3) Istanbul - Taksim Square

"The Republic Monument in the centre of the square was created by Canonica, an Italian sculptor, in 1928. This features Atatürk, his assistant and successor, İsmet İnönü, and other revolutionary leaders."

"Named after the 18th-century stone taksim (water storage unit) on its western side, this square is the symbolic heart of modern İstanbul. Hardly a triumph of urban design, it has recently been closed to traffic and covered in unsightly concrete. The location of the 2013 Gezi protests, it is closely patrolled by police and is best avoided during demonstrations."

   GEZI PARK

View of the Bosphorus from GEZI PARK

Orange blossom

"Plans to redevelop Gezi Park on the northeast side of the square as a shopping mall were stalled after protests in May and June 2013, and it is unclear whether the development will go ahead or not. Local activists stand firm in their opposition, citing it as one of many current instances of public space being sold off to private developers without proper public consultation or approval. The site, which has been a park since the early 1940s, was previously occupied by an Ottoman military barracks and is one of the few remaining public green spaces."

from lonely planet.com Taksim Meydani

Lunch in GEZI Park: yummy wrap and Ayran (buttermilk), total = 6 liras ($3)

• Republic Monument
  
  
• Akbank Art Centre
  Turkey's big banks and philanthropic trusts vie with each other to be seen as the greatest sponsor of the arts. İstiklal is a showcase...
• Atatürk Cultural Centre
  The Atatürk Cultural Centre was designed by Hayati Tabanlioğlu in 1956–57 and appears to best advantage at night, when its elegant...
• Klub Karaoke
  It had to happen. Some bright spark knew Turks would take to karaoke like ducks to water and recently opened İstanbul's first...
• Kitchenette
  
  

 

• Republic Monument
  
  
• Akbank Art Centre
  Turkey's big banks and philanthropic trusts vie with each other to be seen as the greatest sponsor of the arts. İstiklal is a showcase...
• Atatürk Cultural Centre
  The Atatürk Cultural Centre was designed by Hayati Tabanlioğlu in 1956–57 and appears to best advantage at night, when its elegant...
• Klub Karaoke
  It had to happen. Some bright spark knew Turks would take to karaoke like ducks to water and recently opened İstanbul's first...
• Kitchenette
  
  

 

Gardening rewards

I have been gardening growing produce for two years and what an enduring passion it is. I love soil, compost, my worm farm, plants, seeds and working in my garden everyday with my doggie hanging around looking interested. Newspaper, shredded documents and letters, pea straw, lucerne and sugar cane mulch are like dessert for the garden. I get a bit stiff and achey but I wouldn't quit for quids. My pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatoes, capsicums, silver beet, herbs and flowers are satisfying but even more is my growing connection with all things natural. It's as though I can feel every tree and flower and blade of grass and merge with them. Do you experience this too?

My succulent arrangement I photographed on a milk crate - looks Oriental, doesn't it?!

Pumpkin takeover!

Just having visited Israel (January 2015) I missed the daily fresh salads and grew the ingredients and made my own.

I grew up in a very cultured, urbane and intellectual family. We shared a love of history, politics, literature and art. Now in my 60s I'm immersing myself in the world of nature and gardening which had been an enduring but relatively neglected area of my younger adult life while I enjoyed teaching literature and creative writing, presenting music on radio and travelling the world - pursuing my cultural passions with joyous satisfaction. Now I am passionate as I learn, read, write, plant, grow veggies and flowers, walk and stroll in pursuit of my love of nature, (while still writing, broadcasting and travelling).

My garden gave birth to these offspring whose umbilical chords have been cut.

Yana found the bowl and I have planted in a succulent for her birthday.

      Green tomatoes to ripen indoors and for green tomato relish.