Istanbul, Turkey 10/23-28, 2006

Pictures are:  Us in our train compartment; thru customs middle of the night by train entering Turkey; Moon & Star on the front of the train; train arriving in Istanbul; Us contemplating our next move..........We arrive in Istanbul at 8:30 a.m on a night train from Thessaloniki, Greece.  We're in the station The Orient Express arrives in.  There is an Orient Express restaurant and waiting room that is very lovely with beautiful stained glass windows.  We walk past the restaurant, peak into the waiting room and I take some pictures.  I have always wanted to take The Orient Express from London to Istanbul.  Maybe someday when I have more money than I have now!!!!  We're sitting in an outdoor cafe next to the train station having breakfast and trying to decide our next move.  The sun is breaking thru and it is a lovely day.  I go to take money out and am puzzled because it is not Euros but Turkish Lira.  They take dollars, euros and TL here in Istanbul.  The breakfast was E5 and the coffee E6, I guess, anyway too much money.  We ask the waiter for information on a hotel.  Pack up and walk to Samil.  I get in wrong.  He told us first the Orient Express Hotel and then the Samil.  The guy here at Samil has a room for E22 or TL35.  It's ok but Janeen doesn't like it and it won't be cleaned till noon.  I wait here with the bags on the steps up to the hotel and she goes to check others, finds Hotel Akcinar for E30 with breakfast and a view of the train station, Marmara Sea with the cruise ships and the Asian side of Istanbul.  She comes back for me and I'm ok with this arrangement.  The extra E4 each covers the breakfast.  We rest for a bit and then head towards the stop for the tour bus in the center of the European side of Istanbul.  They only run till 3 or 4 so we'll wait for tomorrow to tour the city.  I try to get money and can't.  Evidently, Istanbul is one of the cities in Europe shut off by my bank.  DAMN  I also find out that the banks are closed till Thursday.  It's a holiday after Ramadan.  The Muslim people have been fasting for a month.  By fasting they don't eat till after 4 a.m. and then eat, then fast again.  This goes on for the month of Ramadan.  Turkey is basically a Muslim country.  Now it has ended and they are celebrating.  It will be busy traveling at this time.  The Bazaar and Spice Market are closed till Thursday.  A guy starts talking to Janeen and begins helping me with the bank withdrawal.  I follow him to another ATM and still have the same problem.  I am reticent to put my card in as an older American has just lost his card in the machine.  The same problem, can't get money but it does return my card.  Janeen has loaned me TL20 and I buy a small coin purse in a shop along the street.  This guy takes us to his shop.  It's Turkish carpets and we go upstairs.  The boss starts the "dog and pony show".  I look at a lot of carpets.  Hard to narrow down but I liked 2.  They are hard selling me.  The first sale, the first day after Ramadan, blah, blah, blah..........The guys name is Frederico, which makes me more interested in buying the rugs.  I think I want them both but not today, so leave.  We go towards the restaurant I had spotted before and end up at Bodrum cafe & restaurant.  Sitting at a table outside, I have lamb shish kebab, rice and salad plate, wine and a Turkish coffee he gives me on the house.  The wine is a bit expensive TL9 and the plate TL12.50 10%.  Inon gets friendly with us, sits down and goes thru the map with Janeen.  There are touts everywhere just like India.  He drags us to "his" shop.   Valean who is married to an Aussie and lived there for awhile is the owner/salesman.  He has a beer belly, scrappy looking and sits with us.  They serve us wonderful tea and start their show.  Inon has given me a massage on the shoulders and back as well as at the restaurant and gives Janeen one on her shoulders.  He asks me what I'm looking for.  Starts showing me ugly rugs.  I ask him why?  He says to show me nicer later!  The guy is aggravating me.  He shows me the kilim carpets that I said I was interested in and tells me the price, over $900.  I tell him that's out of my price range.  He says what will I pay, I say $350, he says "wrap it up"!  I say no and want to know why he's playing around with the cost.  He gives me some bullshit answer about the first day after Ramadan.  I tell him I'm not ready to buy rugs today, I'm tired and I may be back!  We leave and another one snags us on the street.  Dump him and go back to the room exhausted.  Climb into bed @ 8:30 p.m., watch some news and TV and then to sleep.  Janeen still has the TV on and it is bothering me.  I ask her to put the commercials on mute as I can't stand the language.  No mute so she lowers it and then shortly shuts it off and to sleep herself.  I wake about 6:45 a.m. from the sounds of the "call to prayer" from the mosque across the city.  