I was so sad to leave India. Clearly India is a place that either grabs your heart and stays with your forever - or you dislike every aspect of its poverty, heat and harsh conditions. I am clearly an India lover. Several of the teams could not wait to get out of there but I missed India as soon as we took off. It is a country that gets into your soul and humbles you with its needs. It has been an amazin
g experience for Ben to see the reality of that world first-hand: from the woman begging beside the road with a hard-dead, horribly mangled child in her arms to the woman in a aquamarine sari who stopped and gave a passing cow some of her lunch (a simple offering to her god). It is so hard to describe India – you have to really have to see it (and live it) to believe it.ISTANBUL– DAY 1
We arrived in Constantinople (Istanbul) to 72 degree weather – perfect blue skies – and modern public restrooms…. Heaven!! I am hoping that I’ve seen the last of the hole-in-the-ground toilets for a while (but we still have not been to the continent of Africa --- so that may be optimistic).
Istanbul is like a trendy European city on par with Paris or Madrid. Lots of history and amazing
sights but also hip and exotic. We went straight out to the Blue Mosque so that we got there before the nightly prayer session shuts it down from non-Muslims. Amazing mosaics.
Scavenge #1: Visit Erenler Nargile ve Cay Bahcesi and try some chichi.
A difficult scavenge because this is a very specific “tobacco café” in the middle of 1,430 other tobacco cafes in an area close to Istanbul University.
It took us several false starts before we found the right place – a funky place behind a cemetery – where we drank apple tea and smoked a water pipe with another team (the Slayers) – two great guys from Seattle.
(979)
Scavenge #2: Walk through the Passage of Flowers
Another highlight - walking home down Cicek Pasaji (Flower Walk or Passage) – a pedestrian-
only street of restaurants, shops and bars that was bustling with people. Lots of energy and laughter. We stopped and ate odd tasting (and textured) ice-cream which is more like taffy than ice-cream.
Istanbul is like a trendy European city on par with Paris or Madrid. Lots of history and amazing
sights but also hip and exotic. We went straight out to the Blue Mosque so that we got there before the nightly prayer session shuts it down from non-Muslims. Amazing mosaics.Scavenge #1: Visit Erenler Nargile ve Cay Bahcesi and try some chichi.
A difficult scavenge because this is a very specific “tobacco café” in the middle of 1,430 other tobacco cafes in an area close to Istanbul University.
It took us several false starts before we found the right place – a funky place behind a cemetery – where we drank apple tea and smoked a water pipe with another team (the Slayers) – two great guys from Seattle.(979)
Scavenge #2: Walk through the Passage of Flowers
Another highlight - walking home down Cicek Pasaji (Flower Walk or Passage) – a pedestrian-
only street of restaurants, shops and bars that was bustling with people. Lots of energy and laughter. We stopped and ate odd tasting (and textured) ice-cream which is more like taffy than ice-cream.ISTANBUL – DAY TWO
Today is May Day – a public holiday for all workers – which has (in the past) been a day of protests, violence, arrests and even deaths. It also
means that a lot of stuff was closed or working on a different-than-usual schedule. Bill had warned us of areas in the city that we should not go (because the government was expecting union marches in those places) but as soon as we left the hotel we found tanks in the streets and thousands upon thousands of police: at every corner, in every place. So we decided to spend the day out of Istanbul on one of the nearby islands. In the end, we saw no protests or issues at all.
Scavenge #1: Take the ferry to Buyukada, then a carriage to Luna Park, then walk up the hill to the monastery of St. George.
We took the 10:30AM ferry out the island (arriving just before noon) and hopped on a horse-drawn carriage that took us up a steep hill to a beautiful park.
Because of the holiday, the park was filled with Turkish people having picnics and enjoying the great weather. From there it was a STEEP climb to the monastery – but the view was worth it – out across the bay and back to Istanbul. It was a longer than expected ferry ride so it ended up taking most of the day – but we were due a calmer, quieter, more peaceful day and we enjoyed every minute.
Ben lit a candle and got a blessing at the St. George’s Greek Orthodox monastery at the top of the hill.
Scavenger # 4: Enjoy a traditional public Hammam
Yes, that is a Turkish bath – with all of the expected ornate, 300 year old hot marble platform in the middle of a domed steam room that you sprawl on virtually naked, large burly Turkish women who lather you up and scrub you down with a vigor and buckets of warm and cool water that you pour over yourself. A fresh experience for us all – and Ben had a great attitude ab0ut it all.
Scavenge # 5: Locate and visit the historical monument where a significant part of a recent James Bond movie was filmed.
We totally blew this one as we thought it was the Haga Sophia that was in a James Bond movie from 1999 or 2000. So we trecked up there only to find out later that the answer was really the Maiden’s Tower island that sits in the middle of the straits between Istanbul Europe and Istanbul Asia (the city actually straddles the two continents). That island was where the bad guys imprisoned Em in the last Pierce Brosnan James Bond. Shoot. We lost a bunch of points on that one.
Observation # 1: Food: Obviously we had to eat Doner Kebabs and Turkish delight – but
nothing yucky or gross. In fact, the food was really great everywhere.
