Istanbul, the second time around

Today we are back in Istanbul after a lovely few days on the coast.  We loved Olympos,  the beach, the ruins, the relaxed, friendly atmosphere of our pension. Jess and I must have played 50 games of backgammon, many rounds of gin rummy and finished our novels. Yesterday we spent half a day in Antalya. It was so hot and humid, so we stayed inside for the afternoon.  We ventured out in the evening to eat dinner,  but first, Jess and I were both struck by feelings of consumerism.  Jess discovered that due to her naturally hesitant shopping style,  she is a master bargainer and was able to haggle an pretty lamp down to half the asking price. Even with this victory,  she passed up the opportunity to buy it. However,  our money was eventually spent on handmade leather Ottoman style shoes. Jess bought bright green leather shoes that will make her the talk of streets of Galveston. I bought brown leather slippers that make me think of my grandfather shuffling around his house in his favorite leather zapatillas.

We had a smooth flight from Antalya to Istanbul and after a very packed tram ride from the airport to the Sultan Ahmet area,  we made it to Second Home Hostel.  Inexplicably,  I have been in Turkey for 11 days and had not eaten a Kepab wrap ie a Durum. When I visited Bodrum, Turkey for a few days with my brother,  we ate Durum twice a day because it is delicious amd cheap.  Though shwarma and donner Kepab are ubiquitous in the US, it is difficult to find the meat wrapped with thin pita bread. Our hostel staff (Can, pronounce John) recommended a place right around the corner, and the small tables and wooden stools we already packed with young Turks on their lunch break from work.  The durum was served with roasted peppers and esme, a sauce of chopped tomatoes, onions and peppers, very reminiscent of salsa, served with many Turkish dishes.

Jess and I then continued our tour of Istanbul by following our shopping desires.  We bought natural soaps made of olive oil, cumin, almonds,  bay leaf, and apricot.  We  sampled various Turkish delights. Though I really enjoy the Turkish delights made of pomegranate and pistachio, my heart remains faithful to baklava. We visited the Blue Mosque and then ventured to the Spice Bazaar to buy chili powder and apple tea. The bazaar was too packed to move, and we were literally pushed out by a moving mass of bodies.

Turkish delight

Chili powders at the Spice Bazaar

Jess at the Blue Mosque

Ceiling of the Blue Mosque

We were quite lost walking from the spice bazaar back to our hostel. It was a long circuitous walk through packed streets. Later,  after studying a map and taking another walk,  we realized that when our wandering began in earnest,  we were only a few blocks from our hostel. We finished our long day with a delicious (mostly) vegetarian dinner at a Balkan cafeteria.

View of the Balkan cafeteria

Our hostel has a nice view of the New Mosque and a postage stamp view of the Bosphorus.  Tomorrow we have a packed day of seeing more mosques,  Istanbul Modern (museum of Art), eating mezze at a meyhane, more shopping near Galata Tower,  and eating ( the best Turkish) baklava at Karakoy Gulluoglu.

Tiny view of the Bosphorus and the background for the evening call to prayer

The most melodic call to prayer I've heard in Turkey

http://www.karakoygulluoglu.com/