Perspective

*GODİSNOWHERE*

How did u read this?

*GOD İS NO WHERE*?

or did u read..

*GOD İS NOW HERE*?

..Which one did u read?

There i was..sleeping so soundly last night when a peck of kiss reached my cheek. There he was looking at me.. waiting ..wanting to say something..

I asked him..

*what?*

and he said...

*U boiled the wrong thing. Arent u supposed to cook the meat of the shrimp? (karides)*

I couldnt stop myself from laughing....

U see my dear friends.. to boil the skins..the heads n skins of the shrimp ..

for a turkish man.. well. for him at least..

is like looking at...

insects (böceklar) swimming in the boiled hot water...his point of view.. from the guy whose mazhab believes that shrimp n their gangs r makhruh to be eaten..coz they r the insects of the sea..

To me.. someone from Syafiei..that skin n head of the shrimp in the pot of pan means the beginning of mee kuah..a malaysian dish..

i wish i can snap the photos for u to judge of how the view would be for urself..but of course..i cant..i dont have the gadgets for now..

*ilginç* /*weird*

he had said..

2 people from 2 different cultures...2 different lifestyles

and yet..living under one same roof.. compromising each other's culture.. well that is life..u may have different views but there should be an understanding on both parts of the differences..

u may not like it..but u cannot force ur culture onto the other partner, right?

And yes.. !! i am eating mee kuah tonight!! alone heheheheh..

in this case.. sharing is BAD.!! :0)

I am not sharing it with him..

He wont eat it as well.. (makhruh..remember?)

so..one happy happy me!! Yeay!!

Thanks mak for the recipe!

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I am going nuts

This dried chilli.. a very important ingredient in the making of a malay dish called sambal. The chilli grounded with onions, belacan, etc...will make a base for a wonderfully hot sambal...just like this sambal ikan bilis (anchovy cooked in chilli paste)

Dont ask türks to eat this.. they wont like it... at least the normal türks..but to me.. i just simply love it..

I remember cooking this dish a few weeks ago..but later i think i got food poisoning..coz i think the dried anchovies (my mom sent it thru the guests from malaysia)..were expired.. hahahahhaha apa apa la kan..:0)

In turkey, these dry chillies r sold during winter..as i had just discovered.The chillies r produced all summer and hung to dry as in..right now? in winter.

For the last few months, i couldnt find these chillies anywhere. Only last pazar did i find it.. and u know what? Since it is early in the season still, the supposedly dried chillies were not dried at all!! hahaha still quite soft.. not dried as yet (as evident in the pic above)....i bought them from my fav spice seller in pazar.. other sellers would have sold me that chillies for 2.5 ytl or even 3 YTL per line **a new price this season**(around 23-25 chillies a line) ..but my seller sold me that chillies using the old price that is 1 YTL per line..for these chillies, i guess i just have to buy from those selling using the old price then... :0)

Mıstık told me there r two types of these dried chillies.. one type is not hot while the other type is hot..pedas sepedas pedasnya.. they look the same though... u need to ask the seller for the not hot ones..

Do turks use this chilli? at homes i dont think they actually buy the chilli n blend it themselves. However, these chillies r sold already blended (with the seeds together) n put in bottles.. BUT... there is a but of course, the taste is only of pure chilli n for some they had put too much salt in the blended chilli that for malaysians' taste..unless u cannot find the dried chillies.. this is the last resort..for making ur sambal..

Türks use this chilli for?...i have no idea hehehe my guess is..they use a bit for cooking (if they like their food hot)..Halil for example, loves this chilli in his favourite mennemen (turkish scrambled egg).. he loves to spread it in his burger (if we make it at home).. and even inside his cheese toast...a bit but not too much..the chilli like i said is salty..but then türks love salty things...so..this chilli is something perfect for them..

