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Published: March 15th 2015
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Cooking in Turkey
We learned how to cook several traditional dishes.
Our favorite - dolma (ground meat mixture wrapped in blanched chard leaves) The beauty of living in Europe:
An easy flight to Istanbul.
Student-led conferences in the am
buses to Minsk airport
Belavia (Belarus national airline)
one hour to Kiev, Ukraine
Ukranian International Airlines
two hours to Istanbul; arrive at 11 pm
light rail & short walk past Blue Mosque & Hagia Sofia
to Romantic Hotel (6 rooms)
The hotel has a beautiful breakfast terrace
on top of the hotel overlooking the Sea of Marmar
Besides the amazing view,
there is a Turkish breakfast spread
of tomatoes, cucumbers, yogurt, olives,
sesame bread rings, hard boiled eggs,
dried figs and apricots, raisins, walnuts…
a filling start to the day.
Our tour guide meets us for a half day touring of…
hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia,
Roman underground cistern & Grand Bazaar,
rug shopping (tempted by a $2,000 3 ft x 4 ft beauty)
lunch in the Grand Bazaar – soup, rice, chick peas
Blue Mosque
nicknamed by tourists
because of beautiful blue tiles inside
architecturally fascinating
high domed ceiling
supported
"Istanbul" captured in a photo
A wonderful hodgepodge viewed from Suleyman, the Magnificent Mosque by cascading smaller domes
many forces directed to
four huge columns (elephant feet)
large plain chandeliers
hang from the high ceilings
to about nine feet above the carpeted floor;
humanizes the immense scale
six minarets (the most in Istanbul)
one story goes that the sultan asked for
gold minarets, yet the words gold and six
were very similar, voila
He had to pay for one more minaret
in Mecca so it would have seven.
Cleanliness is next to godliness.
outside every mosque
Ablution or ritual washing
occurs before each of
the 5 daily prayers.
The first call to prayer starts before sunrise
about 5:30 am, but changes with the sun;
a nice connection to nature;
The others at noon, afternoon, sunset, and bedtime
Adhan is called out by a muezzin
live over speakers from the minarets.
We enjoyed a syncopated adhan as
our hotel was sandwiched between three mosques.
The Hagia Sofia was built by the Roman Empire
in 537 A.D. as a
Belavia
Leaving grey and slushy Minsk for a week. Christian church.
It was the largest cathedral for nearly 1,000 years.
In 1453 it was converted to a mosque when
Constantinople became the Ottoman Turks’ capital, Istanbul.
It became a museum in 1935.
Christian mosaics which had been plastered over
were revealed and can be viewed next to the
non-pictorial Muslim religious symbols.
The Grand Bazaar from 1461
is a maze of 4,000 small shops
and pesky merchants with clever pitches like:
“I remember you from 20 years ago”
“Yesterday you said you would shop today”
“I can sell you something you don’t need”
“You look like a Turk in your scarf”
selling rugs, gold, jewelry, souvenirs.
We were looking for a stall,
Egin Tekstil, to buy items for a Turkish Bath:
pestimals – a traditional wrap for public bathing
kese – a hand mitt used to remove dead skin.
Success.
Istanbul – a mixture of old, new, and exotic;
home to around 18 million people;
is separated into European and Asian parts
by the Bosporus Strait .
Connected by two
bridges, a new subway tunnel,
and many, many ferries.
On Sunday we hopped a ferry and
made an excursion to the Asian side of Istanbul;
On the way we got lost, yet with the help
of several friendly Turks found our way.
To the student-recommended
Oyuncak – toy museum;
An old mansion with each room
filled with amazing toy dioramas,
mainly filled with mass-produced toys
from the early 1900s to the 1960s.
Our favorites were the American west,
space vehicle concepts, doll houses,
mass produced tin toys,
and miniaturized toys - English schools
allowed toys that fit into a small matchbox.
The cool evening
had us looking for a hamam – a Turkish bath.
We choose the recommended Cemberlitas Hamami,
beautiful domed baths, designed by Sinan,
the architect of most famous Ottoman buildings.
We entered apprehensively,
that great feeling when everything is new
and you don’t know what to do.
Actually, this feeling is one of the main reasons we travel.
We pay - women behind and men upstairs to
cistern Medusa column base
Then christian Constantinople recycling multiple-gods past to support a column in the underground cistern. change
Off with the clothes – pestimal on and kese in hand.
Also a good tip to the masseur prior to the bath
ensures better service during the scrub and massage.
In the steam-filled domed room
everyone relaxing on the hot marble stone,
looking like a colony of sea lions soaking up the sun
waiting pensively for our turn
to be bathed – scrubbed with your own kese
to remove layers of dead skin, rinse, soap massage,
rinse massage, shower, then cocooned in warm towels.
Slowly dress and meet in the lobby
for a mixed orange and pomegranate juice – Ahhh!
Not a care in the world.
On Monday we hopped a day trip ferry
up the Bosporus Strait toward the Black Sea;
Passing under the two bridges that connect
the European and Asian Istanbuls.
Stopping on the European side, then the Asian side
picking up passengers along the way.
Arrive at the fishing village, Andolou Kavagi,
for a fresh fish lunch on a wave-lapped patio,
water filled with small jellyfish,
finished with
cistern
Amazing architecture of one of the purely functional underground cisterns to store water for the Roman city. baklava and Turkish coffee,
of course.
On Tuesday we had our anticipated
cooking class with Selen (Turkish Flavors).
She met us and 5 others
at the Egyptian (aka Spice) Market,
We headed to Stall 51 to meet the spice girl
and taste her cooking spice mixes
(We would return that afternoon to stock up.
Souvenir spices!)
We took a ferry to the Asian side
to Selen’s flat – very modern décor
with a beautiful kitchen.
We were greeted by her Georgian assistant
who playfully communicated
with Kevin and I - in Russian.
We prepared 5 dishes and then enjoyed
a lovely lunch.
Dinner of french fries, chocolate sundae, and cappuccino
at McDs. Yes, McDonalds. On most trips we reach a point
where we need to remove ourselves
from the foreign food and culture, just for a little while.
This brief exit rejuvenates us for the remainder of the trip.
Wednesday was a shopping day
in Istanbul’s New Town area
Started at Taksim Square
(will upcoming contested elections
blue mosque
Nickname-sake blue tiles and windows provide a bright place of worship. I think we will hear more about Taksim)
Two leather belts and leather shoes for George.
Our search for the famous Gulluguolu
was rewarded with flakey crunchy baklava.
A walk across the Galata Bridge and
tried the grilled fish sandwiches
from bobbing boats – Yuck!
Near our hotel
We shopped for Turkish towels – our souvenirs.
And George’s daily orange & pomegranate juice.
Dinner at Giritli – a splurge of amazing Turkish cuisine.
They served us 18 different mezes - savory appetizers.
Before our meal!
We left very full – and very satisfied.
Thursday - our final day.
We returned to the Grand Bazaar
for some last minute souvenirs -
silver necklace for Kevin.
Afternoon was spent at the Turkish bath
Washing away the cares of the world.
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Jim Mooers
non-member comment
Beautiful.
It looks like you are taking every chance to go to another location. That is wonderful. The pictures are beautiful and it sounds like a very interesting place. Be careful and have fun.