I am very, very behind with my blogging! Between trying to see all the sights in Istanbul, spending time with Ross, and having a complicated trip home, I never had time to post anything. I have started writing though, so here’s my account of my first day in Istanbul.
Thursday:
The flight from Sarajevo to Istanbul was a breeze. (Not as much on the way home. More on that later.) It only took about 90 minutes. And in a time when airlines in the US are cutting back/charging for every tiny amenity, I really appreciated my complementary headphones, TV, music, half-liter bottle of sparking water, and lunch.
I was a little bit nervous about finding Ross in the Istanbul airport. Neither of us had cell phones, so we planned to meet near my baggage claim. As soon as I landed in Istanbul I realized that the airport was even bigger than I expected. We exited the plane early and got onto a shuttle bus, but wound up sitting on the bus for 45 minutes waiting for other plane traffic to clear out. By the time I got to baggage claim, Ross wasn't there and I was worried he left for the hotel without me. Fortunately, I have a patient husband, and I saw him as soon as I cleared customs. We found our driver and headed for the hotel. (Our hotel sent a driver to pick us up for free! This is a great perk when arriving in an unfamiliar city where you don't speak the language.)
As our driver took us to the hotel, we wound through our neighborhood, called Sultanahmet. It is a great neighborhood because of the proximity to all of the most famous landmarks. Before we even got to the hotel we saw the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar! It sounds strange, but all of the windy, hilly, cobblestone streets reminded me of San Francisco.
Even though I was a little bit tired, both of us were feeling excited and adventuresome, so we decided to go outside and wander around for a bit after checking in. Ross has a good intuition, so we wove our way around a few streets until we hit one of the main streets that leads directly to all of the famous sights. (Not to mention a McDonald's and a Starbucks. I can't believe that these chains are so popular.) I was happy knowing that we wouldn't get lost when we went touring the next morning.
Though it was quite cold, rainy, and a weeknight, the streets were still full of people buying and selling everything from chestnuts to bottle of water to souvenirs. As soon and Ross and I thought about stopping for dinner and slowed our pace a bit, we began to be heckled outside every single restaurant. There was a man standing in front of each one, holding a menu and explaining why his restaurant was the best one. (e.g. we have a fireplace, we have a dining room with a view upstairs, we have complementary coffee and tea, etc.) Most of these guys didn't bother me, but some were a bit too aggressive for my taste. I'd been warned that I would be dealing with some aggressive salesmen if I visited the Bazaars, but I wasn't ready for the restaurant promoters. I'd have preferred to have a moment or two to look in the window and glance at the menu in peace.
After going a couple blocks, we found a restaurant that looked quite comfortable, with reasonable prices and a good-sized vegetarian menu. We were sold, so we went on in. I had some grilled vegetables, which went perfectly with the rice and sour yogurt that was also served on my plate. Ross had a chicken dish. We also got an appetizer called “borek”, to compare to Bosnian “burek”. Turkish “borek” are small pieces of pastry dough, usually stuffed with cheese. Bosnian “burek” is also stuffed pastry dough, which Bosnian’s call “pitta”. However, Bosnian “pitta” is usually shaped into a large round spiral, and the name “burek” almost always indicates that the dough is stuffed with meat. (The cheese-stuffed pasty is called “sirnica”.)
After dinner, we were tempted to explore the neighborhood a bit more, but were pretty sleepy from our travels. We picked up a bottle of wine from a small market and went back to the hotel to relax, sleep, and save up energy for Friday’s trips to the Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace.
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