Turkey 2013 continued

In Konya we visited the wonderful Mevlana Museum, with Rumi's tomb, a very spiritual place.  We also went to several Seljuk medresse and saw beautiful doorways and tile work. Also the Alettin Mosque, up on the hill, and surrounded by beautiful tulips.

Tuesday evening we boarded the Blue train to Izmir. There were only a couple other people in the sleeping compartments car, so we basically had it to ourselves. We drank wine and snacked and slept more or less. Tom, Ali, and I had breakfast in the dining car, the only ones there. We arrived in Izmir about 8 AM and were picked up by a driver who took us to Ephesus. We had a lovely visit there and then went to Seljuk for lunch and shopping and seeing storks. After lunch up to Sirince for a rest and a chance to explore that charming mountain town. We had drinks on the terrace and then a wonderful dinner in the restaurant there--we were practically the only people, and they put out a wonderful spread, including lots of meze, slow cooked lamb, and delicious firin sutlac (baked rice pudding).

Next day to Didyma, wonderful Temple of Apollo, and the theater of Miletus, and more shopping and stork watching in Seljuk. This time we had told the restaurant we would eat there, but we wanted to eat light. So he "only" had about 4 cold mezes, a hot shrimp dish, and then fish cooked in salt!  Two whole fish covered in a half inch of salt, hardened and baked, and then flamed up the middle.  Very dramatic and tasty, though far too much food. A special cake for dessert too.

Next morning a quick stop in Seljuk, then on to Izmir Airport to fly back to Istanbul. We got settled at the Sirkeci Konak, and then Tom worked while I took the others on the ferry to Kadakoy. We found the wonderful market and walked through the fascinating streets--teeming with people--and even found some good street musicians. Ferry back, beautiful views, and dinner at the hotel.

Saturday morning Gamze came to take us to see the main sights of Istanbul. We went to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi, mostly in the Harem. Because we all move slowly, we didn't get everywhere, but it was great and she is so knowledgeable and fun to be with. The Topkapi tulips were amazing! Lovely views and a fun day.

That night we had dinner at Cooking alaturka, run by Eveline Zoutendijk, who also runs a cooking school.  Lovely meal of soup, imam biyldi, vine leaves, and stuffed figs. Ali's last dinner with us. Fun walk back, seeing Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia all lit up.

Sunday to the Chora Church with its wonderful mosaics. I love the story of the childhood of Mary, and apparently it's the only--or one of very few--depictions of her life. Walking down to the Edirnekapi mosque we happened on a pigeon market--all sorts of guys with pigeons in cages, buying and selling and talking. A real scene, fascinating. They were very welcoming, and Pam and I were the only women.  On to the mosque, which was lovely, and then lunch on the sidewalk at a little place. Visited a bit of the city walls, then on to the Greek church of St. Nicholas. Highlight of that was a group of young singers, from England and all over, who sang a few lovely songs in various languages. Part of orthodox youth, also called Mosaic, they were beautiful singers. We then proceeded to run into them several times more in the next few days!

On the way back we went to the beautiful Rustempasha mosque, with its amazing tiles, and the spice market. Back at the hotel we enjoyed the view of Gulhane Park from the roof deck--beautiful, with storks in the trees and tulips and people everywhere.

Monday we headed to the Grand Bazaar and spent some time shopping and looking around, mostly at scarves. We then took a Bosphorus cruise, which was very nice but also very cold--I even ended up going inside for half of it! On our return we had fish sandwiches on the Galata Bridge, something I've been wanting to do for years, and then went to the Yeni Cami, which I love.

Tuesday Joe, Pam, and Kevin wanted to go back to the Bazaar. I opted to go for a lovely walk in Gulhane Park, where the tulips were amazing! Then I went up to the Arasta Bazaar and to the Great Palace Mosaics (6th century) which I also love. In the afternoon we went across the golden horn to Beygolu and walked around, mostly trying to find the mosque lamps that Joe and Pam want for their house in France. We saw Tom's apartment that he stays in, and also the Armenian church, Istik Lal, etc. We had dinner at Otto, a place near his apartment. Outside, a little cool, and slow service, but fun.

Wednesday back shopping, looking for some material for Kevin's mother.  Didn't succeed at that, but we did find a place to get Joe's belt fixed and my watch band repaired (in the US I was told they couldn't get a band for it. Tom said "take it to Turkey and they'll fix it" and he was right). So we were in market areas, but not touristy market areas, all interesting.

In the afternoon the others did more shopping, and I opted to return to Gulhane and have a drink at the lovely tea house overlooking the Bosphorus. It was a beautiful place to sit and stare and take it all in and reflect.

In the evening a car picked me up to take me to have dinner with Tom and our old friend Ersan, who hosted us so wonderfully when we came with Lydia. He of course knows all the best restaurants, so he took us to Borsa, way up high on the hill, with gorgeous views of the Bosphorus and the city. We sat outside (they brought me a shawl and a heater) and had lots of mezes, including eggplant, of course, and delicious hunkar beyendi, smoky eggplant puree with slow roasted lamb shanks--delicious. And then 3 desserts--kunefe, which I had been wanting to have, a quince dessert, and a pumpkin/squash one. We drank raki and watched the full moon rise over the city. It was a lovely ending to a great trip.

