Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
just a quickie from the İzmir area coast
my time is coming to a close here
i am near İzmir near the beautıful green sea - it is chilly and yet the sun is very strong - lots of walking uphill which is good to work off all the delicious food i have been eating
the greek isles are said to be across the way
today i wıll be ın Ephesus
i am lookıng forward to that
i will be heading to the airport really really early wednesday morning - 3am or so
i will post pictures when i return before leaving for DC
i am near İzmir near the beautıful green sea - it is chilly and yet the sun is very strong - lots of walking uphill which is good to work off all the delicious food i have been eating
the greek isles are said to be across the way
today i wıll be ın Ephesus
i am lookıng forward to that
i will be heading to the airport really really early wednesday morning - 3am or so
i will post pictures when i return before leaving for DC
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Last Day in Istanbul - Bursa - Bday
My last day in Istanbul was fascinating - starting off with the great massive breakfast at the hotel and then off I went to Sophia - a short walk from the hotel. I trotted on up there and marveled at the frescoes and the true mixture of East and West. So funny to see massive christian frescoes - virgin mary - jesus - etc. mixed with tiles and the cool arabic script - there were a few stained glass windows. I was awed by textures and colors and so my pictures consist of this.
On my way back to meet Zeynep, I stopped to get my name and "accesstango" in arabic script lettering - had a nice conversation with this man who was a calligrapher all his life and so was his father - very very cool!!!!
Then Zeynep and I went across the way from the hotel to have some food and wait for the time to go to the boat we would take to Bursa. We sat outside on the terrace overlooking the Marmara. As we walked in the music playing was "Por una cabeza"! Irfan met us there and in the middle of our meal - or maybe towards the end he asked me to dance - there was some Turkish/Armenian type music playing and he cleared out a table and in our sneakers we danced! Totally fun!
Zeynep and I took a cab to another Boat/Ferry "station" and hopped on! We arrived in Bursa (or close to it) and Olca (Oljai), Z's other cousin picked us up. She lives in a really nice apartment on the 18th floor looking out over the city and to the mountains. Jamie and Afet had missed their transport and arrived later. We ate out on the porch and slept in!
Today we went into Bursa and wandered around. We went to a small "costume" museum - more like "what our ancestors wore" museum - very very cool! There was a pomegranite tree, plum and fig and grape vine - all waiting to ripen for the fall!
We then went to Bursa's version of the Grand Bizarre - All this shopping is crazy - and since this is the place for textiles - can we say beautiful silk!!!!! OH my goodness....
We left and traveled about 1 hour out of Bursa towards the coast to have fish on the water. What a great restaurant...
it''s now super late - and i'm super tired and we are supposed to wake up super early to run off to Izmir by car ... I don't know how much of an opportunity I will have to internet so I'll have to catch up maybe when I return - we'll see...
I have really enjoyed my trip - all the sights, smells, tastes - I"m SO FULL!
On my way back to meet Zeynep, I stopped to get my name and "accesstango" in arabic script lettering - had a nice conversation with this man who was a calligrapher all his life and so was his father - very very cool!!!!
Then Zeynep and I went across the way from the hotel to have some food and wait for the time to go to the boat we would take to Bursa. We sat outside on the terrace overlooking the Marmara. As we walked in the music playing was "Por una cabeza"! Irfan met us there and in the middle of our meal - or maybe towards the end he asked me to dance - there was some Turkish/Armenian type music playing and he cleared out a table and in our sneakers we danced! Totally fun!
Zeynep and I took a cab to another Boat/Ferry "station" and hopped on! We arrived in Bursa (or close to it) and Olca (Oljai), Z's other cousin picked us up. She lives in a really nice apartment on the 18th floor looking out over the city and to the mountains. Jamie and Afet had missed their transport and arrived later. We ate out on the porch and slept in!
Today we went into Bursa and wandered around. We went to a small "costume" museum - more like "what our ancestors wore" museum - very very cool! There was a pomegranite tree, plum and fig and grape vine - all waiting to ripen for the fall!
We then went to Bursa's version of the Grand Bizarre - All this shopping is crazy - and since this is the place for textiles - can we say beautiful silk!!!!! OH my goodness....
We left and traveled about 1 hour out of Bursa towards the coast to have fish on the water. What a great restaurant...
it''s now super late - and i'm super tired and we are supposed to wake up super early to run off to Izmir by car ... I don't know how much of an opportunity I will have to internet so I'll have to catch up maybe when I return - we'll see...
I have really enjoyed my trip - all the sights, smells, tastes - I"m SO FULL!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
SUPERSTAR!
my time in istanbul is running out quickly - and there is still so much to see and do... NO REALLY - there is!
On Tuesday Yrfan took me to the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market - wow - talk about overwhelming....
That night there was a lesson at TangoJean that Yrfan was teaching at 7:30pm and I asked him if i could come to watch. So as we arrived and he was preparing he says to me - put on your shoes... OK!
In a nutshell with the help of his assistant who translated I assisted him in teaching the class. Then before the milonga we performed to Di Sarli and I did take video. I felt like a superstar!
What a year! January's dancing in Buenos Aires for TeTe's birthday with Isaac, then in Houston with Jason and now in Turkey with Yrfan = totally cool!!!
I thought the level of the class was low and the material was too complicated but that's ok - his class - his students - but it was interesting anyway...
Today we're off to Bursa and then to Izmir - more boats and cars and more pictures....
Yesterday I did a Bosphorous Tour with Afet and Jamie (Zeynep's friend from ASU but who lives in London now) - Bosphorous "Tour" -= basically means another boat for 10TRY that takes you along the Bosphorous - not sure about the "tour" part! there was no telling us what was what - really nice trip though.