Observation # 2: Markets: Istanbul is full of markets including the Grand Bazaar but my favorite was the Spice Bazaar – a smaller covered market with stalls filled with spices, scents, hundreds of different kinds of sweets (the Turks really like dessert stuff) –
so colorful and fragrant.
OFF TO TUNISIA
We just found out that we are off to Tunisia tomorrow.. a country that I admit to not even know where it was (the answer is Northern Africa if you are as ignorant as I am). We fly into Tunis and most of the people on the trip have never been there so it should be fun. Ben did a unit in school on Carthage so he actually knows the most of all of us about the area. Stay tuned for news on Tunisia…
SCOREBOARD
Thank God, Rainey and I won the India leg - and got the 500 bonus points - so now we have a little bit of a cushion in case one of us gets sick or has to take a day off. It also allows us more flexibility to choose to do only the stuff we really want to do (even if those scavenges have lower points). The rules are that you can only do 5 scavenges a day with another team, so to spend more time with Ben and Nanny, we are choosing a lot of the bonus scavenges (which take longer to do but have bigger points and count as only one scavenge). We have also discovered that the bonus scavenges are often the biggest WOWs – even though they are often a real pain in the ass to get to.
Today is May Day – a public holiday for all workers – which has (in the past) been a day of protests, violence, arrests and even deaths. It also
means that a lot of stuff was closed or working on a different-than-usual schedule. Bill had warned us of areas in the city that we should not go (because the government was expecting union marches in those places) but as soon as we left the hotel we found tanks in the streets and thousands upon thousands of police: at every corner, in every place. So we decided to spend the day out of Istanbul on one of the nearby islands. In the end, we saw no protests or issues at all.Scavenge #1: Take the ferry to Buyukada, then a carriage to Luna Park, then walk up the hill to the monastery of St. George.
We took the 10:30AM ferry out the island (arriving just before noon) and hopped on a horse-drawn carriage that took us up a steep hill to a beautiful park.
Because of the holiday, the park was filled with Turkish people having picnics and enjoying the great weather. From there it was a STEEP climb to the monastery – but the view was worth it – out across the bay and back to Istanbul. It was a longer than expected ferry ride so it ended up taking most of the day – but we were due a calmer, quieter, more peaceful day and we enjoyed every minute.
Ben lit a candle and got a blessing at the St. George’s Greek Orthodox monastery at the top of the hill.
Scavenger # 4: Enjoy a traditional public Hammam
Yes, that is a Turkish bath – with all of the expected ornate, 300 year old hot marble platform in the middle of a domed steam room that you sprawl on virtually naked, large burly Turkish women who lather you up and scrub you down with a vigor and buckets of warm and cool water that you pour over yourself. A fresh experience for us all – and Ben had a great attitude ab0ut it all.
Scavenge # 5: Locate and visit the historical monument where a significant part of a recent James Bond movie was filmed.
We totally blew this one as we thought it was the Haga Sophia that was in a James Bond movie from 1999 or 2000. So we trecked up there only to find out later that the answer was really the Maiden’s Tower island that sits in the middle of the straits between Istanbul Europe and Istanbul Asia (the city actually straddles the two continents). That island was where the bad guys imprisoned Em in the last Pierce Brosnan James Bond. Shoot. We lost a bunch of points on that one.
Observation # 1: Food: Obviously we had to eat Doner Kebabs and Turkish delight – but
nothing yucky or gross. In fact, the food was really great everywhere.Observation # 2: Markets: Istanbul is full of markets including the Grand Bazaar but my favorite was the Spice Bazaar – a smaller covered market with stalls filled with spices, scents, hundreds of different kinds of sweets (the Turks really like dessert stuff) –
so colorful and fragrant.OFF TO TUNISIA
We just found out that we are off to Tunisia tomorrow.. a country that I admit to not even know where it was (the answer is Northern Africa if you are as ignorant as I am). We fly into Tunis and most of the people on the trip have never been there so it should be fun. Ben did a unit in school on Carthage so he actually knows the most of all of us about the area. Stay tuned for news on Tunisia…
SCOREBOARD
Thank God, Rainey and I won the India leg - and got the 500 bonus points - so now we have a little bit of a cushion in case one of us gets sick or has to take a day off. It also allows us more flexibility to choose to do only the stuff we really want to do (even if those scavenges have lower points). The rules are that you can only do 5 scavenges a day with another team, so to spend more time with Ben and Nanny, we are choosing a lot of the bonus scavenges (which take longer to do but have bigger points and count as only one scavenge). We have also discovered that the bonus scavenges are often the biggest WOWs – even though they are often a real pain in the ass to get to.
3 comments:
Did you "throw a whirling dervish out of whirl"? :-)
Did they let you eat in the Pandeli Restaurant in the Spice Market? And how about those hammams?
How great that Ben is with you on this trip. Enjoy Tunisia!
D
I have so enjoyed reading up on your adventures. I have always been curious of the places you have visited, Istanbul being one. You have done such a great job creating a perfect mental picture for me. The photo in the Mosque is my favorite of the two of you! Have a safe journey home.
Mel
I have so enjoyed reading up on your adventures. I have always been curious of the places you have visited, Istanbul being one. You have done such a great job creating a perfect mental picture for me. The photo in the Mosque is my favorite of the two of you! Have a safe journey home.
Mel
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