Update from the Istanbul airport

Oh, travel adventures. I have had so many in my lifetime, but today definitely ranks up there as one of the most eventful...and I haven't even taken the first flight yet!

I awoke from my “nap” at half past midnight. The plan was to take a 5 minute cab ride to Taksim Square and take the 1am Havas Bus for 10 lira to the airport. Unfortunately, the cab driver decided to take me the scenic route and go the longest way possible to get to Taksim Square, which took an extra 10 minutes and I arrived at 1:04am, missing the bus by 4 minutes. I was not pleased. As I was trying to explain this to the guy from Havas bus and the cab driver, a random guy on the street asked me in English if I wanted him to translate. Pretty soon I was surrounded by 5 Turkish guys, all speaking in rapid Turkish. One of them pulled out a wad of bills and gave one to the taxi driver and he disappeared. The English-speaking guy explained that another cab driver had paid him 10 lira to go away (the fare would have been 18 lira). The next bus wasn’t until 4am, which is when my flight is. He asked me why didn’t I take a taxi, I explained I didn’t have enough lira – the taxi fare to the airport would have been about 70 lira since it is 50% more expensive between midnight and 6am. He said “why you have so little lira?” I said I was leaving Turkey today. He asked “aren’t you coming back? You should come back and visit me!” He then proceeded to negotiate with the taxi driver who paid off the other taxi driver, who agreed to take me to the airport for 40 lira, which was exactly what I had left. The English-speaking guy introduced himself as Tony and said he had lived in LA for awhile. He said “let me give you my number…call me when you get to the US and I’ll send you a ticket so you come back to Turkey.” Riiiight.

The other taxi drivers put my luggage in the taxi and opened the front door so I could get in and sit next to the driver. The driver spoke a tiny bit of English and introduced himself as Usin. He said he was from Istanbul. As we drove through the city, he pointed out various landmarks. He asked me what I did – I said I was a student. Then he asked me for my email address. I told him I was married and my husband wouldn’t like that. That seemed to keep him quiet for awhile. When we got to the airport, he asked if I would like to get a sandwich and cola with him since my plane wasn’t until 4am. I politely declined, saying my husband wouldn’t approve. He asked me again for my email address, I told him again that I was married. I gave him all the lira I had and thanked him for the ride.

At the airport, I had to go through security to get through the front door, similar to Egypt. I finally found the Turkish Airlines check-in desk. And checked in, successfully scoring an exit row. I asked for them to check my bags through to the final destination. A sign told me that checkin had to be completed 60 minutes before the flight departure time, so I was glad I’d come so early and hadn’t tried to cut it close. As he printed off the luggage tags, I noticed that SFO was not on them. I mentioned this to the gate representative and he said “I’m showing your final destination is Ottawa.” Really? “Yes, you are flying to Frankfurt, then Toronto, then Ottawa.” Not exactly. Then I looked at the boarding pass and noticed he’d checked me in as Cassandra Sparks. I showed him my itinerary and again my passport and he checked me in again, this time as me.

Right now, I’m in the Istanbul airport. Slumbering people are draped everywhere like cast off blankets, trying to catch a few hours of sleep before their early morning flights. After unsuccessfully attempting to nap on the cold steel chairs, I went through passport control to get to my gate. I passed through duty free and sampled a few more Turkish delights (love those free samples of yummy treats!) Now I’ve found a café with free wifi. I really wanted to get some more Menemen before I leave, but it’s 3am and the kitchen is closed. They didn’t seem to mind that I’m sitting here using their internet without ordering anything.

A sign at the airport reads "Thank you for visiting Istanbul...come back soon." Oh don't worry, I'll be back!

Turkish ice cream

Turkey is not known for their ice cream. However, their ice cream is quite good. Very intense flavors. It usually comes in a cone with tiny scoops so you can have a small taste or a larger taste and you can get anywhere from 1-4 flavors. I know this because I have now sampled Turkish ice cream 3 times. The first time doesn't really count. It was at McDonald's. They are so serious about their ice cream here that McDonald's has a separate window just for ice cream. Beyond the vanilla soft serve, you can get it dipped in chocolate that hardens old-fashioned American style. I was so excited to see this that I had to buy one (1.25 TL or ~$0.85). A random Turkish guy on the street remarked that I looked like a 6-year old with my ice cream cone, I was so happy. My second experience with Turkish ice cream was last night after dinner. We stopped at an ice cream place. The list of flavors was all in Turkish but I recognized kahve (coffee) and lokum (Turkish Delight) so that's what I ordered. The Turkish delight tasted like Turkish delight and the coffee was a very intense coffee. It was also dipped in hardening chocolate at the top. The third time was this evening. The first ice cream place did not have coffee ice cream, so I kept walking and eventually found a place that had coffee and pistachio flavored ice cream. Again, dipped in chocolate. I enjoyed my ice cream cone immensely and it wasn't until I caught a glimpse of my image in the mirror in the hotel elevator that I noticed I had gotten chocolate on my chin.

