Morning 'Gezmeks' in Kadıköy

“And what did you do this weekend, Mehmet?”

“This weekend, I eated...”

“I ate. Yes, good.”

“...I ate pizza and I went to the cinema.”

It’s 2012 and I’m talking to my students in Yalova about their weekend.

“Very good, Mehmet.  And you, Dilara?”

“Yes, Laurel Teacher?.”  

“What did you do this weekend?”

“This weekend, I ate ice cream.  And I went to the seaside with my family and we...we...we...”

“Yes?”

At this point, Dilara used her middle and index finger to simulate a person walking.

“You walked?”

“No, Teacher.  Not walk.”

I wrote ‘walk’ on the board and mirrored her maneuvering fingers.

“We walked”, I prompted her.

“No, Laurel Teacher.  We...we...we gezmeked.”

Little Dilara sat back and looked very satisfied with herself.

I consulted numerous Turkish friends and they all said that the verb ‘gezmek’ is very different from simply walking.  It was explained to me that ‘gezmek’ is when a person walks around with no set path or destination.

“A stroll?”, I asked.

“Not a stroll.  It’s more than a stroll.”

According to Google Translate, gezmek can mean ‘to wander’, ‘to rove’, ‘jaunt’, ‘roam’, and ‘knock about’.  You know, words in the English speaking world reserved for explorers, cowboys, and homeless people.  And maybe Huckleberry Finn.

In Turkey, gezmek-ing is for the masses.  It’s wonderful.

This is what the Starbucks terrace looks like at 9AM on a gorgeous Tuesday morning. There were three people inside.  Nearly everyone was a foreigner.

I started going on my morning ‘gezmeks’ a couple of months ago, when I woke up early one day to get some coffee.  I decided to forgo Starbucks, as I very recently realized that their coffee isn’t very good. I quickly discovered that none of the coffee houses within the vicinity of my home were open that early.

It’s crazy to me that, with very few exceptions, coffee places here don’t open until 9 or 10AM.*  I think if Americans had to wait until 10AM for their morning coffee, most of them would succumb to their withdrawal symptoms.  You would see CEOs and mailroom clerks alike, huddled in darkened alleys, rocking back and forth, and whispering ‘caffeine’ over and over again.

Anyway, as I couldn’t find any open cafes and didn’t want to go to the office half an hour early, I decided to gezmek. Apart from using eye cream, it's been the best decision I've made recently.

I love Kadıköy more than any place I’ve ever lived.  But I have to admit that the pedestrian chaos can get a bit overwhelming.  Whenever I’m out and about, it’s non-stop Level 10 of Frogger.  I’m constantly weaving through slow walkers and people texting, while dodging teenagers shoving fliers for English schools in my face and the insufferable Greenpeace volunteers.  And, like me, everyone is on their own nonsensical route.

There’s none of that in the morning.  Exploring Kadıköy before 9am is like seeing a sleeping child: temporarily sweet and peaceful.

Istanbul street art is TOPS!  A lot of Kadıköy's best street art is hidden on residential side streets.  It’s so magical to turn a corner and suddenly be greeted by an enormous colorful mural.  It’s a little sad that most people don’t get to see the murals, but kind of cool to have them be a local secret hiding in plain sight.  

Living amongst so much beauty is pretty wonderful.

I saw this monstrosity one morning and wanted to cry.  I didn't get too close for fear that I would be cursed by the apparent dark sorcerers who created it.  I don't know what it's made of.  I don't know what it means.  I only know that it scares me.

You’ve got to give some credit to a dad who can rock a matching Barbie backpack and lunchbox.

Early in the morning, everyone on the main roads is walking in a straight line with focused tunnel vision.  Everyone except me.  Well, and the old lady with the 5 kilo bag of kitty kibble who feeds the street cats every morning.  There are always lots of children on their way to school holding hands with their parents, even the boys.  Some of them look as old as ten.  I love that about Turkey.  When kindergarten rolled around for me, I informed my exceptionally sweet and loving mother that public handholding was no longer an option.

While the majority of the shops have their metal gates lowered in the morning, I can peer into some store windows that are ordinarily carefully watched by persistent shopkeepers. There’s an antique street which I absolutely adore, where I will never buy anything.  So it’s nice to get a good look at things without annoying the antique dealer. Also, I'm way too shy to take pictures when a storeowner is watching me.

I love the wall paintings outside this little gallery, as they're just like the artwork inside.  I like to think that one day the artist ran out of canvas and in an artistic frenzy just continued painting outside.

A lot of the streets I wander down are places I’ve passed dozens of times, but I’ve been too focused on my destination and not getting trampled by overzealous shoppers, that I missed so many charming details.

I love these old wooden Ottoman era houses.  I’ve only come across about a dozen during my morning roves, but I think that makes them more special.  They’re juxtaposed to the surrounding modern buildings and stand out like a person who seriously overdressed for a casual work thing and said, “Didn’t the invitation say formalwear?”  

This cat is not amused.

The street animal culture in Istanbul is incredible.  Whenever someone visits me, the first thing the comment on are the cats.  They are everywhere, especially in my neighborhood.  I actually came up with a joke that they should change the name of the district from Kadıköy to Kediköy (cat village).  About 30% of the time people laugh.  I’ll save my thoughts on the street animals for another time.  For now, enjoy these disgruntled kitties.

Günaydın, sokak kedi!

This guy was NOT pleased when I woke him up to have his picture taken.

Lets not forget about the sleepy street dogs!

"Beauty is in the street" 
This flier is for a protest against the mistreatment of animals, but the illustration is from the May 1968 Paris student riots.

That's all for now, party people!  If you have time, I highly recommend taking a morning gezmek around your neighborhood. It's nice to fall in love with a place over and over again.

*On one of my gezmeks I did discover a great coffee place that opens early during the week.  If any fellow Kediköy residents are looking for decent coffee before 10am, go to Çekirdek at the end of Bahariye.