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.
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