Sunday, December 27, 2009
December 12, 2009
The world turns and the seasons of our life turn with it. Today I married the man I love, the man who helps complete me and make me whole. A new season has begun.
Timeless Advice
This was posted on the side of a building in Sultanahmet Square and I used to pass by it all the time on my way to see the sites or shop in the bazaars or simply sit and be. It always made me smile and deserves its own posting.
Memories of Istanbul: Part 2
The bakery a few blocks from my first flat: always a delicious and affordable temptation. The whole grain bread with walnuts and cranberries was my favorite. Yummmmmmmmmm.
More views of my way home. That is Fenerbahce Stadium on the left.
The way home.
There was a school across the street from my first flat. This is part of the play area out back. There were at least four, sometimes five, cats in this furry little wad almost every day. Too cute.
This was the small store across the street from my first flat where I bought all of my drinking water and an occasional snack or two.
The street outside my flat. The small store shown above is to the immediate right.
My daily path from flat to school at Via Lingua.
The Hill on the way to Via Lingua. Ok, now I know it doesn't look like much but as the weeks wore on and the bookload was added to the weight of my not-quite-easily-portable laptop, this grade just got steeper and steeper. This is the only thing about Istanbul I will not miss.
A classic street in Kadikoy. This is one of the routes I used to take to and from school everyday. See what I mean about distractions? It's just too easy here!
The fabulous open market in Kadikoy. Simply one of the best. This I miss.
My favorite restaurant in Istanbul located in the open market in Kadikoy. While we were in school, my classmates and I used to have lunch here at least 2 or 3 times a week. They have the best fish soup I have ever had. If you are ever in Istanbul, catch the ferry to Kadikoy, wander into the open market between the Blue Mosque and Via Lingua and find this restaurant. You will not be disappointed.
The ferry port in Kadikoy. I spent a great deal of time going to and fro from here.
Waiting for the doors to open to the dock.
One of the best street-treats here in Istanbul: roasted sweetcorn. Don't be shy. Belly on up and give it a try!
Memories of Istanbul: Part 1
Here is a collection of photographs of people, places, things and events which will always keep a smile on my face when I think of Istanbul. I hope you enjoy them too.
The sandwich shop on the way back to my first flat where I often stopped to pick up dinner.
My way home.
The Blue Mosque from the "other side" of Sultanahmet Square.
The back entrance to the Arasta Bazaar in Sultanahmet Square. Shoppers prepare and beware!
The splendor which is simply Aya Sofya (just ignore the tour buses).
The New Mosque in Eminonu as seen from the ferry landing.
Sunset behind the New Mosque.
The Galata Bridge walking from Karakoy to Eminonu.
The Karakoy ferry port from the Galata Bridge.
One of at least three Starbucks in Taksim Square (aaahhh.....).
The Galata Tower.
The Galata Bridge and the New Mosque.
Goofing around on the Galata Bridge.
The fabulous view of the New Mosque from the Galata Bridge.
Gwenda and I on the infamous Istanbul coffee crawl.
One of my all time favorite street treats here in Istanbul: midye dolma.
The Kadikoy port at night and the strange yellow ball which is our mascot.
The street outside Via Lingua.
Pizza Hut in Kadikoy.
Views on the way to school.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Nikki’s Top-Ten-Can’t-Be-Missed-Don’t-Even-Think-About-Leaving-Istanbul-Without-Doing-These-Things List
10. Take a stroll in the early morning (about 8am). Watch the shops opening and the markets coming to life. You’ll feel it too.
8. Pick a place and park it. For at least 15 minutes find a bench somewhere (there are literally hundreds to choose from) and watch the city around you. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much you can learn when you are quiet and still.
7. Tackle Taksim. Go during the day if you like, especially if shopping is your goal, but the true experience is at night. Prepare to eat and drink your way through what is uniquely and singularly Istanbul.
