Sunday, June 27, 2010

Inspiring details and the "beach google"

We did not buy a lot of souvenirs. Not that we were out of money; but there wasn't too much worth while, and if it was, we would have had trouble to get it safely over the flight. I took back these dishes, hand painted, in my cabin rucksack, wrapped into a traditional hamam towel, the thing people wear in the steam bath.
On auntie's lanai, I discovered this wonderful grid, very simply made, yet with a surprising effect.
-- Something you see most everywhere: The use of solar energy. Almost all the hot water in households and hotels is produced by means of solar panels and stored in metal barrels on the rooftops. Even old and poor looking houses are equipped with such devices, maybe less shining and new than these.
Before the use of solar energy started, Turkey had a serious problem with illegal wood chopping; this is solved, as far as I know.
Solar energy is almost entirely used to heat water. As for electricity, Turkey uses water power mostly, but also plans to build nuclear power stations. What for? They are flooded with sunshine!
Turkey is a modern country with all kinds of technical equipment, but on the other hand, there is no unemployment insurance, as we have it; the family has to support members who don't have a job.
Now the promised story. I was sitting in a beach chair, J was reading the "Golden Compass", I was doing my embroidery when I missed my scissors. Oh my. I started digging in the sand. The beach "janitor", an employee of our hotel, saw me and asked if he could help. Yes, please! He said, wait a minute, and came back with his beach "search engine", a rake with a wire basket which caught my scissors indeed after one or two strokes over the place where we had been sitting. Of course this help was followed by a proper tip.

3 comments:

Diane Cransac said...

Ah too funny! So glad your scissors were found...and in such a crafy way ^_^ Those dishes are treasures!

Chris Gray said...

Sounds like you had a really good time...Love those dishes. Beautiful colours and patterns.

ArtSparker said...

The Golden Compass is one of my favorites- hope J. likes it. I wonder if the main character will remind him of anyone he knows? The beach janitor sounds like a sort of quotidian angel.