Turkey 2013

Since I last wrote about Turkey (March 2012), we've been back to France twice, to Montana, and a couple of times to Florida. Somehow blogs never got written. For the record, France in June 2012 was a week in Provence, living in the tiny town of Fontvieille for a week, in a tall tower of a house, and going out each day to visit places like Arles, Avignon, Aix, Orange, and more. Then a week in Paris, in a great little apartment just off the Place St. Michel. Lydia joined us for a week, which was fun, and then we spent a couple of days in Champagne country.

Montana in September was a week with college friends Ann and Dail, Diane and Ken, and Barbara and Larry at Barb and Larry's wonderful house near Glacier. A wonderful week of hiking, cooking, eating, laughing, catching up, and enjoying spectacular scenery.

Trips to Venice, Florida, in July, November, and February...nice breaks all, and progress on the house--new water system, painting the bathroom and kitchen, clearing out stuff, buying and riding bikes.

So now back in Turkey, this time with old friends Joe and Pam and new friends Kevin and Ali. Tom and I spent a few days in Istanbul doing not much, due to the combination of my having a cold and the weather turning lousy. We did take a ferry ride to Asia and had lunch, and we also visited the Suleymania mosque and a couple of others. Thursday we met the 4 others at the airport and flew to Kayseri, where a van met us and drove us to Esbelli Evi. It was fun seeing the looks of amazement and happiness on everyone's faces as they saw the suites and appreciated the place. Walked down to Ziggy's for dinner, which was great--lots of mezes--and then back home. Friday a leisurely morning on the terrace, then visits to Uçhisar (climbing up to the top for the lovely views), Pashabag with its camel, penguin, and other wonderful formations, and Dervent, gorgeous views.

Friday evening we had dinner at the Old Greek House with Suha, all of us sitting on the carpets and cushions on the floor around a big round table.  Lots of mezes and main dishes with eggplant, wine flowing, very fun.

Saturday we were up early for our balloon ride. We flew with Butterfly Balloons and pilot Mufasa, who is a fabulous pilot with a wonderful sense of humor and lots of knowledge about Cappadocia (he's also a guide). The flight was lovely, though the winds were pretty weak so we didn't go too far, but Mustafa took us up high and then low down in the valleys and it was spectacular. 

After breakfast at Esbelli Evi we headed to the underground city of Kaymakli. Unfortunately it was very crowded, so after seeing a bit and standing around in crowds of people, we decided to leave. From there to the small village of Gulshehir, with its mosque church, interesting old buildings, and nice town square. 

Then on to the Ihlara Valley, an amazingly beautiful canyon with a lovely river, and many painted churches along the way. We had a great hike of about 3.5 KM, with visits to a couple of churches and plenty of gorgeous scenery. When we came out at Belisirma and had lunch at the Aslan restaurant. Our table was a low round one on a platform covered with pillows and carpets, and in the middle of the river! It was very cool and we had a great lunch sitting in the sun.

Back to Esbelli Evi for a quick rest and then back to Ziggy's for another wonderful dinner. It's so great to be able to walk to such a nice place.

Sunday was our day of leisure, or at least part day. Slept late, had a long breakfast, and then read, relaxed, did laundry, and in my case, had an acupuncture treatment! (lingering cough, stubbed toe, knee). At about 3 we went to Goreme Open Air Museum, which was also packed with tourists. We ended up only seeing the Black Church, which is the best and quite amazing with its paintings. But then we picked up Mustafa and he took us to the St. John Church, about a half an hour away. We were the only visitors there, and Mustafa was a wonderful guide, and the church was amazing. Beautiful paintings, many of which had not been defaced like so many have. Mustafa was able to explain all the bible stories, and we had plenty of time to really study the paintings. An amazing and unique opportunity to see a real treasure.

Back to Goreme to walk around a bit, and then to Seten Restaurant at the Kelebek Hotel with Mustafa and owner Ali. Ali was delightful and we had drinks on their lovely terrace overlooking Goreme and then another delicious dinner in the restaurant. We all ate and talked and drank red wine until 11 PM.

Monday we packed up and left at 8:30 AM to go back to the Kelebek and join Ali's "Breakfast in the Valley." About 16 people sitting in a whiskey barrel that he converted to a carriage, pulled by a tractor, through Goreme and then into the valley, through gorgeous countryside. When the ride stopped we then walked down a long staircase that had been cut into the rock, and then along a path to the little farm. Ali, who runs Kalebek Balloons and the hotels/restaurants, came up with the idea of doing these breakfasts. It is very special because it's actually on his family's farm, and he told stories about working in the fields as a kid and showed us his grandfather's pigeon houses and told stories about the area. Really interesting.

Then we hit the road for Konya, stopping at two caravanseray along the way: Azgikaravansaray and Sultanhani. Beautiful examples of Seljuk architecture with monumental doorways.

On to Konya through some rain, and arrived at the Hilton, only to find about 40 Iraqi mufti in the lobby! Apparently the Mufti of Konya had invited a group of religious people, and they all showed up just as we did. Finally checked into our rooms and had some wine and lots of laughs. Just as we headed out to dinner it started raining, then pouring, so we took shelter near a mosque and chatted with the Imam and the man who ran the washing place/WC. Had lightning, thunder, rain, and even hail. Eventually we managed to walk to the center of town and had dinner in a nice little restaurant in the market area. 

To be continued...