High Adventure

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We managed to sleep in a bit today since we both are getting used to the time difference, but we sure weren’t late for breakfast! It’s one of the best parts of the day as I love walking in and talking to Lynn; Dad and I don’t understand how she gets anything done as she is so attentive to the guests at the hotel and she really goes the extra mile. I also just love Ayse, she is so sweet and her smile just lights up my day!
Today we decided to try our hand at the Turkish public transportation system! This is a first for Dad as well as me since when Dad was last here they only had buses and taxis. We needed to get the Tram to the Dolmabache, which was built as the Ottoman White House; it was built with an updated and more European style at the time of the Ottoman empires decline. It served as the Sultans palace as well as the administration. Also inside the Dolmabache the Sultan could only house 8 wives in his Harem (cutting back must be tough). It is also the place where Ataturk died. We figured out how to buy the Jetons (tokens bought from the Jetonmatik for entry to the Tram) which Dad had to have a local show him how the first time, but we kind of had the hang of how to get them now. The Tram still baffles us on how it works, in the States we are used to the fact that if a tram comes in from one way and stops that it will continue in that direction after stopping unless it’s the end of the line. Well not so in Turkey, sometimes the Tram comes in one direction, stops and lets people on/off, then goes back in the direction from which it came. So you not only had to know which Tram to get on, but which way it was going to go after it pulled away. There was one moment where we were squeezed on this Tram and the doors were about to close when Dad realized we were on the wrong one so he jumped off and I followed suit only to be hit by the doors as they were going to close on me, but I made it! Once on the correct Tram we were off to the Dolmabache! Getting on the Tram is a whole other ordeal since the Tram is very popular and we were all squeezed in there, and letting people off proved difficult. At one point a Turkish man swimming through the crowded Tram car said in Turkish “if you let me off you will have more room!” Yeah it was that bad, but an experience I won’t forget!
We made it to our stop and got to the Dolmabache, it is so pretty with it being right on the Bosporus, the grand architecture, and the gardens. We bought tickets to see inside the main administrative part of it (the part made to impress) and also the Harem part (the less impressive as only compared to the administrative section, but still impressive overall) where the Sultan lived with his mother and his 8 wives and their children.
As we walk up the magnificent dual curving staircase to the main hall you can tell just how much work went into this place because it is so beautiful. We also learned that everything in it is made of wood with a plaster façade, the columns that look like marble are really wooden cross beams with a faux marble finish made out of plaster on the outside (Dad always thought they were real . . .Moses’s stick anyone? . . ) As we walk from room to room Dad tells me to look out for what the clocks are set to and that they all should be set to the same time as it is symbolic to the time when Ataturk died and it was considered that time had stopped. We get to our first clock and it says 9:50, so we start looking for our next clock, well it says 2:40 (there must be some discrepancy as to what time Ataturk died) Dad then says that someone must have fiddled with that one and not put it back. We then hook up with the Harem tour and we get to Atakurk’s death bed where it has a giant Turkish flag draped over it and the tour guide explains that the clock in there was set to the time that Ataturk died -9:05. I start laughing because every clock we had seen in the house was set to a different time, now when Dad ever asks for the time it will always be 9:05 😉
We then left and walked down Istanbul’s equivalent of 5th Avenue – Istiklal. You could ride the historical Tram down the center of it, but other than that there weren’t any vehicles allowed (well in true Turkish fashion we saw a car but it really wasn’t a street). The best part is that there isn’t any barricade around the tram (or any other big moving vehicle in Turkey for that matter) so technically if you weren’t paying attention you could get hit by the tram, but it doesn’t go very fast so I don’t think they have any problems with it. Istiklal was similar to the Grand Bazaar in the fact that there were a lot of people and a lot of shops, but here it is not covered and the shops aren’t right on top of one another, they are next to each other in a straight line following the street and the police ride Segways! We stopped in at the Qiqek Pasaj and had a really nice lunch (this used to be where they used to sell flowers but now it is all restaurants).
