Istanbul Day 2 morning and afternoon.

We are definately getting over our jet lag. I had thought the four days in Roma would do it, but it’s taken a day longer.

We had a breakfast of buttered toast at home, then walked to the local Starbuck’s for coffee. Yes, there is a starbuck’s on the main drag in Beyoglu! The coffee was not up to California standards, but it was good. We also had a crossant like thing that was turkish spices atop a whole wheat thing. I enjoyed it, Ellen was less impressed.

Today we was some of the beauty of Old Istanbul. We took the Tunnel, the 2nd oldest and shortest subway in the world, from Tunnel Meydani (Beyoglu) to Karakoy on the Golden Horn and walked the Galata Korprusu bridge from Asia to Europe. The Tunnel was very cool. It seemed to run at 15 degrees downslope for much of the way. It is a single track dual train system. Each train is one car and the cars pass eachother on a short length of dual track at roughly mid-span.

This is a very quaint, but very efficient way to get from Beyoglu hill to Karakoy and one bridge to Europe. It was not crowded the two times we took it today.

The walk across the Golden Horn to Europe is visually stunning. Not only did we have expansive views of the mosques and skyline on either side, but there were innumerable ferries, party boats, cruise ships, tug boats, commercial ships plying the harbor, and a number of Turks fishing from the bridge. With Turkey’s election for prime minister in full swing, the bridge is adorned with red and white flags, a reminder to vote for one of the candidates.

The road on each side of the bridge carries very heavy traffic. Where manouvering through traffic is normal in Beyoglu, it would be hazardous here. There are underground walkways to get you from one side to the other under these busy thoroughfares. In one case there is a exit half way through the underground to access the blue line tram which takes you to Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque.

Exiting the tunnel, we crossed under a thoroughfare that brought us to the bridge. We crossed the bridge and then took two underground passagways to get to the spice bazaar. We never actually entered the spice bazaar, but found vendors outside the bazaar that filled our needs. One fellow we spent at least an hour with said, “I keep my prices reasonable. I sell mostly to restaurants and locals who come in to buy spice for their large families. I sell to vendors in the bazaar and they mark the spice up then offer discounts. I do not offer discounts, but my prices are fair.” We took him at his word. If you are looking for dry foods, nuts, apple tea, caviar, or spices I recommend Has Ilgaz Spices Shop, Osman Celik or the manager Sadikoglu Kuruyemis can help you. They do have a tendency to suggest add-ons some of which we went with. Osman introduced us to his friend who runs a shop down the street: Damas, fine jewelry by Fadi. There were two muslim women who were buying scarves. Without speaking more than a few words of Turkish, we were able to communicate somewhat about the quailty of the scarves made by Shahtoosh. Shahtooh is literally beard of the shah. The idea being that the scarf is made from the daily cuttings from the Shah’s beard. The scarves are wool, but literally the finest textured wool I have ever run across my fingers.

The reason we never got near the spice bazaar: Osman and Fadi. Osman spoke fair english and Fadi was learning from Osman. These guys were fun and their products are top quailty.

Elias who is a rug dealer works with Fadi. Elias wanted to show us some old original Turkish rugs in “extraordinary fine condition”. I’m sure he has a number of very high quality persian rugs made long before the art died out. Today most Persian rugs are made by machine in China. We avoided temptation and did not look at Elias’ rug collection and it’s probably a good thing too.

Ellen asked Fadi how to get to the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Cami, and we retraced our steps to the blue line tram that crosses the Galata Korprusu Bridge and took it to Sultanahmet Cami, three stops away. The transformation going from Beyoglu to Sultanahmet is like moving from hell to heaven. Not that Beyoglu is hell, it is comfortable, exciting, and safe. The huge expanse of open space and the massiveness of the mosque and of Topkapi palace next door is a reminder of the grandure of the Ottoman Empire. The Blue Mosque is still in use today.

There are a number of strict rules that must be followed prior to entry into the mosque. These rules are strictly enforced: No hats can be worn. Shoulders must be covered and hair must be covered. Shorts must be covered. Guys wearing shorts were given blue wraps to cover themselves. No shoes can be worn in the mosque. We both took our shoes off and carried them in a bag with us. I removed my socks too. I”m glad I did, the mosque’s rug felt great underfoot.

Ellen had the foresight to take a scarf and minus my shoes, I was in good shape too. The mosque is massive. If memory serves, it is much larger than Notre Dame, which is the largest church/cathedral I have ever walked into. I’m told the largest cathedral is in Africa, the Gold Coast i think. We will post today’s pictures which include shots from the blue mosque. Ellen thinks St.Peter’s Basilica, is in the running for the largest.

We were quite hungry at this point and the sun was heating thnigs up. We headed back toward the tram station where we had seen street side cafes. Off the street there are a few shaded cafes. We made a bee line for one, a barker try to lure us into a very bright and very hot looking table for two nearby, but we held out for Lokum Cafe. We settled into a table under an awning overlooking a park like environment. The shade was all we needed to relax, and we both agreed the food was truely an experience. Prices go up the closer you get to tourist traps and this was no exception. This meal was well worth it. Lokum means Turkish Delight and it was. I very highly recommend the appetizer sampler and the chicken caserole. Our waiter recommended the chicken caserole for Ellen. This is the best Turkish meal we have had to date.

Headed back we took the blue line close to the bridge and walked. There was a rally for one of the candidates for Turkish prime minster on the bridge and on the water. There were probaly 300 people on the bridge carrying red and white signs and flags, a truck with a speaker system blaring and a boat that came close to the rally point with a guy at a loud speaker touting the quailties of his candidate. I confiscated one of the flags and will read about the candidates if/when I have time. We loitered with the rally for maybe twenty minutes. Getting from the bridge to the tunnel was no problem and we were home pretty quickly.

Our neighborhood looks a bit brighter today. The AC in the apartment works quite well and we’re happy taking a (rather late) siesta.

The muslim people we interacted with today were warm, caring, and friendly.

Istanbul grows on a person little by little.

Ron

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *