Day 11, 12 & 13: Istanbul

Funky wool hats
Outside the Hippodrome
Turkish coffee, Turkish Delights
Grand Bazaar
Grand Bazaar
Grand Bazaar


Mosaic in Haig Sophia 
Topkapi Palace
Tokapi Palace
Topkapi Palace
The Blue Mosque
No shoes in the mosque!
Mosaic in Haig Sophia

Haig Sophia corridor 
Sirkeci Station
Spice Market

Obelisk of Theodosius
Prayer Carpet
The Blue Mosque at night
Making Turkish coffee, old school
Spice Market
Calligrapher at Ramadan Night Fair
Grand Bazaar outdoor alleys.

After our 11 hour bus ride, we were ready to find a hotel and refresh.  We made our way to the Sultanahmet, (the Blue Mosque) area of town filled with boutique hotels, guesthouses, dorms, restaurants and cafes galore, and every other store sells Turkish rugs, ceramics, and souvenirs.  It's also the place to stay for Istanbul's best touring as the Blue Mosque- Istanbul's biggest mosque, the Hagia Sophia- a Byzantine era church turned mosque, and the Topkapi Palace are all within walking distance.  You can also walk to the Hippodrome (see the Serpent Column, Obelisk of Theodosius, and Walled Obelisk), Grand Bazzar, the Roman aqueducts, the Serkeci Railroad Terminal-- all which we did in our 3 days in Istanbul!

It was still early morning, about 8, and the streets were quite empty except for a few backpackers like ourselves looking for a place to stay.  We went into about a dozen different hotels, some were far too expensive and some were far too smelly, but one seemed just right- the Bonjour Hotel. Unfortunately they were already booked for the next three days, but the manager walked us over to another hotel around the corner- a friend of his, the Sultan's Eye. It was cute, clean, and within the budget we were willing to pay for a bit of R&R and pampering for the end of our stay in Turkey. (91YTL including breakfast, per night)

IB suggested we first hit the hamam. My only reservation was that we wouldn't be able to go in together (men and women have separate rooms).  We asked the hotel manager and he told us about the best hamam in Istanbul that allows co-hamaming!  He set our appointment and 30 minutes later we were whisked away by a private car, straight to the hamam.  This hamam was built right next to the Suleymaniye Mosque and has been in business for 458 years continuously!  We bathed in the same room where Suleyman the Magnificent bathed!  We were pampered, bubbled, massaged, and scrubbed for 45 beautiful minutes.  It felt like what a real hamam experience should,  and was well worth the 60YTL. A++, highly recommended. a

Feeling like newborn babies, we started our day. Our first destination was the Suleymaniya Mosque (just around the corner from the hamam).  This mosque was undergoing restorations to the minarets; actually all of the major mosques and sites we visited were undergoing restorations/renovations- it was quite interesting.  (In our photos you'll see all the scaffolding).

Before going into any mosque, one has to remove your shoes and for women, cover your head and shoulders.  This mosque was completed in 1557,  is the second largest mosque in Turkey and was built on the orders of Suleyman the Magnificent- he's even buried in the back. This was very exciting for IB, as he's a personal hero of his. 

Next on our schedule was the Grand Bazaar.  A HUGE covered shopping area with more than 6,0000 shops ranging from the gold section, to leather, to carpets, ceramics, clothing, antiques, and more.  It was packed with people (many tourists) rushing from here to there.  The shop owners and employees badger you to check out their goods, they'll insist they have what you're looking for even if they don't know what it is- it's such fun!  The whole experience is a sensory overload- so many things to look at, smells, textures.  It was very 'Middle East'.  

I spotted a bag and went to negotiate, I wanted to see some other ones like it, and out of nowhere another employee lead us to the upstairs, behind-the-scenes, factory room where they make the bags right there!  It was small room crowed with finished bags and fabrics galore, and 3 guys- the fabric cutter, the sewer in the back room, and the owner.  I felt like I hit the jackpot!  So after some smooth talking about how I owned a clothing store and was looking to perhaps to some wholesale, I walked out with a handful of bags and a ridiculously cheap price.  Of course, I wore my bag right away and over the 3 days in Istanbul I was stopped about 5 times by shop owners asking how much I paid for my bag.  I guess it's a new style that's up and coming and they wanted to know the going rate, but since I got a special deal, I'm pretty sure I set the whole market down on these bags! Hahaha, you're welcome fellow funky-bag shoppers! :) 

We were pretty exhausted by the end of the Grand Bazaar. We stopped at a pastry shop just outside and munched on baklava and sipped Turkish coffee, no wait, I mean Israeli coffee!   We headed back to our hotel for a rest before dinner. Neither of us can remember what we did for dinner, but it definitely wasn't as good as dinner the second the night; a romantic dinner of wine and seafood with live eastern-style music in the background. 

