I'm here, I'm safe and I'm lovin' it

I made it! I am happily in Istanbul. Everything is wonderful. My flight was uneventful, although I did learn that I can't sleep on airplanes anymore. I got maybe 30 minutes of sleep on the long flight to Munich and maybe about an hour on the way to Istanbul.

The hotel is really nice although it is very far out of town. It is right off the highway, so you can't walk anywhere. I've already tried the shuttle and the taxi system with minmal problems. Arriving was no problems either; the shuttle was already waiting for me. I was so happy to see that the sun was shining and people were lounging along the water. The tulips are in bloom, just like at home. The shuttle driver put on American music and I listened to "San Francisco (Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair)" by Scott McKenzie. It was very zen-like.

The view from our room is amazing. You can see the Sea of Marmara and there are all these barge/boat things everywhere. It's a little foggy out this morning (read: smoggy), but beautiful never the less. If you cock your head a little to the left you can see all the way down the shore to the old town. At night the old city wall and the mosques are lit up. It is quite a site.

Last night, after my nap, Adam and I decided to venture out into town for dinner. It turns out the only way to get off the hotel is by car. The hotel is some kind of Island surrounded by a highway. Ick. Anyway, neither one of us had the proper cash, so we had to pay the cabbie in US dollars. I felt guilty, but Adam said it was ok.

We went to the Süleymaniye area to try a restaurant in one of the guide books. As we stepped outside, we saw a gorgeous mosque and they started their evening prayer, which they blast over the loudspeaker, so everyone in the district can hear it. We were lost as soon as we stepped out of the cab. I thought we were near another mosque and we walked all the way down to street only to find out we needed to walk back up and then around the mosque.

Anyway, we finally found our restaurant which was inside the walls said Mosque. The mosque is called Şehzade and so is the restaurant. The restaurant is located inside a courtyard in an old building that used to me the Koranic school (medrese). We got great service at the restaurant and the waiter spoke English. There was a lute player and these little rooms off to the side filled with Turkish men drinking their tea and smoking hookah.

As I said the service was outstanding, as was the food. Wow! I am totally converted to the Turkish cusine. I had a vegetarian casserole, which was basically this little bowl filled with vegetables, coated in cheese and cooked on hot tiles (according to the oven). They also brought out yummy nan/pita-type bread and cheese that tasted like feta. For an appetizer we ordered cigarette rolls, which is a small pastry filled with cheese. YUM! And we got a crepe filled with honey and nuts for dessert. They also gave us free apple tea to finish the night.

We must have finished dinner at like 11:00pm and we promptly found a cab. That was a ride! I felt like I was on a roller coaster and there were no seat belts. The cabbie had no idea where we were going and he spoke no English. We finally made it home and didn't get to bed until after midnight. Boy am I tired.

Anyway, off to breakfast and then I am taking a shuttle into town to visit the old district, Sutlanahmet. I am going to the grand Bazaar and just to see the sites. This is so great!

A little more than a week left!

Wow, time flies...I can't believe how soon this trip is coming up. I leave a week from tomorrow. I am thrilled. Adam finally booked our hotel for the extra two night we are staying there. This hotel was recommended in the Time Out Istanbul guide. We tried a few other places, but they were all booked. And get this: we are getting a shuttle to the airport at 3:00 am the day we depart. UGH!!!

Here's the hotel: http://www.sarnichotel.com/


None of the rooms have views, but the breakfast terrace looks really nice. That's the Blue Mosque in the background.

Adam also bought a really nice DSLR for the B-school. I think he's going to get some lovely pictures. I am going to bring my camera, which I have pretty much decided needs to be replaced. I wish I could before the trip, but no such luck. I think I am going to bring my extra lenses too.

I still have a few more things to think about before the trip. I am ok on money at this point, which feels really good. I need to buy some little items (like a money belt) before the trip and figure out which luggage to bring. I want to bring my nice rolling suitcase, but I fear it is too small for 7 days. I might ask my sister if I can borrow hers. There is also the question of what I am going to use as a daypack. I want something that is big enough so I don't have to carry a purse, but not so big that it becomes a hassle. I am planning on using luggage locks for the day pack.

