Salam Aidilfitri 2006 - My bayram account from Day ONE to Day THREE

It is 9.20am..Monday. We r celebrating Bayram today... first day of Bayram.. Falling asleep from exhaustion last night made me call my mom in penang only a few minutes ago...to ask her when bayram will be in Malaysia.. She said...*Raya is on tuesday there*

She asked me of my bayram preparation.. i told her.." i still need to iron the Bayram clothes (baju raya).. the kids r still sleeping, halil is at the mosque n i still need to *mandi*... take a bath heheheheeh..She asked me of my raya preparation..n i said.. * i have bought the chocolates already* heheheheh ..well..u cant blame me right? this is bayram in turkey... of course i didnt mention that i baked a bit of walnut cinnamon cookies... ..in which is hatice's favourite n in which she had gobbled a few already last night...in which baddin said.. *çok guzel* (sedap)..n i dont think i will be serving the guests that cookies after all unless i make some more heheheheh crunchyyyyyyyyy...

then my mom started to tell me how ayah, bibik (my brother's indonesian maid) n my mom cooked rendang nogori yesterday outside the house (They must have used woods for the cooking)...i asked her about my fav *lontong*..then she started to cry.....*eeee (crying) anak mak tak dak kat sini..* (my child is not here)..while loudly laughing at her, i cant lie n say that i didnt shed a few tears... in private...Raya is always hard to be away from my dearest malaysian family...i am used to it..still one does miss it..

will update this entry later... n for all the three days of syawal...need to iron...:0)

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It is 11.30pm.. the kids have just fallen asleep...it was a long day.. Hatice woke up this morning..i was ironing the raya clothes in the study room..i heard her woke up.. i hid behind the door n when she was about to pass the studyroom door..i *booooh* her..heheheheh she had quite a shock hehehehehehehhe...

Baddin woke up a bit later....i dressed them up..braided hatice's hair..took some photos... (photos need to be developed first)...n we all waited for halil to come home..to have our bayram breakfast together as a family..finally at almost 10pm, he reached the house...

family breakfast is always nice... we havent done that for a longgg time....n the activities of the day was like this:

12 noon

We all were ready with our bayram clothing... all dressed up from top to toe. Halil as the head..the starting point, we lined up according to age... i was in front , followed by hatice n lastly baddin.... i kissed halil's hands while saying *iyi bayramlar*... hatice kissed halil's hands n then mine... then baddin kissed halil's hand, my hand n hatice's hand...all saying *iyi bayramlar*....and as a family, we stood in a circle while halil read the doa asking for blessings from Allah with the coming of Syawal...Hatice then took the bayram chocolates n offered to all of us...n finally, as a family,,,,,,,halil read the yassin for the souls of our love ones who had left us forever, whether in Malaysia or turkey..

12.30pm

We met selimlar at Muyessa yenge's house for a bayram visit...

1pm

We left her house. The zaim Family was scheduled for our traditional bayram lunch at baba's house at 1.30 pm.. As usual, we were late.. but this time, we had a reason, we had to buy the baklava n börek to serve the guests at baba's house for bayram today..

1.45pm

Again, the same process... baba as the starting person..everyone lined in a row according to age..n we *bayramlaşalım*... kissed each other n say *iyi bayramlar* to each other.....followed by the doa as read by baba....chocolate distribution...by merve...n not forgetting... bayram parası!! (duit raya!!)..All of us got our duit raya from baba... the kids... the moms...the dads...all...except baba of course..he was the money giver..:0)

It was also the time where gifts for the children were exchanged.. this is also some sort of a tradition i think... usually, in this family, the kids will either recieve duit raya or we exchange gifts... this year... the rest of the siblings exchanged gifts... something symbolic actually...nothing expensive.. socks... t- shirts..toys... anything..halil n i however had decided to give them duit raya instead this year...(we didint have the time to buy gifts)...so when they come to us... that is when we would be giving them the duit raya..

And then... the customary Aidilfitri Lunch... etli nohut ve pilav (chick peas (kacang kuda) cooked with meat..eaten with rice)..This is a tradition in the Zaim family for years... following anne's family tradition.. i dont think this is something general for the people in turkey..just for the Zaim family..Eline sağlık Mese!

I think u may ask me...what do people serve for the guests who come for bayram? In the old days.. it was loküm (turkish delight).. then over the years... it became sweets..n chocolates.. that is a must in every household.. Alongside that, people usually serve desserts....baklava...şekerpare..etc..etc..something sweet...i think it symbolizes the sweetness of bayram or something... but just imagine... if u visit 10 houses n u eat dessert at every house... phewwwwwwwww.....i think dentists would make loads of money after bayram.. that is why some people serve salty things as well like börek..poğaca...etc...etc.... and of course..the turkish tea...all the time....very simple... very not so tiring with regards of the preparation....the idea of bayram is to get together n chat n chat n chat...

