I have not sat down for a week now to update this blog. We've done so much this past week and a few times I did not have my book to write in or write down some thoughts. I guess blogging/writing takes practice.
We are now in Kusadasi (pronounced Kush ada sir) which is on the Aegean Sea coast of Turkey (about 1 hour below Izmir). It is a really neat seaside town and has some pretty nice views. We have been here since Tuesday, and have decided to stay here until next Thursday. We were originally going to leave Kusadasi on Monday and take a bus up towards Bursa (the former capital of the Ottoman Empire which is below Istanbul by a few hours), but we've decided to take it easy here and explore as much of the area as possible, while relaxing here at the same time. We've rented a car and have it until Monday, so we will be trying to use it as much as we can and then after Monday will take it easier for a few days before our journey home to Abu Dhabi next Friday.
Since posting last Friday, we've seen the War Memorial sites in Gallipoli which were pretty impressive. The Turks consider this Memorial site to be third importance to them after Mecca and Medina (two religious sites). Apparently the Turkish army is the third strongest in the world (I guess in terms of size). They are very patriotic and nationalistic.
We also went to the site of the ancient city of Troy last Monday. The site was amazing. Obviously it is mostly in ruins, with only partial walls standing in some areas, so a lot of imagination is required and there are some diagrams of what Troy would have looked like while it was still in its glory and standing. It is neat to envisage this was such an important place, and now it is in the middle of an insignificant farming area in Turkey.
After finishing Troy we took a 6:30 pm, bus from Cannakule to Izmir, arriving in Izmir after midnight and staying in the bus station hotel (4 star) for the night. We left first thing in the morning to catch the bus from Izmir to Kusadasi arriving at around 1 pm. Karim (the flat owner) picked us up from the bus station and brought us here to our flat where we are currently staying. It is a nice simple 1 bedroom flat with beds in the living room for the kids and pretty simple and clean. It is overlooking the Aegean Sea, with the Greek Island of Samos in the distance. I have to say I was pretty exhausted upon arriving here, it was basically 3 days on the go and we did not really settle much in Cannakule and the place we were staying was not the mst comfortable, so resting was not in my agenda the previous days. We just took it easy on Tuesday here. Munir has taught me how to play backgammon, as there is a neat reception area outside with a swimming pool and a backgammon table along with other tables and chairs. The family who manages this place has two adult daughters (19 or 20'ish in age) and they seem to have their friends over every night with people outside laughing and listening to music. So we were in the mood to stay late and just chill and play some backgammon. You often see people in the Middle East playing backgammon, where it would be in the back alleys of Abu Dhabi in the sheesha cafes, in the neighbourhoods in Jordan and Syria or here in Turkey.
On Wednesday, we decided to venture out to the ancient Biblical city of Ephesus, about 30 minute drive from here. It was very impressive, I believe it has the largest Roman amphitheatre from the ancient world. The library was also very well constructed, it looks like it has been reconstructed, with the pieces put together as to how it would have been if it was still back in those times. I kept imagining the Biblical characters (such as St. Paul) in the midst of Ephesus, trying to convince the pagan worshippers to forget their religion and follow Christianity. It would have been a hard sell because they actively worshipped Artemis (Goddess of Fertility) and held idols of Artemis around. I must note that upon arriving in Ephesus, we passeed the souvenir shops and other places before entering the ticket booth, and the souvenir shops had these funny looking fridge magnets for sale with small men with huge private parts sticking outward - I asked Munir what are those doing here? Later on, I read int he booklet that there was a brothel in the city of Ephesus and the archeologists who uncovered Ephesus had found statues like this in the brothel! Interesting huh? Ephesus was also the place where St. John brought Virgin Mary to after Jesus' death, to keep watch over her to help her.
Nearby, ontop ofa small mountain, is the plce where her house was. Apparently it had been destroyed at some point and rebuilt several centuries ago. It was discovered by a German nun, who had a dream about Virgin Mary's house being in the mountains around Ephesus, and apparently another evidence of this house's existence was the fact that in the city of Ephesus itself, there was a Basilica named after Mary, and in those days the locals would not name such a significant building/church after someone, unless they had lived there. It was neat to see the location and there are Christian altar sites set up around it, where the Popes have made mass during their visits as well as other dignitaries.
