Category Archives: Istanbul

Day 491 In Beijing: The Istanbul Funicular.

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The view from inside the funicular.

The view from inside the funicular.  I love the look on his face.

Jill and I love trains and subways.

It just makes life so much easier when you can let someone else do the transport and not have traffic.

That is one of the true benefits of Istanbul and other major cities in that we can just relax, cruise around, and see the sights instead of stressing out and driving.

Our plan, when we return back the USA, is to live carless and be as mobile as possible.

As I’ve written before, we stayed for a full month in Turkey and Greece with only one carry on luggage each.

We don’t want to stay locked down to one particular location and want to be as free as possible.

Jill’s business, San Francisco Tourism Tips, is one of the ways we can accomplish this endeavor.

Istanbul has a funicular underneath one of the major hills and it makes travel very easy.

The hill that it hides under is the same hill that has the Galata Tower on top of it.

It isn’t a terribly tall hill, but it is steep, and in the heat and humidity of the Turkish summer, it can be a nice little respite.

We ended up taking the funicular about 10 different times, in our 2 week stay, and it cost about 2 USD per ride and took only about 60-90 seconds. It travels about 2000 feet.  If you see the hill we were able to remove from our travels, it was worth it.

By the way, make sure to watch until the end of the video as the gears that move the funicular are quite beautiful and painted by people that are very artistic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 490 In Beijing: Protests at the Israeli Embassy.

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The protest in front of the Israeli Embassy.

The protest in front of the Israeli Embassy.

Even though it is a few months ago now, there was a major event going on between the Palestinians and Israelis.

As you can guess, Turkey, being that it is somewhere between 95-99% Muslim, was on the side of the Palestinians.

We had no idea, when we were returning from Nate’s house, that we’d drive right by the Israeli Embassy.

All we knew was that we were stuck in major traffic for about 20 minutes or so.

As we got closer to the embassy, we realized that the flags were Palestinian and the people were chanting slogans, which we couldn’t understand, but we got the idea.

There was no violence or discord, other than people speaking their minds, and I can only imagine what these people think about the situation in the Middle East.

I can only imagine it is very different than most people in the USA, and definitely different from people in China.

The one exception might be in Xinjiang, which is the Uyghur and Muslim region of China.

Our ex-roommate, Gulzar, was from Xinjiang and told us a lot about what is happening to her people, her culture, and her religion and it is sad.

I’ve always disliked when people are subjected to a rule of another country and what this means for the indigenous culture, and this means even in the USA where the native people have been subjected to reservations and their culture being taken from them, and I’m always interested in how people respond to this dilemma.

I’ve often joined protests in my home country of the USA and feel that the freedom of speech is incredibly important and sacred.  Even if I disagree with what you want to say.

We didn’t get out of the cab, since we don’t speak Turkish, even though I would have loved to been a fly on the wall to this whole demonstration and to have seen how it ended.

I’m guessing, from what I could see, it was peaceful and quite reasonable.

Also, I’m not giving any political statements or opinions here.

Just showing a slice of life in another part of the world that most people probably don’t see.

 

 

 

 

Day 489 In Beijing: Massage in Istanbul.

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The view from Nate's house of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.

The view from Nate’s house of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.

Jill and I head back to Turkey, figuratively, not literally, starting again on my blog.

We have about a month, or two, of blogs about Turkey, and Greece, to catch you all up on, so wait no longer!

I was having some serious back pain for the last month and my distant cousin, Nate Shanok, lives in Istanbul and suggested an amazing massage therapist, Nemrut.

Nate is a great guy and Jill and I got to hang out at his house the night before.  Sadly, I didn’t get any pictures of them, but we later had dinner with he and his wife, Emily, and I’ll post about that in the future.

I did get a picture of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which is actually just called, “The Second Bridge” by everyone we know, including our Turkish friends.

The story is that, about 5 years ago, I was up in Tahoe.  I was with a bunch of buddies and we were going to have a little party up in the snow.

The ground was very icy and I happened to slip and slammed my elbow and shoulder into the ground.

I was later diagnosed as injuring my ribs and the muscles around my back and chest.

So, every so often, this pops up and causes a lot of pain.

Sadly, it started about a week before the trip and it was making traveling uncomfortable and limiting what we could do.

So, when Nate suggested I get a massage from his guy, I agreed instantly.

Nemrut is a slab of a man and about as strong as anyone I’ve met.

His hands are huge also.

He, however, was incredibly tender and even the deep tissue work wasn’t painful.

During the massage, it started to rain and I’ve always loved getting massages in the rain.

It just allows me to let go and feel the flow.

I actually am a Certified Massage Therapist, back in California, and I’m very critical of the massages I’m given since I have a very high standard.

Nemrut was amazing.  We actually had him come back, 2 more times, and my back felt about 95% better each time.

