Interview with the Parents

So our whirlwind tour of Turkey has sadly come to an end. Shipped the parental units off last night (with postcards to mail from Canada b/c it is so much cheaper! heh heh). To conclude their travels I decided to host a brief interview of their experiences, perceptions and (mis)perceptions of Turkish culture.

Question 1. You were culture shocked! What were the most shocking things you saw?

• Your neighbourhood; kids running around at all hours, garbage floating around, stray cats and dogs everywhere, the men selling random things from the backs of trucks, when a truck came spraying pesticides on the kids and women, when they had a herd of sheep and they slaughtered one right in the street! Roosters crowing although we are in the most urban part of the city.
• The toilets!!! " 'cuz they are just a hole in the ground surrounded by ceramic and you have to squat over it. Not a big fan."
• The streets; people weaving among cars, taxis driving aggressively, narrow steep streets
• The restaurant district and how pushy they can be.
• A woman sitting in the dirty street in her wedding dress
• How well dressed people in the slums are
• No one wears a helmet on motorcycles and mopeds
• How cows and horses graze beside a four lane highway and there is no fences to stop them from going on the road
• Men selling water on a big highway at night, weaving between cars
• How men sometimes gawk at single women... especially the blondes! More so than home even!
• How swank the buses are- stewards serving drinks and treats; also how the spare bus driver sleep under the bus with the luggage!
• In small towns people drive tractors like cars with the whole family loaded in the back
• Muslim women swimming the full hijabb
• The food! not like home hence Daddy-O's gastrointestinal illness

Question 2: What is the same to home?

• McDonalds, Burger King etc... (McDonalds has a McTurk burger heh heh)
• Irish Pubs
• People dress pretty much the same except for the predominance of muslim women, which we have at home but not as many

Question 3: Favorite places or experiences?

Mom-

1. Shopping in the bazaar and Istiklal cadessi... "I am bad at haggling though!"
2. Visiting my first mosque, much different than a church but very beautiful.
3. Boat cruise of the Bosphorus was relaxing
4. Loved the Topkapi palace, the Harem and the "Big diamond... which was 186 karats!!!"
5. Cappadocia was "Freaking awesome"; the underground city was "amazing but scary"; our cave hotel was beautiful, peaceful and the staff was astoundingly friendly
6. Fields upon fields of sunflowers on the Gallipoli peninsula
7. Trying 'real' Turkish Delight

Dad-

1. Seeing the old mopeds they drive around, some more than 30 years old!
2. Gallipoli, the tour of Anzac cove
3. Going to the Flintstone bar with a young Canadian couple we met, they have a fire going there...and good music
4. The best night was the night on the town with our Turkish movie star friend in Istanbul!
5. The 160 km per hour ride down the mountain from our Cabbie guide that took us on the Anzac tour; Mom put her seatbelt on as they hammered it down winding roads and he laughed exclaiming "Do not worry! I drove a tank for 18 months!"

Question 4: Overall impressions? Messages?

• Even more different than we expected! But fun!
• The Turkish people were extremely friendly and very hospitable and nice (way friendlier compared to our trip to Scotland!)
• It is safe! Some people in Canada view Turkey as a very dangerous place which it is not at all... we felt safe the entire time!

And so Jack and I continue on the last leg of our journey... Two brave souls set out into the great unknown... We are thinking about camping out on the Black Sea for a few days before catching a flight to Isreal.

The Parental Units Have Arrived Safe and Sound!!!!

Jack and I collected Big Hmac and Daddy-O from the airport on Monday and have been busy showing them around istanbul...the first night we kicked back with some beers after taking a stroll down Istiklal Cadessi (the main shopping district). We did a cruise of the Bosphorus Strait yesterday and then went to lunch in a little village we got dropped off at, near the mouth of the Black Sea.

All the people milling about Istiklal Cadessi (meaning independence avenue)

The boat we took.....NOT! See below!

Delilah and Big Hmac taking in the sun on the boat cruise!

Daddy-Os delicious fish lunch... not really expecting three little fish but pretty tasty nonetheless, I managed to steal bits of skin to feed the cats begging under the table heh heh...

Now I will hand the keyboard over to the Chief aka Big Hmac who has been eager to let everyone at home know she arrived safe and now will impart her initial impressions:

Hello from Istanbul! We expected a culture shock and boy did we get one!!! D and J's apartment was a major surprise. Well, not actually the apartment which is very nice and comfortable apart from the bathroom, which has the shower right in the room. This means it sprays on the sink, floor, toilet! Very strange indeeed!!!

Outside, as Delilah has explained, are numerous kids, old muslim mama's and men carrying on until late into the night. Oh, and lets not forget the cats everywhere (and curiously the herd of sheep outside the window when we arrived... one of which was slaughtered in the street). Apart from being jet lagged, the general uproar coming from outside keeps you awake. So chess and cards have been our late night entertainment. Daddy-O beat Jack in chess which imparted quite a shock!!

The boat ride yesterday was beautiful and we also visited a mosque which was very interesting and beautiful. There are so many people everywhere! A very busy city ! The weather is hot hot and still hotter! Anyhoooo today we are heading out to the Blue mosque and Hagia sofia. We are also going to the bazaar to find gifts and hopefully our haggling skills are up to par! I tried to pratice at home before I came...now we will find out if it has paid off.

Signing off now... Updates to follow soon, 10=4 over and Out!