My Time in Istanbul

My time in Istanbul....

A few things struck me as being familiar, but in very different ways. The smells and the sounds were like so many places I've been before, but in a new combination. Sort of like eating a pizza with a bunch of new toppings such as fruit and nuts. Two things really are noticeable though, first, all the men seem to smoke, so wherever you are there is smoke, which isn't great. Luckily my room wasn't smoky. The second thing that is really noticeable is the lack of beggars. I wasn't asked once for money. Even in the Grand Bazar it wasn't that bad for people asking you to come into their shops, nothing like shopping in India. The spice market was really interesting, great smells and so many great treats to try. I was tempted to buy some of the food that was familiar to what Randa would always bring from Jordan that I haven't had since she sent some to Sri Lanka with Wayne and Delcie. They also had Turkish Delight (of course) which looked really good. I found that they make freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. They cut the top and the bottom of the fruit off, and then cut it in half. Then then have a plunger tool that squishes the juice all out and with two large and one small pomegranate they fill a glass for about a dollar. It is SOOO good, they also make a nice mix of pommegranate and grapefruit that I enjoyed as well. They sell donairs like they did in Cyprus and those were really good, and only cost about 75 cents!! I visited the Basilica Cistern which is an underground cistern that is beneath the city, it is incredible engineering dating back hundreds of years. It was actually lost for about a hundred years and then "rediscovered". I am leaving for Trabzon tonight and am sorry I only had half a day here, it is a wonderful city with lots of activity and lots to do. A definate place to return to with Cher and more time. Oh, I did see lots of cruise ship tour groups running through the city, I can't believe how they make them move! I did get a laugh as one tour group was being lead into a carpet shop where tea was already laid out for them... having been through that ritual once too many times I sympathized and wanted to tell them to turn around while they could, but everyone should experience it once - except dad! He'd end up buying the store - sort of like the apple cinnamon yoghurt of 1981! I'll post some photos on flickr as well... Rob