We spent long weekends in Istanbul and the week in Antalya, leaving Lydia free for her schoolwork. Everywhere we were hosted by Tom's wonderful friends, and I learned a lot about tourism in Turkey. Istanbul was full of tourists from all around the world, speaking many languages. It's a huge, confusing, and fascinating city, always something new to observe and take in. The streets seem to be constantly packed and include lots of Turkish men, Turkish women in everything from "normal" street clothes to full black coverings, with a lot of headscarves in the middle; tourists in a variety of garb, including quite a few Arabs; and of course street vendors selling everything, particularly in the tourist areas.
Our first day we had lunch with Lydia at a little restaurant on the Bosphorus, right near her university. To get there from where we were staying in Istanbul we took 2 ferries, a great way to get around. Fortunately Istanbul has excellent public transportation, so even though we were staying fairly far from Lydia we could connect. We later visited Dolmabahce Palace, a beautiful ornate palace also right on the Bosphorus, near the university. Its largest chandelier weighs 4.5 tons!
Saturday we took a cruise up the Bosphorus. It was a beautiful sunny day and a great chance to get views of Istanbul from the water. We had lunch outside and then visited Rumeli Hisar, a fortress from the time of Mehmet the Conqueror. On the bus on the way back we discovered that all of Istanbul was out driving, enjoying the warm weather after a long, hard winter. Traffic was terrible and made our day long. But we got back in time for a fun dinner with an interesting group of people: Tom's Peace Corps friend Heath Lowry, who is professor of Ottoman Studies at Princeton and currently teaching at Bahcesehir, and his Turkish wife; and four Norwegians, two of whom Lydia had gotten to know when she was in Oslo (and Tom and I also met). They're great fans of Turkey, and we had a delicious dinner and a great multi-cultural evening.
Sunday Lydia left for Antalya to join her school group, and Tom and I visited beautiful Aya Sofya, with its amazing mosaics. Built in 537 as a church, and converted to a mosque by Mehmet the Conqueror in the 1500s, it is now a museum. For the first time in 17 years there is no scaffolding in the interior, and it was great to see it all open. From there we went by tram and metro to the city walls, walked along there for a while, and had a typical Turkish lunch of rice, beans, salad, and kebobs at a tiny restaurant right next door to the Mihrimah Mosque, built for the daughter of Suleyman the Magnificent. We visited this lovely mosque, recently restored, with its beautiful windows and light and airy feel. From there we went to the Kariye Museum, with the most amazing Byzantine mosaics. We had gone there the last time I was in Turkey and I wanted to see it again. Amazing mosaics, incredibly detailed.
Monday morning we were off to the airport to head to Antalya-a total coincidence that we were there the same time as Lydia's school group. We stayed at the lovely Tuvana Hotel, where Tom's friends Nermin and Aziz were wonderful hosts. Antalya is a beautiful coastal town, and our hotel was right in the center of the old town, with its super-narrow labyrinth of streets. The hotel converted several old houses into beautiful rooms, surrounded by lovely gardens. They also have an excellent restaurant that we enjoyed a couple times. Their signature dessert, Sultan's coffee, is an amazing coffee crème brulé served in a Turkish coffee cup. It has been known to fool even experienced travel writers who lift the cup expecting hot coffee...
Lydia and some of her friends came to the hotel and we visited Antalya together. It was fun to meet some of the kids and hear of their adventures. They all seem to be loving Istanbul, and they also all wanted to stay in Antalya, so it seems things are going well.
The rest of our time in Antalya was spent doing one of my favorite things--exploring ruins. We spent a day at beautiful Termessos, climbing up and up through the hills, past amazing ruins including a huge necropolis with hundreds of sarcophagi, all the way to the top of the peak, where we got a gorgeous 360 view of the surrounding mountains and hills. The theater there is also incredible, with more gorgeous views. I may have done in my knees on this climb, but it was worth it.
Next day to Phaselis, a site right by the sea, with 3 small ports, a beautiful viaduct, a small theater, and more, all nestled in a pine forest. On the way home we found a great restaurant that had patlajan kebob--skewers alternating chunks of eggplant and ground lamb. Yum! I try to eat eggplant at least once a day when I'm in Turkey, and this definitely satisfied my craving.
Next day we were off to Aspendos, which has one of the best preserved theaters in Turkey, and maybe in the world. There were lots of school groups there and it was fun to see the theater full of bare-legged young people. We hiked around some more and enjoyed the sights, the views, and the wildflowers. On to Side, the first place Tom and I went in Turkey on our honeymoon in 1985. It has grown tremendously, but is a lovely town that is really built around the Roman ruins, and with long, beautiful sandy beaches. We even managed to have tea at a place where the owner was a life-long resident and knew some of Tom's old friends from 40 years ago!
Next day back to Istanbul and the Sirkeci Konak. The hotel offers cooking classes, so I took one that evening. A group of 8 of us learned how to make kisir, an appetizer made from bulgur and various vegetables and spices; and kuzu kavurma, a meat and vegetable stew. Lots of fun and a delicious meal afterwards! Since the chef threw in the spices by the handful, I'm not sure how successful I'll be at replicating the dishes!
Saturday Tom and I walked across the Galata Bridge and explored some of Beyoglu, traditionally the European center of Istanbul. That evening we took Lydia and her 5 roommates (4 Americans, 1 Turkish) to dinner, which was a lot of fun. Really nice group of kids and all doing interesting things. As we walked down the hill to the tram, we were amazed (again) with how many people were out walking around the city. Every street was full of people!
Sunday I ventured off on my own to the Blue Mosque (beautiful but full of tourists). I decided to continue mosque explorations and enjoyed the equally beautiful and peaceful Yeni Cami (which means new mosque...it was new when it was built in the 1600s) and the exquisite Rustem Pasha Mosque, near the Spice Bazaar. The Spice Bazaar was a flurry of activity, with shop keepers and shoppers all busy. Later Lydia joined us and we took a ferry up the Golden Horn (water that splits the two European parts of Istanbul) to the small town of Eyup. It was packed! Another beautiful Sunday brought everyone out. We had a great lunch in a traditional restaurant. Our plan was to visit the mosque, but as prayer time approached it was too crowded. So we went to take the cable car up to the Pierre Loti café, for views of Istanbul. Long lines put us off, and then we realized the wind was picking up. We ended up taking the ferry back to Istanbul in the middle of a thunderstorm and high winds--quite a change from earlier in the day.
My last day in Istanbul was spent dealing with computer problems (don't ask). We finally packed it in and went for high tea at the Pera Palace Hotel, built originally for passengers arriving on the Orient Express. Tea is served in a beautiful Ottoman domed hall, and it's quite an experience. To top it off, Lydia did her room draw for next year at Mac in the lobby of the Pera Palace--I think that's a first. On the way back we made a quick stop at the Grand Bazaar to pick up a couple of things.
Turkey is a fascinating and busy place with so much to see and do and take in. We're already planning our next trip.
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