December 25 evening and misc.

Forgot to mention that we stumbled upon a local women’s co-op in Goreme.. a hole-in-the-wall shop making wonderfully embroidered necklaces and bracelets. The woman in the shop – Muslim with head scarf – was quite friendly and we chatted (although language was a challenge)  in short sentences with small words..  Seems as if she and her sister were making these items and selling at a local market. They did well, with people liking the stuff – especially tourists, I presume – and so they taught some other women to make the items and some other items as well.. and about 3 years ago the 10 women opened the shop. They could use a bit of marketing help, and I have to admit that with each of these trips I consider the possibility of spending some time in several of these developing countries – especially in smaller villages — to provide some kind of help, but then I always fear the inevitable — some kind of commercialization and change in the product??

Anyway, tonight we headed out to dinner in Urgup to a restaurant we had read about called Ahra — supposedly they serve the best “manti”.. which we learned are very very tiny gnochi-like pasta with lamb stuffed inside, served warm on a bed of roasted tomatoes, with a tangy Greek-style yogurt on top, and a tiny splash of chili oil.

We had the address, and Urgup is quite small as you might imagine (population 17,000 — about the size of Albany, CA). It has one main street that sort of meanders and as everywhere in this region, it has lots of levels and steps going up and down streets. (Accessibility is clearly not a high priority anywhere here.)

We drove into town (having already walked back and forth from the hotel to the center a few times) and thought we knew where the place was. Well after a few failed attempts, we asked some people. First a man on the street who told us to park our car and just walk 50 meters.. well that was definitely wrong. Then we asked another guy.. standing with a group of men.. They talked about it.. and discussed it and I could see that if they did know the restaurant, they could not describe to us how to get there.. Finally, one guy said to wait (while he got his take-out “pide” — a Turkish pizza) and then he and his friend would show us the way. OK.. a plan. They had a motor bike.

We waited.. they got their pizza (to go) and we followed the motor bike (a bit reminiscent of following the cops in Urfa, but no lights flashing).

As he slowed down and pointed to a restaurant… we looked up and it was not Ahra. He left (to eat his pizza I assume) and he took us to a different restaurant probably owned by a relative.

Now we were determined to find Ahra. So we went back to our cave hotel and asked there. Again, lots of discussion. Four men at the hotel (all various workers) argued back and forth with lots of hand motions.. about what directions to give. Now I thought the restaurant must be out of town or something.. Anyway, one of them decided to draw a map (no one – not even the hotel – seems to have a map of the town).. with lots of landmarks.. Two of the guys spoke no English; the third’s English was sort of like my Spanish.. lots of words but very little in the way of verbs and grammar.  However we finally got the map to make sense with landmarks like the clock tower, a bank, the hamam, etc… And off we went — only to wind up at that same restaurant that the motorbike took us to… We rolled down the window and asked where Ahra was .. and learned that the restaurant had changed its name.. same “chief” they told us, just new name.

OK.. mission accomplished: manti was wonderful and we also shared a pistachio stuffed steak.

Take care –
More tomorrow when we explore the Ilyhara Valley and attempt to find a pottery workshop in Avanos.
Fern

Merry Christmas.
If I have the time correct, it’s Christmas morning in California and NY and Hawaii and Chicago and NY and Phoenix; and it’s already evening here in Turkey, and in some other places where this email is headed.  So Merry Merry..

There is no sign of Christmas here in Turkey … No Santas, no decorations, no singing.
We spent a wonderful day today exploring dozens of magical centuries-old communities built into the rock formations here in Urgup, Goreme, Avanos, and a several other towns nearby. The weather has been perfect. We hiked about a mile and a half — pretty steep terrain — into one of the cave areas to see one of thousands of “cave churches;” it’s really hard to describe the formations and the remains of these settlements. Maybe “lost in space?” or “mushroom villages”… They refer to them hear as “fairytale chimney villages”.. That works for me.

What’s really fantastic is seeing contemporary life going on literally next door to some of these places and/or inside them.

The Yunak Evrli Hotel is still quite amazing; seeing it in daylight was even better than night time. And our little 750 sq ft cave works just fine; getting used to all the levels.

