Half Way 'Round the World

Blog 3 - Istanbul

A quick reprise to Blog 2 - Larry was quite incensed that I did not share HIS picture of the Statue of Liberty.... so here it is:

We had taken the Staten Island Ferry out one evening to see if we could get some great sunset shots of the statue and Ellis Island.  I must admit it's a pretty good shot.

On to Istanbul

Our plane was 1 1/2 hours late, the luggage seemed to take nearly that long to crawl to the carousel, but our driver was still patiently waiting for us outside the international terminal and quickly escorted us back to the van for our ride to the hotel.  The Turkish people are really friendly, they make every effort to welcome you to their country, and actually seem to like having you there. In fact, Istanbul is one of our favorite cities.  Apart from Bangkok, it makes the biggest impression on the senses quickly.  You drive into Old Sultanahmet and to one side of you is Hagia Sofia, to the other the Blue Mosque and down the hill, the Sea of Marmara. 

Our attempt at taking a picture in front of
the Blue Mosque.

A friendly tourist captures us there.

Our room was a fourth floor closet, it had the necessary amenities but not much floor space. So we freshened up, and headed back out to marvel at the Blue Mosque again, then find some Turkish Coffee and Baklava, and finally dinner. (Life IS uncertain, you must always eat dessert first.) After all we had only 2 1/2  days to explore the city again. 

A colorfully dressed Japanese group
 awaiting their tour bus.

On our second day, we discovered how crowded Istanbul can get in the tourist season and the tour boats are in port.  AND it was May Day so many

Turks had the day off and were either marching around celebrating Labor or taking the opportunity to see some of the sights themselves.

We decided to take a chance on seeing the Dolmabachi Palace built by the last Sultan of Turkey anyway since it was only open 3 days a week and we'd missed it the last time.  The wait was interminable, but we finally got in and it WAS spectacular.  It reportedly has the largest crystal chandelier in the world in it's reception hall.  I know it was beautiful.  (Sorry, no pictures were allowed in side, so I have nothing to show you.)

Afterwards, starved and looking for some fish from the fish market, we hopped back on the metro train and headed towards the bridge.  There we hopped off and wandered down a street full of stalls selling tools, auto and plumbing supplies.  Want a muffler?  There was a stall for you.  How about a faucet? A drill? A flexible pipe? The street was teeming with locals looking for just the right part to fix their problem. But we were hungry so we jogged down the blog to the waterfront and settled in at an outdoor restaurant.  Fresh fish, fresh green salad and the panaply of ferries going up and down the channel to top it off - wonderful!

Wandering back to the hotel, we strolled through the spice market. We marveled at the variety of spices available.  Saffron is cheap here, can't imagine how, but I may just have to buy some to take home when we pass through Istanbul on our return journey.

The last two nights we ate at the same restaurant, Karadeniz.  The first time we collapsed into a chair after having eaten fish at the market, wanting only a bottle of wine to wind up the day before we headed back to our tiny room.  But we made friends with Saffet, the owner and Antonio the hawker (all restaurants in Istanbul have a hawker out front it seems, trying to drag you in) they called us Colorado we called Saffet Clint Eastwood because he admitted he love his movies, and we ended up eating Baklava with our wine then, well, we might as well share a soup.  Remember - Life is uncertain, eat dessert first.  So the next night we went back and were treated like long lost relatives.  We ordered our meal first and Saffet insisted on treating us to baklava, a fresh batch he'd just bought that he swore was the best ever.  We agreed. To top it off, we  were offered tea or a hookah.  I chose the tea, Larry the hookah.  He and Saffet took turns huffing on it while I  sipped tea.  I tried the hookah once and just choked on it, so I let the guys enjoy it.  

We found Istanbul to be a thriving metropolis.  The Turks seem to have been able to balance their religious beliefs with the the desire to be part of the 1st world.  It may not be that way in the rest of the country, but in Istanbul you find traditional Muslims living alongside the tourists, the forward thinking members of their religion and even the "infidels" without too much conflict.  It's too bad they can't export that to the rest of their part of the world.