Istanbul 3

Not many pictures from today, but plenty of memories and STUFF!

We got up early and headed back to the Grand Bazaar to wheel and deal after grabbing a quick coffee and pastry (we learned our lesson with the weird lasagne the last time!). On our list for the day were treats for our offices back in Mexico, gifts for family and friends, and GOLD! Autumn's birthday gift this year was a spending free-for-all for one new piece of jewelry. We browsed, got lost, turned around and tracked down all shopped 'til we dropped.

The jewelry stores were out-of-control-crazy-stuffed with glittering diamonds and gold. Our first inquiry turned out to be a $4000+ diamond ring that was a little out of our price range, but we finally found a reasonable shop, and Autumn even haggled them down to a lower price. We got served tea as a reward for her bargaining skills and chatted with the owner while another guy ran off to go have the ring sized. The owner let us know that the high price of gold was ruining his business and that India is the second largest consumer of gold and jewelry in the world, which lit up Autumn's eyes with delight. For those of you keeping track, Italy is number one and Turkey is number three. We finished our tea, paid and moved on to the next shoportunity.

We picked up a few other items including a 100% genuine magic lamp and then went on to shop for some artwork. We found a great store right away, but wanted to check out our other options. After more browsing, we went back to the first place and started negotiations. The sales guy we were talking to gave us a price of $1200 Turkish lira for the picture we were looking at, but the guy we talked to that morning had said it was only $800 TL. I casually mentioned this and he glared at the first guy and said, "He doesn't know what he's talking about! He works in the jewelry department!" (NOTE: This store only sold art, no jewels). So, we said, "Ok, oh well," and then he was like, "I guess I could sell it for that." Score again for haggling!

That last transaction pretty much wore us out, so we left the bazaar and stopped for our last doner kebab before going back to the room to pack up and get ready to leave. Our car picked us up, and drove though the vertical cliff-alleys / cobblestone "streets" of Istanbul back to the airport. Our final Turkish purchase was a surprisingly great travel book on India at Duty Free.

Unfortunately, our strike of the day in Greece was the air traffic controllers, so our flight was delayed a few hours. When we finally got back to Athens, we headed straight to bed to rest up for our Peloponnese road trip the next day.

 Doner kebab rollup!

 NOTE:  Taco flavored Doritos are apparently a Turkish specialty that is not available in Mexico

Even the parking pre-pay machines at the airport were on strike in Athens! 

Pretty much par for the course there.

Istanbul Sights!

In spite of the rainy weather, we packed up our umbrellas and raincoats and headed out to Istanbul's historic old city. Eric's extensive tour schedule today included the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque and a bunch of boring museums that we scratched off the list in favor of an afternoon of Keeping up with the Kardashians and E! True Hollywood Stories, which I'll be the first to admit was definitely an afternoon well spent!

After stopping for breakfast at McDonald's (super creative, I know) where we all ordered sausage mcmuffins, and they came out with chicken sausage...something that was not advertised, but not entirely awful either, we trudged through the rain to Topkapi Palace, where the Ottoman Sulatns lived.

Inside the Palace there was a lot of beautiful tile work.  The motifs were of nature and geometric designs, absolutely stunning!

Here we have one of the soggy courtyards.  Every last inch of the Palace was thought out aesthetically.  There is even tile work under the awnings.

We had to buy a separate ticket to go through the Harem, which was well worth it.

Here we are with more views of the building and tile work.

We took a little break at a conveniently located cafe, and enjoyed views of the Bosporus.  I bet it is gorgeous on a clear day.  After a warm beverage and a little rest, we wandered over to the museum, where we saw Moses' stick and Mohammed's beard, among other relics.  No pictures were allowed, but it was very interesting.

