Istanbul...

I had to work yesterday. Cutting in to my summer vacation. And today, I have to clean house, shop and pack for tomorrow. I leave for Hawai'i if the hurricane stays south and the earthquake didn't do too much damage.

So it's lazy blog day. Here's an excerpt from the email I sent Nicole about Istanbul, Turkey. I spent the day at the one of the tourist spots recommended as a "must-see". I went. I saw. I took some pictures. I sent an email to Nicole. I posted a blog.

Tomorrow, Dan's travel tips.

The Haghia Sophya

I was walking around the Haghia Sophya, which, by the time I left, was full of tourists, listening in to conversations to see who was from America. Most of them were of retirement age and I can only assume are traveling around doing things they want to do before they die. There was one quad of people who where so misplaced that I couldn't figure out how they got to Turkey. 4 Americans, all about my age, dressed like white trash. One guy was wearing a t-shirt with cut off sleeves and a beer slogan of some sort, and knee socks with sandals. His significant other had big curly blonde hair and was wearing a sports bra with a t-shirt over it that was basically cut at the shoulders and then tied back together. I should have taken a picture, but I was so flabbergasted to be following them into the Haghia Sophya that I couldn't get my camera out. How and why were they in Istanbul? Did they win the trip on The Price is Right? Strange.

Istanbul is, by all accounts, another big city in the world. If I was to be blindfolded and thrown on a plane, and flown to Istanbul, or any other major metropolitan (Manila, Madrid, Paris, London, Tokyo), thrown into a hotel room like the one I'm in, it would probably take me some time to figure out where I am. For the most part they all look the same. I'd be able to figure out what continent I am on by the type of electrical plug on the wall.

Istanbul is crowded with people, local and tourist, like any other major city. There are shops selling all the same stuff (FYI, there are three Starbucks, two Gloria Jeans cafes, two Burger Kings, and one McDonalds on the main shopping plaza by the hotel). I think, looking out my window, the only thing that really sets Istanbul apart are all the minarets for the Mosques I can see. As far as I can see now, it's just red tile roof after red tiled roof. The one just below me has about 25 satellite dishes on it. If you took away the minarets and put the Eiffel Tower in, I'm in Paris.

Another thing that sets Istanbul apart, but not in a good way is the traffic and driving. It has a similar feel to China, in that, pedestrians do not have the priority over cars. No one, not even the pedestrians, follow the basic rules of the road. Lane markings mean nothing. If you come to a red light, cars will just line up side to side on the stop line until it's completely full and then it's just a mish-mash of cars behind. No one uses crosswalks. The number of times people have almost been clipped by the taxis I've been in is staggering. I'm amazed there isn't more accidents. As a driver, if you hesitate for any reason, another car will fill the space in front of you. Or if you are moving even a little slower than the car in front of you, a pedestrian might step out into the road to cross. It's chaotic. At least in China they honk as they change lanes.

I've attempted twice so far to have a meal in a place that was generally Turkish. I went into a place yesterday that was advertising a dinner special on chicken kebaps. So I order that, and what came out. A chicken kebap like the ones you can find at any other middle eastern restaurant in L.A.. Which got me to think, is the food here dumbed down for Americans like me, or is the food in L.A. authentic Turkish?

Today I went to a different place that on the outside looked like a nice Turkish cafe with a bar. They too, were running a special, half off on all dinner entrees for lunch. So I ordered a "beef sandwich" which was described as slices of beef marinated in spices and served with salad and potatoes. I ordered it and 10 minutes later, the waiter brought me a burger.

Perhaps for dinner I'll try someplace different. Although the spaghetti bolognese and the rocket salad at the bar downstairs in the hotel have been calling my name.

So... On to my adventures today. I got up at 8:30AM quite proud of myself for sleeping through the night. I however, couldn't get out of bed. I was quite comfortable and didn't want to leave. So I lay there, surfing between CNN and BBC world to see what has happened over night. Finally pulled myself out of bed around 9:15 and took a shower and was in a cab by 10AM off to the Haghia Sophya.

I paid my 10 Turkish shitters and thought about paying the extra 20 for a personal guide, but decided against it. In hindsight, this was a mistake. As I walked around I discovered that there were no real placards or signs that would tell you about what you were looking at. So the only history I got about the building was what I had read in the Lonely Planet guide book I had with me.

I walked through security and entered the courtyard. Aside from the interesting four-some I described above, they building itself was quite impressive. When you enter, to the left of the main entrance is a little pit that they had excavated back in 1935 to discover the original church built on the site. That was cool (and about the only place that had a description sign), because the marble blocks that were left still had the 12 lambs that were carved to represent the 12 apostles.

I guess the only real notable thing about the building besides it's towering dome, was the juxtaposition of Islamic symbols and catholic mosaics. The stone work was amazing. I have a couple of pictures of the marble where it was cut in half and then used in the wall to create pattern (sort of like a psychiatrist ink blot). There's also the space left where the stations of the cross used to hang, but the pictures themselves are long gone.

