Turkey-Truly delightful

Turkey is like this matriarch elder sister.She nourished our body,mind and soul alike
So we kick started this long planned vacation by dear husband from Cappadocia . Not participating in planning gives one the advantage of being taken by surprise completely.  Not being primed by any pictures the place just hit me.The terrains are lunar and winds have carved some crazy figurines called fairy chimneys in the limestone rocks.Erosion done good. An elf here and a fairy there.A Cave with all amenities as our accommodation. Whoever thought one can actually live in a cave outside marooned island romantic movies.


Hot air balloon ride notwithstanding the cold weather n early morning awakening is magical. Even more magical is watching over a 100 lit balloons going up in the air at dawn break.

Underground cities dug out of rocks where humans and animals shared living spaces is unimaginable in today’s times of nuclear living dwellers These caves even housed altars for prayers.Lit by linseed oil they apparently served as a safe haven from relentless invasions, from man n nature
Amol had a new phobia here- “get stuck in the cavobia”


During our 2000km drive across Turkey we stopped by villages that did not  have a restaurant but the people are friendly to offer tea and give elaborate dumb charade directions in exchange for a hug from weary Hindistanis(that is how they know us Indians and they are very FOND of our movies)

A quick word about this wonderful car that ferried us around T. Audi A6...I think cars are a means of transport and a rounded bum car looks good.And honestly my knowledge about automobiles is just that much
But this car is the most luxe thing I have been in...speeds of 180kmph and she did not sweat....not a single bump she let us feel even on the cobbled pathways of old Isthanbul City. preWarmed seats and steering filled me with warmth in my chest.Childhood memories came gushing in. My Elder sister used to warm that one mug of water to wash my hands in cold winters after dinner. Luxury that day took a completely different emotion...thoughtfulness replaced arrogance.

Local cuisine is yummm, familiar for us as the food is cooked with spices
Testi kabab meat cooked in clay pots , opened just before serving
Pide- pizzas ancestor

Sarma- chicken/meat wraps
Aubergines with meat kebab(now that is salvation for the aubergines)
Served with pomegranate sauce laced salads and unlimited supply of bread and a whole load of  love
My boys lapped it all up with gusto n me with guilt galore . Washed down with white wine of angora grapes the entire country is  one heady destination.
Partially preserved cave paintings by Christian monks by the Ihlara valley and  Mendes river strikes a resemblance to our Ajanta caves by the river Waghur
Probably prerequisite for peace n art - valley river mountains

Turkish is a mashup of our Hindi in Latin script
Kitap for book
Dikkat for caution
Havalimani for havaiadda aka airport
but try as much as one wants they cant understand Hindi and only a smattering of English


Pammukale is another mysterious natural wonder...looks like ice but is warm....Expect freezing cold there but people in bikinis getting their diva moment. It is all that and some more than what is shown in so many our Indian movies.

Gallipoli is their war campaign historical site. An unsuccessful amphibious attack by the English and Anzacs over the Ottomans. It visited by Australians n New Zealanders as a piligrimage every year. This bloody war site is covered with white graves spread over 33000 hectares now only softened with red poppies and lush meadows n pine trees.Steve Waugh brought his team here to inspire team bonding over history lessons before the Ashes. ( trivia which made us take a 500km detour for the cricket crazy husband) My ignorant being was enriched by the greatness of the Turk legacy and the one man Mustafa Kemal aka Ataturk ( literally translates to Father of Turkey) who has shaped mordern Turkey by his vision...

He anglicized Turkish, banned polygamy and gave women equal rights in the early 19 th century and many more ...but they had me at women = equal rights. My heart was already won.


Isthanbul like other mega cities is touristy,pricey,crowded,    and yet spectacular !

Hagia Sofia Mosque is truly beautiful... a church for 500 years and now a mosque for 900 years...mother Mary to the east and the mosque's mihrab, the semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the “qibla”, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims face to pray slightly off east.
 Blue mosque was under restoration..
.Topkapi palace museum's imperial treasury was also under restoration .Their star exhibit ...86 carat spoonmaker diamond also was not for display but we saw Islamic relics and a Imam recites the Quran here everyday from the 16 century nonstop.
The Bhosphorus cruise is all that it promises...The intercontinental bridge across Asia and Europe is a geographical wow moment

The bylanes of Turkey make for fun local experience.Turkey like China is a mass production place for clothes and shoes and leather.

Another funfact is that tulips were first grown in the Ottoman empire, erstwhile Turkey and from here exported  to Holland in the sixteenth century. And from the time Amitabh n Rekha immortalised Tulips in  Silsila, my young heart was impatient  to see them in petals and sepals  ..Kashmir,Delhi, Amsterdan ...... anywhere asap but it was not meant to be fro nearly 4 decades. And I saw my first TULIPS here , right in their mothers lap.That was some kinda sign. Paulo Coelho says one should look for signs, omens.