Today being the last day in Istanbul, we decided to take it easy. We got up around 10am and Lydia went to the pool while I went to the gym. They aren't big on working out here and the gym is pretty basic - I'm looking forward to running outside again when I get back to California. After the workout, I snagged a bit of pool time. The pool here is addictive and probably the best part of this hotel.

For lunch, we went up past Ortakoy to a cafe called Assk Kahve where we met Talya, a friend of a friend from the GSB. She got us a wonderful table by the water (after all, where else would you eat?) and I discovered my favorite Turkish dish: Menemen. Menemen is like really yummy scrambled egg cooked in tomato juices and you can get it black (with black olives), white (with feta cheese), or green (with green olives). I also had Messk toast, which is multigrain toast with cheese, sundried tomatoes, oregano, and other yummy spices in it. We finished the meal with Turkish coffee while boats and segulls floated by.

After lunch, we walked to Ortakoy, where the Sunday crafts market was going on. There were lots of tables with artwork, sunglasses, fake bags, but mostly jewelry. I succeeded in finding the cheapest earrings in Istanbul for 1 YTL ($0.65) per pair. I wasn't quite as excited as when I found the 10 rupee ($0.25) in India last year, but I was pretty happy and bought 5 pair.

We invited Talya to come join us at our pool for a late afternoon dip. We basked in the glow of the late afternoon sun, enjoying the infinity pool and stunning view. We wandered over to the Ciragan Palace where they were setting up for a wedding. We must've looked kinda funny given that we were in our bathrobes. As we were walking, we noticed Turkish flags hanging everywhere. Talya told us that apparently some Turkish official had gone to Texas and seen all the Texas flags hanging everywhere and thought that it was good for national pride so came back to Turkey and made everyone hang up Turkish flags everywhere.

This evening, I went back to Ortakoy and tried an Iskender kebap. I'd read about it and really wanted to try one. As with many Turkish dishes, the Menemen and Iskender Kebap are named after the areas of Turkey where they originated. It was pretty good, but definitely heavy. I also ordered a "shepeard [sic] salad," having no idea what was in it but figuring I would take my chances. The salad consisted of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers and I hate peppers, but that's what you get when you don't speak the language and I just picked the peppers out. After dinner, I wandered over to Ortakoy and saw the Bosphorus Bridge, which spans the Bosphorus strait, connecting Europe and Asia, and changes colors at night. I passed a group of deaf people signing and thought of Caroline. Our hotel is quite well-located for meeting up with Turkish people - the tourists are all in Sultanahmet, but the Turks we've met up with all want to meet in Ortakoy or Bebek which are close to our hotel.

The crafts market was still open, so I walked through but didn't buy anything more. There were lots of stalls selling Kumpir, essentially a baked potato with lots of different toppings. The smell of waffles wafted through the air as many stalls sold waffles with a variety of enticing toppings.

My flight leaves at 4am, which is in 6 hours. I have a long layover in Frankfurt, so fingers crossed for an uneventful trip home!

Another beautiful day in Istanbul

The internet in our hotel is very unreliable. Even though we are in the nicest hotel in Istanbul, it only works about 20% of the time in our room and 80% of the time in the business center. Most hotels have free wifi here, but ours is unfortunately unreliable, which delays my blog postings!

Last night, we went to Reina again. There are other clubs in Istanbul, but apparently this is the hottest one and Lydia hadn't been yet. The cocktails are 30 YTL ($20) each! It's interesting that in many muslim countries, you can't drink. In Turkey you can, but they tax the alcohol so heavily that there's a strong incentive not to! Good way to keep drinking under control...

This morning we slept late, first night of getting more than 5 hours of sleep since I got here! We arose around noon and took the tram to Sultanahmet to meet up with Matt. We enjoyed coffee and Turkish cay (chai tea) on the terrace of his hotel, grabbed a doner kebap, then went to Topkapi. We wandered through courtyards and rooms, passing by colorful mosaics and gleaming mother of pearl inlay. The most interesting room was the Treasury where they keep all the jewels. We saw an 86 carat diamond, known as the spoonmaker's diamond because it had been found in a garbage dump and bought at the market for 3 spoons.

After Topkapi, Lydia went to see Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque because she hadn't seen them yet and I wandered over to the Spice Bazaar. As I was walking, I stumbled upon Gulhame Park, which is adjacent to the grounds of Topkapi. I saw lots of locals sitting around on the grass, enjoying the beautiful day and playing in the fountains. The weather here is gorgeous - it's like Palo Alto weather. Gorkem was telling me yesterday that it is unseasonably nice right now, usually it's hotter this time of year. After the park, I wandered along the street, stopping in at shops. I bought some earrings and some prints. It's interesting how the prices change going from the area of Sultanahmet near the Grand Bazaar to the area near the Spice Bazaar. Near the Grand Bazaar, the earrings are 1.5 YTL ($1) and the doner kebaps are 6 YTL ($4), near the Spice Bazaar the earrings are 2 YTL ($1.33) and the doner kebaps are 3 YTL ($2). I see an arbitrage opportunity here.

If I buy a doner kebap for 3 YTL at the Grand Bazaar, I could take it to the Spice Bazaar and sell it for 6 YTL. I could then take that 6 YTL and buy 4 pair of earrings, which I would then take to the Grand Bazaar and sell for 8 YTL, thereby making a profit of 5 YTL on my initial investment of 3 YTL. Forget subprime, I'm going to create an economy of doner kebaps and earrings!

Once near the Spice Bazaar, I realized I was out of lira and would have to exchange some dollars. Unfortunately, it was Saturday and all the banks were closed. I eventually found a money-changing place and was able to exchange some dollars for lira. And I didn't even need my passport to do it...everything is so easy here! I was supposed to meet Lydia and Matt at the Spice Bazaar, but I couldn't find them. In most countries, this would have been worrisome, but Istanbul is so easy to navigate that I knew I could make it back to the hotel on my own with no problem.

I loved the Spice Bazaar! I liked it a lot better than the Grand Bazaar...it's smaller and smells really good. When you walk in, you are treated to mounds upon of colorful Turkish spices and enticing Turkish delights, arranged like rainbow-colored. I had been looking for a spice rack for my new apartment and instead found a set of spices with a little spice grinder. Every shop owner asked me where I was from - they always guessed US or Netherlands. The best thing about the Spice Bazaar: free samples of Turkish delights! Score! And nobody seemed to mind if you took a sample and didn't buy anything. I finally found some of the items on my shopping list and was able to bargain them down, so I was pleased. I've gotten so used to bargaining now. In the shop where I bought the earrings and prints, I saw the sign that said "fixed price, no bargaining." When I saw this sign in Egypt, I was relieved because I figured I was getting a good price. This time, I was actually kinda disappointed and decided not to buy a plate I had been eyeing! In the market, even though prices were posted, I still bargained. Studies have shown that people are much less likely to bargain if a price is posted, even though you usually can still bargain.

The last ferry was at 6:40 so I rushed out of the Spice Bazaar and caught the boat. I was treated to the same beautiful view as yesterday, though an hour earlier so there was more light. No dolphins this time (they're probably fasting for Ramadan). Off the boat, it's a 10 minute walk back to the hotel, where I found Lydia and Matt relaxing in the hot tub. I wrote most of the blog posting perched by the pool again, watching the rainbow colored sunset over the Bosphorus.

After some hot tub and pool time, we showered and got ready for dinner. We met up with Kagan again and he took us to Bebek, one of the nicest neighborhoods in Istanbul. It's not in the Lonely Planet and it's a nice place for the moneyed locals with no tourists. I almost got taken out by a Lamborghini while trying to cross the street! We walked around for a bit and looked at the various eateries before settling on one. Kagan claimed "when you live in Istanbul, you become a snob for a view and don't bother going to places that don't have a view." I like the idea of being in cities where you can be a view snob! We had a lovely meal, followed by some wonderful Turkish ice cream (which rivaled the gelato I'd had in Italy).

Tomorrow is our last day in Istanbul. The plan is to relax at the pool and chill out before my 4am flight. I'd post pictures, but my camera is upstairs in my room and I'm downstairs in the business center where I can actually get internet.

Happy Ramadan!

Today was the first day of Ramadan. Well, technically it started at sundown last night, but today was the first day of fasting. Turkey is 99% muslim. I learned today that Ramadan shifts back 10 days every year, so some years it's in the summer when the days are long and some years it's in the winter. I also learned today that the language that most closely resembles Turkish is Korean because they both came from Central Asia. Who knew?

I awoke early this morning when Lydia's alarm went off for her two breakfast meetings with Turkish VCs. I went down to the lobby in search of some breakfast. I knew I wanted to avoid paying 50 euro for the hotel breakfast buffet so I ordered a (still egregiously expensive) coffee and omelette and ate it on the gazebo at the hotel overlooking the Bosphorus. I'm still so taken by how blue the sea and the sky are here. After so much eating during my time here, I was itching to work out, so I hit the gym and did 30 minutes of elliptical, 5 km of running, and lifted a few weights and felt much better. Then Lydia and I decided to sit by the pool for a bit before lunch. The pool is the crown jewel of this hotel - it is an infinity pool so it looks like it empties into the Bosphorus. I find myself commenting about 12 times a day how amazingly beautiful Istanbul is, how blue and clear the sky and the sea are, how unpolluted it is...seriously, this place is amazing.

We were trying to meet up with Matt, another guest from the wedding, for lunch and also coordinate with our GSB classmates Ayse and Gorkem so I went to Sultanahmet to meet up with Matt and Lydia went to Bebek to meet up with Ayse and Gorkem. Matt and I had lunch at the rooftop restaurant at his hotel in Sultanahmet, which had a fabulous view of the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, and the Bosphorus. We had a meze appetizer platter with hummus, stuffed grapeleaves, eggplant, and potato salad and then a mixed grill kebab platter with kofta, lamb, steak, and chicken. Lydia emailed us saying she would be late so we went to the Basilica Cistern, an ancient underground cistern in the middle of the city.

