Istanbul's Blue Mosque in the Snow
I feel badly about not having written in a week. I've been a bit of a slacker with the blog, truth be told. But I do have some pretty good excuses for my delinquent behavior. As some of you know, my parents are here visiting, and so I've been busy playing Susie Tour Guide, and cooking daily now for NINE people, as opposed to the seven who regularly dine in the Richardson household. Needless to say, these things have kept me busy, but I was longing to get back to the blog, and so here is a little update on what's going on around here.
My parents arrived on January 28th, and we've had a great time hanging out with them here in Belgrade. This past week, though, my parents and I got away for a whirlwind 36-hour trip to Istanbul. After our family visited there last October, and after falling in love the city, I told my parents that they just had to go there with me when they visited this time. And so, we planned a short trip for just the three of us. Our short trip became even shorter when, one week before our scheduled departure, I received an e-mail from the airline saying that our flight had been cancelled. We had to travel one day later, and because I didn't want to be gone for too long, we kept our return flight as originally planned. And so, we left on Tuesday afternoon, and returned Thursday afternoon. It was a quick trip, but a good one.
It also was a trip full of unexpected adventures. We arrived in Istanbul in a terrible storm -- dark clouds, heavy rain and wind. Let's just say that I can count on one hand the number of times that the passengers on a plane I've been on have cheered after the plane has safely landed; this was one of those times. Folks were relieved, to say the least, that we made it safely and without incident. Once inside the terminal, all was going well until the power went off. No kidding. The power in the massive Istanbul airport went out as we were waiting on our luggage. A few seconds later, dim lights came on, the result, I presume, of a generator kicking in. About 15 minutes later, the luggage conveyor came back on, and we got our luggage and headed out of the airport.
When we finally arrived at the airport after a lengthy ride in very bad weather, we put our things away, and, given the extreme brevity of our trip, felt compelled to go out and walk around in Istanbul, despite the heavy rain. We walked from our hotel to the Blue Mosque, which was quite a sight at that time of night, and in the rain. Then we walked around the Sultanhamet neighborhood in which our hotel was located, and after being heckled by multiple restauranteers (nearly every restaurant in Istanbul has a guy who stands out front, and tries to persuade folks to come into their restaurant, as opposed to the one next door or down the street), we chose a place called Metropolis -- mainly because it had a fireplace and looked incredibly warm and inviting. We made friends with our two waiters, had a great meal and some wine, and called it a day.
The following day was long and cold, but amazing. We had hired a tour guide to whisk us around to the main sights in Istanbul, and he arrived at our hotel around 9. We headed out for a 5-hour tour with Vedat, during which we walked the city, and froze our patooties (sp?) off. It had snowed the previous night, and there was snow and water all over the ground. My Mom and I somehow managed not to keep our feet dry, and so our feet were very, very cold. Basically, I was miserable, except for the fact that I was in Istanbul -- one of my most favorite places in the world -- walking through these ancient buildings, and told myself that I simply could not be miserable. And so, I sucked it up, and tried to put mind over matter. While with Vedat, we visited the Blue Mosque, the Aya Sofia, and Topkapi Palace (including the Harem, which was the living quarters for the Sultan's family). Vedat greatly enhanced the experience, sharing with us many interesting and funny stories along the way. We definitely learned a whole lot about the Roman and Ottoman Empires, and about Istanbul's long and rich history.
After saying goodbye to Vedat, we found a great spot for lunch, and then hit the Grand Bazaar. Of course, one of my main motivations for returning to Itanbul was to acquire more Turkish pottery, which I love. I had "orders" from several friends, as well, and so in the two hours or so we had in the Bazaar, my Mom and I focused on the pottery, while my Dad suffered through the experience. I was able to find just what my friends had asked me to find, as well as a few additional pieces for myself, and so I considered the experience a success! After a short rest back in our hotel, we hit another neighborhood restaurant for dinner, and then hit the hay.
My parents arrived on January 28th, and we've had a great time hanging out with them here in Belgrade. This past week, though, my parents and I got away for a whirlwind 36-hour trip to Istanbul. After our family visited there last October, and after falling in love the city, I told my parents that they just had to go there with me when they visited this time. And so, we planned a short trip for just the three of us. Our short trip became even shorter when, one week before our scheduled departure, I received an e-mail from the airline saying that our flight had been cancelled. We had to travel one day later, and because I didn't want to be gone for too long, we kept our return flight as originally planned. And so, we left on Tuesday afternoon, and returned Thursday afternoon. It was a quick trip, but a good one.
It also was a trip full of unexpected adventures. We arrived in Istanbul in a terrible storm -- dark clouds, heavy rain and wind. Let's just say that I can count on one hand the number of times that the passengers on a plane I've been on have cheered after the plane has safely landed; this was one of those times. Folks were relieved, to say the least, that we made it safely and without incident. Once inside the terminal, all was going well until the power went off. No kidding. The power in the massive Istanbul airport went out as we were waiting on our luggage. A few seconds later, dim lights came on, the result, I presume, of a generator kicking in. About 15 minutes later, the luggage conveyor came back on, and we got our luggage and headed out of the airport.