Next up on Eric's action packed tour was the Hagia Sofia (!!).  In college, I studied Eastern Christianity in depth as part of my major.  I have been waiting for years to see this building.  This was the seat of the Christian faith for over 1,000, where the Bishop of Constantinople did his thing.  Also, its central dome was the largest dome on the planet until St. Peter's was built in the Vatican.  Needless to say, I was crazy excited to go in.

The enormous central room of the Hagia Sofia.  There were some gorgeous Byzantine mosaics in the nave.  It was so giant, I can's even explain it.

Me with my thumb in the Wish Column or Sweating Column.  Legend has it that you put your thumb in the hole, and rotate it 360 degrees while making a wish.  If your thumb comes out damp, your wish will come true.  Though it was clearly unsanitary, I did it anyway.  My thumb came out damp, so that's good news.  No progress on the wish yet, but I'll give it some time.

A sample of some of the incredible detail in the building.

Here we are!  Say whiskey!

Remnants of the church's time spent as a mosque after Ottoman conquest of the Byzantines. Ataturk turned the place into a museum, which as allowed for a lot of the excavation of the building's 1,000 year Christian heritage.

Then there are the mosaics.   They were incredible.  I could have sat and looked at them all day.

As we were leaving we found one last mosaic.  Amazing.

This view of the Blue Mosque out of one of little windows caused many a tourist to jump up and down and scream.

After the Hagia Sofia we stopped for lunch.   Doner Kebab!  I am so getting myself one of these roasting contraptions.  I can make doner kebab, gyros AND tacos al pastor.  Money well spent, methinks!

This is a real life Egyptian obelisk carried off by some old empire and placed here where is was used as the finish line (I think) in chariot races.

Definitely in Turkey, with the Blue Mosque in the background.

The Blue Mosque is very photogenic.  It has 6 minarets instead of  4, and was built directly across the street from the Hagia Sofia.

Blue Mosque entrance, time to pull out my my mosque hat for one last use!

Courtyard of the Blue Mosque.

We were there, we really were!

After being inspected by an exhausted local lady for clothing appropriateness, we were let in.  When we got in there were many Western women that were not wearing their hats, despite the requests of the locals to please respect their traditions.  I found that fairly rude.  The Blue Mosque was very pretty inside, but I think I got spoiled going to the Mosque of Suleiman first, because I found it more impressive.

 We had so much fun in Istanbul!  I hope to return someday.  :)

Istanbul, not Constantinople...Day 1

After surviving our first night in the scorpion cave, it was finally time to see the sights of Istanbul!  Eric and I have dreamed of this day for many years, so we were giddy at the thought of it.  We decided to spend the first day going around to the markets and wandering, and the second day seeing the historical sights.  This turned out to be a muy buen plan, because it poured down rain for the rest of our time in Turkey.

Here we are entering the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.  It was quite overwhelming at first, so not much wheeling and dealing was done this day, but much amazement was had here.  I managed to fall in love with a $4,000 diamond ring, and our friends were beguiled by a $800 gold bangle.  Luckily, all parties decided not to let the Bazaar have its way with us, and we carried on.

Inside the Bazaar, in one of the many jewelry lanes.  So much sparkle..  

We wandered out of the bazaar and winded through the backstreets to visit the Mosque of Suleiman.  This was the first time we had ever been to a mosque, so it was very exciting.

Here I am ready to go in!  On the way over we stopped at a small street stall and purchased our own scarves, which I later named "Mosque Hats".  When we arrived at the Mosque, there was a pile of mosque hats outside and a note asking women to please put one on before entering.  I am SO glad I bought my own, and did not have to wear a used mosque hat.  Just saying.

This dome was amazing.  Large, and beautiful.  I sat and stared at it for awhile.  I think my friends thought I might be going crazy...I don't usually sit quietly for that long.

The detail was stunning.  

And that chandelier...wow.

This was the inscription over the main entrance (I think).  I don't know what it says, but it is pretty.

