Istanbul

An uneventful flight to Istanbul, only about 1 ½ hours from Bucharest. No problem going through passport control or customs and our driver was waiting for us. A quick stop to get some Turkish lira out of the ATM and we were on our way. Istanbul is spread over two continents, Europe and Asia, and I do believe that every one of its 17 million inhabitants were on the road from the airport to the old town! I will never complain about Austin traffic again!

We got to hotel and were told that there was a little problem and our reservation had been cancelled. Before we left the US, Ernie's credit card number has been stolen and we had replaced the card right away (with no losses to us, thank you Chase for being so attentive to strange charges.) we did get a notice from one of our hotel bookings that the card number was turned down and they asked for another card number. We didn't even think about the hotel here. So when the card was turned down, they released the reservation. Before we could even react to the news, the manager advised us that they arranged for a room for that night at the Ramada just around the corner and they would have a room for us the next night. The service here was amazing. The hotel,staff took our luggage down the street and we followed to the Ramada. They wouldn't even let us carry the bags. The Ramada invited us with open arms and we had a lovely night there followed by a great breakfast buffet. We had our bags ready for transfer before we left for our morning tour, the Hidden Istanbul.

Semis Önerbay was our guide and kept us going from 8:30 to 2:30. We were told to wear appropriate dress since we would be visiting several mosques (no bare arms and skirts or pants covering below the knees.) We were a small group of 6, one couple from Germany, one from Australia and us. We started at the Hippodrome and learned about the history of Istanbul. We then went to see the Egyptian obelisk. What was so interesting about this is that when the Romans finally got this stone obelisk to a port for to move this to Istanbul, they found it was too long for the boat so they cut of the bottom 10 feet. It then fit on the boat and they moved it to Istanbul.

We then went to the blue mosque. We had to wait in line to enter the mosque. Yes it was slow because there were so many people, but also because as you got closer to the entrance, you had to remove your shoes and the women had to cover their heads. There were stands with plastic bags for you to put your shoes in and carry them with you. Image my surprise when they put a wrap around my waist even though I wore a skirt that was well below my knees. Even more surprising was that Lawrence, the guy from Australia, was wearing shorts that ended above the knees and they didn't cover him. And yes there were other men in the mosque who were covered because their shorts were shorter than his. Semih just shook his head and said that's just the way it is for women. The mosque was massive and quite impressive.

 

Leaving the mosque, you put your shoes back on, throw out the plastic bag, return the covering the may have wrapped around your waist, shoulders or head and go on your way.

We then saw the Hagia Sophia but did not go in. Ernie and I will do that another day.

As we were walking to the next point, we passed this downer kebab shop. We couldn't believe the size of the meat being grilled.

Found out where to have a Turkish bath and plan on going tomorrow for the full treatment, including the massage. Need some serious relaxing time.

On to the Grand Bazaar! Oh my goodness, I thought the souk in Tangier was crowded. This made the souk look empty. There are over 4000 stalls in the Grand Bazaar.

This was a little stall in the bazaar selling copper goods.

We knew this tour was not for shopping the was OK with is. If you've ever been to the mercados in Mexico, this makes the Mexicans look like little old women. The trick to maneuvering through the bazaar and most of the streets in the old town is to not make eye contact with any vendor, if they start to talk to you don't acknowledge them, and whatever you do, don't shake hands with them. If you do they don't let go, they just walk you down to their shop and per steer the hell out of you under the guise of being your friend and getting to know you. They are relentless!

We stopped for a sample of borek which is a savory filled pastry. They are really good and this guys was so sweet!

Another kebap place and yet another person commenting on Ernie's great moustache. I am so tired of having to stop so people can take his picture! Seriously I think it's grand and get as big a kick out of it as he does.

On to the water pipe lounges. They do now smoke tobacco in the water pipes but all different sorts of fruits, herbs and flowers. We smoked roses and mint and it was soooooo good, really left your mouth feeling refreshed. We also had Turkish tea or coffee.

This little guy lit our hooka, brought our teas and coffees and water afterwards.

After about 45 minutes with the pipe and drinks, we went to the largest mosque in Istanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque. Since it was getting close to the call for prayer, there were several men at the ablution stations preparing themselves. Semih explains the ritual. It is quite intense and in depth.

On the way to the ablution stations, we passed the funeral tables. They are not allowed to have the funerals in the mosque, so they place the coffin on this table and the family and mourners gather round while they have the funeral service.

We also saw a young couple getting ready to be married.

 

The imam is leading the prayer service

This is the view of the European side of Istanbul.

Here's the Asia side of Istanbul, across the Gold Horn and the Bosphorus Strait. We'll be taking a tour of the Strait on Monday.

Yet another donar kebap shop but this guy uses charcoal to cook the meat and Semih said the taste is so much better than the ones cooked on the electric rotisserie.

I don't know if you've ever tasted Turkish Delight but what you get in the US and other parts of the world are pretty yucky. Oops there goes the last call to prayer for today. It is blasted by loudspeakers from miniarets all over the city. Thankfully I'm still awake. Wonder how Ernie will do with the call the comes right before sunrise? Back to the Turkish Delight. We went to this spice and sweets shop for tastings of real Turkish Delight. Oh my, it is so very good. After eating this, I have to try to make it. They use real fruit, chestnut honey and tons of nuts. I am so hooked on this stuff!!!

I spoiled myself and bought some Iranian saffron, the best in the world. If you've ever used saffron, you know how expensive the good stuff is! Here it is TL35/gram. That translates to about $17/gram. This stuff is so potent that you can steep it in cold water (only three strands in this bottle of tap water) and see the color change. The infusion starts almost immediately. Can't wait to get home and start cooking with it!

Forgot to mention that prior to the spice bazaar, we stopped for lunch in this little corner shop. They had around 10 tables in the entire place. We had the best kebabs I've ever tasted. I had the chicken and some of the other folks had the beef/lamb mixture along with salad, bulgar, pita bread, roasted peppers and fresh cilantro. So very good.

Another very hot and humid day but oh so much fun! Turkish bath tomorrow and some down time before we hit the trail again on Monday.

Call to prayer has ended now, Ernie's down in the bar watching World Cup soccer and I'm going to call it a night.

Sleep tight!

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