Single-Handed Tour of Turkey: Istanbul

Arm in sling, luggage wheeled behind me and a big sticker, 'Handle with Care', I embarked (none the less) on my planned two week vacation in Turkey. Many have asked why a Muslim country for the holiday season when tourism is at a minimal or why go there during their cold winter off-season or what about the fact that the country shuts down for 4 days to celebrate Bayrim (Muslim holiday also known as the Eid)??? Well I learned the answer the hard way I guess. Post trip I can say I was glad I finally got to experience Turkey (was supposed to have moved there in 1996 to work on the McDonald's advertising account) but not at the expense of seeing friends and family during this special time of year for appreciation, reflection, and just doing a whole lot of nothing with the ones you love. Not to mention I think I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am no longer a 24 year old explorer. As much as I still want to claim I am open to any experience, I realize that I no longer want to stay in the cheapest hostels and a eat all my meals on the street. The problem with doing independent travel at 35 is that anyone else around this age or older for the most part is a couple and the single travelers are just as I was around my mid-20's very tight on budget and mostly into partying as much as budget would allow. So a heads up to all that I'll be beating down many of your emails to join me on one of my next adventures...

Fortunately for this trip, although my mobility was somewhat limited and I always had an extra sleeve flopping in the wind, I was actually able to get a disabled discount at one of the museums and receive extra assistance from usually pushie vendors, hotel staff, and my great travel mate Natacha (while in Istanbul). Ironically the pain was minimal but man, the itch from them having shaved half my chest hair was almost unbearable not to mention felt very weird. I digress...onto the adventure:

Not Quite (in) the EU
As with visiting any new country, what appears quite normal to any local can pose quite an adjustment for the average tourist. So with patience, a good sense of humor and deep breathing I was able to adapt to many of the following:
- Ability to sit outside for a tea, meal or chat regardless of the temp
- Single line to get into the waiting area at airport
- No sign saying which of 2 packed carousels luggage would come out on
- The main airport security line was located directly in front of two check-in counters
-15 hour bus trip (supposed to be 8) with insane loud crazy screaming Turkish movies
- Blaring repetitive advertisement announcements at bus stations (most unagreeable at the 3am stop)
- Almost no women at bus stands and every man with a mustache, black outfit and smoking
- Hotel rooms so cold ice on the inside of window and the bathroom was warmest place
- Local travel for Bayrim crazy since entire family travels together
- Grid lock traffic in major cities
- Listen and love their own Turkish music above western (I believe an acquired taste)
- Discount if pay in cash and everything is negotiable, all the time
- Never know what the real price is
- Using a different keyboard with 2 i's so I could never log on...
- Local young men use insane amounts of hair jell to create that 80s rocker big hair look

East-West City

Just an amazing city!! Beyond all the well know historic sites it has a unique flavor of history, culture, modernism mixed with the old ways of bath houses, open bazaars, tea time, backgammon, hooka smoking and just watching the world go by. I was joined by an Australian friend of mine from Kosovo for my time in Istanbul before I headed off to visit many other locations. Our departure, arrival was questionable since our flight from Pristina was the first to depart of most the international flights carrying all the expats away for their holiday R&R's (the airport was a big party) but as the time passed and all the other planes landed and took off we were still stuck in the departure lounge looking at a schedule board indicating our flight had left on-time. 3 hours later we were finally on our way to be greeted by a driver arranged by our guesthouse. Between reading our name card and actually getting in a van, we had been passed off 4 times to different 'drivers'. I was sure we were already onto our first scam but we arrived at mac speed (140kph on small streets) to the old town part of the city (near Blue Mosque). It was a very nice place located in the heart of the inflated tourist price part of town. And we got more than our fair share of attention since there were very few tourists around so every shop, restaurant and bar owner wanted to greet us on the street and extend a personal invitation to join them in their superior establishment. Gets old very fast...

So yes, we had 4 action packed days hitting all the must sees of the city which are best detailed in the photos rather than words. In between the major sites we got lost walking in the small market streets, grabbing a tea, experiencing some of the great food from the local vendors and in general trying to stay warm. The night life had the potential to be off the hook but by the time we made it out to dinner we were usually so beat we weren't up for more than a nice meal, evening stroll, quick drink and then off to bed. Fortunately Istanbul is a cheap direct flight so I will be heading back just to enjoy the modern evening amenities.

For Xmas eve we were able to to find a Roman Catholic church that did have a modified carol service that we had to mostly stand for. It was worth it just to hear a couple familiar songs sung in English by the choir as well as several songs in Turkish and some very unexpected African tribal songs performed with Congo drums and a local group of Africans that sang and danced the praises of the lord much to the dismay of many of the locals (a surprising number seemed to leave). And we took our Christmas day meal atop a hidden shi-shi club/restaurant recommended by a friend who used to live there which offered a panoramic view of the Bosphorus River and the old part of the city. A highlight and testament to modern technology was when I stepped out of the bar to absorb the spectacular view, my phone rang and I was able to talk with entire family with a crystal clear connection as they were just finishing with presents back in the States. My present to myself was spending several hours earlier that evening at one of the higher-end Turkish Bath Houses where I was saunaed, steamed, soap-sudded, water slapped, exfoliated, rubbed down and marble heated into complete jelly. It was the first time I had really taken the brace off and received mild attention to my healing shoulder. Sad to see how much flexibility and strength I have lost in just several weeks (but am back to recovery with rehab now).

Since the weather was mostly grey, cold and even offered us some snow, we decided to take advantage of a small break in the clouds and spend a day heading up the Bosphorus River visiting the harbors of many of the small towns on both the Europe and Asia sides eventually depositing us at a small town at the base of the Black Sea where we explored one the last Ottoman outposts on the river securing the safety and rise of that empire. Since the town clearly survived exclusively on the daily tourists that arrived on the ferry boat to spend one meal in the city we had the owners negotiating prices against each other to convince us that their fish was better than the same fish prepared next door. Ah yes, the market economy.

The markets were really great once you decided you were not going to buy a carpet and you learned to look through every vendor that knew every trick in the book to engage you in any language imaginable to get you to purchase something. My initial shopping list would have required a good day of haggling but by the end of the trip I was so over sensitized that I flew out with nothing more than some tea and a bookmark Natacha got for me (next trip right)?

The food was fantastic. But among the great selections and some expensive meals our most satisfying and unexpected were a $1 fish sandwich cooked right on a violently rocking fishing boat tied to the harbor railing and a local neighborhood cafe that served the best bean soup with rice and engaged us in detailed conversations of their home cities all in Turkish. Once again, integrating as the locals do proves to be the core of the experience.

Although I could have spent a couple more days there I decided after 4 full action packed days of exploration I was going to catch an overnight bus to Cappadocia, the central region of the country and a place know as 'the moon'. I should have know that I was potentially biting off more than I wanted to 'chew' when they didn't have my 'reservation' on the bus. (stay tuned for next chapter).