An American Abroad: April 2013

I ain't no jive Turkey . . .

A combination of old (very old) and new, Asian and European, separated by the Bosphorus Strait. I visited Istanbul, which was once better known as, Constantinople. Constantinople was the capital for four empires: the Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman empires. Turkey also holds one of the oldest permanent settlements in the world . . . why am I telling you all this? Well, I guess I'm trying to help you understand just precisely how ancient and significant this country is. It appeals to the history buff, the foodie and the casual photographer looking for that next great shot.

I've always had an interest in going to Turkey. The people are fascinating, the food looks great and I heard a family story that my great-grandfather was from Turkey. Many teachers in the UAE, who visited Turkey, had nothing but great things to say about this giant country. So, a bunch of us were looking for a cool place to go over our short, extended weekend break. Groupon.ae was advertising a Turkish holiday package, and we decided to go. Why not? They are a great group of girls to travel with, and Turkey was one place I was excited to visit. So, we packed up (keeping India in mind and checking the weather forecast), asked Ahmed to drop us off at the Dubai airport and off we went . . .

We arrived in Istanbul in the earlier hours of the morning. After a not-to-bad budget flight and a long bus ride, we made it to our hotel. The Madrid Hotel was located on the European side of Istanbul and was off one of the main streets, in a more local, residential neighborhood. Which, I have to say, was a pleasant surprise. The hotel was very basic, barely clean and I was okay with that; because I've been in worse conditions and the price told me this was not going to be a four star hotel. I shared my room with Katrina. It was a little bigger than the rest (I'd like to think it was my charm that won over the reception desk). Unfortunately the water did not work in the shower, but after some prodding (over and over again), they allowed us to take a shower in another room down the hall. Kamaya and Natasha had a much smaller room, pretty much the size of a walk-in closet. But we were happy with the accommodations and the location in the quaint 'European style' neighborhood.

A few of us decided to take a walk and see what was going on in our backyard. It paid off, because we found a little hidden gem nestled between the main thoroughfare and the train tracks. I have no idea what the name of the neighborhood was, but I can tell you it was near the Askaray train station. We weaved our way through the streets and cam out into this cute little square. There was not a single 'westerner' around and we loved that idea. After checking out the different kebab shops, Turkish pastry stores and groceries, we chose the Hor Hor cafe. . . and fell in love with it instantly. It was solely occupied by men (which, at this point, was something we'd become accustomed to) and had the cute old man making the Turkish coffee with his gorgeous younger counterpart making the food. After looking at the very brief menu choices, we ordered some breakfast. I also sprang for a Turkish coffee . . . when in Rome, right?? Well, I only have one word for true Turkish coffee, 'damn'. This thick, dark, rich concoction will put hairs on your chest. I managed to drink about half, which I was proud of. The food came out and once again, we were pleasantly surprised. Our plates will filled with simple yet fresh cheese, vegetables and bread. Yumm...

We headed back to the hotel, after finishing up our meals and taking another quick stroll around the square. We all ended up crashing for a few hours, only to wake up and head back over to the same square for dinner. This time, we sat in a very small and cramped kebab cafe, however they could not do enough for us! They caught us peering through their window and invited us in, to sit by the grill and meat station. We ate freshly made salads, grilled meats, and breads. It was so damn cute. Then we visited the Grand Bazaar, which was quite disappointing. It was crowded, everything was made in China (that's fine if I'm in China), we were wet and the shop keepers would have grabbed you, to bring you inside, if it was allowed. It was just too pushy for my liking...I saw it, but would not ever have a need to visit it again.

The following day was filled with getting to all of our destination spots, provided to us, by the tour company. We got over to the breath-taking Hagia Sophia and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, otherwise known as the 'Blue Mosque'. Before heading into the Hagia Sophia museum, we stood outside and listened to a short talk about the Obelisk of Theodosius. This large, very ornate and interesting piece if history would have been cool to learn about, however it was so incredibly windy and raining so hard outside, that we were just concentrating on not getting soaking wet. Luckily, we all brought our ponchos and umbrellas, but I don't know if any amount of water-repellent rain gear could have kept us from sloshing about.

After the rushed talk on the grand Egyptian column, we headed over to the Blue Mosque. We had to enter in through the back, take off our shoes and cover our heads (although not many people covered). As we entered in, we were taken back by the size of the blue-tiled mosque. It was finished being built in 1616, and was in good condition. It was not very ornate, but from what I've seen, mosques are traditionally not very extravagant. After about 30 minutes, we headed out back and walked over to the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya, in Turkish) was once an Eastern Orthodox church, then a Roman Catholic cathedral, converted to a mosque in 1453 and finally was opened as museum in 1935. It was such an interesting building. There were various signs of Christianity, through the use of statues and wall frescoes. The symbols of Islam are generally displayed using Islamic words and phrases. They choose not to display statues or representations of people. We walked around, went upstairs and enjoyed the contrasting beauty. I think we all found it especially interesting because of our exposure to mosques and Islamic traditions.

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, cleaned up and headed over to Istiklal Street. This main shopping avenue, in the newer area of Istanbul, is a popular pedestrian street for shopping. We had a great dinner at the House Cafe; a friend recommended it. The food was delicious and the ambiance was just what we needed after a long, rainy day. Afterwards, we strolled up and down the main passageway and I was even able to snag a cup of coffee at Starbucks, along with a few mugs for family members. We grabbed a few more goodies for people back home and went back to the hotel for a much needed sleep.

The next morning we had a small breakfast and took a cab over to the Spice Bazaar (otherwise known as the Egyptian Bazaar). I managed to book a 'Foodie Tour' I found through a Rick Steve's recommendation. It was with Turkish Flavors (http://www.turkishflavours.com/). A Turkish woman hosts various cooking classes, food tours, dinners at home. She is quite the character and I'm glad we went off the beaten path to find her. We met up in the Spice Market and started our 2 or 3 hour experience tasting different cheeses, meats, olives and nuts from various vendors. We also took part in a spice tasting along with being served some delicious teas. Our tour was capped off with a delicious Turkish lunch. Our guide couldn't have done a better job. After being briefly separated from the others, Kamaya and finally made it back to the hotel (literally, with 4 or 5 minutes to spare), jumped on the bus and headed back to the airport. After, what seemed like 2 or 3 hours, we made it to the airport and hopped the plane back to Dubai. My lovely, and ever so generous boyfriend, picked us up at some ungodly hour and we finally made it back to our beds in Al Ain.

Overall, I think all of us really enjoyed Turkey. It is such an expansive country and I'm sure there is so much more to see than just the few places we got to in Istanbul. I highly recommend it to anyone that would like to experience a different culture, that is still not quite different from our own. They have so many pasts, that you can't but notice traditions and mindsets that are not so different from your own. You get to experience a little of the East, but still have many of the comforts of the West, that many of us have become accustomed to. So, do it . . . plan a trip to Turkey, take the leap, you won't be sorry.