November 18. Excursion to Istanbul and Tbilisi

 We decided to go to Istanbul and Tbilisi during Thanksgiving week this year. Turkey was a halfway point on the way to Georgia where we planned to do our scouting for the summer of 2013. The whole trip was actually driven by Mark who wanted to go somewhere with us this week. What's weird is that with all our planning we are now staying in different neighborhoods in Istanbul and will meet at the airport tomorrow.

We landed at a little after 1pm. First, there was one line for a multiple entry Turkish visa. The actual process of getting the stamp in our passports took a few seconds. Then there was a long wait for the passport control. There was the same number of agents processing practically no Turkish citizens as a large number of foreigners and so the process was pretty slow. The funny thing we get the reverse in US - there is about the same number of US citizens traveling yet they get much fewer agents to process them. So you wait both ways.

The trip to town was very easy. There is a clearly marked subway with maps and after getting to the city we switched over to a very modern tram - equally nice. Mark took bus to get to Taxim square where he is staying and that was simple too. There are multiple ATMs outside the luggage claims area.

We took some time to find Hali hotel, predominantly because we did not notice the street sign and kept going and going. All the sights and sounds made it hard to concentrate. Ultimately we found it. It is clean and well-positioned, there is free Internet. Excellent value for 55 Euro. We get the view of Blue Mosque from our window.

Since it was already 4pm by the time we checked in we rushed to get into the basilica cistern. It was just as we remembered - awesome!! Next we tried Hagia Sophia but it was already closed. They were still letting people into the Blue Mosque. So we went there.

Outside there were photos from Syria. Many wounded children. Horrible!!! There was a sign outside instructing women to dress modestly and cover their heads. I was worried but then we saw plenty of women without the headgear and ventured inside. Again, it was even better than what we remembered. There were signs inviting visitors to visit the information office to learn about Islam. Great positive warm signs. A great example of tolerance.

At that moment I thought of our most recent experiences near the wailing wall in Jerusalem. There, religious fundamentalists who are running the place had turned in it from the location for contemplation, medication, and for some, prayer, into one of intolerance and frustration. I would be lynched by the ladies if I tried to approach without the headgear. And Dan got scammed out of his money by the bearded crook who butted in when Dan was thinking, claimed he was praying for our family, and demanded the money. You are really not in a kind of mood to start the argument when you are in a place like that. To be fair we would not be welcome in the Dome of the Rock at all. So, fundamentalist intolerance goes both ways. Back to Istanbul... :)

We walked to the bridge consuming the street fare along the way - fried buns with nuts, fried fresh fish.. It was a feast for all the senses. The city is amazingly beautiful. The mixture of old buildings, tile and rug stores, and many restaurants. There were smells of fried chestnuts, raw fish, fried fish, spices, doner kebabs. It is also very clean.

Scores and scores of Russians. You practically hear as much of that as Turkish. Most Turkish women in Sultanahmet wear bright headscarves. Some had beautiful designer "modest ware" - outer trench coat like clothing made from attractive fabrics, tight belts and such. Some wore black burqas with a triangular opening for the eyes and nose.

There is a walkway level of the bridge filled with restaurants. On top, there were fishers fishing. So as you sit in the restaurant on the bridge, with Bosphorus flowing below, you can see fishing lines slide past your line of vision into the water and emerge with dangling herrings (?) on the hook. Not to forget the other views - ancient Byzantium churches turned into mosques with their minarets lit up. The exciting thing is that this view must have been the same for at least several hundreds of years. And the fishermen had came and gone satisfying their hunting instinct. One of the major highlights of our travels.

We were too full for the formal dinner and so just went to Mado for dessert. Supposedly they have a unique process of making ice-cream from goats milk. It was very good and one could not smell any goat in it. The menu with pictures is enormous. I wanted everything. Fortunately the waiter only understood the vanilla ice-cream and coffee part.

We sat in the square near the Blue Mosque at night. Dan did not sleep much on the plane and we headed home early. Looking forward to seeing Mark tomorrow.