When we finally arrived at the airport after a lengthy ride in very bad weather, we put our things away, and, given the extreme brevity of our trip, felt compelled to go out and walk around in Istanbul, despite the heavy rain. We walked from our hotel to the Blue Mosque, which was quite a sight at that time of night, and in the rain. Then we walked around the Sultanhamet neighborhood in which our hotel was located, and after being heckled by multiple restauranteers (nearly every restaurant in Istanbul has a guy who stands out front, and tries to persuade folks to come into their restaurant, as opposed to the one next door or down the street), we chose a place called Metropolis -- mainly because it had a fireplace and looked incredibly warm and inviting. We made friends with our two waiters, had a great meal and some wine, and called it a day.
The following day was long and cold, but amazing. We had hired a tour guide to whisk us around to the main sights in Istanbul, and he arrived at our hotel around 9. We headed out for a 5-hour tour with Vedat, during which we walked the city, and froze our patooties (sp?) off. It had snowed the previous night, and there was snow and water all over the ground. My Mom and I somehow managed not to keep our feet dry, and so our feet were very, very cold. Basically, I was miserable, except for the fact that I was in Istanbul -- one of my most favorite places in the world -- walking through these ancient buildings, and told myself that I simply could not be miserable. And so, I sucked it up, and tried to put mind over matter. While with Vedat, we visited the Blue Mosque, the Aya Sofia, and Topkapi Palace (including the Harem, which was the living quarters for the Sultan's family). Vedat greatly enhanced the experience, sharing with us many interesting and funny stories along the way. We definitely learned a whole lot about the Roman and Ottoman Empires, and about Istanbul's long and rich history.
After saying goodbye to Vedat, we found a great spot for lunch, and then hit the Grand Bazaar. Of course, one of my main motivations for returning to Itanbul was to acquire more Turkish pottery, which I love. I had "orders" from several friends, as well, and so in the two hours or so we had in the Bazaar, my Mom and I focused on the pottery, while my Dad suffered through the experience. I was able to find just what my friends had asked me to find, as well as a few additional pieces for myself, and so I considered the experience a success! After a short rest back in our hotel, we hit another neighborhood restaurant for dinner, and then hit the hay.
My Dad with one of his new buddies from the Grand Bazaar!
One of the things that I had wanted to do during our first visit to Istanbul was to visit a hamam, or Turkish bath. It didn't happen on that first visit, and so I swore that I would not leave Istanbul this last time without getting to a hamam. Rather than going one of the evenings we were there (many hamams are open from 6 a.m. until midnight), I opted to get up early on Thursday -- the day of our departure -- and head over for an early-morning Turkish bath. As I understand it, the bathing experience consists of "resting" on a very hot slab of marble, and then, if you choose to pay extra, having a scrub or massage. The massage was what I really wanted, especially after having been so cold and on my feet the prior day.
After my alarm went off at 5:45 a.m., I got up, got dressed and headed out. I hadn't given much thought to what Istanbul might be like at that time in the morning, but I soon found out. Basically, I was the only person out on the streets that morning, except for a few dogs who scared the you know what out of me, and a couple of city maintenance workers (boy was I glad to see those guys). As I walked down the empty, dark and completely quiet streets of Istanbul, and even passed the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofia at 6 in the morning with no one else around, I felt like I was either in a movie, or that I surely would become the next missing person on whom Greta Van Sustern and her Fox Network colleagues would focus their nightly shows for the coming months. Tag lines like "Mom of Three Goes Missing in Istanbul," or "Wife of Belgrade Embassy Employee Vanishes" kept filling my head as I was taking this incredibly spooky walk through one of the world's most intriguing cities.
Once I finally arrived at the Cemberlitas hamam, I was overjoyed to be (a) at a hamam; and (b) safely inside a building where, presumably, I would be safe. Despite the hamam's assertion that it opened at 6 a.m., however, what I shortly came to learn was that only the self-serve option was available from 6 to 8 a.m. This meant that I could go in and lay on the hot stone and bathe myself, I suppose, but that the massage for which I had been longing would not be possible (we had an 11:30 flight and were being picked up at our hotel at 9 a.m.). Moreover, given the fact that I was the only person at the hamam other than the janitor-looking guy who greeted me when I walked in, I thought it unwise to partake of the Turkish bath experience at that hour of the morning. The problem, though, was that I didn't want to go back out onto the streets of Istanbul before it got lighter outside, and so I was faced with a dilemma -- stay inside with the Turkish janitor, or hit the streets. I opted for the later, and just kind of slowly and cautiously made my way back to the hotel, feeling at once a bit defeated for not having been able to experience the hamam, but yet somewhat valiant for having conquered the streets of Istanbul by myself on a cold and dark February morning.
Our flight home was, again, uneventful, for which we were, as always, grateful. It was good to get home and see the kids. Funny how you miss your kids so much, even when you know that you need a little break from the 24/7 job of being a Mom. We never stop being Moms, do we, no matter how far we are away from our children?
And so, this is the story of my second trip to Istanbul, a city that I think is amazing, fascinating and beautiful. As I've said before on this blog, if you ever get the chance to go to Istanbul, do it!! You will not regret it. (Oh, and try to stay longer than 36 hours -- there's so much to see there; you could easily fill 4-5 or even more days in just Istanbul, not to mention the rest of Turkey).
Happy Saturday.
Erin
I hope you know that Aja Sofija was once the biggest Orthodox church :)
ReplyDelete