The Ending of Chapter 5

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I arrive at my B&B in Istanbul. I get a room on the ground floor. As a New Yorker, I don’t enjoy the ground floor all too much. Immediately I head out so I don’t have time to become a bum. It’s about a 10 minute walk into the main area…mainly uphill. The streets are old and the buildings seem run down. I got a manicure. YES, last one I had… I don’t even remember when. I know I had a pedicure while my mom was visiting. Anyhow, it’s been a while. I then went straight for the hamam. One of the oldest in Istanbul, I entered into a factory of crazy. It was what the pictures show – a roomful of 20 or so women lying across a huge round slab of stone to sweat. Around the big stone, there are about 15 Turkish women in the bathing suits, scrubbing customers. The place gives everyone disposable underwear. If you are uncomfortable being naked, this isn’t for you. In Morocco, there were only 2 of us in a small room. This is the gymnasium of hamams. Anyhow, my scrub sucked as it lasted 5 minutes vs. 15. Upon opening my eyes, a girl decides to sit way to close to me – SPACE people, we are naked. I assume she was a hippie or from some place where waxing doesn’t exist. She chose not to wear bottoms and flaunt her bush. OYE…reminded me of college when one of my sorority sisters was known as the ‘Bush’. From the nickname, I learned all too quick how important trimming and waxing was (p.s. Go for the laser treatments – they work and you never have to worry). Then I realize another girl lied down and her feet were about 2 inches from my head. Anyhow, besides the sudsy wash and the bucket of COLD water that put my system into shock, I was simply hoping my massage would be nice. HAHA. About 10 beds are lined up… it was like getting a massage at a nail salon (when the Asian ladies speak and you wonder what they are talking about… needing a Turkish translating Frank Costanza about now). My masseuse literally only used 1 hand – WTF. She thought scratching the back of my neck for 1/3 of the time would be relaxing or something. The bald spot proves otherwise (JK). WASTE of money. Oh well…. Let’s make it all up with food (did I mention I weighed myself. WHOOPS… only 16 pounds gained).

Of course I go for the pancakes… I have enjoyed the spinach pancakes (known as Gozleme). These aren’t breakfast pancakes… they are larger, completely flat and you can choose what they are cooked with – meats, vegetables, honey, etc… I take a short walk and realize it’s about 10pm. Truth is some people recommend that single female travelers shouldn’t stay out past 9pm (similar to me riding the subway past 9pm alone). Anyhow, I make my way back to the hotel. It’s dark, rainy and slippery and I have absolutely NO idea where I am. I stop to ask someone. I show them the card of the hotel. He takes it from me. He calls and starts yelling. I go to take the card back and he yells at me. I ripped it out of his hand as I started to panic (as this is the only info I have on the hotel). He then yells for someone. This creepy man points and starts walking with me. Ummmmm. It is dark and no one else is around. I ask for him just to point. Not speaking a word of English he takes the card out of my hand and continues to walk. I ask for it back. He won’t give it back. I looked him in the face and grabbed the card. He starts screaming at me and I dart the other way. Tears start to form when I find a lady and her 2 children sitting on a corner. I show her the card and she simply points. I start walking and 2 more streets I stop and ask another man. He points again… whew; there is my little B&B. I almost had a meltdown. The men who run the B&B seem super nice. They were different from the ones who checked me in earlier in the day. They said the neighborhood is safe. He said the man who called did seem overly aggressive as he yelled that I was lost and bothering him? OYE.

Being on the main floor: listening to the door bell ring all night, the instant conversations that take place when people enter and the lady who starts to get breakfast ready at 6am. At 6:15am after having no more than 4 hours of sleep, I asked that my room be switched later in the day if possible.

