Leah and Bill take Eurasia 2005
Turkey
ISTANBUL
We got a lengthy unexpected tour of the old part of the city, close up and personal, when our driver from the airport first forgot which hotel to take us to, then got lost and had no idea where it was even after I handed him a brochure with map. We saw a lot of the 'real' Istanbul, not the well touristed hotel district, including a man with a two-wheeled hand cart full of exceedingly fresh lettuce, radishes, carrots and squash that we had to wait for in order to proceed down the street. Once again...old city, narrow streets, and these two elements don't mix well with a lost driver. TWICE we headed down a one-lane street and met oncoming traffic head-on, only to have to turn around 180 degrees (back, forward, back, forward, over curb, damage car, back, forward, back, forward, etc.) But we got to see a LOT of stuff, some of it two and three times!
When we finally got to the Hotel Adonis Palace we were greeted by friendly Hassim who made us feel at home, and even served us a welcome beer. A quick nap and we hit the streets to find a lively restaurant district full of al fresco dining, wandering musicians (like mariachis, but playing mysterious instruments we never saw before), singing and dancing customers--no doubt already into the local drink "raki" which tastes like licorice and has a wicked wallop. A fun introduction to this colorful culture!
Our first breakfast was provided as part of the price of the room and was perfectly splendid. It was a typical Turkish buffet of incredibly soft fresh bread (the Turks eat TONS of bread with every meal), butter, jam, honey, and the local fruit in syrup plus fresh plums, peaches and watermelon (sounds pretty normal so far, right?) plus hard-boiled eggs, a heaping bowl of tart green olives, another of pungent black ones, wedges of tomatoes and big slabs of feta cheese. Delicious!
Typical Turkish Breakfast
The coffee was mix-your-own-as-strong-as-you-want-it, finely ground and it sinks to the bottom to brew right in the cup, leaving a thick sludge in the bottom. And in what looked like the coffee urn was hot tea so strong it looked like coffee. The Turkish are very into their tea and drink it all hours of the day and night, often socializing in tea houses (instead of bars -- this is a predominantly Muslim country).
We spent most of today seeing the biggest and most impressive mosques, all from different periods. I was enthralled with Aya Sofia (or "Hagia Sofia" as it was called when I studied it in Art History in college):
Aya Sofia
Built in the year 537 as a Christian church, it was immense and a technological marvel for its time, with a gigantic expanse of unsupported dome and everything covered in gold mosaic (tiny, tiny mosaic pieces the size of half your little fingernail.) It was turned into a mosque in the 1400s when the Ottomans took over and remains so today with lots of Muslim decorations and touches even though the original mosaics of Jesus and the Virgin Mary still adorn the walls and are protected by the Muslims along with many other important Christian art and artifacts from the past. What an interesting juxtaposition in the same house of worship, and a beautiful example of harmony and diversity at its finest.
Our visit to the Sulimanye Mosque, which is more recently built (only a few centuries) and whose entire history has been as a mosque, was educational as well. After removing our shoes and my donning a scarf around my head and shoulders, we entered to find a large expanse of ... a totally carpeted interior devoid of furniture. Colored windows and a spiritually inspiring amount of light from the chandelier with a 60-plus foot diameter circle of lights seemed familiar as a part of a house of worship. But it felt empty by our own expectations, till you think about the fact that Muslim prayers take place on the floor in a kneeling position; no need for furniture. We were saddened to see so many visitors disrespect the few requests made of them: to stay in the rear of the mosque as people are praying in the front, for women to wear a scarf (provided outside the mosque if needed), and no shorts. It was a hot day but we went prepared, me in a long skirt, Bill in long pants (which he hates.) We enjoyed both visits a great deal.
Me in my scarf in Aya Sofia
We completed the last activity of the afternoon with Bill negotiating a small purchase of collectible foreign money in the marketplace -- some unusual and colorful bills from Yemen, Turkey (old vintage, some from the Ottoman Empire) and Iraq (also old, including Sadaam's picture!)
Ultimately, after negotiating the price in three currencies with a man who spoke no English, Bill closed the deal with hand gestures for 10 US dollars. I have already learned a few Turkish words and phrases, but couldn't help here!
We joined the Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door tour and the rest of our stay in Turkey is with the tour group. Here is a map that shows our destinations:
We finished up our visit to Istanbul with a tour of the Underground cistern that fed the water systems of Constantinople back in the 6th century, the wildly colorful (both people and products) of the Grand Bazaar, the Topkapi Palace - home of centuries of sultans, and the exotic Egyptian Spice Market. The assertive vendors used some creative tactics to sell their wares, such as "Lady, you want some dried apricots? They make for good sex!" and "These are pumpkin seeds….very good sex!" and "Try these, good sex!" and so on.
The spice market in Istanbul - the spices were the most beautiful,
but the nuts and dried fruits were the most tempting!
Then we took an overnight train from Istanbul to Ankara (it was quite an experience - not great for sleeping, but it was like a big slumber party on wheels with our fellow tour group! How many adults can you pack into a sleeper compartment? Twelve. And if you have ever seen one of these compartments, you know that that is quite a feat.
After spending the morning in Ankara (the nation's capital) seeing artifacts that date back to 8000 years BC -- including delicate blown glass that has survived the ages! -- we rode four hours by bus over the plains, which looks amazingly like Kansas...but with fewer trees, if you can believe it! We also visited the memorial and tomb of the great Turkish leader Ataturk. He was the first elected leader of Turkey, ending the rule of the Sultans in 1923, and brought Turkey into the modern age. Bill captured a moment during the changing of the guard at his memorial:
The changing of the guard at Ataturk's memorial.
They are in lock-step!
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