6. The Bosphorus Cruise. Spring for the extra 10 TYL and take the all-day excursion up to Anadolu Kavagi on the Black Sea. Walk up the hill to Gendese Castle, ogle and marvel at the beauty of the view, and cough up the slight extra percentage to eat at one of the many cafés just below the crest. You won’t be disappointed.
5. Get to know the Galata Bridge. Walk from Karakoy to Eminonu (or the other way around) and treat yourself to the sight of all of the fishermen casting into the Golden Horn from the top deck. (FYI: this is also one of the best locations to take photographs of the New Mosque.) For your return trip, run the gauntlet of restaurants, cafés and pubs down below and allow yourself to be “had” once or twice. Settle in for coffee, tea, dessert or even a meal and enjoy the comings and goings on the Golden Horn and the fabulous view of the Bosphorus.
4. Have a meal at the very best fish restaurant in Kadikoy located in the open market just below Via Lingua. Wander in, say hello and have a bowl of the best fish soup in Istanbul.
3. See the major sites: Aya Sofya, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the Archaeological Museum, the Galata Tower, the list goes on and on. Touristy or not, you simply cannot leave Istanbul without making them a part of your stay. The Grande and Egyptian Bazaars (and their numerous smaller cousins) also cannot be missed. Square your shoulders, take a deep breath, wear dark glasses if you have them (it makes subtly looking into various shops so much easier) and see how well your wallet fares at the end of the day.
2. Eat on the street. Roasted chestnuts, boiled or roasted sweetcorn, midye dolma, fish sandwiches, sweets of every possible variety, take your pick. They are all absolutely affordable and purely and simply delicious.
And the number one thing in Istanbul that simply cannot be missed is………
1. Riding the ferry on the outside rail. It’s free, it’s fun and you get that great “wind-swept” look as a souvenir. Order tea or juice or Nescafe and watch the famous coastline of Sultanahmet come into view. Catch a sunset (or for the truly intrepid a sunrise) and toss tidbits to the birds. Purchase an akbil and all of this can be yours anytime.
November 24th, 2009
Some final reflections…
My days here in Istanbul have, at least for now, come to an end. Tomorrow morning I fly to Cairo to spend the winter with Reda and his family. Whoever would have thought!! But before both my thoughts and this blog are filled with all things Egyptian, I have a few last memories of my time here in Istanbul that simply must be shared.
Motorcycles on the sidewalk…
Even after two months I still found this hard to get used to. In the states the police would be having a conniption fit, but here it is simply the norm. So pedestrians beware!
The intricate language of car horns…
Whether it is the quick, short bleep of a cab trying to get your attention, the longer blast of a driver asking you to get out of the way, or the sustained blaring of a frustrated driver stuck where he doesn’t want to be, there is no escaping the horn here in Istanbul. For those of us used to quieter American streets, this city can seem impossibly loud, but with just a little effort you can develop the ability to tune most of the noise out.
The carters…
The Medieval historian in me is simply delighted every time I see one of these vendors pushing their battered, wooden, flat-topped, two-wheeled carts through the streets. Each cart is filled with a fascinating variety of salvaged items and the repeated call of these vendors to come and sample their wares makes a wonderful counterpoint to the language of the car horns. Add the calls from market and shop vendors to the mix and you have the music of Istanbul. It is sweet indeed.
Turkish football…
This is European-style football, remember, so we are talking soccer here and the Turks take it very very seriously. Game time is festival time here in Istanbul and you will be hard-pressed to find an empty seat at a restaurant, café or bar with access to the broadcast. But if you are wearing the right team colors you can almost always find similarly dressed folks happy to squeeze you in. While completing my TEFL training my flat was less than a block from Fenerbahce stadium. There were games the first and last weekend I was there and the cheering was so loud it literally rattled the house, but it did make memorable bookends to my stay.
Tea…
It is practically it’s own food group here in Istanbul. In Turkish it is called cay (pronounced chai) and Gwenda and I affectionately learned to refer to its ubiquitous presence as the cay-V. Sweet or straight it is not to be missed. If you are up and about in the early morning (that’s after 8am, see the next entry for the explanation) you can also have the added treat of seeing trays of the characteristic tulip-shaped glasses of the stuff carried along the street from shop to shop.