I’m convinced that the tool that’s revolutionizing the globe is the cell phone. It’s quite funny to see them used by everyone from ages 8 to 80… in these very remote places. And of course it’s been great that Mike and I are carrying phones, so we can locate each other — which is sometimes a problem. I’m totally amazed that reception is as good as it is.. We are often separated by our wanderings.. and then a quick call.. and we at least know the other is still alive.. describing where we each are is another matter!

We’re glad we decided to stay here for four days. I gather most people just fly in for a day or overnight. There’s tons to see. Tomorrow we’re going to do the 4-mile hike in the Ilhyara Valley and also head to several more towns in the vicinity.

We’re off to dinner now to try the “manti”.. which is a specialty of this region.. described as Turkish ravioli.. but I think they are dumplings filled with lamb and yogurt.. I’ll let you know tomorrow.

Ciao –

Fern

PS to Andy — Did you see us waving from the “window” of the cave in Goreme? We were trying to find you.

December 24 in Urgup, Turkey

I think I left off on the 22nd after we arrived at the Four Seasons, following our visit to Harran… in our “no-star” hotel… and the police escort story… Photos include Four Seasons… from nights of 22nd and 23rd.

So, yesterday (Dec 23)  was somewhat uneventful – a gray, but totally pleasant day – strolling Istanbul, with a brief stop at the Jewish Museum which is located in an old synagogue. The exhibit stresses the good relationship between the Jews and the Turks over many centuries and how the Turks supported many Jews during WWII — offering a haven against persecution. (Later in the day, it was interesting that when we stopped in a small shop, the  owner chatted with us a bit and revealed that he and the entire staff (all family) were Jewish and he explained his own background and that of his family.)

The days are quite short, made even more so by the fact that skies are pretty gray — so we ended our last night in Istanbul with dinner at an old restaurant somewhat far afield from where we were staying — up on the top floor (where the restaurant takes up the whole building — small building with small footprint) — 5 stories up, walking up a spiral staircase to a room with about 5 tables. It probably has a good view of the city in good weather. Won’t go into the menu, because it’s difficult to get a bad meal here.

We began Christmas Eve morning (which looked like it would be a nice sunny day — and much warmer than it had been in prior days) headed to the Istanbul Airport (now our fourth time)  By now we know the routine — plane will always be late, so just find a good place to wait… and have some reading materials available.

As we boarded the bus to the plane (to head to Kayseri) we were squooshed together with a very well-dressed Turkish couple whose English was impeccable. She was carrying a shopping bag of very well wrapped presents which she then told me were for her son in the Army (definitely the classiest gifts any soldier will receive this season). Like Finland and other countries, serving in the Turkish Army is compulsory (perhaps the great equalizer?). Turns out her son is stationed in Kayseri and they were visiting for the holidays (obviously not Muslims).

By the time we boarded the plane, we were fast friends and I learned that she had spent several childhood years in Knoxville, Tennessee. I laughed because I had detected a slight southern accent, but had been more struck by the fact that her English was flawless and had no hint of Turkish (which was, I believe the first time we encountered this)… Anyway, turns out that she and her husband also own a place in Boca Raton, Florida – where another son lives. We chatted a bit about Florida and how frequently they travel there (exchanging phone numbers – because she wanted us to have an emergency number after she realized we’d be traveling alone – without guides through to Antalya)…  After we deplaned and waited for baggage (yes we are checking bags for these small planes, especially since there are no upgrades), we chatted some more and she recalled a funny story:

She was in Boca and wanted to use the parking space belonging to a neighbor whom she didn’t know. When she saw the neighbor begin to pull out of the space, she ran to the car and blurted out “Are you’all fixin’ to leave now?” in a southern accent that she said comes to her when she’s tired… The Boca woman agreed to have her use the space, but then asked where she was from and she answered “Turkey”.. The Boca woman said “Oh — you must be from the Southern part of Turkey because of your accent!”

OK.. we rented the car, which was a kick, since once again EuropCar was not actually at the airport. But, a rep was waiting for us after we got out of the airport (it’s a very very small airport). He drove us to the office (explaining in the car how he sold carpets on the side—we tried to ignore that part of the conversation) and we signed all the papers and headed to Urgup. The drive was fairly easy — passing many of the cave dwellings , some inhabited, many abandoned — and signage good, until we got to the little village of Urgup. We asked several people and were eventually directed up the hill to Yunak Everli a cluster of 40 rooms built into an original set of 6 large cave houses and a mansion. We have a cave (with a definite 5 star rating) that is about 750 sq ft. It’s got four rooms – living room, bedroom, bathroom, and entry room. Lots of stairs and different levels — about three levels (all partial, not like three levels vertical).. The walls are white hand honed “rock”… The detailing is quite sophisticated in decor. We have one window at the front with a commanding view of lots of cave dwellings and the town (since we are up pretty high)… It’s colder than it was in Istanbul, but warmer than we imagined. They say that normally it would be about 10 degrees colder and that there would be a lot of snow.

