. In 2012, I had a camera and took decent photos for this blog. Now it's 2021 and between masks and hand sanitizer, I have no space for a camera, so you're getting photos from my mobile phone. The best thing I can say about these photos is that they represent my own experiences. 

The next best thing I can say is that there's Pinterest, and Pinterest is full of gorgeous shots of Istanbul and the experiences of strangers. So you can go there, or keep scrolling through my ho-hum shots below. 

The view of the Golden Horn with Haiga Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Mosque of Suliman across the water.

Scenes of the streets around our apartment in the morning. The rain made for the perfect excuse to spend lots of time in cafes, and at the barber shop so Mihai and Lucian could get a hair cut and a shave.

We went to the Grand Bizarre which ended up being both over, and underwhelming, at the same time.

 

For about a mile leading up to the entrance, the narrow streets are full of stalls selling cheap, disposable trinkets and textiles. If it was a handful of stalls, it would have been one thing, but it was a mile of them, densely compacted. I had the same feeling I get when I'm in a megamall in the U.S, which is to say, it was sort of depressing to see so much inauthentic, hastily made, meaningless stuff. 

My hope was that once we passed through the gate to the Grand Bizarre, the quality of the wares would improve. Sadly, it was more of the same. 

In the end, we bought some loose-leaf tea and then went back across the bridge for a much needed rest with a much-needed, and excellent cup of coffee. 

Istanbul has nearly 30 different districts, it's massive. We were only there for 3 days, so obviously most of it went unexplored due not only to our time frame, but (as usually happens at the end of a long trip) because our energy was flagging. 

So we spent the last day sitting in restaurants and eating excellent food and not taking too many photos because we were preoccupied with eating. It wasn't a bad trade off.

One day I'd like to go back to Istanbul and walk the streets when I've got energy, a good camera, and I'm not preoccupied with all of the changes that await us when we return to the States. 

This coming year, depending on what happens with covid, the Ionescus will probably be limiting their travel adventures to places within the U.S-namely-Oregon and Colorado. 

I suppose it's fitting to end this with Istanbul, since the Istanbul/Constantinople is all about history and the big events of the past, and now it's time to look forward, at what adventures lie ahead.

Obedin

In the last 2 years, some changes have come to Obedin.

Exhibits A and B are the shiny new signs at the entrance to the village, pictured above.

The presence of the speed limit sign is significant only for the fact that now, when a driver exceeds 50 km/hr, their disregard for safety and human life can at last be quantified. 

The other sign is informing everyone that all driving activities within the boundaries of Obedin are now monitored by video surveillance. Where these cameras are located, who is doing the surveilling and, most importantly, what will be done about infractions, is nowhere stated. Not only does no one in the village have the answers to these questions, but no one appears to be aware that these new signs even exist, which perhaps explains why everyone seems to be driving down the road faster than ever.

In addition to the dubious claim of video surveillance, there is now semi-regular municipal garbage pick-up. Rumor has it, the pick-up is weekly, although no one can tell me exactly on which day this is scheduled, and I have only seen the truck once in all the time we've been here. But it's a start.

Perhaps the most exciting development is the presence of four hydrants dotting the length of the main road. This is hard evidence that municipal water and sewage is coming at last! Estimates for the completion of the project range from the end of 2021 to some time in 2022. The staging area for the work is in the old poiana, which has put an end to all impromptu football games, but I'll take running water and flushing toilets over chasing a ball in a weed-choked field any day.

Speaking of the pioana, the school next door is now for kindergarteners only. 1st through 5th grades go directly to the larger school in Breasta. However, the playground equipment has all been upgraded, thus ending the real and present danger of unvaccinated children dying of tetanus after going down the slide.

Hard to believe? Yes, but I offer visible proof below:

There is also now a new road (of sorts) that Nicolina calls "Nobody's Road". So called, because no one knows who made it and for what purpose. It was this road that we walked one warm afternoon when we took our traditional hike.

During the 90 minute hike up the hill, (made easier now thanks to "nobody") across the plateau, and back down through the forest, Nicolina and Alex filled us in on the whereabouts of all the kids we used to hike with way back in the day.

Irina, Roberto, and Anna Maria are all married and living in either Craiova or Germany. (Half way through the list, poor Alex, looking dejected, said, "I don't even have a girlfriend.")

A side note: as you look at the photos, you might wonder at the wisdom of taking a hike through the forest while wearing a skirt (and the ensemble in general) and it's not something I would have done if I'd had other options. But I did not have other options and the reasons why involve a long and uninteresting series of events, the sorts of things that only happen in Romania.