Then we ate at a fish restaurant that we took a boat to - overlooking the water...
hope to find more time soon to write!
On Tuesday Yrfan took me to the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market - wow - talk about overwhelming....
That night there was a lesson at TangoJean that Yrfan was teaching at 7:30pm and I asked him if i could come to watch. So as we arrived and he was preparing he says to me - put on your shoes... OK!
In a nutshell with the help of his assistant who translated I assisted him in teaching the class. Then before the milonga we performed to Di Sarli and I did take video. I felt like a superstar!
What a year! January's dancing in Buenos Aires for TeTe's birthday with Isaac, then in Houston with Jason and now in Turkey with Yrfan = totally cool!!!
I thought the level of the class was low and the material was too complicated but that's ok - his class - his students - but it was interesting anyway...
Today we're off to Bursa and then to Izmir - more boats and cars and more pictures....
Yesterday I did a Bosphorous Tour with Afet and Jamie (Zeynep's friend from ASU but who lives in London now) - Bosphorous "Tour" -= basically means another boat for 10TRY that takes you along the Bosphorous - not sure about the "tour" part! there was no telling us what was what - really nice trip though.
Then we ate at a fish restaurant that we took a boat to - overlooking the water...
hope to find more time soon to write!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
TOURING AROUND
So yesterday - Yrfan came to get me here at the hotel at 11am. We took the motorcycle to Galata Tower for a great panoramic view of the city.
Then we went to Topkapi and wandered through this amazing layout of buildings and gardens. They had a bunch of bowls and platters on display from the Ming and Qing dynasties - i really enjoyed seeing all the variances. I took a picture of some really beautiful pink bowls - they were so unusual surrounded by all the blue and white china!
It was individual pricing for the palace and the Harem. I considered getting an audio guide but didn't want to be rude! I think I would if I chose to go back. It took awhile to wander around the whole place - really tiring. I took a ton of pictures and alot of pics of ceilings! I won't know which ceiling came from where! Oh well - i really enjoyed the tiles on all the walls and all the different combinations of walls, ceilings, etc.
The Turks have the option to buy a Museum pass per year that allows them go to all museums for free or discounts of some kind. NICE option.
The entrance fees were about 10TRY about $8.
After Topkapi Yrfan took me to Eminonu, for some Balak Ekmek with Tushu - I doubt that's how you spell it but it's how i remember how to say it! WHAT IS THAT? It's this typical fish inside bread with a side of pickled pickles and cabbage. Right there on the water there are these funny boats with men frying what looks like Mackerel putting it inside very large bread with lettuce and onions. You buy this for 4 TRY. There are people all over this area as it is the sea bus/ferry port area and so there are these little tables and stools and you pile in there inhale your Balak Ekmek and then you leave and they wipe off your table and pile the next one in. It was interesting. Not bad - although i burped and smelled of fish for hours afterwards!
Last night there was a milonga in the hotel we're staying at - this was fun - didn't have to leave the hotel - i like things like this!!! Anyway - it seems pretty well attended. Ran into more people I knew and danced with someone from Sweden and Madrid.... Tango is so international!!!
Today i think there is more adventures around town and possibly a milonga at TangoJean....
I have had many impressions and I think my analytical brain is trying to make sense of certain things. I'm also just allowing ideas to come and go and not hang onto them for too long...
Then we went to Topkapi and wandered through this amazing layout of buildings and gardens. They had a bunch of bowls and platters on display from the Ming and Qing dynasties - i really enjoyed seeing all the variances. I took a picture of some really beautiful pink bowls - they were so unusual surrounded by all the blue and white china!
It was individual pricing for the palace and the Harem. I considered getting an audio guide but didn't want to be rude! I think I would if I chose to go back. It took awhile to wander around the whole place - really tiring. I took a ton of pictures and alot of pics of ceilings! I won't know which ceiling came from where! Oh well - i really enjoyed the tiles on all the walls and all the different combinations of walls, ceilings, etc.
The Turks have the option to buy a Museum pass per year that allows them go to all museums for free or discounts of some kind. NICE option.
The entrance fees were about 10TRY about $8.
After Topkapi Yrfan took me to Eminonu, for some Balak Ekmek with Tushu - I doubt that's how you spell it but it's how i remember how to say it! WHAT IS THAT? It's this typical fish inside bread with a side of pickled pickles and cabbage. Right there on the water there are these funny boats with men frying what looks like Mackerel putting it inside very large bread with lettuce and onions. You buy this for 4 TRY. There are people all over this area as it is the sea bus/ferry port area and so there are these little tables and stools and you pile in there inhale your Balak Ekmek and then you leave and they wipe off your table and pile the next one in. It was interesting. Not bad - although i burped and smelled of fish for hours afterwards!
Last night there was a milonga in the hotel we're staying at - this was fun - didn't have to leave the hotel - i like things like this!!! Anyway - it seems pretty well attended. Ran into more people I knew and danced with someone from Sweden and Madrid.... Tango is so international!!!
Today i think there is more adventures around town and possibly a milonga at TangoJean....
I have had many impressions and I think my analytical brain is trying to make sense of certain things. I'm also just allowing ideas to come and go and not hang onto them for too long...
Catch up - abit of Saturday wanderings and other sights
So I think I left off a few days ago.
I went to visit the "Blue Mosque" Sultan Ahmet Camii on my wanderings on Saturday. I couldn't decide if I wanted to go to Sophia or Topkapi or Blue Mosque and as I stumbled about I was overwhelmed by the crowds so I aimed for the Sultan Ahmet Camii. The outside is contains a large courtyard which had some shade and a breeze. There was an entrance for "visitors" around the corner, a sign on how to behave, which included being quiet, taking off your shoes, etc. So I amble my way into the entrance which asks you to cover up as well. So I took off my shoes and placed them in my bag took out my gift from Afet and placed it over my head and put my long sleeved shirt on. I wondered if the part of wearing a skirt was going to imposed. There were 2 men (1 really young man and an older gentleman) who were passing out long or large blue pieces of material. I gestured to him if i looked ok and he took my hand and said - yes ok. I managed a thank you and went it.