I simply stay awake as I only have 2 full days in Istanbul. Even though it is pouring rain, I eat and I head out around 9am. I visited the Hagia Sophia which was extraordinary. I spent a lot of time just enjoying the place and people watch. It was nice NOT being part of one of the many tour groups. Afterwards, I make my way to Topkapi Palace. This was huge! As it was still raining, there were tons of umbrellas and lots of people huddled around. As my nose was running down my face and the rain wouldn’t stop, I was about to call it quits… but then I got to the sea side of the palace and nothing mattered. It was beautiful! I then started to see the beauty in the palace – the old school swords, mosaics, furnishings, etc…

It was already 1pm and I decided to go to one of the nicer places for lunch which was recommended by the guy in my hotel. Of course I got lost finding it, but eventually got there. YUM. That is all I will say about that. I was invited by the manager for drinks later in the evening. He asked that I come by at 11pm (sure… I should be fast asleep by then). I continued walking and I was determined to situate myself on the map. About 10 minutes of walking, I knew exactly where I was and so pleased with myself. I then get a tap on the shoulder. It’s FELIPE! OMG. I instantly threw my arms around him to give him a huge hug. This is like meeting someone in the middle of North Carolina and then running into them in Times Square! He literally flew in that morning for his flight leaving later that afternoon. He asked if I got his email (which of course I did). He said he was serious about me coming for a visit to Peru and he will take care of everything. All I can think is WOW and I hope there isn’t an attempt for a kiss as I ate so much garlic at lunch – lol. He apologized again, but he had to get back to the airport for his flight out of Istanbul. Either way, I got a hug in the middle of a strange city from someone I met a few days earlier on a tour of the Virgin Mary House and Ephesus!

With a huge smile on my face, I do the brave thing and head to the Grand Bazaar! If you like flea markets – this would be your mecca. One word – OYE. It is easy going here; however it is a maze in here. I made the mistake of not taking note where I entered. Whoops. Almost 3 hours later I ended up by the New Mosque (what it’s called on my map) – about an hour walk from where I started. I walked back and forth many times as every time I asked for the Metro I was pointed a different direction. It started to downpour. OYE again. I hopped on the tram with a little help of course. I got back off by the Blue Mosque as that was my 1st stop of the day. I back tracked my steps and made it back to the hotel. I was happy that I accomplished so much on day 1. My suitcase was now in a room on the 2nd floor with a sea view. Super happy! I even went back out (locally) for some soup for dinner.

Day 2 wasn’t as productive. It was still raining and super cold. As I don’t really have warm clothes, this is a drag. As I leave for Egypt tomorrow, I convince myself I can relax for the morning as the next week is going to be intense. I literally spend almost 3 hours watching the new season of Weeds online. I head out late afternoon (as I decided to pack, catch up on some emails, photo albums, etc…). I start at the Basilica Cistern. This is such a cool place and I am a huge fan of Medusa. Yes, I love the theories/rumors about Medusa. Anyhow, a statue of her upside down head is in the underground Ancient cistern from the 6th century. I then wondered the streets. I decide to have an early dinner and my waiter kept asking if I was lonely. We got to talking and he started to tell me how he can’t travel. He hates how his country lets in Americans, but it is impossible for him to get into America. He said only 17 counties will let him in, if his country allows him to go. His favorite city in the world is Istanbul and he never wants to leave. I walk a little more when a man asks if I am from America. I said why – he said he knows me. He clearly doesn’t. He said he lives in Florida and he is in Istanbul to buy a carpet. He insists that I should buy one to. I excused myself as I thought he was going to lure me into a carpet factory. He insists we know each other… I excused myself again and thought it was time to call it a night.

Overall, my experience in Turkey was so-so. Some parts I really loved, while others were simply sketchy. I would NEVER recommend that you travel solo in this country, especially as a female. I am convinced the cats here have an underground society where they keep the humans in check (JK). I loved the Mediterranean coast, Pamukkale and of course Istanbul. There definitely is something very special about this city. The only downside of my entire time in Turkey is that I was alone for a lot of it. This is the longest stretch I have had when most of my meals were eaten alone and I of course forget a book half time. I would come back to this country, with the right company under the right circumstances.

I meet my friend Brie in Egypt tomorrow. She has no idea how happy I am that she is coming, especially as she is a familiar face from home. After Egypt, I head to South East Asia. Of my time there, I will be with 2 different tour groups – so the longest I will be alone, alone is about 4 or 5 days – which is mainly beach time anyhow in Thailand!

I am looking forward to my next chapter – chapter 6. Egypt. This is going to be a mighty rough, interesting and challenging trip. I have one regular backpack and a shoulder bag packed for the next 8 days. The rest of my 25 pounds of stuff is staying in the suitcase in Istanbul where I return before my flight to Amman, Jordan (where I arranged a ½ day tour as I have such a long layover), flight to Bangkok… then off to Koh Samui.

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