Subhanallah, I should have been on my way home right now, but much has happened in the past week. I apologize for the long break since my last post – I have been busier than expected, even though I predicted a rough couple weeks, and in different ways. I am actually typing this out in an airplane – on the way to Paris (I will post upon reaching my hotel, in sha Allah).
Since my last post, I flew to Konya, spent Eid there, sent out a few hundred Eid greetings, got pulled onto a project back in Detroit, visited Cappadocia, slept in a cave, puttered around in an underground city, took a long bus ride back to Istanbul, started working on said project on Thursday and through the weekend, was told to extend my stay in Istanbul to the 17th, picked up gifts and packed in my spare time, was told to head to Paris ASAP, made my emergency travel arrangements, and emptied my apartment! Subhanallah – all this in just over a week. Now, I am not expected to reach home until Friday! After trying so hard to get staffed on an international assignment for three years, I haven't even made it home from my first such assignment before going to my second! Strange, how the world works. Alhamdulillah.
My Eid trip to Konya and Cappadocia deserves its own entry – in sha Allah, I will complete that, as well as the Osmanli Cumhuriyeti and mall entries at some point. Probably, that will have to wait until I am home. I will also have an entry with concluding thoughts, in sha Allah. For now, I will just address the weekend and the running around since returning to Istanbul.
I haven't eaten much over the past few days – maybe one real meal a day, if that. I was rather ravenous actually when the flight attendants brought by the food. There was only one choice, and not vegetarian. The attendant reassured me that it was from Turkey, but I only started eating the cold cuts once I saw an insert that said "This certifies that your meal does not contain pork," or something like that.
I am on an Air France flight somehow. I say somehow, because I had booked my flight on Turkish Air. It turns out that flight was postponed until 830 – I think it might have even been canceled because of low ticket sales. There were four of us that the Turkish Air personnel walked over to Air France and had us check in there – if we were the only four people who bought tickets on the Turkish Air flight, I can see why they would have wanted to cancel it. This flight isn't full either – I have a whole row to myself, as do a lot of others. Khayr in sha Allah. Instead of leaving at 715 or 830 with Turkish Air, I departed at 645 with Air France. Works for me. It is a good thing I got to the airport early.
I'm not sure, but I think this may be my first Air France flight. So far, so good. I noticed one new thing. When the flight attendants were doing the safety demonstration, they went much further than typical airlines – they actually put on the masks and life jackets and buckled them. Then they did something weird, doing a little march up and down the isle in the life jacket. Strange.
Anyways, I got back to Istanbul from Cappadocia/Nevsehir on Thursday morning. I'm not sure if I dozed off during the Mecidiyekoy/Sultanahmet drop off/stop or if they just skipped it, but I ended up in the Esenler Otogar. I had to add another hour on top of everything else to get back home using the Metro/tram/funicular/Metro. I got home and slept for a few hours. Then, I got ready and headed into the office.
I worked for a few hours on the project work for Detroit. I also wrapped up a couple of documents I had been saving for Friday for Istanbul. I thought I was in decent shape – at that point, my plan was to shop/wrap up on the weekend, return home on Monday, and finish the Detroit work back in the DTW office. I was more or less relaxed, and even went to Profilo to hit up the Pizza Hut buffet (ended up going to Sadik Effendi for lahmacun instead though).
Things got a little bit busier on Friday. Erkut wanted me to close a few outstanding issues (including dissecting a laptop!), we had a team lunch, and I was getting calls from Detroit to check my progress. Apparently, deadlines were being moved up. I was asked if I could work over the weekend. At first, I thought it would be extremely difficult, given all that I had to do, if I was to make my Monday morning flight. However, we agreed for me to work Sat/Sun/Mon/Tue all in Istanbul, fly home Wed, and take Thu/Fri off instead. It would still be difficult to wrap everything up by Tuesday without a full day off, but I figured an hour or two here or there and I could do what needed to be done. I had my flights changed and now planned to leave Istanbul on the 17th (which worked out nice, since that is when my lease expired anyways). I settled on a quick Burger King for dinner.
Saturday, I got into the office around ten (after a short Simit café breakfast) and worked for about five hours. I submitted my material to both Paris and Detroit for feedback, then headed out for some shopping. I headed over to the Grand Bazaar, figuring I would do some recon at least, and maybe pick up a few items. I hadn't "gotten lost" in it yet, and I figured it was now or never. I ended up spending a good three hours or so in the place, though I probably only covered 5-10%. While there are thousands of shops, many of them are quite repetitive, so there isn't as much variety as you would think. Certainly, I didn't come across the Ottoman tie I wanted. Anyways, I looked about, and saw some interesting things, like Ottoman based chess pieces, a sword with a mosaic wooden sheathe, nice scarves, colorful fezes, and ornate plates.
My mom has been after me about the plates for the past few years actually (she always asked me to ask Erkut to bring some from Turkey). However, I didn't really know what she is after. Given the vast price range (YTL 25-2500), I touched base with her and took some pictures (where allowed, some places didn't allow). Apparently, it is all about the clay quality. Most of the designs are painted on – those are cheap ones. The textured ones aren't so great either. Mom wanted an orange and blue one. I think most are in the YTL 30-60 range. I will try to get a matching set before coming home in sha Allah.
All I ended up getting this trip were 4 more colorful fezes (YTL 5 each) and some pictures. With one of the fez guys, I told him I was Indian, so he started talking in Urdu. I think I passed the test though – he quoted me at YTL 5, which is the right price (not YTL 10 that I've seen elsewhere).
I prayed Maghrib at a mosque inside the bazaar – it was decent sized compared to Taksim mosque, but it wasn't as full as you might have expected. I prayed Isha at a nearby mosque right outside the gates.
I headed back to the office for another few hours of work. Not much feedback, but I had pretty much taken care of deliverable one. I got started on the second of two deliverables in the meantime, before heading home late. Still, after I touched base with Detroit, they wanted me to be prepared to go to Paris on Monday if necessary, as project requirements were changing so rapidly.
On Sunday, again I rolled into the office around ten. This time, I only worked for about four hours before heading out – I was given the green light to get as close to wrapped up as possible by Monday.
First, I headed to the Konyali area, where the Sunday bazaar was taking place. Alhamdulillah, the weather was great. I bought 14 scarves from one guy for YTL 72. I bought another two from another stand for YTL 6. Then, I went to the store that sells just about everything and picked up nine little ceramic boxes with Islamic designs on them for YTL 18 (YTL 2 each). After praying Asr, I dropped this off at home and headed back out.
Given the renewed possibility that this was my last full day in Istanbul, I planned to get prayer rugs from Eyup, head scarves from Fatih, bath robes from Olivium (if possible), Galatasaray jerseys from the stadium store, baklava from my nearby Gulloglu branch, and Turkish Delight from Haci Bekir in Taksim. I got on the 55 to Eyup and prayed Maghrib upon reaching there. It was a much different atmosphere than Laylatul Qadr, but the mosque was still full for Maghrib and Isha. I was quite impressed with that. There were a lot of interesting things there. There was a stand selling Ottoman era drinks, like Tamr Hindi, Ab I Hayat, Macedonia, and some other interesting drinks. The guy was nice and let me try all of them. I got a Macedonia (since Tamr Hindi was out) for YTL 2 (I gave 3) – less than what I had paid at Sultanahmet during Ramadan). I also saw some stores selling warm boza – I didn't go for it however.
I bought more scarves and prayer rugs from a couple of different outlets. I had brought mom's sample with me and took it around. Alas, while the chiffon material scarves are available, they are not available in that design. Mom's preferred design is available on polyester or silk. Turkey is a fashionable place when it comes to scarves I guess, and that design is out of date here. One lady said it was "ancient," in a rather insulting way I think – I didn't buy from her store.