I was struck with a little tingling sensation as I entered. Then by foot odor and the amount of people sitting down all over the place. It is 1 large room with a wooden barrier placed for those visitors and those who worship to enter. IT was awfully loud in there for asking to be quiet. There were some tours being conducted in english and in italian and some of those ladies were NOT wearing any head coverings. My camera battery died in the middle of taking some initial pictures and so I backed up to experience the awesomeness of this architectural presence and i was struck with sadness, when I turned and noticed that i was standing in front of the WOMEN onky section of the mosque. An enclosed area at the rear with benches on the outside for shoes and inside some women hanging out some in genuflection praying. There was a feeling of chaos for an active mosque and it seemed strange at the time. I really was struck by the beauty of it.
There was the Istanbul Tango Festival's milonga in Haydarpasa Gari (train station) - this was on Saturday night - it was crowded, chaotic and a bit disorganized. (I guess that's what happens when you have a milonga in an active train station!) I did manage to see people i knew from other parts of the world: Santiago and his girlfriend, Eva, Nelusha, Ari... tango is such a small world!!! I didn't dance but 1 song of a tanda but did see Chicho and Juana perform and videotaped it. They looked really good. It was so so hot and humid in there too. It was good to observe. I also saw, whom I refer to as, The Turkish Brothers - i saw them perform in buenos aires in december (maybe?).
Sunday during the day Zeynep and I were driven, by Yrfan, about 1 hour outside of Istanbul to Rumelifeneri - we drove along the coast through Bebek and Sariyer. We were on one of the northern most points where the Bosphorous meets the Black Sea. AWWW - it was so nice. We had a snack and took pictures and chatted. Sunday was the beginning of Zeynep's conference so we rushed back just in time for her to begin that!!!
Yrfan waited for me as I changed and he took me with him to see the Tango Show that was part of the Festival - this was Chicho and Arce's "creation". It was called something like "Exodo" - anyway - it was about 45 minutes of dancing tango non stop more or less - the lighting was weird and not conducive to the dancing, the dancing was expected to be great and it was but what the heck were they dancing about?
NOW coming from a person who has definitely made dances about "nothing" more than spatial concepts or design elements i"m not asking for a story but something to hang onto. There was the duet between Mariana and Juana and there were a lot of reaching gestures and sitting in their short dresses in a wide second position UGH! some developpe's (extensions of the leg) but i had no idea why they were on stage together and doing this?
There was some nice spatial ideas - there were times that i thought they were supposed to be in unison and they weren't (on purpose?). some of it looked over-acted - i don't want to be acted to - be it - show it to me. The music sounded like - now it's playing not it's stopped now it's playing now it's turned off. Really abrupt transitions with the sound. There was an interesting mix of music. There was 1 transition where each one of them carries a chair onto the stage - it hand a funeral weightedness to it - ugh...
I spoke to Santiago last night and he actually saw bits of a story line - hmm - good for him! Wish i could have grasped that might have helped me along. Mariana punches too much so she looks like a caricature on stage. Everyone else needed to rise to her level her she needed to tone down. Again some clever moments but needing some serious shaping and rehearsal directing. So many of these tango dancers need a really good choreography class - man... it would help them so much...
I went to visit the "Blue Mosque" Sultan Ahmet Camii on my wanderings on Saturday. I couldn't decide if I wanted to go to Sophia or Topkapi or Blue Mosque and as I stumbled about I was overwhelmed by the crowds so I aimed for the Sultan Ahmet Camii. The outside is contains a large courtyard which had some shade and a breeze. There was an entrance for "visitors" around the corner, a sign on how to behave, which included being quiet, taking off your shoes, etc. So I amble my way into the entrance which asks you to cover up as well. So I took off my shoes and placed them in my bag took out my gift from Afet and placed it over my head and put my long sleeved shirt on. I wondered if the part of wearing a skirt was going to imposed. There were 2 men (1 really young man and an older gentleman) who were passing out long or large blue pieces of material. I gestured to him if i looked ok and he took my hand and said - yes ok. I managed a thank you and went it.
I was struck with a little tingling sensation as I entered. Then by foot odor and the amount of people sitting down all over the place. It is 1 large room with a wooden barrier placed for those visitors and those who worship to enter. IT was awfully loud in there for asking to be quiet. There were some tours being conducted in english and in italian and some of those ladies were NOT wearing any head coverings. My camera battery died in the middle of taking some initial pictures and so I backed up to experience the awesomeness of this architectural presence and i was struck with sadness, when I turned and noticed that i was standing in front of the WOMEN onky section of the mosque. An enclosed area at the rear with benches on the outside for shoes and inside some women hanging out some in genuflection praying. There was a feeling of chaos for an active mosque and it seemed strange at the time. I really was struck by the beauty of it.
There was the Istanbul Tango Festival's milonga in Haydarpasa Gari (train station) - this was on Saturday night - it was crowded, chaotic and a bit disorganized. (I guess that's what happens when you have a milonga in an active train station!) I did manage to see people i knew from other parts of the world: Santiago and his girlfriend, Eva, Nelusha, Ari... tango is such a small world!!! I didn't dance but 1 song of a tanda but did see Chicho and Juana perform and videotaped it. They looked really good. It was so so hot and humid in there too. It was good to observe. I also saw, whom I refer to as, The Turkish Brothers - i saw them perform in buenos aires in december (maybe?).
