The decision on blasphemy which sounds like a verdict by a court in an Iranian city was taken by a 19th Magistrates’ Court in Istanbul. Most famous pianist in Turkey, Fazil Say was convicted on charges of blasphemy against Islam for ten months in prison and controlled freedom. Say tweeted a joke about promises of heavens for Muslims. As a result the authorities were informed by “angry citizens” which are easily invented in every third class dictatorship for political purposes.

Turkey once more was enraged by anger. A commentator was nervous since the developments undermined the long-planned position of Turkey in London Book Fair. Others wondered how Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan could stand by the pianist-hunt, while he himself had gone to prison merely because of misreading a poem 14 years ago. Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, himself fined for his opinions years before said: “It is a terrible, unacceptable verdict. I’m very sorry for Fazil Say and for Turkey.”

Even that small selection of opinion shows that Turkey has a fundamental problem with freedom of expression. There are three reasons. The jurisdiction of Turkey does, despite ongoing reforms, at the core of its operations function as a retributive justice. The verdicts of the criminal justice system are based on appeasement, retribution and knock-over. Fazil Say, should not be able to, say proponents of the judgment offend “the values ​​of the people” ever again.

The second reason lies in the stubbornness of authoritarian-minded politicians. The Turkish law has more than a dozen articles which could be used to punish free expression. The AKP government has recently adopted its fourth judicial reform with no intention of removal of such articles.

The third reason lies in the continuous climate of intimidation in this country. The newspapers have dismissed at least a dozen columnists who spoke candidly about the abuses in Turkey. Since then an official from Ankara makes a call to the publisher, who usually has other investments in energy and banking. The officer asks why the columnist was allowed to write that and whether the publisher was interested in bidding for the next Power Plant or not. Afterwards surely the power station is built. Many distinguished authors therefore no longer write in Turkish, but only in English language newspapers of Turkish publishers.

(Translation: Stratos Moraitis/Idil Elveris)

Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council President Murat Karayılan has held a press conference on the withdrawal of Kurdish guerrillas out of Turkish borders.

The press conference, which was attended by KCK Executive Council member Zeki Şengali and Kongra-Gel Executive Board member Hacer Zagros as well, was followed by a number of worldwide press members.

Karayılan started his statement by expressing his appreciation concerning the selection of Abdullah Öcalan in Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most-influential people in the world, and extended his thanks to Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams who has written Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s profile for the magazine.

Karayılan stated that the withdrawal will start on 8 May, noting that it would be ceased in the event of an operation or attack by the Turkish military.

He remarked that four conferences would be organized in North Kurdistan, Turkey, Europe and Hewler in the scope of the currently ongoing process in search for a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question.

Referring to the declaration Kurdish leader Öcalan presented on in Diyarbakır on 21 March, Karayılan said that in this deceleration Öcalan called all oppressed peoples, representatives of all classes and cultures, women and religious sects to build a new Turkey and Middle East on the basis of the democratic modernity system.

Remarking that Öcalan has paved the way for democratic politics to replace arms, Karayılan said that the Kurdish leader has called for the withdrawal of guerrilla forces out of Turkish borders in his letter sent to KCK on 14 April.

“Taking this call for an instruction, our movement has decided to fulfill this call without any hesitation besides maintaining the position of the truce it announced on 23 March. It is the ultimate goal of not only ours but also of everyone siding with peace, brotherhood, democracy and freedom to accomplish this historic step which will enable a solution to the Kurdish question, bring democracy to Turkey and pave the way for peace in the Middle East”, Karayılan underlined and listed the following major points to be followed in order to avoid the interruption of the process;

1-Our guerrilla forces will practice the withdrawal by using the routes they have been using since before now in a completely organized and disciplined way avoiding clashes.

2-The withdrawal will take place on 8 May 2013 on the basis of the ongoing preparations by our forces. The withdrawal, planned to be practiced gradually, will be aimed to be finalized in the soonest time possible.

