Category Archives: Turkey

Day 459 In Istanbul: Dog Days Of Summer.

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Happy doggie.

Happy doggie.

There are a lot of stray dogs in Istanbul.

This was quite a change from Beijing as there are almost no stray dogs in that city.

The laws are very strict about dogs and it is actually illegal to have a dog, over a certain size, in the Beijing city limits.

Of course, if you have enough money, or the right connections, you can easily get around this law and I’ve seen dogs that are well above the height limit walking around downtown Beijing.

The stray dogs in Istanbul are different from stray dogs I’ve seen elsewhere.

They are mostly clean, well fed, and quite friendly.

The only group of unfriendly dogs we met occurred when Jill and I hung out with my second cousin, Nate, and he informed us there was a pack of wild dogs that terrorized the neighborhood every night around 11 pm.

The second time we visited him, we took a cab, and were unfortunate to be dropped off near the pack’s home and they did not like us being anywhere near them.

There were about 10-15 dogs and they look very vicious, mean, and ready to eat us if we happened to walk the wrong way.

We made a hasty retreat and headed for safety.

However, the dog in these pictures is a perfect example of 99% of the dogs we met in Istanbul.

If you notice, he has a blue tag on his ear.

This means he has been spayed and has had his shots.

Supposedly the government goes around, each year, and rounds up all the strays and gives them their shots.  They neuter the males, since it is inexpensive, but don’t spay the females, since it is expensive, and this seems to work fairly well.

They Istanbul government was trying to round all the dogs up and move them to “natural habitat” parks a few years ago, but the city’s populace had marches and rallies against it and they backed down.

These dogs, and cats also, are part of the “family” in each district and they seem to be very well accepted and loved.

It is quite cute and nice to have a doggie at your feet when you walk into a cafe and sit down.

It feels like home.

 

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Day 458 In Beijing: Ferry Ride to Besiktas.

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Vacation time!

Vacation time!

Jill and I headed off to the ferry terminal and hopped on one that was just about to take off.

We had to take two different ferries, since we couldn’t figure out how to get a direct one, and we were fine with that.

Jill and I love ferries, trains, buses and any way to travel that doesn’t include us having to drive or do the work of paying attention to where we are going.

The two ferries cost something 3 or 4 Turkish Lira, which comes out to about 1.50 USD.

We sat outside, on the top level, and just took pictures and enjoyed our trip.

Thinking back, as I write these blog posts about 1 month after the trip ended, I’m still stunned as to how much we did in on our first full day in Istanbul and how easy it is to get around, get things done, and not run into problems.

It was such a welcome relief from Beijing, where things are so hectic, changing constantly, and confusing.

I know this sounds repetitive but we will definitely be living in Turkey, and now Greece, in a few years.

There is something so special, about both these countries, and we instantly felt at home.

The joy of being able to ferry all around Istanbul, and other parts of Turkey and Greece, is such a blast and so freeing.

We just sat back, let the wind flow through our hair, and met people that were smiling, happy and probably on vacation too.

 

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Day 457 In Beijing: Istanbul Archaeology Museum, Part 2.

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Probably my favorite display in the whole museum.

Probably my favorite display in the whole museum.

As I mentioned in the previous blog post, Jill’s and my trip to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum was cut short.

Why?

Because I turned off my cell phone, with the Turkish SIM card in it, and didn’t realize that when I did that, and then attempted to turn it back on, it would lock me out if I didn’t enter a pass code.

Now, I’m guessing that pretty much every single person in Turkey knows this, which is why they didn’t tell me about this, but since i’m a foreigner, I didn’t.

It is actually a fairly smart way to stop people from using your phone if they steal it since they wouldn’t know the pass code to get in and your SIM card would then be worthless.

They could still sell your phone, or put in their own SIM card, but it does make it slightly more of a hassle than in the USA where they don’t have automatic kill switches or locked SIM cards at this point.

I believe they are trying to pass a law to make automatic kill switches in cell phones in the USA but the phone corporations are against it and putting lots of money towards killing it.

Which means, of course, it would be beneficial to everyone except the phone companies since they wouldn’t have as many consumers having to buy phones when theirs are stolen.

In other words, it is only common sense to have a kill switch which is why the phone companies are against it.

But I digress.

We continued the tour around the museum for a bit and then headed down to the Turk Cell store to figure out what to do.

When we arrived, the salesperson that helped us yesterday was there and helped us right away.  He laughed a little bit at our predicament and was very kind.

We then prepared to head back but realized our ticket was for single entry and we weren’t going to be allowed back in.

At this point we were pretty tired and decided to take a break.

We knew we’d be heading out to see Jill’s friend, Kaan, in a few hours and just made the choice to head to the ferry early and take our time and enjoy the clean air, beautiful blue skies and blue waters.

All in all, I think we made the right choice.

 

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Day 456 In Beijing: Istanbul Archaeology Museum, Part 1.

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The beautiful sarcophagus.

The beautiful sarcophagus.

After lunch at the Sefa Restaurant, Jill and I headed over to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

Jill had told me that this is one of her favorite locations to visit because the buildings are gorgeous and the displays are amazing.