Anyway, we’re excited to explore the area beginning tomorrow (Christmas Day). The cave dwellings go back to BC. Many of the surviving ones are from 3rd century AD – when the Christians were escaping the Romans.. then some from the 7th and 9th centuries when Christians were escaping the Arabs, and then later they attracted holy men and monks escaping the world …

There are supposed to be hundreds or thousands of cave churches here and an entire underground city. So far, our quick look shows that is similar to Gaudix in southern Spain (near Grenada) but more inhabited..

In the distance, we can see Mount Argaeus 12,800’… totally covered in snow and a gorgeous backdrop.. which erupted millions of years ago and flooded the region with a white lava which is the base of all the caves.. the lava is soft until it comes in contact with the air, making it carvable..

I’m off.. more tomorrow.

Fern

Hi All –

Wow!
Woke up in Urfa (as the Turks call Sanliurfa) and decided that although the Beyzade Konak Hotel was wanting in many ways and certainly remained in the no-star zone, it did have a little charm when the sun was shining… and that with a major facelift it could be quite nice, albeit a bit rough around the edges. We had breakfast at the hotel (included in our grand $30 price)… and then got our car from the “otopark” across the street — 24 hour service for $1… and we set off for the day – main destination: Harran.

Driving to Harran was fairly straight forward.. flat, good road, great weather. We got to the town and visited the beehive shaped mud houses (some still operational) built about 200 years ago. We also strolled through unbelievable ruins  — actually the whole country is filled with ruins that are just strewn about everywhere.. many are now part of the new infrastructure… Harran housed a major university around 300 BC, and a palace both of which were visible in parts amid piles of history laying about. Wherever you walk you got the sense you are walking in history — literally crunching it as you step on fragments everywhere.

The town (if you can call it that) is pretty sparse… As I was walking (somehow lost Mike for a while, but we later re-connected with the help of our cellphones) among sheep on the hill above the ruins of the university, I stumbled upon a middle school class of boys with their teacher on a field trip. The teacher was anxious to practice his English, so we chatted a bit and then lots of photos back and forth with the boys (who are studying English but were mostly too shy to speak to me)…

Harran is famous for its traditional ‘beehive’ adobe houses, constructed entirely without wood. The design which supposedly has been unchanged for thousand of years keeps the structure dry and makes them cool in summer and hot in winter. The “new town is actually about 2 kilometers away..

The people are ethnic Arabs… with 10-15 children in each family.. a group of which followed me around as I photographed.

From Harran we decided to drive to the Syrian border.. ok, ok, I know that everyone warned us not to stray… but it was so close (20 miles).  Pretty uneventful.. typical border.

Then driving back toward Urfa (enroute to Gazantiep where we would catch a late flight back to Istanbul for our evening of luxury) I stopped to photograph a two story building whose operations focused on drying out the skin of sheep on the rooftop (hudreds of sheep skins)… women laying them out — walking on the rooftop.) Sitting outside the building on a rug in the sun were three men and a few kids.. The men were clearly resting while the women did all the work. Men smoking and having tea.. Women working hard!

Anyway, they invited us to join them for some “chai”.. and we accepted.. So we all sat having a totally non-comprehensible conversation — them talking Turkish and we talking English… but all acting as if we understood each other… getting quite good at that… The women came down from the roof to join us, but sat on another rug just behind the men… But everyone was jovial.. there were several kids. Not sure who was with whom, and on the whole the men looked way too old to have such young children and way older than the women. By the way, the women were all rolling cigarettes and smoking too.

One thing we did understand in the conversation was that they like Obama… thumbs up… and then thumbs down for Bush. This has happened several times when people find out we are from the US (an identification we don’t use in any shops, because despite the fact that the dollar is useless, I guess we will always be considered “rich”, so prices inflate immediately — in the shops we pretend to be Finnish… since no one can speak that language, they leave us alone and all the hawkers disappear).. In one shop in Istanbul selling trinkets and Turksih candies, they had a photo of Obama from his visit to Turkey — with handwriting on the “sign” saying that this was Obama’s favorite shop..

We left our new friends after about 20 minutes of warm “conversation”… and decided to stop for a late lunch/ early dinner back in Urfa to give the place a second look… It was still dusty and grimy and noisy and more like towns in lower level developing nations of Latin America.. but it was lively and bustling. As we meandered through the town we stumbled on a decent hotel which – had we found earlier might have encouraged us to stay the additional night in Urfa.  Anyway, we ate and then headed to Gazantiep to catch the last flight back to Istanbul (and to our luxury room at the Four Seasons)… The drive was a bit intense, especially since the sun had already set; it was dark; and the pollution makes the air really thick, decreasing visibility.

But the roads are good and we got to the airport in time for the flight. Chatted with an Iraqi business man at the airport while in line, who was frustrated that airport personnel in Turkey do not speak English!

Arrived safe and sound into the lap of luxury at the Four Seasons. The hotel is built on the grounds of an old prison in the Sultanameht district of the city. It’s a bit over the top. Bathroom is probably about 200 sq feet… A bit of a jump from the Beyzadie in Urfa. A few comparisons — At Beyzadie they had slippers in the bedroom, but they had been worn by others (old leather slippers); here you get brand new terry slippers; there we had a bathroom that was about 25 sq ft, with everything taking place in that space – here we have a huge bathroom with many different “compartments;” there we had some shades on the windows, here we have electric openers for drapes and shades… but I’ll let the pictures talk for themselves when we are back.

It’s about 1 am now, I’m headed to bed. Looking forward to good weather tomorrow here in Istanbul… it’s really warming up — so much so that I’m concerned I don’t have appropriate clothing, as evrything I brought is for winter (boots, wool pants, heavy sweaters, etc.)

Hi All –
December 21 (Mike’s Birthday) –

Not even certain how to begin telling our day today… But I’m going to try to do it quickly as it’s nearly midnight and I still have to try to post my grades for ASU (somehow they didn’t post from here and I need to try again)..

We left our very sweet abode in the Sultanameht (old) district of Istanbul… right after breakfast; it looked like it might actually be a nice day, and headed to the airport to catch our 12:45 flight to Gazantiep (Antip, as the Turks call it).. We arrived with plenty of time and finally navigated the system of checking in, getting seats, going through security (they don’t seem to care about liquids), and locating the gate in the domestic terminal… Everyone tried to help us in English, but they really didn’t speak well…  we got to the gate side and decided to get a snack, when we looked at the boarding passes and realized they were for a 2:00 flight, not the 12:45 one..

No one on the gate side could deal with this, so we went back out of security to wait on a “problem traveler line”.. and were told (sort of) that the 12:45 plane wasn’t going (or it was going late) so they put us on the 2 pm flight, but no one had explained this… As it turned out both the 12:45 and the 2:00 flights left at the same time — at 3:15!!..

So we went through security again.. we were clearly not a risk.

The flight was uneventful (except hours later than anticipated and we had a two-hour drive ahead of us)…As in India, people tend to stand up as soon as the plane touches ground (sometimes sooner thatn that!) and start getting their bags and walking to the door… Mike had a chat with an elderly Turk sitting next to him, except that the Turk spoke no English and Mike’s Turkish is below zero.. Anyway, they kept laughing and the guy kept patting Mike on the back and arm.

We did meet a very nice young man who grew up in Gazantiep (a pretty nondescript working class, industrial town we soon learned) who was now living in New Haven, CT.. for the past 8 years.. coming home for two weeks to see family… he gave us his cell number, just in case we ran into any problems while in this south eastern area of Turkey where very few tourists come… Everyone that we told we were coming here was duly surprised. One Turkish guy who did speak English asked if we were spies (It’s very close to Syria… and just further east and south.. it’s near the Iraq border. We are being very careful not to wander to aimlessly…)

We landed, got our bags and headed to the car rental desk, only to find that EuropCar where we had a reservation and number was not at the airport and no one could explain where we should go.. We thought maybe it was off-site and we needed a shuttle but none could be found.. so we decided to go back to the terminal and rent with National.. Easier said than done. Once out of the airport you can only enter by going through security again.. so one more time we took off our shoes, etc. and started again, even though all we wanted was the car rental desk. Without a reservation we needed to go through the entire process of booking the car, without any language to convey type, duration, etc.  Anyway, we did it.. and off we went in our little Renault which they call Menange..

