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Tuesday October 8, 2019

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Overrated? Underrated? Overwhelming?

Probably a combination of these three to describe the Grand Bazaar on the European side. There is so much hype about this place, so much written, so much mystery, so much history and that trip here is definitely on anyone’s radar screen.

There are over 40 entrances and over 4000 shopping stalls. For the most part, it’s inside and “streets,” (yes, they do have names) direct visitors. No one pays attention and it’s nearly impossible to find the same exit from your original entrance.

What’s curious about this place is that selected items are sold and geared toward tourists. A visitor will find the usual array of Turkish spices, glassware and ceramics, trinkets of all kinds, clothing and some electronics. What you will not find are food vendors, food stalls and vegetable and fruit stands. Sprinkled throughout, an occasional café appears but the Bazaar is essentially a mecca for Turkish-made items.

Correction. It’s a safe bet that the vast majority of items are made in China, but who’s looking at the label. We did make a purchase and secured two small, glass tea-drinking glasses and stands. Cost was about $20 U. S. and now we need to be careful about packaging and taking this on planes.

The day itself was terrible, rain, cold and temps in the upper 50s. We agreed this was not conducive to walking about the city and falling into the usual tourist traps.

From the Grand Bazaar, we took the T1 tram. This is one of four trams which traverse the city, fairly long in distance and provides a good, overall view of the city.

My observation moves Istanbul very close to New York and Paris relative to the pace, temper and swiftness. Traffic jams, from cars, trucks, buses and cabs are quite common and gridlock is the norm. The streets teem with thousands of your closest friends and drivers never pay attention to the traffic around them nor to any street signs, if posted.

While the vast majority of visitors like to take tours, we believe the best way to see a city is through public transportation. For the fastest way to get from point A to point B, we look for the metro. To get a feel and the pulse of a city, we ride the buses and trams.

Because of the rain, the T1 tram ride was especially gratifying. Not only did we get out of the inclement weather but also had an opportunity to see the city and make some causal and non-scientific judgments.

After the tram, we grabbed lunch/dinner. Waynette ordered eggplant and I took a chicken kebab. The ones here are different than in Greece and in Turkey, this rolled in a flatbread. With fries and sharing a salad, we were full.

More shopping and this time, we bought Lindsay, our daughter, a ceiling light for her dining room table. To do so, we faced-time her at home and the store merchant showed different styles and colors. After she explained what she wanted, the deal was sealed and now we need to figure out how to get this back to her house in Lakeland, Fla.

Now, an admission.

After dinner I ordered Turkish tea, and a photo was posted. Slowly and with little resistance, I’m falling gracefully and deliberately into European café society. That’s where I feel a kinship with especially with the French, who sit for hours and watch the world parade before them. Waynette still pushes me to get going, but I’m resisting, these days. I’m becoming very comfortable in this direction and sense my travel personality is changing for the better.

For Wednesday, it’s Yom Kipper, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. In the morning, I’m going over to Neve Shalom synagogue. It’s one of the oldest in Europe, dates to 1459 and I’ll ask to attend services. Their response should be interesting.

PICTURES – the Grand Bazaar exterior, images from the Grand Bazaar interior, inside of the metro we take every day, Istanbul “stock exchange”

STEPS – Despite the rain and tram ride for over one hour, we managed 9,500 steps or 4.5 miles

Monday October 7, 2019

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Thanks very much, but how do we get back!

To try and explain, first consider where we are these days. Istanbul is one of the great cities in the world and depending with whom you speak, the population varies from 12 to 15 million and factor another two to three million who commute on a daily basis. Add a confusing transportation network of subways, regional train lines, ferries, trams, taxis, cars, trucks and a steady stream of people everywhere and you have a region consumed with constant motion and chaos.

Istanbul is divided by the Bosphorus strait, a waterway which divides European Istanbul from Asian Istanbul. This area was first settled around 1000 BC and during the middle ages was the most influential city in the world.  It’s stature as an important center for culture, history, the arts, commerce and travel is nearly unparalleled.

We arrived here about 11 am and dropped the car at one of the Istanbul airports. We couldn’t find the paperwork for the car, but the attendant said things were fine and wished us “a good holiday.” We loaded our treasures onto an airport luggage cart and set out in search of public transportation.

