Good Evening, Ester (Evening, Day 10)

Although darkness had descended over the city, it was still scorching hot, with no wind to provide some relief. It was more like summer, rather than blessed autumn. I thought the Taksim Gardens would perhaps have a few breezes but even there not a single leaf fluttered. I sat at a table in the terrace bar overlooking the sea. At least that way I would be facing some open space and could perhaps get some air. Mehmed Esad had yet to arrive but he would soon be there. The other tables were only now beginning to fill up. Although the smartly-dressed gentlemen and their respectable lady companions had yet to arrive, the young and extravagant playboys and the heavily made-up girls out for a bit of fun and who could smell the money in the young lads’ pockets were already out in force and had taken their places at the tables. The flirtatious glances, the coquettish covering of the mouths with expensive handkerchiefs to hide their giggles, the seductive swinging of the head, the flicking of the hair and the eventual merging of the tables were all precludes to a night that would end in the fire of love. The orchestra, from Hungary apparently, had already begun playing Hungarian and Romanian folk songs. When the burly waiter came trundling along, I ordered some Üzüm Kızı rakı, which has just come out this year, salad, a plate of white cheese and a plate of cranberry beans. Mehmed arrived and planted himself down on the table before my order arrived.

‘Sorry, old chap’, he said breathlessly. ‘Had a customer at the shop. Real talkative fellow. Wouldn't shut up’.

‘Not to worry. I've only just got here myself ‘. With a jerk of my head, I gestured to the kitchen. ‘I ordered a rakı. Is that okay or would you like something else?’

‘Rakı's fine’. He took off his fez and placed it on the table. ‘Actually, a nice, cold beer would go down a treat in weather like this but beer makes you feel bloated.’ He wiped the back of his neck with his handkerchief. ‘This is really crummy weather, eh? I walked here from the shop and now I'm caked in sweat.’