Sunday during the day Zeynep and I were driven, by Yrfan, about 1 hour outside of Istanbul to Rumelifeneri - we drove along the coast through Bebek and Sariyer. We were on one of the northern most points where the Bosphorous meets the Black Sea. AWWW - it was so nice. We had a snack and took pictures and chatted. Sunday was the beginning of Zeynep's conference so we rushed back just in time for her to begin that!!!
Yrfan waited for me as I changed and he took me with him to see the Tango Show that was part of the Festival - this was Chicho and Arce's "creation". It was called something like "Exodo" - anyway - it was about 45 minutes of dancing tango non stop more or less - the lighting was weird and not conducive to the dancing, the dancing was expected to be great and it was but what the heck were they dancing about?
NOW coming from a person who has definitely made dances about "nothing" more than spatial concepts or design elements i"m not asking for a story but something to hang onto. There was the duet between Mariana and Juana and there were a lot of reaching gestures and sitting in their short dresses in a wide second position UGH! some developpe's (extensions of the leg) but i had no idea why they were on stage together and doing this?
There was some nice spatial ideas - there were times that i thought they were supposed to be in unison and they weren't (on purpose?). some of it looked over-acted - i don't want to be acted to - be it - show it to me. The music sounded like - now it's playing not it's stopped now it's playing now it's turned off. Really abrupt transitions with the sound. There was an interesting mix of music. There was 1 transition where each one of them carries a chair onto the stage - it hand a funeral weightedness to it - ugh...
I spoke to Santiago last night and he actually saw bits of a story line - hmm - good for him! Wish i could have grasped that might have helped me along. Mariana punches too much so she looks like a caricature on stage. Everyone else needed to rise to her level her she needed to tone down. Again some clever moments but needing some serious shaping and rehearsal directing. So many of these tango dancers need a really good choreography class - man... it would help them so much...
Saturday, July 5, 2008
TANGOJEAN MILONGA - JULY 4
Very interesting- Zeynep and I took a cab to Taksim to the district where this milonga is. OH MY Gosh - this particular pedestrian street was PACKED with people - it was after 11pm and it was like Times Square at New Year's (just hotter).
We made our way to this recommended milonga - TangoJean - to meet the host Yrfan.
We arrived to this building that reminded me of some of the buildings in Boston and took the elevator to the 2nd floor, where we came out onto a small "bar" scene - with a really nice dark wooden floor. It was 17.50 YTL consumption - is that english? The cover charge was included in the request that you buy drinks. So i had 4 cups of Rooibus tea and 3 bottle of water!!!! Anyway
the scene was bleak and someone informed Zeynep that there was the Istanbul Tango Festival going on -
HOW did I not know this?
ugh..
anyway -
Yrfan and I had fun dancing and I also danced with a guy named Kadir - 4 tandas and around 2am we left.
The Turkish hospitality that i kept hearing about - aside from Zeynep's more than generous family hosting - presented itself with Yrfan offering to take me around to the sights and to meet Zeynep and I for drinks another time. He spoke only Turkish but the dancing was fun!!!!
so tonite i think we're going to go to one of the milongas that is a part of the festival at a train station.
Zeynep is off today with her cousins and i'm doing this blog - it's probably around 1:30pm and I think i will head out to wander around - I think it will be easier for me to navigate now that i'm here in the historic district. I hope the language thing gets a little easier!
Maybe a nap in store for me as well!
We made our way to this recommended milonga - TangoJean - to meet the host Yrfan.
We arrived to this building that reminded me of some of the buildings in Boston and took the elevator to the 2nd floor, where we came out onto a small "bar" scene - with a really nice dark wooden floor. It was 17.50 YTL consumption - is that english? The cover charge was included in the request that you buy drinks. So i had 4 cups of Rooibus tea and 3 bottle of water!!!! Anyway
the scene was bleak and someone informed Zeynep that there was the Istanbul Tango Festival going on -
HOW did I not know this?
ugh..
anyway -
Yrfan and I had fun dancing and I also danced with a guy named Kadir - 4 tandas and around 2am we left.
The Turkish hospitality that i kept hearing about - aside from Zeynep's more than generous family hosting - presented itself with Yrfan offering to take me around to the sights and to meet Zeynep and I for drinks another time. He spoke only Turkish but the dancing was fun!!!!
so tonite i think we're going to go to one of the milongas that is a part of the festival at a train station.
Zeynep is off today with her cousins and i'm doing this blog - it's probably around 1:30pm and I think i will head out to wander around - I think it will be easier for me to navigate now that i'm here in the historic district. I hope the language thing gets a little easier!
Maybe a nap in store for me as well!
THE ISLANDS - July 4th
The hotel as a huge yummy buffet - tried to pig out as much as I could!
Zeynep is in helping to run a conference on Religion and Democracy (funded by the Ford Foundation)! So she did some things with this in the morning and at 11am we left by Ferry/SeaBus to the Islands.
KINALIADA - (kinaliada)
BURGAZADASI- (burgazadase')
HEYBELIADA - (heybillyada)
BUYUKADA - (bukada) - The Big Island
ADA means Island
we got off at Buyukada and walked allllll the way to the summit - then ate! Pigged out! We walked up this street with huge houses - some super coiffed and others looking like they needed renovation. some of the views that these houses must have and did have was spectacular...
The architecture was a sometimes something like southern colonial and well - not sure!
There are no cars on the islands - did see a garbage truck and a police car! There are horse drawn carriages which we had to take back down the summit in order to catch our ferry back.
Tonite we're off to a milonga!
Zeynep is in helping to run a conference on Religion and Democracy (funded by the Ford Foundation)! So she did some things with this in the morning and at 11am we left by Ferry/SeaBus to the Islands.