3-Following the withdrawal, our forces will be based in Southern (Iraqi) Kurdistan. We expect relevant powers, the government of Federal Kurdistan in particular, to display an understanding concerning the official presence of guerrilla forces.

4- It is a must for Turkish military forces to display the same sensitivity and seriousness during the withdrawal which will be stopped in the event of any kind of attack, operation and bombing to which guerrillas will respond on the basis of necessary defence.

5- The forces of the Turkish state should also avoid provocative and opportunist attitudes that may lead to any kind of military activity and clashes in Kurdistan. Apart from that, a healthy and accomplished progress in the process could be ensured by paying attention to the points we have highlighted in the letters we sent to Öcalan and are known to the state as well.

6- The monitoring of the process by independent delegations and the determination of mistaken points by both sides will also contribute to the progress of the process.

Karayılan remarked that the democratic solution process involved three phases, adding, “The first phase includes the already ongoing truce process and the withdrawal of guerrillas. The second phase involves the steps the state and government will take to ensure a permanent solution to the Kurdish question. Some of the moves to be made in this phase will be the democratization of Turkey by means of reforms as a part of a constitutional solution which will create the circumstances necessary for a solution to the Kurdish question. One other step should be to deactivate all systems, such as the village-guard system and special operation teams serving the war in the country and to create an environment in accordance with the civil society perspective. The third phase, the process of normalisation, includes the the processes of a permanent peace, social conciliation, equality and freedoms. The disarmament of guerrillas will be brought to the agenda following the realization of this process which will witness the liberation of everyone, including that of Leader Öcalan”.

Karayılan noted that they will not undergo any change in their policy on the Middle East after the withdrawal. He called on all states and democracy powers in the Middle East region to support the historic step they have taken and urged all international powers, the U.S., EU and Russia in particular, to display support for a solution to the Kurdish question.

Karayılan also called on all circles siding with peace, equality, justice and freedom to support this process by organizing a ‘Conference for Peace and Freedom’ with an aim to build a free future together.

KCK Executive Council President also urged all political parties and NGOs in all four parts of Kurdistan to organize a ‘Conference for Unity, Solidarity and Peace’ in Hewler in order to form a national platform for solidarity and peace.

Karayılan continued by calling on all patriot powers in North Kurdistan to organize a ‘Conference for Democratic Solution, Unity and Solidarity in North Kurdistan’ in Amed.

He also called on the Kurdish people in Europe to organize a ‘Conference for People’s Democracy, Unity and Peace’ to contribute to the process.

“Öcalan has done what is necessary in terms of fulfilling his responsibilities in this historic process. It is now the Turkish state and government’s turn to make a move for a lasting solution to the Kurdish question”, Karayılan said and remarked that the Kurdish people should strengthen their organization and aim to improve the democratic solution process by relying on their own power in order to gain accomplishment.

Karayılan ended the statement by extending thanks and to all those who have contributed to the process by defending and struggling for democracy, equality, brotherhood and peace.

Deciding better to avoid beaches full of surfers and pizza restaurants, we settled on Manggis which is a very (and when I say very, I mean very) quite beach. Well technically we cannot really call it a beach as unfortunately locals have been using coral reefs for years and years to construct and now that the corals are gone. The ocean ate away what was once a sandy beach. Or so we are told. We actually got to swim once in the ocean just in front of our hotel but only because we were really ambitious about that and we woke up very early in the morning before the high tide hits the shore. Otherwise it was basically sleeping by the pool with the rest of the hotel guests with kindles in hands.

Our resort was neighboring a little village called Candi Dasa where we ended up going often for a lunch or a dinner. We had amazingly good fish just by the fishermen boats and once even had a fancy dinner at a French restaurant where the waiters were actually serving food with white gloves on- which i have to admit we found a little out of space for Bali-. If we wanted french food served with gloves on, we’d have stayed in Paris after all.

