Turkish Delights, Part II

While we were downtown, we spent most of our time searching out belly-dancing CDs (Tariq) and shoes (me), and went on a wild window-shopping spree through the Grand Bazaar, the home of the largest jewelry mall in the world. Whether we were in the trendy Taksim district (roughly equivalent to Robson Street, Vancouver) or in our hotel’s neighborhood of Cengelkoy (akin to West Vancouver), we took every chance to sample the great cuisine of Turkey. After all our stomach tribulations in Kabul, the food was a dream. Fresh fruit of all descriptions that I had never before tasted, with my favorite being the large, succulent fresh figs; juicy lamb and chicken kebabs; roasted eggplant ‘patlica’; boat-shaped pizza or ‘pide’; fresh baklava dripping with pistachios and honey; fresh honeycomb; and, fried mussels and calamari. Turkish restauranteurs serve ‘mezes’ or appetizers instead of main dishes, and we learned the hard way how fast the bill can tally up! A calamari here, a mussel there, a slice of smoked salmon, a shared beer and – ouch – 90 turkish liras later (about $75 Canadian).

We loved our hotel so much, and spent so much time walking during the day that we didn’t avail ourselves much of Turkish night-life. We did go to a Turkish folk dance show one evening in Sultanahmet, and it was a great experience: it combined rural folk dance sets with Sufi whirling dervishes, classic belly-dancing, and a most hilarious traditional dance where two men paint their stomachs as a man and woman, respectively and then waddle around to a courtship theme. On the days we were too tired to explore the city, we hopped on the Istanbul ferry and cruised out to the Princess Islands on the Sea of Marmara. The islands are car-less, with horses and carriages the standard mode of getting around. On our first trip to the islands, we had a great carriage tour of the island and enjoyed not only the lush vegetation and old snow-white colonial mansions, but all the many horses running free. I’m convinced that Istanbul must have one of the better public transportation systems in the world – there was a constant fleet of restored and new ferries, Mercedes Benz buses, metro trains and funiculars available to serve us any time of day. Just getting around the city was a pleasure. We discovered that very few Turkish people know how to speak English (or Persian), but they were so incredibly friendly, helpful, and generally bemused with us that we had no difficulty at all finding our way around.

Sitting here in the airport and reflecting on our week, I feel satisfied. When I am traveling, there is always a part of me that wishes I could see more, see everything possible… but this city is so full of character, of corners, and communities, and treasures that it would take a lifetime dedicated to discovery to see even a percentage of it. I think my fundamental objectives have been fulfilled: to walk around in a sleeveless shirt without a headscarf, to spend some stress-free time having fun with Tariq, and to relax enough inside to see my work ahead in Afghanistan from a fresh perspective.