KINALIADA - (kinaliada)
BURGAZADASI- (burgazadase')
HEYBELIADA - (heybillyada)
BUYUKADA - (bukada) - The Big Island
ADA means Island
we got off at Buyukada and walked allllll the way to the summit - then ate! Pigged out! We walked up this street with huge houses - some super coiffed and others looking like they needed renovation. some of the views that these houses must have and did have was spectacular...
The architecture was a sometimes something like southern colonial and well - not sure!
There are no cars on the islands - did see a garbage truck and a police car! There are horse drawn carriages which we had to take back down the summit in order to catch our ferry back.
Tonite we're off to a milonga!
Friday - July 4th - the intimate leg wax!
It is around 8am - Zeynep and I are in the Armada Hotel - in a room with 2 twin beds. I have to decide whether i will stay with her until the 10th (as another friend of hers arrives on the 8th who was planning on staying with her here). According to an email I was supposed to stay with a friend of hers which now is not an option. There is the free option - aynur's apartment with ufama - seabus and regular bus ride from the historic district.
Yesterday started out rather slowly as you read! there was a lot of waiting around and still no luggage! At 1:30pm Zeynep and I met Afet for girlie things. I had an eyebrow plucking with tweezers with a bit of waxing, a very very very intimate leg wax and included my lip and underarms for 65TYL = 12 tip. not bad.
We discovered this morning on another phone call to turkish airways that my luggage had not left NYC as previously informed but was on its way to Istanbul that day. I was a little miffed but grateful to have Turkish speakers to be helping with all of this! I floated through another day with same sox and underwear! After the "most intimate leg was i have ever had" we came by boat to the Armada Hotel to drop off Zeynep's luggage and to see if mine had arrived yet. Nope! so we left to go back to Uskudar to meet Zeynep's friend Sibel, back at Aynur's house for dinner. Train, Boat, Bus -
On the boat ride we were attacked by a wave!!!! Several of us were VERY wet - and laughing. Afet said that she has never seen a wave so large and anyone getting so wet! It was like a ripple effect - the people closest to the edge saw it coming, then i saw it above my head - i turned looked down to see my sneakered feet up to my ankles in water!!! I managed to get most of the front of my tank top and the bottom 1/2 of my jeans completely wet! We laughed our way home!
We ate another tasty meal - veggies and fruit and there was a stop at a pastry shop - not tempted actually.
As this dinner conversation was mostly in turkish I sat quietly until 10pm after all the sun fully disappeared around 9pm - we all went in Aynur's car to a park to walk and for Ufama's exerice - riding his tricycle madly through the playground. There we were walking along the path along the water - 10:30pm - others were there with their children hanging out, running, walking! There were lights on too and the lights of the other islands in the distance.
So it appears that when they refer to THE ISLANDS they are referring to a "small" body of islands off the Bosphorous coast and today we're going to go visit them - BY BOAT!!!
I'm struck by the fact that there is no poop on the sidewalks - that the main door to aynur's apartment building is always wide open.
I still have a super hard time understanding the intonations and i can't even guess at what the hell people are saying or talking about.
Yesterday started out rather slowly as you read! there was a lot of waiting around and still no luggage! At 1:30pm Zeynep and I met Afet for girlie things. I had an eyebrow plucking with tweezers with a bit of waxing, a very very very intimate leg wax and included my lip and underarms for 65TYL = 12 tip. not bad.
We discovered this morning on another phone call to turkish airways that my luggage had not left NYC as previously informed but was on its way to Istanbul that day. I was a little miffed but grateful to have Turkish speakers to be helping with all of this! I floated through another day with same sox and underwear! After the "most intimate leg was i have ever had" we came by boat to the Armada Hotel to drop off Zeynep's luggage and to see if mine had arrived yet. Nope! so we left to go back to Uskudar to meet Zeynep's friend Sibel, back at Aynur's house for dinner. Train, Boat, Bus -
On the boat ride we were attacked by a wave!!!! Several of us were VERY wet - and laughing. Afet said that she has never seen a wave so large and anyone getting so wet! It was like a ripple effect - the people closest to the edge saw it coming, then i saw it above my head - i turned looked down to see my sneakered feet up to my ankles in water!!! I managed to get most of the front of my tank top and the bottom 1/2 of my jeans completely wet! We laughed our way home!
We ate another tasty meal - veggies and fruit and there was a stop at a pastry shop - not tempted actually.
As this dinner conversation was mostly in turkish I sat quietly until 10pm after all the sun fully disappeared around 9pm - we all went in Aynur's car to a park to walk and for Ufama's exerice - riding his tricycle madly through the playground. There we were walking along the path along the water - 10:30pm - others were there with their children hanging out, running, walking! There were lights on too and the lights of the other islands in the distance.
So it appears that when they refer to THE ISLANDS they are referring to a "small" body of islands off the Bosphorous coast and today we're going to go visit them - BY BOAT!!!
I'm struck by the fact that there is no poop on the sidewalks - that the main door to aynur's apartment building is always wide open.
I still have a super hard time understanding the intonations and i can't even guess at what the hell people are saying or talking about.
I think it's Thursday - where's my luggage?
I arrived yesterday - there's not a single indicator of the time anywhere in this room or this apartment, that i can find.
I still don't have my luggage.
The language seems nearly impossible for me to grasp. - words - phrases - all sound a jumble - there is no anchor - no way for me to communicate or so it seems so far!