Yesterday (Thursday) we ventured down south to Bodrum Peninsula to see our friend from Abu Dhabi, Kitty, who has a holiday house there. We also wanted to see for ourselves what Bodrum is about, since we've heard a lot about it. All I can say is it is very beautiful. We went into Bodrum town itself, which is very touristy and the level of English seemed to be much higher there by the locals than in most places we have been to. It seems to cater a lot to Western tourists and property owners. We went to see the Museum of Underwater Archeology first in Bodrum which is hosted in the old fort. We text messaged Kitty once we were finished, and she lives in a place called Yalikavak which is a town near Bodrum. We had a bit of trouble locating each other, but after some time we managed to find her. It was good to see her again! She works at the college with Munir, but with the busy-ness of everyday life in Abu Dhabi it is often hard to see our friends as often as we wish. We followed Kitty in her car up to her place, actually we parked our car nearby and went with Kitty in her car, up a steep and windy road in her complex to her place at the top. She can practically see a 180 degree view of the Aegean Coast! She was so generous to us and we ended up staying until 9:30 pm at night! We had a 2 hour - plus drive home, so we were a bit nervous having left so late.
We drove back to Kusadasi and arrived just after midnight. Phew we were exhausted!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Today is Friday, July 10th-
These past few days have also been a whirl for us. I am finding that I am getting a bit impatient to leave Istanbul tomorrow morning (Saturday). This is a huge city of 14 million people and the city literally never ends (kind of like the song that never ends). There are always people everywhere and crowds everywhere. I guess I'm not used to that. I still might be able to see myself living here, but would have to get used to the crowds and people. Learning the language would also help as well.
Two days ago (Wednesday) we met up with Munir's friend Ozan and also his cousin (more like 3rd or 4th cousin), Reem and her two boys Mustafa and Faisal. Munir met Ozan last summer at an IT conference when he came here and they just hit it off. It was neat to meet Ozan in person. Reem was quite nice too. Her and her husband and two boys are still Iraqis, although have been living in Istanbul for 8 or 9 years. Her husband is Turkman Iraqi (one of the ethnic groups in Iraq who are actually Turkish origin and mother tongue is Turkish rather than Arabic). She said it takes time to get the Turkish passport. Her boys speak fluent Turkish and hardly much Arabic (even though she speaks to them in Arabic). I believe we may be seeing them again today (Friday) as we will be leaving tomorrow morning. Munir, me and Aadil came to meet them all at one of the Malls (Kanyon) for coffee and something to eat. Nesta wanted to stay back in the apartment in Taksim. One thing I noticed is the security here in Istanbul. There are security guards checking cars and opening car trunks before they enter the mall parking lots. Once you enter the malls you have to release your bags and put them through the scanner and get security checked. It was a bit weird, as we don't have this in Abu Dhabi. I understand tho why they do this, because there are threats of bombings in Istanbul and there have been bombs in the past so they are doing it for precaution. I think the reason there are no bombs (yet and hope there are never any in the future) in Abu Dhabi is because either you are a local Emirati or an expatriate from another country on visa. I think the security is pretty tight in Abu Dhabi in its own way - probably from the way the society is. Here it would be hard to keep track of 14 million people and there are many groups trying to disrupt the Republic of Turkey and cause harm to it. (ie. Kurdish separatists, Armenians, Islamic Extremists, etc)
That evening, we had to rush back to the apartment, as Nesta was babysitting Aadil while Munir and I attended a Whirling Dervish ceremony/concert in the Sultanahmet area. We went there and it turned out to be an old hamam building (hamam is Turkish bath). Beautiful setting. Inside we got our tickets and sat in our reserved seats in the first row (we sat in a circle). there must have been around 150 people watching. First came the Sufi music players with their instruments. They played for around 1/2 hour. The whirling dervish came in after that and performed for the other 1/2 hour. Very interesting and spiritual.
The next day (yesterday - Thursday) I decided to visit my law firm office here in Istanbul, just out of curiousity more than anything. It was interesting, I met the receptionist and the office manager showed me around their office. Munir and the boys were outside at a nearby cafe while I was inside. Again, upon entering the building there was security. Back home in Abu Dhabi at my office building we just walk right in with no problems. I had to get an electronic pass and then put my bags through security. Imagine doing that every day!
I went down to meet Munir and the boys at the cafe and the owner, Onur (he called himself Victor) was really friendly and spoke good English. We stayed for abot 1 1/2 hours as it started to pour rain.