After asking several people, we were directed to the E9 bus to Bostanci section of the Asian side. We booked the Rhiss Hotel on the Asian side and the reason was cheaper but with easy access to the European side. Waiting in line for the bus, we met a couple, perhaps in their early 40s, from Calgary, who said they lived in Turkey the past year. From the conversation, we hinted they might be missionaries but seemed friendly.

They followed us on the bus and motioned to exit at a metro strop. From here, we took the metro 10 stops to Bostanci and GPS said we were close to the hotel. Frustrated by which way to go, we hailed a cab and as it turned out, this stop is about a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel. Later in the day, we found that out.

We checked in and the clerk gave us a room with a bathtub. Since Waynette cannot navigate in and out of a tub, we asked for another room. This time, there was no room on my side of the bed for access to the bathroom. At this point, we thought about cancelling but the prospect of dragging our stuff through one of the largest cities in the world was not terribly inviting. However, a third room they showed us met our criteria and we decided to stay.

Back at the front desk, we asked the clerk how to get to Galata Tower, which dates to the mid-15^th century and a great landmark in a city of stunning landmarks. The guy said make a right out of the lobby and a right at the first traffic light. The train station is down that street.

Actually, someone was right and the Bostanci station appeared. We decided to get off at the Sirkeci station and begin walking.

On the platform, Waynette looked over the map and said, “boy, this is confusing.”

“For me too,” said a female voice over her right shoulder. We turned and saw a girl, perhaps in her mid-30s, dressed in black, with black boots and a black hat and struck a conversation. Her English was perfect but with a slight accent. We explained our destination and she corrected us.

“Here,” she said, pointing to the map. “This is where you want to go. Get off here and change trains. Actually, I’m going that way so you can follow me.”

On the train, she said worked in the Olympics over the past several years and sorry she was not in Tokyo for the up-coming 2020 summer games. She is now involved in real estate and wants to get into the import-export business. In time, we switched trains and followed. We finally exited at Yenikapi, a major hub which services both regional and subways lines on the European side.

From the escalator and walking outside, she was greeted by a male friend and we all began to walk to together.

“I’m Elmira,” she said, “and this is my friend Waleed. Come, I’ll show you the best kabab place in all of Istanbul.”

Turns out Elmira is Iranian but from Vancouver. She talked about traveling in the U. S. and the times she had in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Waleed is from Dubai and after working for his father, he decided to move to Istanbul and found work as a software engineer. Both were terribly engaging and Waleed was quick with a huge smile and hearty laugh.

Soon, we were on Istiklal Street, one of the busiest streets in the world and makes the area around Times Square look calm. In time, Elmira showed us down an alley way, perhaps as wide as a hotel hallway and down to the end. There, we were seated at Yirmibir Kebap, a place only locals know. It was beyond lunchtime, so we ordered chicken Kababs and hummus. Elmira and Waleed took tea, the traditional Turkish drink and that’s consumed several times a day. When they finished and began leaving, we could not thank them enough for their friendship and direction. We lingered for about one hour and left. Walking down the alleyway, we encountered Elmira and Waleed returning to Yirmibir Kebap, one of their favorite haunts.

Now with Elmira disappearing among the masses, it was left for us how to figure our way back to the hotel. We have this, we agreed, because we always manage to find locations in any city on our radar screen.

We started back on Istiklal Street and ended up on a funicular that took us to the Galata Tower. Down a street from there, we came across Neve Shalom synagogue, one of the oldest remaining in Europe and this dates to 1459.

In our travels, we came across a few other metro stops and began to be familiar with travel about the regional lines and the subways. To cross from the Asian side to the European side, there are two modes and that’s either by ferry or the regional lines. Subway lines do not cross the Bosphorus strait.

Still a travel day, our batteries began to wear down and we decided to start back. By this time, we knew which regional line to take across the Bosphorus and that line brought us back to the Bostanci station.

Not sure what’s planned for Tuesday because rain, all day, is in the forecast. Sounds like a museum day and I’m sure we’ll find one that’s an interesting and diverse.

PICTURES – meeting Elmira and Waleed, our Turkish tea, Galata Tower at night, lunch at Yirmibir Kebap, street scenes.

STEPS – despite a travel day, we managed to push ourselves to a physical limit. We did 12,500 step and that correlates to 5.7 miles.

Shopping street of Caddesi.

Galant Tower at night

Everything you don’t need and never will need

Our cups of Turkish tea

inside the Yipmibif Kebap

Meeting Waleed and Elmira

Hassan, the barber, in his shop