Our second day we visited Topkapi Palace (15YTL each), the residence of all the Sultan's of the Ottoman Empire from 1465-1853. Today it's a 'Historical Area of Istanbul' and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It grounds were gorgeous and the palace is beautifully preserved- check out the pics!  We wanted to visit the Harem, and for another 10YTL each we entered.  I'm not quite sure why it's another fee to enter, I think it should just be included in the price of the ticket itself.  The Harem housed the Queen Mother (the Sultan's mom), the Sultan's many, many wives, children, and other family members.  Many of the rooms were inaccessible, but the rooms we did see were pretty awesome!  After the Harem, we made our way to the main attraction, the jewels!  The fifth largest diamond in the world is here, along with countless other crowns, gems, Ottoman weapons, rings, coffee cup sets, water pipes, necklaces, original garments, and every other ornate object you could think of.  One room is completely dedicated to all the foreign treasures that were gathered from conquests or given to the Ottoman Empire- objects from China, Egypt, all across Europe, India, etc...  Unfortunately photography is strictly prohibited, so you'll just have to imagine!

The next room over starts all of the sacred religious artifacts; old Koran manuscripts from different areas and centuries and the cloak and sword of Prophet Mohammed.  This room was packed with religious Muslims trying to catch a glimpse of some of their most scared objects.  We were making our way around the room and all of sudden, right in front of us displayed in a glass case with dim lightning was Moses Staff. ?!?!?!? "Umm, is this for real", we both thought. The display next to Moses Staff was of course, King David's Turban- perfectly preserved and bleach-white. Things got a bit twilight at this point.  This is a respected museum, how could they in all good consciousness seriously display this?   This room then lead into the final room, which was just two large television screens, one in Arabic and one in English scrolling passages of the Koran.  Throughout the rooms, we heard faint audio playing, but couldn't quite make it out, but then we figured out it was the audio to the passages--- it felt a bit preachy to say the least. 

With Moses Staff still on my mind, we left and headed to the Haig Sophia- the church turned mosque. The ticket was another 20YTL and I really didn't feel like paying for this, so IB went in and I stayed outside and made small talk with some locals.  In IB's words:  it was very beautiful, very interesting, and the mosaics on the 2nd floor, which is a bit hidden, was a way to justify the cost of the ticket.  It's a pity that everything seems to be under renovations. The scaffolding on the dome apparently changes its' positioning every 3 years as a compromise between UNESCO and the Istanbul authorities for preserving the crumbling masterpiece.  An interesting anecdote was to see Mary and Baby Jesus between the words "Allah" and "Mohammed"- religions of the world unite!  Don't forget to check out the mosaic on the exit on the way out.

Next destination: the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque), built between 1609 and 1616.  It was packed with tourists and worshippers alike.  Almost all of the 20,000 handmade tiles are inscribed with caliphs names, verses of the Koran, or traditional designs of flowers, fruits, and trees. The sheer size of the structure was what made it impressive, but the content was just about the same as all the other mosques we visited. 

Later in the day we visited the hippodrome.  It's basically a big circle that used to host horse and chariot races, but now has vendor shops.  In the hippodrome stands 3 columns- the Serpent Column which was brought to Constantinople in 324 from Ancient Greece but now just looks like a rusty, broken screw, the Obelisk of Theodosius which was brought from Ancient Egypt and is in such pristine condition that it looks like it was carved yesterday.  I couldn't believe it was from circa 1425 B.C.!  It was truly impressive and one of my favorite sights in Istanbul!  The third column, at the opposite end of the Hippodrome is the Walled Obelisk.  It used to be covered in bronze plaques but has since been pillaged. Currently it looks like a tall, skinny pile of bricks.