I spent YTL 240 at the first store, negotiating down a little bit (YTL 262 was list price). I got 2 hats, 2 silk scarves, 2 shawls, 3 or 4 prayer rugs, and 3 or 4 other scarves and a couple of other things. At the second store, I spent YTL 110 (down from YTL 125 list price), for a few more scarves and a bunch of prayer rugs. I headed home on the 55 bus back home. Given all the scarves I had purchased, there was no need to go to Fatih, although I think the scarf stores there are more fashionable.
Anyways, walking home, I touched base with Mobaba and picked up the Galatasaray gear from the store. The outlet branch said it was closed, even though the door was open and the guy was sitting behind the register. I ended up using my credit card for only the second time in Turkey, to get a couple jerseys (YTL 82 each) Mobaba wants to give as gifts and a T shirt (YTL 20 or so) for me (since I didn’t have that many liras on me).
I went back to the office for a couple more hours of work. I found a bunch of recent emails that I had missed on my Blackberry (it has been having connectivity issues over the past few weeks) – the new plan was for me to go to Paris on Monday evening! I acknowledged this plan, than made my travel arrangements with the after hours travel agency. The initial thought was to just go back home from Paris on Thursday. However, this would require a new ticket that cost upwards of USD 4000. After discussing the matter with Detroit, I ended up deciding to go to Paris and return to Istanbul on Thursday, heading home on Friday. This way, I could leave my suitcases at the office, and at least have a chance to wrap things up better in Istanbul. Also, the cost was one tenth of the other option.
I was up until two in the morning, packing , cleaning, doing laundry, etc. Alhamdulillah, I was able to squeeze pretty much everything in. It is a good thing I didn't pick up any more towels or bath robes – I don't think there would have been the space! I turned the heat on high so I could dry my clothes quickly on the heaters while I slept – I hadn't been planning on working on Monday, and my complicated laundry pipeline did not match well with my schedule's gyrations.
I got into the office at 10 again, after some final cleanup and packing – after all, I had to give the apartment back today. After a couple hours, I had to go back to meet the realtor. Everything was in order. He initially wanted to charge me YTL 450 for utilities, but this came down to USD 100 for the last month. He also wanted YTL 50 for cleaning, but I thought that was a bit outrageous, given the state of the place and the junk all over the place when I moved in, so I refused. I got my deposit back, alhamdulillah, minus USD 100 withheld for utilities. The whole process took about an hour. Alhamdulillah, the guy did help me take all my stuff to the office in his car, which was a big help. I gave him the keys early, and was done with the flat. It was decent, and I wouldn't mind staying there again, if need be and if it is available (he put up the realty signs while I waited), since you really can't beat the location.
I transitioned over my Istanbul work later in the afternoon, after doing some more Detroit work. I also had a wrap up conversation with Erkut. I asked Gizem for a big favor, and she is coming through in sha Allah – she will take and distribute the bags of clothes mom sent with Muhammad Baba. I have been trying for the past few weeks to talk to the muezzin at Konyali, Muhammad, who I had given the first shipment of clothes to. However, I hadn't seen him for a while, so I thought he must be at hajj or something. Finally, I asked someone yesterday – apparently he is in the hospital. I was in a bind. I even thought about visiting him in the hospital (not to give him the clothes, but to ask what I should do), but (and I hadn't noticed until now) there are two hospitals right next to each other by my house, and I wasn't sure which one he was in! I asked Gizem today, and she agreed. Otherwise, I would have been in big trouble. Alhamdulillah.
I took a taxi from Astoria to the airport. It only took half an hour or so alhamdulillah, and YTL 31. Other than the hiccup with Turkish Air, everything else was a breeze. It is a pretty big airport though, I've noticed, walking from one end (Turkish Air) to the other (Air France). I would have liked to price check at some of the stores, but it is better to get on earlier flights if possible, so alhamdulillah.
…
I am now at the hotel – it cost EUR 45 to get here in a taxi!. The room was as cold as my cave hotel room when I entered – someone had left the window open! – but it does have two heaters – one electric and one gas. Too bad I couldn't have had this brief jaunt to France last week – it would have saved me the day trip to Greece!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Bayram and departure preparations
Alhamdulillah, these past few days have been quite busy and eventful - I will be back home in just over a week in sha Allah. At least the weather has still been beautiful - I've been walking around in short sleeves without a jacket today. Still, I don't mind the cold that much.
