Dear Friends and Family,
Today, our third day in Istanbul, was our final day before we fly down to Izmir for our friends’ wedding. We were torn on taking the Bosphorus boat cruise and looked up a couple of back-up options for our day. I suggested three options: the Basilica Cistern, the Chora Church or a museum.
What We Did
We hemmed and hawed most of last night and part of this morning on the boat cruise. Several friends and acquaintances and both of the guide books listed it as a must-do while in Istanbul thing. And, in general, I love being on the water. So, it seemed like a no-brainer. Except the cruise leaves smack dab in the middle of the day and takes somewhere between four and seven hours round trip. We looked up a couple of short cut options, but I won’t skip ahead to that.
First stop on our itinerary was the Basilica Cistern. I had secretly wanted to go to it from Day 1, but didn’t think Mr. mouse would be interested. Well, when he asked me for possibilities for Day 3, it was top on my list. And, surprisingly, Mr. mouse was interested as well, both from an engineering standpoint and because they filmed part of “From Russia with Love” in the cistern.
Okay, just to be crystal clear. This was my favorite sight, so far, on the whole trip. If I had to pick one place to go to in Istanbul, this would be it. I loved it. It was fabulous. It was unbelievable. It made me cry, it was so beautiful. I can’t believe I almost missed out on seeming it. It should be rated more highly in the guide books. It’s going to be the first thing I talk about with anyone who asks me about Istanbul. If you’re ever in Turkey, you must see the cistern. Okay, I’m assuming I got the message across loud and clear. Just in case. Here it is one more time. If you go to the cistern and you are disappointed, don’t tell me. I will disown you for your sheer and utter stupidity.
Back to the facts - the cistern was laid out in 532 by Emperor Justinian. The Ottomans never knew about the cistern’s existence and it faded from common memory, forgotten by all. It consists of 336 columns laid out in a grid of 12 by 28 columns. The columns are recycled from earlier Roman works. Amazingly, the walls and floor are still waterproof, and although they’ve added some metal bracing, the columns and roof still hold the cistern up. The symmetry of the place and the craftsmanship of the work appeal to the engineer in me. And, the fact that it was forgotten and rediscovered makes it all the more precious. It was like being transported into another world where form and function are perfectly melded, where simplicity really is complexity resolved, where something 1500 years old still functions almost as well as it did when it was built. That’s what it is. It’s the timeless elegance. I’m in love.
From the cistern, we headed towards the dock for the highly recommended Bosphorus boat cruise. What an utter waste of time it turned out to be. Mr. mouse enjoyed it and got a couple of good pictures from the boat. But, for me, it was yawn-o-rama. The boat was nice. The people watching was nice. The sights were nice. But, with three days in Istanbul, it’s just not worth it, in my opinion. We even took a short cut (by getting off at Saiyer and taking the 25T back to Taksim) to shave a couple of hours off of the trip. The only redeeming feature on the trip was I got to try the local Yeniköy yogurt and we went to a Carrefour in Saiyer. I picked up some Turkish tea and a dozen tea glasses without having to haggle for it at the bazaar. So, in counterpoint to all those “people” telling you that you must go on the Bosphorus boat tour, I am the voice of reason saying, you can, but your trip will be complete without it.
Last, but not least, the Grand Bazaar. Established in 1453, the bazaar is divided into six sections: antiques and carpets; leather and denim; gold and silver; fabrics; souvenirs; and household goods. I went in loaded for bear. We had the pockets emptied, the backpack on backwards, four eyes on high alert. I was expecting lots of pickpockets, lots of jostling, and lots of hawking. The Grand Bazaar was surprisingly manageable. The shopkeepers call out to you as you pass, but no one reaches for you or grabs you or tries to block your passage. It was surprisingly genteel. We wandered the bazaar and ended up buying with two merchants - we bought 20 coasters for 2 YTL a piece ($1.60) from one merchant. And, we bought an inlaid checkerboard and three inlaid boxes for 100 YTL ($80) from another merchant. All in all, we paid about ⅔ of the asking price. Although the official closing time was 8 o’clock, by about 7:15 most of the stores were clearly in shutdown mode. So, if you’ve got your heart set on shopping, plan accordingly.