After our mosque visit, we decided to walk to Asia.  Ya know, because we were hanging out in Europe, and Asia was just over the bridge.  On the way, I was tantalized by this goat milk ice cream stand.  I should have stayed away.  This was the grossest ice cream I have ever had.  Ever.  First of all, I think there was false advertising, because it tasted like cow milk ice cream.  Second of all, it was chewy.  !!!  I had to bite it to get any ice cream, then I had to chew it.  No melty goodness, just chewy badness.  Anyway...

Here are V & S prepping for our trip to Asia.  Psst, that's the Blue Mosque in the background!  I was apparently cropped out of this picture for making a weird face.  Must have been in the continent hopping zone!

So, we walked to Asia, climbed a hill and spied a tower that looked like something a tourist would enjoy.  By this point, we had wondered off of Eric's pre-planned tour (Asia was for Sunday!  Sunday!!), but he was a good sport about it.  Anyway, we got in line for the tower, and were not disappointed.  The weather was perfect, and the views were incredible!

Queso!  From the top of Galata Tower.

We meandered through new town for awhile, and met this disturbing sculpture wearing a fez.  Yikes.  We passed the Agatha Christie museum, which we did not visit.  We may have deeply saddened of one of our group members by voting to not enter, but she kept her heartbreak concealed well. 

Here is S with the Turkcell thing.  Pictures of it were all over the city, so getting to meet it in person was a huge honor.

After a delicious lunch and some much needed caffeine, we set off for Europe again, destination Spice Market.  On the way, we passed the New Mosque, and decided to check it out.  We had to get he most out of our new mosque hats, right?

Here are the domes and beautiful tile work inside the New Mosque.  It's so beautiful!

More views of the splendor.

The New Mosque was conveniently located  right next door to the Spice Market, which was packed with wall to wall people.  It smelled amazing in here.

Views of the spices.  I was way to overwhelmed to buy anything, but it was fun looking.

We decided o go back to hotel to rest for a bit after the sensory overload of the day, but we had to fight our way there through this gigantic crowd.

After relaxing with some E!, mostly in English, we collected ourselves and headed off to a delicious dinner with, get this, actual other people in the restaurant at the same time as us.  !!!  It's a miracle.  We then headed out to enjoy a hookah at a local hookah-ria, as you do in Turkey, and learned how to play backgammon.  All in all, a great day!

The Hagia Sofia by night.  Can't wait for tomorrow!

Hydra 2

After a good night's sleep, we got up ready to shop! At breakfast, Autumn ended up with some very sketchy bran-mush-cereal with "disgusting milk", but powered through in order to give the "crap-a-rias" her all. We found a few treasures in between touring around town, cat viewing and getting ready to hop on the "Flyingdolphin" back to Athens just in time to do a bit of laundry and catch our flight to Turkey.

Upon our arrival in Turkey, our driver picked us up from to the airport and whisked us off to our apartment for the weekend. Now, I will be the first to admit that our basement / sub-basement rental was NOT my best hotel find. The location was the redeeming factor, but the mini-scorpions were not something that was mentioned in the guidebook or the brochure!!

Once we settled in and finished our pest eradication, we headed out on the town to check out the neighborhood. Near the Grand Bazaar, an old man tried to talk Virgile into some late-night shopping with some friendly soul-patch petting, but we decided not to take him up on his offer of great deals, and instead grabbed some Turkish delight and went off to bed.

 More cobblestone streets of Hydra.

 Cat-a-palooza! These pretty kitties just wanted some of the daily catch from the early morning fisherman.

 Byzantine mosaics at the local town church.

 Time to shop!

 No matter where we go, Autumn can sniff out a cactus a mile away!

 View of the harbor.

Buenos dias Grecia!

 FIRE!

The Flyingdolphin!!

Our first sight in Turkey...Turkish Delight!!  Yum :)

View from the room in Istanbul...

HELP!

Note:  As an additional bonus, there was most definitely a sweatshop on the other side of the apartment across from our razor wire fence in our "Garden Patio".