Every morning your hear these sounds.  Try to sleep a bit more.  Finally about 7 or so work on the memory cards.  Janeen is up now, showers and goes to breakfast.  I shower and go down myself about 9:30.  I have taken some pics from the room with the view.  Breakfast is nice, but need to be there earlier for the cheese samosa-like pastry.  There was only 1 left.  We go out for the City Sightseeing tour.  I don't think the tour is worth the money here.  It starts @ 10a.m. till 3 or 4.  We get on @ noon.  Had to wait half an hour so we shopped and bought 3 small bags, 6 for TL10, which we split.  Get the tour bus just before leaving and sit up top.  Starts at Sultanahmet Center with the Blue Mosque on the west side and St. Sophia on the east side or left.  The Blue Mosque was built in 1616 and St. Sophia goes back to Constantinople times, which was the original name of Istanbul.  There is a huge old wall all around the city from the time this was Constantinople.  The underground Cistern is here in the square also.  The Archaeological Museum is the third largest in the world.  We go by the Sirkeci Train Station where we came in and the world famous Orient Express comes in.  Topkapi Palace, now a museum is on the top of the hill.  The Spice Bazaar will not be open till Thursday because of the holiday. We pass this before crossing the Galata Bridge used for line fishing.  Many guys on the bridge fishing.  Pass the Galata Tower that has a magnificent view of Istanbul.  Past the old mosques, Kilic Ali Basa and Nusretiye Mosque with their old type example of Turkish architecture.  Past the cannon factory Topkane.  Then the Dolmabahce Mosque next to the Dolmabahce Palace that we tour on the second ride thru, which as 365 rooms and 22 howes(?).  We take a 30 minute break at Taksim Square where there are famous streets for shopping, Istikal Street and Tarlkabasi Blvd.  The waterway that juts into the Sea of Marmara  which the Galata Bridge crosses at the mouth and the Unkapani Bridge cross farther up, is called The Golden Horn and is actually a freshwater estuary or river that separates the old and new parts of the European side.  The waterway from the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea is called The Bosphorus.  We pass a famous hotel, Pera Palace, where Florence Nightingale and Agatha Christie have stayed.  The Bulgarian Metal Church, made of all metal, prefabricated and erected at this site, was allowed by the Sultan to be built here.  The metal bridge which is no longer in use, was the first bridge.  We go past the Jewish area where Jews have lived in peace, and the only place they have lived in peace.  Many of the homes have the star of David on the building.  They mention a famous cafe of an artist bearing his name as it was his favorite place, Pierre Loti Cafe.  Past another mosque, Eijup Sultan Mosque, a pilgrimage stop on the way to Mecca.  We pass Yedikule Dungeon with 7 towers, a place where important people were prisoned.  There is a view of Princes' Islands from the Asian side where Byzantine Princesses used to go for the beach and the sun.  Pass by a beautiful Fish Market that you could smell upon approaching.  We're back now to the Sultanahmet Center and wait for 30 minutes again, the bus driver's breaks.  I get off the bus to smoke and immediately am hussled by a good looking younger Turkish man in a light colored leather jacket, worry beads in hand.  I joke with him about not going to look at his shop and I buy a water for me, a coke for Janeen who is waiting on the bus.  Back on the bus and we have the front top seats with a good view.  We get off this time at Dolmabahce Mosque and Palace.  Buy a sandwich from a guy in front of the mosque and eat it en route to Que up to get our tickets.  There is some confusion and many people, due to the holiday.  We cannot take the Harem tour as there is no time.  They stop selling tickets around 3.  The Palace was built 1843-1856 in the style of European architecture with 65 bathrooms, 333 rooms and 6 Turkish Baths.  Many crystals and windows for reflection of sunlight and mostly symmetrical rooms.  There is a 1.5 TON Waterford Crystal chandelier in the Ambassadors Reception Hall.  In 1912 central heating and lighting was installed, before that it was gas lite.  In one of the rooms there is a fireplace with red Bohemian crystal adorning the face.  We pass thru a 150 meter long set of hallways with many paintings, some gone and on loan to an exhibit somewhere in the world.  This leads to the Harem and living area of the Sultan.  The doors of this passageway were locked and guarded at night which separated the women.  300 people lived here.  Armenian architects, Balian, father and son, built this Palace for the last 7 generations of Sultans.  We see some of the Harem rooms and the living area and enter the Grand Cremonial Hall with the largest Waterford Crystal Chandelier weighing 4.5 TONS,  unlite, only lite on occasions for dignitaries.  