What We Ate
For breakfast, we had more fruit in the hotel room followed by simits we bought from a street vendor. They taste like sesame bagels, are sized like large pretzels and are shaped like donuts. For lunch, we picked up some böreği from a take-out store for our ride up the Bosphorus. We didn’t have time to decipher the fillings, so we asked for one of each. We ended up with one potato, one meat and one cheese. The böreği is made of phyllo dough that’s wrapped around the filling. The form factor is similar to the dürüm we had for lunch yesterday (1” by 9”).
For dinner, we returned to Istiklal Street which is close to our hotel, for some more cafeteria style food. This time we had beef adana (the minced meat on a skewer) and chicken shish kebabs with rice pilaf and tomato salad. And, with the time we saved from our quick dinner, we did one more lap down Istiklal to pick up some more souvenirs. We got a CD of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi (Dervish) music, a book with photos of Istanbul, a 2008 calendar, marzipan and some food to share with our teams.
What I Learned
Hmm… So far, nothing deep or profound to share during this trip. One thing I learned while shopping yesterday and today is that Mr. mouse doesn’t like to bargain and since he doesn’t like to do it, he’s not very good at it. So, the responsibility falls on me. I can usually negotiate down to about ⅔ of the asking price, but don’t know any good techniques to get from 65% to 55% which seems to be the accepted bar. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to go the final two rounds. I’d rather save the time and spend the money. Like a friend once told me, “One dollar more isn’t going to make you poor nor is it going to make him rich.”
Cheers!
mouse
PS: Losing internet access tomorrow. I’ll post the rest of the entries and all of the photos when we get home.
Today, our third day in Istanbul, was our final day before we fly down to Izmir for our friends’ wedding. We were torn on taking the Bosphorus boat cruise and looked up a couple of back-up options for our day. I suggested three options: the Basilica Cistern, the Chora Church or a museum.
What We Did
We hemmed and hawed most of last night and part of this morning on the boat cruise. Several friends and acquaintances and both of the guide books listed it as a must-do while in Istanbul thing. And, in general, I love being on the water. So, it seemed like a no-brainer. Except the cruise leaves smack dab in the middle of the day and takes somewhere between four and seven hours round trip. We looked up a couple of short cut options, but I won’t skip ahead to that.
First stop on our itinerary was the Basilica Cistern. I had secretly wanted to go to it from Day 1, but didn’t think Mr. mouse would be interested. Well, when he asked me for possibilities for Day 3, it was top on my list. And, surprisingly, Mr. mouse was interested as well, both from an engineering standpoint and because they filmed part of “From Russia with Love” in the cistern.
Okay, just to be crystal clear. This was my favorite sight, so far, on the whole trip. If I had to pick one place to go to in Istanbul, this would be it. I loved it. It was fabulous. It was unbelievable. It made me cry, it was so beautiful. I can’t believe I almost missed out on seeming it. It should be rated more highly in the guide books. It’s going to be the first thing I talk about with anyone who asks me about Istanbul. If you’re ever in Turkey, you must see the cistern. Okay, I’m assuming I got the message across loud and clear. Just in case. Here it is one more time. If you go to the cistern and you are disappointed, don’t tell me. I will disown you for your sheer and utter stupidity.
Back to the facts - the cistern was laid out in 532 by Emperor Justinian. The Ottomans never knew about the cistern’s existence and it faded from common memory, forgotten by all. It consists of 336 columns laid out in a grid of 12 by 28 columns. The columns are recycled from earlier Roman works. Amazingly, the walls and floor are still waterproof, and although they’ve added some metal bracing, the columns and roof still hold the cistern up. The symmetry of the place and the craftsmanship of the work appeal to the engineer in me. And, the fact that it was forgotten and rediscovered makes it all the more precious. It was like being transported into another world where form and function are perfectly melded, where simplicity really is complexity resolved, where something 1500 years old still functions almost as well as it did when it was built. That’s what it is. It’s the timeless elegance. I’m in love.
