"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"

 10/20: We've been singing this song for weeks ever since we decided to come here!

It took 1 hour to get from the airport to our Airbnb. Our new place seems to be run like a hotel, and two guys were waiting for us to take our bags down the two flights of stairs. The best part was the company’s offer to grocery shop for you prior to your arrival, so we had given them a short list of dinner and breakfast items to have at our place for us. Since we arrived after 8pm, it was amazing to have some easy food I could put together. 

10/21: It's Monday in a new (absolutely enormous) city. The kids dove into schoolwork while Bob and I took a walk to a local park and then found the grocery store. The walk was not that enjoyable, as sidewalks are not wide, the pavement is irregular, and you have to watch out for dog poo (lots of stray dogs and a TON of cats). There are quite a few dog and cat houses along the sidewalks with bowls for food/water. You also feel like you’re risking your life to cross the street. Cars and scooters (holy smokes are they going fast and weaving in and out!) do not stop. You have to kind of inch your way out and get far enough that the car has to stop. I like following the locals when they cross! This city just goes and goes and goes. There are so many people and cars and traffic absolutely everywhere.

We did end up by the water and saw the beautiful Ortakoy Mosque

 

We found the grocery and started the process of google translating in another new language. Grocery stores in different countries are always interesting. Butter was one of the items on our list for our host to buy for us before we arrived, and it turned out to be 'cottage cheese' (though it looked like a solid block of mozzarella). So now I'm looking for butter, and it is tough to find. I finally see one option and it's Kerrygold, one of the 'pricier' options at home. I guess I understand how they must have thought I wanted cottage cheese...the Turks must not use butter very much? A few minutes later I noticed a large section of margarine...hmm. I feel like this is exactly opposite at home, where margarine fell out of favor awhile ago.

I also needed milk, and found it tricky to figure out the different varieties (full vs skim). I figured out the word for 'fat' and went with the mid range percentage.

Bob was looking for ham for sandwiches, and found someone who spoke some English. When he asked for 'ham', they asked if he wanted 'turkey ham' or 'beef ham.' I guess they don't eat pork here?

We came home and ate lunch with the kids. In pouring their 'milk' that I bought, I realized it did not look/smell right. I grabbed my phone again to translate, and realized I bought kefir and not milk. Ugh. At times, these 'simple' tasks of grocery shopping/preparing food in different kitchens/different laundry machines are becoming exhausting.

Our hosts had left a few bottles of water for us, but we would prefer to not use the plastic if we didn't need to. I had done a bit of online research about drinking water in Istanbul, and it said the water was safe, but that most people drank bottled water because they didn't like the flavor of the tap water. Our hosts said to drink bottled water. I decided to reach out to Cheryl Smith's friend who lives here to ask him, and he told us we should drink bottled water. Ugh. Ok, back to the store we go to buy water. As Bob was carrying the two 5L jugs of water up the hill back to our place, we joked about 'how did we get our exercise in Istanbul?' Well, we took our water for a walk. Ha.

We wanted to try some traditional food for dinner, and found a place within walking distance. It seemed quite authentic, and between pointing and google translate we ended up with a fantastic spread of delicious food that we all enjoyed!

Ready to dive in! This meal turned out to be Simone's favorite of chicken and lamb kebab.

10/22: We left after lunch to explore some of the main tourist sites. My favorite part was talking with one of the volunteers inside the Blue Mosque. It definitely seemed like they were very interested in educating people about Islam, and it felt like a safe environment to ask questions. We asked her about why men and women are separated in the mosque, and why women cover their heads and sometimes their faces. One central tenet in Islam is modesty, and mosques are social centers. In performing the prayer rituals, people are shoulder to shoulder, and it's more comfortable for men and women to not worry about who is in front/behind them when the most important part is focusing on their prayers. Women often take a break from their hijab during prayers too, and so they do not want/cannot be around men.

Charcot at the Blue Mosque

Haggia Sophia behind us

There were quite a few signs explaining the hijab and attempting to dispel some of the negative press it has received. The female volunteer and the signs explained that women covering their hair/face is each woman's choice to show modesty. One piece noted that women sometimes appreciate not receiving unwanted attention from men, and that people appreciate them for their personality traits instead of their appearance. Women and mothers were also highly praised on the signs describing Islam.

