Monday, May 12th 2014

     Reporting right from Istanbul!

  Turkish Airlines was a pleasant surprise.  I've heard good things about them, but I didn't expect the Airline to give each of us budget travelers an amenities kit, complete with toothbrush, toothpaste, earplugs, socks, a sleep mask, and a jar of lip balm!  Quite generous of them.  I remember getting amenities kit flying economies class in the 90s.  Airlines became much more miserly with goodies later on.  

 Turkish Airlines Amenities Kit

  In-flight meals were tasty, and there was an attempt, quite successful actually, at arranging the individual food containers in the tray in a visually pleasing way.  The cheeses, salads, pasta and egg/vegetable combo breakfast were delicious.  So were the Turkish dessert and nectar snack.  The lavatories remained clean throughout the flight.  The devil is in the details.  That's what makes one airline's economy class outdoes another one.  

  There were also people praying at designated times.  The devoted faced a particular direction (towards Mecca, I think), stood by the cabin door, held what I assumed was their holy religious scripture, and uttered prayers while nodding their heads and limbs at the same time.  What I found surprising was how long the prayer session lasted.  I mean our flight was traveling across time zones, so I was trying to pull an all-nighter, struggling to stay awake, but I could have sworn one passenger's prayer session took more than an hour!   

  Istanbul itself reminded me of my hometown in China, Xinanjiang.  Our tram threaded across buildings and streets that were obviously not built and paved yesterday.  Buildings snuggled closely, flanking narrow streets.  Street-level shopfronts sold doners (fat spindle of meat spinning around a skewer), sweets, cellphone services, carpets, and the latest local fashion in clothing, among many other merchandise.  There was an occasional McDonald's or Burger King which I thought looked a bit comically out of place.  As our tram snaked into the Sultanahmet region, it was immediately apparent that we had entered tourist central.  Small shops crammed on both sides of the tram, with neon lights and printed signs vying for our attention, many of which souvenir shops, travel agencies, and eateries.  Though concealed by the bustling shops at the moment, but we knew we were in the immediate vicinity of Istanbul's architectural marvels, including the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace and etc.  

  Our stop, Gulhane, was right outside of the crenelated fortification of the Topkapi Palace, with the tram running right at its feet.  Our hotel Erboy is only half a block away.  What a prime location!

 

Tram in Istanbul - Gulhane stop, right outside of the Topkapi Palace

The cobblestone alley on which our hotel stands

Gulhane/Sirkeci Neighborhood

  The hotel receptionist was extremely helpful and courteous.  The staircases were spiraled like those in an ancient castle.  Corridors and doors and everything were quite cozy and small.  This was something I did not expect to find in Turkey.  The compactness of interior facilities actually reminded me of Japan, or I'm guessing maybe Europe since I've not been there. 

  After we settled in, we wandered around our neighborhoods and had a delicious dinner at a casual eatery.  This is what I had:

Sac Kavurma - a delicious vegetarian dish with aubergine,
red bell pepper, mushroom and some kind of grain

Ayran, a very common local drink, kind of like yogurt but salted

  Last but not least for today, even though we'd only been in Istanbul for a few hours, we could already tell why Turkish merchants were so reputed for their tactics in persuading/attracting customers.  Sweet talk and photo ops were staples.  At a carpet shop, the owner actually gave us what must be an one hour long lecture on appreciating the various fine qualities and workmanship of Turkish carpets.  I was literally mentally spelling out "hook, line, and sinker!!"  But we were somehow willingly walking into this sweet trap!  But overall I enjoyed the experience, because I walked into his shop knowing next to nothing about Turkish carpets and walked out armed with a basic set of 101 knowledge, and we were shown some of his best carpet collections, of course the ones we liked the most were well beyond our means to purchase, ranging in the thousands.  My favorite one was a blue 12X12 knots rug with the last Sultan's medallion design, but I liked it for quite different reasons: that particular carpet was so finely and intricately patterned that it almost looked like a Tibetan Tangka!  But that one was $2800.  I sure have good taste, too bad my pocket was not deep enough to match up. LOL.  But we did end up buying a small treasure within our means.  And I liked it very much. :)  Hundreds of years, if not a millennium of trade wisdom surely endure today and live on strong.