Lost and sound

My apartment keeps getting lost. I'm not lost, I usually know exactly where I am which is a huge triumph for someone with the non-sense of direction that I have. I am amazed at how much of what I can reach on foot I remember from previous trips and it's really nice. But finding my apartment is a challenge. There's a lot of wandering. I've passed it twice already without seeing it and I'm sure the guys in the surrounding shops must be getting a good laugh out of that as they don't seem to miss much that goes on in this quiet street.

Part of the problem is that the street I live on curves and does a sharp u-turn, and it's not the only one. It's surrounded by other little streets that jut and curve and twist up and down hills. The hills are incredibly steep, even giving way to streets made up of sharply ascending and descending stone steps which allow for amazing views of the Bosphorous through the crowded stacks of buildings. It's a good place for wandering, but if you're me and you really need a cup of coffee and can't find the cafes it can make for a cranky afternoon.

But now it's late and I'm safely home and just got up to investigate the funny tapping, falling sound outside my kitchen window. It turns out to be two men across the street. They have set up a table on the sidewalk in front of their shop and are playing backgammon. That explains that sound, but the one from this morning is still a mystery. I was almost dressed and ready to leave when I heard a strange sound, almost like a cuckoo clock. I tracked it down to a box near my door. There are three boxes near my door and I have no idea what any of them are for.

The box kept cuckooing and I kept staring at it and wondering what it meant and hoping it's not some kind of fire alarm. It's possible it was someone ringing a bell downstairs, but I wasn't dressed and didn't want to check. Next time I have a friend over I will have them ring the downstairs bell, assuming there even is one and see if that solves the mystery.