Vapur Moods.

When I was reading lots of Orhan Pamuk in preparation for my move here, and deciding that idly watching boats on the Bosphorus would be an important use of my time, I hadn't really come to terms with how little idle time kiddos leave you. Yet now looking back over the last few years (and enjoying our last summer on the Island of Heybeliada) it feels as if vast amounts of time have been spent gazing out of boat windows at Bosphorus boat traffic and the light shifting over the historic peninsula. These acres of time are not just a feeling either. Each trip on the majestic ferryboats takes an hour and twenty minutes and I have very rarely had a week that did not contain four trips. I have nursed and carried and chased the children through hours and hours of journeys from Heybeliada to Kabataş and back again ( and then there are dozens of shorter boat trips to Büyükada to buy gas credits and Bostancı for shopping and playgroup). Matti met Anton new born and just arrived from England for the first time at the Kabataş jetty, and so it was during a vapur trip that Matti held his new sibling for the very first time.

During the three Winters we stayed on Heybeli (this last Winter we retreated to the city for comfort) the moods of the particular type of south-westerly wind known as lodos, that brings violent squalls to the Marmara Sea, became quite a character in our lives. When Anton was a few weeks old we were on a vapur caught in such bad lodos that as I sang nursery rhymes to soothe Matti and Anton the news reported a boat in danger of sinking on the Marmara Sea.

The time on the water is so precious to me because we are forced just to be. I cannot do housework or answer mails. The children have my full attention and I love to watch as theirs drifts outside the windows across the water to the landmarks that signpost our way.

My pictures today begin with a visit to Pierre Loti, where you can ride a cable-car to one of the best views in Istanbul, and eat ice-cream in one of the prettiest cafes. We arrived as the rain began but all enjoyed how dramatic the weather made the already incredible view. Then there is Anton on the boat from Eyüp to Usküdar. The next six photographs are of Matti and Anton on the vapur to Heybeliada on Friday evening after we picked up Matti from school. The last few are of a Saturday dawdle around the boat yard at Heybeliada where you can still swim for free and buy tea for 1 TL.

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