Istanbul (not Constantinople)- Happy 2009!

9:30 pm January 1st, Istanbul, Turkey.

"Don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have traveled." -Mohammed

“The climate is delightful in the extremist degree. I am now sitting, this present fourth of January, with the windows open, enjoying the warm shine of the sun, while you are freezing over a sad sea-coal fire...”
Lady Mary Wortley-Montagu, 1763, on Istanbul

Note: I don't think its as warm now as it was for Lady Montagu. It was lovely and sunny today though and maybe high 30s.

Also: For some reason I'm having a hard time loading pictures to here and to facebook- I will try again tomorrow.

At the moment I am sitting in the terrace breakfast room of my guesthouse . . . without moving I have a lovely view of the Blue Mosque all lit up against the grey night sky with seagulls flying around the dome, and of the Bospherous with the lights of the Asian side shining. If I twist to the right I can also see Haggia Sophia, also glowing and lit against the night sky. Down below I can see a row of hostels, hotels and restaurants, all decked out with blue and white lights for the New Year, and looking very snazzy. I'm in the neighborhood of Sultanahmet which is right in the heart of the oldest bits of Istanbul, complete with cobblestone streets, ancient mosques, churches, obelisks, and the hippodrome. My guesthouse- the Terrace Guesthouse- is right around the corner from the Four Seasons, and for a much lower price I still have an excellent location. My room isn't amazing, but it is covered from wall to floor to bedspread with deep colored carpets . . . this added to the fringe that hangs from the bed alcove serves to make me feel a bit like some kind of ancient Turkish royalty.

I arrived exhausted yesterday and took a cab to the guesthouse from the airport (Along with the usual mushrooms, tomato, and hash browns, British Airways served lamb and scrambled eggs for breakfast . . . strange). Actually I took a cab to the Four Seasons, because that was the easiest way to describe the location to the cab driver. The doormen at the Four Seasons took very good care of me, even when I explained that I had no change to pay them with and I could handle it myself. The most dressed up doorman, Morat, insisted on carrying my larger suitcase to the Terrace Guesthouse himself, which was very nice. I was greeted by Doghan who immediately had me sit down and engaged me in a friendly conversation (by the way, everyone likes Americans again now that Obama has been elected!). I knew I needed to eat before I collapsed so I asked for a recommendation-- preferably for Kofta (Turkish meatballs) which I had read about in my lonely planet. Doghan recommended Selim Usta (Tarihi Sultanahmet Koftecisi Selim Usta), which turned out to be the same place recommended in the guidebook! It was maybe an 8 minute walk or so, and I walked passed the Haggia Sophia, Blue Mosque and many roasted chestnut sellers on the way! The meatballs were served with chili sauce and were very tasty (although to be honest I think I prefer the Swedish kind- soaked in gravy).

During dinner (at which I noticed there was a serious overabundance of waiters-- this has been repeated at every place I have been in, even sweet shops-- why are there so many waiters?!?) I started to get the spins from jet-lag. I took my leftovers back and passed out in bed. I woke up at midnight to the sound of fireworks! I had hoped to go stroll about before midnight, but having missed my chance I rushed up to the rooftop terrace to watch the fireworks over the Bospherous. People went wild in the streets- dancing, singing shouting . . . many terraces were shooting off their own fireworks or sparklers, and there were a few fancy black tie parties on rooftops that I could see. All in all there was much cheer. Then I went back to bed.

A delightful breakfast greeted me this morning here in the terrace room, where the sun was all but blinding. Cheese, cucumber, olive, tomato, boiled egg, bread, (chocolate bread?), and yogurt coupled with Turkish chai were a great start. I immediately headed to the Haggia Sophia, were I spent a great deal of time wandering around. I found it to be a very strange place-- originally constructed as a grand cathedral, then transformed into a Mosque, the UNESCO building is now a museum. The mosaics of Mary and Jesus coupled with the golden mihrab that points to Mecca was . . . strange. Beautiful, but strange. Add to that many tourists and the museum-type set up, and I would have to say that this was definitely NOT one of the most holy-feeling places I have ever been. Immediately after visiting Sophia, however, I headed over to the Blue Mosque which DID feel holy. You are required to remove your shoes, and women are supposed to wear a shawl on their head . . . many of the European women seemed to be ignoring this (even though there were multiple clear signs). It seemed quite disrespectful. The mosque was lovely, and walking around in stockinged feet somehow made the experience all the more better. This is the first mosque I have ever visited!

I also visited the tomb of the Sultan (there were many of them there), the Egyptian Obelisk, the Hippodrome, and some local shops. There were many very pushy men in this area, some trying to sell things, others offering "personal" tours . . . and some women were taking them up on the offer! After a pit stop at the guesthouse to eat my leftover meatballs, I headed out to see the Basilica Cistern. This had to be my favorite stop of the day, with its magical atmosphere and dark lighting.

I quickly headed back to the Haggia Sophia to hop on a bus that would take a group of English speaking tourists down to the Eminonu area where we would take a 2.5 hour cruise of the Bospherous. I know you are supposed to sail on the Bospherous when you are in Istanbul, but one look at the boat (and the tourists) and I changed my mind. Luckily I had just scored a free bus ride down to a different part of town! I strolled along the water, watched the fishermen and the crowd on Galata Bridge. Eventually I found myself to a sweet shop, Bolulu Hasan Usta Sut Tatlilar, where I had some of the best rice pudding I have ever tasted. Then I wandered down towards the Spice Bazaar, on the way sampling Turkish Delights and other yummy bits at Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir (they gave me some free of my favorite- chocolate covered-marzipan type confections), and then I purchased some baklava at Hafiz Mustafa Sekerlemeleri (which I am eating right now and are HEAVENLY). They are also known there for their helva (a cheese sweet), but I couldn't quite enjoy the sample I tried, so I stuck with the baklava (let me repeat, HEAVENLY).

I had a quick stroll in the Spice Bazaar, and talked to a very nice young man who warned me that the saffron was fake (and let me sniff the real saffron), and who was very upset to hear that I was divorced. He tried to sell me the special "love tea" to help remedy this problem, but I insisted that it was no problem at all, and I wasn't in the market for tea. :-) This same young man would not believe that my eyes were a natural color until I insisted I inherited them from my Polish mother (Polish/Polish-American, what's the difference?).

It was still only 3:30 so I headed to the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, which were great fun. The outside was swarming with cats, just like the rest of Istanbul. In fact, at times it seems there may be more cats than people in this city. People are very affectionate with the stray cats however, and I have seen many small piles of cat food sitting out on the sidewalk with cats happily noshing away.

I came back to the guesthouse to rest for a bit and then headed out to have dinner. I had a very good lentil soup, and a mediocre Iskander Kebab (lamb). The owner of the restaurant was trying very hard to convince passerbys to eat at his establishment, and it was almost comedic how he tried to fill every table. After eating I took a walk around the block and felt myself once again pursued by aggressive restaurant owners and carpet shop salesmen. The ruder, more aggressive ones act hurt when you walk away (as if you are being rude if you don't buy a carpet), but the nicer ones just say things like "Excuse me. Someone has told you this before? You are very beautiful," and they let you walk by.

Tomorrow I head to Topkapi Palace and I fly to Baku in the night!

My 2009 has started with a lovely day, and I hope yours has as well! Cheers! Love!

Oh!--- I was going to paste a youtube link to the They Might Be Giants song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", but YOUTUBE IS BANNED in Turkey!!!! I can't access the site. Crazy!