INTO THE EAST – ERZURUM TO VAN

Sept. 29, 2000
Hotel Sefer, Erzurum, Türkiye

The Zigana Pass Road

We got up, did a few errands, and then got on a bus for Erzurum. We drove over the Zigana Pass
(2023m) through the Pontic Mountains. We had heard that the trip would be hair-raising but the road was unnecessarily maligned. We had the front seats in the bus and were all prepared for a terrifying, sheep dodging drop that never materialized. The road climbed steeply through misty, green valleys until we finally climbed into a rather barren chapparal landscape reminiscent of Nevada or Riverside County in Southern California.

We crossed the pass and drove through mostly barren basin and range type country, punctuated by scrubby trees and shrubs turning red and gold with the fall chill. It rained most of the way. We stopped briefly in the town of Gümüşhane, but there wasn’t much there. Neither was there much in Bayburt. Both were colorless, deserty places, hunkered down and grim looking under the lowering clouds.

Erzurum

We climbed, at last, over Kop Pass and saw what appeared to be a castle, but may have been only a rock formation, perched atop a peak. Kop Pass is at 2375m. From there, we descended to the busy, little town of Erzurum.

There is a lot of history in Erzurum, but it is certainly not apparent at first sight. The town is built largely of concrete and, in the fading light of a rainy eveing, appeared entirely gray. There were many traffic circles and the traffic careened about with the usual Turkish abandon.

Our hotel was a but shabby, but only 17 million lire a night. The beds were the first we had experienced in Türkiye where one could sit down hard without encountering the platform beneath the mattress.

We ate dinner at a place called the Vatar Lokhantasi (restaurant.) We had the stew and rice as both of us had Sultain’s revenge. We ordered a couple of desserts: aşure (a compote of walnuts, raisins, corn, and chick peas) and baklava that had never seen a nut except what was spinkled on top. The slice of baklava was about four times the usual size, however. All of this came to a whopping $7.50 for two.

Erzurum suffered a devastating earthquake earlier in 2000, but we could see little evidence of it other than that the roads and sidewalks all seemed to be very uneven and often ended in piles of dirt or 12-inch drop-offs. We would be able to see more in the light of day.

Sept. 30, 2000
Hotel Sefer, Erzurum, Türkiye

Çifte Minareli Medrese

The weather improved significantly and we managed to tramp all over Erzurum without getting wet.  We went to the Çifte Minareli Medrese (twin towered monastery) and the Ulu Cami (Grand Mosque.) We walked between and behind them, past houses ruined during a war with Russia in the 19^th century, to the three Seljuk tombs.

Ruined Houses in Erzurum

Seljuk Tomb

Two Seljuk Tombs

We were dogged by children who had learned English in school and wanted to show us around. We returned to Cumhuriyet Caddesi (Freedom Street – the main drag in every town) and crossed the street to head up towards the Kale (Citadel.) Once again, we were acosted by a group of children, this one led by a light-haired 12-year old boy who spoke good English. He introduced us to his friends and gave us a tour of the Citadel.

Children Outside the Kale

Before heading out that direction, we had visited the Lala Mustafa Paşa Camii (1563) and the Yakutiye Medrese, a 14^th century Mongol seminary, which is now a museum.

Deanna at the Yakutiye Medrese

After visiting the Kale, we headed back to the west, thinking we would go to the Erzurum Museum. As we passed the Ulu Cami, a young man stopped us and asked if we would speak English with him. We took him to lunch at the Sultan Sekisi Şark Sofrası. Our new friend, Recep, ordered for us. We had the usual kebap (lamb on a skewer with a wooden handle), eaten with lavash, stuffed grape leaves, and something that seemed to be a cross between spinach lasagne and spanikopita. After lunch, Recep took us to the caravanserai, where we looked at black amber jewlery, and then to the bus office where we bought our tickets to Doğubayazit. Then we went to a bookstore and bought a Turkish/English dictionary. Recep walked us back to our hotel.

We had met a Norwegian man earlier in the day and had arranged to meet him for dinner. He was riding his bicycle from Norway to China and was feeling very solitary. We asked Recep to come back and join us for dinner, later. He brought his uncle, who was very polite, but didn’t speak English. The five of us went out for dinner. After some confusion between Turkish, English, and Norwegian, we ended up in the Güzelyurt, the best restaurant in town. There, we had an appetizer of raw meatballs (tasty) and lamb chops or a mushroom casserole. Dinner for five, including two beers, came to less than 19 million lire. The restaurant was very elegant, but not very Turkish looking. Our Norwegian friend left us after dinner and the rest of us went for dessert at a local hangout. I had a dessert made with cheese and shredded wheat, which was very good.

Erzurum has beautiful views of the mountains when it is clear, especially from the Kale hill. There are many old houses and ruins in old Erzurum and lots of handsome old men in wool caps. Horses and wagons mingled with trucks and buses on the busy streets.

Oct. 1, 2000
Hotel Isfahan, Doğubayazit, Türkiye

We were supposed to meet Recep and his uncle, Hussein, at the bus office in the morning at 10:45. The service bus was due to leave at 11:00. We left the hotel at 9:45 and dashed across town to an internet café to let Zakir (our friend from İstanbul) know that we were on our way to Van. Then we went to a bookstore to buy another copy of our Turkish/English phrasebook. We couldn’t find the right bookstore, but the one we did find had a better phrasebook actually aimed at anglophones trying to learn Turkish.

We got back to the hotel in time to get a taxi to the bus office, but the desk clerk took so long to run our credit cards (and he added a 3 million lire surcharge) that we did not leave the hotel until 10:55. The name of the bus company was not on our receipt and the taxi driver was no help. He took us to the wrong bus company and by that time we had missed the service bus so had him take us to the otogar. We felt bad about standing up the boys and that we never got Recep’s address. It took us awhile to locate the right bus company when we got to the otogar because the company that sold us the tickets was not the company that took us to Doğubayazit. We found it, eventually, and sat down to wait. After about 20 minutes, Recep and Hussein showed up. We were very glad to see them and get Recep’s address.

The ride to Doğubayazit took about four hours. We drove through Nevadaesque landscape past truckload after truckload of sugar beets, most with entire families in brightly colored shawls and blankets riding on top. We passed many beehive shaped ovens and stacks of dung for fuel. When we got within ten kilometers of Doğu, we could see Ararat, but the summit was obscured by clouds. We had passed through Ağri at about the halfway point and there was nothing there but dust and piles of rocks.

 Ishak Paşa Sarayı from Afar

Doğubayazit is not much more attractive than Ağri, but it does have a few trees, the Ishak Paşa Sarayı on the hill in the distance, and the mountain. We checked out a couple of hotels, found them equally bad, so picked the cheapest. Our room sort of had a view of Ararat, or Ağri Daği as they call it in Türkiye. The room was shabby and nothing matched, but we had a shower and a toilet that flushed, so the $15/ night wasn’t too bad. All of the hotels in town looked like they were built in the 1960s and hadn’t been maintained since. Doğu was a grubby, little oil boomtown. It was muddy, run down, and could definitely have used a woman’s touch, but the people were friendly enough. We were only 35km from the Iranian border. Our taxi driver agreed to take us on a tour the following day.

Peeled Poles Used for Scaffolding

Oct. 2, 2000
Hotel Grand Derya, Doğubayazit, Türkiye

We meant to leave Doğubayazit for Van today, but we had so much fun on our taxi tour that we missed the last dolmuş and had to stay. This was okay because Doğubayazit had grown on us.

The Ishak Paşa Sarayı

We met our taxi driver, Metin, at 10:00. First, he took us up the hill to the Ishak Paşa Sarayı. The palace was being restored and they were doing a marvelous job. They put in steel supports for earthquake bracing, but they followed the contours of the arches and domes very carefully so as not to ruin the beauty of the place. The palace sits high on a hill, overlooking Doğubayazit and Mt. Ararat. You can also see the ruins of Eski Bayazit, the old village, which was abandoned in 1937. The air was clear and cool and the views were magnificent. After the air pollution of other Turkish cities, the Doğu area was a welcome relief.

Stonecutter Working on the Ishak Paşa Sarayı

We spent quite awhile at the Ishak Paşa Sarayı, taking pictures and video. Our guide was a real ham and we got many shots of him. After visiting the palace, he drove us up into the hills and we drove for miles and miles through rugged scenery and Kurdish villages of stone huts.

Kurdish Village

The Kurds are shepherds and wheat farmers. We ate a lunch of lavash and sheep cheese purchased in one of the villages. We stopped in another village and visited Metin’s great-grandmother who was about 90 years old. She had the greatest face I had seen in a long time. The Kurds are not all Muslim and the women seemed to have greater freedom. They came out and waved at us and the children followed us everywhere. Even in Doğu, the women appeared to have more freedom, but there were very few of them there and the men could not find wives. Our guide, Metin, was half Kurdish and half Iranian. He was not married because, he said, “There are no girls.” The hotel manager, Fuyyat, was married but his wife and child lived in İstanbul.

Our Guide, Metin

Ararat in the Clouds

All day, we hoped that Ararat would come out of the clouds, but it never did. We could tell it was snowing up there because the lower slopes got whiter and whiter all day. We stopped on top of a hill to admire the view. Metin was playing Kurdish music (lots of bagpipes) on the stereo and he taught us some Kurdish dances (very like the Hora) and we danced. We all laughed a lot and had a great time.

We drove over the mountains to the east of Doğu and suddenly came upon a modern building on our rutted, dirt track in the middle of nowhere. This was the Noah’s Ark Museum, presided over by Uncle Hasan. It is almost empty, but has some articles on the discovery of the ark and a great view of Ararat, some twenty miles away across the plain. What we were NOT expecting was that we got to see all 515 cubits worth of the ark. It lies on the mountainside, mostly beneath ground level, and there were sheep grazing in it. It was quite clearly visible and they had found carvings and petrified wood with traces of metal bracing. I, for one, was convinced. The location at 7,000 feet in the hills behind Doğu was much more plausible that the 17,000’ summit of Ararat, although I still judged it to have been a backyard boat project that never got launched.

Noah's Ark (lower left)

Me, Metin, and Deanna at the Noah's Ark Museum

After the ark, we headed out to the Iranian border. There was a big, long line of trucks waiting to cross in both directions. Truckers were making tea and playing cards while they waited. We saw our Norwegian friend cycling towards the border on his way to China. Being American, we could not cross the border, but we went to the meteor crater which was right in the shadow of the guard towers. 

Meteor Crater

From there, Metin tried to drive us closer to Ararat, but we ran into a platoon of Turkish soldiers out for a run and they turned us back. We went back to Doğu and, since we had missed the last dolmuş, we asked to go to the Grand Derya, which was the best hotel in town. The Hotel Isfahan had no hot water and I was willing to spend a little more so I could wash my hair. It turned out to be cheaper. The Hotel Isfahan charged 10 million lire plus 1.5 million each for breakfast. The Grand Derya was only 12 million lire including breakfast. Metin was friends with Fuyyat, the manager, and we all sat in the lobby and drank tea together. Everyone at the hotel got a kick out of looking at the day’s video footage that we titled The Metin Show.

We went upstairs to rest for a bit, mainly because I was starting to have to peel Metin off of me. Then we went out, bought postcards and stamps, and ate the best meal we had had in Türkiye for a total of $5. I had Iskender kebap (lamb, chicken, tomatoes, and peppers with yogurt and a red sauce) and Deanna had hunks of lamb and eggplant surprise. We went back to our room and the phone rang. It was Fuyyat, the manager, inviting us to have a beer with him. We went down for a beer and a visit and he had prepared a feast of grapes, peaches, bananas in honey, and wonderful chocolates with hazelnuts. It had been our best day in Türkiye, so far, and we had thought there was nothing to do in Doğubayazit. Türkiye was full of surprises.

Doğubayazit

Oct. 4, 2000
Hotel Büyük Asur, Van, Türkiye

Mount Ararat

Ararat was still hiding its head in the clouds when we got up, yesterday, but by the time we were ready to leave, it had decided to reveal its magnificence. We left Doğubayazit on the 11:30 dolmuş, the 10:00 dolmuş having somehow failed to materialize. Every seat on the dolmuş was taken and there were two people sitting on stools in the aisle. The girl sitting next to me had apparently just left her boyfriend behind and she cried all the way to Van, except when she was on her cellphone. The ride to Van took about 2.5 hours. We drove through barren hills and then through an extensive lava flow. The last 60 kilometers or so, we drove mostly along Lake Van (or Van Gölü) which is very blue. If Trabzon were the Seattle of Türkiye and Erzurum the Denver of Türkiye, then Van is the Salt Lake of Türkiye. They grow sugar beets, wheat, and apples there. The lake was very alkaline and contains only one kind of small fish, the pearl mullet, that is adapted to it.

Our Dolmuş to Van

When we got off the dolmuş about 15:00, we heard someone calling our names. It was Zakir’s cousins, Fuat and Mehmet. They were ready to show us around, right away, but we had things to do. They showed us to their uncle’s hotel and then we unpacked and set out to find a laundry and dry cleaners. We ate lunch and walked around the city until it started to get dark. We came back to the hotel and Zakir’s cousin, Mehmet, was waiting for us. We spent a little time in Fuat’s kilim shop and then Mehmet went upstairs with us and ate some dinner while Deanna and I each had a beer. We had a long talk about the Kurdish situation, the Armenian situation, Iran, the carpet business, and the United States. It was a very pleasant evening.

Oct. 4, 2000
Hotel Büyük Asur, Van, Türkiye

Seljuk Tomb in Gevaş

We met Mehmet and a young French-Canadian couple named Eric and Manon at 9:00 and set out for Akdamar Island. We drove around the shore of the lake for about 45 kilometers and stopped in the town of Gevaş to see a Seljuk tomb, erected for a young woman in 1358. There were also many other gravestones there, mostly from the 14^th to 17^th centuries, although there was one as late as 1946.

From Gevaş, we drove to the ferry dock at Akdamar, where we waited until an Australian fellow from our hotel and two Israeli men joined us to share the cost of the ferry. It ended up costing us 3 million lire each, including admission. The island is 3 kilometers from shore and it felt good to be on a boat again, even if it was a stinkpot. There were no private boats on Lake Van and it is a huge lake.

Mehmet on the Ferry to Akdamar Island

The only building remaining on the island is the Armenian Akdamar Kilisesi, built in 921. There was once a palace, monastery, and harbor on the island, as well, but they are now vanished. The exterior of the church was in pretty good shape and the biblical carvings were fabulous. I climbed half way to the top of the island to take photos. The island, itself, was very much like Santa Cruz Island off the coast of California, although smaller and closer to shore.

Armenian Church on Akdamar Island

After we returned to shore, we all ate a lunch of the pearl mullet from Lake Van in an outdoor restaurant overlooking the lake. There was a tiny tiger kitten, just weaned and not happy about it, that begged all through the meal. We hoped we would be able to see one of the famous, white Van cats before we left.

Lake Van

Oct. 5, 2000
Hotel Büyük Asur, Van, Türkiye

Van Kalesi

We met up with a couple named Thomas and Veronica from Toronto about 15:30 yesterday afternoon. They had bought carpets from Mehmet three years ago and were back to buy more. The five of us climbed in Mehmet’s car and drove out to Van Kalesi (Castle.)

Van Castle was established by the Urartians in about 825 B.C. The Urartians built all 72 of their castles on rock outcroppings in order to save the fertile land for crops and grazing. Van Castle is on a huge reef of rock and was the center of the Urartian empire.

All That Remains of Old Van

First, we walked around the base of the rock to the site of old Van. The original city of Van was destroyed after World War I when the Russians and Armenians were fighting with the Turks and the Kurds. Only two mosques remain, but you can see the foundations from the top of the rock. Next, we climbed up the rock and squeezed through a locked gate to visit the Urartian crematorium hollowed out of solid stone. From there, we climbed further up the rock to a sacrificial altar and then up to the Seljuk watchtower. There was also a Seljuk castle made of what 

The Seljuk Castle

looked like mud. There were timbers jutting out from the castle all over the exterior. At one time, these supported balconies. We climbed to the top of the castle and watched the sunset. Then we continued out to the end of the ridge where there is an abandoned Ataturk head that the government gave up lighting because people kept stealing the bulbs. A gaggle of small boys followed us, trying to sell us sunflower seeds. Deanna was wearing sandals and had a hard time getting back down.

Van Castle at Sunset

The five of us went to the Merkez Et Lokantasi for a veritable orgy of lamb. Then we went back to Mehmet’s shop and drank raki and looked at carpets until after midnight. I fell in love with a black, rose, and beige Caucasian carpet that had to be an antique with a price of $2700. It was very unique and well made, but I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it since Mehmet didn’t take credit cards.

Oct. 5, 2000
Hotel Büyük Asur, Van, Türkiye

Edremit

In the morning, we went with Mehmet, Thomas, and Vernonica to Edremit to visit a 10^th century Armenian church and the site of what is, for some reason, called the “Girl’s Castle.” There was nothing left of it. The stone blocks had been used to build the village. Mehmet said the site had been inhabited for ten thousand years.

We took Thomas and Veronica to the airport and then came back to the hotel to rest for a few hours. I had come down with a cold, so I slept. About 16:00, we headed out with Mehmet to the waterfall at Muradiye.

Deanna and Me at Muradiye

It was a beautiful, natural setting and we had fun playing with three friendly sheep dogs and watching the shepherds herd cattle across the suspension bridge.

Anatolian Shepherd

Herding Cattle Across Suspension Bridge

On the way back home we stopped in a park by the lakeshore to watch the sunset. We got back around 19:30 and sent Mehment home to his family (although we suspected he went to his shop, instead.) We ate dinner at the Çinar Et Lokantasi and then came back to the hotel to have an early night.

Oct. 7, 2000
Otel Kardelen, Tatvan, Türkiye

Hoşap Castle

Friday morning, Mehmet took us to visit Hoşap Castle, a Kurdish castle 58km down the road to Hakkari. The castle there is really wonderful. Parts of the castle, including the Seljuk entrance gate, are quite well preserved. The Kurdish chieftan had the architect’s hands cut off when the castle was finished so he would never design a greater one. Parts of it are carved into the stone outcropping, part is stone, and parts were mud, although those are mostly gone. It was built in 1643. It was strange to walk around such a primitive ruin, knowing that at the time it was built, my father’s family was already in America.

Deanna in Hoşap Castle

From Hoşap, we drove 33km back along what was once the silk road to Çavuştepe. Çavuştepe is a Urartian castle built in the 8^th century, B.C. The keeper of the castle was an old man name Mehmet Kuşman who was the first person to decipher the Urartian language from the cuneiform writing at the site. He showed us around and our friend, Mehmet, translated. The foundations of the castle were built of perfectly rectangular blocks of dressed stone that fit snugly together with no mortar. They had been transported from across the lake. One of the tablets mentioned the delivery of 40,000 such stones. At one of the temple sites, there are polished stones cut from black basalt and inscribed with a history of the castle in Urartian cuneiform which appear almost new nearly 2800 years after their installation.

Fine Stonework at Çavuştepe

The castle stretched along a ridge (Urartians always built on rocky outcroppings to save fertile land.) for 180 meters. The rooms opened off of a central corridor. The castle had not been completely excavated and most of it was gone, but there was enough left that we could identify a depot full of clay pots containing grain. Mr. Kuşman reached into one and pulled out a handful of 2700 year old wheat. There were also a wine cellar (no wine, though), harem, cisterns, and temples. The cisterns were particularly interesting because they were cut into a layer of solid granite on the top. Once they had penetrated the top layer, there was a softer layer benath and they had hollowed out that layer and lined the walls with more dressed stone. In places, the central corridor was hewn through that same layer of granite like a roadcut. It was pretty impressive. Mr. Kuşman carved basalt figures in his copious spare time and Deanna bought a little figure of the Urartian goddess of beauty, Hepa. From Çavuştepe’s elevated position, we could see across the border into Iraq.

Mr. Kuşman & Mehmet by a Cistern

Ruins at Çavuştepe (Iraq in the Distance)

We gave Mr. Kuşman a ride back into Van but he declined our invitation to lunch, saying he was bored by eating with ladies. Mehmet, Deanna, and I ate at Altın Şiş Frunlı Kebap. I was pretty miserable with my cold by then and just wanted soup, which they did not have. The food was very spicy and just made my nose run, so I made do with rice and a few beans. I would have killed for a burrito at that point. All the food in Eastern Türkiye was spiced with red pepper and it tasted very much the same. Where was the garlic in Türkiye? I was looking forward to reaching the Mediterranean.

After lunch, we went to Fuat’s kilim shop. I bought a nice Van kilim for my friend, Michelle, and an Iranian one for my friend, Dale. They were about $75 each after bargaining. Deanna bought a wonderful animal rug and kilim mix, a door hanging, and a small kilim, similar to the one I bought for Dale. Then we went out to shop for blankets, but were told it was too early in the season. We had fallen in love with the plush Korean blankets in Doğubayazit. We went back to Mehmet’s shop to conclude our carpet business. Deanna bought four kilims (2 runners, one 5’ x 7’, and once 5’ square) for $1,000. I bought the carpet I had fallen in love with three days before for a price of $2200, $500 less than he had originally asked.