We went back to the hotel to wait for Lydia, Ayse, and Gorkem, who then called us to say they were stuck in traffic. While we were waiting, I checked my email on a computer in the lobby and discovered that the Turkish keyboard is different from the English keyboard. Some other wedding guests (and new San Francisco French friends) Pierre-Henri and his wife Sandrine had texted Matt to say there were going to the Spice Market, so we hopped on the tram to the Spice Market. Like many major cities, Istanbul has an unfortunate traffic problem so the city has created an excellent public transportation system: buses, trams, metros, and ferries all provide attractive and efficient alternatives to cars. The tram ride was quick and cost 1.5 YTL ($1). Our first stop was a famous Ottoman confectioner for some Turkish delights. Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir is supposed to have the best Turkish delights in Istanbul, so I bought a few boxes of assorted delights and sampled the rose flavored one. The rose was nice, but I like it when they have nuts in them.

As soon as we'd gotten our Turkish delights, we got a call that everyone was now at the Grand Bazaar, so we hopped back on the tram to go back to the Grand Bazaar. We found Ayse, Lydia, Gorkem, Sandrine, and Pierre-Henri. Ayse asked what we were interested in buying, and I pulled out my list. Everyone found it hilarious that I had made a list...clearly, they don't know me very well. Unfortunately, I didn't have any luck finding things on my list, but hopefully before I leave I'll find something I like! I'm very picky about shopping when I travel - I've wound up with way too much stuff I don't need from random parts of the world.

After lots of hoofing it around the bazaar, we stopped for a rest at the Fez Cafe. I Ayse, Gorkem, and I ordered a traditional Turkish drink that was salty yogurt with mint. Gorkem ordered two of them. We then realized Lydia needed to get back to the hotel for a dinner meeting she had arranged. Unfortunately, it was peak traffic time in Istanbul and we realized it would be faster to take the ferry than a taxi. We rushed to the tram to take us to the ferry. For 1.50 YTL ($1), the ferry takes you from Eminomu to Besiktas, a 15 minute journey by water that can take over an hour by taxi if the traffic is bad (if only I'd known this my first day!) We watched the sunset behind the mosques and palaces, creating an elegant dimpled skyline. As we pulled into Besiktas, two dolphins leaped through the air as if on cue. Once off the ferry, it was a 10 minute walk to the hotel. Now we're relaxing by the pool, hearing the strains of the hotel jazz pianist in the background, watching boats float by on the Bosphorus. I could stay here forever!

Turkish Wedding and Yalova

Wow – the Turks know how to party. What a wedding! What a post-wedding day in the country! This is a very long entry, detailing yesterday’s wedding festivities and today’s day with the bride’s family in Yalova.

Yesterday, I switched hotels to the Ciragan Palace Kempinski. I took a cab over to the Bosphorus and stepped into the elegant lobby (past the metal detector). I was greeted by hotel employees dressed all in red who invited me to take a seat. Irina, the hotel employee who greeted me, then reached into a breakfront, pulled out a Louis Vuitton folio and small bag, then invited me to follow her. The first room she took me to had only one king sized bed, so I asked for another room. Irina made a quick call on her cell phone, speaking in rapid Turkish then said “okay, now we go to another room.” As we entered the second room, I was hit by a wave of cigarette smoke. I asked her if we could switch to a non-smoking room. She made another call on her cell phone, then said “okay, we go to the fourth floor.” As we were walking out, she asked me “do you make a sport?” I realized she was asking me if I was an athlete. I’m used to getting that question in the US…why else would a woman be so tall? When I said no, she said “oh, I was wondering if you don’t like to breathe the smoke because you make a sport.” Apparently, you have to have a good reason to not like smoke in Turkey!

Finally, on the third try, we got to a non-smoking room with twin beds. Then Irina pulled a small credit card machine out of the Louis Vuitton purse and asked for my credit card. She asked “would you like a room tour?” and gave me a tour of all the amenities of the room. It’s essentially a regular hotel room, with a few interesting amenities, such as bathrobes (which are huge – Lydia looked like a monk with hers trailing on the floor). As Irina was leaving, she asked if I would like a bucket of ice. I asked her what for. She said so I could have a cocktail from the minibar. At that point, all I wanted was a bath and a nap! I asked for an iron and an ironing board so I could press my gown for the wedding. Irina told me that they had laundry, dry-cleaning, and ironing service and she would send someone to the room to get the gown. I said no, just send the ironing board, I’ll do it myself. This did not compute – I had to tell her at least five times to send just the ironing board and iron. She did not seem to understand why I would iron my own gown.

After she left, I drew myself a bath and then took a nap. I flipped through the extensive tv menu, which listed tv channels by category and by language (English, Turkish, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and German). All the English channels were news and sports. I shut my eyes for a quick nap, only to be awakened by the Muslim call to prayer which was so loud that even a pillow over my head couldn’t drown it out. After 10 minutes of cacophony, it stopped and I was able to snooze for a bit before being awakened by the phone ringing from guest relations telling me that Lydia had arrived. Time to get ready for the wedding!