The late starts…
In the states we are used to 24-hour service and 7am (or earlier) store openings. Although not a morning person myself, I must admit that this mentality has instilled in me a deeply-rooted sense of guilt whenever I am not up and working by 7am myself. But here it is very different. During school my habit was to leave my flat around 8am and go to the Starbucks by the port to meet Gwenda. We would enjoy our morning beverages, study, commiserate and chat for a few hours before going to school which usually started around 10am. At first I was disconcerted by the fact that nearly all of the stores were still closed during my morning walk and that even the open markets themselves were only just coming to life. But soon I realized that these later starts weren’t such a bad thing after all and I began to truly enjoy walking through Kadikoy and seeing her come to life. If you are ever here, you should definitely try this yourself.
The coffeshops…
They are everywhere. You cannot throw a teabag without hitting at least a dozen cafés with small tables and chairs set along the sidewalk. It is a reminder to slow down and take a break every once in a while which is something I think we in the West would benefit from doing more often. My personal nostalgic favorite is the small shop which sat atop a high stone wall in Karakoy. Reda and I spent part of an evening there once and the view to the street below, framed by trees and shrubs, was simply enchanting. We sat out on the terrace and sipped our tea in quiet, shared contemplation, enjoying the night and each other's company. The entrance to the café itself was through a small rounded stone archway. It looked so much like a hobbit hole (and the delicate white smoke drifting out from the water pipes being smoked within only added to this illusion) that I half expected to see Bilbo and Gandalf sitting at the next table. One of the best things about Istanbul is that with only a very small effort it is very easy to find yourself a world away.
The parks…
These are also everywhere. There was a very nice, tree and path filled one near my flat that ran parallel to the channel leading out into the Sea of Marmara and most mornings as I walked to school it was filled with a delicate mist. It was marvelous. My other personal favorite is the small, marble statute filled park overlooking the Bosphorus in Karakoy where Reda and I strolled on his way back to the Cristal the same night as above. We joked half-heartedly about curling up together on a bench to spend the few remaining hours before sunrise but duty and practicality prevailed. However, I never could help but smile whenever I passed that park again.
The Turkish Art of Jaywalking…
No words can describe this. You either simply step off the curb and go or spend your afternoon watching from the sidewalk. Adrenaline junkies will love it. There is also no better way to separate the natives from the tourists.
The food…
Balik corbasi and midye dolma…..aaahhhhh. Fish soup and stuffed mussels. It simply doesn’t get any better. But other notable mentions are the jacket (or stuffed) potatoes and the cold cooked spinach with copious quantities of garlic and olive oil. I highly recommend them all.
The customs…
It’s the ones they don’t put in the guidebook that will trip you up the most. For example, I make the “A-OK” sign with my thumb and forefinger all the time, far more than I realized, but here in Turkey it means something else entirely. So future travelers be warned…unless you want to advertise a predilection for the same sex don’t make this sign!
Finding the familiar…
I can neither describe nor explain the sense of great joy I felt that first weekend upon rounding a corner in Sultanahmet and finding a UPS Store. I guess even the most intrepid travelers still need that familiar reminder of home.
…but not always.
That first week after completing TEFL training was an equally intense experience in coming down off of an academic high. As a result, by the end of the week I was ready to forgo my habitual evening meal of fresh and healthy Turkish culinary delights and go instead for some oh-so-bad-for-you, all-American comfort food. I was thinking pizza and although there are Pizza Huts here (Reda and I ate at one during his first visit to Kadikoy) I was feeling particularly indulgent and lazy and didn’t want to make the hike to the nearest one. So instead I headed for the nearest grocery (which also happened to be on the way back to the flat) figuring that finding what I sought would be no problem. After all, in the states we literally have entire aisles dedicated to nothing but frozen pizzas. How hard could this be? I struck out at the first store but since it was fairly small thought I would surely be able to find my prize at the much larger Migros. No luck there either. I tried a third grocery. Nada. It was odd to experience my first real culture shock over the lack of frozen pizza and I must say I wasn’t very proud of it, but I kept on hunting. At the fourth store I finally located a very small package of four pizzas for about $15. I wanted my comfort food but not that bad. So I decided to go with Plan B: macaroni and cheese. Apparently it doesn’t exist here either. I finally had to settle for the nearest substitute I could find: tortellini with feta and spinach. No wonder everyone here is so thin!