So the conclusion is : if u r into these dried chillies (cili kering..or cabai kering i call them).. BUY them while winter is on!! Stock them up :0)

Seeing another Malay face to face..talking in Malay...that one time soon after Raya puasa (bayram), had awoken that longing again..the longing i try to contain as best as i can...It was bearable ..alone..but seeing another person with almost the same roots..the same life culture had errupted the longing...

The (cili kering) dried cili had errupted the heat inside my stomach..my mouth... pedassssssssss as i took my mouthfulls of Sambal telur, sambal udang, sambal ayam...sambal ikan...but nothing can help me for my longing...

*wait another year of two my dear simah*.. i keep telling myself..

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...mak nak balikkkkkkkkkkkkk.......... (pls ignore this erruption..i just need to let this out)

p.s Mona..ko nak aku pos kat ko cabai kering pi US tak?

P.s.s ada sesapa ada resepi karipap tak? boleh tak share recipe?

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We hereby name u..

*Laughter is the best medicine*..

I am glad that i have managed to make some of u laugh while reading my previous entry.....laugh..smile my dear friends.. for laughter and smiling will make u look younger :0)

Thanks funda for forwarding that mail :0)

my mind is suddenly stuck to a topic...

NAMES

Whatz ur name?
Whatz my name?
Do we have the same name?
Why did our parents name us the way they did?

My biggest challenge when it comes to names started when i come to turkey..they have these different letters in addition to the roman alphabet..

For example.. my biggest challenge..still my biggest challenge is to say the letters..

Ö as in Özgur
Ü as in Yüzmek

Ask any türks u know (i know some of u do have turkish acquaintance)..maybe they can pronounce that letter for u.. coz i still am not confident pronouncing it.. my tounge is so *keras* heheheh..i might just twist it if i try too much hahahaha

Then another dificulty arised when Mediha abla announced that there was a bun in the oven... eversince then, halil kept teasing me that we would name our child *bül bül* or any normal names with Ü or Ö... he knew that i wouldnt be able to say that word hahahahah

When we discovered that it would be a she..we started to crack our brains.. Malaysian name? turkish name? Since we r living in turkey, we both agreed that turkish name it would be.

i told him.. There is NO WAY..i repeat NO WaY.. my daughter will have a name with Ü or Ö as part of the spelling.. Hatice Zehra was our first choice...But then somebody pointed out that it is usually Fatma Zehra and not Hatice Zehra. I didnt like Fatma zehra.. then again we started to crack our brains for another name. I love turkish names such as ebru..but many people have that name.. Ayşe...Aynur..then, *Hatice* (pronounced Hatije) caught our mind. Hatice or *khadijah* in Malay refers to the name of the first wife of our Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). Perfect! But then i wanted something that i can relate to Malaysian names as well..

U see.. in turkey, their names r simple. Generally people have one name and one surname..for example, halil (name) - Zaim (surname).. Only occasially, there r 2 names..and that usually the name of either the grandma or grandpa or auntie or uncle of that child.. An example.. Ülya Elif..
Ulya was anne's (my MIL) name..Elif is her original name... combined together... she becomes Ülya Elif (name) Zaim (surname)...Generally however, everyone has one name...plus the surname.

In Malaysia..on the other hand..names starting with Nor (i.e. Nor Hayati) for girls and Mohammad or Muhammad (Mohammad Ashraf) for boys r common.In fact, it is quite common nowadays for a child to have 3 names (i.e Nor Fazlin Zaharah).

ok..back to hatice..

like i said, i wanted something to relate her to my roots.. halil and i agreed on Hatice.. but since my name is *Nor*.. i wanted her to carry that name as well.. i managed to convince halil to add *Nur* to her name as well... *Nor is nur in arabic...* praying to Allah that the *Nur*..the *light* of our prophet's wife will shine in our daughter...And so she was named

Nur Hatice

(There is *Hatice Nur* in turkish but i wanna make sure she has a name part malaysia.. she is a mixed blood after all)

5 months after hatice's birth... Mediha abla announced another bun in the oven.. this time it was the opposite gender.. Yeay!! A Boy!! (oh geee..arent boys naughty??)

