'Temporary' electrical power breaks are very common to Turkey and they have been, at least during the 30 plus years we've 'known' her. Usually, electrical power outages are very short-lived -- lasting minutes, at most. But, sometimes they can last for hours... or more, in extreme cases. And, they're not something we suffer lightly due to our dependence on electrical power for everything from food preservation to computers to home-entertainment.
So, when we decided to set-up house here in 1992, we linked inexpensive Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPS) to each of our four 'critical' electrical power junctions -- which can keep them operating individually for about 10 minutes on battery power (until, hopefully, normal electric power returns).
But for more serious defense against longer 'brown-out' periods, we invested in a high-performance Honda generator (Model Em 4500S) that runs on regular gasoline/petrol. When electrical power goes (and stays gone for more than two or three minutes) we press our Honda Generator button from inside our home, and presto! We can operate our whole home for up-to 6 hours on a single tank of gas/petrol. And it's been a godsend...
In one extreme case, our Honda Generator saw us through a very nasty 10-day electrical power outage. We were the only home in our village of 86 homes that had any electrical power during that 'bad patch'. We shared what things we could with our neighbors (like hot water), but...we also made sure to touch our 'mavi boncuk' (Turkish good luck amulet that wards off the 'evil eye') every time we passed it -- in a superstitious gesture of appreciation for our protective-uncle, the Honda Generator...
[Click following to access a fully illustrated HTML version of Our protective uncle, the Honda generator.]
Jim and (co-author) Perihan Masters are a husband and wife team, living on the Aegean Coast of Turkey just 50 miles south of Izmir. Jim was born in Shanghai, China -- of American military parentage. Peri was born on the Black Sea coast of Turkey near Trabzon, of Turkish military parentage...Enticed by a Financial Times advertisement, Jim joined a NATO sponsored enterprise in Ankara in 1974 where he met the beautiful and brainy Perihan, a rising young Turkish banking executive. Settled now in the heart of what was once the ancient Ionian Empire -- the couple live an idyllic life by the sea.. writing, drawing and painting, teaching English, and providing computing service support to local businesses. They also sponsor the MSNBC award-winning Learning Practical Turkish Website which has built an enthusiastic international following of devoted Turkophiles and inquisitive language students of all ages.
by Jim Masters
Tags: power outages, aegean coast, electrical power, whole home, extreme case, wife team <BR/>Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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