          'Omens are an alphabet you develop to talk to the world's soul'

 My Tulip moment -  all things happen at the time they are meant to happen...not one moment less or more
So here is a toast..to travels...happy times....tulips .... and a truly delightful Turkey

I am not an one 100 wonder

I did my first cycling 100km.
I was applauded like I had climbed the Everest by friends and family. Even I felt the same. Thanks F&F . I am indeed very lucky to be surrounded by such encouraging souls
So I have been there and done that , so why did I sign up for another 100
Well honestly, in my heart I felt the first 100 was just a fluke... kind of freak lucky day ..., so was I a one 100 wonder , I wondered
The thing about doing even the greatest thing the second time is that it never gets it’s due
This time it was a no frills 100km with just 5 of us slipping away in the wee hours of the morning. The good husband just slept through my purposeful loud early morning hustle. Not even a cursory All the best.... hmmmmph
I had no clue about the route and felt as unprepared as my son was for the Sanskrit exam . And that is the lowest One can feel. You have to trust me on that one

The venue and the lights and the music and the organisers and the balloons
Like the little elves who work their magic in the dark to leave us smiling in the morning
We started upbeat and I lauded myself for all  my good deeds . My previous 100 , my core strength sessions , my full marathon, generally the sun , moon and the stars
Being happy and confident has one big disadvantage. It blurs the weakness till one has wandered off to the loneliness
After the first happy stretch and wearing off  of my “confidence endorphins” I was searching  for the cycling beacon. Enter a senior cyclist from VCC, who let me draft him through the slopes. Apparently it cuts 30% of the efforts . Encouraged me by just staying by my side. I just took it all in so thankfully . Towards the end I even felt guilty about being the unworthy receiver. Sorry Sir. The young generation sucks but does not forget to be grateful. Thank you Sir
The finish line was just as happy.. Music in the muscles,venue and photos and ice creams.All was so beautiful once again and I am no longer a one 100 wonder.



Cycling pearls in my limited experience
      1.There is socialism in the sport
A soft spoken unassuming cyclist from our club turns out to be a very important high ranking official
Apparently he can summon a helicopter and people address him with such respect that one usually reserves for the first citizen of the country
There may have been many more important people there but on that day we were all cyclists- equals in the eyes of wheels and derailleur


      2.Endurance sports are meant to be endured
Nobody may applaud you for the same feat done twice over but the pain -physical,mental,cyclological doesnot lessen the second time. It hurts just as much


       3. I ride to write.
Me even thinks that I do this better than I ride. Maybe if I keep at it I can someday write well

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I LIVED. To tell the tale

I had a couple of other title name options for this blog

A full before forty

A runner is born

Now all bipeds can walk. That’s basic. If we walk a little faster like on a trot, it is a run. If we run for long enough it is a marathon. This is what I honestly thought till today. Save your laughs for later. There are more stupid confessions coming your way.

Endurance sport is a mind game right. So, I had learnt all the little tricks to fool my body with my mind. I just left out one small aspect. I didn’t train my body enough for this long haul. So, mind over matter just doesn’t matter.

I got introduced to running by R. He can easily be the Dronacharya of runners in Goa for the sheer number of people who run inspired by him. Thanks to him & his beautiful wife  by his side always ,anyone on the peninsular side  of Goa thinks they can run .He called me a ‘natural’, at running 2 years back .(Just a couple of weeks before the marathon I heard him say that to another newbie, something to do with encouragement I am guessing) But I am a  C grade in PE through school & a sucker for praise. I fell for it. I called running my primary sport and myself Vasco Sussegad Runner. Everything else was for the sake of cross training. I spoke the running lingo. Dec 2017 – 10 km, Feb 2018- half marathon and the next day I wanted to do A Full Before Forty. I know cheesy line, but it stuck. I take complete responsibility for this temporary insanity because family and friends did not veil their displeasure at my attempt.

The event Goa River Marathon is organised by Vasco Sports Club members, bonded together by love for running and fuelled by happy hours. It features in the top 5 marathons of the country & not without a reason. It was also home turf for me. Fellow runners and family would watch out for me. Training started at the VSR school. Here runs were always accompanied by organic fruits, home baked cakes, lots of gardening and Good Housekeeping tips. Morning runs were social events. Eventually I graduated to VSR college. They are the running quadruplets who had taken up a 100-day challenge to run everyday, come rain or shine. Hard Core Stuff. But they kid gloved me and I eased into real running. As hindsight I should have trained harder at college. But it was not to be and I found out the hard way on the race day.

2018 ends for me on December 9

The race day

All my being was channelled into the grand culmination of my debut Full marathon

I was so scared that I even said my final byes to family. Even if I made it through this one, I would come back as a new me. So, bye old “C in PE” Me and A runner will be born or martyred maybe.

Running pearls

1.       In a full marathon the race starts after 25 kms.one who runs hence after is a winner and an honourable finisher

2.       It is mind over matter only when the muscle matter is reaaaallllly good aka training. Else one will be left mindfully breathing in and out till even that hurts

3.       Every muscle, sinew, tendon is used to run a full marathon. So, train all of them. I had to spray muscle relaxant on my stomach, back, neck, even hands during the run…just imagine

4.       Running is a sport and is supposed to be competitive but the comraderie shown is exemplary. I needed all of it to get to the finish line

5.       Towards the end I was so sloshed that walking hurt so much that running felt better. Running paradox maybe. Or my mind playing games due to dyselectrolytemia

6.  The good thing about running a marathon is that I got to pig out on curd rice ( in the name of carb loading) and yummmmmmmy energy bars painstakingly made by a dearie ( who holds the recipe as a family secret, lest someone asks for it)

PS

Title clincher

A full before forty- when the dark thoughts clouded my head, I thought I might not make it to my fortieth and it is going to be a tarry grave for me and it was too cheesy.

A runner is born- Well a person who respects the endurance that it takes to scramble to the finish line is definitely born

So, it is I lived to tell this tale of me eating the humble pie.  A thankful pie- I finished just in time to qualify for a finisher medal. Thankful for the numerous runner friends who stayed back to welcome me at the finish line. Thankful I made it back alive .