The name? we were quite cool about it.. sweet baba had written a list of possible names we could use to name our son. The list trust me was longgggg... he had thought long n hard for that list. Halil noticed that he had added his deceased brohters' names as well in the list. On top of that, he had added his own name!! Halil felt that that was his way of saying.. *if u want u can name ur son after my name, i'd be glad*...

Halil being the sweet son understood his silent request.. Frankly speaking,i was against the idea.. to me, u name a child after a grandpa or a grandma after that person is no longer alive. My main concern was..*How can i scold my son in front of his grandpa with the same name? imagine if i say..-Sabahaddin..dont be naughty-..n there is Sabahaddin the grandpa (dede) around as well??* U know what i mean, right?

But knowing how much respect halil has for his dad....we decided to name our son Sabahaddin..I deliberately make sure that his name be written as Sabahaddin n not sabahattin (as the grandpa) for two main reasons...

1. *Sabah* means dawn
*Din* means religion
Sabahaddin means *the dawn of the religion*..but with *tin*..it wont mean that. A child should have a meaningful name in my opinion.

2. Even though baba was born n named as Sabahaddin..the birth registry office made a mistake n had written his name as Sabahattin. with my son being Sabahaddin, he will have his own name..not totally overshadowed by his grandpa's name or honourary reputation (though i always pray he will have his grandpa's reputation as well)

The funny thing is..we never did tell Anne of baba's *hint* to name our son using his name.. Else, Anne would surely have scolded baba!! hehehehehe..i can even hear her saying to baba..

*onların çocuğu'un ismi, sen niye karışiyorsun ki?*
(It's their child's name. Why do u need to interfere??)

*chuckles*
Yup.. Anne, bless her, was one very dominant lady in making sure the family stays as one :0) ..u'd say she was the person who united the family..though now Meşe is taking over that role..

and yup..

SABAHADDİN

it is..
Names in Malaysia n Turkish.. hmmm..

We in Malaysia r named without a surname..

To illustrate:
Nor Hayati (name) binti (indicating that she is a girl..we use bin for boys) Zainal (the father's name)

However, turkish people have surnames..

An example:
Mehveş (name) Tarım (surname)

just imagine.. if my kids were born in Malaysia, they would have been named:

Nur Hatice binti Halil
(Now she is Nur Hatice Zaim)

And baddin would be..

Sabahaddin bin Halil
(now he is Sabahaddin Zaim)

and halil

would be ..

Halil bin sabahattin...
( now he is halil Zaim)


Zaim is the surname (family name)..ala mcm orang cina la kan.. ada family name..*ooi*.. *tan*..*loke*


The conclusion is (from their comments so far) : Ramai yg confuse baca entry ni!! hahahahaha maaf la yea.. putar putar belit kejap.. :0)

ok la.. nak simpulkan..hatice nama dia ada *nur* sebab mak dia nak ada perkataan tu kat nama anak dia.. baddin pulak nama dia diambik sempena nama atuk dia..(siap bagi hint lagi my mentua haha).. homework for the weekend... *cuba memahami entry ni* hehehe

HAVE A NİCE WEEKEND EVERYONE!

SEE U NEXT MONDAY!


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Men vs Women

The Silent Treatment

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were givingeach other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that thenext day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an earlymorning business flight.Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote ona piece of paper,
"Please wake me at 5:00 AM "
He left it where he knewshe would find it.The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM andhe had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his
wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.The paper said,
"It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."

Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

WIFE VS. HUSBAND

A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied , "in-laws

WOMEN'S REVENGE

"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wishedto purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for atelevision set in her purse. "So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked."No," she replied, " but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally."

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN (A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)

I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.