So many, many things have changed in this little village since I first came here during the hot summer of 1999. However, aside from the increased reckless traffic on the roads, all of the changes seem to be improvements, and for that, I'm happy. 

As we look forward to our future in Romania, knowing that, from now on, most of our time will be spent in Viştea and places further north, there will always be a special place in my heart for the yellow house on Strada Argeteoaiei, and the village of Obedin. 

Brothers and sisters

 

It's been very, very strange to be in Romania and not go to the meetings. 

No coordinating trips to Vivien with the Sunday meeting, no bundling up in coats and sturdy shoes in case it snows when we come out of the mid-week meeting. 

No sitting in the second story hall on a sweltering summer afternoon with the single air conditioning unit set to the lowest setting and watching those closest put cotton in their ears so they won't die of a stroke from the cold air. (It's a Romanian thing)

No struggling to find Acts 5:29 because I've forgotten that Acts in Romanian is Faptele, or Hebrews 10:24,25 (which is Evrei zece douăzecișipatru si douăzeci și cinci for those of you who are interested).

No standing in the back, smiling nervously until someone, and it's usually Amelia, does a double take and recognizes us and comes forward with hugs and kisses.

However, I'm extremely grateful for Zoom and the opportunity it affords to keep in touch with brothers and sisters near and far, even if it does mean getting up at 5 am to attend the Westcliff mid-week meeting (so far I've slept through my 5 am alarm twice and missed it.  First time was jet lag, the second time, I forgot to remove the Do Not Disturb setting on my phone.)

But we're not totally cut off from the friends here. Since we're vaccinated and the restrictions were (briefly) loosened on social gatherings in Romania, we were able to spend a lovely afternoon/evening in the company of Gabi and Gabi Tudor and their kids, Andre and Radu, who are now grown. I can cope (sort of) with the entrance into adulthood of my own offspring but when it's other kids that I knew since they were in short pants, and now they're they ones married and expecting a baby....it does my head in.

All emotional angst over aging, time marching on, and all of that jazz aside, it was lovely to see our friends and hang out together. It was, as always,  a small glimpse of a future world where we don't have to worry over pandemics, visas, passports, and the other barriers that divide us physically, though not emotionally or spiritually. 

Gabi, the master BBQ-er

A very long and noisy game of Mexican Train

Gabi and her new daughter-in-law (and her first grandson on the way!)

Obviously Luci was having a good time with his buddies

Sibiu

As I've mentioned, Sibiu is our favorite city in Romania, and we've been there about as many times as we've been to Budapest (so fair warning, this post might a snooze-fest for some of you). 

It holds many happy memories including an unforgettable gothic museum tour with my parents, Annand and Tali, where we posed in front of marble busts and mimicked Saturday Night Live skits. There have also been countless early morning walks along strada Nicolae Bălcescu with the smell of coffee and gogşi filling the air, and post-dinner strolls through Piata Mare with the lights twinkling above, 

Our visits this time weren't strictly for sight-seeing. Most of our time was spent picking out things like flooring, tile, and doors, which took us to areas of the city we've never visited before. While shopping for anything is not my favorite pastime, it afforded us the opportunity to explore other areas of the city and we found a few restaurants, cafes, and pretty walks that we've added to our list of places to return to.

Below are my randomly ordered and (let's be honest) not terribly inspired photos.

We found another traditional Romanian restaurant that takes you underground. While the food wasn't quite as good as the other place, I tried the house rose and it was surprisingly drinkable. Romania is improving in its wine offerings.

Luci's favorite shoarma place. I think he went there every single day.

Just off Piata Mare, we found a wine shop that sells Italian and Austrian wines so we're hopeful that we can buy good wine locally now. Unfortunately, we didn't get taste what we bought since we ended up giving it to Gabi Tudor when we went to his house for dinner.

This was a sweet little airbnb we stayed in. Not only was it extremely clean, but it had the advantage of being around the corner from the shwarma place Luci liked so well. 

The Friday markets. We wished we could take all of the honey back to California

This was the paneling on the bathroom wall in the other airbnbs we stayed in. An unexpected sight, to be sure.

Our favorite coffee place on Strada Nicolae Bălcescu

Second favorite coffee place on Strada Nicolae Bălcescu

It's true, the quality of wine is improving, but mostly we stuck to beer and were happy with that.

As I mentioned, the purpose of both trips was more business than pleasure and I didn't bring my camera with me on this trip so my photos are likely underwhelming. However, I've posted what I have, once again, with the ulterior motive of inducing some of you to make good on your promise to come visit us.