After we had concluded our business, Fuat insisted on taking us to dinner, so we went back to the Merkez Et Lokantasi where I managed to get a bowl of çorba (lentil soup), at last. I was about to die from my cold and was very happy to finally reach my bed.

İSTANBUL TO TRABZON, THE BLACK SEA COAST

Sept. 24, 2000
Hotel Gold, Samsun, Türkiye

We were a bit worse for wear on our last day in İstanbul. Deanna was hungover and I was developing a migraine from all the carbon monoxide. Türkiye had terrible air pollution, from cigarettes as much as from motor vehicles. We got up late and met Onur at 11:00 to return the car. We had a cup of tea with him and then Deanna went to the internet café while I did some other errands. By this time, we knew everyone in the neighborhood and no one was trying to sell us carpets, anymore.

We had lunch in the Indian restaurant after purchasing our plane tickets to Samsun (about $80.) The food was very good and we had a gorgeous Circassian waiter. We went back to the room to pack and nap. Rather late, we got up and went back to the neighborhood kebap place where we had a good, long conversation with Fuat, the manager, about restaurants in America.

During the afternoon, we visited a used bookshop selling books in English. The fellow minding the shop, Serdar, was studying English idioms. We spent an amusing hour defining expressions for him and often acted them out in what devolved into a game of charades that had us all in stitches. It was the highlight of the day.

After dinner, we paid our hotel bill and went upstairs to finish packing and go to sleep. My headache was getting pretty bad by that point.

The next morning, we had to get up at 5:00 to get to the airport on time. Refik came up and helped us carry our bags down. He was sleepy and made us tea while we waited for the shuttle. The shuttle cost us a mere 2 million lire each (as opposed to 14 million for a cab), but we were packed in like sardines. They dropped us off at the international terminal and we had to drag our bags all the way across to the domestic terminal.

View of Samsun from Hotel Gold

The flight was uneventful and we arrived in Samsun by 9:30. The Samsun airport turned out to be quite a way from the town and it cost us 20 million lire for a taxi. We had a reservation at an expensive hotel because they were the only ones who could speak English over the telephone. We decided to try the recommended cheap hotel, first. We got a room at the Hotel Gold with no problem and saved ourselves the difference between 35 million lire and 16 million lire. The hotel was quite nice, although only the night manager spoke English. One woman on the day shift spoke German and the day manager was very helpful and nice, even if he spoke only Turkish. We showed him our Turkish cheat sheet and he, in turn, showed us his English one. We all laughed.

Samsun was a modern city and appeared to be affluent. The main industry was tobacco. No one in Samsun tried to sell us carpets. Very few people spoke English. We learned more Turkish in one day than we had in a week in İstanbul.

People were very friendly and curious about us. Deanna’s shoe broke and we asked a cab driver (by pointing) where we could find a cobbler. He couldn’t explain, so he walked us a couple of blocks to a street corner where an old man in a prayer cap was mending shoes. He spoke no English, but was glad to see us and sent out for tea to serve us while he fixed the shoe. The bill came to about 75 cents.

I had a full-blown migraine, by this point, but I think the cobbler’s tea cured me. I had tried to sleep it off, but there was a jackhammer going beneath our window and, since Deanna absolutely refused to shut a window, it was too loud to sleep much.

We visited the museum in Samsun. It had a lovely Roman mosaic and some beautiful gold ornaments. I bought a postcard of the gold laurel wreath (full-sized) that they had on display. We walked for awhile, but it started to rain so we came back. We ate roast chicken with rice, salad, bread, water, and dessert for a combined total of less than $5. Earlier, we had beer, which was half to one third the price in İstanbul. Despite the inconvenience of having to cope in Turkish, I was glad to be out of tourist land. I was beginning to feel drained by all the people trying to take my money. In Samsun, people just tried to make us welcome. There was not such a competetive atmosphere.

Sept. 26, 2000
Hotel Horon, Trabzon, Türkiye

Yesterday, we got up and ate breakfast. The breakfast at Hotel Gold was exactly the same as the one at Hotel Park. We packed up and left our luggage in the lobby while we went out to do errands.

We wanted to buy some 3” x 5” cards to use to make Turkish flashcards. We went into the stationery store next to the hotel, but they had no idea what we were talking about. The clerk ended up giving us a small notepad out of her purse.

Next, we went back to our cobbler so that Deanna could get another pair of shoes fixed. He laughed and told his other customers how we had been there the day before.   He charged her 250K lire or about 37.5 cents to fix her shoe.

Our next stop was the ATM and then we headed back to the hotel where we sat and conversed in German with the owner’s wife while she peeled okra. We chatted with her until it was time to go to the bus station and then the desk clerk dragged our bags over there for us. We waited at the bus office for half an hour or so and then got on the service bus that took us to the otogar (bus station, usually on the outskirts of town) where we boarded the bus to Trabzon. Turkish buses are very nice. They have comfortable seats with foot rests and tray tables. The steward came around with drinks and snacks just like on an airplane.

Our route to Trabzon took us along the Black Sea through such towns as Ünye, Ordu, and Giresun. The seacoast was rocky and lovely, although very dirty in some spots. There were mountains along the other side of the road, completely covered in a jungle of green. It rained a lot in that part of the world. Trabzon was called the Seattle of Türkiye.  They appeared to be growing melons, corn, hazelnuts, and firewood, along with a tall narrow plant that we could not identify. (We later learned it was tobacco.) Ünye was a very pretty town with brightly colored buildings. From west of Giresun to Trabzon they were widening the two-lane highway by building a seawall and filling behind it. It was a huge undertaking, but was sorely needed. The bus and truck traffic made driving a slow process on the two-lane road. The drivers were not as fanatical as in Mexico, although they did pass on blind curves from time to time. In 350 kilometers, we came across only two overturned vehicles and no roadside shrines.

Trabzon was a fairly modern city and the part near the port could have been any beach town in the United States. Ataturk Alani, where our hotel was located, was older. Most of the buildings in Türkiye were four or five stories and the upper stories usually appeared to have been added later. The most prevalent construction method was to build a kind of post and beam frame out of reinforced concrete. The open areas were then filled in with hollow, clay blocks, which always seemed to be broken. Nicer buildings were plastered or tiled on the outside, but many were only faced on the front. They looked like they would crumble in an earthquake.

Turkish stairways were a source of wonder to me. They were invariably of a circular or winding variety. If you looked at the underside of them, they were smoothly plastered and betrayed no sign of supporting members. In partially finished buildings, the stairways often hung there, gracefully curving through nothingness. It had to be the land of flying carpets! I eventually learned that they were constructed of concrete and re-bar. Although the exact process remained a mystery.

