Sunday, 7 Oct
Arrived midnight after a 30-hour trip (which, alas, kinda shivered
my timbers).
Monday, 8 Oct
Joined Richard in town and was given a tour of Reckitt's Hq
including the General Manager's expansive corner office (lots of
windows and a big view), then had lunch together in waterfront
restaurant in Bebek. Afterwards,
Richard was off to London and I was dropped off in the Sultanahmet
area, where I wandered about, made a tour of the Cistern, and ran into a
couple of companions from flight over - coalesced for a
while, a regular
old home week in Byzantium.
Tuesday, 9 Oct
Went with Ishy to the Basilica Sophia.
After
seeing the AyahSophia we went to a posh
penthouse restaurant with a vista of the Sultan
Ahmed area, the "Sheish
Kebab". We had lunch on the terrace, shish kebab of
course, and Ishy introduced me to my first Frappuccino (iced coffee
that tastes
like milk shake spiked with extra cream, and ice cream, and lots and lots of
sugar). The view from the terrace of the Golden
Horn, seen beyond the domes of the
old Byzantium area, was splendid. The waiters all went
visibly gaga over
Ishy, just the first of many such instances I observed as we knocked
around together.
Wednesday, 10 Oct
Spent the afternoon with Ishy in the enormous maze of the
bazaar. More gaga action of course.
Thursday, 11 Oct
Arose well before dawn to go to the airport to fly to
Cappadocia. Of course we were a bit late leaving, shortly after
which it was discovered I hadn't brought my passport which is needed in
Turkey even for domestic flights. We raced back, retrieved
it, and sped, even later now, for the airport. As most airports
are in that part of the world, it was packed, bordering on the chaotic,
and the queues were more overflowing bunches than lines. By some
magic, Ishy in teamwork with Richard, managed to flank a bunch,
appeared
at its head, and we made the flight. Just.
We were gathered up by the tour van, which had seen better days,
brought to our hotel, then
taken out and guided through the impressive landscapes of Cappadocia.
Friday, 12 Oct
We were taken through a cave "apartment house", seven stories
deep. The ventilation systems, carved out
of rock, were particularly impressive.
Lots of strenuous duckwalking down steep inclines in the
almost-dark. Good exercise.
Having realized for the first time that morning the next leg of our
journey required an all-night bus ride, we gave up our afternoon
in Cappadocia and instead, engaged a car that so that we could
get to Pamukalla before midnight. It was a big family holiday,
so quite difficult to find a driver. It took tough
negotiating with the travel agent but we got our car (driven by
"Captain", a very solid citizen who proved to be most
helpful). It wasn't (a-hem) free.
Before leaving Cappadocia we
happened to share
a bus ride with the head of purchasing for Carrefour Turkey, who has a
vacation cave-house there (fitted with all modern conveniences of
course) - a valuable business contact for Richard.
Silver lining of giving up more duck-walking
through cave-houses: we got to stop over in Konya, which we had
wanted to see but couldn't fit into our original itinerary, and we got to sleep in a hotel that
night rather than bumping about in a bus. Well worth
it.
Arriving in Konya late that
afternoon, we had just time
to visit Mawlana museum (or Movlana
as Turks call it). We pulled into downtown just five minutes
before
the museum closed, and the main doors were
already shut to incoming visitors. After
running from one gate to another we found a side
entrance where Ishy (of course)
inspired rolling eyes from the guard, and a wave-through. Once
in, we were able to tour the whole museum, albeit quickly.
It's small, though spacious, and quite interesting
- Konya is the home of the Whirling Dervishes.
We were of course the last
to leave, but the guards were gracious about it,
notwithstanding that it was the Muslim feast day
and celebration was in the offing for them.
Across the boulevard in from of the museum was a hill with a very
pretty mosque on top of it which we then set out to see. The
sidewalks were crowded with merry folk, kids all dressed up in new
party clothes, and the boulevard had lots of traffic. So...
how to get across? Imbued by the frolicy mood of the throng,
Ishy simply started walking straight across the road, looking neither
left nor right, with her hand held up to stop traffic. She was of
course relying on a combination of the gaga effect and an air of jocular imperiousness,
which Ishy is also good at. It almost worked. A
bus heading for Ishy wasn't slowing down. At the last second,
she turned her head to face it, saw the demoniacal grin on the face of
the driver and, laughing,
ran like hell for the other side.
Saturday, 13 Oct
Tour ruins of Hierapolis,
then on to the spectacular chalk formations of
Pamukalla. Lots
of people there for the holiday (mostly Turks) but it didn't feel
crowded. There was a strikingly handsome, craggy old lady
at one of
the markets selling clay whistles fashioned as birds. When filled
part
way with water, the birds chirped quite prettily. Ishy
bought a couple of
dozen as favors for Samer's upcoming birthday party.
We spent the night in the seashore town of
Kusadasi which had a typically Mediterranean atmosphere of laid-back
opulence, and had a great
dinner on the terrace of a restaurant (the pretty notes of a French
chanteuse drifting out to us) on the Aegean.
All through the trip there were frequent phone calls from Lila
with protestations of: "It's NOT FAIR !".