We were quite excited as we climbed up the hill and entered through the gates.

Sadly, however, it is mostly under renovation and so the buildings were mostly covered in scaffoldings and tarps.

We pressed on and went inside and checked out the displays.

Again, they were under renovation, and some seemed jammed into places where they wouldn’t ordinarily be, it was still very powerful and moving.

My personal favorite was the massive onyx sarcophagus right after we entered the museum.

It was at least 4 feet tall, 7 or 8 feel long, and it was as impressive as anything I had seen up to this time.

I stood there and just was amazed at the power and strength of it.

Sadly, I didn’t seem to take pictures of the cards next to any of the art pieces and so I don’t have many answers as to who they were made for, why they were made, or when they were made.

Hopefully, next time we go, we will be able to have more time to see each art piece and note where they came from and why they were made.

Our time in the museum was cut short and I will explain this in the next blog post.

Until then, enjoy the amazing pictures.

 

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Day 455 In Beijing: Sefa Restaurant.

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Getting ready to eat our delicious lunch!

Getting ready to eat our delicious lunch!

After visiting with Mike, Jill and I went to lunch.

Mike suggested we go to the Sefa Restaurant, which was close, and one of his favorites.

To give you a quick idea, the Hagia Sofia, the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque, the Kybele Hotel, and the Sefa Restaurant are all within a 10 minute walking area.

I have to say that it is utterly mind blowing to have so much history is such a small area.

It is something that I would be continually reminded of as we traveled for this month and saw so much in Turkey and in Greece.

It reminded me of my trip to Italy about 7 years ago.

I’d be walking down this street, with a bunch of stores, and then turn a corner and BAM, right in my face is the Trevi or some other incredible artifact of times gone by.

The USA is too “new”to have that kind of history, other than the Native Americans, and it is a very different feeling than being in San Francisco, LA, or even NYC, since the East Coast has more “history” than the West Coast.

YUMMY! GET IN MY TUMMY!

YUMMY! GET IN MY TUMMY!

I enjoy being surprised by history and having my mind expanded and my beliefs tested by what I learn, each and every day, when I’m on the road.

Jill is the same way which is why we make such a great couple.

I still can’t believe we met 8 days before I left for China and she decided to join me over here.

That says a lot about her.

And maybe a little about me too.

The lunch, as Mike suggested it would be, was fantastic.

The food was filling, fresh and delicious, and very well priced.

Simply said, we loved it and felt, once again, like we were home.

 

Day 454 In Beijing: Mike, The Mayor Of Istanbul.

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Jill and Mike, the Mayor of Istanbul.

Jill and Mike, the Mayor of Istanbul.

After seeing the Hagia Sofia, The Basilica Cistern and the Blue Mosque all in one day, Jill and I needed to visit her dear friend, Mike.

Mike is rather famous in Istanbul, and for that matter, much of Turkey.

He has been around, for what seems like forever, and he and his brothers used to own the Kybele Hotel.  It is utterly gorgeous.

He also has a jewelry and rug store, right beside it, and they used to actually have a connector door so you could go from one to the other.

Jill hadn’t seen Mike since 2011, when she visited Turkey last time, and so she wasn’t sure if he would be in or on vacation somewhere.

Mike is known as the “Mayor of Istanbul” because everyone knows him.

He is able to connect you up with whatever you need, whenever you need it, and Jill has seen him on documentaries about the city of Istanbul.

He is also an incredibly gracious and wonderful person.

We walked in, and he asked us to sit down, and we shared tea with him.

He asked us about our trip, Jill’s and his friends that they have in common, and what we were doing and planning on doing in our future.

We asked him about his life and what has changed.

He seemed like he was incredibly happy, and content, with his life.

He also showed me a bunch of utterly gorgeous and amazing rugs.

I wish I had a place to put them because I’d love to own them.

He also noticed my name and asked if I was Armenian.

I’m always a bit nervous about letting Turkish people know I’m Armenian because of the genocide and the history between the two countries.

However, every single Turk that I’ve met, and told this to, always seem happy that I’m there and that the past isn’t stopping me, and then, from seeing each other as human beings.

I always bring up how we are all the same and that we can change the way we perceive each other and the world.

Everyone agrees and it is very nice to see that kind of acceptance happening.

Just one more reason I love to travel and connect with others.

After hanging out with Mike for about an hour, we went down to his jewelry store and look at everything for sale.

It was all very fairly priced, and gorgeous, but we didn’t buy anything as we are traveling light and just wanted to wait and see what we would find on our trip.

Mike’s family is also quite famous because they were the first family to produce the gorgeous lights, that you can see in the pictures below, in mass quantity.  They did very well off of them and then bought the Kybele Hotel and the store beside it.

After selling the hotel, Mike has decided to branch out and do other things.

I can’t wait to see what he does next as he seems be a very intriguing, and innovative, person.

 

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Day 453 In Beijing: The Blue Mosque, Part 3.

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The dome of the Blue Mosque.

The dome of the Blue Mosque.

The Blue Mosque has an amazing history.

It was built in just 7 short years, from 1609 to 1616 during the reign of Ahmed 1.