W O R D S

A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use aday... 30,000 to a man's 15,000. The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeateverything to men... The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"

CREATION

A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time. " The wife responded, "Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!

WHO DOES WHAT

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee." The husband said, " You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for mycoffee." Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee." Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me." So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeedsays.........."HEBREWS"

Disclaimer: These r just for fun..got it from the email chain :0)

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Remember when

We first said hi

Remember when

The first time we met

Remember when

U n I become one

Remember those times

When we thought love was all we needed..

How i miss those days..

Coz love is in the past...

*Sevmek Eskidendi guzelim*

Ur words..not mine

Just Kidding.. Allah korusun..simpang malaikat 44..

Alhamdulillah..my love and his love is as strong as ever..

Strengthened over time..n i pray to Allah it will be till death do us part...

..but i cant help but think.. some r not so lucky. They build a marriage with a thousand dreams..dreams that shattered into pieces..over time..nobody would want that.. but circumstances..conditions..attitude change just at times made it not possible for that love to move on..to say it doesnt hurt would be a lie..life is not a toy. When something like this happen..people r bound to hurt.. the couple involved... the children..the other family members..May Allah help those who have to go thru these things...hopefully surrounded by their family members...never alone...never alone..

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Dede

Look at these pictures..

How sweet they look..The dede (grandpa) drinking his tea..using his classic tea cup.....the grandaughter trying to explain to her dede of the movie (ice age 2) she watched at the cinema.

These pictures were snapped months ago..

i doubt she will remember moments like this when she grows up..She will probably remember her dede..but these moments may not register in her mind...

The truth is.. i am glad that my children have the chance to get to know their dede ( halil's dad). They have missed out knowing their baba anne (the mom of their dad) since she died when they were still toddlers.. n their tok wan(my mom) and atuk dede (my dad) r thousands of kilometres away from them..what they remember of them r the moments i captured on video the last time we were in malaysia...how baddin used to crawl on top of my dad.. of how my mom used to squeezed hatice in her arms till she looked at me in plea..how her along teyze used to pamper her .......

Yeah..death waits for no man of course.. when it is time to go..u go..u cant say to Allah..*i want to die after i get to know my grandchildren bla bla bla*.. life doesnt work that way.. Myself for example.. i have never seen any of my grandpas...but i live to see my wan (my dad's mom) who died only a year or two ago at the age..i assume almost 120 years of age....my mom's mom died after giving birth to my mom... the fact that my granddad married her lil sister after that leaves me with a step grandma (wan muda..or wan mudo they call her in the n9 dialect)..but she has many children of her own..many grandchildren of her own as well... i am not close to any of my grandmas coz we live so far away from each other..n i dont speak their dialect....no regrets..

But i clearly remember my great great grandma(my grandma's mom). i call her wan tua. I remember my wan muda was looking after her mom. I remember my wan tua walking slowly..*mengesot mengesot* to go to the bathroom to take her wudhuk so that she could pray..i think i admire her coz even at her age..barely able to walk..she was still trying her best to pray.. i dont remember talking to her much.. like i said.. i grew up not speaking the dialect..my northern accent even if i try to speak her dialect.. would sound odd to her already failing ears..She used to sit on the bench underneath the *pokok jambu air putih* (guava tree) at times when she needed the fresh air....

I remember at one time when we went home to our hometown....she was sitting there..i was playing in front of mak long's house...somewhere near the durian tree.. we were to leave the village that day..she approached me slowly...she said something.. i could not understand her..then i saw her pulling a 2 ringgit note...i heard her saying something like..*ekau punyo* (this is urs)..i took it..

I spent it of course on ice cream.. i was young then..

Now looking back.. if i had more *brain*.. i would have saved that money for memory sake.. That was the first and the last time i recieved anything from my wan tua.. she died when i was 15 years old... at the age of..i think more than 120..she was ancient..really really ancient..