Last night we decided to visit the Anatolian side (Asian side) of Istanbul. I really felt I was in the Middle East then. It is more conservative than the European side and I saw many more women wearing hijab cover. We took a boat ride for 1 hour up the Bosphorus, first along the Asia side coast, and then when we reached the second bridge, we crossed over and went along the European side of the Bosphorus. And then crossed back to Usudar on the Asian side to disembark. It was very interesting to see the beautiful houses along the shores (they are very very costly, literally tens of millions of dollars each in value), as well as other landmarks and buildings.
These past few days have also been a whirl for us. I am finding that I am getting a bit impatient to leave Istanbul tomorrow morning (Saturday). This is a huge city of 14 million people and the city literally never ends (kind of like the song that never ends). There are always people everywhere and crowds everywhere. I guess I'm not used to that. I still might be able to see myself living here, but would have to get used to the crowds and people. Learning the language would also help as well.
Two days ago (Wednesday) we met up with Munir's friend Ozan and also his cousin (more like 3rd or 4th cousin), Reem and her two boys Mustafa and Faisal. Munir met Ozan last summer at an IT conference when he came here and they just hit it off. It was neat to meet Ozan in person. Reem was quite nice too. Her and her husband and two boys are still Iraqis, although have been living in Istanbul for 8 or 9 years. Her husband is Turkman Iraqi (one of the ethnic groups in Iraq who are actually Turkish origin and mother tongue is Turkish rather than Arabic). She said it takes time to get the Turkish passport. Her boys speak fluent Turkish and hardly much Arabic (even though she speaks to them in Arabic). I believe we may be seeing them again today (Friday) as we will be leaving tomorrow morning. Munir, me and Aadil came to meet them all at one of the Malls (Kanyon) for coffee and something to eat. Nesta wanted to stay back in the apartment in Taksim. One thing I noticed is the security here in Istanbul. There are security guards checking cars and opening car trunks before they enter the mall parking lots. Once you enter the malls you have to release your bags and put them through the scanner and get security checked. It was a bit weird, as we don't have this in Abu Dhabi. I understand tho why they do this, because there are threats of bombings in Istanbul and there have been bombs in the past so they are doing it for precaution. I think the reason there are no bombs (yet and hope there are never any in the future) in Abu Dhabi is because either you are a local Emirati or an expatriate from another country on visa. I think the security is pretty tight in Abu Dhabi in its own way - probably from the way the society is. Here it would be hard to keep track of 14 million people and there are many groups trying to disrupt the Republic of Turkey and cause harm to it. (ie. Kurdish separatists, Armenians, Islamic Extremists, etc)
That evening, we had to rush back to the apartment, as Nesta was babysitting Aadil while Munir and I attended a Whirling Dervish ceremony/concert in the Sultanahmet area. We went there and it turned out to be an old hamam building (hamam is Turkish bath). Beautiful setting. Inside we got our tickets and sat in our reserved seats in the first row (we sat in a circle). there must have been around 150 people watching. First came the Sufi music players with their instruments. They played for around 1/2 hour. The whirling dervish came in after that and performed for the other 1/2 hour. Very interesting and spiritual.
The next day (yesterday - Thursday) I decided to visit my law firm office here in Istanbul, just out of curiousity more than anything. It was interesting, I met the receptionist and the office manager showed me around their office. Munir and the boys were outside at a nearby cafe while I was inside. Again, upon entering the building there was security. Back home in Abu Dhabi at my office building we just walk right in with no problems. I had to get an electronic pass and then put my bags through security. Imagine doing that every day!
I went down to meet Munir and the boys at the cafe and the owner, Onur (he called himself Victor) was really friendly and spoke good English. We stayed for abot 1 1/2 hours as it started to pour rain.
Last night we decided to visit the Anatolian side (Asian side) of Istanbul. I really felt I was in the Middle East then. It is more conservative than the European side and I saw many more women wearing hijab cover. We took a boat ride for 1 hour up the Bosphorus, first along the Asia side coast, and then when we reached the second bridge, we crossed over and went along the European side of the Bosphorus. And then crossed back to Usudar on the Asian side to disembark. It was very interesting to see the beautiful houses along the shores (they are very very costly, literally tens of millions of dollars each in value), as well as other landmarks and buildings.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tuesday, July 7
We decided to take it easier today, simply because we were all pretty exhausted from the previous days' travels. Don't forget we've come froma situation in Abu Dhabi where the temperatures outside made it almost impossible at this time of year to go outside during the day for long periods of time and we practically live in the air conditioning environment for 6 months of the year. Now we have arrived in a more comfortable environment where one feels they can breathe easier and come back out of "summer hibernation" from Abu Dhabi.