Adam leaves for Rotterdam in a few days, which means we only have a couple more days to prepare together. I think he's a little stressed about getting everything together in time. I would be too.

There is also the question of what to do with my cat. I asked my neighbor to watch him while I was out of town this past weekend and she did fine. She's a little weird though, so now she sort of acts like she owns him. Anyway, she's the easiest and she does take good care of him. So I asked to watch him while I was in Turkey and she said she may be going out of town for work. Uh-oh. I guess I could ask my sister and I think I may have already. I can't imagine boarding him. He's never been boarded and I think it would change him forever. I think this is going to be one of my longest trips away from him. He'll be fine, I just want him to be able to have a normal routine when I am gone. Anyway, I really hope my neighbor's trip doesn't go through, even though she's nutty.

Making a list and checking it twice...

One of the things that can be the most fun, yet the most challenging part of travel are the gifts for others. It's like Christmas shopping only compacted into one week. I am feeling a litte overwhelmed by the prospect of picking up a little something here and there for friends and family.

Here's the list:
Parents (mind you I have four)
Siblings (another four)
Friends (just a little something-for about 6-8 people)
Belly dance friends (you get your own category as my shopping for you is different another 6 or so)
Adam (even though he'll be there he gets something too)
Friends at work (about another four)

And the grand total is ~27 little gifts for those I love.

Any requests??? Valerie has already asked for jewelry. :) Which I love to buy and I will be going to the gold market. Erika has asked for a shawl. I'll have to get the proper name for it soon. Just let me know, and if you're sweet to me you might get a little something!

Love,
Andalee

Less than a month left!

Wow! I can't believe how fast this trip is coming up! I don't feel ready. I should relax and take it easy on myself. I mean, it's not like I have to have every second planned.

I am a little disappointed that I won't be able to buy any nice costumes. That is a bummer. My last post was all about the costume designers and now I just have to go look. I have offered to buy nice costumes for my friends if they give me the money up front, plus a little extra (let's call it commission) for lugging it around and such. I hope that works out, because I would love to do shopping even though it wouldn't be for me.

At the very least, I will buy a cheap bra and belt set from the Grand Bazaar. I will probably also buy some hip scarves for myself and students/friends. Let's see what else? Shopping, shopping, shopping...That's about all I can think about...except for the Bath. I had the wildest dream about the hamam the other night. I can't even explain it, but let me tell you it got me excited.

Adam and I took a cold, hard look at my money situation last night. So far I have a little less than $500 saved for the trip. That was supposed to go to my plane ticket, but it looks like it will have to be my spending money. I can pay for the plane ticket after I return. I need money to eat! I plan on getting a little more money here and there, but we'll see.

I just received Rick Steves' Istanbul today. It says that you should plan on $100 per day for room and board, which includes $ for lunch and dinner, and assumes breakfast is included. Since I won't be paying for a room, I can assume $50 a day. Then I have to figure in entertainment to be about $7 per sight and a total of $20 per day for all that. So, I am up to $70 a day now, plus shopping and transportation. I think that sounds reasonable--although it looks like I will need to save a little more money... Any benefactors out there? ;) JK

I pray I can manage. I also pray that I have fun adventures out on my own. Adam will be working for a lot of it, which only gives us a couple of days together. I get sad when I think about it. I want him to experience it with me! I mean I know he doesn't want to do the belly dance shopping or the Bath, so I can do that with no guilt for sure. But for all of the other stuff, I want him to be with me. Although, Adam will get to go an excursion that I will miss because it is before I arrive. So at least he'll get to see some of the other sites.

We really need to get together and plan out those days we can be together. He'll have to tell me exactly where he wants to go and I will do all of the other stuff alone. Say he picks the cruise (hoping) and the Topkapi Palace, or other places like that. I would wait for him and we could go together. We still need to decide if we are going to change hotel rooms. I am leaning toward yes, but I am not sure if it is worth it.