I dunno where she got the money..but can u imagine...?? for someone that age who had gone thru a lot of occupations.. japanese.. british...what not..that 2 ringgit must have meant a lot to her....i used to have her picture as well.. but i think it got burnt with the rest of the things when our home in penang got burnt many many years ago..

my kids.. they have their dede still..2 dede..one in malaysia..one in turkey.. one anna anne whom they call tok wan..baba anne..they maybe can see in their dreams?..

But one thing i am happy about is that..my angels r not alone... they r surrounded by loving uncles, aunties and cousins..n they all live within reach.. as in... the next door..the next apartment... the next next few streets...

As for the ones in malaysia... siap la.. depa balik malaysia..abis la depa buli hangpa semua hehehehe..hatice dan baddin brutal jugak heheheh :0)

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Another cat story

Did u know??

- that hatice's first word was *edi?*..it means *kedi* in turkish...and kuching in Malay and cat in english..
-that baddin's another personality is a *cat*..he used to pretend to swallow his saliva, and started meowing like a cat..he now sleeps with his furry cat toy ( a gift from meşe hala)..and much to my suprise... he was jelous when i was fluffing that female cat the other day *chuckles*

Yeah.. we love cats..my family in Malaysia.. i grew up among cats.. when i was in my primary school, i remember we had at least 20 cats... my elder sister at that time was ..and is.. sooo into cats...she love cats..and i grew up seeing the rest of the younger siblings liking cats as well..i think now we even have a siamese kitten at home.. my mom bought it from a friend...

I remember one experience i have wih cats.. i was young then. We used to live in kampung kastam in penang (kastam quaters).. at that time the taman tun sardon flats were not even under construction..there were still bukit everywhere.. i remember whenever my dad was at home..(he was away a lot coz he was a custom marine officer)..he would enter the forest to go and find jering... kodiang..all sorts of ulam..i used to eat them as well..until of course i started to realize that they make ur mouth smell n never to eat it on school days heheheheh..the good old times...i suppose i will still eat them if i encounter them once again..besides..there r loads of breath freshner on the market nowadays anyway, right?

ok..ok..back to my cat experience... like i said.. Taman Tun Sardon flats were not there yet.. village houses were still there.. (geei forgot the name of our neighbours).. anyway.. i used to hang out around the quaters area..n around that village house areas..u see... in the old days.. it was safe.. i grew up there with only one rule from my mom..

*u can go anywhere u want to around the quaters area..but be home for ur lunch and come home before maghrib*

so there was one day..while i was wondering around, i saw these 2 male cats were about to fight..i remember one is orange and white in color.. the other..black i think..

Anyway..they were big male cats..they were facing each other in anger and producing that grrrrrrrrrr sound cats produce when they wanna fight...i dunno what i was thinking... i guess i wanted to stop the cats from fighting...so what i did was..

i picked a stick and pushed it into the butt of the orange cat!! The cat changed enemy and scratched the back of my left hand..it was bleeding all over..i cried naturally. Pak Mail (our neighbour) found me..he brought me to my mom and then my mom asked him to bring me to a clinic. I remember sitting inside the *bakul* of his motobike as he brought me to a clinic near the taman tun sardom market area (it no longer exists..the clinic i mean).. the doctor got my arms stitched up..and up till today.. i have these scars...lines of the scratch of around 10cm behind my left hands as proof of my wonderful cat experience.

i think after that . stayed away from angry cats.. it took me years to start loving cats again..i am not crazy crazily in love with cats the way my sisters n mom do..still..i do love to have a cat around in my life..

But one lesson learnt..

DO NOT POKE THE BUTT OF ANGRY CATS!!

if u want to try it... u can hehehehehehhee

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

p.s hatice n baddin has started their classical flu n coughing..then.. fever will come out.. then the lungs will be full..n then..slowly.. nebuliser with just plain vapour (no medicine)..antibiotics...bla bla bla.. the same process.. pls pray they will get well soon..

