Turkey - Part 1
October - November 2005
My third trip to Turkey made me realize I need to go back. Istanbul is a magical spot with being on the water, having all the water activity with ferry boats, barges, tug boats, cruise ships and small fishing vessels as sea gulls swirl and swoop above; having a packed skyline of buildings, mosques, palaces, and trees; seeing history through the architecture; the contrast with the old and new; walking through the bazaars; and the gracious people. And, there are still many other places I want to see in Turkey. Before I left I had tentative plans to visit Syria pending securing a visa on my first full day in Turkey. Timing was not in my favor due to the release of the Mehlis report, Bush’s sentiments on the report, a two hour window to request and secure a visa on Friday, and not being sure if my Syrian friend would be back in Syria in time for my visit. The writing on the wall said to stay in Turkey. I will visit Syria another time.
Although my trip started October 27th, I was in vacation mode, along with the rest of the teachers, the whole week before. We took trips into Taif, browsed at the Ramadan tent souq among the clothes and bedding, had coffee and om ali, a wonderful Egyptian dessert if made correctly – this one was ok, at the Intercontinental Hotel, and my dear friend Dorelle had me over for breakfast on her balcony on my last morning at Al Hada. The evening before I left I shopped in the old souq in Jeddah with Tamara, a new teacher. Jeddah is still on the warm side and we sweated buckets while we walked around and did our errands. I even stopped to play ping pong with some boys in the square. Here it is night time and I have my black robe and my head scarf on, I am sweating like crazy and I can barely see the ball coming at me in the dim light but yet I manage not to make a fool of myself in front of the crowd that gathered. Everyone had a good laugh. After shopping it was time to join friends for a late meal out by the Red Sea. When I say late it was late! We got to the restaurant around midnight and stayed until after 3:30am. Didn’t get back to the hotel until 4:30pm and by 7:00am the next morning I was in a taxi to the airport.
I arrived on a sunny fall afternoon in Istanbul. My Turkish friend Ahmet met me at the airport and guided me to the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul where the tourists typically stay. Turkey has gotten a little more expensive in the last two years. When I went in the fall of 2003 1 lira = $.67 and now 1 lira = $.75. I ended up paying between 30 – 50 lira ($22.50 - $37.50) each night for a hotel room. The food is reasonable and very good. I was paying between 5-10 lira ($3.75 - $7.50) for lunch or dinner. A typical meal started with lentil soup or a nice salad then rice with a topping such as eggplant or a beef stew or beans or a chicken sheskabab. Bus transportation around Turkey is very affordable. The four bus rides from Istanbul to Safranbolu (5 hours), from Safranbolu to Sinop (7 hours), from Sinop to Amasya (6 hours) and Amasya to Istanbul (12 hours) rounded out to be 120 lira ($90).
This time around I stayed at the Antique Guesthouse and Hostel because the place I usually stayed at was full for the weekend – I didn’t reserve ahead of time. The first two nights in a private room was fine but the third night in a dorm room was my worst night’s sleep of the trip. I should have known better than to have agreed to sleep in a dorm room on a weekend. The two female twentysomethings I was sharing with were out late and then stayed up from 2am – 4 am talking with others hanging out in the lounge outside the room. Between the walls being paper thin and the girls coming in and out of the room every 5 minutes for who knows what, it was hard to sleep. I was happy to pack up and leave the next morning. Despite this, the hostel is a great place to meet other travelers over breakfast. An English girl spent a month in Syria and had a great time, an Australian couple sails on their boat for 6 months out of the year, a young Russian engineer was excited to be on vacation, and a student from UC Santa Cruz is studying in Budapest and came for a long weekend.
My three days in Istanbul flew by fast with breaking fast in the evening with Ahmet at Konak Pub where the owner is our friend, Ali Baba, walking through the Ramadan festival trying the local sweets and drinking fresh pomegranate juice, walking in the trendy Taksim area along with the rest of the masses, having real coffee and not Nescafe with my friend Ferda at a smart coffee house called “ist” then drinking wine in a newly renovated area called French St although it is not a street at all but a very steep walkway among restaurants, boutiques, and cafes, watching a devish whirl, taking a day cruise along the Bosphorus Straight to spend three hours at a small fishing village called Anadolu Kavagi at the mouth of the Black Sea, trying to avoid rain drops, and trying to stay warm. The first 1 ½ days were sunny and bright while the other 1 ½ days were raw, cold, and wet. I did end each evening at a local café close to the hostel where another of Ahmet’s friend named Yousef stands outside and tries to direct people into the café. I would sit for a spell drinking mint tea while working out the details of the trip. At least I knew I wanted to go to Safranbolu and Ferda helped me buy the bus ticket and connected me with Selcuk. Turns out Selcuk worked in the hotel where Ferda and I first met two years ago and now is promoting tourism in Safranbolu. I was glad to have someone collecting me on the other end after the bus ride.
Stay tuned for part 2 to learn about Safranbolu, to see a photo of the young Turk who said he loved me but no didn’t offer a proposal, and to read what is the best way to spend a few hours in this small mtn village.
Here are some photos from Jeddah and the first few days in Istanbul.