The drive was a little complicated because the directions weren’t completely obvious, but we made it to Sanlirufa with just a few wrong exits including one where we went about 5 miles and truly thought we were at the end of the earth in complete darkness.

Then the fun began… we got into town and had no idea where to find the hotel.. even with mapquest directions and GPS.. A little background.. we were never able to find or contact any hotel here in Sanliurfa — and now we know why — we did find a few on the Internet, but they did not look too appealing.. then we found one that looked acceptable.. and we couldn’t make contact.. We asked the Istanbul hotel to book it for us and they did, but they said they knew nothing about hotels there.

So we stopped twice to ask people by showing them the name and noone knew where it was.. Finally we saw a police car and we knocked on the window and asked them.. but they didn’t know either..They called someone who didn’t know … and then they went into a restaurant (with me standing outside and Mike in the car)… and someone in the restaurant explained where to go… The cops came out and motioned that we should follow their car.. complete with lights flashing the entire way.. and they literally escorted us to the hotel. There is no way we could have found it.. It took dozens of turns in streets and tiny alleys..

But lo and behold we arrived… Unfortunately the hotel is… well, not quite up to a one quarter of one star in a 5 star rating scale.. The price is certainly right.. $20 with breakfast!! All along the way, we looked at other options (and again as we walked to “dinner”).. but the other options seemed even worse..

Our room is difficult to describe.. The shower is in the bathroom just above the toilet. We have very strange window coverings. To get to the room you have to walk up two sets of stairs from outside and since it was raining the stairs were sort of muddy… I took pictures of the room, so I’ll say no more. I can only think what those cops were thinking as they led us here. (Mike was hoping we’d be able to go through red lights)

Anyway, there is a nice couple here with a young child — from Australia. He’s a mosque buff and has traveled extensively in Turkey.. Brave souls — they are staying in this hotel for 5 nights.

We, on the other hand, have decided that one night will be enough and that we can see what we need here in Sanliurfa in one full day.. We are planning to get up early.. I don’t think that will be a problem as I probably won’t sleep.. and there is a heater in the wall that when turned on sounds like what I imagine the Wright brothers first plane sounded like.. So we will head to Harran — the main reason we headed this way — to see the conical mud dwellings and some other rural indigenous structures and villages — and then we’ve rebooked ourselves back to Istanbul for tomorrow night.. and will stay at the Four Seasons!!  If we average out tonight’s rates with tomorrow night’s rate, it just comes to two expensive nights.. not two outrageously expensive nights..

And poor Mike — this was his birthday. We went to the “best” restaurant in town.. Let’s just say it won’t be on the list of great eateries in Turkey–or anywhere else in the world.

But I don’t want to totally mis-judge Sanliurfa, I’m sure seeing it in daylight will be much better. I cannot say the same for the hotel.

It’s been an adventure.. Not sorry we did it, and I think Harran will make up for it all. We catch an 8pm flight tomorrow night.. After this brief unexpected return interlude in Istanbul, we head to Kayseri and Capodocia and then drive to Konya and on to Antalya.

But hey — I’ve been able to connect wirelessly.. although I have no idea where this connection is coming from. You’d laugh if you saw this room — complete with one electric outlet and I’ve got cords all over the place.

Best —
Fern

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

Greetings from Istanbul — not as cold as previous days and actually it’s clear (no sun, but not awful) –Feel free to delete these and the subsequent segments of the travelogue. No hard feelings. This is Turkey #3 for those who keep asking.

Began today with an earlier start. Following breakfast at the hotel (where we ran into people from the Bay Area who were running an Eco Cities conference here in Istanbul, and who we know casually in California), we trekked to the spice market, which only seems to be called that by foreigners, since when we got lost and tried to ask for directions no upstanding Turk knew what we were talking about. But we found our way.. and after surveying the many stalls went to a nearby mosque — not a famous one, but quite impressive — where I did need to don a head covering (my scarf did fine).. then walked across the Galata Bridge where literally hundreds of men (and I counted one woman) were lined up fishing from the bridge.. Quite an operation; can only imagine what it seems like for the fish swimming below tempted by bait every inch or two.