He was..

*yawn*..oh what? it is tuesday already?? i had slept a day???

There we were....him..running and jumping in front of me..and i ..telling him to *stop* on not so safe parts..

We entered our destination..cautiously of course coz that forever staying there dog was on alert. Not very like him to stay that way..Quite near to the door...facing the entrance. I carefully squeezed him n myself inside...not wanting to touch any part of the dog....i am too lazy to *samak* myself if i touch the dog..but if i do touch the dog..i have to samak...adoi...where to find really clean soil here ? unlike him where in hanafi, they just use *sabun* (soap) and they r clean....

Phewwww..safe inside...i asked for the thing i went there for..and sat on the bench while waiting for the guy to prepare that thing. I sensed that something was playing with my boots..a CAT!! i understood the dog's reaction.Dog vs cat..

I love cats. It had been months since i ever touch a cat. I took her into my arms and started playing with her. ..it was a freezing day..The cat naturally being cozy from the heat of my body was content to just let me ruffle her fur... and i heard him saying from a distance..

*Anne.. onu bırak* (Anne let the cat go)..
HE WAS JELOUS!!!!!!
hahahahahhaahhaahahhaahahahhahaha

The dog belongs to the owner of the shop while the cat belongs to one of the workers of the shop.

A dog..a cat.. and ONE veRY Jelous Boy!

p.s- i am sorry that i cannot blog hop yet.. will do so at the first opportunity...too many errands to do..


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Al-Quran reading Online

I checked my email today..As usual, there is a chain mail from abiumar. This time he suggested that that we check out this site..

www.quranexplorer.com

It is obvious what the site is all about....the Quran reading....i went to that site and fell in love with the site immediately.. The reciter is Mishari - Rashid who has this soft melodious voice that captured my heart totally.....i guess after a long time of not reading the Quran..my soul just got a wonderful shock from that voice...The translation reader is wonderful as well..with that sexy husky voice, it accompanies the Quran reading in a combination that is worth hearing..

I have 2 Quran reading CDs at home (none work with windows XP).. there r various sites on the internet for Quran reading.. but i think this one is among of my favourites..i just hope after this i can wake myself up from enjoying the leisure of life too much..and read the holy book more..at least while i blog.. i should open this site...berhenti menjadi manusia yg lalai tanggungjawabnya terhadap Penciptanya..

*The Qur'an ("Qor-Ann") is a Message from Allah (swt) to humanity. It was transmitted to us in a chain starting from the Almighty Himself (swt) to the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

This message was given to the Prophet (saw) in pieces over a period spanning approximately 23 years (610 CE to 622 CE). The Prophet (saw) was 40 years old when the Qur'an began to be revealed to him, and he was 63 when the revelation was completed. The language of the original message was Arabic, but it has been translated into many other languages.

The Qur'an is one of the two sources which form the basis of Islam. The second source is the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw). What makes the Qur'an different from the Sunnah is primarily its form. Unlike the Sunnah, the Qur'an is literally the Word of Allah (swt), whereas the Sunnah was inspired by Allah but the wording and actions are the Prophet's (saw). The Qur'an has not been expressed using any human's words. Its wording is letter for letter fixed by no one but Allah.

Prophet Muhammad (saw) was the final Messenger of Allah to humanity, and therefore the Qur'an is the last Message which Allah (swt) has sent to us. Its predecessors such as the Torah, Psalms, and Gospels have all been superseded. It is an obligation - and blessing - for all who hear of the Qur'an and Islam to investigate it and evaluate it for themselves. Allah (swt) has guaranteed that He will protect the Qur'an from human tampering, and today's readers can find exact copies of it all over the world. The Qur'an of today is the same as the Qur'an revealed to Muhammad (saw) 1400 years ago.*

Have a Nice Weekend Everyone! See u on MondAY!

