The fresh banana cream cake did come to work, although a little late. And, most of the workers were surprised!

Today is my 26th birthday.

As it is still the Muslim holy month of Ramazan I will not worry about holding any parties or whatnot until after the end of Ramazan holiday at the end of November/early December.

This afternoon at iftar (the fast-breaking meal) there will be a surprise cake from Istanbul Pastanesi (the local place around the corner). Most people at work do not know it is my birthday – I really hope it is a surprise.

On Friday night I ventured to Marino and Jeanette’s for dinner. Marino is originally from Italy, Jeanette from Honduras. They lived in many places around the world before coming to Mersin 3 or 4 years ago. Marino is involved in the fruit industry. His specialty is bananas, although in Mersin he deals in citrus. The oldest of their 3 children is about 13 years old and he can speak Italian, Spanish, Turkish and English. Guess who is envious?

Also there for the spaghetti dinner were Natalie from Ukraine and her son. Natalie is also in the fruit industry and works to send fruit back for her Ukrainian company.

With all of us together in the apartment, we definitely were the Ex-pat Central in Mersin this night!

Being with fellow expatriates is great for a change. There are perspectives, experiences and topics of conversation that one cannot share with locals. Mersin is not very accessible for foreigners. The novelty of being a foreigner here is great, sometimes. At other times, more anonymity would be appreciated. With the friendliness of the locals I can’t complain too much though.

The bombings in Istanbul on Saturday were an example of how stupidly brainwashed some people can become. The bombers and their cohorts are pathetic losers of the lowest kind.

Sympathies to the victims and their relatives.

He has moved from the grey wooden clothes peg to the adjacent yellow plastic peg.

Stay tuned for the next exciting update…

Yesterday, for the first time ever, I visited the Mersin Free Trade Zone. The free trade zone is located to the west of the port and consists largely of warehouses and offices where many companies do their trading. The advantage of a free trade zone is that companies can import product into the zone and re-export it without paying import duties or taxes.

Yesterday the entry to the zone was blocked by many cars and trucks. Ahmet (boss) said it was the busiest he seen in 200 visits!

Let’s hope it is a sign of the improving local economy – Inshallah!

Fresh snow could be seen on the 2nd row of hills in the northern background. I was excited to see snow again – even from a distance. I don’t really know why though.

My pre-awakening hours this morning were very unusual and entertaining, although for the wrong reasons.

As well as hearing the drumming (even after putting my earplugs on), I also felt the chill of the coldest night since summer. Tonight I will remove the heavy blanket from its summer hibernation in the wardrobe.

Mixed in with the cold and the drumming were a dream I can’t remember and a separate, rather tortuous nightmare involving the torture of slaves and the like. This was my first real nightmare for a long time, although I did not wake up from it.

I know this because a few minutes ago Asli turned off the radio and opened the front door even though it is cold today. At 9:05 am on November 10 1938 Mustafa Kemal Ataturk passed away. His cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver.

At 9:05 am today, many people in Turkey stood still for one minute’s silence in rememberance. Apparently, even the Istanbul ferries turn off their motors and float unassisted for 1 minute!

The moment has passed and now the music is back on!