Our third day and last full day in Istanbul brought us first to the Serkeci Railway Terminal. This is a hugely important train station as it connects the East to the West, Asia to Europe.  The iconic Orient Express stopped and started here.  The station itself is very classic, it looks straight out of an old black-and-white movie. Stained glass windows, sleek curved tracks, a large clock affixed to the wall, and perfectly parallel support poles add to the 'European Orientalism' architecture.  The terminal is situated right on the water, so we went up a bridge to see the view of Istanbul- where the two continents meet!

We made our way to the Spice Bazzar, which was very beautiful but very overpriced.  Afterwards we took a walk down into the back street bazaar, where the locals shop. There was shop after shop of men's clothing, scarf shops, baby's clothing, fabric, and house ware.  It was so strange because they seemed to all be selling the same thing-how do they stay in business?  We kept walking and walking and soon realized we were somewhat lost. So about 9km (5.5 miles) later we finally made it back to our hotel!

In the evening, we went exploring around the Hippodrome, which has magically changed into a huge festival.  Vendors selling plastic fruit, nuts, handmade candy, baklava, and even real Turkish coffee!  There were even make-shift cafes set up under tents serving small snacks and hookahs.  We asked a vendor what it was all about and he told us that this happens every night during Ramadan, some nights they stay open till 4am.  It was a really fun-filled, family atmosphere, the first of this we had experienced.  People seemed happy and relaxed- I was happy I got to see this side of Istanbul.  The Blue Mosque was in the background and we wanted to get a good picture, so we walked through the gates, walking right past three security guards talking on their cell phones.  We took a few pictures and started walking to the other exit but it was closed.  Come to think of it, we were the only people around!  We accidently snuck onto the grounds!  But the door we came through in the first place was wide open.  We held hands and kissed- hahahaha, we thought it was very funny; two Jews holding hands and kissing on a full moon, on the 15th day of Ramadan, being the last two people in the Blue Mosque.  We walked back the entrance we came in from and all the guards at once looked up at us, then at each other with the most peculiar face- "How did these foreigners get in here?"  We played it cool and said "Goodnight" and let ourselves out.  It was hilarious!

The next morning IB went down to pay for the room and the owner said he only accepted cash. This was the final straw for me- I got so pissed because the last thing I wanted to do was take out anymore money, and secondly- what hotel doesn't accept credit cards, especially in a major city!  We rushed over to the nearest ATM (about a 15 minute walk round trip) and begrudgingly took out some more money.  We paid the hotel, but not before I gave the owner a piece of my mind- he should have at least told us, though he insisted he did, and I insisted he post a sign.  We hopped in a cab (30YTL) and flew back to Israel. 

Recap:

Sultan's Eye Hotel: 273YTL

2 for Hamam: 120YTL

2 tickets to Topkapi Palace: 30YTL

2 tickets to Harem in Palace: 20YTL

1 ticket to Haig Sophia: 20YTL

Cab to Airport: 30YTL

Day 9 & 10: Cappadocia

After some zzz's in our cave we got up the next morning, ate breakfast (Turkish, of course) and headed to the Open Air Museum, about a miles walk from Goreme.  (P.S. We also had the Dream Cave do our laundry-15YTL). The hotel owner told us about a few great valleys to check out alternatively on the way to the museum.  We started down the Zemi Valley path and about 10 minutes in we found a ladder leading up into one of the cave houses.  We climbed up and explored around- climbing through holes and crawling through low-narrow passage ways.  It was super cool!  Afterwards, we headed back on track to the Open Air Museum, bought our tickets, 15YTL each, and began our wandering.  There's numerous churches inside the caves painted with frescos (some fully restored and looking fabulous!), dining rooms, graves, churches, and more churches.  

The 'Dark Church', which until the 1950s was used as a pigeon house, depicts scenes from the New Testament and are some of the best preserved frescos in Cappadocia because only a small amount of light enters the cave, so the pigments survived! There is an additional fee to enter the Dark Church (8YTL); I wasn't really that interested in seeing it for another 8YTL, but IB, who loves frescos and is a bit of a history buff, paid and entered.  I sat outside and did a small photo shoot of all the cool structures around me.  The guard who collects the fee saw me sitting there, no one else was around, he asked me where I was from, "America", I said, and then with a smile he nodded his head towards the entrance- so I got in for free :)