Talking about the fishing boats which have a distinct shape and build, we got to take one of those and go for a tour just by ourselves plus the fisherman of course. Which was very pleasant indeed – minus the notorious sun burn (which is totally our fault, we shouldn’t have let the wind fool us).

After a week down by the sea, we decided to discover higher grounds and took a hotel room in Ubud. Ubud is a mountain top where several hotels are perched right in the jungle with a small town full of art and artists. Beaches of Bali may belong to surfers but Ubud definitely belongs to artists and yoga lovers.

Did i mention you’d be right in the jungle? You can actually have wild monkeys visiting you, while you’re relaxing on your terrace, go for a hike in the middle of rice paddies or try early bird watching (try not to fall into the paddies while trying to spot a kingfisher as someone happened to do so – let’s not name names- or else bird watching may not be as fun when you’re covered with mud up to your neck)

Apart from getting to know nature’s wonders, we were told that there was a very famous healing guru living close by and that people from all over the world were actually traveling to Ubud to see him. So we decided to go see him in action for the fun of it, and on a rainy day prepared our offerings and drove to his dwellings.

We ended up finding him surrounded by a group of Australians in his garden, meanwhile 2 German guys and a Japanese woman -whom we later learnt to be medical doctors- were taking notes frantically. Our healing guru who happened to be sickly slim had no teeth in his mouth and was coughing violently. You guessed, we started having our first doubts saying “if he was to heal whom-so-ever he’d have healed himself first”. But our healing guru had a few surprises up his sleeves for us.

After offering solutions to health concerns of Australian fellows, her turned his attention to us. I was to go first. He held my head, murmured something to himself, asked me to lay down on the bamboo mat and although i was wrapped in several layers of clothes, he pointed directly at my scars from a recent operation and starting telling me about my medical history. Needless to say that he was right to the last bit of it. Unbelievable right? Had someone else told me this story, no way in the world I’d have believed them. But it happened to me and I was awestruck. After silencing my doubts, he did the same thing with my dear husband and told him that he had a genetic eye condition (deformation of cornea to be exact) and that there was nothing to be done about that. Following our return from Bali, my husband indeed saw an ophthalmologist and was told the exact same thing.

For a couple who had been kicked out of several yoga classes -because apparently we were giggling too loudly!-, that was an enlightenment on such a new level. We got our lesson on not to look down on ancient practices.

It wasn’t so much for our healing guru, but at the end of our Bali vacation we actually did come back to Paris lighter and happier and relaxed. (That lasted of course until the following monday morning rush hour traffic in famous periph’ of Paris)

Old & New (Photo: Ajda Aras)

The reason for my recent visit to the neighborhood was my curiosity about the new “conversion” project of the AKP government to demolish and rebuild old buildings throughout Turkey affecting Tarlabasi as a whole. Most of the once colorful and rather dangerous (for being a center for all forms of illicit trade) streets now reminds one of a ghost city today. It is clear of all its inhabitants and a large portion is already demolished. Apartment buildings built by Greek architects and craftsmen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are now but a huge pile of cement and stone rubble. If you look carefully, you may even see pieces of a toy here or a piece from a brass mirror frame there.

This project has examples already completed in many districts in Turkey. Especially in central Pera where a historical building was demolished and then rebuilt as a shopping mall where the first three floors were plastered with a facade reminding the old one. When you replace age old stone with plaster it feels fake if not barely stupid. The extension of this project to Tarlabasi will be a repetition of the same method where facades of the old buildings will be plastered on modern structures that does not reflect history neither in form nor in function.

Architect Özlem Öğüt who has worked with Sisli Municipality on restoration projects on a different Christian neighborhood of Istanbul, namely Sisli area, writes: “Most of the structures in Tarlabasi are in terrible condition due to decades of neglect and misuse by tenants and the local government. Those that present a danger could be demolished and rebuilt. But to replace the whole neighborhood would be a total loss of the metropolitan heritage and architectural history exhibited there since the beginning of the 18th Century. Furthermore architectural heritage does not only represent itself as an element of metropolitan structure but a significant part of our cultural heritage as well representing the development of  material preferences and constructive methods. We have lost Armenian and Greek craftsmen integral to their existence already. These buildings are the last citizens left behind to our care.”

