Greetings from Istanbul,
This is not your ordinary tourist attraction, then again it really is. I am at the Blue Mosque, one of the most famous in the world. I have traveled a bit in my life and I approached this particular site with a mix of awe and reverence. But on the way through the city from our hotel we passed many of the huge tourist buses winding through the streets. True, there are many tourist and sacred sites in this area (sometimes those terms are mutually exclusive). Around the corner we glimpsed the Mosque. Gardens preceeded it, lots of tourists too. Granted this is January, Winter and the numbers are probably quite small in comparison. But as we got closer the atmosphere turned sacred, carnival-like and your basic touristy.
People were selling cotton candy, some man dressed as St. Nicholas (not the American advertising Santa but....I guess the original St. Nick who according to history does hail from these parts though his body is buried in ....Greece? It's amazing how all these historical people lived or died or were carted off to other lands to be buried or else the locals CLAIM the famous people were buried around there....but I digress....those random thoughts have nothing to do with the Blue Mosque.)
I think I was expecting people to be hushed, as they were within the grounds of the Taj Mahal, but most spoke in normal tones. We did not enter into the main area. It was late and we had to keep moving, we will be back several times. We'll check our shoes at the entrance and take time to marvel at the inside. So, we wandered the grounds, going out the back area, winding through the parking lot and somehow stumbling on the main expensive tourist selling area. These were not men selling blankets from a cart, but expensively furnished shops which had been renovated from the .... perhaps stables? It was a bit out of our price range, I think the photo op with St. Nick may have been out of our price range.
We wandered through the streets of the area which were a mix of hotels, restaurants and shops. The streets were well lit and the crowds reasonable and it was truly awesome to see the mosque lit at night...sort of other-worldly. In a strange mix of east meets west we walked down the street to a restaurant and had pasta and a pilsner. (and.....listening to The Spinners sing "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love") Didn't see that one coming as I had dreamed over the past year of seeing this magnificent structure.
We are now on our own, our friends Ken and Betty accompanied us to the hotel which is quite a ways from their home across the bay (actually Sea of Marmara). This Istanbul is really spread out...very difficult to describe other than continuing to call it "vast." They both knew the general and probably specific area where we were to be and so via cab, ferry and walking we arrived.
Our hotel has all the spaciousness of a nuclear sub though the bed is comfy and the breakfast dining room is quite big and the breakfast itself was very good. I continue to drink Turkish tea, though I found myself missing the usual "tulip-shaped" cup for the tea. Coffee is a bit rare and this morning I had instant...I will seek out the nearest Starbucks for an injection. Yes, there are Starbucks, many other coffee shops, McDonald's, Burger King and the local Turk Burger. I suppose the name "Turkey Burger" would be a bit too confusing. Pastery shops are ubiquitous. We also enjoyed an after lunch stop at the ice cream store. We are gazing at the various ice creams in the case, from the street front window of the ice cream store when suddenly the front window starts to raise up automatically and the clerk took our order. This place rocks! Their ice cream stores have auto-raising front windows! Nothing like that in America...and I thought we were #1. I may have to rethink some assumptions. I had chocolate chip and basic chocolate. Couldn't read the labels but just pointed and Ken translated when needed. But I did notice that they also had "Tutti Furutti." I don't know Turkish, but I have some college degrees and I'm guessing that refers to.....
I am now into the local Sports Scene as I tried to read the story of the local Fenner Bache football team...the one with the same colors as my debit card (which incidently is my new best friend.) But as I looked at the picture on the sports page of the paper, I took note that those are the same colors as...The University of Michigan. Don't tell Tressel that I am rooting for the maize and blue. Give me an "F"! Give me a "B"!
Peace, Bob
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