After lunch..i think almost 4.30pm...the moms n dads had left all the kids at baba's house to visit a relative...poor meşe had to look after all the 8 naughty kids alone..for i think one hour..poor her...but we had no choice..that relative's house is not suitable for kids to enter... ...Allah Razı Olsun Meşe! ..We all then went to Lutfiye's teyze (anne's youngest sister).. WİTH THE KİDS.. including Meşe's kids... it was a total nightmare..the kids were monsters there...kids running... fighting..pillow quarrels...bla bla bla..Luckily teyze didnt really mind..she said... *u all come here rarely...it's ok*...Meşe sit house at baba's house....

We reached baba at 6pm... no guests came..then halil n i took turn to sit house ....Quests started to come... by 9.30pm..baba n us...escaped the house n we came back to our Apt to visit mahture yenge of istanbul n mahture yenge of turgutlu (presently in istanbul)..n finally...zzzzzzzzzzzzz..

Halil wants the pc...i am just waiting for it to be 12 midnight to call malaysia to wish my mom n dad...Salam aidilfitri maaf zahir dan batin.. i am confident my mom will cry hehehe..halil will also wish them *selamat hari raya* in malay...that is all he knows anyway...heheh

this entry will be updated tomorrow night..To All those in Malaysia... Salam Aidilfitri..Maaf Zahir dan Batin

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Yesterday.. i woke up early n straight headed for the kitchen to cook some salty things to bring to baba to serve the guests...i cooked kandil simidi (my first time making it n it turned out delicious..yippie..will try to add the recipe next week)..i also cooked kıymalı poğaca (hatice's fav)..

Afife Teyze and Özer Abi came to our house for the customory bayram visit.. this is a tradition with them... every bayram...teyze n her hubby will definitely go to every nephew n nieces' houses...they dont usually eat anything or drink anything.. just *sit..talk n leave*.. around 15 minutes max at each house...Of course the zaim siblings we have one advantage... Since teyze usually visit the eldest first... halil n i r at the most advantaged ones..halil being the youngest that is... this year.. halim on the way to buy the bread, say teyze n özer abi heading towards Selimlar.. Özlem phoned me...*they r coming* heheheh...Sağol Özlem... then after teyzelar left Selimler, Funda called me...*az sonra geliyorlar*..heheheof course..there were kerim n halim's house...n lastly, ours.. without these warnings... u can hbe assured.. halil n i would be greeting teyze in our pyjamas!! heheheh (we did for a year or two when we were newly married.) heheheh

We left the house around 12.30 noon...stopped to buy baklava at Emiroğlu n reached baba at around 1pm...we were at baba's house...until 10.30pm...serving the guests...waiting... we did escaped for a while (while no guests were around) to go to the 10th floor..to visit Meşe for Bayram...

One main event of the day was... while serving the guests at baba (cant remember the time).. halil told me... *deprem oldu* (WE HAD AN EARTHQUAKE) ...i didnt feel it coz i was busy n standing.. the rest did... i guess that was the reason the guests left so suddenly.. they must have felt it.. n the one heavily pregnant guest especially must have been scared...

The center of the Earthquake was in Gemlik Körfez in Bursa.. it was 5.2 or richter in scale which lasted 15 seconds.....Those in meşe's house were scared of course...being on the 10th floor of the building...they must have felt it more than us on the 6th floor..

The man in charge of the earthquake department last night had openly announced that.. several more earthquakes are to be expected....yesterdays's earthquake was just among the small earthquakes which one day will be followed by a very big earthquake...One disturbing news is that they guy also listed a few places where the next earthquake will occur.. n the earthquake is heading towards istanbul... One of the places named were Kartal and Maltepe (where hatice's school is)...n my place though in Erenkoy.. is not that far from kartal or maltepe if an earthquake strikes...

To have a big earthquake in istanbul is indeed a scary thing... istanbul is based on Apartments upon apartments...left ..right...front..back..everything include apartments...Allah Korusun...if a big earthquake is based in istanbul... u will see a devastating effect and extremely high life loss one can imagine..

Please dear friends..please pray for the safety of my family...for my çiçeğim..my şekerim... my tem..

Ya Allah...protect my family please..

Third day of Raya Entry to be updated later...

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Today is the third raya..Malaysians.. because we fast for a month... we somehow celebrate raya for a month as well... the visiting of friends n relatives (esp if u have many of them) goes on for a month..

In turkey however...3 days of celebration.. that is the length of Bayram Celebration here....

Hmmm..what did we do today? Today Mıstık (baba's domestic helper) is working today..Hence, the *nobet* (jaga rumah baba layan tetamu) offically ends today..halil n i took this opportunity for siblings visiting today...

I woke up at 7am this morning though... coz i know the visitor traffic at baba's house would be heavy today..Cooked the susamlı kandili simit n peynirlı börek...for baba...called mıstık to come n pick up the goods.. n sent him back to baba with the food...*avır cıvır..as halil said it hehehe*...there was a bit of leftover kandil simidi n poğaca from yesterday...so i added up susamlı simit today... baba mentioned about wanting börek as well..n since he loves it with white cheese..i made some as well for his guests.. there was baklava as dessert as well...they would be enough (in my estimation) to serve his guests..i was right.. :0)

True to our expectations.. the guests traffic was indeed heavy.. baba's predecessors from the university (around 30 people- they r also halil's friends n hocas from his previous workplace..)......these r the people who have a very deep respect for baba n every year they will together visit one hoca after another for bayrAM celebration n as a show of respect...Normally halil didnt join them coz usually we either were holding our *nobet* or we had houses to visit... like today.. Anyway.. mıstık was there today... there were other guests as well... baba mentioned names... cant remember now...

