The wild goose chase to find paint

Day 1

The wild goose chase to buy paint.

We had to buy paint for the schools. I had been told by many people to go to eminunu to buy the paint and so on. Anyone who knows eminunu knows you can buy pretty much anything there. We left our hotel and walked up the extremely steep hill to get to the tramway, I warned matt that where we're going is kinda crazy. Its the real turkey, it's a bit mad back there. So off we go, we started in the area I always walk in, and I know there's no point there, it's all fancy lacy wedding dresses, circumcision outfits for little boys and henna outfits. So I ask a shop keeper, in Turkey, where can I buy children's paint? Down there to the left, he says, pointing ahead to the crowds. Down there, to the left we go.

More wedding dresses. We don't want a damn wedding dress, and we were on borrowed time, I had a meeting to get to. We keep going. I ask another shop keeper. Oh yes to the left then to the right then to the left. Okay off we go, we end up further into the bazaar. To the left to the right. Nope. Nothing. Were now in the back pack district. Everything in Istanbul is done in zones, like a saucepan zone, or a guitar zone, it's pretty good, we just needed to find the art zone....

I go into the back pack shop, ask the same question, feeling a fool and thinking everyone's laughing at these yabanci 's telling them to the left to the left. He says go to the top of the hill, to the right, then the second left, then the first right, you'll definitely find art stuff there. Off we trudge through the crowds. Finally we find something that looks like an art shop. Its a pen shop. No I don't sell paint the man says, go to the left then take the third right and then the fourth left you'll find paint. We do that. Of course. No. But we find a baklava shop and stop for sweet goodness.

Laugh at this wild goose chase were on for paint. We finish our sweets and head off down the hill. I see a post man, he's bound to know where I can buy paint. He listens and takes the word 'children' from my sentence and sends us on our jolly way. Finally a slight breakthrough, we were in the children zone! I popped into a shop selling scissors paper etc and asked the same question, do you sell children's paint, no he says, I know who does if you take the next.... I cut in, I said please can you just take us there.

We have taken 1 million lefts and rights. So he sends his young son with us through an alley way to the left up some steps to the right round the corner and there it was: heaven! An art shop. With paint. With canvas. Everything. We were so pleased to see this guy. I told him how long we had been searching for paint, he laughed and pointed at a shelf full of paint. Ill have all of it, I said.

All of it? he looked at us like we were crazy.

Why do you want all this paint? 

I went on to tell him were working in a very poor Syrian school, teaching art to kids suffering trauma. Turns out my Turkish is good when it needs to be. He nodded, he nodded some more. Okay he said. Ill give it at stock price. Wow, nice one. Ill also give these 20 boxes (200 pots of paint) for free. FOR FREE. Nice Mr art man was donating to the Syrian school.

We chatted about isis and how sad it makes him that millions of people have died and lost their homes. He said their radicalised, this isn't the real Islam. Do you want some tea? I hate tea. We drank two. He told us his son lives in London and that his wife would love to meet us. He called his wife and she came. We packed up all the paint, we had our hand luggage bad packed tight plus two large carrier bags. His wife chatted about how great it was that we were doing this, she pointed at some felt and said did we want some, I politely declined because we had already spent a lot. She said no its a present from me, so I eagerly nodded. She went off and came back with her arms loaded with a3 sheets of felt and a felt bag for me. How wonderful. We paid and said goodbye.

We spent 600 lira on paint, 150 pounds. We had over 1000 pots of paint!

Next stop scissors paper and glue. We walled down a few streets and like magic we were suddenly in the art zone, I quickly grabbed scissors and glue another 100 lira / 25 pounds. Then paper. I grabbed 6 packs of a4 printing paper, not taking into consideration how heavy they were to carry through the maze of this bazaar. Each pack had 500 sheets in. Plenty. Finally we were done. What would take 1 hour and 1 shop took 4 hours and 20 shops in Istanbul!

600 lira on paint
50 on scissors 
50 on glue 
50 on paper

Total 750 lira / 180 pounds.

The looks on the kids faces over the next week while they do art? Priceless.

Thanks Matt for carrying it all!