We stayed in the Hotel Horon. It was a fancy hotel and we paid $50/night. Hotels could be as cheap as $7 a night, but they were frequented by Russian prostitutes and, as Deanna was also blonde, we decided to choose one of the nicer ones. For $50 in Trabzon, we got a shower curtain, minibar, and air conditioning. The breakfast was quite elaborate and included such western delights as pancakes (cold, with green onions), cornflakes, and orange juice. It was a nice break from bread with goat cheese and a hard boiled egg.

The plumbing was typically Turkish in design, although nicer than usual. Turkish plumbing all seemed to be designed with one aim in mind – to maximize splattering. All sink faucets were more than a foot above the sink, which was great if you wanted to wash your hair in the sink or fill a liter bottle with water, but lousy if you wanted to brush your teeth without taking a bath. There was no such thing as an enclosed shower in Türkiye. The water merely fell on the floor. If you were lucky, the floor sloped towards the drain. If not, you went through a lot of towels. If you had a drippy shower head, you were likely to walk around with a wet spot in the middle of your back. Turkish toilets looked normal enough, but they didn’t behave in quite the same way as western toilets. When you flushed, a great cascade of water flowed through the bowl, but almost all of it flowed back out again, leaving a good, dry surface to promote the adhesion of solid matter. Each toilet was equipped with a strategically placed nozzle on the rear of the rim which, with a twist of a knob, delivered a jet of water that missed anything important, including the solid matter stuck to the bowl. We encountered several regional variations of this design, including the toilet tank mounted high on the wall, blocking the window so it could not open and/or employing a chain so short that anyone under 5’6” could not flush. We also encounted the doesn’t quite seal and runs all night version. This model was also available in select American hotels.

Sept. 26, 2000
Hotel Horon, Trabzon, Türkiye

The Market in Trabzon

After breakfast, we wemt for a walk through the market. It was beginning to rain, so we got a couple of cold drinks and headed back to our room. When we arrived, three old ladies in hot pink gingham chadors were cleaning our room. We sat on the fire escape to sip our drinks while they finished. One could not criticize the housekeeping in the hotel. They scrubbed everything, including climbing out on the fourth story windowsill to clean the outside of the windows.

When they were done, we did laundry and then went out for lunch in a tavük (chicken) burger place that seemed to serve only spit roasted chicken wrapped in pita. Deanna did not want the bread. The best she could do was to get chicken on a plate with bread on the side. She was feeling a bit sick from all the cigarette smoke. We went back to the Derya Restaurant, where we had had dessert the night before, so she could have a bowl of soup. It had begun to rain hard, so we came back to study the Turkish flashcards I made on the bus, the previous day, and relax.

Sept. 27, 2000
Hotel Horon, Trabzon, Türkiye

We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant, last night. We originally just went up for a drink but we ate so many mezes that we made dinner out of them. The grilled liver was especially good. There was a talented band playing and they played Stand By Your Man for us. We pleased them by singing along.

It rained, again, today. We got up late and didn’t leave the hotel until noon. Then we spent three hours in an internet café.

We ate lahmacun (Turkish pizza) in a large restaurant on Taksim Square. They shooed us upstairs into the ladies’ dining room. Only single men were allowed to eat downstairs. It was better up there, anyway, as no one was smoking.

The Aya Sofia Muzesi

We finished lunch around 16:00 and by then it had stopped raining. We grabbed a taxi and made a dash for the Aya Sofia Muzesi, 4km west of town. The Aya Sofia was first a church, then a mosque, later a military depot and hospital during WWII, and is now a museum. It was originally built in 1238 and the bell tower was added around 1461. It sits on a terrace overlooking the sea, on the site of an old pagan temple. Restoration began in 1957. The frescoes had been painted and plastered over during the mosque period. Most of them had been lost, but the ones in the entry hall were well preserved and quite colorful.

Bell Tower at the Aya Sofia

They gave one an idea of what the others must have looked like. There was a ruin on the north side which may have been a baptismal font, but no one knew for sure. There were also fragments from the pagan temple.

Our cab had waited for us, so he took us back to Taksim Square where we walked around for a bit and then headed for the tour company, hoping to get tickets for a tour of Sumela Monastery the next day. The tour company had closed up for the winter, but the fellow there gave us a brochure in fabulously bad English and told us where to catch a dolmuş (combi.) We wandered down the hill through the Russian section to the port. We saw a few “Natashas” but they weren’t working too hard as it was still early. We walked back up the hill and bought a bottle of raki. Then we went back to the hotel and drank, played cards, and watched the Olympics for a few hours. About 21:00, we went out for dinner. We ate chicken and eggplant with rice at a place called the Volkan. It was tasty. Then we came back to the hotel. We hoped for good weather, the next day, for our trip to Sumela.

The Coast in Trabzon

Sept. 28, 2000
Hotel Horon, Trabzon, Türkiye

We got up fairly early and set off to find a dolmuş for Sumela. We found a dolmuş and waited an hour or so for it to fill but no one else came along. We bargained with the driver and he agreed to take us for 17 million lire instead of the usual 20 million.

Fresco at Sumela

Sumela in the Distance

We drove along the road to Erzurum for about 29km and then turned off on the road to Sumela. We wound along a narrow road, concrete at first and then dirt, for another 16km, following the course of a fast moving stream. We paused a few times to take photos of the monastery from afar and to enjoy a waterfall. Eventually, we came to a small parking area where we left the dolmuş and climbed a steep path for about 300 meters up to the monastery. The original church was built into the overhanging rock in the 4th century. Some of the frescoes date back to the 9th century but they are sadly damaged by graffiti. Most of the remaining frescoes were done in the 19th century. The monastery grew over time and assumed its current form during the 19th century. It was abandoned in 1923 after the Greek Orthodox inhabitants finally accepted that Greece would never retake Sumela. Sumela is built ino an overhanging cliff face, far above the valley floor. It is so high up that it is often obscured by clouds. We were in and out of the cloud on our visit.

Sumela Monastery

The monastery was undergoing extensive restoration. A stone cutter was fashioning the caps for walls, using an electric saw and a chisel. Absent floors and roofs were also being replaced and scaffolding covered the site. We stayed for an hour or so and then were driven out by five busloads of teenagers. In Türkiye, education is only compulsory between the ages of 7 and 12. This group, who looked to be about 16, was composed of more than 80% boys. Türkiye was not THAT modern, it seemed.

Sumela Close Up

Some of the Frescoes at Sumela

Stonecutter at Work

We returned by about 13:30 and went to buy tickets for the next day’s bus to Erzurum. We ate lunch in a restaurant on the square. Deanna took some Dristan (purchased for a mere 664K lire - $1) and, when we came back to the hotel to use the john, she fell asleep and slept all afternoon. Lunch had not agreed with me and I was glad to stay home and read.

CHARTRES AND ISTANBUL

Sept. 14, 2000
Hôtel au Royal Cardinal, Paris, France

Today, we took the Grande Ligne train to Chartres from Gare Montparnasse. It was a scenic ride through varied countryside with lots of pretty, brick and stone houses.