The Bazaars…
You cannot go far here in Istanbul without running into one and despite their practiced ability to overwhelm they are a heck of a lot of fun. With a little perseverance and patience one can also find some great bargains.
My days here in Istanbul have, at least for now, come to an end. Tomorrow morning I fly to Cairo to spend the winter with Reda and his family. Whoever would have thought!! But before both my thoughts and this blog are filled with all things Egyptian, I have a few last memories of my time here in Istanbul that simply must be shared.
Motorcycles on the sidewalk…
Even after two months I still found this hard to get used to. In the states the police would be having a conniption fit, but here it is simply the norm. So pedestrians beware!
One of the many pedestrian/car/motorcycle thoroughfares in Kadikoy.
The intricate language of car horns…
Whether it is the quick, short bleep of a cab trying to get your attention, the longer blast of a driver asking you to get out of the way, or the sustained blaring of a frustrated driver stuck where he doesn’t want to be, there is no escaping the horn here in Istanbul. For those of us used to quieter American streets, this city can seem impossibly loud, but with just a little effort you can develop the ability to tune most of the noise out.
The carters…
The Medieval historian in me is simply delighted every time I see one of these vendors pushing their battered, wooden, flat-topped, two-wheeled carts through the streets. Each cart is filled with a fascinating variety of salvaged items and the repeated call of these vendors to come and sample their wares makes a wonderful counterpoint to the language of the car horns. Add the calls from market and shop vendors to the mix and you have the music of Istanbul. It is sweet indeed.
Turkish football…
This is European-style football, remember, so we are talking soccer here and the Turks take it very very seriously. Game time is festival time here in Istanbul and you will be hard-pressed to find an empty seat at a restaurant, café or bar with access to the broadcast. But if you are wearing the right team colors you can almost always find similarly dressed folks happy to squeeze you in. While completing my TEFL training my flat was less than a block from Fenerbahce stadium. There were games the first and last weekend I was there and the cheering was so loud it literally rattled the house, but it did make memorable bookends to my stay.
Fenerbahce Stadium. The grocery store where I sometimes shopped (Migros) is in the lower left.
Tea…
It is practically it’s own food group here in Istanbul. In Turkish it is called cay (pronounced chai) and Gwenda and I affectionately learned to refer to its ubiquitous presence as the cay-V. Sweet or straight it is not to be missed. If you are up and about in the early morning (that’s after 8am, see the next entry for the explanation) you can also have the added treat of seeing trays of the characteristic tulip-shaped glasses of the stuff carried along the street from shop to shop.
The late starts…
In the states we are used to 24-hour service and 7am (or earlier) store openings. Although not a morning person myself, I must admit that this mentality has instilled in me a deeply-rooted sense of guilt whenever I am not up and working by 7am myself. But here it is very different. During school my habit was to leave my flat around 8am and go to the Starbucks by the port to meet Gwenda. We would enjoy our morning beverages, study, commiserate and chat for a few hours before going to school which usually started around 10am. At first I was disconcerted by the fact that nearly all of the stores were still closed during my morning walk and that even the open markets themselves were only just coming to life. But soon I realized that these later starts weren’t such a bad thing after all and I began to truly enjoy walking through Kadikoy and seeing her come to life. If you are ever here, you should definitely try this yourself.
