TURKEY December 20, 2009: Americans in Turkey – Day 4

Hi all –

Where to begin.. It was a very busy day..
First – it was warm(ish) .. About high 50s, maybe even 60 at mid-day. Balmy breezes; not really sunny, but a perfect day for walking  and traveling. No rain (although it is really pouring now (11 pm)..)

We took off in the morning for Ortakoy, a small neighborhood across  the Golden Horn from Sultanameht (where we are staying)… We  thought it would be best to take a ferry up the Bosphorous to get  there, but alas no ferries operate that way, so we took the metro (tram)  and then transferred to a city bus. Ortyakoy is a sweet little village on the water and is much like any waterside town – a bit of  honky tonk, lots of shops (that don’t sell much of anything  substantial) and weird kind of fast food restaurants (that sell huge baked potatoes with all sorts of fillings that you choose – olives, cheese, yogurt, pickles, corn, peas, sausages, beets, hummus, mushrooms, etc. and toppings like ketchup, salsa, butter, mustard, etc.) and waffles onto which you can put fresh or canned fruits,  nuts, syrups, preserved cherries, apricots, etc. nutella.. and more. Eventually we caved in and shared a potato, but limited the fillings to hummus, yogurt and corn – which the vendor thought was quite bare.

We sat at the river for a while contemplating how peaceful the area was — just 15 minutes from downtown bustling Istanbul, and then headed  back.. This time we took the tram all the way to another part of the city — Fatih, which is supposed to be a very conservative Muslim community. We walked the neighborhood for a few hours – a real working class area––pretty nondescript, and eventually went to a little park, across from a hospital and just watched the activities.  Pretty tame – parents and kids on swings and typical park  accessories. Probably the only things different from a little park  in the Bay Area were fathers smoking and moms with head scarves. (Mike and I busied ourselves with a game of scrabble on my Iphone.)

At some point, a group of young people asked us to photograph them. Lo and behold they were Turkish students who had been selected to be Fulbrighters and who had lived in the states – both in California.

The little park is close to an old Roman Aqueduct that traverses the  major road.. An interesting mix of old and new.. With the cars on grade level going  directly through the arches.. The arches looming high above and kids walking and playing on the top of the aqueduct! The city is like  that – old and new just sort of living in the same space.

From Fatih, we hopped a cab (for speed) to the funicular in the  Karakoy neighborhood. We heard the area above Karakoy (fishmarket  area where we had the great lunch yesterday) was interesting. Got  out of the cab to catch the funicular up the hill – a pretty fast  ride going at about a 10% slope – much more modern than funiculars we’ve taken in Chile and other countries. When we disembarked and  got to the street we had a big surprise – blocks and blocks of  walking streets – thousands and thousands of people just walking back and forth… It was noisy and jovial. The streets were lined with 19th century facade buildings whose first floors  were transformed into quite modern shops, with every conceivable American chain store from North Face to Starbucks, but the walking  areas were so wide and so packed that the commercial ventures were  almost backdrops and not the main attraction. Off this grand carless “boulevard” were scores of little alleys filled with cafes and shops that sold local handmade goods, and small restaurants. Music was blasting from shops and cafes, and everyone seemed to be having a  great time. Indeed, on the second floor of one great old building an event was taking place and you could see straight into the ballroom and people were doing the hora (or maybe a Turkish equivalent!!)

After spending way more time there than we had anticipated, we headed back downhill.

I chatted with several of the craftspeople on the side streets and  learned that many of the shops selling crafts were doing the work as families – mothers, daughters, sisters, etc.

After getting back to the hotel, we headed off to our last dinner in Istanbul (and a pre-birthday for Mike, especially since I had no idea where and if I’d find a good restaurant in Haran or Urfa, our next stops and where we’ll be on Monday for his real birthday.. not sure what to expect there as we were never able to connect with any hotel…

Asitane was quite a culinary experience…. The menu was created by researching the origins of the menus from various Ottoman palaces, through writings.. Apparently the recipes were secret… they got the information from writings and then attempted to recreate the food based on what was written about what things tasted like and what ingredients were in the dishes..

So — they ate pretty well in the 15th and 16th centuries.. We purposefully picked items from the oldest periods….appetizers —  cabbage rolls stuffed with spiced chestnuts; spiced bulghar with nuts; main courses: quince stuffed with spiced minced lamb with cinnamon and other stuff; lamb casserole with almonds, figs, and apricots; dessert: pomegranate and other fruits in rosewater.. Food was fantastic, but it was sad as we were the only people eating.. The restaurant is quite off the beaten path.. and it was a Sunday night. Setting was elegant, but in a weird part of town.

We’re packing up now and bidding a fond farewell to Istanbul… which is a much better city, but less exotic, than I remembered.. probably because 20 years ago it was the first Muslim country I had visited, so the sounds and the calls to prayer and the prevalence of mosques was new and different. Less so for me now.

Take care — If I have cell and Internet service in Urfa you’ll hear from us… if not.. best for the holidays
Fern