Chartres Cathedral

We were a bit late leaving and stopped for a lunch of pork chops when we first got to Chartres. We got to the cathedral about 15:00. Chartres Cathedral sits on top of a hill. It was built in the thirteenth century and was the first cathedral to have flying buttresses included in the original architecture. Earlier ones were added to support bulging walls. The cathedral is quite large and has a labyrinth inlaid in the stone floor of the nave. There is more stained glass in Chartres than can be imagined, although the overall effect is still quite dark inside. Chartres has two bell towers, each of which is quite different. One of them is Romanesque and was built in the early thirteenth century. The other is flamboyant Gothic and was built in the sixteenth century. We climbed the three hundred stairs of the Gothic tower. The altar is surrounded by a carved, stone screen. The screen is the airiest, most intricately carved stone I had ever seen. Unfortunately, the stone of Chartres must have been rather soft because much of the carving is in poor condition.

Inside the Gothic Tower

After we inspected the cathedral, we walked down to the river. The houses along the river were old and very picturesque. We then walked up to an Irish pub where we had good English beer. All of the drinks in France were lukewarm. Even the English serve colder beer. We had to scurry back to the train, making it aboard with only seconds to spare.

The River at Chartres

We went out for dinner at an Afghan restaurant around the corner from our hotel. The food was very tasty. We then came home to pack.

Sept. 16, 2000
Park Hotel, İstanbul, Türkiye

Yesterday, we took a cab to the Orly Airport. The cab arrived on time and our trip went smoothly. Our flight was an hour late, so we did not get to İstanbul until 18:00. I got to sit in an exit row. Deanna moved because she wanted to be able to put her feet on top of her carry-on. I was ecstatic NOT to have to put my feet on top of my carry-on.

It took until 20:00 to get our luggage and take a cab into İstanbul and then find a room. We had called the Terrace Guest House from Paris and a nice man named Doğan had promised to find us a room somewhere. There was no room at his Terrace Guest House, so we trundled our bags around the corner to the Park Hotel, owned by Doğan‘s father. The Park Hotel is right across the street from the Four Seasons and cost $50/ night. The only downside was the noise of the Four Seasons’ doorman whistling for taxis and loud busses full of inconsiderate tourists arriving in the midddle of the night.

At 3:15, I awoke with an awful case of what we decided was actually “Napoleon’s revenge.” It appeared that the seafood in the pasta salad I ate at Orly may have been a bit off. I was deathly ill for a few hours, but I took some Immodium and it seemed to have done the trick. I sat on the pot, bent double with pain, and tried to study Turkish for a couple of hours. About the time the muezzins started up in the morning, I went back to sleep and slept until just before 10:30, when Deanna got up so as not to miss breakfast. I was in no mood for food, so I stayed behind to shower and oganize my luggage.

The View of Hagia Sophia from Our Terrace

Deanna returned within the hour, having procured us a larger room with a better view and a terrace for the same price. While we were still too close to the Four Seasons (It used to be the prison from Midnight Express.) for my taste, we were two floors further up from the whistling man and somewhat off to the side. We had an unobstructed view of the Hagia Sophia and partial views of the Bosphorus and the Blue Mosque. I slept for a couple of hours while Deanna went off to get water and had a chat with Doğan, the nice man at the Terrace Guest House we had met over the telephone. When she got back, she rummaged in her suitcase for a while and then decided to take a quick nap. It had started to sprinkle, so I stayed put, although I was starting to get a bit hungry.

After we got settled, we went out for a wonderful lamb dinner at the Rumeli Café. It was considered a top end restaurant and we still managed to get dinner for two with two drinks apiece and dessert for under $30. Before dinner, we wandered around a bit and looked at the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, all lit up at night. As we were leaving the Blue Mosque, the muezzins started up and they were quite loud.

Turkish men (you rarely see the women) are very friendly and can be a great source of information once you make it clear that you will NOT buy a carpet. Waiters and hotel staff were wonderful and very helpful. Istanbul seemed to be full of Kurds who had fled the areas near Iran and Iraq. One of the waiters in our hotel showed Deanna his bullet scars. The Kurds seemed eager to talk to Americans and we made contact with families still living in the Lake Van area. If we bought carpets, we would buy them there, where they are made, and cut out the middlemen. We did visit one carpet shop on the way back from dinner on Saturday night. They specialized in kilims, which are something like a cross between a Navajo rug and a tapestry. The silk ones can be very fine. Carpets were cheaper in İstanbul than comparable ones would be in the United States, but the nice ones still cost thousands. We hoped they would be cheaper in the east.

The plumbing in our room was of the Russian variety. We had a shower, but there was no shower stall. The entire bathroom got splattered.

Sunday morning, we ate breakfast on the roof. Our breakfast of bread, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, olives, and cucumber was included in the $50 rate. We had a fabulous view of the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and the Bosphorus from the roof.

The  Blue Mosque

We started for the Hagia Sophia but one of the rug sellers (They really ARE everywhere, but they speak good English and can be a great source of information.) advised us to go to the Blue Mosque, first, as there were no services planned for the present time. The Blue Mosque is very beautiful on the outside. Its delicate minarets appear too fantastic to be real. Something about İstanbul made me feel like I was in the Alladin Land setion of a giant Disneyland. The inside is beautiful, also, but not particularly awesome. Mosques are always plainer than churches because Islam forbids depicting anything that might be construed as an idol. There are many blue and white İznik tiles and they are lovely, up close, but are difficult to appreciate as a whole.

After the Blue Mosque, we went down the to the smaller Mehmet Paşa Camii, a lovely mosque built by Sinan, the architect of the Süleymaniye Mosque, in 1571. As this was a smaller mosque, the İznik tiles were quite effective, there. We also went to the Küçük Hagia Sophia Camii (Little Hagia Sophia Mosque), originally built as a church by the emperor Justinian in 527. In İstanbul, if they called something new, it was probably four hundred years old.

Wrecked Freighter

We continued down the hill to the Bosphorus and walked along the shore to a restaurant where we had beer and mezes (appetizers.) There was a freighter wrecked on the shore and Turkish boys were using its cranes for diving platforms.

After lunch, we trudged back up the hill to the Hagia Sophia. Built in 537, architects have been trying to match its huge, seemingly unsupported dome ever since. The emperor Justinian built the Hagia Sophia as a church and it still features some lovely mosaics. Many had disappeared in recent years and no one seemed to know whether they were being restored or just removed, as such work would not be permitted in a mosque. There was a massive scaffold covering a quarter of the dome that was an impressive piece of architecture in itself.

After the Hagia Sophia, we decided to go for a drink of the ouzo-like raki that we coveted. Many of the places near the mosque were not allowed to sell alcohol. We were waylaid by another rug seller and taken to his roof terrace for a glass of raki. Of course, we ended up continuing our education about Turkish carpets. They had two I liked in the $2000 price range for a 5’ x 7’. They were made in the Ararat area, so I would look further when we got there.

The raki that we had consumed was a bit strong, so we went back to the hotel and napped for a couple of hours. Then we got up and went out for meatballs. We went to the Sultanahmet Köftecisi, which had been recommended by my guidebook. They served only köfte (meatballs) and they were pretty horrid. We did manage to get dinner for two for about $6.00, however. We then went to a fancy place around the corner, called Omar, and paid $15.00 for dessert and brandy. As in almost all of the outdoor cafés in İstanbul, we were visited by kittens while we ate. After dinner, we walked home and went to bed.