It has 700 lites and the third heaviest chandelier in the word.  The balcony above the Sultans, no one occupied.  The balconies on either side and the end were for dignitaries.  The women watched from behind the screened windows in back of the end balcony.  The style is neo-baroque and painted by Armenian, French and Italian artists.  We exit this fabulous palace and walk around the grounds, taking pics.  Find a bathroom and use it.  Sit and have some ice cream by the Marmara Sea.  The ships heading for the Black Sea pass in front of us.  A massive one piled high with containers.  I wonder what happens in high seas.  The waves from this ship splash up against the sea wall and we move away as everyone does.  We head to catch a bus back.  Wait a long time and the bus numbers I have read off the posting do not come.  I see a metro not far from us, so we head there.  Get on at the end of the line so the car is fairly empty and we get seats.  By the time we get to Sultanahmet Center, it is packed.  It was difficult to get off.  We squeeze off and look back at the packed cars and people still trying to get on.  It's the 3-day holiday so the public transportation is free during this time.  We shop a bit, buying some earrings.  Another shop has cute outfits for the girls but he obviously does not want to sell me them as I never get an answer on the price.  Instead he coaxes me into the shop and drapes me with a cashmere shawl.  It is beautiful and I should have bought it.  We head from the room and stop for pistachios, water and pretzels.  We buy a baked potatoes stuffed with our choice of stoppings for our dinner.  Janeen takes them back to the room while I go buy wine.  Wine was too expensive, so I get 2 beers.  Very inexpensive dinner.  Back at the room, eat my potato which was pretty good, drink a beer, watch some TV and to sleep.  Get up and to breakfast after my shower.  Make a couple small sandwiches for later.  We head out to the Archaeological Museum, the third largest in the world.  It is amazing with the statues of Apollo, God of light, fine art and prophecy; Athena, Goddess of wisdom, shells and warfare;  Hermes, the protector of the travelers, the sacred milestone erected on roads in the name of the God Hermes; Alexander the Great, Emperor Marcus Aurelius 161-180 AD; Poetress Sappho, from the island of Lesbos where the name Lesbian comes from;  Aphrodite, Goddess of love and beauty; Goddess Cybele, mistress of life and wild nature; Artemis, Goddess of the moon, forest and hunting; Oceanus, God of the rivers; Tyche, Goddess of good luck and personifying fortune; Zeus Soter, protector of the sky; Zeus Anon, God of the sky; Poseidon, God of the sea; Nike, Goddess of victory; Pan, God of the shepherds and pastures; Gaia, symbol of the earth as a universal element; Demeter, Goddess of the earth and agriculture and many more statues that I did not photograph.  They are beautiful statues of marble, some very large.  We see the Tile Kiosk with it's beautiful tiles, Kutahya porcelain and Canakkale red clay pottery of interesting forms, sought by foreign collectors.  The Kutahya porcelain was the finest the end of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th century made of hard white clay.  The Canakkale, late 18th century to mid 19th was made of red clay with exterior glaze.  The Tile Kiosk was built in 1472 by Sultan Mehmed is also called "The Crystal Palace" or "Keshan Pavilion".  We view the sarcophagus in the other side of the Archaeological Museum.  I photograph some of these with reliefs of 2 woman/bird/beast, mourning women and Alexander. The Sarcophagus, 4th century BC thought to be Alexander the Great but was actually Abdalonymos unearthed in 1887.  It is a huge mausoleum-looking structure all sides in relief which I photographed.  These collections are all from the Hellenistic Period, 3rd. to 1st century BC and the Archaic Period which was before the Hellenistic Period.  I also photographed a funerary relief of Jedi'Bel and his son Zabde'Ateh as these were the ones I liked the best from the many reliefs.  Stop and sit in the self-service food area outside and amongst pillars and statues that are not displayed in the museum.  Drink my mineral water and watch the fall leaves fall to the ground from the wind.  Try to film the falling leaves with no luck but do take shots of the artifacts and leaf on our table. We go on to Topkapi Palace Museum and get in the Que for the tickets to get into the Harem, which is really just the living area of the Sultan and his family.  Janeen starts grumbling about us being in the wrong line.  She steps out and checks the ticket boxes and comes back with the report they are not selling tickets anymore.  So we get out of line, I can see the 2 booths and there is a sign that says "no more sales till 15:00", which she doesn't even read!  