Lydia had just gotten off the plane from the three flights she took to get from Boston to Istanbul. She took a quick shower, threw on some makeup and her dress, and was ready to go. What a trooper! We hopped in a cab to Istinye to get the boat to the wedding. As we sped along the Bosphorus, we were again treated to the beautiful coastline of Istanbul, dotted with palaces and villas, bathed in the warm evening glow. We got out of the cab at Istinye where there was no pier but a small dock. We saw several other people in formal dresses and suits, so we figured we were in the right place. As we waited for the boats, several young boys in swim trunks were diving off the dock, climbing back out of the water, then diving in again.

The boat went directly to the reception. We had a beautiful 15 minute boat ride, crossing the Bosphorus from the European side to the Asian side. We could see the torches burning as we pulled up to the dock on the other side. White tuxedo-clad waters greeted us with trays of wine, whiskey, margaritas, mojitos, and juices. The wedding was at Cubuklu 29, a beautiful outdoor venue with a pool and a patio and a banquet area. We enjoyed cocktails and watched the sunset. A photographer snapped each of our pictures as we walked in.

At 8:30, I was informed that it was time for the speeches. The father of the bride stood up and welcomed everyone in French and then Turkish. When he stopped speaking, he turned to me and it looked like it was my turn. I had been asked to speak for a few minutes on courageous and inspiring love. Given that I’m not married, I’m assuming that my being asked to speak had more to do with my experience in public speaking than my immense knowledge of courageous and inspiring love. I was the first speaker to go, followed by a speech in Turkish (which I did not understand), and a speech in French (which I caught part of). After the speeches, there was a short slideshow showing the two of them growing up. Then the bride and groom appeared – she in a stylish French wedding gown and he in a grey morning coat and pink tie. The bride greeted everyone in all three languages, then they showed a short slideshow of their civil ceremony at San Francisco City Hall. They are having three weddings: a civil ceremony in San Francisco, a religious ceremony for family in Paris, and this big party in Istanbul. After the slideshow, they repeated their vows in their native languages, she in Turkish and he in French, with an English translation on the screens. As soon as they finished, the fireworks and the music began, beautifully reflected over the Bosphorus. The theater buff in me was impressed at the precision and flawless execution of the wedding. We commented to the bride later that the wedding was incredibly professional, and she said that it’s expected in Turkey to have a wedding on that level and there were many important guests there for her father’s business who would expect nothing less.

After the ceremony, the 300 guests migrated to the banquet area where 30 round tables were set up. The menu explained the four course meal in English and Turkish. The first course was artichoke hearts, roasted tomatoes, and dill. The second course was shrimp puff pastry and vegetables. The third course was lamb with roasted eggplant, jasmine rice, and almonds. The fourth course was a dessert buffet with Turkish desserts, profiteroles, ice cream, and fresh berries. Every time my wine glass got low, it magically refilled before I could lift a finger. There was a big band with at least eight singers – the men in tuxes and the women in raspberry chiffon strapless gowns. They alternated between Turkish, French, and English songs. They were amazing! The English songs they sang were all from the eighties. I was surprised when they started singing “Fame.” And the Turks were all singing along! Thanks to my obsession with showtunes, I was singing along too.

I sat between two women, Fikret (no idea how to spell her name) who was Turkish and engaged to one of Gulin’s Turkish classmates at Stanford GSB, Sam (short for Ebtisam) who was Saudi Arabian and married to Abdulaziz, one of Gulin’s Saudi Arabian classmates. I had met them both at the dinner the night before. Fikret will be getting married in Turkey next summer and invited me to her wedding. An excuse to return to Turkey! The table was rounded out by other GSBers from Turkey, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and the US.

Halfway through the dinner, the photographers appeared with prints of the pictures they took of us as we walked in. Then they informed us that the prints were 15 YTL ($10) each. All the pictures were great so we each ended up buying a few (Mom and Dad, I bought one for you that you’ll like). At around 11pm, a line of 10 Turkish drummers showed up, male and female, all dressed in black. They played for awhile, then handed off drums to the bride and groom, who started drumming, then they got the wedding guests up and dancing as we passed around drums. The drinking, drumming, and dancing continued late into the night. Waiters came around with trays of several dozen shots in an array of different colors. One of the other wedding guests, a flamboyant Frenchman named Bart who lives in San Francisco, was a very accomplished ballroom dancer and twirled me around the dancefloor. With all those years of dance training, I still don’t know anything about ballroom, but I do know how to follow. I’m only as good as my partner and Bart was a great dance partner.

At one point, I snuck back to the dessert buffet to get more profiteroles with chocolate and berries. A Turkish gentleman approached me and said “You like the sweets, huh? I see this is your second trip to the dessert bar.” Okay, rule #1 for flirting with women: never comment on how much they’ve eaten. I politely excused myself to head back to the dancefloor, realizing that I had probably enjoyed a little too much fabulous French and Turkish food at that point!