Sept, 18, 2000
Park Hotel, İstanbul, Türkiye

Mansions in Yenköy

Today, we got up by 8:00 and had breakfast in time to take the tram to Eminünü and catch the the 10:30 Bosphorus ferry. We sat on the European side of the ferry on the way to the Black Sea. On the way, we passed the Galata Bridge (for which the game of bridge was named) and the Dolmabahçe Palace where Ataturk died. Then we passed the Çirağan Palace, which burned down in 1910 and was later reborn as a horrendously expensive, five-star hotel. We passed the Rumeli Castle, which was once a fortress guarding the Bosphorus and is now a concert venue. North of the Fatih (second) bridge over the Bosphorus, we came toi Yenköy. There, we found the multi-million dollar homes of the rich and famous, including the ornate, white mansion of the Prime Minister. If I had endless money, this would be a lovely place to park my yacht in front of my villa.

Anadolu

From Yeniköy, we crossed the Bosphorus to Anadolu, where we got off the ferry to explore. We ate a wonderful lunch of mussels, salad, fries, fish, bread, calamari, and beer for four million Turkish lire or about $6.00 each. We sat on the top floor of the restaurant where we had a clear view of the Bosphorus and the sycamore trees. It looked very much like Tiburon in California. After lunch. We climbed a very steep hill to explore the castle ruins and peek over the ridge at the Black Sea. There were a pair of adolescent Turkish couples, girls in headscarves and chadors, making use of the romantic location. We had one dog escort us to the top of the hill and another dog escort us back to the village.

The Black Sea

Ruined Castle at Anadolu

We came down just in time to catch the ferry back. On the return, we sat on the Asian side of the ferry with some rather rude Slavic women who insisted on sitting on our already full bench. There was not a lot to see on the way back and what we did see was neglected in our guidebooks. We did see the Berlerbeyi Palace with its wonderful seawall of tentlike kiosks. We also got a glimpse of the Maiden’s Tower on the return.

When we got back to Eminünü, it was already 17:30 and most attractions were closed. We took the tram back to the Blue Mosque and ate dinner at the Can Restaurant. It was very reasonable and we were able to pick what we wanted from a delightful display. After dinner, we headed over to the Blue Mosque, hoping that the sound and light show would be in English. On the way, we fell into conversation with Zakir, a young medical student who was studying in English, found it very difficult, and needed to practice. He came from the Lake Van area where he had made friends with (I suspect Mormon) missionaries who had taken him back to Arizona for a visit. He was supposed to be selling carpets, but told us we would get much better prices in Van. He gave us the name of his cousin, there, and promised to email him and have him meet us at the bus station. He also promised to get us a discount at a nice hotel owned by his uncle. He chatted with us until the show began and we exchanged email addresses.

The show was pretty corny, but it was free and it is always pleasant to gaze at the Blue Mosque. We managed to get home without being waylaid by carpet sellers and had a very nice visit with Doğan, a friend of his from Vienna (Turkish) and the Kurdish gent that worked in our hotel. Doğan was a sweet, gentle, and very European man. His friend talked a lot, but he was good company. They shared a watermelon with us and then we left when their dinner arrived.

Sept. 20, 2024
Park Hotel, İstanbul, Türkiye

We had breakfast on the roof, as usual. We spent some time trying to plan our Black Sea tour, so we got a late start. We dropped off some laundry and then went to visit Doğan. We spent an hour talking with him but he had never been where we were going, so we didn’t figure out how to get from Amasra to Sinop without dragging luggage on and off numerous minibuses. I would have gutted it out but Deanna’s luggage was heavier than mine and she refused. The Black Sea ferry, which usually ran until October, had ceased operation early in 2000. It looked like we would take a day trip to Şile so we could see at least one Black Sea beach and then fly to Samsun. We could take a bus to Trabzon from there and see some of the coast.

After our visit with Doğan, we descended into the famous cistern whose support columns were pilfered from Greek temples and include two heads of Medusa. There was about a foot of water in the bottom and numerous pale carp were living there.

Street Near the Süleymaniye Mosque

Having seen the cistern, we took a taxi to the Süleymaniye Mosque (Mosque of Süleyman the Magnificent.) The taxi ride was somewhat horrifying. We bullied our way through narrow streets where the sidewalks were full of trade goods and the numerous pedestrians were sharing the street with the equally numerous cars. The cab could not get close to the mosque, so we walked the last block or so.

Deanna was hungry, so we ate lunch across the street from the mosque before we went in. We were served by an old man in a Turkish hat, who spoke French and hovered about our table, splashing water onto the kittens who approached our table to beg.

The Süleymaniye Mosque

We visited the mosque after lunch. It is the largest mosque in İstanbul and is decorated with beautiful tiles and frescoes. It was completed in 1557. The sixteenth century stained glass windows were the most beautiful I had ever seen, probably because, being Islamic, they did not try to represent a scene and could, therefore, be as graceful and symmetrical as possible. 

Pigeons at the Yeni Cami

 When we left the mosque, we visited the tombs of Süleyman, Roxelana, and the architect, Sinan. Then we caught a cab down to the Yeni Cami (New Mosque, 400 years old.) There was a big sign saying, “No Visits,” but they let us in, anyway. It was very lovely, but infested with pigeons. There must have been a thousand of them on the front steps. One pooped on my head. We wandered through the outdoor market, but somehow managed to miss the Spice Market, which is adjacent to the Yeni Cami. We also did a little shopping in the permanent shops. Deanna bought MiniDV cassettes, although she couldn’t get the ones with an IC chip. I finally found a watchband for my Gucci watch (only Gucci makes 13mm.) It was at least $5 cheaper than the last one I bought in the United States.

Tea Seller in the Market

We took the tram back to Sultanahmet. Our laundry was not yet ready, so we had a beer at a café across the street while we waited for them to iron Deanna’s pants. We then decided to eat dinner. I had chicken kebaps with pistachio nuts and Deanna had a mixture of beef and lamb rolled in sesame seeds. Both were tasty. Our dinners came with rice, salad, and bread. With two beers apiece and a bowl of Çiçik (tsitsiki), the bill came to about $15. We then picked up our laundry, a whopping $3 worth, and went home to read the books we had picked up in the lobby that morning.

Sept. 20, 2024
Antique Internet and Caféteria, İstanbul, Türkiye

We had another lovely breakfast on the roof and I finally managed to satisfy our waiter, Selim, that I was not sad. I guess he misunderstood the fact that I am quiet in the morning.

We came over to the nearest internet café to do our email for the week. Email was a lot slower in these cafés than it was at home. The lack of speed, combined with bizarre keyboards, made the process frustrating and time consuming. It took me two and a half hours to answer six messages and write my weekly travelogue. Fortunately, internet cafés were cheap in Turkey, so it only cost me about $5. It cost me more than $7 for one hour in Paris. I  then sat in the café, waiting for Deanna to finish. There were many things left to see in İstanbul, but I was getting eager to move on. I couldn’t help but feel that our trip would not truly begin until we got out of the tourist area. I had been looking at tourists for two weeks and I was quite sick of them. I had truly enjoyed talking with the Turks I had met, but it would be nice to go somewhere where I did not have to plan my route to avoid rug sellers. The muezzins were wailing away at that moment. I thought I could hear at least four and they seemed to be engaged in a sort of atonal canon. The muezzins were live, not taped, but they performed using microphones and did not climb the towers. This allowed them to blend their calls with those of their competitors and the effect was magical.

