Another Slice of Life in Istanbul

Ramazan Pide
Getting bread delivered to our door everyday is a luxury we take for granted in Istanbul. Three times a day our Kapaci (building handyman) delivers hot loaves of bread to a basket hanging on our doorknob (8am, 10am and 3pm).
All of the loaves are baked in massive ovens over wood fires...I watched a few days ago as one of the local bakers pulled 75 loaves from one shelf of the oven, shuttling them out with a 15 foot long wooden rake.
With bread regarded as the "substance of life" and sacred in Middle Eastern cultures, having fresh bread is nothing less than a daily necessity. In fact bread that is more than a few hours old is deemed inedible and whisked away to be fed to the birds, or dropped in the sea to feed the fish. While old bread can be left for the birds or animals...it would be taboo to throw it away.For less than 50 cents a day we get hot bread and a great slice of Turkish culture.