A few more hours of climbing around and lots of photos later we finished up and headed back to our Dream Cave.  We consulted our Lonely Planet which directed us to The Ottoman House for dinner.  But before dinner we took another walk around the back streets of Goreme; we could smell the Ramadan meals being cooked and saw families sitting outside talking and enjoying the evening.  Turning the corner on to the main street we were greeted by a little old Turkish lady, she said insistingly "Turkish house! Come! Come! Turkish house!", so we followed her into her house.  She led us to her living room, filled with traditional Turkish hats and hand-made scarves.  We were served a delicious cup of apple tea, she showed me some head-scarves and insisted I try them on, and in the end purchased a Turkish hat for 10YTL.  We said our goodbyes and thank-yous and headed to the Ottoman House.  We sat down, on the balcony underneath the stars and I went to set my purse down and realized I didn't have it.  Panic immediately set in, as my passport and credit card were in there- I realized I must have left it at Turkish lady's house; so we double-timed it over there!  Thankfully she had it and my heart rate went back to normal.  Once back at our dinner table, we were served a great meal- soup, a curry chicken salad appetizer, a meat and vegetable-stew like main course, and a delicious peach and cream thing for dessert. (49YTL).  After dinner, we strolled back to our cave room for some sleep...

With no real plans for the day we asked the hotel owner about other sites in the area. He suggested to hop on the bus (1.75YTL each) to the next town (Ushisar), up the hill and visit Ushisar Castle, then walk back down through Pigeon Valley. The castle is actually the highest point in all of Cappadocia and for 3YTL each, we headed up for the view and photo op.  It was beautiful- with all of Cappadocia's mystical pillars, fairy chimney's, and desert colors surrounding us.  Afterwards we started our walk/hike back through Pigeon Valley with cool views, little vegetable gardens, horses, and apple trees galore- it was off to a great start.  But at some point we realized we were heading up the hill, not down into the valley.  We started looking for a way back down- going on this trail here and there but with no luck.  IB finally found one that looked promising (to him that is), I had serious reservations. He insisted, "Come on, it's totally do-able!", but it was so steep I had to get down on my butt and scoot to check it out, then panic set in- I froze, freaked out and almost started crying.  I knew I couldn't do it and my instincts were telling me so.  I scooted on my butt back to the top and tried to calm myself down.  After this traumatizing ordeal, we found a safer route and headed back to Goreme. 

Back in Goreme we booked our next bus ride- to Istanbul!  The ride is 11 hours and we thought it best to take the night bus (90YTL),  and we had until 8pm till departure.  We packed our belongings and checked out of the Dream Cave (sigh) and found a cute restaurant for our last supper in Cappadocia- traditional kebabs with all the fixings (25YTL). 

Needless to say, the 11-hour bus ride was pretty crappy- even though it was a big huge bus, any seat after 11 hours gets pretty uncomfortable and the air conditioning wasn't turned on for half the ride, uughhh! We were so happy to have finally arrived in Istanbul- aka Constantinople.

Recap:

2 nights at Dream Cave Guesthouse: 80YTL

Laundry services at Dream Cave: 15YTL

2 tickets to Goreme Open Air Museum: 30YTL

Entrance to Dark Church: 8YTL

Turkish Hat: 10YTL

Ottoman House Dinner: 49YTL

Bus tickets to Ushisar: 3YTL

2 tickets to Ushisar Castle: 6YTL

Last supper in Goreme: 25YTL

2 bus tickets to Istanbul: 90YTL

Day 7 & 8: Sivas to Cappadocia

   Yay! Our oasis, Sahara Pizza, Sivas.
   Main Street, Sivas.
    Dream Cave Hotel, Goreme.
   Welcome to Cappadocia!
    Goreme at night

The bus ride to Seabass (Sivas) was long, hot, and we had to listen to Turkish radio shows the whole time and unfortunately, smoking is permitted by the bus driver. Oi vey! Once we arrived at the bus station in Seabass we hopped on the public bus to take us into the center of town (6YTL).  

