Life is Sweet

Family is very important in Turkey - important and largely functional. Because of this, Turks seldom live or eat alone, and shopping involves large quantities. Not so I. Not only do I cook and eat alone most of the time, but the school provides our lunch. so I don't shop a lot and never lavishly. One of the first Turkish words I learned was "az" - just a little, because I need it so often when grocery shopping. No, not that many olives, a smaller bag of chickpeas, just a few tomatoes. Az!

Today I went to Ortaköy where I spent a pleasant couple of hours picking up a few things. Dish detergent from the tiny cleaning supply store, sewing machine oil from the minute hardware store around the corner. (The clerk from the first took me to the second in case I hadn't understood his directions. So sweet.) In the deli, my ten-year-old clerk gave me az peppercorns, and his father cut me az cheese. By the time we were up to the honey, he had me figured out and put about two tablespoons into the smallest container. Ba?ka! I said. More! In went another two tablespoons. Ba?ka! He was shaking his head by the end. There's just no understanding these yabanc?lar.

Anyway, the honey was wonderful. Served from its small cupboard where the comb is hung on top and the honey scooped from the bottom, how could it be anything but? And the young clerk added his own sweetness to its flavour, I'm sure.