I arrived yesterday after that long very squished (i like actually spelling it squushed - pronounced skwushed) plane ride. The older prune -faced woman slept and slept and kept merging her large bulbous form into my leg space, head space, arm space and snored. At one point she asked me something that i interpreted as "let's move the armrest up". HELL NO! I didn't say that but i said politely no and nodded my head. She understood - i think she would have been in my lap had i said yes! Did i mention the snoring!!!! I remember the one of the first times i looked over at her cuz i sensed some more crawling into my space and was shocked to see the snores coming out of what appeared to be a bulldog with a HUGE overbite - her bottom lip protruding poutingly - I turned away horrified actually not sure what i was looking at!!! I occurred to me slowly that maybe she had shifting false teeth - AH HA! So I peered over at her again - yes, it looked like her false teeth were pushed forward along with that bottom lip!
So I arrived.
I have to say the food on Turkish Air was pretty decent - as somehow my request for a vegetarian meal had made it through their system! AND i found that they had taken the time to hire the only cute Turkish men i had ever seen so far! 4 cute stewards all in 1 place at the same time? crazy!
So I landed. There was a ping of excitement as the plane hit the runway to see across the seats/aisles out the windows, water on both sides and the deep orange roof tiles of houses. it was a bright morning - had a little bit of magic to it! I made my way off the plane to a "visa" line where I paid $20 (i can stay up to 90 days) and then on to the painlessly slow passport line - being tired - it was slow but great to be vertical - and then I waited in baggage claim for my blessed suitcase. I waited until there were only a couple of bags left on the belt - none of which were mine. Another wave of stress came over me. So i get the cute young blond thing in baggage claim who speaks very little english - doesn't understand my handwriting and send me on my way with a phone to call and tell them where i am staying, and off i go.
Next step $. so I look around for a place to change $ and there are 4 that charge 4% commission - ok. So I change a bit of cash, take a note of 4 ATM's including something major American like Citibank.
i then went with my email printout to what I that was info on Havas - buses - since the sign said Havas! I get a young girl who tell me to go outside but can't tell me which, how much or when the bus leaves! OK!
So i'm outside on the curb, 2nd island in front of a sign indicating Havas - so there are 3 men who look like drivers conversing and only men waiting. AAH hardly wanting to draw attention in this situation i wait a little longer and a woman arrives in this 4 person crowd! I ask her "english"? she says "a little". I show her my email and she interrupts these 3 chatting men and he says in 6 minutes the bus to Burkrokoy would be coming. I thanked her and waited. The bus ride was short and i waited for the bus to empty out to be sure I was in the right place! i followed suit and was right at a Sea Bus stop. This is where i was to meet my next point of contact. Afet, Zeynep's cousin (1 of them), who i saw after a short visual sweep of the area.
We took a sea bus ride to Uskudar where I would be staying the night and waiting for Zeynep's arrive that evening.
From the seabus we took a regular bus to Aynur's apartment. Afet's sister.
On the way we bought me a transportation pass that looks like a - hmm - cool magnetic jeton with a handle! Afet suggested it so I did it - it can be refilled with $$ and used on all transport system throughout Istanbul. Kind of cool. What a cool form of transport - these seabuses! To or from work, shopping? seabuses!!! The water is this beautiful shade of green... very beautiful...
Afet and I arrived at Aynur's apartment to be greeted by her 3 yr old son Ufama - part turkish part Nigerian long legged bright eyed little boy and their housekeeper. I was served from 5 fantastic dishes of amazing veggie food. A dish of beans - maybe fava? probably had some garlic, lemon, and olive oil. A dish with rice, spinach (that a little more bitter - seemed more like acelga)
then another with green beans and? and then these little square that looked like they wanted to be Greek spanikopita but were turkish (something with a "B" and with dill and normally contain feta cheese). i was informed they were prepared without cheese for me! I ate my face off contentedly!
then came a big bowl of fruit. Yummy! i ate these cute little pears, apricots are in season, a few figs! yummy!
Later in the afternoon Afet and I walked to a part of the coast (here in Uskudar) to see the "maiden tower'/ Leander's Tower.
As we wandered we walked through a huge cemetery with very old gravestones and some modern ones. I was advised that Afet's religion did not permit her to point at gravestones, as i was in my American way, like a child, "look at that", "look at this one". Ah yes! "don't point" came back from the recesses of my childhood memory!
We came out of the cemetery and stumbled on a market - Love markets!!! Yummm i couldn't resist - dried mulberries - Dut! Which I bought 2 handfuls of for 1TYL - I wanted to laugh knowing how pricey they are at home. Definitely thinking that will be something I take home with me!!!
Afet bought a handful of pistachios for 1 TYL and she bought me a cotton scarf - hmm - wandered if this was her way of saying "cover up, lady"!! or maybe just a gift!!! Hey no luggage and it was hot - so my tank top seems appropriate for this weather....
We eventually made it to the tower - we road the boat over- hung out - chatted - she didn't want to leave!!! The tower had a great panoramic view. I think it cost 5 TYL to go over. Cruise ships went by, people watching was interesting.
On the way back to the apartment i kept falling asleep! We were stuck in traffic on a bus, it was hot and noisy and i napped through most of it!
The rest of the evening consisted of shower, more of the same delicious food and fruits. I still have no idea what time it is. All the morning bustle going on here - hmmm
AH
9:15am!
I still don't have my luggage.
The language seems nearly impossible for me to grasp. - words - phrases - all sound a jumble - there is no anchor - no way for me to communicate or so it seems so far!
I arrived yesterday after that long very squished (i like actually spelling it squushed - pronounced skwushed) plane ride. The older prune -faced woman slept and slept and kept merging her large bulbous form into my leg space, head space, arm space and snored. At one point she asked me something that i interpreted as "let's move the armrest up". HELL NO! I didn't say that but i said politely no and nodded my head. She understood - i think she would have been in my lap had i said yes! Did i mention the snoring!!!! I remember the one of the first times i looked over at her cuz i sensed some more crawling into my space and was shocked to see the snores coming out of what appeared to be a bulldog with a HUGE overbite - her bottom lip protruding poutingly - I turned away horrified actually not sure what i was looking at!!! I occurred to me slowly that maybe she had shifting false teeth - AH HA! So I peered over at her again - yes, it looked like her false teeth were pushed forward along with that bottom lip!
