Istanbul 2

The Grand Bazaar

I have always heard about this fantastic giant market and I couldn’t wait to get there! The Australian family had already been there but wanted to go back so they showed us the way using the public transit tram ride. It didn’t take too long but a very crowded trip. The people of Turkey love children. So many people, including men of all ages ruffled Devin or Aidan’s hair or patted them on the head. One older man touched Noah’s cheek and looked to say something like “nice boy”. The Bazaar is a maze of approximately 4000 shops under a painted vaulted roof selling a dizzying array of wares. The problem was I could have bought something in every shop. Purses, leather goods, jewellery, carpets, shoes, jeans, and light fixtures…to name a few. We only covered a small area but did get some jeans, shoes for Noah and a leather bag for me. We said goodbye to our Australian friends and moved slowly through the maze.  The shopkeepers are relentless, so if you even glance at something they have, they hound you to come take a look, how much you want to pay and of course bargaining is a must. Calvin negotiated so well he had me convinced a couple of times. “I can only pay X because that’s all the money I have, so that’s it”. I almost piped up, “Honey I have some money in my purse “! Luckily I didn’t or he would have left me there, I’m sure.  

Bosphorus Cruise

We seem to always do some sort of a boat trip and Istanbul was no exception. We took the tram line to the port to hop on one of the ferry boats. It was close to lunch time so we grabbed some fresh bagel type bread and went to the pier, where all the fish restaurants are located on boats. They cook up the fish and slap it in a bun with some veggies and presto …fresh fishwich. This is done while the boats are rocking like the Pirate ride at the PNE and none of the 5 guys on the boat skip a beat.

We bought one to share between the 5 of us and it was ok but not great. We boarded the boat and ate our lunch while traveling. It’s a really relaxing trip and offers views of palaces, a fortress, mansions, fishing villages and a view of Asia. We disembarked at the last stop which is a small village on the Asian side and walked around before boarding again and heading back to the port.

That evening we also bought tickets for a traditional Turkish dance show so we stayed in the area to grab some dinner and then head to the show. We checked a few menus and finally found one that looked promising. The restaurateurs are as relentless as the vendors at the bazaar. Constantly asking you to look at their menu or to come and see their tables with a view. We sat down next to a family that were obviously tourists like us and by the time I headed back from taking Devin to the bathroom Calvin and the boys were in deep conversation with the parents and their daughters. The family is travelling with their 2 girls, 7 & 8 around the world and wait for it…they are from Vancouver! How tiny this world really is! I will call them the Smiths. I sat down and was blown away at the similarities of our families. Even our travel itineraries have many similarities. Of course the boys and girls hit it off…probably starving for non-sibling interaction. We told them about the Turkish dance that was happening after dinner and they decided to join us and buy tickets at the door.

The show was amazing. Live music performed by an 6 piece band of guitars, drums, and horns. They were really talented and each performed some sort of solo. The dance troupe included men and women performing dances from each region of Turkey. The belly dancing routines were outstanding. I lost all 4 of my men to these women for the 2 hours and only got them back when the lights came back up.

After the show we said goodbye to the Smiths and debated the benefits of grabbing a cab vs. public transport.  We have rarely chosen the taxi option as some of the best experiences happen while travelling like a local.  We hopped in the only cab in site, to get back to the apartment. The taxi driver turned out to be a bit psychotic. We must have been in his cab for 1 minute before he starting ranting in some nasty broken English:  why ya stayin' in Taksim square - it's full of gays. Calvin said later that he could hear me breathing in the back.  Then it was the kurds - those damn kurds.....he recited the bombing numbers and kills from the past twenty years including some reciprocal action in Iraq from there it was straight to a tour of local hotels that fell during the past 5 earthquakes including numbers of dead spanning 50 years.  Calvin was in the front and just nodded a lot never agreeing or disagreeing. I was hoping Calvin hadn’t given him the address of our apartment and that we would get out at the square and walk the rest of the way and of course that was exactly what he had done. I think we'll stick to the tram next time. We got out of the cab and the boys wondered what kind of parents would bring their kids to a place like Istanbul.

Thanksgiving in Istanbul and Round Two at the Grand Bazaar.  

It did sort of slip my mind but I know how much my boys love the traditional dinners with mashed potatoes and the entire fix in’s so we headed to the grocery store to see what we could round up. We couldn’t find a turkey in Turkey! We settled on a chicken instead. Without many staples I managed to cook a pretty tasty dinner of roast chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. We enjoyed our 2011 Thanksgiving in Istanbul.

The next day we headed back to the Grand Bazaar to cover a bit more ground and make a few more purchases. Aidan was in dire need of a haircut and surprise, surprise one of the 4000 shops was a barber! Abdullah the barber had a spot open and so Aidan jumped in. They served us all apple tea and then he used his salesmanship to convince us that Noah needed one too. He did, so Noah was the next customer and Abdullah was a happy man.