We headed to the fish market which is small but has an impressive array of booths with different kinds of fish — all of it looking quite good, but we were on a mission to locate a particular fish restaurant that the NY Times discussed about four years ago… There wasn’t any address, just a general description of the area and the fact that it was located next to a tiny shop that sold bolts — yes, bolts as in hardware. We had the name and the general location, but that was it. We asked many people and we knew we were in the general area. No one could help, but everyone referred us to a fish restaurant that they liked. I have to admit that Mike was tempted by every fish restaurant we passed, but I was determined to find this one… and we did…

The fish market is a series of stalls right near the water.. paralleling the water’s edge. Behind that row of fish stalls interspersed with fish eateries — all outdoor, regardless of weather — is an alley totally lined on both sides with tiny tiny hardware shops.. each specializing in a particular tool or piece of equipment or supply… off of this street is a smaller street, more like a “lane” with several stores that sell bolts… off of that street is an even tinier alley.. and lo and behold, there was the restaurant.. if you can call it that.. two or three tables when you enter and then a rickety spiral staircase to the “upstairs dining room” which has two tiny rooms with about two tables in each. We opted for the upstairs… with the view of the hardware store row… The owner(?) brings out a platter of raw fish and you make your selection… it’s just fish… I had a fantastic snapper cooked in parchment and Mike opted for a swordfish kebab.. we started with an incredibly good fish stew (which could have been the whole meal… Other than that it’s bread and water!

Fortified by lunch we walked back over the Galata Bridge (which at midpoint, when a bus is crossing, feels like an earthquake magnitude about 9!)

I walked back to the Grand Bazaar in search of a few stalls with goods I wanted to take a second look at, and Mike decided to head for the Archaeological Museum (although I think he went to the hotel for a nap).. I strolled around for an hour or so — and then walked back to the hotel (and also for a glass of raki – the anise flavored Turkish liqueur — at the Four Seasons which is across the street from our hotel.)

We then headed out to see the Whirling Dervishes at an old Hamaam… a real snoozer.. I guess if you are Sufi you feel different.. but we were in the first row in a room with chairs around the circle where the guys swirl around… it’s pretty monotonous. Thank god it was only an hour. We walked to the place and once we were pretty close began to ask people where the building was.. No one had a clue. Anyway, we did find it (maybe it would have been better to miss it).. Then it was off to dinner (more eating)… We wanted to go to a particular restaurant we had heard about, but it was closed for the winter.

Hi-
Post script to last night’s message…forgot to mention that the Hagia Sophia was built by 11,000 workers over 6 years working full time… meaning 66,000 x 5 x 8 x 330 —I think… 1,000 skilled technicians and 10,000 worker bees. Don’t even want to know how many hours per day or “benefit package”!!!

So, today (Friday, the 18th) we got off to a good start and walked to the Grand Bazaar which is just as I remembered (having been in Istanbul about 25 years ago).. a catacomb of streets and passageways and hustle and bustle with shops no wider than a closet and hundreds of vendors appearing to sell nearly the same thing at adjacent stalls. We were pretty good resisting the carpet sellers and others.. and whenever really confronted with a pushy salesmen (and they are primarily make) started to speak what minimal Finnish we know — since the vendors speak most languages, but not Finnish. So we emerged nearly unscathed. The Bazaar was packed – mostly men as usual… and many of the roofs were leaking so it was quite a site; but buying and selling went on as usual.

By the time we left the Bazaar (intending to walk to the spice market and then head over to some neighborhoods we wanted to see) it was a virtual downpour. We attempted to walk to the tram, which we eventually did, but as we waited (and no tram arrived) we got wetter and wetter (despite hat, rain gear, gloves, umbrella, etc) and decided to invest in a taxi and go to the Istanbul Modern — a new museum located on the opposite side of the Golden Horn in a warehouse on the water. We figured art was good on a rainy day and we also hoped for a good lunch there (as opposed to eating in the Bazaar).. The taxi got us there, but pulled two fast ones on us: Somehow his meter stopped moving midway into the journey and at the end he gave us a price that didn’t seem plausible, but frankly we just wanted to get lunch and get warm. When I paid, I distinctly remember handing the driver a 50 lira note…but then he said it was a 5 (didn’t really say it, because he didn’t speak any English) and showed me that he had a 5 in his hand… By then I was unsure of what I handed him and we forked over the additional funds.. Geez, my basic NY instincts were certainly not working. Oh well. We did have an earlier “chat” in the taxi and learned from the driver that he knew there was a Sheraton (Cheeratin) in NY and that NY was big.

