Sometimes something will happen and it will be hilariously unexpected. When I had finished my meal and Turkish coffee at the new Turkish Bazaar restaurant and shop, I did not expect the owner to say, “give me your hand” and then pour my warm coffee grounds on my palms before proceeding to massage and exfoliate my hands. Made me laugh out loud.
The front of the restaurant.
Dhaka becomes more cosmopolitan day by day. In June 2012, Turkish Bazaar opened up in Banani, on Road 10. They serve healthy food and it’s probably the best Turkish food in Dhaka. I will be back for the food but also for another Turkish coffee.
Getting Mehendi, or henna, is usually associated with Bangladeshi wedding holuds (bridal shower), but it can also be done for other celebrations. Sometimes the celebration is the celebration of friendship bonding.
Mehendi flower on the palm.
Mehendi is a temporary tattoo of curling designs done on the feet, legs, hands, and arms. The ladies who do it are quick and the talents vary just as with any craft. The actual tubes they use are long thing cones made of foil paper. Depending on how much Mehendi you get done, it is fairly quick. A hand can take fifteen minutes. What takes a long time is waiting for the dye to dry. The Mehendi can be all natural or synthetic and it comes in several colors. The paste is usually a dark vegetable green but the resulting color may be orange, brown, or black. Once the Mehendi dries, the paste cracks and it will itch. The best way to remove the paste is with olive oil. I found using a spoon also helped.
Scraping the Mehendi paste off with olive oil.Mehendi hands of friends.
A few weeks ago, a friend was departing for the U.S. and she wanted Mehendi. It would be clear that she had arrived from the ‘desh! Deshi style!
Even your furniture can wear jewelry. Dhaka is the place to get it made. In Gulshan, an expat, makes bead necklaces from her own designs, and to custom made. Many of the beads are from Nigeria, India, and Ghana. Some beads are made by women who have been rescued from a life on the streets so if you buy a necklace with these beads, then you can feel like you have done some good in the world. While still looking pretty.
A necklace for every neck in your home.The jewelry maker.Every color under the sun.Mirror glass long necklace.Necklace for the table. Why not?
Bangladesh is a crowded country so getting away from the madding crowd for a quiet “date” with someone you are courting or being courted by… is somewhat a matter of real estate. Famous Lalbagh Fort, considered a mini Taj Mahal, looks quite different from what is shown on the Amazing Race TV show, but it is worth visiting. There is a mausoleum built by a grieving father, a harem with baths, sweet smelling flowers, and a 300-year-old pool. Interestingly, what makes the fort so attractive is not the tomb, pool, or harem. In a crowded country, the walkways and niches provide a private place in a public space for young Bangladeshi couples to court. This a romantic place and there must be something in the air.
Lalbagh Fort’s mausoleum to two daughters.
Love rocks!
Courting Deshi couples wait outside the gate for the Fort to open.The harem at Lalbagh Fort with the crowded apartment blocks just outside the fence.
One part of being a “good tourist” is visiting organizations and shops run as non-profits. In Luang Prabang, Laos, we saw paper being made by hand. Every stage of the process was visible and it seemed like the job was not the worst in the world… “what do you do all day?” “I make paper with flowers on it.”
In Bangladesh there are many happy (and bittersweet) opportunities for decorating the house with lights. For a farewell party last week, professional lighting guys arrived in the morning and strung (and flung) lights on the trees, gate, and house.
Draping lights off the roof.
There is a famous company here in Dhaka called Banani Decorators who charge around 6,000 Taka per day ($80) but my friend has a friend who knows a guy who is the guy… 3,500 Taka ($45) for the first day and 2,500 Taka for the second day. This price includes labor and lights. Always be friendly and ask around. Find out who the “nodes” of the social world and “get up and go” kind of people are… they will set you up. Plus, a proactive type personality will probably also help you with the music, logistics, etc… and even be a good friend.
The magical result.Tape and lights.Weaving lights through the tree.
The Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia) has survived so much history that it seems impossible for more stories to be added to her walls. But, she can support it all. One of my favorites, this is possibly the greatest building ever built.