Colors of Tarlabasi. (Photo: Ajda Aras)

In Turkey, denial of everything Ottoman (read non-Turkish) destroyed a great tradition of art, architecture, even religious crafts in Asia Minor for almost a century now. And in the 21st Century, rising Islamic politicians target the few remainders of glory that have surpassed the cultural looting of Istanbul among other metropolitan centers in Asia Minor. Aiming to cleanse the City’s skyline from non-islamic elements new administrators of Istanbul plan to built ‘slum mosques’ with no serious research effort spent on their architectural or structural design.

The social fabric of the pearls of Istanbul like Kadikoy, Yenikoy, Pera, Tatavla or Moda are long gone. ‘Citizens’ replaced by people who had no connection with Istanbul or a cosmopolitan city. So they never had a chance to adapt. There was nothing to adapt to. ‘Citizens’ were long gone. So the newcomers built their structures on top of the existing ones based on their own traditions. Surely that attitude was also shared by  the administrators who were mere immigrants themselves and as well alien to the cosmopolitan culture.

Today, rotten and time-worn foundations of the city are crumbling, too. Soon, not only the people but their pain and joy as they are written onto the building walls will be gone. Istanbul will be a mindless cultural desert of shopping malls and humanoids eating tasteless fast food, living in high-rise cells, watching the lucky few shop…. on TV.

That is if International organizations aimed to preserve cultural legacy of humankind keep on doing nothing to change that direction. If they lend a glance to Izmir (Smyrna) today, the first cosmopolitan city of the Globe, they will see how Istanbul will look like in the forthcoming decades. If not worse. If the attitude of the Turkish state would not change soon and drastically, a few reminders of the centuries old legacy that this nation is sitting on will be long gone without a trace.

A famous quote says “to take care of a city is mere civilization.” Architect Özlem Öğüt adds; “there is a city that needs care, that’s for sure, but the civilization to take care of it is nowhere to be found .”

With gratitude to Özlem Öğüt and Ajda Aras. Without whom this article would be an impossibility.

Photography: Ajda Aras. All rights reserved.

 

Spiegel, 2012, Salafists in the City- Free Koran Distributions Have Germany Concerned            http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,827153,00.html Last Accessed 04/12/2012. Web.

Tib, Bassam, 2009, Islamists Approach Europe -Turkey’s Islamist Danger, Middle East  Quarterly,Winter 2009, pp. 47-54

You leave your house to arrive at your office if you are lucky enough to keep a job. 34 boys from Gulyazi were not. Most of them were students without any petty cash, born into the destitution of southeastern Turkey. So they needed to do what all men do there to survive: border trade.

Most families in the region are separated by an artificial border carelessly designated by powers to be after the demise of the Ottoman Empire. So they carry gas, cigarettes and such on mules and sell these heavily taxed items in Turkey to survive. Security forces know about it. It has been said that they even have a share in the trade for looking the other way. As in many rural regions of Turkey, military is the only security around Gulyazi which makes them the king, and all obey their might.

Yet when 34 young men of Gulyazi were on the steps of Roboski (Uludere) on December 28th, 2011, coming back with mules loaded with gasoline, the routine of “military action in the lands of neighboring countries” have been initiated. This is a procedure handed down to the government by the Parliament to engage in military attacks to foreign countries in pursuit of so called terrorist elements. The Prime Minister has final authority over these actions.

The ‘routine’ sent military elements to surround and keep the smugglers in position and F-16 airplanes bombed immobilized civilians. 34 people annihilated, 20 of which were under age boys. Most of their remains were not to be found. The wounded few could not be accessed early enough or to be carried to a hospital to save their lives. It was a massacre by all means.