Two real bummers about the Haghia Sophya: 1. There was a monstrous scaffold structure in the middle of the room that went up to the dome. I'm assuming for repairs. The second was this temporary building they had built inside the main room (next to the scaffold) that wasn't any kind of history of the place, more of a sales pitch for the place. Just a bunch of artistic shots of the Haghia Sophya with little poetic quotes.

And speaking of poetic quotes, I just noticed on my hotel room key packet the slogan for this hotel is "Living well is the best revenge" Revenge on who or what?

I took a few of the "required" pictures of the Haghia Sophya interior (mosaics, ornate ceilings, etc), but I'm sure they don't really do the building justice and the pictures you could find online or even in books are probably far better in quality than mine. But at least I can say I was there.

A good part of my humor at the Haghia Sophya today was watching the tourist trying to take the most artistic picture they could. There were a number of folks there with cameras similar to mine (my big fancy SLR at home) that were bending down, or pointing at the wall in a different angle. Trying to make something interesting to look at. I think they were all suffering the same problem I was in that all the pictures you see in guide books and online really capture the most important elements of joint. I did have that feeling that the only way I could make this building my own was to take some fancy artsy shot that no one else could think of. And as I looked around, everyone had thought the exact same thing. I then thought, my artsy pictures could be of the people taking artsy pictures. But I wasn't sure if that would be bad form.

I wanted to stay a while and attempt to absorb the power of this great space. Two religions felt this ground was hallowed enough to make it a church of their own, so there must be something there that is greater than any power I have ever known. But then the tourists and the school groups had begun to show up in droves so I left.

Next time, I get the personal guide.

I should note another thing that is very common in big touristy places around the world. Even here in Istanbul, there are people walking around with postcards and general turkish kitsch (like hats and spinning tops) and setting up stands of guidebooks trying to sell to all the tourists. You would have thought I was covered in flies because I had to keep waving my hand at people telling them I had no interest in buy postcards or goofy hats. I remember in China at the great wall there were just lines of these 4' x 4' stalls that people were in all selling the same stuff. And they would yell at you and hold up things they wanted you to buy. It's almost sad really. It helps me to realize how good I have it. I want to spread the wealth, but get upset when I'm basically attacked. I'm sure by the end I'll own a goofy hat and a book of postcards, but I'll be buying those from the most serene person I can find.

I walked across a garden area to the Blue Mosque. On the outside this was more impressive to me than the Haghia Sophya. At least this one was more uniform in design. Which goes against the appeal of the Haghia Sophya because that has been built on my many different religions and races. I did not go into the mosque, however. All you had to do was remove your shoes and hat and not go in at prayer time. But the problem was, it was 11AM and the place was already filling up with tourists. So I just walked through the courtyard and around back to where they had the stations for washing your feet. I was going to take a picture of it. But thought twice wondering if it was proper to take pictures of muslims washing their feet. It's quite a nice space really. A marble wall with brass spigots sticking out every 3 feet or so and pouring down into a trough. In front of each spigot was a small marble slab with a wood top for you to sit on while you wash. Maybe if I'm early enough tomorrow, I can beat the lunch time foot washing rush.

I sat on a bench in the shade. It's quite warm here and have successfully sweated through every shirt I've put on over the past few days. Thankfully I brought all of the quick dry polyester shirts so I'm kept mostly cool. I got out my map to try and see if there was anywhere else I could walk to. As it turns out, on the other side of the Haghia Sophya is the Topkapi Palace, where the Sultan who ruled used to live.

So I walked back around to the front of the mosque and then past the Haghia Sophya. I should note that feral cats are everywhere in Turkey, most of them are very calm and like people. They do beg a bit but if you want to pet them, they will let you for a moment and if you don't feed them, they walk away. There is a 4 foot rock wall with wrought iron bars at the top that surrounds the Haghia Sophya. The top of this wall was just covered with sleeping cats of all colours. It was, for me, a very pleasant and calming sight.

As it turns out, I walked around the wrong side of the Haghia Sophya to get to the Topkapi Palace and had to walk down a narrow side street to get back on track. The main entrance to the garden is guarded by guys with machine guns. And incase you were wondering, the machine guns were MP-5's with folding stocks. Just past the guards, foot traffic came almost to a complete stop. There were so many people entering and exciting through the gate that I could already tell, I wanted to leave. But I braved it, and walked through the lawn/garden area to the main entrance and ticket gate. But then decided to turn around. I realized, if I spent the 10 shitters to get in and the additional 20 shitters for the guide, I would not enjoy myself because there were too many people.

So I turned around, walked back out the front and got into the first cab I could find and came back to the hotel. I took a nap, and got up in time to take this picture... Sunsets in Istanbul are nice.