The hot water system I used to have in my apartment consisted of barrel on the apartment block roof with a electric element inside the barrel. There was no thermostat. To heat the water I turned on a switch in the bathroom.

In summer showering wasn’t a problem, as I didn’t require hot water. In winter, my shower options were severely restricted as a hot shower required 1 hour waiting for the water to heat up. For a bath, it was 3 hours of waiting. With no thermostat, if I left the heater on too long, the water would boil. As the barrel was only 2 metres higher than the shower (I live on the top floor) the water pressure was low.

All this has changed.

On Thursday Serkan and I went to the Ilhas shop and bought a new water heater for 115,000,000 TL (or 115 New Turkish Lira!) including installation and 3 years warranty. The original price was 150,000,000 TL however Serkan had seen this special deal on the Internet.

The handyman came and installed the device on Friday afternoon. The relatively small, white box fitted next to the shower and included a new rose. Now all I need to do to have a steaming hot shower is to turn the tap, adjust the heater to the second position and wait a few seconds for the hot water to appear. As the hose utilises the cold mains tap, the shower pressure is much better.

In short, the new shower is heaven!

I experienced my first piece of heaven Friday evening. After work I was due to meet Orhan and see the new Turkish movie G.O.R.A.. I will write about the movie later. Previously, in a similar situation I could have either: a) left work at an exact time to go home and turn the heater; b) had a cold shower; or, c) gone without a shower. Now, I have option a1) go home and have an instantaneous, hot, steaming and pressurised shower!