Designing your own tablecloth (or material for any use) is another fun thing to do in Dhaka.
Spray painting design
You pick out the block pattern from giant pattern books, choose the cloth (dyed or untreated), choose the colors and pattern. You can even have your own blocks designed if you want something specific put on the cloth. If you don’t want block printed designs, you can get a spray painted design.
Hand applied paints.
An eight foot long tablecloth costs around 3,000 Taka ($33). Get it while you’re here!
One of the splendid things about life in Bangladesh is having clothes tailor-made.
Block printed vegetable dye cloth and made in Bangladesh.
You can select every detail of the clothing and they can make it for you (or better yet, give the tailor a sample to copy). Or if you want to be on the cusp of fashion, you can shop from a fashion designer.
Buy the cloth. Let them tell you how much you’ll need. Take the cloth home and wash it to allow for shrinking. Buy decorations, edging, trim which is called “ribbon” here.
Western-style shirt made from popular saree material.
Take to your favorite tailor and have them sew it for it. If you take a sample of something you would like copied or a print out from the computer, the tailors will have an easier time of copying your design. Some can turn it around in a week. Others take four. Keep trying out different tailors or stick to one that you like. It costs (for an expat/foreigner) about 600 Taka ($8) for the tailoring. The cost of the cloth depends on what you buy. For a business style shirt (like at Banana Republic or Ann Taylor) of high grade cotton from India, it would cost around 800 Taka ($10) for the material itself.
So, economically speaking, you can buy cheaper clothes (even here) ready made. But it’s much more fun to design the clothes yourself!
In another posting, I will show more of what expats are wearing here in Dhaka.
From the bump and whizz of a car, it has been hard to get a good photo of the famous national assembly building designed by Louis Kahn. Here is my best shot so far. I will take a closer look at some point.
Today I received many gifts… in many splendid colors. I went to explore the market near the good banana salesman.
Paints of many colors and a brush of inditerminate bristles.
It’s near Rickshaw Road. This time, I went to more of the shops and I will go back to capture more of the photo-ops… like the saree salesman with a foot pedal sewing machine, but mostly, because there is so much more to explore! Today, I got some good shopping done and I completely forgot to haggle. Mostly, I’m overly joyed to have found a shop selling paint. It was like receiving a Christmas gift! Now I just need canvas or jute paper to paint on.
The red teflon wok with lid on the mesh grocery bag... these mesh bags are typical here.
I bought the paints for around 120 Taka a can ($1.25 per espresso cup size can). I got a red wok for 1,200 Taka ($15) and I’m pleased with the hearty red color. I may go back and buy the rest of the set once the salesman has more pots and pans in red. I also found some touristy mugs. I liked the smaller size and I will go back and buy more since they appear to be made in Bangladesh. The bigger ones are made in China… I will send them as gifts but I actually like the smaller ones better (and they only cost $0.95). The squat ones seem to have more sass.
The squat mug was better made and not chipped.
NOTE: The shawl in the photo is actually Pakistani and not typical of here.
The blazing sandblasted sunlight of day in Doha dispels the mystery of the nighttime souk. The new Museum of Islamic Art on the crescent shaped harbor hovers like a pyramid or a citadel. The palatial ramp leads to palm trees and a fountain. Inside it is cool and quiet. The large atrium is the main theme with a spiral staircase hardly breaks the vast sense of space inside the museum. The multiple stories of the museum all open up inside to the cavernous central space. The museum is free although the special exhibits cost money. I had only a short time so I stuck to the permanent galleries. And the bathroom. The ladies prayer room and toilet is down one side of a rest area. This area harkened back to earlier Islamic design with a wall with fretwork cut out casting a dramatic pattern of dappled lights on the tables and chairs. Skyscraper high glass panes reveal a rising skyline emerging in the desert along the green waters of Doha… allowing you to emerge from the small dark galleries filled with 8th century glass incense jars the size of a thimble… to a looking glass of the world as Qatar is now… the skating rink and the yogurt marinated chicken kabob photos are from the mall… Doha’s largest…