The coffeshops…
They are everywhere. You cannot throw a teabag without hitting at least a dozen cafés with small tables and chairs set along the sidewalk. It is a reminder to slow down and take a break every once in a while which is something I think we in the West would benefit from doing more often. My personal nostalgic favorite is the small shop which sat atop a high stone wall in Karakoy. Reda and I spent part of an evening there once and the view to the street below, framed by trees and shrubs, was simply enchanting. We sat out on the terrace and sipped our tea in quiet, shared contemplation, enjoying the night and each other's company. The entrance to the café itself was through a small rounded stone archway. It looked so much like a hobbit hole (and the delicate white smoke drifting out from the water pipes being smoked within only added to this illusion) that I half expected to see Bilbo and Gandalf sitting at the next table. One of the best things about Istanbul is that with only a very small effort it is very easy to find yourself a world away.
The parks…
These are also everywhere. There was a very nice, tree and path filled one near my flat that ran parallel to the channel leading out into the Sea of Marmara and most mornings as I walked to school it was filled with a delicate mist. It was marvelous. My other personal favorite is the small, marble statute filled park overlooking the Bosphorus in Karakoy where Reda and I strolled on his way back to the Cristal the same night as above. We joked half-heartedly about curling up together on a bench to spend the few remaining hours before sunrise but duty and practicality prevailed. However, I never could help but smile whenever I passed that park again.
Above: the park near my flat in Kadikoy. Below: the marble statue park in Karakoy.
The Turkish Art of Jaywalking…
No words can describe this. You either simply step off the curb and go or spend your afternoon watching from the sidewalk. Adrenaline junkies will love it. There is also no better way to separate the natives from the tourists.
The food…
Balik corbasi and midye dolma…..aaahhhhh. Fish soup and stuffed mussels. It simply doesn’t get any better. But other notable mentions are the jacket (or stuffed) potatoes and the cold cooked spinach with copious quantities of garlic and olive oil. I highly recommend them all.
The customs…
It’s the ones they don’t put in the guidebook that will trip you up the most. For example, I make the “A-OK” sign with my thumb and forefinger all the time, far more than I realized, but here in Turkey it means something else entirely. So future travelers be warned…unless you want to advertise a predilection for the same sex don’t make this sign!
Finding the familiar…
I can neither describe nor explain the sense of great joy I felt that first weekend upon rounding a corner in Sultanahmet and finding a UPS Store. I guess even the most intrepid travelers still need that familiar reminder of home.
…but not always.
That first week after completing TEFL training was an equally intense experience in coming down off of an academic high. As a result, by the end of the week I was ready to forgo my habitual evening meal of fresh and healthy Turkish culinary delights and go instead for some oh-so-bad-for-you, all-American comfort food. I was thinking pizza and although there are Pizza Huts here (Reda and I ate at one during his first visit to Kadikoy) I was feeling particularly indulgent and lazy and didn’t want to make the hike to the nearest one. So instead I headed for the nearest grocery (which also happened to be on the way back to the flat) figuring that finding what I sought would be no problem. After all, in the states we literally have entire aisles dedicated to nothing but frozen pizzas. How hard could this be? I struck out at the first store but since it was fairly small thought I would surely be able to find my prize at the much larger Migros. No luck there either. I tried a third grocery. Nada. It was odd to experience my first real culture shock over the lack of frozen pizza and I must say I wasn’t very proud of it, but I kept on hunting. At the fourth store I finally located a very small package of four pizzas for about $15. I wanted my comfort food but not that bad. So I decided to go with Plan B: macaroni and cheese. Apparently it doesn’t exist here either. I finally had to settle for the nearest substitute I could find: tortellini with feta and spinach. No wonder everyone here is so thin!
The Bazaars…
You cannot go far here in Istanbul without running into one and despite their practiced ability to overwhelm they are a heck of a lot of fun. With a little perseverance and patience one can also find some great bargains.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
November 20th, 2009
A change of plans...
Today is very gloomy and overcast so it didn’t take long for me to decide that it was not a good day to ride the ferry up the Golden Horn! Instead I have been occupying myself with housekeeping tasks. In five days I leave for Egypt (hazaah!!!) so there are plenty of little details to keep me busy. For now I am sitting on the ferry to Eminonu with a package of gifts and other miscellaneous items to ship back to the United States. It is both amazing and frightening just how fast material goods accumulate! On one of my earliest excursions through Sultanahmet I stumbled across a UPS Store and now am on my way back. My friend, Gwenda, is returning from England this afternoon and I cannot wait to see her. It will be great to be able to spend my last weekend here in Istanbul together. I definitely see an Istanbul coffee crawl in our future!
Although knowing a few words and phrases in “Survival Turkish” has certainly made the last two months easier, I have also learned that one should never underestimate the communicative power of “smile, point and grunt.”
A lazy afternoon…
After dropping my packages off at the UPS Store and seeing them on their merry way I wandered back to Sultanhamet. I didn’t have quite enough of an appetite for a full meal so I treated myself instead to an ear of roasted corn from a streetside vendor and parked myself on a bench in front of the fountain by Aya Sofya. Whether roasted or boiled, corn is a ubiquitous street-treat here in Istanbul and for 1TYL (less than $1) makes both a delicious and an affordable snack. It is called “sut misir” here. Sut means milk in Turkish and is a vital survival word for any dedicated coffee drinker while misir is the name for Egypt. Other than the fact that Egypt produces (and has produced) copious quantities of corn for this region, I’m not sure how the name applies. Perhaps one of my Turkish friends can enlighten me.
Today is very gloomy and overcast so it didn’t take long for me to decide that it was not a good day to ride the ferry up the Golden Horn! Instead I have been occupying myself with housekeeping tasks. In five days I leave for Egypt (hazaah!!!) so there are plenty of little details to keep me busy. For now I am sitting on the ferry to Eminonu with a package of gifts and other miscellaneous items to ship back to the United States. It is both amazing and frightening just how fast material goods accumulate! On one of my earliest excursions through Sultanahmet I stumbled across a UPS Store and now am on my way back. My friend, Gwenda, is returning from England this afternoon and I cannot wait to see her. It will be great to be able to spend my last weekend here in Istanbul together. I definitely see an Istanbul coffee crawl in our future!
The UPS Store in Istanbul: a welcome and familiar landmark.
Some language reflections…Although knowing a few words and phrases in “Survival Turkish” has certainly made the last two months easier, I have also learned that one should never underestimate the communicative power of “smile, point and grunt.”
A lazy afternoon…
After dropping my packages off at the UPS Store and seeing them on their merry way I wandered back to Sultanhamet. I didn’t have quite enough of an appetite for a full meal so I treated myself instead to an ear of roasted corn from a streetside vendor and parked myself on a bench in front of the fountain by Aya Sofya. Whether roasted or boiled, corn is a ubiquitous street-treat here in Istanbul and for 1TYL (less than $1) makes both a delicious and an affordable snack. It is called “sut misir” here. Sut means milk in Turkish and is a vital survival word for any dedicated coffee drinker while misir is the name for Egypt. Other than the fact that Egypt produces (and has produced) copious quantities of corn for this region, I’m not sure how the name applies. Perhaps one of my Turkish friends can enlighten me.
The courtyard in front of Aya Sofya and a great place to pick up a snack.
My favorite contemplation spot in Sultanahmet: the fountain in front of Aya Sofya.
November 19th, 2009
A new start…
Well, my days are winding down here in Istanbul but they remain no less exciting. Today dawned beautiful and clear and I decided it was therefore the perfect day to visit the Princes Islands. However, as I still have quite a bit left on my akbil I also decided to take a somewhat circuitous route. So I am sitting now in Kabatas at the local Starbuck’s enjoying my morning latte and waiting for the ferry to Andalar at 10:40am.
Left: the Starbucks in Kabatas. Right: my morning tradition.
I am excited to be visiting the islands today. Like the Mackinaw back in the states, private vehicular traffic is forbidden and the only ways around are by bicycle, rented horse and trap, or by the tried and true method with us for at least 3.5 million years, your own two feet. It is off-season now but I think this will make the day more pleasant. There will be no crowds to fight and the infamous Mediterranean sun has definitely been tempered. The islands are a popular escape destination for Istanbulers and for this day at least it is mine as well.
