Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We took a bus from Burgas to Istanbul. The scenery changed abruptly from corn and sunflower fields to rolling brown hills dotted with mosques as we approached the Turkish border. Customs/Immigration took a while as the bus was packed, we needed visas (one more line to wait in), and the x-ray machine's conveyor belt was acting up. As we approached Istanbul it was easy to see just how sprawling a city it is. I was expecting L.A. type of sprawl but this was much more dense. The bus terminal was massive and confusing. Taxi drivers were quoting anywhere from 18 to 50 Lira to drive us to Sultanahmet. We finally figured out how to get to the Metro with the help of a local woman who went out of her way to make sure we found the right train and got off at the right stop. Our first delightful encounter with famous Turkish hospitality! A man at our stop offered to show us a hostel and took us through a labrinth of streets and alleys to Paris Hotel Hostel. The name reminded us of the worst place we've ever stayed as a family, Hotel Regency Motel, a hovel outside Oklahoma City with black shag carpet, pink paper-thin walls, and dark tinted windows. We checked in and went out to have our first Turkish meal of doner kebabs and ayran (thin, tart, drinkable yogurt). Wonderful!
The next day we took the ferry across the Bosporus to stay with my friend, John, who was living in Kadikoy on the Asian side of the city. Found him working diligently on his laptop at his favorite cafe and watering hole near Bahariye Caddesi, a funky, artsy, pretty area near the Nazim Hikmet Tea Garden dedicated to the marxist poet. It was so good to see him after almost two years! With John's cool apartment as home base, we hit the Grand Bazar, Spice Bazar, Topkapi Palace, Ayasofya, Blue Mosque, Galata Tower, New Mosque, and almost every kebab place in the city within a few days. Lizzy had tired of kebabs four countries ago and was starting to fantasize about double-doubles and chocolate shakes from In-N-Out Burger. I was enjoying Turkish food, especially breakfasts which consisted of a large plate filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, cheese, fruit, and bread. Or sometimes just a huge bowl of creamy plain yogurt with honey on top, bread, and Turkish coffee.
We quickly found that John had near celebrity status in Kadikoy (no wonder he loved this place) and we happily enjoyed sharing all of the free food and drink that locals were always offering him! He gets free coffee from Starbucks! Seems he knew just about everyone! We continued to be amazed at how good natured, hospitable, and generous the Turkish people are.
Took the ferry one day to Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands 20 km. southeast of Istanbul, with John and his friend, Erdem. Walked all around it admiring the beautiful old homes and gardens. It was so nice and peaceful as no cars are allowed on the island, only horse carts. A nice break from the crazy drivers in Istanbul. We had a nice meal and gelato and headed back to Kadikoy. Perfect end to a perfect day.
Lizzy, John and I headed to Safranbolu the next day, a quaint mountain town known for growing saffron and it's old Ottoman Quarter full of half-timbered houses. Found a nice, quiet hotel a bit outside of town with great views of the surrounding hills. Checked out a travel agency/information center and the owner's daughter offered, in order to practice her English, to take us on a tour of the town. We climbed an ancient clock tower, visited a museum that used old-fashioned looking mannequins to depict life in 19th century Turkey, and checked out the shops in the Old Ottoman Quarter. Decided to try a Hammam for only 30 Euros each. We had a body scrub, massage, bath and hair washing by two quiet, slightly grumpy women dressed only in drab granny panties (sort of scary) before we hit the sauna for a good steam. The dark, dreary women's side closed an hour before the men's light, airy, happening side so we went over to wait outside for John. We found him, towel wrapped around his head and wearing a plush robe, sipping chai, listening to music, chatting with several other men on a comfy couch, and having his neck massaged by an attentive masseur. Give me a break! We were practically kicked out of the women's side still wrapped in our ratty towels! Unfortunately, John had to go back to Istanbul to tie up loose ends before moving back to the States in a few days. The owner of our hotel offered to drive Lizzy and me to the station to catch our bus to Ankara but we had just missed it. He made a call while driving, floored it, and caught up to the bus minutes later stopped by the side of the road. Apparently he had connections! A quick thank you to our hotel owner and hugs goodbye to John and we boarded the bus. We pulled up next to the hotel owner's van at the first light, John sitting shotgun and chatting with our bus driver. I asked Lizzy where she thought they were headed to which she replied "he's probably driving John back to Istanbul." John informed me later that "no, the hotel owner had not driven him back to Istanbul but did give him his car and all of the money he had in his pocket."
We headed to Goreme in the Cappadocia region to check out the fairy chimneys formed by the eruption of Mt. Erciyes and the underground cities carved out by the Byzantines. The bus dropped us at Nevsehir but provided a 12-seat shuttle van to haul 23 of us to Goreme. Joy! With the brakes burning, we arrived in Goreme and were soon in our cave room at a cute hotel. The room was cool and damp and pieces of sand fell on our beds ocassionally but who cares! We were sleeping in a cave! Next day we toured the Open Air Museum where we were able to wander through rock-cut Byzantine churches with walls covered in seccos. Took a long hike through beautiful and lush Rose Valley. The canyon was full of apricot, fig, cherry, and orange trees and the canyon walls were covered in holes carved for nesting pidgeons. We met two kids Lizzy's age on the trail, a brother and sister from NJ, and hiked the remainder with them.
The overnight bus to Fethiye started off bad and just got worse. Two drunk guys were sitting near us and talking loudly non-stop. When we moved to our assigned seats as the bus started filling up, they moved to theirs, across from us of course. After an hour, Lizzy let out the loudest "ahem" I've ever heard and with dirty looks our way they finally shut up. The bus dumped everyone on board at Antalya at 5:00 a.m. with no explanation as to why we weren't continuing on to Fethiye. We headed to the ticket counter of our s***ty bus company, Nevsehir, but the guy was no help so we went back to the bus but it had left and we didn't see any of our fellow passengers. We went back to the Nevsehir counter and the guy, in order to get rid of us, took us to a guy outside, maybe the station manager. He found us a shuttle to Fethiye but we would have had to pay 25 Lira each. We told the guy "no way were we paying twice" so he said to stay put until 8:00 a.m. A few minutes later he found us a bus with another carrier, paid our fares from a big wad of bills in his pocket, and we climbed aboard. A small price to pay to be rid of us. Three hours later we arrived in Fethiye, paid for the ferry to Rhodes, Greece and waited another six hours to board. Tired, grungy and cranky, we ate lunch, walked around a bit, and then found a park to wait in until 4:00 p.m., hoping that we wouldn't fall asleep on the benches and miss it. So long Turkey, we loved you and had a blast!
- comments
Lynn Hi Cindy! Wow Another incredible story! Thanks for your postcard from Mystras! So beautiful! Glad to hear your kids are all doing fine without you around! I'll have to take off too so they can all grow up! Arsen & I just returned from The Atlantis in the Bahamas. Great trip! Highlights were snorkeling with reef sharks! Incredible experience! Next trip, Cabo in Oct.! Once you get that travel fever, you want to take off again! Stay well and happy! Keep writing!
Dawn One question. When you and Lizzy visited the Hamman...who was dressed in the drab Grannie panties? You and Lizzie... or the two grumpy old ladies?? Sounds like another amazing leg of your trip, (minus the poor transportation carriers) Too bad John had to leave, though!