There is a common saying in Turkey “Yavaş, yavaş,” pronounced “yavash, yavash,” which, when translated directly, comes out as “slowly by slowly.” At first, I thought that this phrase was appropriate for use during a careening ride with my husband through Istanbul, but he disabused me of this notion, saying “it is more a way of life than a direction for a driver to chill on the gas pedal!” I thought about it some more, sure in my etymological superiority that my husband’s pretty good but not great English was the meaning of its intent. Over the years, I stopped trying to correct the round peg of yavaş yavaş into the square whole English language concept of “little by little.” My husband would always say the same thing, explaining “that takes the true meaning out of it, bleaches it like clothes under the Aegean sun for too long so you lose the color.”
Slowly-by-Slowly 
Nice blog! Thanks for linking me in your blogroll! I will add you to mine!
İt is so nice blog.
Cem – Thank you so much for the feedback! It is a personal labor of love – but I am interested to know more in what you enjoy most about it! Best, Liz
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this internet can be a great desert sometimes…but sometimes one discovers a welcome oasis.
life lived between different worlds is wonderful, vexing and consuming.
– many thanks for the pictures and words
Nice Blog, I was wondering whether you could possibly forward information on the design & costumes of the puppets ( Especially Karagöz and Hacivad), as I am writing an essay on Turkish Puppet Theatre. Thanks!
Thank you so much for commenting – I wish I could help you – there is so little about the design and costume of the puppets in English either in print or on the web – and I have nothing to offer! Emin Senyer’s website is wonderful – and a google search will bring up a lot, but I fear not much you can cite for a hard-core academic paper! I would love to have you as a guest writer on the blog if you would like me to publish your essay! Let me know – ecmaclean@gmail.com
Good luck with your writing!
Like your blog!
Thank you so much for visiting slowly by slowly, and for your very kind comments. It is always nice to get a positive response. I hope you will enjoy these posts and can find something in them for yourself. Best, Liz
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Great blog! I love the puppets theme too 🙂
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