Here’s a little video of the rain and then you can see Nemrut running to his car at the very end of it.

I had no idea I’d catch him in the video and it just seemed cute.

 

 

 

Day 470 In Beijing: A Carrefour By Any Other Name…

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And, as mentioned before, the desserts were to die for.

And, as mentioned before, the desserts were to die for.

Jill and I have a Carrefour near us in Beijing.

If you don’t know, and if you are from the USA you probably don’t, Carrefour is a French supermarket.

They actually have about 3 or 4 here in Beijing and we love going to them because the food is fantastic and they have an excellent selection of wines.

They are actually the 4th largest market conglomerate in the world.

One of the other reasons is that they have an “all you can drink” 4 day wine tasting party every 6 months.

The latest one was just in April and we met a bunch of wine makers, mostly from France, and partied with them for about 4 days straight.

Although, after 4 days of partying, we were pretty crooked and straight it not the word I’d use for any of us.

Anyway, Andac lives right near a Carrefour and we decided to stop by and pick up some wine, cheese and bread for our dinner one night.

We also bought some desserts as the Turkish desserts are out of this world.

Baklava is a famous one but there are so many and they are all amazing.

Just so you can see some of the delights that we had to choose from, I took some pictures.

If anything catches your fancy, let me know!

 

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Day 469 In Beijing: The Grand Bazaar, Part 2.

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People mingling and rugs hung on the wall outside The Grand Bazaar.

People mingling and rugs hung on the wall outside The Grand Bazaar.

Jill and I kept walking around, feeling like we were in Wonderland, and starring at all the beautiful creations that humans have made and have on display.

However, there is something that we noticed after living in Beijing and traveling to massive cities.

We get worn out.

I guess we are getting older, Jill at 41 and me at 45, but I don’t think it is that.

If it was, we definitely couldn’t deal with Beijing, and we can deal with it pretty well, all things considered.

We just realized that we wanted a little down time and a little quiet.

We’d seen so much in the past 2 days, after flying for 12 hours, that we would need a break.

So, we didn’t stay as long as we would have usually stayed but we still felt quite satisfied in what we saw at The Grand Bazaar.

It is an amazing place and one could easily spend a full day in it and just get lost wandering around, talking to the salespeople, and seeing pretty much anything one desires, on display.

Speaking of salespeople, that is another thing we are tired of after living in China: Bargaining.

It is also what happens in Turkey and we just aren’t fans of it.

Just give us a fair price and we will pay it.

It just becomes so tiring to bargain for something, especially when you just want to look and take your time, and the salespeople jump on you and start telling you prices when you don’t even want anything.

I’m sure they make a lot of money but, for us, it just makes us want to leave and not even look at something we might want to buy because we don’t want to deal with the drama.

That is another reason we didn’t spend a lot of time in The Grand Bazaar since all the salespeople immediately call to you and start telling you to come in, try their goods, and whatnot.

It is just tiring.

So, we ended up taking off after about 1 or 2 hours.

It was still amazing and definitely worth the trip.

We just needed a little quiet and thought it would be nice to go back to our friend, Andac’s apartment, enjoy some yummy Turkish white cheese, bread and wine.

And we did just that.

And it was nice.

Just as we guessed.

 

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Day 468 In Beijing: The Grand Bazaar, Part 1.

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Shops, people and things for sale at The Grand Bazaar.

Shops, people and things for sale at The Grand Bazaar.

Jill and I both agree that calling it The Grand Bazaar is an understatement.

It truly is more than grand.

It truly is more than bazaar.

In both terms of that word.

And, therefore, it is more than just The Grand Bazaar.

But, that is what they have chosen to call it, so that is what it shall be called!

The Grand Bazaar started around 1455 or 1456.  It continued to grow, and become a cover bazaar, through the next 300 or so years.

Then, in the 1900s, when the textile production exploded, it had another massive growth spurt and became primarily the bazaar we can visit presently.

There have been a number of fires, earthquakes, and other issues, but the Grand Bazaar refuses to die and is a fantastic event to visit if you ever go to Istanbul.

One of the amazing sites of the Grand Bazaar are the carved metal display dishes, the furniture for sale, the handcrafted rugs, of course, the incredible jewelry.

There is some silver but it is, as you can see in the pictures, primarily gold.

And more gold.

And more gold.

And even more gold.

It is breathtaking and amazing.

The Grand Bazaar shines with a gold tint when you walk near the jewelry area and it is fun just to look at all the different designs and styles of jewelry that are on display.

 

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Day 467 In Beijing: Prayer At A Mosque.

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I love the little girl eating food. She probably has not reached puberty so she doesn't have to cover.

I love the little girl eating food. She probably has not reached puberty so she doesn’t have to cover.

Jill and I walked out of the Harem and started to walk up the hill to the Grand Bazaar.

We happened to walk out during prayer time even though we had no idea.