The massacre continued after the event. The state while accepting officially ‘it was a mistake’ never offered to answer villagers’ questions as to why or by whose mistake or initiated any serious investigation on the matter. Many government officials declared the dead as potential terrorists. Many of the victims were from Encu family. Remaining members of the family cannot even travel to other parts of the country since the bombing. They are arrested on the spot and held in custody for the legal processing and then released. Several lawsuits opened against the relatives of the deceased for the statements they have made in mourning.

One whole year has passed now. Turkey continue its regular policy of oppression of the Kurds by implementing an increased pressure. Most of the active Kurdish politicians, journalists or academicians outside the Parliament are in jail facing incredible political charges. Most of them are inside more than a year now without any conviction. Harassment and abuse continue in the prisons against all political inmates. Their relatives during visits are harassed and abused as well. Degradation even extends to bugging Kurds’ cell phones and recording their conversations with loved ones and to use these recordings in open court as a method of psychological torture.

Being in Turkey threatens the life of any politically active Kurd (or any ethnic or religious minority member for that matter) today. As can be seen from the examples like earlier massacres beginning in the 80′s to murders of journalists and to Roboski massacre, living as a Kurd is sufficiently life-threatening in Turkey. Still everyday dozens are added to the list of arrests in the name of KCK trial supposedly set against the political wing of PKK, Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

Roboski is just another illustration of how a state can be a danger to the lives of its own civilian citizens who went by their daily work. Their only fault was to be poor in a border region. Like many other Kurds anywhere in Northern Kurdistan.

Roboski was pain for Gulyazı villagers. It is a shame for a whole nation now. But if current policies of Turkey is to be supported in International community, it would soon become a shame for the whole humanity. Great powers might have great plans for the Middle East. But if they keep on ignoring the transgressions of Turkey against its own people like they did during the Armenian Genocide, neither Turkish administration nor its people have the will to change the status quo.

Mothers have been mourning in Gulyazı for a year now. In the past year no wedding ceremonies took place in the village. Many other families are in mourning elsewhere in the nation for their lost ones. The state is killing boys at both fronts in its fight against its own people. Until that war ends, everything else including the politics or the economy are just background to the tears and cries of mothers heard from one end of the country to the other.

As Turks would love to say; ‘when mothers are concerned, the rest are just detail.’

Photo: December 28, 2012 Gulyazı by Frederike Geerdink. (with gratitude) 

So the day has arrived and I finally found out about our top secret vacation destination only at the airport. We were going to Abu Dhabi. New rising star of UAE after Dubai.

My first thought were mentally checking the contents of my suitcase to see if I had packed decently for our destination. I was quite certain that no one would be chasing after me because I wore sleeveless shirts but one can never be too sure until one gets to see the real place. It turned out that we had packed decently enough as we haven’t encountered any unpleasant experiences. We were even surprised to see that foreign residents were pretty much left alone in terms of dress code. Public beaches were no different then any seaside town. But at this point I have to mention that ever since my surprise trip, things might have changed a little with the 2012 approval of a new dress code that started with a twitter campaign and became official this summer.

In order to help visitors Abu Dhabi Tourism Police have apparently compiled the dos-and-don’t in a booklet that would be available at the airport and hotels. The officials stated that “The pamphlet was prepared to educate tourists on rules of public behavior and It includes trends and behavior which are uncivilized and would make them subject to prosecution.”

At the time of the debate, officials insisted that the new guidelines and the federal dress code wouldn’t have a negative affect on tourism because it would only be in effect in public places like streets and malls. Locations like the beach wouldn’t be affected, so tourists can continue to wear swimsuits. They can also wear shorts in places where they are unlikely to mix with local families who might take offense.

