Sunday, June 27, 2010
Turkey was wonderful. Istanbul is a fascinating, weaving both modern and ancient cultures together in a wonderful fashion. It is also a very crowded city, with over 11 million people.
When we started out on June 13, we still hadn't firmed up all our travel plans, so at times it seemed like we were on the Amazing Race, trying to figure out how to get from one place to another within a certain amount of time. But in the end everything worked out and we got where we wanted to go. We took a marchutny from Gyrumi into Georgia, where we found a taxi that would take us across the border into Turkey. The hostel we planned on staying at in Kars, Turkey, was under renovation, so we had to find another one, which we did. We then flew to Istanbul Monday morning.
I'm glad we did so much travel by land, because the landscape in this part of the world is beautiful. Whereas parts of Armenia are mountainous, but rocky, and other parts are treeless, Georgia has a lot of fir trees and gentle hills and mountains. In Turkey we drove over and around mountains that are beautiful and still had snow on the tops.
One of the things that struck me once we were in Tureky was the presence of mosques in all the towns and villages. You could see the minarettes sticking up above all the other buildings. It reminded me of driving through New England, where each little town has a church in the town center and you can see the spire from the highway. The other striking thing about Turkey is the color of the houses and apartment buildings. Whereas in Armenia everything is cement grey, in Turkey there are pinks, blues, yellows, greens, and oranges. It was joyful looking and not depressing.
We passed some villages in Turkey where the houses had grass growing on their roofs. I imagine it helps to keep them cool in the summer and warm in winter. It just looks funny to see them cutting the grass on the roof.
The hostel we stayed at in Istanbul was located near most of the major tourist attractions: the Blue Mosque (so named for the thousands of blue tiles in the interior), the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace/Museum, Grand Bazaar, and lots more.
On Tuesday we went to the Grand Bazaar first thing in the morning. This is a huge shopping mecca that seems to go on for miles. It reminded me of a very upscale flea market, with stall after stall of clothes, jewelry, crafts, etc. You could spend days in it and still not see it all.
We wanted to go to the Topkapi Museum, but it's closed on Tuesdays so we went to the Hagia Sophia instead. This was originally a cathedral, but was then converted into a mosque and now is just a museum. But it was absolutely maagniicent. The high domed ceilings, with frescoes, or what's left of them, all around; over-sized pictures of how the art work used to look; and of course they have a minbar (where the Imam prays) and stained glass windows which now reflect Moselm tenants. It's really amazing the sense of history present in buildings like that, as well as a sense of peace.
We met another PCV and her mother and aunt for dinner that night. Istanbul is full of restaurants that have rooftop seating, with spectacular views of the city. We tried a different one every night.
On Wednesday we went to the Spice Bazaar, another interesting experience. There were a lot of spice and tea booths, as well as rugs, jewelry and clothes. I bought a green and lemon tea mix and a chicken spice, both of which I look forward to using when I get back to my house. It was interesting to haggle with them, which they expect, as well as to just smell all the different aromas. Right near this was the New Mosque, so named because it's just 800 years old. We had to take off our shoes and put on shawls to cover our heads in order to go in. When we wnet in it was during the noon prayer time, and they have a section just for visitors, so we were able to stay and watch. I was enthralled by how much ritual there is and how everyone moved as one.
After lunch we went to the Topkapi Museum. This is a huge place that has sultans' clothes displayed, with explanations as to when they were worn, how it was made and for who; as well as jewels and swords. In one room they had a display of Japanese art. Just walking around and going into the rooms and buildings gave us a sense of the granduer of it all. It was definitely a different time. We spent about 3 1/2 hours there and still didn't see it all.
On Thursday we firmed up our plans for getting to Selcuk. We had wanted to go by ferry and train, but they were both booked, so we went to Plan B and booked an overnight bus for Friday night. We then went through the Blue Mosque. The courtyard of this is resplendent with flowers: impatiens, begonias, roses. We again had to take off our shoes and put on scarfs before entering the mosque. We had met a man outside who became our guide and told us all about the mosque. He really was very helpful and helped us appreciate it much more. For instance he showed us a special place off to one side in the front that is reserved for dignitaries.
After taking us through the mosque he invited us for some apple tea at his shop. He and his nephew run a rug shop, of which there are probably a few hundred in Istanbul. While we drank the tea the nephew gave us a history lesson of the carpets and kilims, ,while spreading out before us a magnificent display of both. I found out that kilims are handmade of cotton, while carpets are handmade of wool or silk or a combination of both. I bought 2 small kilims, which I'll probably use as wall hangings.
That afternoon, Shannon and I took off for a walk through the non-tourist area. We wanted to get to the water, which we eventually did. However, before that we walked down some very interesting streets, which I'm sure most touists never see. They were narrow, winding alleys, with narrow tall houses/apartments. Yet still they were colorful and not as depressing as in Armenia. Kids were playing in the street, mothers were gathered on stoops or talking to one another through windows, and toddlers sat on windowsills protected by the guard rails. Very homey scenes indeed!
After much wandering we finally made our way to the road that runs along the shore. It was delightful and refreshing to walk along the water. We could see a whole bunch of freighters out at sea, as well as some sail boats and cruise ships. There were men and boys (no females) swimming. The boys had strung together empty water bottles, tied them around their waists or upper arms, and used the as life preservers. Very resourceful.
Friday was a very relaxing day, with no real sightseeing on our part. Shannon and I again set out on a walk. At one point Shannon went to use a portajohn by the boatyard. I got interested in watching the men haul out a boat and others were building wood boats and just lost track of time. It seems that Shannon had gotten locked in the portajohn and was yelling for me to get her out. The wind was blowing the wrong way so I couldn't hear her. Luckily some men on one of the boats finally heard her and let her out. I bought her a beer after that as a way of making up for it.
The overnight bus ride to Selcuk wasn't too bad. At one point we took a short ferry ride. It was very reminiscent of the Port Jeff ferry: cars and trucks lined up waiting to be loaded on. We were able to get off the bus and walk around for a bit and it was a clear, calm night. I forgot how much I miss being on the water.
The hostel we stayed at in Selcuk was absolute fantastic. It's called Atilla's Getaway. Atilla, the owner, is an Aussie, so there were lots of Aussie's staying there. There was a swimming pool, an outdoor bar, a pool table, and lots of lounge chairs. It was a wonderful place to end our vacation: very relaxing. If we had gone there first, I don't think I would have left to see Istanbul.
We went into Ephesus Sunday morning. I didn't realize how big Ephesus was, and how important it was at the time. It was amazing to think that we were walking down roads that Hadrian and Cleopatra walked on; that we were sitting in an ampitheater where Paul spoke and gladiators fought. They had audiotapes to help understand what all the buildings were and how the city had developed and the importance it was. We took about 3 hours going through it. That afternoon and most of the next two days were spent by the pool.
Monday night we took an overnight bus back to Istanbul and then boarded a bus for Tbilisi, Georgia and then a marchutney for Yerevan, Armenia. In all it was about 48 hours on buses. But the countryside was beautiful and we road along the Black Sea for a while. I'm glad we traveled the way we did, it added adventure to the trip.
While I definitely enjoyed the trip, it was good to come back to Armenia, to come back home (at least home for another year).