Last week was busy workwise. I have a few small projects I have to wrap up, and only have one work day left - next Friday. Erkut also gave me some more to do's to deal with as well. Khayr in sha Allah.
On Wednesday, I made two liters of sheer korma using the packets my mom sent with me. She sent three packets total - I am not sure why, as there are only two Eids - so I brought the packets and the milk to the office and made it there for everyone. I think my coworkers liked it, but they certainly weren't as enthusiastic about it as me. I made the most damage through Friday, when I sent the rest with Gizem for her family. I will have to collect the pot next week, in sha Allah.
My colleagues had warned me that I would have a hard time getting tickets on buses or trains or even airplanes due to the Bayram. They were surprised I hadn't made reservations yet. I would have liked to, but I still hadn't decided on how pr when to leave the country so I could get a new Turkish visa. Still, their concern, and also reading about an early December Rumi festival in Konya that usually fills the city, spurred me into action.
On Thursday, I went to a travel agency near Ali Sami Yen stadium (I could hear chanting in the background) that I often walked by. I went just for information purposes, but I ended up buying some tickets. I tried to find out my options. A flight to Athens (one way) was several hundred Euros. Northern Cyprus would be cheaper - only YTL 300-330 or so roundtrip. However, I could not book a hotel room for only one night at this time - they wanted a minimum of three nights during Bayram season. I didn't want to pay that, and figured a day trip to Greece would have the same utility as one to Cyprus for less price, so I decided upon the train to Greece option. Alas, I couldn't get train tickets at the travel agency (or bus tickets) - I had to go to the train station (or the Otogar).
Alhamdulillah, when I asked about Konya, he did have a flight available for YTL 149 one way (including YTL 15 in fees), leaving from Ataturk airport on Sunday night. I went for it, since I didn't want to risk missing out on Rumi, and bus spots were now in doubt. Also, the price was rather reasonable compared to what I had seen online, and I would be saving a lot of time. I also asked about hotels, and he had availability in Konya, so I took it. It was rather expensive, at EUR 86/YTL 174 for just me, but it is a nice hotel, the Dedeman. As a foreigner, the price was YTL 174 instead of YTL 140, which is annoying. I ended up using my credit card for a purchase in Turkey for the first time (other than transactions with US entities like apps and flight to DC). I wouldn't have, but the ATM was out of order when I walked by to get some cash. I guess this does give me some protection anyways, which is not a bad thing.
The guy took a really long time to give me the tickets - I was in there for over an hour, mostly waiting for him. He was chatting with some girl the whole time, and the wierd thing is, I think it was for my tickets and reservations somehow.
I did research on the best way to get to Greece for visa purposes. I read about and called the bus companies. Alas, I couldn't make out what they were saying. I kept trying to piece together some itinerary, triangulating where and when the buses and trains stopped, so I could have as short and cheap a trip as possible. It seems like the schedulers have made it as difficult as possible to do what I wanted to do - just go, cross the border, and come back, painlessly. What I gathered was that buses and trains to Greece are rather infrequent. The bus companies might have one bus going per day. There are two trains a day between the two countries. That is it from Istanbul - from Edirne, there may be more, but I didn't want to risk my visa status on speculation. I had a hard deadline to be back in Istanbul as well, given my 1020pm flight to Konya on Sunday. I could either head to the Otogar or the Sirkeci train station to buy tickets. I opted for Sirkeci first, since it was closer.
Early on Friday morning, after fajr, I went to the train station, leaning towards getting the overnight Istanbul-Thessaloniki roundrip, where I would leave Friday evening, get to Saloniki Saturday morning, come back in the evening, and reach Istanbul Sunday morning. I just didn't want to risk getting stranded somewhere in the middle, waiting for a bus or train or connection that might be late. However, after studying the schedules, it appeared I could just do a day trip to the border, coming back on the same train on Saturday. The ticket guy recommended this, saying that doing that with the sleeper train would be much more expensive (4x). I got the roundtrip tickets to Pythion and back for YTL 55 total. They were open tickets, even though I told the guy the dates I wanted. It was still risky, depending on how long it took to process my visas and stuff, but I figured it was worth it. Sorry Omar, it would have been nice to go to Thessaloniki and actually see part of Greece, but I will have to save that for a more meaningful trip than simply trying to get a new visa.
