Friday, November 06, 2009
The journey has begun. It started out with a set of near misses: we missed seeing the grandchildren in Darien because in our fear of attracting and becoming a carrier for whatever flu bug was running through the family, we chose to stay at the Marriott; we nearly missed our limousine to the airport, when after our very affable and efficient bellhop had loaded all our luggage into a large stretch limousine, waved us off and sent us packing we discovered that we were in the wrong limousine. The driver thought he had the Harris party heading to LGA, until I happened to mention that we were on a Delta departing from JFK. A quick return to the hotel where OUR driver awaited us, and Mr. & Mrs. Harris were probably a wee bit perturbed …and off we went - again. Whew.
The rest of the journey was uneventful but dehumanizing as we went through the usual chaos of check-in and security strip searches before the interminable (and antsy) wait until we were able to board. While we had prepared for a 10 hour flight to Istanbul, between tailwinds and a very efficient pilot we arrived after 8 ½ hours having dined on some hideous thing called lunch and an even sadder thing called breakfast.
The first indications that we were in foreign climes, and definitely out of our comfort zone and onto something new, was the sound of the Turkish Language being spoken by the attendants and on the signs on the monitors announcing our altitude, speed, mileage, and time of arrival. For all my smattering of language skills, there was absolutely nothing I could decipher. It is always a mixture of slight anxiety when I realize I cannot follow signs or make myself understood combined with that wonderful puzzle problem when I listen for clues and wonder if that word spelled ‘seat’ could mean this or that thing, only to discover that in Turkish it means something like ‘time’.
As we flew into Istanbul over the Sea of Marmara the hazy morning light greeted us and we blearily deplaned, wended our way through customs, found our luggage, and were piled into the hotel van which took us to the Hotel Sirkeci Konak.
First impressions in our 20 minute trip: construction cranes in all directions; road construction everywhere; beautiful ancient relics of walls and buildings left to rot with new structures using the skeletons of the old to create something new; old wooden houses with their tiered fronts which remind one of early 19th century drawings being covered over by slap-dash cement into an unappealing but efficient new apartment complex; and stone ramparts facing the sea obviously once meant for protection, now serving as billboard fronts for McDonalds and Saab. You can quickly see that Istanbul is a very old town but it is quickly becoming an unappealing setting for a growing population here to take advantage of growing tourism. The last five minutes of our ride to the hotel took us off the efficiently paved roads into a meandering maze of narrow cobblestone streets where old and new blended and tourists were walking in all directions. The hotel is literally facing the walls of the Topkapi Palace and our deluxe room with veranda overlooks the gardens of the palace.
We might have enjoyed all this more were we not exhausted and starved. So we had breakfast (yogurts, cheeses, all manner of fruits, cereals and fresh breads) and fell into bed. Nothing woke us but the intermittent haunting sounds of the electronically enhanced Muezzins calling the faithful to one of the five-a-day prayers . The sounds ripple through the town as different clocks cause different voices to start chanting until this plaintive wail is coating the entire town reminding the faithful of their need to stop their work and pray to Allah. We are definitely not in Kansas anymore.
We slept till dusk, had a delicious Turkish dinner at the hotel , and then back to bed for a sound night’s sleep.
Saturday, November 7 – 1st full day in Istanbul
A good night’s sleep does wonders for the equilibrium. A late breakfast and we were off to wander through streets filled with local Istanbullus who, like us, were enjoying a beautiful blue sky Saturday. We took the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) bus tour, as we always do on our first day in a new place. It provided a wonderful introduction to the layout of the city and told us through a multi-language electronic system all the critical dates and buildings which were important to the city. I don’t find Istanbul a pretty city, and the modern buildings are incredibly boring, but in between one caught glimpses of narrow streets with old homes, views of the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus, or the Sea of Marmara; and surrounding it all, the remains of the town walls that go on for 22 kilometers to surround the city and protect it from invaders. In some places the walls provided space for residents to grow vegetables, in others it was a source for trash and garbage disposal. At each major gate we were informed by the narrator about the importance of that particular gate and the community behind it. After two hours we landed back at our starting point thirsty for a beer. We found a roof top garden (most hotels and restaurants advertise such terraced spots) where we enjoyed our EFES beer with eggplant puree and a piece of grilled calamari larger than any we have ever seen before. Next to us were sitting a young Eastern European couple with their very adorable six year old child who decided with his very abbreviated English to engage us in dialogue. (“hello; how are you; I love you:” etc). We savored the sunset, the Blue Mosque being lit with spotlights, and the many boats, ships, ferries and caiques continuing to move through the Bosphorus …being guided away from the shore by the same lighthouse which we had just seen, at home, in the movie Topkapi. After another wailing round of prayers we headed back to our hotel ,in the dark ,for a rest before heading out for dinner.
Key impression of the day: Istanbul reminds me of Athens… with similar faces, foods, handicrafts, worry beads and insistent storekeepers and restaurant owners calling us in to see their special wares. Only the language and religion (not to mention hatred) separates these two cultures - no surprise given the history of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
Dinner at the fish restaurant associated with our hotel. Wonderful fresh fish, brought to your table, whole and uncooked, so you can choose which type appeals to you. It caused one couple to leave the restaurant – I guess it was toooo local for them. Bob had a grilled sea bass, I had fresh giant prawns. Yumm was the operative word. And so to bed.
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