It
would have been impractical to take the kids on the tour, and they'd be
seeing the sights soon anyhow on school trips. But it was a holiday weekend and Lila
couldn't buy the rationale for having been left at home. Alas,
poor kid - she had a point. Samer on the other hand was delighted
to have the freedom to play all the video games he wanted with his
friends.
Sunday, 14 Oct
Battled through the spectacular ruins of Ephesus. What
we could see of it through the throngs was indeed impressive. It
was like grand central station in rush hour, except in Beijing.
At the end of the day we caught our plane back to Istanbul and everyone
breathed a sigh of contented relief.
Monday, 15 Oct
Toured Topkapi
with Ishy. It's a most charming palace-complex, feeling
more like an extraordinarily elegant country club than the seat of the
Ottoman empire, which it was for centuries. It's composed of
large garden-courtyards surrounded by small, graceful buildings, all
located on a headland overlooking the Golden Horn and the
Bosporus. You can imagine the view.
Tuesday, 16 Oct
Didn't quite make the boat for our planned ride on the
Bosporus, so we went to an old area of Istanbul
called Bayoulo where we visited
old renovated Ottoman houses. I
climbed an ancient watch tower, the Galatta tower,
which offered a spectacular view of the region, and then we had
a well-deserved lunch in a
small café nearby.
Afterwards we went to the Grand Bazaar and bought beads for
Sue and Lois (Allah Verde was
the name of the shop and of the young Turk who owned
it). Next it was the Egyptian Bazaar where we chose
scarves for Lois and Sue, and visited the spice
shop of Sheik Moss the
herb doctor, who made up a potion of red grapes and honey mulled
with pollen (and other secret ingredients) of which he gave me a goodly
supply
as a sure cure for what ailed me.
Wednesday, 17 Oct
Fun boat ride on the Bosporus, then lunch at the hotel Kempinski.
It's ultra-posh, reeking of tasteful opulence, with an enormous,
vaulting lobby,
lots of marble, and everywhere, conservatively uniformed,
demure, very classy
hostesses. Had lunch on the sporty terrace giving
out onto the sea. Cheapest dish - a hamburger - cost
$35, trimmings extra. So what the hell - we ordered
crêpes suzettes as well.
That evening all four of us went to Akmerkez Mall
to scope out the pet shop there; by this time Richard's
objections of practicality regarding having a dog had been trodden
down. I cautioned against buying a puppy at a mall shop,
urged instead going to a
reputable kennel. The following week however, love conquered all,
and Coco (Chanel) became part
of the family.
Thursday, 18 Oct
Spent a leisurely, most
pleasant day, wandering by myself around the Sultanamet
area. Visited again the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi, and Blue
Mosque. Being on my own I could take all the time I wanted.
Nice. Was offered advice by a free-lance "advisor",
who had a "cousin" who had a nearby shop. Indeed the fellow
proved most helpful. He wore a business suit and tie, was quite
dignified, and there was no charge. Turned out the shop was worth
visiting; I bought a gorgeous silk-and-cashmere scarf for
Lois. The bargaining lengthy, very spirited and I fancied
quite artful - at least the other tourists in the shop were all
giggling. Anyhow the final price was less than half of the
original, if that means anything.
That evening, Ishy and I played some tennis at
the Kemer Country Club,
where the kids then
joined us for dinner.
Friday, 19 Oct
It was Samer's birthday, and Ishy and I attended a party for him at
the school. I was introduced to several of the
teachers and staff, including the principal -all quite nice folks -
after
which we set up the Egyptian stand for the
school's International Fair which was to be the next day.
We all five went for
dinner with the kids to the
Rain Forest Café
in the Istanya Park Mall. Sort of a Jungle
Jim's of a restaurant, with animated fauna such
as apes from time to
time leaning out from shrubbery, roaring, and
beating their chests.
Saturday, 20 Oct
The school's International Fair was what it ought to have
been - frenetic and fun. As its climax, Ishy, Richard and
both kids presided
over a raffle
of the Egyptian "artifacts".
That evening we went to a movie in town, Jodie
Foster's The Brave One, rated
unsuitable for kids. But by the time we
got to the cine-complex,
it was the only one we could get into and alas it
turned out to be quite violent indeed.
Poor Lila couldn't help
crying - and crying and crying - and Ishy had to take her out.
We had ice-cream afterwards and it that made it all all right.
Sunday, 21 Oct
The main event of Samer's birthday party
was a Paint
Ball battle.
It was my last full day in Turkey, so after
sunset
, Ishy and I went for a drive to Bebek,
one
of Istanbul's night-life
areas, where at a sidewalk café, we celebrated by having
waffles
with all the possible toppings. We shook it all down by
taking a walk along the Bosporus, and stopped for our farewell coffee
at the Divan which - oh well - smelled of rotten shrimp.
Monday. 22 Oct
For our last-hour lunch, Richard,
Ishy and I dined once more by the Bosporus, enjoying
Frappuccino at the Starbucks
in Bebek.
On arrival later that afternoon at the airport I found out that
Alitalia, which was supposed
to fly me by a long and circuitous route to Amsterdam, was on
strike. Their staff however was splendid. When I
pointed out that KLM had a non-stop to Amsterdam within the hour,
they ran hither and yon and got me the last seat on it. The
silver lining was a much easier flight and more
importantly, a much earlier arrival in
Amsterdam which was especially handy for Sue, who was burdened with
picking me up.