It has a tomb for the founder, a madrasa and a hospice inside it.

It is both a major tourist attraction and a working mosque, therefore it is closed to visitors at least 3 times a day because of daily prayers.

As you’ve seen, women must cover their heads, their shoulders and down past their ankles.

Men must cover their knees.

It seems unfair but that is the way it is.

Much of Malaysia, when we visited there, had the same rules in the mosques.

It is made up of over 20,000 handmade tiles, which you can see in many of the pictures I’ve posted here.

There is also over 200 stained glass windows.

It is truly a sight to behold and to have seen the Hagia Sofia, the Basilica Cistern, and the Blue Mosque, all in one day, was almost too much.

Next time we go, we will take more time and really take in each place more carefully.

Hopefully we will be living in Turkey, or Greece, in the next few years and will be able to go more often, and therefore, not have to just be tourist, but an actual resident that can relax and go when it isn’t as busy.

 

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Day 452 In Beijing: The Blue Mosque, Part 2.

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The prayer area of the Blue Mosque.

The prayer area of the Blue Mosque.

Even though Jill doesn’t like having to cover, we both loved the Blue Mosque.

For your information, mosque are called “Camii” in Turkish.

This would seem to be easily pronounced as “Cami” like a girl’s name, but it isn’t.

The letter “C” is actually pronounced as a “J” in Turkish.

So, “Camii” is actually pronounced “Jamii” or in English as “Jammy.”

This isn’t that hard once you figure it out.

The weird part is the pronnouncation of Jill’s name.

People in Turkey are totally confused by it.

Since “C” is pronounced as a “J” there is no letter “J” in Turkish.

Therefore, everywhere we were booked in a hotel or for our tours, people were quite confused and couldn’t pronounce it on the first try.

I actually enjoyed this because “Aram” is an Armenian name, and a name also used in some Arabic countries, so people almost always pronounced my name with ease.

It was a very nice culture shock that I had forgotten from my last time in Turkey, about 10 years ago, and enjoyed greatly.

By the way, there is another “Ç” in Turkish, with a little hook underneath it, that is pronounced “Ch.”

There is a city in Turkey, called Çanakkale and our tour guide says they are constantly confused because tourists ask to go to “Canakkale” and not “CHanakkale” and they don’t understand where they want to go until they realize the tourist doesn’t understand that the word should be pronounced with the “Ch” sound.

 

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Day 451 In Beijing: The Blue Mosque, Part 1.

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About to enter the Blue Mosque.

About to enter the Blue Mosque.

Jill and I ventured over to the Blue Mosque or as it is also known, the Sultanahamet Mosque, after we survived the two Medusa looking right at us in the Basilica Cistern.

We had been able to see the outside of it, but because of prayers times and not be allowed in as we are not Muslim, we had not been able to go inside on this trip.

We made sure that we would be visiting during a non-prayer time and wanted to see it before it got really busy.

The Blue Mosque is, like the Hagia Sofia, quite huge but it doesn’t seem to be as big inside and there is a lot more space saved for prayers, since it is a working mosque, and that means it gets quite crowded.

We headed over and got in line.

There were probably about 150 people ahead of us but since it is free, and one only has to cover up, and take off their shoes, the line moves pretty quickly.

I was lucky and only had to pull my shorts down a bit so they covered my knees.

Jill had to cover her head with a scarf, which they loaned to us, and since it was hot, she wasn’t particularly happy about it.  I don’t blame her but otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to go inside.

Once we got inside it was gorgeous.

It is much more ornate than the Hagia Sofia and beautiful in a different way.

I truly love the hanging lights, and the stained glass windows, with all the ornate tiles covering the walls.

There was some beautiful pieces of art dedicated to Mohammed and the Muslim religion on the walls and we took our time seeing it all.

One of the major differences with the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque is that the Blue Mosque is basically just one single large room: A mosque.

Therefore it is much easier to go in, look around quickly, and leave.

Since Jill was hot, and we were starting to get hungry, the Blue Mosque probably only took about 20-30 minutes total.

It would have been nice to have gone right when it opened, so it was less busy, and had more time to just relax.

Maybe next time.

 

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Day 450 In Beijing: The Basilica Cistern: Medusa!

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Jill and me by the Medusa.

Jill and me by the Medusa.

Jill’s and my last post explained the Basilica Cistern but there is more to the story.

I thought the Medusa heads deserved their own blog post.

They are truly amazing and so out of place.

As you saw yesterday, there are a lot of columns holding up the cistern.

Two of them are very different.

They have two blocks of stone that are carved to look like the Medusa at the bottom of them.

No one is really sure why the Medusa heads are there, and some think that they are laid sideways so that the “glare” of the Medusa one turn to viewer to stone (as is the myth) but it is more likely that it is just simply to make sure it fit in correctly.

If you don’t know the story of the Medusa, it was a Gorgon.  This Gorgon was half-woman/half-snake and had venomous snakes for hair.

The creature was so horrid looking that, just by seeing it, one would be turned to stone.

Don’t worry though, Perseus beheaded her and she can’t hurt anyone now.

You can also see coins, and waves from the condensation dripping down from the ceiling, in the pictures.

 

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