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Published: January 14th 2008
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Turkish Shop
A small shop selling traditional handbags and boots We spent few wonderful days in Istanbul, at the end of 2007, just before New Year Eve.
There were few things that stroke me as I put my foot there and the order is not necessarily this one.
- The crowds of people (Istanbul population is half of my country's!) in a continuous movment, more or less busy.
- The big number of policemen mingling with the crowds or slowly driving their cars on the narrow streets. After travelling few times in Greek islands and then in Canaries islands, where I couldn’t see any, this was a big surprise. Well, they are not aggressive presence in any way, practically you wouldn’t notice them if there wasn’t their uniform. Anyway, they give you a feeling of security while walking along the crowded places, especially in the Bazaar.
- The unbelievable number of cats! Although they belong to nobody it seems they belong to everybody and you can find them in the most unexpected places even inside the mosques. They are so cute, so clean and well-fed! Some of them are very friendly, looking only for a caress so as soon as you sit down they’ll just jump in your
A Pedlar
Come and take a bite! lap purring and pushing their head against your hand, asking for a moment of tenderness. Others take care of their hygiene in impossible positions, challenging any equilibrium rules or look at you simply bored.
- The narrow and abrupt streets in the old part of Istanbul. It was a time, not long ago, when I was convinced that narrower and more abrupt streets than in Tenerife couldn’t exist. Well, they can! It was a real shock for me to see cars coming from both directions on such a street and still managing to pass without any scratch. I spent good minutes watching them doing all sort of maneuvers… no yelling, no cursing, no hysterical honks…
- Driving in Istanbul… “Green” in traffic light doesn’t necessarily mean that the pedestrians can cross the street relaxed. Well, they can but on their own risk as generally the driving rules here are meant to be infringed, aren’t they?
- Istanbul funicular, connecting 2 neighbourhoods, Karakoy and Beyoglu. It travels only between 2 stations and although it is underground it is called "Funicular" (maybe because it's dragged by a cable). Interesting to find out that although there is an uphill track
Vegetables
Vegetables, fruits, fish, you name it of 573 meters, the platforms inside the funicular allow you to stand in a perfect vertical position.
- The mosques (Sultanahmet cami, Aya Sofia…) … not only the architecture or their dimensions impressed me but the feeling of peace and comfort surrounding you from the very entrance.
Amazingly (at least for us the Christians) the women are not allowed to pray in the open space of the mosque, but behind a sort of laced wall or hence at the back side of it.
- Those moments when in the entire city the muftis’ voices vibrate, amplified by strong stereo equipment calling for prays. This is something difficult to put in words. Although you don't understand what they say you feel the impulse to look up to the first minaret and make a short connection with your own God.
- Women wrapped up in black from the top to the toe but still driving expensive cars or teaching others to drive.
- The Great Bazaar … an enormous maze of alleys with hundreds of shops selling almost everything. It’s quite challenging to cross it and still have some money in your pocket at the end of the
Commercial Street
Just anything for sale tour. No, no one is stealing from you, no one grabs you by the neck and force you to buy something, it’s just the atmosphere, the lights, the windows, the colors I don’t know, it’s something magic, as if somebody put a spell on you, making you buy and buy things that eventually are of no use
- Spices Bazaar … lots of colored, good smelling spices… unfortunately you can’t always say what they are as they have only Turkish labels but still you buy them! After all, if you don’t eat them you can put them in various layers in a bottle. It will look fabulously on a shelf in your living room.
- If you are hungry you can eat a fancy meal in a restaurant, a cooked traditional meal in small “locanta” or grab a sandwich with grilled fish and onion prepared directly on the boats in Eminonu port. Then you may enjoy the flavor of the well-known Turkish delight or the taste of the baked sweet chestnuts; or you may drink a very good hot tea (they sell it on the street too) or Turkish coffee which, in my opinion, is the best coffee
Sweet Chestnuts
Hmm, so hot, so good! in the world.
- Galata Bridge … on the upper level men of all categories (both simply and nicely dressed) spend the day fishing either for living or just for fun; beneath, on the inferior level, the owners of small restaurants and cafés compete in convincing you that their offer is the best, they even give you their visit card, in case you want to come back later.
- Turkish patriotism. You can see the Turkish flag allover the places and Ataturk's picture hanging on the walls. Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey and its first president is still very loved and appreciated here, although he came with major, revolutionary changes: he abolished the caliphate and the muslim law (
Sharia), dissolved the religious schools. But the most revolutionary change was in 1928 when he replaced the arab alpabet with the latin one and in 1934 forced all turks to adopt the second name in western style.
- Dolmabahce Palace - the palace where Ataturk died in 1938. "Dolmabahce" in English means "the filled garden", as the palace was founded on a reclaimed area by filling up the sea. There is a mixture of arhitectonic styles (baroque and
Just People
Just one of the normal days rococo) and the 285 rooms and 43 halls are rich in furniture, chrystals, heavy carpets and curtains, showing a luxury which in an European palace probably would compete with the bad taste but here everything just fits! In the palace (the official part) only the men were allowed, women and children lived in another wing, more simply furnished, called "Harem".
- Buyukada, one of the Princess islands, a place where you feel like traveling back in time; the only transport means on the island are the bicycles and the carriages; here you can discover a peaceful cohabitation between human beings, birds, cats and dogs. The quiet streets and architecture of the wooden houses remind you of the colonial period.
- The traffic on Bosphorus channel. Istanbul is a very large city and going from one place to another by car sometimes looks just impossible so the ferries (small ones) connecting various neighbourhoods is the solution. Crossing the Bosphorus between 2 stations takes between 15-20 minutes. For locals this is an usual mean of transport, but for tourists - another chance to admire the beauties of the city.
... Writing all these I found very difficult to
Time for cleaning
Each night, each early morning they collect the garbage put in words every detail, to describe exactly what I saw and why everything impressed me so much. You simply have to see it with your own eyes.
And I couldn't help wondering myself how strange history is... In the past Romania and the Otoman Empire were great enemies, for centuries we did our best to keep the turks away from our country and now more and more of us want to go to Istanbul (and to many other wonderful places in Turkey) just to spend some good time, impressed by the hospitality of the Turkish people...
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