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.

Is...TaN...BuL....CoN...StAn...TiN...oPLe

Hagia Sophia from behind

We have been busy busy busy doing a whirlwind tour of Istanbul with the units...but having a fantastic time!

Went to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi palace...did a night on the town where we made friends with Huesyn, a Turkish drama actor (or so he tells us). He took us to his favorite bar, a place we would never have found without him. There was an amazing band playing traditional music and he treated us to beer, wine and nibbles. One of the band members and his wife showed us a turkish folk dance. Huesyn had us all dancing, even Daddy-O! It was the best night we had in istanbul thus far!!!

Blue Mosque from the front...

Jack's battle wound.... walking down the infamous steep street our apartment is on I was carrying the groceries when 'POP!' as bottle of mineral water poking out of the bag went flying to the ground. It shattered spraying Jack's leg with shrapnel. We were shocked at the amount of blood! It ended up being a small one centimeter cut but wow it gushed as you can see from the sock. He was O.K, it was nothing a shot of vodka could not solve.

Walking down the Kabatas to take the units to the Topkapi palace...

Finally, Jack outta that freaking urn! Hahahahahaha!!!!!

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!

Some more pictures of Gallipoli!!!

The absolutely beautiful view from the campground.

The beach!!! Oh how I long for thee...

Our pathetic little camp...except for the fact we have a fridge. We kind of got attacked by the mosquitoes at night, but at least it was warm.

Our South African friend has departed, until we meet again in Canada in one year we will hope your travels are safe! But my parents arrive on Monday and we will be busy helping them navigate their way around istanbul, and we might be heading back to Gallipoli! Woot!

-Delilah

Scrap-Booking

So Lauren and I discovered we were kindered souls because we both scrap booked and thus it was logical for us to travel together. Often times we serenade Jack with Beatles songs while we work cutting up paper and colouring (much to his disgruntlment...we are not exactly good singers).

Included is two of my many pages completed in istanbul...depictions of nargile, turkish tea and backgammon! The two of us are little vultures, tearing off labels of beer bottles, snagging travel pamphlets and picking up newspapers...heh heh great minds think alike!

The Turkish Bath

Hello, this is Lauren. I'm a single gal who attached myself to this entourage of travelling folk in order to get the benefits of their free pad in Istanbul and access to their culinary wizardry. Lekker ek se!* I interrupt this blog owing to the fact that Delilah is an exemplary house wife who happens to know her place in the kitchen, and does not possess the skills to prepare my dinner and update this blog simultaneously. Hence this compromise... :)

Adventures in a Turkish Bath House

After an arduous journey led by the Haminator himself, we found ourselves on a rather grey street corner somewhere in central Istanbul wondering which road would lead to our destination, a Turkish Bath House. Ham Sandwich insisted on continuing straight along the road which we'd come on. Delilah and I disagreed with his navigational skills, owing to the incongruity of the road numbers according to the address we had written down. Jack stood silently on the street corner looking with a seemingly wise air about him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, we were approached by a pair of ancient looking old Turk gentlemen, who informed us we were already standing right outside the ablution house and need only enter (through separate entrances according to sex naturally). All the while two precious little young'uns peered over their shoulders, interested in the alien behavioural habits of real life foreigners.

Delilah and I migrated slowly toward the female entrance. The door was made up of two swinging portions, one of which was fully open. We went inside, half expecting a neat reception with a sweet lady who would gesture towards a changing room and provide us with towels. No such luck. Greeting our virgin eyes were a bunch of rather voluptuous old Turkish women, half of which were naked and the other half sporting rather sexy panties. The leader of the pack came forward and spoke: "Hello lady, bath lady?" Simultaneously, we smiled, and indicated that a bath was exactly what we'd come for. "How much," Delilah responded. "1 ten bath, 2 ten special." This was a fraction of what any of the tourist houses we'd found online had quoted, so unanimously decided that a special bath it would be.

We were ushered into a small room with a bed in it, where we stripped down to the bare essentials (panties and a towel). We then moved into the actual cleansing area, and poured water on ourselves using the buckets provided. It was so incredibly humid that the cold water was rather welcome. The walls were covered in moss, presumably a couple of years worth at least. We then lay down on a central slate, as per the pack leader's instructions, and awaited further commands. As we turned our heads to the left for a more comfortable lying position, we spotted her. A rather over sized lady with a spectacular display of rolls hobbled past...she was wearing a gorgeous pair of pink knickers, which exposed her equally rolley bottom when she bent over to reach for some shampoo. Delilah and I suppressed a giggle, and awaited the return of the pack leader to her lair (Here in after referred to as Mustafina). She brought with her a second worker, who stood beside me and started a scrub down exfoliation, followed by a hair wash. Mustafina took the task of cleaning Delilah into her own paws.

