I took the bus to work again today. The days are beginning to have a rhythm to them, with routines and familiar places. In the mornings I take the bus, while the others take the metro to the work site. I love going on the bus, and looking out on the street as the morning wakes up the city. This is the view as I get off the bus and cross the street to Divan Taksim.
They have put up the plexi-glass on the front entrance . . . the curves match the three curved archways above the entry doors to the hotel. In each arch is one of the three matching red chandeliers.
And because the owner was arriving, the red geraniums were planted along the terrace of the pub and sushi bar.
(The owner did arrive late in the day, a member of the Koc Family, a wealthy Turkish family. She shook our hands and welcomed us. She was very gracious, and Simge said she recognized her and that she is very wealthy. Apparently she started the Divan Hotel in the 1950's and that this is her special project, and that was why she was visiting the job site to see the progress.)
The second red glass sculptures is complete . . .
About to hang the armature for the middle amber colored glass sculpture.
Kathy and Juliana cleaning the second red sculpture. Dust is every where. We need to clean off all the fingerprints and then the hotel is going to hang some plastic from the ceiling to keep them clean until the construction is complete.
Putting in the safety cable and fitting the third glass sculpture frame . . .
One of the workers hand planing a piece of the bar . . .
Simge stopped by after her exam. The two of us went out for dinner at her favorite restaurant, Cafe Italiano. We sat outside in the beautiful evening air. This restaurant is right across from the Divan Taksim, and we had delicious pizza and calamari. It was great to catch up with Simge, and hear all of her plans and travels and internships. She went through my Istanbul Eye Witness guide, and we marked all the things that I should not miss before leaving! There is so much to do and see.
As we walked past the hotel, the lights of the three chandeliers in the entrance were turned on . . .
This is a picture of Simge walking down her street to her apartment. She could not live closer to the Divan Hotel, and she walks past the hotel every day she goes to university. I was headed to the bus stop to take the bus back to the Divan hotel where we are being housed, about a 15 minutes bus ride north.
These old houses are very apparent along the bus route. Obviously they have built all the high rise new buildings right around the old architecture. I can imagine that Istanbul will look very different in twenty to thirty years from now, when the old houses that now seem empty, are torn down and new buildings are built in their place. There are neighborhoods that seem very deserted and full of empty buildings that have been let go.
This beautiful old house is on the bus route ~ there is a beautiful garden full of roses and flowers blooming behind the fence. I cannot tell if this house is inhabited or not . . . and speaks to another time in history of Istanbul . . .
It was Rachel's last night in Istanbul, as she is headed home to Virginia tomorrow morning. A final brownie dessert at dinner to celebrate!
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