I go to the audio booth and talk with the man and he tells me they will only sell 80 more for this late tour so we can wait in line but will have to also ascertain how many people are in line.  Janeen tries to get back in our old position and stands pouting on the outside of our position in line.  I come back, after counting people and ask if we can get back in line.  Janeen just stands there with this awful look on her face and some grumpy American woman says "no" very rudely.  I accept it as we had voluntairly removed ourselves from the line.  Go to the end because I think we fit in the 80 count.  She finally comes back grumbling, we make it to the ticket counter and then get into an awful argument.  I just want to be left alone and cool down.  She pushes me and I say "only 52 more days left" and she gets more pissed.  We have bad words and separate.  I have no idea where she has gone.  I go tour the porcelain Japanese and Chinese dishes because there is 20 minutes yet before the Harem tour starts.  The collection is many different Dynasties and are very beautiful.  Many made to order with Arabic inscriptions.  Back to the Harem for the tour and Janeen is there.  It's starts in Eunuch's Courtyard where the guards watched over the concumbines and then Eunuch's Dormitory where the concubines slept and lived.  Go thru the main gate and into Mother Sultan's Courtyard, thru the concubines passageway and into their courtyard.  There were 500 ladies from all over the world.  Some given as gifts.  They were allowed to leave and marry.  The Sultan had 4 wives and 8-10 favorite concubines.  We enter Valide Sultan's quarters and the Sultan's bath, which is very large with marble areas for massage or resting and a huge tub.  From here into the Imperial Hall, Murat III Chambers, Sultan Ahmet I Chamber, Sultan Ahmet III Chamber, twin Pavilion where there is a bed area on each end of the room with fireplace in between.  The rooms are all tiled with large light- giving windows with beautiful draperies and stained glass.  Into the favorite Concubines' Courtyard and exit the Harem from the last stop.  There is a view from this courtyard that is lovely but you cannot see the sea.  We finish the tour but the rest of the Palace is closed.  Walk to the very back which has a wondrous sea view and then exit the palace.  Janeen is waiting outside.  We walked down to town.  We wander around heading behind the mosque and past some Obeliscs.  I photograph them.  Head up towards some shopping area and stop for dinner at an older outdoor restaurant and have an original Turkish meal.  It was good and inexpensive, soup, salad, entree, dessert and Turkish coffee for $13.  I go to the Internet, emails from Sally, Deb, Roger, Jesper and answer a few.  Head for the room and buy shoes for me, Arabic turned up toe slippers and also a pair for Mark.  Hope they fit him.  Back to the room with no comment or discussion from Janeen.  I'll wait till she brings it up in the a.m. which she will do!  To sleep.....Up early again.  Write a bit, go to breakfast.  Janeen brings up the incident from yesterday back in the room.  We have a huge impasse discussion.  She seems so smug to me.  She feels better when it's over, I feel like nothing has been accomplished.  We go on to the banks with no luck as it's Thursday and the Holiday is over.  Finally find a Citibank where I can get money but don't have my passport with me.  Janeen waits and I go for my passport.  Back to the bank and withdraw 800 Turkish Lira and pay Janeen back.  We head for town and get lost.  Finally find our way.  Sit in the park by the Cistern and eat my sandwiches.  Want a coffee but head to return the headset from the bus tour a few days ago I accidentally did not leave on the bus.  See the line for the Cistern tour is short so have Janeen get us tickets and I'll meet her there.  I mail my postcards.  Back to meet Janeen but accompanied by a Turkish man trying to hustle me into another carpet shop, get rid of him.  The Cistern is very interesting, called the Basilica Cistern, was built during the reign of Emperor Justinianus in 532 AD in the 6th century, the age of glory for Eastern Rome.  It is 143 m long and 65 m wide and covers an area of 9,800 square miles.  There are 336 marble columns, each 9 m high arranged in 12 rows, each row consisting of 28 columns.  The capitals or tops of the columns are mainly in the Ionic and Corinthian styles with a few exceptions in Doric style with no engravings.  The Cistern is surrounded by a firebrick wall with a thickness of 4 m and coated with a special mortar for insulation against water, the Cistern's water is provided from the Belgrade Woods, which lies 19 km north of the city, via aqueducts built by Emperor Jusitinianus.  The cracks and the columns were repaired in 1968, then having been restored in 1985 by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and opened once again 9/9/87.  