Sept. 21, 2024
Park Hotel, İstanbul, Türkiye

The internet café put Deanna in a foul mood, so we decided to eat lunch before attempting anything else. We ate at a restaurant specializing in baked potatoes around the corner from our hotel. We were served by a woman, but she didn’t have much to say.

Topkapi Palace

After lunch, we went to Topkapi Palace. For some reason, maybe because the buildings are arranged around a large, open area with grass and trees, it reminded me more of a school than a palace. There have been many fires at Topkapi and so most of the decoration dates from the early nineteenth century, although the palace, itself, was originally constructed in the mid-fifteenth century by Mehmet the Conqueror. It is situated on a hill overlooking both the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. There is a courtyard at the back, surrounded by spacious tiled pavilions (a wonderful place to read) and overlooking the water and the Süleymaniye Mosque. All of the tourists were waiting to have their pictures taken against this backdrop.

Deanna at Topkapi Palace

We were too late to get tickets to see the harem, so we walked through the rooms of treasure, instead. There were many jeweled turban decorations, some of which were quite fantastic. We saw the Spoonmaker’s diamond (at 86 karats, the world’s fifth largest) and the emerald handled dagger featured in the movie, Topkapi. There were numerous huge emeralds, including the world’s largest uncut one. Deanna had exclaimed about the amount of treasure, but I was somewhat disappointed.

Sept. 21, 2024
Park Hotel, İstanbul, Türkiye

After Topkapi Palace which, like everything in İstanbul, closed at 16:30, we walked down to Gülhane Park and sat under the sycamore trees while I petted a kitten. Then we bought a bottle of raki and came back to the hotel. We could not get ice anywhere, but the attendant, Refik, promised to make some after I tipped him for the glasses he provided. We sat on the terrace, reading and drinking raki until it got dark. Then we decided to go out for dinner.

When we walked out of the hotel, we ran into our young friend, Idris, who worked next door. He introduced us to a guest at his hotel named Onur. Onur asked if he could join us for dinner. He lived in Connecticut, but was back in İstanbul to buy rugs. We vacillated for a while about where to eat and then set course for a kebap place up the hill from the Hippodrome. Onur seemed to know everyone and they all chided him about going out with two women. As we passed a carpet shop, a very handsome young man who turned out to be Onur’s best friend, Ibrahim, ran out of his shop and insisted on joining us. He was an incredible flatterer and kept telling me that I had beautiful eyes and trying to kiss me. Aside from that, he was an amusing fellow who told good jokes. The four of us had a pleasant dinner of mixed kebaps, mezes, fruit, and wine. Onur promised to cook us dinner the next night. We wondered if he was serious.

Sept. 22, 2024
Park Hotel, İstanbul, Türkiye

Stained Glass in the Harem

We got up early and managed to get onto the first tour through the harem at Topkapi Palace. The harem was very beautiful. I especially liked the blue, red, and gold dome over the sultan’s bed chamber. The stained glass in the crown prince’s quarters was exquisite.

We also went to the Museum of Eastern Antiquities and the İstanbul Archeological Museum. They were both very nice museums, containing an incredible collection of statuary. I was impressed by the “Alexander” sarcophagus with its ranks of carved horses, which does not actually contain Alexander. We did see a bust of Alexander that had the most lifelike face I have ever seen carved in stone.

The Grand Bazaar

We ate lunch in a restaurant called Theodora that had just opened. It was very expensive and the food was bland, but the décor was gorgeous and they played Eric Clapton and B.B. King. After lunch, we walked up to the Grand Bazaar and wandered around for a few hours. I bought a scarf and Deanna bought some earrings. When we came out of the market, we were so disoriented that we had to use the sun to figure out which way to walk. Our feet were very tired, so we went back to the hotel and read for a hour or so before dressing for dinner.

Our friend, Onur, kept his word about having us to dinner. He barbecued lamb chops and served cucumber salad, bread, and red wine. The Turkish wine was okay. I liked it better than the French wine. He also invited all the people working in the hotel and carpet shop next door. It was a very nice party. I had to fight off the owner of the shop who said my eyes were bluer than the Blue Mosque, but he was really a gentle person who just wanted to separate me from Deanna so Onur could be alone with her. Onur promised to drive us to Şile the following day.

Sept. 23, 2000
Park Hotel, İstanbul, Türkiye

Offshore Rocks at Şile

Yesterday, we rented a car and Onur drove us to Şile. There isn’t much there. There are a few rocks offshore with a ruined castle on top and a lighted sign that proclaims that the Turks follow Ataturk. There is also a marina full of fishing boats and a few restaurants. We ate at the Panoramic Restaurant which was expensive and had mediocre food.

The Marina at Şile

After lunch, Onur took us 40km further up the coast to Ağva, his favorite getaway.  It is a long, winding road from Şile to Ağva. We passed through pine covered mountains that reminded me of the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. We came across many cows, sheep, and goats in the road. They were the best part of the drive. On the way back, we passed a new development that was in ruins, presumably from an earthquake. It was odd that only that one development collapsed.

The Surf at Ağva

Ağva was much nicer than Şile. We walked out to the end of the breakwater and watched the surf. Ağva had big surf and looked like a good surfing beach. There is also a placid river that flows through the town and many hotels have docks and small pleasure boats along the banks.

Onur & Deanna in Ağva

We had tea in a tea shop in Ağva before leaving, as our chauffeur had been up late the night before and needed caffeine.

It was a long drive back and, once we reached the İstanbul area, the traffic was horrific, even though it was already 19:00. We came back across the Fatih Bridge. Somehow, we took a wrong turn and went half way to Sarıyer (north) in awful traffic before turning around and passing back under the bridge. We drove along the Bosphurus to Ortaköy and had dinner in a restaurant by the water. We drank a little too much raki and got into a very deep conversation about religion, relationships, and whether or not foreigners can every really fit in.

After dinner, we drove back to Sultanahmet. I wanted to go to sleep and avoid any more deep conversation but Onur wanted to go dancing. We compromised by climbing up to the terrace of the Ali Baba Guest House to dance. I was really just along to chaperone. Idris, from next door, tried the usual Turkish male trip and I had to peel him off with the explanation that I had a daughter older than he was. Deanna and Onur had some kind of a misunderstanding and it took at least a further hour of deep (and draining) conversation to straighten it out enough to say goodnight. Deanna was in tears when we returned to the room and even I felt very sad for Onur because he insisted on believing that if he finds the right person, everything will suddenly be okay and he was bound to be disappointed. He told us a very sad story about a woman from Seattle who had fallen in love with him, brought him to America, and then rejected him and gone back to her boyfriend. He had tried very hard to please her and was crushed. We tried to convince him that he had done nothing wrong.