Meet Mabel

At a subway station in Istanbul one night, I spotted some rectangular squares in the gum section at the newsstand. On the front of the package was a black woman with bright-red lipstick, earring and a kerchief to match. Her name was Mabel, also the face of an entire line of products for a Turkish chocolatier. (There's a story that the owner of the company had thing for and with Mabel.)

Miss Mabel immediately reminded me of three mascots for American food companies: Uncle Ben of the rice maker, Ratsus of Cream of Wheat and, of course, Aunt Jemima of the breakfast-food boxes. I showed my new acquisitions from Turkey to a few buddies in an online forum and asked how they felt about Miss Mabel; all seemed offended, particularly by her kerchief, yet two of Mabel's three American counterparts were developed in the 19th century and all are still used today. Aunt Jemima, however, did lose her kerchief around 1990 and traded her servant's clothes for pearls and a proper collar.

How about you? Are you offended by the use of African-Americans as "mascots" for food companies? If so, how about the Quaker Oats man?

Turkish Delight

Presenting the Kup Griye, found at Baylan, a classic patisserie on the Asian side of the Bosphorus in Kadıköy.

The dessert, worth the ferry trip to another continent, has been famous since Greek immigrant Philip Lenas started serving it in the 1920s. The shop has long been the meeting place of many famous writers, poets, painters and actors, who no doubt flocked there for the macarons, profiterol, tiramisu and chocolate-covered cherries.

Kup Griye, however is the star of the show. It's made with vanilla ice cream, toasted almonds, vanilla, pistachios, whipped cream, honey, caramel sauce and served with a cat's tongue biscuit.




Baylan, Muvakkithane Caddesi No. 9A, Kadıköy

Africa's Next Top Model?

İn İnstanbul's touristy Old City, many of the men on the street have a shtick. You can't really blame them as they're trying to make a livıng sellıng carpets or tours or fish dinners. İf you're not careful, you can easily be taken in. Here are some of my favorite lines yelled out to me on the street as İ walked past. Most of them are nicknames:

10. Black Goddess or Black Princess

9. Miss Africa

8. (Insert French phrase here) Many assume of course that I can't possıbly be Amerıcan or an English speaker.

7. Hey You!

6. You look famılıar (The times thıs was said to me, I really do thınk the guys thought I was someone they knew.)

5. Yes, please (Almost every merchant says this to every passerby. İ find it somewhat amusing.)

4. Traveling Princess (my favorite!)

3. Yo, yo, yo (my least favorite)

2. Soul Sıster No. 1

1. Africa's Next Top Model

P.S. After I posted this, a merchant came up with my new favorite: Michelle Obama

First İmpressions--İstanbul

Turkey feels foreign. No, it isn't the first foreign country that İ've visited but somehow, it feels different.

İn the airport, women with jeans wear headcoverings. Those who don't are covered fully ın burkas.

The elderly don't hesitate to stop me to ask ıf İ can open theır potato chip bag, retrieve their subway token from the machine or carry their grocery bags. Well, they don't always ask. İ don't speak Turkish so there are lots of gestures. Another elderly gentleman doesn't hesitate to ride 25 minutes out of his way to make sure İ arrive at my destination safely. "Where are you going?" people yell out on to me when İ appear to be lost.


Despite the recommendations of friends who have visited before, İ park myself ın Sultanahmet, the tourist distrıct. İt mıght not be as trendy as Beyöglu, but ıt has the largest concentration of historic sites. İ only have to go a few blocks to see Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia) and the Blue Mosque. At every turn, there's a grand mosque. The hustle on the streets remınds me of Manhattan, the hills of San Francisco. This ıs the historic distrıct, so different than the trendiness and wealth that İ fınd on the other sıde of the Bosphorus.

Although İ am not Muslim, the calls to prayer that echo from the mosque loudspeakers out onto the streets is both beautıful and mesmerizıng.