A Bazaar World

I slept through the morning call to prayer which was amazing to me since it seemed so loud yesterday. At least I got a full night sleep and am fully recovered from any lingering jet lag. After a breakfast of a Nescafe and sticky buns, Aili and I , her mom, Suzel, and her colleague, Gisela cabbed it to Eminonu station just over the Galata bridge across the Golden Horn into Istanbul. The Eminanu area is a transportation hub linking trams, ferries and roads in the heart of the city. It’s also the home of the famous Spice Bazaar.

The colors and smells were amazing as we strolled through the arched walkway. I bought 100 grams of “Love Tea” – the merchant insisted it was a cure for any “mother-in-law” problems, and since Suzel is traveling with us, I figure it a good purchase just in case!

We continued up the winding alley-ways through a commercial district with shops selling clothes, shoes and fabric which was delightfully devoid of tourists and we weren’t hassled a bit!. Eventually, we found ourselves at the back entrance to Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar – were we were again left alone since most tourists come in the main gate and never make it this far into the Bazaar (which, after all, has over 1,000 shops). We turned one corner after another, pursuing the colorful glass lamps, exotic nagiles (water pipes), silver, amber, and ceramic jewelry, brass antiques, and beautiful Turkish carpets. We spent some time in a quaint carpet shop where the proprietor had his assistant lay out one amazing rug after another in front of us. He didn’t even seem upset when we said thank you (‘tesekkur ederim’ in Turkish) and walked out without buying one.

After finding our way out of the Bazaar, we stopped for a lunch of mixed kabobs and Turkish coffee, then let Suzel go back to the Bazaar by herself while Aili, Gisela and I walked back past the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophya where we dead-ended into the old palace walls which now

have strangely out-of-place new homes butting against them. We found the main gate to the palace grounds and meandered through the shady plaza to the National Archeological Museum (after a brief encounter with a crafty rug salesmen befriending tourists and trying to follow him to his ‘wholesale’ shop).

Palace Gates

Stone Quartet - National Archeological Museum

Arabic Tile Museum - National Archeological Museum

Next we met up with Aili’s mom and walked the crowded, windy streets across the bridge and then caught a cab as the rain began to fall.

View of Istanbul from the Galata Bridge

We went for diner just down the street from the police guest house at a café right on the Bosphorus while a soccer game played on the TV above us. Aili and I continued down the street after diner in search of a nightcap and final found a bar with karaoke that served beer. Two choices, Corona or Budweiser! Ugh – I ordered a Corona but they were out! So Bud it is - but how pleasantly surprised was I when I saw Czech Republic on the label – ah, the REAL Budweiser! We hopped to the next restaurant for the Turkish beer, Efes, and a desert (some kind of a doughnut drenched in honey), then headed home to bed.