Today we have headed down to the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, close to the Istanbul shoreline. We are on the 3 pm ferry on our way to the Princes' Island and have met an interesting Turkish man in his 60's who was on his way back home to Bunucada (the largest of the Islands where we were headed). He was a lawyer by profession and now runs his own tourism company. He has a summer home on Bunucada Island and a winter home in the Asia part of Istanbul. I was telling him that I am still trying to fit Turkey into a mold, of either Europe or Asia but am finding it difficult, because am seeing both aspects of either continent in Turkey and its people, but at the same time feel that I should not be obligated to fit it into either one. He said that Turkey is very similar to Greece (the Istanbul area at least and the Aegean Sea area) but that the Eastern part of Turkey is very much influenced by Asia and its surrounding neighbours (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Georgia, etc).
The ferry trip took around 1 1/2 hours as it stopped off at the 3 Islands lying ahead of Bunucada, and then we arrived at Bunucade (the largest island). What an interesting sight , full of cafes, fish restaurants, ice cream parlours, souvenir shops, Turkish clothing stores, Turkish craft stores. We decided to eat some lunch as it was late. We had delicious lunch/dinner and then went for a walk a bit. I found a nice Turkish handbag which we bought. We walked to another area and decided to rent 3 bicycles and rode 1/4 way up the Island past beautiful houses, and a steady steam of horse carriages carrying tourists and residents passing by.
We left the Island around 8:45, but not before sitting at one of the ice cream cafes to endulge in Turkish ice cream once again, and then headed "home" back to Taksim area on the European side of Istanbul, reaching home at 11 pm.
Today we have headed down to the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, close to the Istanbul shoreline. We are on the 3 pm ferry on our way to the Princes' Island and have met an interesting Turkish man in his 60's who was on his way back home to Bunucada (the largest of the Islands where we were headed). He was a lawyer by profession and now runs his own tourism company. He has a summer home on Bunucada Island and a winter home in the Asia part of Istanbul. I was telling him that I am still trying to fit Turkey into a mold, of either Europe or Asia but am finding it difficult, because am seeing both aspects of either continent in Turkey and its people, but at the same time feel that I should not be obligated to fit it into either one. He said that Turkey is very similar to Greece (the Istanbul area at least and the Aegean Sea area) but that the Eastern part of Turkey is very much influenced by Asia and its surrounding neighbours (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Georgia, etc).
The ferry trip took around 1 1/2 hours as it stopped off at the 3 Islands lying ahead of Bunucada, and then we arrived at Bunucade (the largest island). What an interesting sight , full of cafes, fish restaurants, ice cream parlours, souvenir shops, Turkish clothing stores, Turkish craft stores. We decided to eat some lunch as it was late. We had delicious lunch/dinner and then went for a walk a bit. I found a nice Turkish handbag which we bought. We walked to another area and decided to rent 3 bicycles and rode 1/4 way up the Island past beautiful houses, and a steady steam of horse carriages carrying tourists and residents passing by.
We left the Island around 8:45, but not before sitting at one of the ice cream cafes to endulge in Turkish ice cream once again, and then headed "home" back to Taksim area on the European side of Istanbul, reaching home at 11 pm.
Dolmapahce or Topkapi Palace? Which one is more favourable?
Monday July 6 2009
I am finding it difficult to recollect thoughts when I am not writing at the moment so this will be a summary of the visits.
There were several palaces in Istanbul (one of them has been converted into a Kempinski Hotel on the Bosphorus and apparently is around $5000 a night!) and I have yet to research further fully into all of the Palaces. However, Dolmapahce and Topkapi are the 2 palaces most tourists can visit.
We went to visit Dolmapahce first, and it was pretty impressive as I mentioned in my earlier blog. Dolmapahce is definitely a European style palace and still has the furnishings in it from the Sultans, such as beds, chairs, pictures on the walls, etc. We were not allowed to take any photos inside of the Palace. The paints on the walls were apparently original paints made from natural sources. The ceilings were gold plated. On this visit we did not see the Harem part of the Palace.
I must quickly explain what the harem is. Most people think of harem as an assortment of women available to a man at any time. It generally means the private area of the house, where the family lives, although , I must add that these Sultans did nothing to counteract the idea of harem in the West! There were literally hundreds of women (mostly concubines) living in these harem areas.
