IST EXP: Buyukada

Alhamdulillah, my power and water are both currently running. That has inconveniently not been the case for much of the past couple of days. When I awoke on Sunday, there was no water. When I got back home that evening, there was water, but no light. In the morning, still no light (or hot water). When I returned home after work today, the light was working, but not the water again. I'm not sure what is going on, but it is getting frustrating. Alhamdulillah, I had planned on cooking something, but I just had some bread and cheese instead (The cream cheese here is really good - I had it before in Frankfurt with Masood Uncle this summer. I don't know if it is available in the US, but it is saltier and more fluid than normal cream cheese. Maybe I'll bring some home). I waited until both water and power were working again before I came to write this blog, since I had to put in a laundry load. In sha Allah, I hope both are working when I return tonight.

Alhamdulillah, I am also feeling much better. Only one more day of Zithromax to go, in sha Allah. Now, back to Buyukada...

I got up later than I had hoped on Sunday (I was without my alarm clock/Blackberry, having left it to charge in the office). Still, I figured this was the weekend to see Buyukada, given the beautiful weather and the fact that I didn't have any imminent B school deadlines (I am going for the second round at Berkeley, in sha Allah). I stopped by the office to re-check the port I had to go to, pick up my phone, and then was off.

I took the Metro and Funicular down to Kabatas. That is the only port on the European side that has a ferry to Buyukada (going to Adalar, the Islands). I reached at about 1130am. The token for this trip is YTL 2.8, or double the usual. It looks a little different too. I bought some water and simit, and hung out for a bit, waiting for the 12pm ferry (there is a brochure at Kabatas that has timings - I was shooting blind this first time, so a half hour wait was not so bad; for your future reference, ships depart from Kabatas at 650, 910, 1040, 1200, 1400, 1630, 1830, 1950 and 2300 Mon-Sat, and 700, 910, 1030, 1200, 1400, 1630, 1815, 1930, and 2300 on Sun; you should pay attention to the return times too, since not every boat from Buyukada comes back to Kabatas!). I should have just boarded right away, since by the time I did board, the good seats with a view outside were taken. At least I got a seat inside the cabin by a window. Alas, people eventually obstructed my view outside the cabin. Indeed, some people stood the whole time.
I expected the trip to take about an hour an a half. It was closer to two hours. A lot of Arabs made the trip Sunday. It was the first time since I've been in Istanbul, other than our meeting last weekend, where I've felt I understood what was going on around me, there were that many Arabs. Many from Saudi/the Gulf, but also some Egyptians I think. The trip was rather uneventful. The cabin was a bit warm, and I did doze off. Some guys came around and tried to sell stuff. One guy gave a presentation kind of like an infomercial trying to peddle some kind of tube you stick in a lemon when squeezing it so you can just pour out the juice. Wierd.

The boat made a couple of stops, which probably contributed to the delay. It stopped once on the Asian side, and again on a couple of other islands before hitting Buyukada. Ma sha Allah, even though it took so long, I think these islands are still part of the Istanbul city limits. The trip felt long enough to be considered traveling for purposes of prayer, but I don't think it is.

The islands were very beautiful. Very green. They actually had quite a high elevation. I'm not sure why Buyukada gets all the tourists, other than perhaps it has the infrastructure (e.g., restaurants, hotels, etc.). I think the other ones also looked neat enough to explore, for anyone with more time.

One thing I noticed during the trip is that the sea ports had Arabic script indicating the name of the port, which I thought was interesting. I'm not sure if the ports are all that old, or if the port authority felt sentimental. I also liked the insignia or logo on the ships, with the anchors and the crescent; certainly, it is more appealing than the dolphin logo usually used.

Buyukada struck me as not a terribly Muslim part of the city. I saw quite a few churches, and the mosque was rather hard to find. I never heard the adhan on the island either.

It is a nice enough place, and certainly worth a look see if you have some time and the weather is nice. I didn't see any sandy beaches in the area I explored. I mostly stayed near the downtown/port area, and probably only saw 10-15% of the island. The beaches were rather rocky, but still, the view was great from just about anywhere. Alas, I was denied a seat at the seaside cafes, being an individual - I had to take a less desirable spot in a restaurant further inland - 20 YTL for Urfa Kebab, Ayran, fries, and the tip. Once again, a bit of discrimination.

Most people mention bike riding as a neat activity to do on the island, but that is not really my cup of tea, especially with all the dogs I saw lolling about. I just walked back and forth a bit. I found an internet cafe for our weekly call, but unfortunately, not Skype. I got some ice cream (YTL 7.5) with a bunch of different flavors, but it was just not appetizing. Too much smell of horse excrement in the air, I think. I did discover another private carrier that goes to Buyukada, Mavi Marmara, but it only goes to the Asian side, to Bostanci. Indeed, about half of the government ferries also only go to Bostanci, so the only feasible options for me to return to Kabatas on Sunday were at 3pm (right after I arrived), 515pm (which I took), 645pm, or 930pm. I'm sure they were all packed too - the 515pm one certainly was - so get in line to return early! Now, Bostanci would not be a horrible problem either, as there are doubtless buses that could take me back to Europe, but I didn't want to bother. I don't think there are regular ferries between Bostanci and Europe, at least on Sunday, unfortunately.

The ride back was nicer, as I had gotten in line early and found a good seat on the side of the boat (if the weather had been rainy or wretched, the good seats would be reversed and inside). It only took a little over an hour to return, as the only stop was at Kadikoy - we skipped the other islands for some reason. The view was great the whole time - I was on the north side of the ship. Alhamdulillah - all Istanbul, what a huge city.

I was only there for a few hours, but it was time well spent. It resembles Mackinaw Island in some ways, with the restrictions against motor vehicles, the horses, the tourists, the ferries, etc. No fudge though! I'm not sure if I would try again this trip, since the weather probably won't be so favorable. It is certainly a good place for a picnic or similar outing, but I'm sure other parts of Istanbul, near Tarabya or other places, can say the same. Even the park near Dolmabahce would be nice for a picnic. I think I enjoyed the boat ride more than the island actually. Certainly there is more to Buyukada than what I saw, and it is much more conducive to company than what I experienced. Lots of canoodlers to contend with as well.

Here are some pics from my weekend (I apologize, as they are not quite in chronological order):

Here is the exchange place I stumbled across that takes travelers cheques: