Loose planks serve as makeshift bridges across a muddy stream The rocky dirt road ends halfway through the quarter

Loose planks serve as makeshift bridges across a muddy stream The rocky dirt road ends halfway through the quarter. Many of the houses are accessible only by scrambling up the steep hillsides. When it rains, Ayazma is a sea of mud. The inhabitants rely on electricity for heating during Istanbul's bitterly cold winters, and power cuts are frequent Their houses are poorly insulated. They use waste plastic as fuel for the hut that serves as a bakery.Ayazma is situated on the European side of Istanbul. The E80 motorway, which connects Turkey to Europe's road network, passes within walking distance But Mr Kaya did not know he lived in Europe. "Do you mean they've sold Istanbul to Europe?" he joked.Mr Kaya is doing better than most of Ayazma's inhabitants.

His was the first house here to be connected to the water mains. Most locals collect their water from a tank, where the municipality delivers fresh supplies each week. Mr Kaya connected his own pipe to the main and started stealing water. When the municipality found out, it let Mr Kaya keep his pipe, but fitted a meter.

He also has a satellite dish, which he shares with two other families. There are three satellite dishes in Ayazma.The Kurds save hard for a satellite television: Kurdish language broadcasting is illegal in Turkey, but Med TV, a Kurdish station, broadcasts by satellite from London.Gecekondu means "it arrived in the night". The shanty town houses are built illegally on government land, and construction is rushed so it can be finished before the authorities find out. When Mr Kaya built his first gecekondu house, the municipality demolished it Undeterred, he built his current house in 10 days. The tiny, three-room bungalow houses Mr Kaya, his wife and four children.

The roof is made of scrap metal; loose carpet tiles cover the dirt floor. Mr Kaya is building an extension.Istanbul Municipality has ambitious plans to move all those living in gecekondus into new apartments, paid for by the state. But the mayor says the municipality cannot keep pace with the rate of immigration to the city. He wants the government to introduce a permit system, forcing those who want to move to Istanbul to apply for permission, and prove they have a job and somewhere to stay in the city."Nobody chooses to come here," says Mr Kaya. "All the Kurds came under force." He used to own a roadside shop near Turkey's border with Iraq.