Topkapi palace is much larger and spread out in size. It is definitely a Turkish or Ottoman style Palace. The tile work on the walls and ceilings as well as mother-of-pearl finishings amongst the tile work is quite impressive. It was built in the 1400's by one of the Sultans. There were rooms for specific functions, official dinners/reception, a circumcision room, etc. On this visit we did go into the harem section. We were shown the Mother of the Sultans apartment (apparently at the time of teh Sultan's rule, it was the Mother of the Sultan who ruled the Palace!). He even shared a bath with his Mother as well. There were all these protocols with how women in the harem could manage to advance to official wives of the Sultan, if they managed to successfully educate themselves and if they were beautiful as well.
I am finding it difficult to recollect thoughts when I am not writing at the moment so this will be a summary of the visits.
There were several palaces in Istanbul (one of them has been converted into a Kempinski Hotel on the Bosphorus and apparently is around $5000 a night!) and I have yet to research further fully into all of the Palaces. However, Dolmapahce and Topkapi are the 2 palaces most tourists can visit.
We went to visit Dolmapahce first, and it was pretty impressive as I mentioned in my earlier blog. Dolmapahce is definitely a European style palace and still has the furnishings in it from the Sultans, such as beds, chairs, pictures on the walls, etc. We were not allowed to take any photos inside of the Palace. The paints on the walls were apparently original paints made from natural sources. The ceilings were gold plated. On this visit we did not see the Harem part of the Palace.
I must quickly explain what the harem is. Most people think of harem as an assortment of women available to a man at any time. It generally means the private area of the house, where the family lives, although , I must add that these Sultans did nothing to counteract the idea of harem in the West! There were literally hundreds of women (mostly concubines) living in these harem areas.
Topkapi palace is much larger and spread out in size. It is definitely a Turkish or Ottoman style Palace. The tile work on the walls and ceilings as well as mother-of-pearl finishings amongst the tile work is quite impressive. It was built in the 1400's by one of the Sultans. There were rooms for specific functions, official dinners/reception, a circumcision room, etc. On this visit we did go into the harem section. We were shown the Mother of the Sultans apartment (apparently at the time of teh Sultan's rule, it was the Mother of the Sultan who ruled the Palace!). He even shared a bath with his Mother as well. There were all these protocols with how women in the harem could manage to advance to official wives of the Sultan, if they managed to successfully educate themselves and if they were beautiful as well.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Dolmapahce Palace - Sunday July 5th
We finally went to see the Dolmapahce Palace yesterday. It was a Palace built by the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire in the 1850's. It took almost 12 years to build, and it was so elaborately decorated that it took the budget of 10 years worth from the whole entire Empire (that is Tunisia to the Balkans to Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, etc). Can you imagine? Inside, the furnishings and decorations were pretty elaborate and impressive. Several rooms were covered with art forms gold plated, the stairwell railings were made of pure crystal from France, the largest Chandelier had been made in London, UK and shipped to Istanbul, just to name a few of these highlights.
One of the rooms was the bedroom where Kamal Attaturk (the founder of Turkey) had lived during his last days and died in the bedroom.
It was neat outside too, as there were scenes the boys had never been exposed to. For instance, we looked ahead (before going in) and Munir had to convince the boys that the "statue like" thing in front of us was actually a real man (soldier) and not a statue. It was neat as the soldier was standing completely straight and not moving. We got to witness the changing of the guard as well.
After the Dolmapahce Palace visit we had a quick lunch by the Bosphorus (not very far from the Palace) and then headed on the train again down past Sultanahmet area towards the Grand Bazaar. Turns out the Grand Bazaar was closed on Sundays! There was still a small market set up near by which we ended up buying some clothes for the kids and also some gifts as well.
We arrived home and then went out to Istiklal Street once again and headed to a restaurant for dinner. I had something really delicious. It was lamb kofta with a cheese/veggie mixture on top. Was pretty scrumptious. The dessert I had was pretty good as well - some kind of sweet mixture with different nuts and also made with saffron too.
One of the rooms was the bedroom where Kamal Attaturk (the founder of Turkey) had lived during his last days and died in the bedroom.
It was neat outside too, as there were scenes the boys had never been exposed to. For instance, we looked ahead (before going in) and Munir had to convince the boys that the "statue like" thing in front of us was actually a real man (soldier) and not a statue. It was neat as the soldier was standing completely straight and not moving. We got to witness the changing of the guard as well.