Which brings us to think how it is possible not to mix with locals when you visit and try to discover a new city. When you visit shiny, luxurious shopping malls -which are not YET in the folie de grandeur as they are in Dubai-, as their AC is in full power you’ll need to cover yourself up as much as possible, but when you dine in restaurants which serve yummy food from all over the world or simply when you pass through your hotel lobby within a few minutes, you’ll mix with local women wearing dark abayas which leave only their eyes to be seen (and expensive watches and foot wear) and finely groomed men in their traditional taubs. I guess when you decide to visit Abu Dhabi, you’ll have to lend an ear to your common sense to guide you.

I wanted very much to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi which was standing right across our hotel and apparently is large enough to accommodate 40.000 worshippers, has the world’s largest carpet at 7,119 square meters and world’s largest chandelier made from one million crystals. But we were told by hotel concierge that i was expected to wear an abaya which i refused to do, as it was 40 degrees outside! Only after we returned home we found out that loose and long clothes and a simple headscarf would do it, but no need to mention it was too late.

Another bad planning led us to skip visiting traditional market, souk. Being happily on vacation and cutting all our ties with calendars and watches, we decided to visit the market, forgetting that it was Friday, and the time of holy Friday prayers! Much to our disappointment, the market was closed as all the shop owners crowded around mosques.

It seems like I only tell you about all the things I couldn’t get around to doing but hey we learn from each other’s mistakes now, don’t we? We had no idea that we needed to have a reservation for a 5 o’clock tea in the famous Emirates Palace and consequently we were not even let in at the main entrance. It might have been a mistake to take a regular cab and not a fancy limousine or a Ferrari which can be seen everywhere on the streets. So my advice is, either get a real cool car or book your tea time in advance.

As a last word, would I travel back to do all the stuff i couldn’t do, well probably once was enough for me. Do I appreciate surprise trips? Despite the stomach cramps due to suitcase packing, I definitely do! Should men prepare surprise trips for their wives? Without hesitation, yes!

It turns out that my friends were talking about the “actual water lilies”.

We took the underground to arrive in Gare St Lazare on a beautiful sunny day. All around us people are rushing to catch their trains. One has to be determined in order not to get lost in the crowds. A little elbow here, a little push there and we managed to get to a ticket booth:

“3 tickets for Vernon s’il vous plait”
“Off to Giverny then?”

Reacting to my blank expression as to how in world he’d know where we are heading to, ticket agent motions his head towards the platform where we see plenty of tourists, all nervous not to pick the wrong train, trying to get bits and pieces of a PA in French. So it seems everyone knows about this place, everyone except me that is.

It took only 30 minutes to leave Paris behind and another 10 minutes in a shuttle to arrive in colorful little village of Giverny.

Monet apparently had seen the village the first time while looking out of a train window. He hadn’t needed much convincing to rent a house in 1883 and move in with his big family. I totally get him. With its grey French countryside houses, all kinds of flowers pouring out of gardens, windows, balconies, Giverny is gorgeous. We couldn’t believe that merely 40 minutes ago we were pushing our way out of a subway station filled with grumpy people.

We had no difficulty finding Monet’s house, big queue of people tipped us off. We didn’t mind waiting, village itself was very charming after all. Once we bought our tickets and entered the garden we felt dazzled by colors. All sorts of flowers, all sorts of colors and among them stood the pink house with green shutters. It was so charming that it could only exist in a fairy tale. We snapped pictures of flowers, pursued the bees, sat on a bench and took the scents in, closed our eyes and dreamt. We were curious to see inside the house but not before seeing the famous water lilies which inspired the great impressionist.

Monet lived and painted here for the last 30 years of his life. Once he started earning decently from his paintings, he bought the house. Apparently he loved Giverny so much that he insisted on being buried in the village cemetery with a simple ceremony. And that’s exactly what happened after he died of lung cancer.