So I arrived.
I have to say the food on Turkish Air was pretty decent - as somehow my request for a vegetarian meal had made it through their system! AND i found that they had taken the time to hire the only cute Turkish men i had ever seen so far! 4 cute stewards all in 1 place at the same time? crazy!
So I landed. There was a ping of excitement as the plane hit the runway to see across the seats/aisles out the windows, water on both sides and the deep orange roof tiles of houses. it was a bright morning - had a little bit of magic to it! I made my way off the plane to a "visa" line where I paid $20 (i can stay up to 90 days) and then on to the painlessly slow passport line - being tired - it was slow but great to be vertical - and then I waited in baggage claim for my blessed suitcase. I waited until there were only a couple of bags left on the belt - none of which were mine. Another wave of stress came over me. So i get the cute young blond thing in baggage claim who speaks very little english - doesn't understand my handwriting and send me on my way with a phone to call and tell them where i am staying, and off i go.
Next step $. so I look around for a place to change $ and there are 4 that charge 4% commission - ok. So I change a bit of cash, take a note of 4 ATM's including something major American like Citibank.
i then went with my email printout to what I that was info on Havas - buses - since the sign said Havas! I get a young girl who tell me to go outside but can't tell me which, how much or when the bus leaves! OK!
So i'm outside on the curb, 2nd island in front of a sign indicating Havas - so there are 3 men who look like drivers conversing and only men waiting. AAH hardly wanting to draw attention in this situation i wait a little longer and a woman arrives in this 4 person crowd! I ask her "english"? she says "a little". I show her my email and she interrupts these 3 chatting men and he says in 6 minutes the bus to Burkrokoy would be coming. I thanked her and waited. The bus ride was short and i waited for the bus to empty out to be sure I was in the right place! i followed suit and was right at a Sea Bus stop. This is where i was to meet my next point of contact. Afet, Zeynep's cousin (1 of them), who i saw after a short visual sweep of the area.
We took a sea bus ride to Uskudar where I would be staying the night and waiting for Zeynep's arrive that evening.
From the seabus we took a regular bus to Aynur's apartment. Afet's sister.
On the way we bought me a transportation pass that looks like a - hmm - cool magnetic jeton with a handle! Afet suggested it so I did it - it can be refilled with $$ and used on all transport system throughout Istanbul. Kind of cool. What a cool form of transport - these seabuses! To or from work, shopping? seabuses!!! The water is this beautiful shade of green... very beautiful...
Afet and I arrived at Aynur's apartment to be greeted by her 3 yr old son Ufama - part turkish part Nigerian long legged bright eyed little boy and their housekeeper. I was served from 5 fantastic dishes of amazing veggie food. A dish of beans - maybe fava? probably had some garlic, lemon, and olive oil. A dish with rice, spinach (that a little more bitter - seemed more like acelga)
then another with green beans and? and then these little square that looked like they wanted to be Greek spanikopita but were turkish (something with a "B" and with dill and normally contain feta cheese). i was informed they were prepared without cheese for me! I ate my face off contentedly!
then came a big bowl of fruit. Yummy! i ate these cute little pears, apricots are in season, a few figs! yummy!
Later in the afternoon Afet and I walked to a part of the coast (here in Uskudar) to see the "maiden tower'/ Leander's Tower.
As we wandered we walked through a huge cemetery with very old gravestones and some modern ones. I was advised that Afet's religion did not permit her to point at gravestones, as i was in my American way, like a child, "look at that", "look at this one". Ah yes! "don't point" came back from the recesses of my childhood memory!
We came out of the cemetery and stumbled on a market - Love markets!!! Yummm i couldn't resist - dried mulberries - Dut! Which I bought 2 handfuls of for 1TYL - I wanted to laugh knowing how pricey they are at home. Definitely thinking that will be something I take home with me!!!
Afet bought a handful of pistachios for 1 TYL and she bought me a cotton scarf - hmm - wandered if this was her way of saying "cover up, lady"!! or maybe just a gift!!! Hey no luggage and it was hot - so my tank top seems appropriate for this weather....
We eventually made it to the tower - we road the boat over- hung out - chatted - she didn't want to leave!!! The tower had a great panoramic view. I think it cost 5 TYL to go over. Cruise ships went by, people watching was interesting.
On the way back to the apartment i kept falling asleep! We were stuck in traffic on a bus, it was hot and noisy and i napped through most of it!
The rest of the evening consisted of shower, more of the same delicious food and fruits. I still have no idea what time it is. All the morning bustle going on here - hmmm
AH
9:15am!
Long Flıght - Day 1 - July 1 or so!
Ok - so I've finally figures out how to get another blog going so I'm going to title each one with the days that I'm talking about. This is taken from my journal...
July 1 or so!
I'm tired but ok. The plane trip to JFK and then the transfer was stressful (to say the least!). Got to JFK and had to ask and schlep and wait in line until the Nth hour to get on my Turkish Air flight. I was in terminal 1 and no one around to direct me to where I was to go next and ah - yes forgot how friendly the local NYers are! I was finally directed to "terminal 2 - outside and take a left". I get to terminal 2 and can't find the Turkish Airline counter. Finally I see the "ticket purchasing" counter and I'm waiting and waiting. Long story short I was the last person to be "checked in" at the check in counter. They were announcing "last boarding call for Turkish Airways flight 2 to Istanbul". The guy in front of me (American married a Turkish woman) said that this was all very typical. NICE! It reminded me alittle of traveling to South America or to Mexico - these families with their 5 kids and ALL of their luggagesssss.