From the cistern, we headed towards the dock for the highly recommended Bosphorus boat cruise. What an utter waste of time it turned out to be. Mr. mouse enjoyed it and got a couple of good pictures from the boat. But, for me, it was yawn-o-rama. The boat was nice. The people watching was nice. The sights were nice. But, with three days in Istanbul, it’s just not worth it, in my opinion. We even took a short cut (by getting off at Saiyer and taking the 25T back to Taksim) to shave a couple of hours off of the trip. The only redeeming feature on the trip was I got to try the local Yeniköy yogurt and we went to a Carrefour in Saiyer. I picked up some Turkish tea and a dozen tea glasses without having to haggle for it at the bazaar. So, in counterpoint to all those “people” telling you that you must go on the Bosphorus boat tour, I am the voice of reason saying, you can, but your trip will be complete without it.
Last, but not least, the Grand Bazaar. Established in 1453, the bazaar is divided into six sections: antiques and carpets; leather and denim; gold and silver; fabrics; souvenirs; and household goods. I went in loaded for bear. We had the pockets emptied, the backpack on backwards, four eyes on high alert. I was expecting lots of pickpockets, lots of jostling, and lots of hawking. The Grand Bazaar was surprisingly manageable. The shopkeepers call out to you as you pass, but no one reaches for you or grabs you or tries to block your passage. It was surprisingly genteel. We wandered the bazaar and ended up buying with two merchants - we bought 20 coasters for 2 YTL a piece ($1.60) from one merchant. And, we bought an inlaid checkerboard and three inlaid boxes for 100 YTL ($80) from another merchant. All in all, we paid about ⅔ of the asking price. Although the official closing time was 8 o’clock, by about 7:15 most of the stores were clearly in shutdown mode. So, if you’ve got your heart set on shopping, plan accordingly.
What We Ate
For breakfast, we had more fruit in the hotel room followed by simits we bought from a street vendor. They taste like sesame bagels, are sized like large pretzels and are shaped like donuts. For lunch, we picked up some böreği from a take-out store for our ride up the Bosphorus. We didn’t have time to decipher the fillings, so we asked for one of each. We ended up with one potato, one meat and one cheese. The böreği is made of phyllo dough that’s wrapped around the filling. The form factor is similar to the dürüm we had for lunch yesterday (1” by 9”).
For dinner, we returned to Istiklal Street which is close to our hotel, for some more cafeteria style food. This time we had beef adana (the minced meat on a skewer) and chicken shish kebabs with rice pilaf and tomato salad. And, with the time we saved from our quick dinner, we did one more lap down Istiklal to pick up some more souvenirs. We got a CD of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi (Dervish) music, a book with photos of Istanbul, a 2008 calendar, marzipan and some food to share with our teams.
What I Learned
Hmm… So far, nothing deep or profound to share during this trip. One thing I learned while shopping yesterday and today is that Mr. mouse doesn’t like to bargain and since he doesn’t like to do it, he’s not very good at it. So, the responsibility falls on me. I can usually negotiate down to about ⅔ of the asking price, but don’t know any good techniques to get from 65% to 55% which seems to be the accepted bar. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to go the final two rounds. I’d rather save the time and spend the money. Like a friend once told me, “One dollar more isn’t going to make you poor nor is it going to make him rich.”
Cheers!
mouse
PS: Losing internet access tomorrow. I’ll post the rest of the entries and all of the photos when we get home.
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1 comment:
love love love the play by play and your beautiful descriptions. can't wait to see the pix!!!
hope all is well and that you're enjoying your time. big hug to eray for me. xoxoxo
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