My third trip to Turkey made me realize I need to go back. Istanbul is a magical spot with being on the water, having all the water activity with ferry boats, barges, tug boats, cruise ships and small fishing vessels as sea gulls swirl and swoop above; having a packed skyline of buildings, mosques, palaces, and trees; seeing history through the architecture; the contrast with the old and new; walking through the bazaars; and the gracious people. And, there are still many other places I want to see in Turkey. Before I left I had tentative plans to visit Syria pending securing a visa on my first full day in Turkey. Timing was not in my favor due to the release of the Mehlis report, Bush’s sentiments on the report, a two hour window to request and secure a visa on Friday, and not being sure if my Syrian friend would be back in Syria in time for my visit. The writing on the wall said to stay in Turkey. I will visit Syria another time.
Although my trip started October 27th, I was in vacation mode, along with the rest of the teachers, the whole week before. We took trips into Taif, browsed at the Ramadan tent souq among the clothes and bedding, had coffee and om ali, a wonderful Egyptian dessert if made correctly – this one was ok, at the Intercontinental Hotel, and my dear friend Dorelle had me over for breakfast on her balcony on my last morning at Al Hada. The evening before I left I shopped in the old souq in Jeddah with Tamara, a new teacher. Jeddah is still on the warm side and we sweated buckets while we walked around and did our errands. I even stopped to play ping pong with some boys in the square. Here it is night time and I have my black robe and my head scarf on, I am sweating like crazy and I can barely see the ball coming at me in the dim light but yet I manage not to make a fool of myself in front of the crowd that gathered. Everyone had a good laugh. After shopping it was time to join friends for a late meal out by the Red Sea. When I say late it was late! We got to the restaurant around midnight and stayed until after 3:30am. Didn’t get back to the hotel until 4:30pm and by 7:00am the next morning I was in a taxi to the airport.
I arrived on a sunny fall afternoon in Istanbul. My Turkish friend Ahmet met me at the airport and guided me to the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul where the tourists typically stay. Turkey has gotten a little more expensive in the last two years. When I went in the fall of 2003 1 lira = $.67 and now 1 lira = $.75. I ended up paying between 30 – 50 lira ($22.50 - $37.50) each night for a hotel room. The food is reasonable and very good. I was paying between 5-10 lira ($3.75 - $7.50) for lunch or dinner. A typical meal started with lentil soup or a nice salad then rice with a topping such as eggplant or a beef stew or beans or a chicken sheskabab. Bus transportation around Turkey is very affordable. The four bus rides from Istanbul to Safranbolu (5 hours), from Safranbolu to Sinop (7 hours), from Sinop to Amasya (6 hours) and Amasya to Istanbul (12 hours) rounded out to be 120 lira ($90).
This time around I stayed at the Antique Guesthouse and Hostel because the place I usually stayed at was full for the weekend – I didn’t reserve ahead of time. The first two nights in a private room was fine but the third night in a dorm room was my worst night’s sleep of the trip. I should have known better than to have agreed to sleep in a dorm room on a weekend. The two female twentysomethings I was sharing with were out late and then stayed up from 2am – 4 am talking with others hanging out in the lounge outside the room. Between the walls being paper thin and the girls coming in and out of the room every 5 minutes for who knows what, it was hard to sleep. I was happy to pack up and leave the next morning. Despite this, the hostel is a great place to meet other travelers over breakfast. An English girl spent a month in Syria and had a great time, an Australian couple sails on their boat for 6 months out of the year, a young Russian engineer was excited to be on vacation, and a student from UC Santa Cruz is studying in Budapest and came for a long weekend.
My three days in Istanbul flew by fast with breaking fast in the evening with Ahmet at Konak Pub where the owner is our friend, Ali Baba, walking through the Ramadan festival trying the local sweets and drinking fresh pomegranate juice, walking in the trendy Taksim area along with the rest of the masses, having real coffee and not Nescafe with my friend Ferda at a smart coffee house called “ist” then drinking wine in a newly renovated area called French St although it is not a street at all but a very steep walkway among restaurants, boutiques, and cafes, watching a devish whirl, taking a day cruise along the Bosphorus Straight to spend three hours at a small fishing village called Anadolu Kavagi at the mouth of the Black Sea, trying to avoid rain drops, and trying to stay warm. The first 1 ½ days were sunny and bright while the other 1 ½ days were raw, cold, and wet. I did end each evening at a local café close to the hostel where another of Ahmet’s friend named Yousef stands outside and tries to direct people into the café. I would sit for a spell drinking mint tea while working out the details of the trip. At least I knew I wanted to go to Safranbolu and Ferda helped me buy the bus ticket and connected me with Selcuk. Turns out Selcuk worked in the hotel where Ferda and I first met two years ago and now is promoting tourism in Safranbolu. I was glad to have someone collecting me on the other end after the bus ride.
Stay tuned for part 2 to learn about Safranbolu, to see a photo of the young Turk who said he loved me but no didn’t offer a proposal, and to read what is the best way to spend a few hours in this small mtn village.
Here are some photos from Jeddah and the first few days in Istanbul.
posted by Becky of Arabia at 8:33 PM
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