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Su aka Water aka Air

Water... a totally essential substance of life... it covers 70% of the earth surface..and our body definitely need water..

"About 72% of the fat free mass of the human body is made of water. To function properly, the body requires between one and seven litres of water per day to avoid dehydration; the precise amount depends on the level of activity, temperature, humidity, and other factors."

I remember as i was growing up, my mom would take the water from the tap, filled it up inside the kettle....let the water boil.. and let it cool before filling it up inside a container before putting that container into the fridge. She would remind me to boil the tap water first to *kill the germs*..i was brought up that way at home...It was only during my university years i was introduced to the concept of *drinking water* and *water* in that 1 litre bottle sold at supermarkets n what not.. at home..boiled water is the water to drink..(or at times, when i my mom was not looking, i would just directly fill the water container with unboiled tap water n put it inside the fridge hehehe..hey! i was young then!!! :0)

One of the cultural shocks i had when i came to turkey was this..

Yup..this is a 19 litre container of water....the pump is used to pump out the water to be used for drinking..etc..I first saw it at my mom in law's.. i noticed she used only and only water from this container to cook and drink....only this water....bought from the water seller nearby.

I think Türks..especially those living in the city, they r very particular about the water they drink. They believe that the water reaching their home water taps r not clean...they do not trust the water lines ..they think that the pipes n tanks r dirty..(for the apartmanet building i live in.. every year, the apartment's water tank will be cleaned).....THerefore, people in general would buy water like this to accomadate their daily needs...

There r loads of brands in the market of course.. if i am not mistaken, there r two types of water sold..one is drinking water (city water gone thru several processes to kill harmful substances) like turkuaz... and the other type is the mineral water..taken from the natural springs all over turkey...

For us.. we buy the second type.. the mineral water..the prices also differ from brands to brands.. more famous brands will mean more money will be paid by the customers.. it can go up to 5YTL per container (19 litre).. Like the one i am using now, we r paying only 3.5 YTL per container....the prices do not stay that way anyway..this is turkey we r talking about..the price can change every month..and it always go up..n never down..

For all the 7 years i have been here, i always buy from the same water seller. But for all these times, the owner has changed the brands of his water several times..(i think he is trying to sell not too expensive water)... I first tasted the water with the brand *Sırmakes*..then it was *Mahmudiye*..then it was *Doğazen*..and very recently, till now..it is *Sera*..

I remember anne (my mom in law).. she can differentiate the taste of the water..she didnt like some water brands..she said it didnt taste nice.. it smell..it didnt look clean..etc..etc.. the older generation especially r very sensitive of the taste of water..

i remember at one time, anne didnt like one water.. i tasted it.. i couldnt figure out why that water was different....it tasted like water..hmmmm....ıf i drink directly from the water tap..i think that is the only time i can differentiate the taste and the smell... it is not nice...definitely..or is it that i am catching up the *trend* of the türks of only liking tap water?

For a small family like mine..a 19 litre water can last almost a WEEK..meaning 4 water containers a MONTH.. but for big families..2 may be barely enough for them.. ..8 containers a month..can u imagine the cost? Anyway... health is much more important than money, right?

I think this *buying* water to drink is the trend only in big cities..in small town areas, i think people still drink from tap water.. maybe in small towns, their water is clean? Buying water for drinking and cooking is definitely not their style..it may even sound like a waste to them..

Yes..we buy water..partly becoz it tastes better..cleaner and safer..than tap water..i have thought about buying the water filter instead of buying water..but i have never seen a türk house with a water filter.. in Malaysia, we have loads of types of water filter..the ones with that stones..the ones with red laser or something.. etc..etc....maybe these water filter should be marketed here..i dunno..

Anyway.. water we drink.. drinking plain water is definitely better than drinking coke or carbonated drinks..much much more healthier.. but why cant i leave my carbonated drinks totally? help..

Hmm... buying water for drinking... i had never thought i'd be doing that until 7 years ago..

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