Turkish Music in My Ears

I have always loved studying history, and particularly the art and culture of the ancient world. As a young teen I was particularly drawn to the jewellery of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Ottoman empire, fascinated not only by their design, but by their sheer age. I used to like to imagine the young women who would wear these pieces: what life must have been like for them, how they must have felt.

Nowadays I am still drawn to antique jewellery, or modern replicas of them. When I travel overseas, I always find myself spending a lot of shopping time looking at (and buying) ethnic jewellery.

I hankered after these earrings for a couple of weeks before I finally bought them, from Palm Beads, a Melbourne boutique I have been shopping at for nearly 20 years. They quickly became favourites. Abdul, one of the staff, informed me that they were made with replicas of Turkish coins. They are quite heavy, and dangle like a cluster of grapes from my ears, jingling gently when I walk…

Exotic music in my ears that makes me long to walk once more through the bazaars and souqs of the East, with foreign coins jingling in my purse.