Up until this point we were pretty much in the 'back country' of Turkey, but Seabass is much more modern with beautiful lighted sidewalks, contemporary clothing stores, and all different kinds of shops.  We consulted our Lonely Planet once again for a place to stay, and after a few attempts at negotiating a fair price, we settled on a small otel on the older side of town (we forgot the name of this otel).  By the time we laid our bags down and relaxed a bit, it was past evening and we were ready to eat.  During the bus ride earlier in the day, I had dreams about pizza- oh how delicious a slice of Long Island pizza would be!  I knew we wouldn't find anything that comes even close, but I thought, maybe just maybe there's a pizza place in Seabass. We began our walk and about 5 blocks later we had just about given up hope- then we lift our heads and literally right in front of us stood "Sahara Pizza"- we couldn't believe it!  We walked upstairs to find the place completely empty except for the staff that looked quite bewildered to see us.  We managed to order pizza with chicken and onions to our waitress who was so nervous speaking broken English with us.  We took the two small pizzas (only 12YTL!) to go and headed back to our otel for a night in.  The box smelled delicious and we couldn't wait to see what a pizza in Turkey looked and tasted like.  We were amazed! It was great and even came with a bunch of extra toppings (something must have gotten lost in translation) like mushrooms, olives, and peppers! YUM! YUM! YUM! It was the best meal we had eaten so far! Sahara Pizza was our oasis!

The otel was 30YTL, without anything included- even hot water, which of course we didn't realize until the next morning when we went to shower.  We complained to the reception and they said that hot water wasn't available until after 11a.  We checked out and went for the only sightseeing in Seabass, an old mosque in the town center, but it was undergoing restorations.

So we made our way to the bus station and wanted to leave Seabass ASAP. But the next direct bus to Cappadocia wasn't for 3 more hours.  So we sat and waited.  We tried to make Turkish coffee with coffee we bought at the supermarket, but it was undrinkable!  (You just can't get Turkish coffee in Turkey- it's crazy!)  

At this point, I was feeling pretty agitated by the price of everything on the trip so far.  We felt that we weren't getting any value for what we were spending, and if we kept it up for the entire trip I'd have holes burned into my pockets.  So we made the decision to call the airlines and have our flight changed to leave a week earlier (this change cost $100 USD).  It was unfortunate we had to cut a whole week out, but we needed to cut our losses.

Another 6 hour bus ride and we arrived in Goreme, the 'tourist' city in the Cappadocia region.  A word about the bus rides:  In the 'back country' the buses were small, un-airconditioned, and very uncomfortable.  But the buses once we got to Sivas were huge tour-style buses, mostly Mercedes with plenty of leg space and A/C (although the bus drivers only turn on the A/C in spurts, so it got pretty hot and stale at some points- maybe it's to save on gas or they are just trying to make the ride more miserable? It's yet to be determined).  But on all buses in Turkey the driver is treated like an airline pilot and there are even 'bus attendants', usually one or two who are responsible for baggage, tickets, bus maintenance, and 'in-route' service.  After every stop the bus makes the attendants walk up and down the isle spraying something that masks the smell of the other smells, then they come around with a bottle full of lemon scented water, you hold out your hands and get a squirt, it's customary and the Turkish men rub it all over their heads and hair- it's like a mini bath!  The attendants also serve water, tea, and snacks, but since it was Ramadan we missed out on this little extra perk :(

Entering the Cappadocia region was like going back in time to the Stone Age.  The region was created millions of years ago by three massive volcanos.  The eruptions caused tons of volcanic ash to cover the land, harden and dry.  The ash also covered already existing rocks and over time weather conditions chipped and shaped out pillar like structures.  The rocks that were covered remained on top of the 'fairy chimneys' giving the region its unique forms.  This type of stone is very soft, which allowed people to carve out homes and underground cities. Cappadocia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its' geographical, historical, and cultural history.  The Open Air Museum is a complex comprising of more than "30 rock-carved churches and chapels containing some superb frescoes, dating from the 9th to the 11th centuries." (Wikipedia). 

The coolest sleeping arrangements in Goreme is to sleep in a cave!  We found a great guesthouse, the Dream Cave Hotel and for 40YTL per night (breakfast included) we slept in a beautifully arched ceiling room that was carved out from the cave itself!  The owner originally wanted 50YTL, but I used my American negotiating skills to get him down ten lira.  The Dream Cave Hotel was by far the nicest and most 'homely' place we stayed on our trip.

Goreme's geared for tourism with plenty of cafes, restaurants, cute shops, and even a few bars. We walked around until we found a place for dinner, a lively outdoor restaurant where we dined on manti (meat-filled Turkish ravioli served with yogurt sauce) and kebabs.  It was such a relief from the Ramadan meat-and-potato meals we were having all along.  After dinner we headed back to our cave for some zzzz's...

Recap:

Flight change: 100USD

Seabass bus station to town center: 6YTL

Seabass Otel: 30YTL

Pizza!: 12YTL

2 tickets from Seabass to Cappadocia: 50YTL