Left: my favorite ferry perch. Right: a view of the islands.
More island views...
Personal reflection…
Although I vehemently resisted them at first, the Starbucks here in Istanbul I have gotten used to and have even (obviously) grown to enjoy. Visiting the various Starbucks here has become something of a habit and I have been wondering lately if it might not make for an interesting vacation theme sometime in the future. Grab a latte and see the world! It’s certainly a vacation I know I would enjoy! Although Turkish tea and coffee are wonderful and are certainly two treats not to be missed, for those of us weaned on copious amounts of the drip variety, sometimes there is just no substitute for volume. Thus my morning lattes have become my own version of American comfort food. As for the more standard variety, it is the Burger Kings, McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chickens that still, even after nearly two months, seem hopelessly out of place to me. The food here is so fresh and so delicious and so cheap that their presence just seems a violation. Or perhaps it’s just my own sense of embarrassment at the quality of our American food exports.
Left: landing on the main island. Right and below: tooling around town.
Left and right and below left: some fabulous island architecture.
Left and right: loose livestock. Yes, the horses and cows really do roam free here.
Left and right: the main transportation modes here...horse and trap, bicycle and donkey.
Left and right: the port heading back to Kadikoy.
Well, my days are winding down here in Istanbul but they remain no less exciting. Today dawned beautiful and clear and I decided it was therefore the perfect day to visit the Princes Islands. However, as I still have quite a bit left on my akbil I also decided to take a somewhat circuitous route. So I am sitting now in Kabatas at the local Starbuck’s enjoying my morning latte and waiting for the ferry to Andalar at 10:40am.
Left: the Starbucks in Kabatas. Right: my morning tradition.
Left: self-portrait at the SB. Right: the port in Kabatas.
I am excited to be visiting the islands today. Like the Mackinaw back in the states, private vehicular traffic is forbidden and the only ways around are by bicycle, rented horse and trap, or by the tried and true method with us for at least 3.5 million years, your own two feet. It is off-season now but I think this will make the day more pleasant. There will be no crowds to fight and the infamous Mediterranean sun has definitely been tempered. The islands are a popular escape destination for Istanbulers and for this day at least it is mine as well.
Left: my favorite ferry perch. Right: a view of the islands.
More island views...
Although I vehemently resisted them at first, the Starbucks here in Istanbul I have gotten used to and have even (obviously) grown to enjoy. Visiting the various Starbucks here has become something of a habit and I have been wondering lately if it might not make for an interesting vacation theme sometime in the future. Grab a latte and see the world! It’s certainly a vacation I know I would enjoy! Although Turkish tea and coffee are wonderful and are certainly two treats not to be missed, for those of us weaned on copious amounts of the drip variety, sometimes there is just no substitute for volume. Thus my morning lattes have become my own version of American comfort food. As for the more standard variety, it is the Burger Kings, McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chickens that still, even after nearly two months, seem hopelessly out of place to me. The food here is so fresh and so delicious and so cheap that their presence just seems a violation. Or perhaps it’s just my own sense of embarrassment at the quality of our American food exports.
Left: landing on the main island. Right and below: tooling around town.
Left and right and below left: some fabulous island architecture.
Below: park view.
Left and right: loose livestock. Yes, the horses and cows really do roam free here.
Left and right: the main transportation modes here...horse and trap, bicycle and donkey.
Day’s end...
It’s a little before 3pm and I am here at the islands waiting for the ferry to take me back to Kadikoy. Left and right: the port heading back to Kadikoy.
The Princes Islands were very nice but as with Sariyer I’m not sure I’ll feel the need to come back. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and this is certainly a fabulous place to hike and enjoy nature, but other than eating (which I have done far too much of here in Turkey!) there’s not a whole else lot to do. I guess I was expecting more shopping. I did find two very nice necklaces for 10 TYL each and was able to take some very nice photographs, but all in all, one day of the islands is enough for me.
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