*Delilah is done with cooking, cleaning and other house hold chores not fit for a South African of my social stature who is accustomed to having a personal maid to take care of such pleb tasks. We will continue writing this together*

After the bath itself, we stood around for a while and until we were beckoned into the main entrance parlour by Mustafina and Mohamaddina (my washer who sported a pair of sheer chiffon lace under garments-and nothing else). We have already mentioned that the ladies in this area of the bath house were rather naked. What we failed to mention was their preoccupation with other activities which did not have anything to do with ablutions...cooking some kind of mysterious pasta mix, smoking fags and the act of receiving a bikini wax rather kaalgat* in the middle of the common room. Now was time for the massage...wooooooot!

Delilah was shoved into a small room that came off of the main one, while I was plonked right in the middle of every-man's land for all present to take in. Mustafina and Mohamaddina both got down to business, breasts freely swinging in time to the rhythm of their massage routine. I was rather spoiled in that Mohamaddina serenaded me, making sure that each recital made me smile more than the one before. I could hear the gum chewing of Mustafina despite the fact that she was in another room.

So frequently, those who are not fluent in English are the same who have a healthy curiosity for English culture and long to discover where people hail from. When asked this, I replied: "South Africa." The most common response was exactly the one which I received from Mohamaddina, echoed by a couple of Turks spotted about the room: "Africcaaaa?" She then slapped her cheek and slowly repeated her response. She beckoned to my white ass and relatively underdeveloped anatomy (in comparison to the stereotypical mamma), and made it clear that my failure to have a darker complexion equaled an impossibility to have hailed from this "dark" continent. She gestured to my companion: "Canada," Delilah responded. She seemed much more relieved at this information than the disclosure of my African roots. "Ah, lady, Khan-a-daa."

We finished off and found ourselves outside the bath house beneath the strong rays of Turkish sun before we knew it. The boys had exited only 2 minutes before us, and we sat down to compare tales of the Turkish Hammami. We had had visions of the boys being accosted by large, hairy, greasy samples of machismo. It seemed that their experience was much the same as ours, minus the breast swinging and singing. They also failed to receive the same level of pampering as we did. While we enjoyed a relaxing massage, they were having their backs cracked and being slapped with wet towels (grrrr).

All out, it was a very satisfying experience that both Delilah and I would recommend to anyone who has the opportunity (and guts) to strut their goods in the wilds of a Turkish bath house.

*Lekker ek se: Good, I say

*kaalgat: butt naked

*Note on the names: We were aware that Mustafa and Mohammad were common male turkish names, but being in a misogynist society our knowledge of common female names was lacking. We therefore added the feminine suffixes "ina" for lack of a better option.

Over and out, Lauren and DDeellilah

A Turkish Delicacy

MMM delicious.....NOT! You see these things everywhere, and apparently sheep's heads are a Middle Eastern delicacy, with the eyeballs being prized for their uptmost deliciousness. I tried to find some recipes and all I found was Organically Cooked Sheep's Head with Orzo Rice. Gotta try that one....hmmmmm...anyone who knows me knows I would not even enter a kitchen where this recipe was unfolding!

Went to a Turkish bath today...I will write a follow up post about the experience when we get back from Gallipoli. Got to finish packing, camping out on the Mediteranean coast, woohooo!

Good Night!

-Delilah

The picture I promised!

Checked out some mosques today and spied a .....wee little Sultan! remeber the outfit I mentioned earlier? There were a few little sultans running about the mosque getting their pictures taken by a professional photographer. Purpose? Unknown.

The mosques were very beautiful. We visited the Blue Mosque and another that we did not catch the name of. You had to remove your shoes and it was a relief...the carpets were amazingly soft.

Jack and I are entertaining the idea of heading to Gallipoli for a couple of days with the Kiwi and South African...Not sure whether we will or not....updates will follow!

-Delilah

The Grand Bazaar and Egyptian Spice Market

Headed to the Grand Bazaar (Kapali Çarsi) which is, as our guide book laid out, one of the largest covered markets in the world, with over 4000 shops, several banks, police stations, mosques and could be a city within itself. It is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops.

Apparently you could get lost for hours, we managed to get lost and wander directly out of the bazaar...don't ask how! Got an idea of what was there...some beautiful handcrafted things but also dozens of streets hawking made in China clothes which came in bales which we saw old men lugging on their backs. Predominantly out of the clothes shops they sold head scarves, long skirts and these strange little suits for kids that looked like something a sultan would wear (they were white and gold, with tons of glitter and embellishments, often with a turban and feather) I did not get a picture but I will mission there again to procure one!

Went to the Egyptian Spice Bazaar and bought spices to make Chai. The last photo above I think sums Turkey up quite nicely...Polis sign (cops are everywhere with those daunting automatic weaponry), backgammon and chess (at every cafe where men enjoy hookah and drink turkish tea) and pictures of the Atatürk whom is the adoration of every good citizen (I will do a follow up post about the Ataturk and why Youtube is restricted!).

Good Night! DDDDDelilah