It's interesting, though, that a number of places we've visited have outlawed the hijab (Austria, France). Simone wondered outloud to me (not in front of the volunteer) if perhaps the information posted in the mosque was more favorable towards women because they want more people to join? Hmm.

They had a number of signs drawing connections between Islam and Christianity. It was interesting to learn that Jesus is mentioned more in the Quran than Muhammad. I couldn't help but once again think about how so many religions share more similarities than differences: belief in a higher power, love one another, take care of your family, friends, neighbors, give to charity, be thankful.

There were a lot of informational pamphlets to read, and I grabbed a few. The volunteer really wanted to give me an English copy of the Quran, which I was tempted to take, but knew I wouldn't read it and certainly didn't want to throw it away. I appreciated how she was helpful and informative without being pushy/preachy.

Bob had found a 'Whirling Dervish' performance/show that was at 5pm, so we decided to check it out. We didn't know exactly what it would be like, but it seemed like it would be authentic and cultural. It was more of a religious ceremony than a performance, and definitely something you only need to see once. I feel badly making fun of it, but I found myself closing my eyes at multiple points and telling myself not to laugh...which everyone knows only makes you want to laugh harder.

Picture taking was not allowed inside the show, but this is what the 6 dancers looked like.

We had a bit of a tough time getting an Uber ride home, and once we did, it took us over 1 hour to go 5 miles. The gridlock traffic makes it highly unenjoyable to move around in this city. During our drive I asked Bob to look up reviews of the show we just saw, and while there were a few positive ones, there were also a few that aligned with our opinion (ok to skip it!). We shared a good laugh writing our own review which was titled, "Enjoy a whirling kebab instead."

10/23: Today was mainly a day for schoolwork, but in the afternoon we left our place and intended to walk to a park that is about 1 mile away. After about 0.5 miles of walking single file on the crummy sidewalks and cars/scooters whirring past, Bob turned around and said to me, "should we just turn around?" The park was not some amazing destination, but it was still frustrating that it's so unenjoyable to just walk around. I had found a kebab restaurant with great reviews less than 2 miles away (in the other direction of downtown, so we thought traffic would be better). We had a great experience; the waitress spoke English and gave us great recommendations for appetizers, dinner, and dessert. Once again, we had to wait awhile to find an Uber driver, but when we did it was a cheap ride ($5).

Traditional Turkish pide (flatbread)

10/24: We had decided today was a main touring day. Bob started us all off this morning with the song, 'How Bizarre' by OMC. We can always count on him to bring the perfect song to accompany our day! The kids did a bit of work, and then we walked under 1 mile to the waterfront. We hopped on a water taxi and went downtown. This was WAY better than an Uber! We went to the Grand Bazaar and the spice market. We tried Turkish delight, other sweets, and fresh rolls from the street vendors.

Our patio and the view from it. We’re so thankful we have this little oasis to retreat to.

On the ferry

 

So many HUGE flags everywhere

 

The market outside the market

The Grand Bazaar

The local “appetizer” lunch spot

Our second lunch spot :-)

The burned tower from about 300 AD (I think the oldest monument we’ve seen).

Delicious rolls for about $0.50

Loved the ferry ride home too

Lots of tankers in the Bosporus Strait

We took a water taxi home (again - amazing!), and took part in an overpriced ice cream cone show (another conversation with the kids about buyer beware when you are clearly a tourist and you don't know the price of an item before you agree to buy it). We walked home to enjoy a cozy evening, and we reminisced about what a great day we had together (I enjoyed the Grand Bazaar more than I thought I would given my experience there 30+ years ago). Bob had the idea to watch a movie that was filmed in Istanbul, and came across From Russia with Love. What a great idea! Not only were there so many sights that we recognized in Istanbul, but part of the movie was also filmed in Venice! We all squealed when we saw the canals and gondolas - I can't believe we just came from there!

10/25: A planned down day at home to exercise, finish schoolwork, and rent our car for our big Turkish driving adventure. Bob took an Uber with one of our bags to the car rental to make sure our 4 bags would fit. He thought it would be a speedy trip, but it wasn’t. Ugh. They didn’t have the right car, so he had to pivot to a different one that wasn’t as big but that cost more. Then it took him 45 minutes to drive the 2 miles home. We had a relaxing last evening in our place with kebabs from Simone’s favorite restaurant while we watched Goldfinger. Love these Bond films!