At about 1am, we stumbled back onto the boat to begin the journey back to our hotels. Our new hotel was closer to Istinye than the old one, and I was very tired and glad my hotel was closeby. I shared a cab with two other wedding guests who were headed back to Sultanahmet, which is farther away. When we got in the cab, we told the cab driver we were stopping at the Ciragan Palace and Sultanahmet. Either he didn’t hear us or he thought we wanted a night tour of Istanbul because he took off down the highway and 40 minutes later, we were in Sultanahmet. At this point, I was annoyed because I was tired, I knew my hotel was way closer to Istinye and now we’d have to backtrack to get back to my hotel. I felt something wet on my leg and reached down to touch it. When I brought my hand up I noticed that my fingers were covered in blood. Uh oh. Then I noticed the exposed piece of metal sticking out of the back of the driver’s seat. When the driver dropped my fellow wedding guests off in Sultanahmet, I asked him to turn the meter off. He either didn’t understand me or didn’t want to. Eventually, after an hour in the cab, it got back to my hotel, a trip that should have taken 20 minutes. I was annoyed and tired. I can imagine how I looked getting out of the cab. I was wearing silver stilettos with four inch heels, so imagine it’s 2am in Turkey and a cab pulls up to a luxury hotel and out steps a 6’4” pissed off blond American woman in a dusty pink ruffly evening gown with blood dripping down her leg. I paid the driver the fare to Sultanahmet but was not about to pay him the extra for the little detour he chose to take. The driver was not pleased with this and started speaking to me in rapid Turkish, so I explained the situation to the four doormen at the Ciragan Palace and they were pretty quick to usher me inside. They took me into a little room that had all sorts of medical equipment and dabbed iodine on my gash, which wasn’t particularly deep but was about two inches wide (yes, Mom, I am up to date on my tetanus shots). They offered to call the doctor, but I just wanted to go to bed. Back in the room, Lydia was fast asleep and our internet was on the fritz. Exhausted, I fell into bed, comfortably resting against the three different kinds of pillows arranged on the bed.

Yalova

This morning, Lydia and I awoke early. Abdulaziz and his wife Ebtisam (next to whom I had sat at the wedding) had invited Lydia, Fikret, and me to “their house” (aka the Four Seasons) for breakfast. The internet still wasn’t working so after a quick stop in the business center, we were off to the Four Seasons. It was just down the street so we could walk.

The Four Seasons Istanbul at the Bosphorus has a more international appearance whereas the Ciragan Palace Kempinski seems more traditionally Turkish. We had breakfast on the patio overlooking the water. We were told that the breakfast buffet had 174 breakfast items. There was a table of cured meats, several tables of breads, a table of cereals, a table of fruits, a table of vegetables, a table of fish (including beetroot marinated salmon, smoked trout, and smoked mackerel), a station making pancakes and waffles, and of course eggs made-to-order. Abdulaziz shares my love of chocolate and had cocoa pebbles and pancakes with chocolate. He got a donut with nutella for me so I could try it. We bid goodbye to Abdulaziz and his wife (they were headed back to Saudi Arabia for Ramadan), then hopped in a cab to meet the group in Taksim Square to board the bus to Yalova.

Two buses transported approximately 35 wedding guests north across the bridge towards Yalova where the bride’s family was hosting us for an afternoon. After an hour on the bus, we arrived at the ferry. I love how boats are a standard mode of transportation here, though I could imagine it might be annoying if you are in a hurry. When I saw that they had a snack bar on the boat, I got excited hoping they would have Diet Coke. Alas, there was no Diet Coke. Or regular Coke. Only Cola Turka.

After the ferry, we got back on the bus to continue to Yalova. We pulled up to what appeared to be a clubhouse, with a pool, tennis court, and a beautifully laid buffet with round tables, clothed in white table clothes and decorated with pink and lavender flowers. After having a decadent breakfast at the Four Seasons, food was the last thing on my mind. As Gulin’s parents greeted us, her father demanded that I pick up a plate and lead the charge to the buffet line. So I obliged. The menu included cereal, stuffed grape leaves, at least five different kinds of cheeses, kofte, sausage, several kinds of breads, and meat pastries. And they had Diet Coke…score! I ended up at a table of all women, most of whom were French and most of whom I’d met at Gulin’s bachelorette party. We felt very girly at our all-girls table with pink flowers and pink clothes.

After yet another decadent meal, we adjourned to the pool area where there were white tents with large colorful pillows underneath. We sprawled out on the pillows. The conversation drifted back and forth from French to English. For most of the weekend, I would walk up to a French-speaking conversation, hoping to improve my French, and they’d switch to English, and I’d be like “Non, je dois pratiquer mon Francais!” (no, I must practice my French). After some chatting and magazine-reading under the tent, a few of us decided to go cool off in the pool. Another group went to go tour Gulin’s father’s company, which makes acrylic fabric (overachievers). I was happy to stick my toes in the pool and thumb through my back issues of Glamour and The Economist.

I had thought that after a few hours, we would be heading back to Istanbul and be on our own for dinner. Around 5:00, I was informed that we would be leaving for dinner at 6:00 and to “bring my appetite.” Appetite? What appetite? I have eaten enough on this trip to feed a family of four for a month! But Turkish hospitality knows no bounds.

