And Now....A Cult Favourite

Not much to report this week, except that it was incredibly sunny and gorgeous weather in London (but now, sadly, we're back to 12C and grey skies). Oh, and my friend J convinced me to join her for a night of bowling and White Russians in honour of the cult classic The Big Lebowski. It was a fun outing even though this was the first I'd heard of the movie, and also, I've decided "slacker chic" is a complete oxymoron. Everyone was dressed in bathrobes in honour of the movie's main protagonist "The Dude". Frankly, not quite as sartorially inspiring as a screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I urge everyone to see at least once in their lives.

xx to all,
Miss Engagée

Chronicles part II

Aya Sophia. 

 Other highlights from my trip included :

• Visiting the famous Saint Sophia mosque (Aya Sophia) as well as its twin, the Little Aya Sophia
• Hanging out with Istanbul's friendly cats
• Gazing up at the beautiful domes of several mosques - favourites include the New Mosque next to the Spice Bazaar, as well as the Suleymanye Mosque
• Spending the day at Topkapi Palace and running into 5 fellow students from the LSE
• the Istanbul museum of Modern Art- I got a much better appreciation of how influential Europe has been to Turkish artists, and vice-versa. 
• Wandering around the residential neighbourhoods of Fatih and Eyüp. Taking the téléphérique up to the Pierre Loti café. 
• Becoming fluent in "urban planning speech" thanks to my fellow travelers, who spent the week examining processes of gentrification in Istanbul. I met so many wonderful people involved in the LSE-MSGSU field research project and wish I'd had the chance to spend more time with all of them. 

There are cats EVERYWHERE in Istanbul. 

Blue Mosque

Fish Market in Karaköy

Topkapi Palace (Circumcision Pavillion)

Tiles. Detail from the Circumcision Pavillion.

Laundry Day in Fatih neighbourhood

Istanbul Chronicles

I`ve been sorting through my pictures from Istanbul all morning long, and haven't managed to whittle them down very much. It's impossible to do justice to such an amazing city in a short blog post. I suppose I'll focus on my highlights!

My top 3 sights were the Chora Church, an incredibly old Orthodox church covered in the most breathtaking mosaïcs imaginable; the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art (Carpet Museum); and Istanbul's skyline seen from a Bospherus river commuter ferry.

Gorgeous mosaïcs in Chora Church 

Traditional Slippers, from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art

Taking a cruise up the Bospherus is definitely incredible. Although most of the time, one is far from the shoreline, the ferry stops along the European and Asian side.

View of the Black Sea from Anadolu Kavagi (Asian side of Istanbul)

I'll continue on another blog post to keep these short and readable.
xx

Culinary Adventures In My Kitchen

Hello everyone,
Apologies for my silence in cyberspace. I`ve been rather busy doing dull things like studying and eating. Since I dont have any exciting pictures to offer (no I didn`t go Skydiving this week- although I know a girl who did- and no I wasn`t on a Sri Lankan beach either - though another friend was there quite recently) I thought you might like to see what Ive been eating these days.

Homemade Biryani (not made by me!!)

 First we have the amazing home-made Indian Biryani specially cooked by a friend for another friend's birthday. I promised myself I will learn to make this amazing dish one day. The flavours just exploded in my mouth...mmm...The cook said she spent 2 hours with her mom discussing this recipe. Delicious accompanied with a glass of pink lemonade and a lighthearted Bollywood movie.

Yummy Cake (also not by me! from PAUL)

 Voici le cassis aux pommes et aux mûres du pâtissier PAUL, une chaine française importée à Londres. Une copine burkinabaise nous a apporté ce délice lors d'un dinner de filles. J'adore inviter du monde dans notre petite cuisine étudiante - c'est tellement plus agréable que de souper seule, et d'ailleurs on mange toujours mieux lorsqu'on cuisine pour d'autres.

Veggies that I helped chop

Roasted Red Peppers (my creation)

J'ai fait cuire des poivrons bourrés au fromage halloumi à quelques reprises. Cette recette du BBC est très facile à suivre et c'est parfait pour les végétariens (il y en a plusieurs en développement international).

Jumping for joy because yes, you can eat well in London!!

What else have I been up to these days...
-Started zumba classes - wow my calves hurt the first time.

-Last Thursday we had an awesome networking event, the "Industry Dinner". I talked to some very dynamic people, from NGOs, consultancies and even from the world of journalism (Al Jazeera). We had a lively debate about the KONY 2012 video which has gone viral. One of the girls at my table has volunteered with Invisible Children, so it was great to get her point of view on the whole debate about whether it's better to inform and get people passionate about an issue (while oversimplifying the message) or whether it's better to inform fewer people but strive for a fuller understanding of very complex issues.

-I finished watching Downtown Abbey. I do love an over-the-top drama in period costume.

-I'm looking forward to my trip to Istanbul but rather sad that this is my last week of taught classes! How quickly time flies, in hindsight. I may update with a few more pictures of my brunches and lunches in the upcoming week. Loads of people from my program are flying to exotic places like Uganda and China, so we all want to celebrate and spent time together before going back to the grindstone in preparation for exams and dissertations.

Je vous embrasse,
Miss Engagée xx