On our way out of the Bazaar who do we see but the Smith family – now we’re thinking more like 15 million than 18 million (what are the chances or running into the same family twice in a city of this size?).  We all boarded the tram back to our place to drop off our bags and then the 9 of us headed out for dinner. Found out that he used to work with one of our good friends back in Vancouver and days later found out that she knows one of my good friends as well. How crazy is that ? We are waiting for the other degrees of separation to fill in soon. We had a nice meal and the kids got along well. It turned out to be a very wet and cold day in Istanbul and the worst weather since we started this trip. We needed to break out the jeans and the MEC raincoats.

Devin lost one of his front teeth this morning and what a cute smile!

No trip to Istanbul is complete without visiting a Turkish bath house. On our way to the Hamam we stopped at the Spice Bazaar to take a look as it was on the way. Aisles of brightly colored and aromatic spices lined the path along with many Turkish delight vendors. Some make their delights with sugar and some with honey. The honey is the best. We found pomegranate and lots of pistachio. Noah and Aidan really love the stuff but Devin, Calvin and I are pretty indifferent to the little cubes of gel. On to the bath we went.

Hamam (Turkish bath)

The Hamam we chose is a family and couples only bath house. No singles are permitted. When we arrived we were shown into a family change room where we changed out of our clothes into wraps for the boys to wear around their waists and shorts and a bikini top for me. After slipping on our wooden sandals they showed us to the steam room where we relaxed in a large room with taps to cool off with around the room. It was a large marble space with individual massage rooms that opened to the center. It was hot but not as hot as a sauna. There was a sign on one of the rooms that the Sultan had bathed there – so we were not to be the first royalty.  While we waited for our turn to go into the massage / bath rooms, we planned on Calvin, Aidan and Devin going to one room and Noah and I to another.  The strong, hairy bather approached and grabbed Calvin.  Without much conversation, he directed the three boys and me to one room and he went to another room with Calvin.   Noah and I received the bath and massage but Aidan and Devin were too young for the vigorous massage.  They started with an exfoliating body scrub carried out BRISKLY with a course soapy mitt and then followed by a pummeling with warm soapy water. He thumped and slapped and DEEPLY massaged my muscles. This was no Spa Utopia but I loved it. While I was getting this treatment I was watching Noah on the other marble slab, getting the same. At one point I heard Noah let out a bit of an Oomph…followed by a sigh so I knew he was enjoying it. Devin and Aidan sat by the fountain and the men would pour cool water over them and pour sudsy water over them. Calvin was receiving the same treatment but at a different level of ‘vigor’  from what can only be described as an angry Turk.  Calvin did mention he had no plans to allow a man of his age to bathe him again anytime soon. 

Afterwards we were shown into the next room where we shed our wet wraps and were given soft warm towels to wrap around us and then another wrapped around our heads and another around our shoulders. Once we were all warm and snuggly we were shown to the room to sit down and sip some water or apple tea. Didn’t really want to leave this warm and cosy place but we changed back into our clothes and headed back out into the city smelling so nice and squeaky clean.

Walked around for a little bit and then grabbed lunch at a recommended restaurant and it turned out to be very good. Many bowls of lentil soup around the table and some traditional Ottoman dishes like chicken in an apricot stew and lamb of course. Devin and Aidan are fond of the meat filled mini tortellini type dumplings that they serve with a yogurt /tomato sauce.

With our bellies full and our skin aglow from the scrubbing we headed to the Basilica Cistern. It is magnificent - probably not a surprise as it was built by the Romans in the 6th century to meet the demands of the Great Palace. It was over a century after the Ottomans conquered the city when they rediscovered the Cistern after seeing locals collecting water and even fish by lowering buckets through holes in their basement. Now, you walk through this huge space that is dimly lit while you hear classical music playing and water trickling. The roof of the Cistern is held up by 336 columns each one over 8meters high.

There was a “dress up and take your picture” kiosk at the entrance and instead of the saloon girl, gunslinger ones we have at home this one is a sultan and harem girl. We had to do it and the 3 little sultans were quite pleased with the costumes. Aidan had hoped he could wear it while we walked around but not the case. Of course one picture was supposed to be 5 euros but after you see all 98 pictures that they take they hope you will buy the whole disc.

The price for this is also negotiable. Calvin refused to pay the asking price and pretended to only want two pictures and would leave and sure enough he eventually came down to Calvin’s price. I am growing really tired of the “everything is negotiable” attitude. Every day you have to grind someone down or they don’t respect you. Can’t you just tell me your lowest price and I tell you mine and we skip the stuff in between???

I woke up with a sore throat and cough that ended up lingering for almost 2 weeks. We only have a couple more days in Istanbul so I took some meds and we walked to the Istanbul Modern which is the contemporary art museum. We were lucky with our timing because we were able to take in the Biennale Exhibit that had two sites at the museum.

I was confused by many pieces but appreciated the expression. The boys walked around and stopped at what appealed to them and passed over those that didn’t. Smart way to view a museum, I think.  

After a few hours at the show we walked to the Galata Tower for a panoramic view of the Istanbul skyline. On the way home we picked up a chocolate caramel cake to have for dessert to celebrate Calvin’s European “birthday” !