Dinner was at a fish restaurant. We sat at two long tables and started with a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, red cabbage, carrots, and corn. The next course was fish soup, then marinated shrimp, some kind of white fish, and calamari with a yogurt dill sauce. I was getting full already when they placed a whole fried seabass in front of each of us. I was picking at my fish, trying to separate the skin and bones, when the French people surrounding me said “you don’t know how to do this, do you?” and instructed me on the proper way to eat a whole fried fish. You’re supposed to cut off the head, then cut off the tail, then slice it lengthwise, peel back the flesh, and lift the spine and connected bones out. Following this procedure greatly improved my ability to get to the fish, but my plate was a mess compared to my French friends. After the fish, they brought out dessert, which consisted of some kind of warm nutty nougat with cinnamon on top, followed by cay (chai tea served in small hourglass-shaped glasses).

Now we’re on the bus, on our way back to Istanbul. We have three days left here and so much more to see. Lydia has set up several meetings with Turkish venture capitalists. I am much less organized and plan to focus on sightseeing, shopping, and relaxing by the infinity pool at the Ciragan Palace. I’m so glad I came. I’ve gotten to meet lots of new people, many of whom are part of the French community in San Francisco and will be fun to hang out with!

Sultanahmet

When I last left you, I was headed out for a little sightseeing. Given the convenient location of my hotel in Sultanahmet, I wanted to take in a few of the sights even if my traveling companion Lydia isn't here yet.

I started at the Blue Mosque - huge, majestic, very crowded. I just need to take a moment to complain about tourists in general. This is a muslim country, people! Cover up! I was dressed for the heat and the culture, wearing Nike dri-fit capris and tank with a long-sleeve white cotton shirt. I also brought a scarf, which came in handy for covering my head while ducking into the mosques. Given the large crowds and general obnoxiousness of tourists, I am beyond impressed by the Turks abilities of crowd control. They post clear instructions at the entrance to the mosque to take off your shoes and cover up, then stand there distributing plastic bags for the shoes and scarves for the shoulders and legs. I chose to cover my head as well - seemed more appropriate given that most the local women were covered. No hassles, no charge for the bags or the scarves, just getting people in and out dressed appropriately.

After the Blue Mosque, I wandered across to the Hagia Sofia, a church-turned-mosque. Inside, I was treated to more soaring domes and beautiful mosaics. While up in the balcony, I noticed a guy signing with facial expressions that rivaled Caroline, my sign-language interpreting sister. I followed him to find a whole tour group of deaf people. A tour guide was speaking so soft nobody could hear him, which didn't seem to matter because everyone was watching the interpreter. The tourists seem to be mostly European with a few Japanese tourists. When I hear tour guides speaking in English, their accents remind me of Borat.

While walking between landmarks, there were the predictable street vendors. So much of the merchandise looked eerily familiar. I was reminded of Ben and my Egypt trip of 2006 and the deathless line from two middle-aged black women on our trip, who claimed "We been all over the world, and it's the same sh*t!" I recognized the scarves I'd bought in Laos and the boxes I'd bought in Egypt (which I'd also seen in India).

I decided to save Topkapi for when Lydia gets here as the guidebooks say you need at least 4 hours for it. I also wanted to do an initial walk-through of the Grand Bazaar. I have learned the hard way that when shopping abroad, impulse buys are the enemy. I like to see what there is, get a sense of the prices, think about what I want for myself and for gifts, THEN go shopping. If you have any requests, make them known now.

The Grand Bazaar is enormous, with sections for carpets, leather, gold, jewelry, handbags, and clothing. The highlight was when walking through the clothing area, I saw a man dressed all in white walking by with a tray of cups strapped to his front and what looked to be a giant teapot strapped to his back. When a young man stopped him, he picked up a cup and bent forward, allowing lemon-colored liquid stream out of the teapot and into the waiting cup. Genius! I tried to snap a picture (will post pictures later).

People here are very friendly in general. I had worried about being harassed, but it hasn't been a problem. Most men that I pass try to stop me and say hello, ask where I'm from, and seem eager to give directions (even if I'm not lost), but they're not lascivious or crude, just very, very friendly.

When running around a city on my own, I have a bad habit of forgetting to eat and then not understanding why I'm getting crabby. As I was starting to tire of the bazaar, I realized it was past lunchtime and I hadn't eaten. I looked up a kebap place in my Lonely Planet and went to sample a lamb kebap, rolled in dough with tomatoes and french fries inside. It was a little doughy for my liking, but the lamb was good.

I feel the beginnings of a cold coming on so I picked up some zinc and vitamin C from a pharmacy. I also bought some nail polish so I can do my nails for tonight. I'm impressed at how everyone here, from the pharmacist to the cashier at the store to the hotel staff, speaks English. I'm also impressed at how warm and welcoming people are.

Now it's time to switch hotels. A friend of a GSB alum hooked us up with the corporate rate at the famous Ciragan Palace Kempinski, voted #6 in Conde Nast Traveller's list of European hotels. While my current hotel is incredibly well-located with incredibly hospitable service (as I sit here writing in my blog, the guy at the reception has offered me tea multiple times), I'm really excited to see the Ciragan Palace as it is supposed to be the best Istanbul has to offer.

Tonight is the wedding. After getting ready, I will head to Istinye to then take a boat across the Bosphorus to the Asian side of Istanbul to Cubuklu 29. Hopefully I'll have time for a little nap. The wedding starts with cocktails at 7:30, then a ceremony at 8:30 (at which I am speaking), then dinner at 9:00. Apparently, Turkish weddings rarely have a ceremony and are mostly about the party.