It wasn’t until we walked by this mosque that we realized that we were in the middle of prayer time.

We decided to wait, and just watch, as the prayer continued.

Up until this time, every time we’ve seen a prayer service, the people have been inside and the mosque had enough room.

This time, and maybe because it was Ramadan, it was overflowing with followers.

We thought it would only be in the courtyard but then we walked on and noticed that it was in the yard beside the mosque and it was fantastic.

There is something impressive, and moving, to seeing a large crowd of people, all moving in unison, as they stand up, sit down, bow forward, and then get up again and disperse as the prayers ended.

You can see the Blue Mosque in the background of one of the pictures and I love how it brings everything together and makes the picture seem finished.

About 2 minutes after the prayer ended the park was empty and everyone had gone back to what they were doing.

Thinking of it now, I probably should have gotten a photograph of it to show how different the park looked during and after.

Maybe next time we are in Istanbul I will do just that.

 

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Day 466 In Beijing: Topkapi Palace Harem, Part 2.

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Jill and me at the Harem.

Jill and me at the Harem.

Jill and I continued to meander through the Harem and continued to be overwhelmed by the beauty and style.

It is so disconcerting, in a positive way, to walk from a city that is fully engaged in the 21st century, with trains, cars, phones, and other “necessities” of life and then go to a place that is so quiet, tranquil and calm.

Well, other than the 20,000 or so other tourists in the palace as we walked around it.

Maybe that is an exaggeration but there are a lot of people and they do an excellent job of keeping the lines moving and making sure that tourists can see the exhibitions and not feel rushed at the same time.

It is so different from the tourist areas in China, which are overwhelmed with people, because so many people go on vacation at the same time.

Just to give an example: During the Spring Break vacation, here in China, 150,000,000 people travel within one week.

One Hundred And Fifty Million people.

That is half the total population of the USA who would be traveling, in one week, to a destination.

And back to work during that same week.

And many of those destinations are inside China so the transit system is totally overwhelmed.

It also is a sign of the times and how families are split apart since so many of the parents are working in massive cities, like Beijing, and only go home to see their children during these times.

There is an excellent movie, Last Train Home, that I would recommend to anyone that would like to get a feeling for what 150,000,000 people trying to get home, and then back to work, in one week feels like.

We had to deal with it when we visited the Great Wall, one time, and we will never do it again.

 

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Day 465 In Beijing: Topkapi Palace Harem, Part 1.

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One of the many spectacular domes in the Harem.

One of the many spectacular domes in the Harem.

I had a lot of nicknames in high school:

Aram Scare ’em.

A-ram.

Sogs (my last name is Sohigian so it sounds about the same)

and, in no way connected to my horrible dating prowess, Aram’s Harem.

I actually visited a real harem and, trust me, it was nothing like my room.

The Topkapi Palace Harem is amazing.

It takes about 1 hour to walk through it and we could have spent a whole day in it.

The harem is inside the Topkapi Palace but needs its own blog entries because it is so magical and different.

The harem has over 400 rooms in it and seems like a maze that we could have followed for days.

The harem, back in the day, had around between 600-1000 eunuchs there (yes, they had been castrated and therefore couldn’t do anything) and many concubines.

All of the eunuchs and concubines were slaves and had no choice in their being included in this type of service.

The Queen Mother and the Sultan basically had total control and were able to do whatever they wanted.

I’m not so sure I would have liked to live in those times, since there seemed to be very little freedom, especially if you were a slave, but the buildings they made, and the amazing architecture, is truly impressive.

 

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Day 464 In Beijing: Great Palace Mosaic Museum.

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I love me a griffin eating some freshly caught prey!

I love me a griffin eating some freshly caught prey!

Neither Jill nor I had ever heard of the Mosaic Museum before this trip.

We actually didn’t hear of it until we were on this trip.

We bought a 3 day pass that allowed us to see a bunch of different sites and the Mosaic Museum was one of the attractions.

We decided to check it out, since it was free, but we didn’t expect much.

We were blown away.

The Mosaic Museum is about 1000 meters behind the Blue Mosque and a hidden treasure.

It is hardly noticeable from the outside, and if we hadn’t been asking directions, there is no way we would have found it.

There was a guard/ticket agent and he seemed somewhat surprised, and happy, to see us.

For about half of our visit, we were the only people in this amazing structure.

The mosaics seem to be from Emperor Justinian’s reign, which was about 527-565 AD.  They were found by two Turkish archaeologists in the 1930s and 1950s.

It originally covered an area of about 3500-4000 square meters and now is about 1900 square meters.

It supposedly has over 400,000 stones that were used to make the mosaics.

In other words, it is one massive mosaic.

Some are in excellent condition but most have seen the wear and tear of time.

Jill and I were, once again, very moved by this bit of history and art that has been found and restored.

 

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