Turkish Delight

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Is Istanbul a Turkish delight, or the Turkish capital of carpet salesmen? In 48 hours I have been approached by no less than 8 men. They innocently enough approach me in the street, or in the square and start asking polite questions. "Hello my friend, where are you from?" "Can I practise my English with you?" "You learn me English" "Are you looking for the Blue Mosque?" "I am not a guide, I am just here to help the tourists" But as you start talking to them, eventually they let on that they have a store nearby. "Just come by and have a look, no obligation to buy, just let me give you my card"

Each time I have shaken them off, but they are persistant. I also try to be polite, but if this keeps up, one of these carpet salemen who is asking to practice their English is going to get a sharp lesson in expletives.

Istanbul has a lot of fabulous sights to see. The first day I arrived in the evening, I went to the Blue Mosque as it is always open. It is impressive, as the interior is covered with millions of blue tiles. You must remove your shoes, but as I was leaving I stepped in some gum getting my socks sticky and the inside of my shoes. One of those carpet salesmen showed me the way in and was waiting for me when I exited. I shook him off. Honestly, how many people actually fall for this tactic and follow these carpet touts into their store and spend 1000's of dollars?

The next day I went to the Aya Sofia. Now a museum, but this was the church built by Emperor Justinian in the 500's AD. When the Ottoman Turks conquered the city in 1453 they converted it to a mosque. The interior is covered in Byzatine mosaics, and Islamic calligraphy. Sixteen years ago, I read an engineering article about this ambitious dome. For a long time, I have wished to stand inside, and yesterday my wish came true. And again, approached my a carpet tout when I left.

This morning I went to the Grand Bazaar. Many many small shops and carpet salemen. But here you can also buy copperware, ceramics, jewelery, mother of pearl chess and backgammon sets, belly dance costumes, leather handbags, T shirts, glass, Turkish Delight. What would you like? I made a purchase too long for my luggage and I thought I could just carry it on the plane. Then I left, bought a paper only to read that almost all hand luggage has been banned. Not to worry, I know where to buy a duffle bag as a second piece of checked luggage.

This afternoon, I went to the Topkapi Palace. The most impressive section was the treasury. No photos allowed, so you'll have to believe me when I tell you that I saw a golden throne, sapphires as large as a child's fist, 80 carat diamonds equally as large, a golden ceremonial fighing gear and chainmail for the sultan, and the Topkapi Dagger made famous by that 1964 movie. The hilt has three enormous sapphires. To visit the Harem you had to take a tour, the rest of the site you could visit at your own pace. On this Harem tour only 60 people were allowed at a time. How do they know they have 60? It is what ever number of people can fit into this small area in front. Then we shuffled through these small rooms while someone far ahead was desribing what we were suppoed to see. Each room was covered in tiles from floor to ceiling. Nicely decorated but the way we had to see it spoiled it for me.

My hotel room is very close to all these sites, I can walk to each place. The trouble with walking is that I might fall victim to one of these carpet touts who approach. But today, only one approached me and he was a repeat who had forgotten he had already spoken to me two days ago. With all the other things you can buy here in Istanbul, it is only the carpet salesmen who are this aggressive. You don't get ceremics salesmen asking to visit their shop. Too many carpet shops, and I have heard that this is probably the most expensive place to buy a carpet anyway. You might find a cheaper Turkish carpet in Vancouver. A large rug could set you back $10 000 - $20 000. I'll stick to buying postcards.

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