Arrival in Istanbul

I'm in Istanbul for the wedding of my dear Turkish friend and former student Gulin Yilmaz. With the craziness of the job hunt and subsequent move this summer, I had not thought much about this trip until I actually landed in Istanbul.

I flew Lufthansa for the first, and probably last, time. Beyond the fact that there were no individual tvs at the seats and no toothbrush, socks, or eye covers for the 12 hour flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt, I literally do not fit in the seats. The length of my femur is exactly the same as the distance from the back of my seat to the back of the seat in front of me, which means that the person in front of me cannot recline their seat because my knees are in the way! The French woman in front of me discovered this as she was trying to force her seat back and I had to tap her on the shoulder and let her know that my knees were what was keeping her seat back. Later on in the flight, she apologetically said she might want to sleep later and would it be okay if she put her seat back - I apologetically replied that that would not be possible given that my knees were still in the way, but offered to switch seats with her when she wanted to sleep (she had the bulkhead). A few minutes later she said, "I think we should switch seats now, it will be better for you." Hell yeah it would be better for me! As I sank into the bulkhead seat, I said a silent prayer of thanks for the few extra inches of legroom and for the Frenchwoman who was more interested in reclining her seat than stretching her legs.

I had a three hour layover in Frankfurt, during which I discovered that Germans must not have the South Beach diet because there were no South Beach friendly items on any of the menus at the airport restaurants. The three hour flight to Istanbul had lots of empty seats and I got a window seat at an exit row so was able to sleep a few more hours.

I landed in Istanbul and easily acquired the Turkish visa, breezed through customs, picked up my bags, and hopped in a cab to the hotel. I had approached this trip with trepidation, remembering the absolute chaos that greeted me at the airports in Mumbai, Delhi, and Cairo. The scene at the Istanbul airport is much more similar to what you would find at Charles de Gaule - orderly, clearly marked, clean with the subtle scent of cigarette smoke. We drove along the Bosphorus and I was struck by the brilliant blue of the water matching the clear blue sky and the houses dotting the coastline, somewhat reminiscent of an overgrown fishing village.

I arrived at the Hotel Berce, a boutique hotel in Sultanahmet with seven rooms that I found on TripAdvisor. Given the very reasonable price I was paying, I was pleasantly surprised to find the hotel so well-appointed. The rooms are clean and nicely furnished with pretty artwork on the walls and new bathrooms with nice appliances. And free wireless internet. The nice young man who checked me in informed me that it would take me at least an hour to get to dinner so I should leave right away. After 24 hours of traveling, I was in desperate need of a shower so I quickly showered, changed, checked email, and hopped in a cab to go to dinner. Based on my experience at Gulin's bachelorette party, I get the sense that Turkish women are very fashionable, so I knew I needed to put on something chic for dinner (went with a turquoise dress and silver heels).

I sat in traffic for over an hour to get to dinner at Reina, Istanbul's hottest nightclub and home to several restaurants. It's a beautiful open air restaurant/club at the foot of the Bogazici Bridge. Dinner was Turkish food - salad, tomatoes, chicken, lamb, kofta. There were about 40 people at dinner. The nationality mix was probably 40% Turkish, 40% French, and 20% everyone else (the bride is Turkish and the groom is French). As I started making small talk with the other dinner guests, I realized how incredibly tired I was - I could barely string together a sentence. I also hadn't eaten since breakfast. After a few glasses of Turkish wine and some yummy food, however, I was in much better shape. There are lots of interesting people at this wedding, so I don't even have to do much talking, I can just ask questions and hear about all their adventures in France/Central Asia/Saudi Arabia/Turkey/etc.

I managed to stay up past midnight and finally came home to crash. I was worried when I discovered I could not shut my window all the way. I'm a light sleeper and wake up easily to noise, so I put in earplugs in preparation for some noisy morning traffic. When I awoke this morning, however, the only noise was the sound of a cat meowing loudly outside. I went up to breakfast on the roof terrace and enjoyed eggs, cheese, and vegetables while taking in a stunning view of the Bosphorus. I was so taken by the view of the Bosphorus that it wasn't until the end of breakfast that I turned around and noticed the Blue Mosque towering over my shoulder. There was an older gentleman sitting on the roof terrace smoking a cigarette. He didn't say anything to me for the first 15 minutes I was up there, but as I started remarking on how beautiful the city was, I found out that he was the proprietor of the hotel. When I mentioned I wanted to buy jewelry, he invited me to come to his jewelry shop. I love the fact that he didn't mention the jewelry shop until 20 minutes into our conversation when I specifically said I wanted to buy jewelry - most places I've been to, if there is a shop to be visited, it is offered in the first sentence of the exchange.

Istanbul has the most beautiful light - it seems to be constantly bathed in a warm glow. I noticed it yesterday evening and thought it was just because it was the evening, but again this morning it was still glowing.

I'm off to do some sightseeing before switching hotels and then the wedding this evening!