After the Dolmapahce Palace visit we had a quick lunch by the Bosphorus (not very far from the Palace) and then headed on the train again down past Sultanahmet area towards the Grand Bazaar. Turns out the Grand Bazaar was closed on Sundays! There was still a small market set up near by which we ended up buying some clothes for the kids and also some gifts as well.
We arrived home and then went out to Istiklal Street once again and headed to a restaurant for dinner. I had something really delicious. It was lamb kofta with a cheese/veggie mixture on top. Was pretty scrumptious. The dessert I had was pretty good as well - some kind of sweet mixture with different nuts and also made with saffron too.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Monday , July 6th 2009
I think I will carry my writing book from now on, so the memories and thoughts are right away written down. Here it is Monday and we are already rushing out the door to explore Istanbul. I will capture our visit to the Dolmapahce Palace a bit later. Yesterday we went to the Dolmapahce Palace (an extraordinary sight) and tried to go to the Grand Bazaar but it turned out to be closed on Sundays.
Today we will be going to Topkapi Palace and SultanAhmet Mosque and possibly the archeology Museum and or Mosaic Museum (if there is time).
Adios for now!
Today we will be going to Topkapi Palace and SultanAhmet Mosque and possibly the archeology Museum and or Mosaic Museum (if there is time).
Adios for now!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Day 2 - Grocery Shopping, Hagia Sophia, Sufi music
Here we are on Day 2 - 19 more days to go.
Munir and I decided to pop a short walk away to Istiklal Street (2 blocks away) to do some grocery shopping for our flat. We bought shampoo/conditioner, mouthwash, bread, cheese, milk, etc for breakfast/lunch. Munir had to stop by the Turkcell shoppe to see about his Turkish mobile number as there seemed to be problems with connection.
Came back to the flat and boiled some eggs and had cheese, bread and eggs for breakfast with chai (Turkish tea). Although it wasn't really chai the way the Turks do, as we added milk to it. Turks are very particular about their 'chai' and drink it out of tiny glasses and no milk is added, only cube sugar. We all had showers (now that we had soap and shampoo in the flat!) - figured out how to turn the hot water tank on first. They are also very cautious about electricity costs here, unlike in Abu Dhabi where electricity is so cheap.
We all walked up to Istiklal Street again and headed towards the Venicular (spelling??) but on the way saw police force guarding the ING Bank and there seemed to be some kind of commotion happening on Istiklal Street and Munir got a bit anxious. It was a bit anxious for us for about 10 minutes then we were relaxed. We took the Venicular (spelling?) down the hill towards the Bosphorus and then caught the tram to Sultanahmet. The Venicular is basically a type of train which goes from 1 stop back to another basically up and down a long steep hill. It is about a 5 minute ride. Sultanahmet is the area of Istanbul where the Ottoman Empire was once ruled from. It consists, besides several other landmarks, Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet Mosque, and the Topkapi Palace.
Once we reached Sultanahmet area, crossed the street, you could tell it is a very touristy place. As we walked along the strip, these gorgeous exotic earrings caught my attention, so I picked up a few pairs, and found out the rest of the store was downstairs in the building. Went downstairs and I have never seen so much exotic jewellery before - mostly silverworks with beads galore and other exotic looking jewellery. Went back upstairs outside after purchasing 3 pairs of earrings and 1 necklace. Stopped by the icecream stand at the top , where the boys had just eaten icecream from. I have to tell you about the Istanbuli ice cream guys - they play all sorts of tricks on you when you orde ice cream, its cute. The ice cream is delicious it is very thick and when you lick it it actually is a bit "marzipanish" like on your tongue. We went next door afterwards to a travel agent, and Munir was checking into different tourist tours available. We may go to the Black Sea tomorrow (Sunday) by boat with this agency - there was also a Whirling Darwish event as well another day which we will probably attend. After the travel agent, we each ordered a donair sandwich and a few drinks and then headed towards the Hagia Sophia.
Hagia Sophia - what can I say. It must be at least 2000 years old, once a Greek Temple, converted to a Cathedral during the Roman Empire ages, and then to a mosque and now as a museum. All of the Turkish mosques were modelled after the Hagia Sophia with its remarkable and distinctive architecture with many domes, etc. Upon entering the Hagia Sophia, I felt very taken by its beauty and symbolism. Could not believe how high the centre dome and ceiling is in general! The symbolism that are there is for an example there is the painting of Virgin Mary with the Christ on her lap above the altar area, and then when it was converted to a mosque, there were huge names hung, including in arabic "Allah " (God) and Mohammed on either side of Virgin mary's painting. How much more symbolic can you get?