From there Dad had always wanted to go to the Pera Palas hotel and drink a Raki (the national drink of Turkey). The Pera Palas is where greats such as Agatha Christie, Jackie Kennedy, Mahta Hari, Erenst Hemingway, Ataturk, and many others have stayed. We of course come rolling in looking like country bumpkins compared to how the hotel guests are dressed and want to sit at the hotel bar. They very politely yet very quickly shoo us to the back of the hotel where the bar is, then ask if we could like to sit at the outside bar. It was really nice outside and they have a nice view so I am sure they were even happier that we said yes (get these beggars outside!). We sat down and Dad ordered us 2 Rakis, (Raki is an aniseed, it tastes like licorice). In the bottle it is clear but once it is mixed with water it turns a milky color. The waiter brought us little trays of almonds, pistachios, and hazelnuts and sets down our order of Raki. We each had two glasses, both with ice, one with an ounce of Raki in it and we also got a bottle of water. So we mix our own Raki and Dad explains how the Turkish Military does their toasts. Since it is polite to have your glass lower than the higher ranked person when you toast you can sometimes end up in a game of who can toast lower on the next person’s glass if you are of similar rank, soon you end up with both glasses on the ground. So in order for it to be completely equal you leave the glasses on the table and scoot them towards each other and clink them, and since they are on the table they hit equally. So we toast and I take a swig. O.M.G. my face seized! That stuff was so harsh and potent! Dad was laughing hysterically as I added water to the very brim of my Raki glass, but it really didn’t help, I ended up drinking about 1/16 of the entire drink. Dad managed to get all of his down and keep it there (Saadace Allah billir – only god knows how). We then wanted to check out the hotel since when Dad was there last they had a birdcage elevator. We walked around and eventually found it, but it was roped off and had a placard saying the elevator was built in 1892 and it was a historical piece of the hotel. Security is of the highest importance so we as soon as we went over to the elevator we had an employee of the hotel right there with us. Dad then told him in Turkish that when he was at the hotel 17 years ago that the elevator worked. The guy smiled and said that it still does! And would we like to ride in it? Way cool! So Dad and I hopped in the thing and he closed the doors and up we went! It was a small part of the day but we had a great time playing rich! 
Our day was far from over (it seems like our days get longer and longer, but I am not complaining) we headed on over to the Galata Tower which was built in 528 AD and stands over the city. It was used by the Genoese and was captured by the Ottomans in 1453. You can take it all the way to the top which is about 200 feet, it is amazing to walk around the top and have 360 degree views of the city, but people must have been much smaller in those days because there wasn’t very much room up there. This thing was built like a tank to still be standing like it is and in order to get to it you have to walk to some crumby neighborhoods then all of a sudden you pop out at the Tower, there is just so much old stuff in Turkey they can’t keep track of it all.
We then walked back to the Tram stop and tried our best to get on the tram. But us dumb Americans couldn’t figure out how to get to it. Basically it was the sidewalk, then the road, then the tram station, then another road, and then the sidewalk on the other side. We couldn’t figure out how to get to the center of this area to get to the tram stop! So we walked up and around and all along the docks (where the grill fresh fish that we saw people catching) and we finally had to stop and ask the dondurma (icecream) guy which way to go. As soon as he pointed it out it was plain as day (and with a sign!) that you had to take the stairs underground and then pop out in the middle of all that mess. Yay! This is then where I risked my life to get out of the tram as the doors were closing (haha, that is what I tell Dad, but they are like elevator doors and open back up again once they feel a little pressure, but I am sticking to the story where I risked my life). We made it back to our Tram stop and we walked back to our room via the Hippodrome. A third of the Hippodrome is now covered by buildings so you have to kind of use your imagination as you walk through it, but it used to be an oval track where they held the horse races and other events. In the center of it stand these huge Obelisks. The Obelisks are still standing and one of them looks like it is barely 100 years old, when in fact it is at least 2,500 years old and is made of Basalt. There is another Obelisk that looks kind of shabby and Dad pointed out the big holes on it, he said that those holes used to be where bronze plates were attached to it, and back in the day it would be polished until it shone, but during 4th Crusade Dandalo came and raided Istanbul in 1402 and stole the bronze plates (as well as a lot of other things) and now all that remains is the original skeleton of the Obelisk.
On the way home we stopped at the local shop and we got a couple beers (Limon Efes is the best beer I have ever tasted!) and had a nice relaxing evening to recharge our batteries for the next day! We ate dinner at Havuzlu which was an outdoor eatery that had comfy cushions and benches with a big fountain and live Turkish music. We ate dinner then I persuaded dad to order a Nargile. A Nargile is exactly like a Hookah, basically water filtered flavored tobacco. I have smoked them back in the states and it is just a nice experience. We ordered an Elma (apple) Nargile and had a wonderful time relaxing, taking in the sounds, smells, and tastes of Turkey. Dad said that when he was smoking the Narglie and had the pipe in his hand that he felt like the Sultan (or the Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland) so he was a happy camper. It was a very authentic Turkish experience since we looked like the only yabanci (foreigners) and everyone else was smoking Nargile and playing backgammon.
B

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Photos

Yay Raki!
See the next picture. . .

Dad in the Birdcage Elevator
At the Pera palas

Limon Efes
Two thumbs up!

Smoking the Nargile
it backfired!