At the northwest corner of the Cistern, at the bases of 2 different columns is the head of Medusa, one on it's side and one upside down.  Scientists feel they were placed there in these positions intentionally and were perhaps moved here from another site.  There are 2 mythological stories about Medusa on a sign that I photographed and hopefully can enlarge for information.  We get out of the Cistern and I have a cappuccino in a cute cafe on the street.  We stopped also at a travel agency and booked a tour at a good price leaving Saturday for Gallipoli and tour the World War I battle site, stay overnite in Canakkale, tour Troy and Pergamon following day, stay in Selchuck 2 nights, tour Ephesus and Pamukkale and take the night bus back to Istanbul, arriving in the a.m. on 11/1/06 and night train back to Thessanoniki all for $296.55.  All my money is almost gone now with buying this tour, so hopefully I can get more cash out at Citibank tomorrow, which is Friday, as we leave on Saturday for the tour.  Now we head to the Grand Bazaar as it is Thursday and it is open again.  I get stopped by Bulent who offers me Turkish coffee and will read my coffee grounds having been taught by his mother.  We go upstairs but Janeen is not happy.  I tell her I'll meet her but she's not leaving.  She has tea and I have the coffee and he reads my grounds.  It was fun.  He invites us for dinner and wine, I accept but discover it will cost me so say BYE, another tout in the streets of Istanbul.  We did look at his pictures of his trip to Egypt.  He tells me the difference between Egyptian, Iran and Iraq carpets from Turkish carpets.  They are 1 knot and the Turkish carpets have 2 knots.  We leave and head for the bazaar.  Pass a Turkish bath that is the oldest.  We should go there.  Stop to buy pens and then walk to the Spice Market.  At the market it's great fun.  The Turkish men are very flirtatious.  The market is very colorful with any kind of spice you desire and henna for the hair and body.  I take lots of pics here.  I buy sugar covered almondsand peanuts and dried apricots, a pomegranite and cookies.  Buy some cigs also.  Back to the hotel and Janeen goes to McD's for dinner.  I've had enough food but finish my beer and pretzels from yesterday and then to sleep.  Up early and to breakfast.  I have the shirt Inge gave me on and love it.  Looks great with my Vietnam brown pants.  Make sandwiches again.  Off to the bank and can't get money again.  Will try again at 4 p.m.  Has something to do with the withdrawal I made yesterday and the time frame in between considering also the time changes from the US and Istanbul.  We go to buy our train tickets (96.50 YTL) at the Sireci Train Station for the return to Thessaloniki on 11/1.   I have a glass of wine at the Orient Express Restaurant sitting outside  where our train came in the other day and get a guy to take our picture sitting here.  Bought 3 bromelaid bulbs in the street @ 3YTL a piece, a red, purple and yellow.  Hope they keep as I will mail them home in the package I'll be shipping from here in Istanbul soon.  Back to the room and try to call home.  Call Sally at Kimber's, Deb, Amy, Margaret, and leave messages for all and then call Cathy.  She is applying for another job at Glaxo.  Call Mary & Ken and use the calling card up.  They still don't have their itinerary to meet us in Rome.  She'll email me when they get it.  They got my letter from Inge's.  Will mail letter to Jerry.  Card ran out.  Ate my sandwiches in the room.  Go to the Internet for email from Ellen, Anna, Timmy, Jen, and answer most plus Roger, Deb & Sasha.  Leave Janeen at the Internet and go try again at the bank.  Still no luck.  Tried the ATM and it has a savings selectionbut that is not available either so still no money and I'm so pissed!!!!!  I go back to the Internet and call the bank wasting my money and time.  Walk up to the center and sit to eat my pomegranet.  It's good and very messy.  They have the largest most beautiful pomegranets in the world here!!!  Walk up the street to buy the cashmere shawl $20, pick up some postcards and stamps.  Walk back towards the hotel stopping at another carpet place where the kilims are $80.  I wish I would have liked them.  Stopped to eat at the Internet restaurant, good gyro and fries.  Back to the room to pack, shower and watching Steve McQueen in a movie.  We're up with the alarm at 5:45 a.m.  Dowstairs before 6:30.  The hotel guy gets us coffee and tea.  The guy picking us up arrives on time and we can't finish our coffee.  We're heading out of Istanbul on our 4-day tour of southwestern Turkey.........pictures are:  Blue Mosque, St. Sophia; view of train station & Marmara Sea from our room; city tour bus; city wall & monument; sandwich vendor; Muslim woman, Dolmabahce Palace; spice market; Archeological Museum; and, Topkapi Palace..........next is Gallipoli.........