So there I ended up row 35 - squushed between 2 interesting characters.
To my left - large Turkish woman with prune-like face and prayer beads in right hand, with a constant habit of spreading into my space as opposed to her husband??
To my right - the woman has a ton of bags and after we ate all of a sudden all of her paper goods vanished! maybe into her big bag at her feet. ALL the paper including the aluminum wrapper that her food came in was gone. When I first sat down i noticed her placing things into her plastic bags - a large worn shoulder bag at her feet and a back pack of sorts (at her feet). Then came the hazelnuts to which she wrapped the bag of nuts with a napkin and then they disappeared too!
She began conversing with me. She has lived 29 years in NY and before that in Turkey - she's returning to Izmir to see her dying mother. She will be in Istanbul for 1 day visit with a 26yr old niece she has never met - her husband had several strokes and is in a wheelchair and she stopped teaching to take care of him. (hmm who's with him now?) She is a scientist - researcher - geology and a bunch of other stuff. The conversation veered toward the price of oil and the economy and i was done with that! - ready for my 2nd movie!! her english name is Sarah - or Serpil - meaning blossom. So now she is listening to Turkish pop tunes with an occasional sing along!
Did I mention she painted her nails while we sat on the runway - she is in dark red velour pants - pink long sleeve shirt, a vest, wearing a small hat which ties under her chin, which she only removed once to rearrange her gray hair.
On my left - she's watching "Happy Feet" in Turkish! and using my left arm rest - she just learned how to use her remote for her individual movie screen after sometime - before she would just lean on my arm rest (where the remotes are kept) pressing all the buttons that i had to restart my movie a couple of times and fast forward!!!
When we got on the plane - all the usual directives or airline directions but the interesting one was "loosen your tie, remove any sharp objects (like a pen from your chest pocket according to the graphics), take off your shoes and wait for the directions 'brace yourself'" NICE!!! at which point the animated figure on my screen leaned over his thighs and grabbed his ankles - very yoga! I wondered why we leave this out on American international flights!!!! I had to laugh a little bit!
The other online video that was fun and participatory was "AIROBICS"!!!! Just a few seated exercises, demonstrated by a blond male model sitting with a lovely non-descript female model in airline seats, to get your blood circulating and feel relaxed! Too Fun! YES there were participants! There we sat flexing our ankles, circling them, moving our head, clenching our fists. REALLY NICE!! I should have come up with it - wonder if I would be collecting royalties!
July 1 or so!
I'm tired but ok. The plane trip to JFK and then the transfer was stressful (to say the least!). Got to JFK and had to ask and schlep and wait in line until the Nth hour to get on my Turkish Air flight. I was in terminal 1 and no one around to direct me to where I was to go next and ah - yes forgot how friendly the local NYers are! I was finally directed to "terminal 2 - outside and take a left". I get to terminal 2 and can't find the Turkish Airline counter. Finally I see the "ticket purchasing" counter and I'm waiting and waiting. Long story short I was the last person to be "checked in" at the check in counter. They were announcing "last boarding call for Turkish Airways flight 2 to Istanbul". The guy in front of me (American married a Turkish woman) said that this was all very typical. NICE! It reminded me alittle of traveling to South America or to Mexico - these families with their 5 kids and ALL of their luggagesssss.
So there I ended up row 35 - squushed between 2 interesting characters.
To my left - large Turkish woman with prune-like face and prayer beads in right hand, with a constant habit of spreading into my space as opposed to her husband??
To my right - the woman has a ton of bags and after we ate all of a sudden all of her paper goods vanished! maybe into her big bag at her feet. ALL the paper including the aluminum wrapper that her food came in was gone. When I first sat down i noticed her placing things into her plastic bags - a large worn shoulder bag at her feet and a back pack of sorts (at her feet). Then came the hazelnuts to which she wrapped the bag of nuts with a napkin and then they disappeared too!
She began conversing with me. She has lived 29 years in NY and before that in Turkey - she's returning to Izmir to see her dying mother. She will be in Istanbul for 1 day visit with a 26yr old niece she has never met - her husband had several strokes and is in a wheelchair and she stopped teaching to take care of him. (hmm who's with him now?) She is a scientist - researcher - geology and a bunch of other stuff. The conversation veered toward the price of oil and the economy and i was done with that! - ready for my 2nd movie!! her english name is Sarah - or Serpil - meaning blossom. So now she is listening to Turkish pop tunes with an occasional sing along!
Did I mention she painted her nails while we sat on the runway - she is in dark red velour pants - pink long sleeve shirt, a vest, wearing a small hat which ties under her chin, which she only removed once to rearrange her gray hair.
On my left - she's watching "Happy Feet" in Turkish! and using my left arm rest - she just learned how to use her remote for her individual movie screen after sometime - before she would just lean on my arm rest (where the remotes are kept) pressing all the buttons that i had to restart my movie a couple of times and fast forward!!!
When we got on the plane - all the usual directives or airline directions but the interesting one was "loosen your tie, remove any sharp objects (like a pen from your chest pocket according to the graphics), take off your shoes and wait for the directions 'brace yourself'" NICE!!! at which point the animated figure on my screen leaned over his thighs and grabbed his ankles - very yoga! I wondered why we leave this out on American international flights!!!! I had to laugh a little bit!
The other online video that was fun and participatory was "AIROBICS"!!!! Just a few seated exercises, demonstrated by a blond male model sitting with a lovely non-descript female model in airline seats, to get your blood circulating and feel relaxed! Too Fun! YES there were participants! There we sat flexing our ankles, circling them, moving our head, clenching our fists. REALLY NICE!! I should have come up with it - wonder if I would be collecting royalties!
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