March 24 - Bosphorus Cruise
Sunday in Istanbul...the 2nd
city that NEVER sleeps! It's amazing how much traffic one city can
have and the cars, trams, taxi cabs, and buses RULE! The speed is as
fast as they can go with no care of anything standing, walking, or
running in front of them even if the light is not in their favor.
Police don't seem to be around issuing any traffic tickets – it
would probably be impossible because everyone would get ticketed.
Somehow the pedestrians manage – they walk VERY fast and dodge for
their lives. We haven't seen but only a handful of a little bit
overweight people. They are always on the run, hustling here and
there, so they are a very fit and healthy culture.
Today we took a ferry on a Bosphorus
Cruise.
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| What a beautiful day for a cruise! |
The Bosphorus is the 32 km (20-mile)-long
strait which joins the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea in Istanbul
and separates the continents of Europe and Asia. It
runs right through the heart of Istanbul
past the Modern Art Museum, several Ottoman palaces,
at least two fortresses, forested
hills, and shore villages with Ottoman architecture. It was a perfect day...sunny and beautiful! It took 1 ½
hours and we went north to the Black Sea and ended up in the village
of Anadol Kavagi, a cute little village with cobblestone pavements.
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| The Bosphorus Bridge |
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| The Sultan's Summer Home |
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| The Rumeli Fortress |
It took 1 ½
hours and we went north to the Black Sea and ended up in the village
of Anadol Kavagi, a cute little village with cobblestone pavements.
We had a light lunch eating grilled mackerel, a salad,
and bread. Later, I realized I had left my daypack back in the
restaurant's “toilette”. Rich ran back and found it high on the
hook where I had left it. WHEW! (Carolyn, he said he would make
sure he does a checklist from here on out, like you always do for me) :) Then we
climbed up to Yoros Castle belonging to the Roman period. It was very steep, but
we were tough!
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| The Arch to the Castle |
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| The Yoros Castle |
We walked around the square and then I got stuck in
the middle of this one road because vehicles were all around me
turning right and left and doing U-turns and I couldn't move.
Eventually I did – 2nd "whew" for the day!
Three hours
later we were back on the boat to come home. We met Mert and his
fiance, Palin, and Mert's sister along the waterfront. They bought
us some roasted chestuts which were delicious. I sang them the song
of “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire....” After all these
years, I finally get to actually taste them. They were quite good!
They took us to a lovely Turkish
restaurant where we had Karisik Manti ( ravioli & yogurt with
garlic and walnuts). It was fantastic! They had us add the spices
of sumak, mint, and a touch of hot pepper. Ooh-la-la! We also
ordered a Mediterranean Salad which was amazing with the dressing of
olive oil, lemon juice, and pomegranate syrup. Mmmm....!
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| Palin & Mert |
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| Rich & Shari |
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| Karisik Manti ( ravioli & yogurt w/garlic) - YUM!! |
We found out that 65% of all nuts
produced come from Turkey, 75% of all the Olive Oil also comes from
Turkey. The north is famous for its tea, the west for different
kinds of melons and olive oil, the south for the citrus and bananas, and of course
fish. So
for all of you out there who like yogurt, Mert gave me many ideas of
what they do in Turkey with yogurt. Such a great staple in their
life – I'm glad I make my own yogurt so I can try them out.
CATS....this must be the city of cats!
We see them running around throughout gardens, alleys, and then both
of our couch surfers had them. We brought some deer jerky from home
and had a sack in our daypack. Kemal's cat discovered it and a nice
little feast, then yesterday Mert's cat was getting into it. We stopped her just in time. This cute little cat was just about
ready to pounce on the fish of the day. HA!
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| No! No Kitty! |
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| What are you lookin' at? | | | | |
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We walked through downtown Istanbul at night and the city was crazy with people and everyone bustling about. We stopped in at an Art Museum, which was very interesting. Mert showed us some fun techniques of this modern art as he is an artist. His mother is a very famous artist in Turkey.
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| Shari, Mert, Palin discuss art techniques. |
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| This is an excavation where they found the kitchen of the Dolmabahce Palace and just built over it with glass. |
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A very fun day, but our last night in Istanbul - off to new adventures tomorrow!
Hi Mom and Rich. Just letting you know that I have been checking your blog and it's fun to see everywhere that you have been. Hope you're getting sleep--it makes me tired just reading it :). Love you! Carlene
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