We landed on time, bought our visas with no problem, and had an airport transfer service meet us to take us to our place. After a nap, we were out by around 10:00 AM.
You may not understand how many times we appreciated the trees, flowers, and fresh air. Yes, it has been "hot," but "hot" is relative, and when you've gotten "used" to over 120 degrees each day, then suddenly 90 ain't so bad.
The streets are narrow and busy, so we were constantly on the lookout for cars, motorbikes, even huge buses! To get more business or to accommodate the business they already have, the shops and restaurants spill out across the sidewalks, which means you either walk through them or have to walk in the street. Amazing to think about how long this place has been here.
The streets are narrow and busy, so we were constantly on the lookout for cars, motorbikes, even huge buses! To get more business or to accommodate the business they already have, the shops and restaurants spill out across the sidewalks, which means you either walk through them or have to walk in the street. Amazing to think about how long this place has been here.
Some day, I'll have at least one of these lights. They sell them in Doha, so I don't need to cart one home...but for as much as John loves rugs, I love these!
View of The Blue Mosque and some of the street vendors. The city was very busy with tourists...and rug salesmen. Everyone we met (the people working and most of the other tourists) were so very nice. Even with some occasional language issues, people tried to help and were kind and good lord fawned over Hannah. More on that later.
The one obnoxious thing (from our perspective) about Istanbul were the carpet dealers. They would stand on the sidewalk and wouldn't let you pass without forcing you to be rude. The dealers were cheerful and inviting and never rude themselves, but they would do everything in their power to engage you and force you into being the one to walk away. So we developed two strategies: (1) I would walk a little ahead with Hannah and just keep going...the dealers were harder on John's attention, so we would give him an excuse to break away as we moved on, and then later in the trip (2) Jack would (after a couple of minutes) interrupt them by trying to talk them into buying a "flying carpet" he had for sale. When they heard Jack start in using the exact same pitches they used, they would laugh and leave us alone. And there are a LOT of these salesmen (always men--never saw a woman). On any given walk, we would pass 4-5 of them. After the first day, they recognized us, so if we promised to "come back later," then they would harass us even more.
Everything else about Istanbul was so fantastic. I wish the rug dealers would give people a break. Yes, they're trying to make a living, I understand, but those tactics push me into refusing to look because I don't want to make the obnoxiousness worse. At the bizarre, this was much less dramatic, but I still bought things only from vendors who backed off and let me have a moment of peace to look around and think.
Lots of cats around Istanbul. None were tame enough to touch, but we loved seeing them. This guy had some great coloring. We called him Cow Cat. Cause we're crazy like that. We also tended to break out into the "Debbie on eHarmony I Love Cats Song" at random times. The three kids and I all sing various lines. John just looks embarrassed.
My newest and now-that-we're-out-of-Istanbul sadly unavailable favorite thing: roasted chestnuts. These--along with boiled or roasted ears of corn and ice cream--are sold all over the place in the historic district of Istanbul. They have a wonderful flavor, a lot like meat. I could definitely see being a vegetarian full time if I had access to these...Jack loved them, too. We miss them already.
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