Took a short boat ride on the Bosphorus this morning along with visiting the "Egyptian Bazaar" aka the Spice Bazaar. This was our boat - it was great as we got to sit on top and there were not many on it and we had an English speaking guide. So on the way back I decided it was a good time to use the toilet - hmmm - haven't encountered a "squatter" in quite a few years but it still works for what you need...not sure about #2!!! The worst is that it is not gender specific and men pee on the floor so I have to be careful that nothing touches the floor except my shoe soles - get the picture? - there is also not anything to hold onto except the wall. I have learned though to be thankful for a bathroom:)
Another perfect weather day - blue skies, blue water - probably gets boring to hear about it. Going down the Bosphorus it narrows into a strait and on the left side is European and the right is Asian. The Asian side is greener, beautiful homes, trees, gardens, no ferries or commercial ships. The guide says they have better schools, better roads and it is a choice place to live so many do -problem is the jobs are on the other side and the people spend a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon driving across the bridge for work - a little like Hwy 169 across the MN River?????
This was one of the beautiful places on the Euro side - now a hotel and the most expensive room is $25,000 per night. A couple snobs from eastern US in their late 70s who of course knew everything turned to me and said "Our daughter stayed there - on business" - I just replied "oh, that's nice" with little enthusiasm. Payback time was when we returned to our hotel and "Arthur" who greeted us upon arrival, took us to the rooftop terrace, got us complementary wine and explained what to see and where to go - is very friendly to us. The other couple are ready to check out and I heard her say "Nobody told us about the terrace"!!! - I didn't say a word but really really really wanted to wink at Arthur. He is well educated from UCLA and Turkish University in International Hospitality Management and talks about his "mum" - we hit it off from the first minute.
Another view from the boat of the Euro side - much more crowded but still beautiful. The straight has been fought over by many peoples including Russia, Asia, and the list goes on.
Spice Bazaar - I got several free tastes of "Turkish Delight" - a special candy and it is good and I plan to bring some home. I'm sure it's healthy as it might contain some fruit. As you read further down I assure you there was nothing wierd in it like "Magic Muffins".
Another side street market outside the Bazaar. - typical view of Istanbul.
This guy was outisde the bazaar selling bird seed and of course the pigeons were all over the place. The guy is blind so not sure how this works.
No - will not be bringing this home probably don't even want to know what is in it but it was sold all over.
The spices - wonderful smells. Lots of saffron. I did buy a big bag of mixed peppercorns and this time I had the exact price figured out, watched the scale and I got a lot for about $5.
So another adventure - still need to compile stories - tonight we are off to walk to the Dede Efendi House to see a performance of the "Whirling Dervishes" - will have to explain that in a day or so. Tomorrow morning is an early start at 5am pickup for flight to Izmir to see Ephesus and back before midnight - I am mentally preparing for this. The nice thing is we just have to be in the right place at the right time. I did check on Atlasjet and it does have a good safety rating:)
Another perfect weather day - blue skies, blue water - probably gets boring to hear about it. Going down the Bosphorus it narrows into a strait and on the left side is European and the right is Asian. The Asian side is greener, beautiful homes, trees, gardens, no ferries or commercial ships. The guide says they have better schools, better roads and it is a choice place to live so many do -problem is the jobs are on the other side and the people spend a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon driving across the bridge for work - a little like Hwy 169 across the MN River?????
This was one of the beautiful places on the Euro side - now a hotel and the most expensive room is $25,000 per night. A couple snobs from eastern US in their late 70s who of course knew everything turned to me and said "Our daughter stayed there - on business" - I just replied "oh, that's nice" with little enthusiasm. Payback time was when we returned to our hotel and "Arthur" who greeted us upon arrival, took us to the rooftop terrace, got us complementary wine and explained what to see and where to go - is very friendly to us. The other couple are ready to check out and I heard her say "Nobody told us about the terrace"!!! - I didn't say a word but really really really wanted to wink at Arthur. He is well educated from UCLA and Turkish University in International Hospitality Management and talks about his "mum" - we hit it off from the first minute.
Another view from the boat of the Euro side - much more crowded but still beautiful. The straight has been fought over by many peoples including Russia, Asia, and the list goes on.
Spice Bazaar - I got several free tastes of "Turkish Delight" - a special candy and it is good and I plan to bring some home. I'm sure it's healthy as it might contain some fruit. As you read further down I assure you there was nothing wierd in it like "Magic Muffins".
Another side street market outside the Bazaar. - typical view of Istanbul.
This guy was outisde the bazaar selling bird seed and of course the pigeons were all over the place. The guy is blind so not sure how this works.
No - will not be bringing this home probably don't even want to know what is in it but it was sold all over.
The spices - wonderful smells. Lots of saffron. I did buy a big bag of mixed peppercorns and this time I had the exact price figured out, watched the scale and I got a lot for about $5.
So another adventure - still need to compile stories - tonight we are off to walk to the Dede Efendi House to see a performance of the "Whirling Dervishes" - will have to explain that in a day or so. Tomorrow morning is an early start at 5am pickup for flight to Izmir to see Ephesus and back before midnight - I am mentally preparing for this. The nice thing is we just have to be in the right place at the right time. I did check on Atlasjet and it does have a good safety rating:)I have tried many of the foods on my list of foods to try and plan to have Pide (Turkish pizza) tonight - we have to have early dinner.
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