Thursday was our "hurry up and wait" day. While our luggage arrived in Istanbul on Weds night, it didn't leave the airport until 10am Thursday morning. They would give us no ETA, so we spent our day at the condo awaiting its arrival--which wasn't until 5pm!
That evening found us dining like Europeans....late...after visiting Istanbul's answer to Times Square--more than likely it was actually the other way around as Istanbul sort of predates NYC--ha! We walked Istiklal Caddesi, Independence Avenue, until midnight, surrounding by throngs of others doing the same: shopping, dining, dancing and enjoying the sites and sounds! It's an incredibly diverse and cosmopolitan place. From my limited travels it rivals only NYC and London. We dined and drank Raki, Turkey's anise-based beverage akin to ouzo.
Friday morning our departure from Istanbul was preceded by a short visit to the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest malls in the world. We left our car at the ferry terminal and took a very exciting taxi ride through very steep, narrow, cobblestone streets, built by the Ottomans prior to cars, at about freeway speed! It was fun and thrilling and Nancy declared it worthy of Disney's E ticket status! "Again," we shouted! En route we saw a horse-drawn cart carrying watermelon, which is available by the slice on nearly every corner, along with roasted ears of corn or roasted chestnuts. The Grand Bazaar was built as a trade center in the mid-1400's. It covers more than 58 streets and has over 4000 vendors. Kris left with a beautiful, custom altered red leather jacket! Soon we boarded a ferry to cross the Marmara Sea to the Asian portion of Turkey, which accounts for around 95% of its land mass.
Since we're talking of leaving Istanbul, although Kris and I will return for a couple of days before flying home, I'll just make a few observations. They have white dashes painted on the roads which, in the US signify separate lanes. As far as we can tell their only purpose here is decorative. People are very eager to help. There are large populations of homeless, but far from "wild" cats and dogs. Currently a project is underway to capture, tag and spay all the dogs to humanely bring the population to an end in about 15 years. They'll then attempt to do the same with the cats...good luck with that!! There's a lot of smoking. Turkish people are beautiful. They know their history and, as we found in previous travels are much more "world aware" than we Americans! Women who "cover" still make fashion statements with their Converse tennies and Louis Vitton handbags and can be seen frequenting lingerie shops! They eat a lot of tomatoes and cucumbers here, and drink a lot of tea!
After crossing the Marmara Sea in a ferry, we began our road trip and I got to drive our Renault. The country side started out quite desert, but quickly became farmland, essentially indistinguishable on quick glance from the hills of Yamhill county. The roads were rough most of the time. After finding our hotel, the Grand Anzac, we strolled the seaside promenade and ate al fresco on the water's edge, looking across the waters to the Gallipoli peninsula to the illuminated Kilitbahir fortress.
Today we visit Gallipoli. I watched the Mel Gibson movie of the same name in the early 1980's and was deeply moved. I'm so excited to be visiting the actual WWI site. We'll then drive south to the Hellenic city of Troy before landing in Assos, an Aegean city where we'll spend the night.
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Location:Istanbul and Canakkale
I want to go to the Grand Bazaar! The red leather is gorgeous. So much history in Istanbul . . .
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