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Published: October 31st 2007
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We woke this morning and seeing that it was a sunny day we hastily got ready and headed for the ferry port at the front. Yesterday we asked the hostel owner where we could go to see a more local part of Turkey and he told us about a fishing village we could visit. Diane had recommended a trip down the river so the two recommendations fitted together nicely. Anaddukovegl was the last stop on a ferry that took two and a half hours down the Bosphorus. There was nowhere left to sit as the ferry was full to the brim of that annoying type of tourist. Down the side of the ferry we found a place to stand where we could watch the sights of Istanbul go by. It really is in the most beautiful of settings.
Anaddukovegl was not entirely the sleepy fishing village we had initially anticipated, however our ferry journey had prepared us slightly for what lay ahead. We got off the ferry with hoards of other tourists and straight away we were bombarded by restaurant and shop owners alike trying to get us to go in. We had a bit of fun pretending we didn't
understand them calling to us in English and then watch as they struggle to determine which nationality we were by trying numerous phrases in different languages.
Despite attempting to pick the roads with the fewest tourists, we ended up in the middle of a procession of people heading up towards the ruins of a fort. The steep road leading up had strange military signs warning that pictures couldn't be taken and every now and then there was a guard with a rifle. Further up the hill, surrounded by puffing tourists, we reached a sign saying "short route to castle" and so we obviously took it. Even more obviously the route was lined with restaurants, again pleading and badgering for your money.
At the castle we decided to have a break and let the other tourists look round and leave, so we waited. More and more of them kept pouring past us; for every one who left two more would arrive, so we gave up waiting. The fort was pretty dull especially after spending a day at the fort of Veliko Tarnovo however the views were spectacular and even the masses of people couldn't really ruin that.
We
walked back down the hill and went to the front where we were interested in getting some food but we really couldn't face the hassle of trying to pick a place whilst being harassed from every which way. Instead we opted for two bottles of water and some baklava type cake things from a bakery. At the shop there was a tiny little kitten that I found really hard to leave alone. The guy at the counter offered to sell me it for 10ytl. It was a joke, I think.
We sat by the dock watching people and playing with a cat that was obviously used to being adored by passing tourists. We managed to get seats on the ferry for the way back and again enjoyed the journey. The sun was starting to set in our back and the colours in the sky were amazing and made better by the views infront of them.
We decided that after our rather expensive meal yesterday that we wanted to find a place where Turkish people were eating. We somehow found ourselves inside the great bazaar and again employed the use off our tactics for dealing with pushy vendors. There
are numerous funny and rude ways that they try and get your attention. Obvious ones include whistling and clapping, not so obvious ones include lines like "I like your necklace wanna buy a rug?".
As we were leaving the bazaar we stumbled upon a shop selling Turkish Delight, yum. 250g worth of gooey heaven. We sat on some steps opposite a mosque and ate our Turkish delight whilst we listened to a call of prayer and watched the setting sun.
Our search for places to eat where Turkish people eat was less than successful but took us down some interesting streets. We found two places we could afford to eat at that were in the vacinity of the hostel. There is a definite down side to having a hostel right in the middle of the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque and that is that everything nearby is majorly overpriced.
At the hostel we were upset to find that the room was damp. We were unsure as to the cause, so when we left we put the fan on in the hope of airing the room out.
We opted for the easier but not the better
option of the two eateries, a Mexican down the road from the hostel. We both chose fairly cheap meals which we did enjoy but they were small. After the meal we went in search of an alcoholic beverage of sorts but this deemed rather difficult due to the time of night and the cost at the few places we did find. Eventually we found the next best thing to alcohol a stall that sold chocolate. On the way back to our hostel we saw a fantastic little bar. Well I call it a bar, but it was a room full of Turkish men puffing on their waterpipes, watching the game and drinking tea with such serious looking faces. We decided that we will go back there when there isn't a football match on and therefore not quite so intimidating to go in.
We have just spent way too long updating travelblogs because we were getting very far behind. Rob has even written a full entry which shows how much time we have spent updating. Our room is horribly damp and all our clothes are now as well. Tomorrow I will have to say something because it really isn't nice.
Night night. Stob
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kate
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busy busy
Istanbul sounds like one hectic, overcrowded but fascinating place. You will be adding to their tourist trade with your descriptions and experiences. Sonds like a must, especially as you will have worked out strategies of dealing with the local traders!.