When we reached the pound filled with water lilies’, we felt like we were in the middle of a giant live Monet painting. Yes, we had seen this before. Monet depicted this scene over and over again, before and after his cataract surgeries and we knew it by heart. But being there physically was pure magic. It sure was inspiring, too bad I have no talent of my own. But I got to yake pictures. That counts for something, right?

As time to go back to real life approached we stepped into his house. We admired the view once again through a second floor window this time, old wooden floor cracked with each of our steps, yellow painted kitchen looked warm and inviting… Well there is an end to every dream and that was where our dream ended and we headed back to the world of crowded subway tunnels and grumpy people who are in constant rush. Not all of us get to live in paradise on earth and paint.

The reality is different. The reality is nicer. I live in a “bobo” neighborhood where you can observe effortlessly chic parisiennes starting their days with a serving of “tartine” and a coffee in our local café, or munching on pieces of their baguettes as they walk to the nearest velib stop. The cafe’s funny little dog is there day in and day out to meet and greet the passers by.

You can watch the local beggar and her baby right across the park, just next to the local bank. She has this spot for over 4 years now. The baby was a newly born when they first settled there, now he walks and talks and charms the neighborhood. She is a part of our “quartier” so much so that we all actually make sure they’re both fine.

Of course our street is not an exception when it comes to the ever-existing harmless crazy person which each and every Parisian neighborhood has. He has his foldable chair right next to Franprix. Calling out to people stuff like;

“I know you, you’re from around here, so no need to pay.”
“Hey man it’s been ages since you last paid me, it’s about time.”
“Hang on a second, you’re new here, let’s meet and don’t forget to give me a little something.”
“It’s OK mon ami, it looks like you need the money more than I do”.

As he has the best spot on the street, he knows about everyone and everything happening in the neighborhood. But he’s there only when the weather is good. When it starts getting cold, he packs up his chair and leaves his space to someone else and disappears to who knows where.

Just to the right of our old Parisian building is hidden a little treasure only our locals know about. A tiny bistro called Rustres. Nothing fancy, just a handful of tables and a daily changing menu -not according to what is available on the market but rather to the chef’s mood- hand written on a blackboard. Obviously you don’t expect to eat a plate “étoilé” but traditional French cooking with all its simplicity and yet deliciousness reserved only for the knowledgable palate. We call it our “dining room” as i had soon enough discovered what a waste of time it is to cook at home while living in Paris. My better half seems to take each weekend longer to come back home with a loaf of bread for breakfast as he stops over to have a morning coffee with the friendly owner.

Mentioning bread takes us to another less significant secret Boulanger where the foodies come in scores to worship the finest of French pastries at Rue Antoine-Vollon. Blé Sucré is a name to keep in mind, trust me. You’ll not have enough of its crusty croissants, chocolate rich eclairs.

Heading towards to one of the most typical Parisian farmers’ markets “Marché d’Aligre,” you first make a stop in our local wine bar. Baron Rouge that is. The fact that you will see people eating oysters off the plates on top of cars and garbage bins might intrigue you at first. But it is the place to be.

If you’re in a rush to finish your shopping in Marché, well don’t bother. Shopping in open air markets takes time in Paris. Your butcher will ask you what you’ll cook and then suggest you the best cut for that, along with his own recipes. Your fisherman from Normandy will give you a lecture about fresh catch of the season. He’ll chat with you cheerfully while preparing your fish. Oh and he’ll not forget to slip a citron and some parsley before saying “au revoir”. Your Moroccan grocer will keep the juiciest tomatoes for you. He’ll tell you about how tomatoes are tastier back home.

Your elderly but always chic 1st floor neighbor will advice you against jogging on hot summer days. The building will always smell good thanks to your invariably smiling Portuguese concierge who keeps an eye on every single person entering the building. He will only complain about the students on the 6th floor: “they always come home late and make too much noise Madame!”

You’ll sip your afternoon coffee in front of your window directly on the street and watch life in Paris, the real Paris with her real people and you’ll know that you’ll never love a city as much.