For those days that Adam is working, I'll have to figure out how to get to the city-center by myself. After about 4 days of that I will have it down and so if we changed rooms, I would be back to square one. But it would be cool to have a place that is walking distance to points of interest. It would also be cool to travel outside the city to see other places and the countryside, but I don't know if that is possible. Probably not.

Anyway, as you can see there is much to be done. Now it's time to layout all of the details and groundwork. Hopefully we'll get to figure it out this weekend.

Found some cool stuff

I might be able to take some dance classes. Woo hoo! Although it is sooo pricey. A dance class cost $65 Euro which is $95! Here is the link: http://www.bazaarturkey.com/tours/Belly_dance_lesson.html

Here is another cool Web site although the owner is in some dire need of Web site design classes: http://www.turkumusic.com/travel.htm

Here is a cool tip:
"We are loving the akbil thing! Akbil is a little metal button on a tab that fits well on a key chain. It's a pass that you can load up which gets you into all the public transport- bus, ferry, tram, tunel, etc. You get a 10% discount over tokens as well as not having to spend the time in the ticket lines. You pay 6 lira for the thing, then load it up at machines or ticket windows. Keep your receipt when you buy it, because it's only a deposit, which you can get back when you leave Istanbul. We only have one and we scan it twice to get us both in. It will also get you some transfers free. It does not work in Ankara, or outside Istanbul."

I also am getting a travel video via Netflix today. I hope Adam and I can watch it this weekend. I'll post a review. Oh and we need to get to the bookstore to get our travel books!

Lunch with a friend and lots of notes

Today I had lunch with a friend of mine who went to Istanbul a couple of months ago. She is also a belly dancer, so she had some really great tips.

Here are the most important things I learned:

1) Get a driver from the hotel to pick you up at the airport. Taxi drivers suck and they will rip you off. They probably won't even know where the hotel is. Taxi rates also double at night. She said that taxi drivers don't know where places are, but they know landmarks and neighborhoods. They will drop you off in the general area.

2) It's expensive. Most people use Euro, which sucks for me because the Turkish Lira has a better exchange rate. Bring a calculator.


3) MUST GO to the Turkish bath, Cemberlitas Bath.

4) Write down the name of where you are going on a card and ask people for help. If they don't speak English, they'll recognize the name and point you in the right direction. You may have to do this several times before you find where you are going. Most importantly, carry around your hotel's card and memorize the closests/biggest landmark.

5) Go to Istiklal Caddessi for modern food, shopping and costume makers. Probably my best bet for vegetarian food.

6) Beware of pick pockets and wear a money belt. The trains and subway are crammed and people will try to scam you. On the plus side, public transportation is clean.

7) Outside of the Grand Bazaar is an area to buy beads and semi-precious stones. Must keep in mind for my jewelry. Also, if I want to buy precious metal I need to know the daily rate and make sure they weigh it.

8) The belly dance shows are good, but expensive and often with mediocre dancing and bad food. She said they all serve the same meal. She also said that the dancers all do raqs sharqi instead of Turkish-style. She suggested getting the hotel to book, so you don't get ripped off. GAR and Caravanserai seem like the best bets.

9) Go to the Aratsu Market. Not very well-known.

10) Of course, the Blue Mosque and some palace that I forgot to write the name of.

Anyway, I'm sure I will find out more from my lovely resource. She's going to send me cards of places to go, as well as help me figure out the public transportation system. She'll go over the map with me and mark the places I need to get off at. :)

I am bummed that things will be more expensive over there. I was hoping that I could use Lira which is less valuable than the dollar. That way I would get everything at about 20 percent off. But if I have to use Euro then that makes everything TWICE as expensive. I really need to brainstorm more ways to come up with money for the trip.

It looks like buying a nice costume is out of the question as they will run $550 and above. Although she also says they are worth it and much better than Egyptian costumes. I just bought a brand-new costume and I can't really justify buying another one.

It also sounds like people are very nice, yet willing to scam you or get their "commission." I must practice my bargaining and my stern look. Being from the south, that might be hard. Oh well, we'll see how it goes. I am still very excited!!!


Photos by Audra Evans. Used with permission.