I could talk for hours about the Hagia Sophia, but will move on to our ride home. Took the same way home as we came, and then reached Taksim (the area where we are staying) and Istiklal Street.
We got home, had something to eat and Munir and I got ready to go out to our Sufi music demonstration class at the local Music store on Istiklal Street. We had seen this store yesterday who were offering the classes. Very spiritual indeed.
Afterwards, Munir and I went for tea and then came home around 12 midnight. Both boys were fast asleep.
Good night for now will write more tomorrow.
Munir and I decided to pop a short walk away to Istiklal Street (2 blocks away) to do some grocery shopping for our flat. We bought shampoo/conditioner, mouthwash, bread, cheese, milk, etc for breakfast/lunch. Munir had to stop by the Turkcell shoppe to see about his Turkish mobile number as there seemed to be problems with connection.
Came back to the flat and boiled some eggs and had cheese, bread and eggs for breakfast with chai (Turkish tea). Although it wasn't really chai the way the Turks do, as we added milk to it. Turks are very particular about their 'chai' and drink it out of tiny glasses and no milk is added, only cube sugar. We all had showers (now that we had soap and shampoo in the flat!) - figured out how to turn the hot water tank on first. They are also very cautious about electricity costs here, unlike in Abu Dhabi where electricity is so cheap.
We all walked up to Istiklal Street again and headed towards the Venicular (spelling??) but on the way saw police force guarding the ING Bank and there seemed to be some kind of commotion happening on Istiklal Street and Munir got a bit anxious. It was a bit anxious for us for about 10 minutes then we were relaxed. We took the Venicular (spelling?) down the hill towards the Bosphorus and then caught the tram to Sultanahmet. The Venicular is basically a type of train which goes from 1 stop back to another basically up and down a long steep hill. It is about a 5 minute ride. Sultanahmet is the area of Istanbul where the Ottoman Empire was once ruled from. It consists, besides several other landmarks, Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet Mosque, and the Topkapi Palace.
Once we reached Sultanahmet area, crossed the street, you could tell it is a very touristy place. As we walked along the strip, these gorgeous exotic earrings caught my attention, so I picked up a few pairs, and found out the rest of the store was downstairs in the building. Went downstairs and I have never seen so much exotic jewellery before - mostly silverworks with beads galore and other exotic looking jewellery. Went back upstairs outside after purchasing 3 pairs of earrings and 1 necklace. Stopped by the icecream stand at the top , where the boys had just eaten icecream from. I have to tell you about the Istanbuli ice cream guys - they play all sorts of tricks on you when you orde ice cream, its cute. The ice cream is delicious it is very thick and when you lick it it actually is a bit "marzipanish" like on your tongue. We went next door afterwards to a travel agent, and Munir was checking into different tourist tours available. We may go to the Black Sea tomorrow (Sunday) by boat with this agency - there was also a Whirling Darwish event as well another day which we will probably attend. After the travel agent, we each ordered a donair sandwich and a few drinks and then headed towards the Hagia Sophia.
Hagia Sophia - what can I say. It must be at least 2000 years old, once a Greek Temple, converted to a Cathedral during the Roman Empire ages, and then to a mosque and now as a museum. All of the Turkish mosques were modelled after the Hagia Sophia with its remarkable and distinctive architecture with many domes, etc. Upon entering the Hagia Sophia, I felt very taken by its beauty and symbolism. Could not believe how high the centre dome and ceiling is in general! The symbolism that are there is for an example there is the painting of Virgin Mary with the Christ on her lap above the altar area, and then when it was converted to a mosque, there were huge names hung, including in arabic "Allah " (God) and Mohammed on either side of Virgin mary's painting. How much more symbolic can you get?
I could talk for hours about the Hagia Sophia, but will move on to our ride home. Took the same way home as we came, and then reached Taksim (the area where we are staying) and Istiklal Street.
We got home, had something to eat and Munir and I got ready to go out to our Sufi music demonstration class at the local Music store on Istiklal Street. We had seen this store yesterday who were offering the classes. Very spiritual indeed.
Afterwards, Munir and I went for tea and then came home around 12 midnight. Both boys were fast asleep.
Good night for now will write more tomorrow.
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