Do i feel guilty leaving mıstık alone to deal with the guests?..i suppose so.. a bit.. but at least i cooked the avır cıvır for them..hmmm.. why do i feel guilty still?..

Anyway.. We started our bayram visiting to halim's house.. our front door neighbour... together we went to Selim's house...only to discover that meşe had already moved to Kerim's house for her bayram visit...then meşe went to selim with kerimlar.. n together..the 5 siblings n all of their kids...moved to halim's house..bayram there over.... the next turn... our house...n finally, everyone went home... or truth to be told... the kids..esp baddin were getting impossible to deal with....the kids were hungry i think...n tired as well..after all, they were playing with ech other for hours n hours..

Fed my kids my modified version of mantı..cooked with minced meat n kabak (squash).. hehehhe the funny thing is... halil liked..n likes it...

By 6pm, we moved to the B block again... selimlar n us were planning to visit Yesimlar.. but they were not at home.. so selimlar offered to look after our kids while we were at kerimlar (their front door neighbour)..Thanks Selim n funda...Over at kerim's, halil remembered that he hadnt visited Afife Teyze... off we went to teyze..Halil is still at baba's.. we went to baba after teyze... he said he was expecting a guest.. i got the tea brewed for him... took out the plates.. filled the plates with whatever avır cıvır (food) there were... n left halil there at baba's to serve the guest..

I had no choice but to return home..baddin's coughing became worse... the running... the sweating...the dust..bla bla..all added up together... led to his coughing...gave him his zrytec....gave him his nebuliser treatment with ventolin.. now both r asleep from exhaustion......in fact, i dont feel great either.. Ever since the first bayram.. my whole body aches..my body had been deciding whether *to get sick or not to get sick*... hehheeh Alhamdulillah... it had held up the strength till mıstık is back at work...i cant imagine serving th guests today in my condition today... had a terrible stomach cramp as well......now all the three days of bayram.. *dear body... u can get sick if u want... but if u dont.. i will be totally grateful :0)*..

Tomorrow is the school day..we r not sending hatice to school tomorrow..We gave her an option whether to go or not to go to school on Friday as well.. she just told me that she misses going to school.. Friday is totally her decision... she may change her mind in the last minute n stay at home...hmm... we will see..baddin is forever happy if his sister is at home..

When Anne was still alive,the Zaim family would celebrate Raya aka bayram in Sapanca....Anne loves that house...in Sapace, there werent much happening in Bayram.. the people in the area would come visit each other... but baba's phone never stop ringing... still dont...:0)

i remembered cooking several types of cookies n brought them to Sapanca to serve the guests... n anne in those days..proudly offered the cookies to the guests... *benim gelin yaptı* (my bride cooked it) hehehehe.. kembang sikit...ntah sedap ke tidak biskut tu..kids from the village nearby would ring the door as well..n asked for the bayram sweets or chocolates ..anne or baba would put aside some money near the red phone area money to give to the kids...

One kid remembered me so well.. that for a year or two after bayram..when we were passing the tol (tem giriş)...n some village kids would try to sell us hazelnuts or something from their home garden... that kid would say... *ben seni hatırliyorum...sen mahmudiye köy dan değil mı?* (i remember u... u r from mahmudiye village arent u?.. while mentioning the *site* where the summer house is located...one way to try to sell ur products.. *relate something to ur customer* hehehe

Well..i think this is about all my first day, second day n third day of Bayram in Turkey... Every Year is basically the same thing for me.. nothing changes much...on the first n second bayram..when mıstık is off duty..meşe n us will take turn to sit house at baba's..i am doing it sincerely..not because i want to win baba's heart.. he is halil's dad..n that makes him my dad

i am also proud of my kids...Every year since they were quite small, they endured the long stay at baba's house during these *nobets*..they got bored of course esp when their cousins were not around...doing bayram rounds... but they rarely complain..i think they see it as part of their bayram routine...besides..we dont have my side of the family to visit during bayrams...

I see a lot of spelling n grammatical errors in this one entry..my three days account entry.... i have neither the mood nor the strength to correct them... so forgive me for these mistakes....i write these accounts so fast..so late at night...when my eyes r already drooping.. n my body screams for the bed..

My Bayram went smoothly...Alhamdulillah.. i didnt snap much photos this year....n i think the photos will only be developed early next week..

Hopefully, u all have had a wonderous Bayram as well..esp with ur love ones...

Simah from this one entry...ending this entry of my bayram account... no lemang...no nasik himpit..no rendang mak..no lontong....nothing of that sort... none of my Malaysian family...but Alhamdulillah... i am with my loves ones...halil... my soul mate...my beautiful hatice n my handsome baddin... together with all the Zaim family....their kids... I know i am blessed..

BAYRAMINIZ MUBAREK OLSUN!

Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....