 |
| Infrastructure splintering not crumbling |
Saturday is local market day. It’s a nice walk, a little under a mile. There are some reliable standards there, like the large and well organised book stall in support of the Kyrenia Animal Rescue charity and the Tulips stall selling miscellaneous items in support of cancer patients. Most vendors are there on their own behalf though,, some every week and others more irregularly. This week there is no produce for sale and no sign that there was any before we arrived. Handmade jewellery and cards, clothing both new and second hand, a couple of bottles of what looks like pomegranate juice, cushions and kilims. (OK, small Turkish carpets. Have just had a tussle with predictive text which was sure I was aiming for Kilimanjaro).
Ask a regular who is selling dresses and shawls, and from whom I buy a half dozen eggs laid by her own hens, what has happened to the produce sellers. Beginning to fear that drought had wiped them out. She says that she thinks they found the increased price for a stall made if not worth their while. Too bad. Even after the nut seller stopped coming we used to buy honey and eggs regularly and also strawberries in season.
On the way home pass two wooden poles holding up a substantial looking transformer. Well, one pole seems to be carrying more than its share of the burden. Many countries complaining about deteriorating infrastructure but this the most graphic example we’ve seen. Expecting the lot to fall down and wondering if anyone has started a pool on when.
But positive developments re utility supply on the home front. When we get back we are greeted by the plumber of yesterday’s successes who is beaming as he leads us to the shiny yellow pump he has just installed. Italian he tells us proudly. And it is certainly performing as it should. The plumber comes up to inspect. First the kitchen water pressure on hot and cold and then the bathroom. ‘Duş’ he inquires, and we have learned a new Turkish word borrowed from the French. The word for shower pronounced exactly like the French word douche.