Anyway, the museum was rather uneventful — but lunch was appreciated; not great, but certainly did the trick. We hoped the rain would let up and we could then head to the Galata Bridge and walk over the bridge, but the rain was unrelenting… so another taxi — this time about 1/4 the cost.

By then, following completing some work (grading papers for my class) it was time for dinner.. again a taxi to the Beygolu area where we had dinner in a very old and established restaurant – Haci Abdullah — where we learned, once we ordered, that the owner is very religious (restaurant is more than a century old).. so there’s no alcohol, no wine. Dinner was quite good but would have tasted much better with a nice glass of red wine.

We had to walk a few blocks to and from the restaurant as it’s located on a walking street (one of many that have been created since we were last here) near Taksim Square… The area was packed with old and young people strolling in the pouring rain; shops were open well past 10 pm (and this for a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas)… music blaring in the streets, which if it plays in daytine would almost cover the calls to prayer.

Anyway, we joined the strollers and then eventually caught a taxi back to the hotel.
We’re hoping the rain will let up by tomorrow … but who knows.

Our plans for tomorrow include the spice market, the fish market, another walk across the Galata Bridge, and neighborhood explorations.

Mike is still waiting for his express mail package with a new ATM card, which he somehow left at the bank the morning we left the Bay Area.

Hope all is well wherever you all are.
Take care —
Fern

PS – We are getting a lot of exercise going up and down the narrow spiral stairs at the hotel to the 5th floor.

We arrived in Istanbul a bit exhausted having been up for about 40 hours and having put in the better part of Tuesday (Dec 15) as a work day at the office and heading to the airport for a 7 pm flight. Needless to say — what with the open house and a busy weekend, the previous days weren’t all that restful either. Anyway, we got to Heathrow without any problems and were prepared for a three-hour layover… but did not anticipate a nearly six-hour layover. We arrived in Istanbul at about midnight and decided to be wimps and take a taxi to the hotel (which is in the very old section of Istanbul – The Sultanmiet) -and the driver had trouble finding it. The hotel (Empress Zoe) is small — maybe 20 rooms at most, and quite delightful. We are on the top floor with a very sweet balcony that overlooks the life of the area. There are only two or three rooms per floor and five floors. Being on the top floor has advantages (like the balcony) and disadvantages — no elevator and only a very narrow and steep spiral staircase as access. Glad that the staff carried the bags up.. not really sure how they did it (and don’t think I’d even dare try it.)  After doing a rather meager job of unpacking we fell asleep.

This morning (Thursday) we started out late (11ish) and decided to retrace some places we’d been to 20 years ago — the usual monuments that are “must see” but since we’d already seen them I’d say our visits were quite token — Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, etc.

My general impression of Istanbul is that it has gotten much much larger and more sprawling in these two decades and is much more cosmopolitan than I remembered. All of which is making the days here quite interesting.

In late afternoon, we headed to the ferry to meet the brother of a friend. The brother has lived here in Istanbul for about 20 years. Naturally in our sleep-deprived state, we managed to board the wrong ferry — and wound up in a totally other part of the Asian side of Istanbul than we were supposed to be at. Thank god for cell phones (which by the way, everyone 10 years and older seems to have here…) so we connected — but a bit late. Now we are armed with some additional information about the city and the surroundings and tomorrow should be interesting.

For those of you interested — December is a pretty terrible time of year to come here — rain and cold, although it is not quite as cold as we anticipated, but that will change as we rise in elevation and go inland starting on Monday. The good side of traveling in December is that there are far fewer tourists, and mostly from non-North American countries. The best we can hope for is overcast (no rain) which seems to be a pipe dream. Again we already knew this, as our last trip here was also in December.. but oh well.. the mist and clouds add to the drama of an already mystical place.

Catch up with you tomorrow.

Fern

PS — I’m writing this on my netbook as I seem to have a problem with my Blackberry and I didn’t take my laptop. My Blackberry is sending messages but not receiving any. Ah the challenges of technology. According to AT&T this is a “known problem” and it is being fixed, but there is no time as to when that fix might happen. Thus, I’m resorting to reading emails late at night and early in the morning on the netbook.. but I can write at any time…