I got up early again on Saturday to make the trip down to the train station. I got there with plenty of time to spare - it leaves and 830 each day. By and large, the train was on time, alhamdulillah. Of course, it was terribly inefficient - a dozen stops at least - making the 3 hour bus ride a 6 hour one way trip. Only one segment of the train makes it all the way to Greece, so beware what compartment you sit in if you take this train. Also beware of where you sit, because I had the most horrible seat in the train on the way there. The usher bade me to a relatively empty section - just one Japanese tourist in it. I sat there, and the entire trip, I was shaken up, down, left, right. If I was a baby, I would probably have shaken baby syndrome or something. My bottom was quite sore afterwards. I knew I had the worst seat on the train - the others in my compartment even didn't have it so bad. I thought I knew what was happening, and after getting off, I confirmed it - I was sitting on the wheel/spring part of the train that is on the track - each bump, each divot, each twist of the track, I felt. If I had a problem with motion sickness, it would have been all over. The way back, I picked a much better seat, right in the middle, and alhamdulillah, it was still a bit bumpy, but not so bad.
The ride was actually quite horrible overall. Some of the views were nice, though. As we exited Istanbul, there were new developments/suburbs wwhere there were nice looking cookie cutter houses. However, instead of each house being the same structure with different features, there were three or four of each type of house/building, EXACTLY the same, and there were dozens of different patterns. It looked pretty neat, maybe like something out of Dr. Seuss. Also, more leaves had started to fall.
Still, aside from the bumpiness, the compartment had filled up with some grungy looking Turks (long hair, scraggly beards, dirty, smelly). Actually, two were like that, and one was different - clean shaven, less annoying, less smelly. I couldn't figure out what he was doing with them, and I was wondering about this the whole trip. I later found out he was a Syrian, from Latakia, named Hani. They were conversing in Turkish the whole time, so I didn't figure it out until I saw his passport. He is probably Alawi, but a nice enough guy. Perhaps he is an outcast here, just like them. So anyways, I didn't have much room to strech out. I did manage to drift off a bit though. I had to stand several times to shake off the bumpiness though.
I hadn't eaten anything all day, so when we got to the Turkish visa checkpoint, I grabbed some cookies, biscuits, and water (YTL 4) - no dan cake (or anything) served on Turkish trains I guess! We were there for maybe half an hour, without any problems. Some guy came and collected all the passports and then gave them back after we got back on the train. We crossed some farmland and then a river before stopping at the Greek checkpoint.
Again, the passports were collected. Everyone was told to get off the train for the switch. I did as well, but I mentioned to some official looking people that now I wanted to go back to Turkey. One of the train people kind of figured out what I was trying to do, so he had the Greeks expedite my entry/exit stamp at the same time. I got back in the same train (only one segment had made it across), and went back after another half hour. I think what I was trying to do was at least not unheard of. Hardly anyone was on the train going back. I had a whole compartment to myself, and it stayed like that. The Turkish officials wanted to make sure I had the Greek entry/exit stamps before giving me a new visa. Make sure you have Euros if you try this, since the visa place asks for them - USD did not appear to be an option. Alhamdulillah, I had Euros on me (first time I was carrying my wallet in months - I had just been putting cash or cards in my pocket). I wouldn't recommend this way to get a new visa - planning a nice trip to Greece or Cyprus is a much better option, but I just don't have the time. In terms of time wasted, it worked out to about the same as the overnight train, but I slept at home two extra nights and spent much less.
Both the Greek and Turkish border posts were in little more than villages. I'm glad I didn't have to wait around in either one or get stuck there. The Turkish post is about 50 km from Edirne, so there might have been transportation, but it was probably more trouble than it was worth. There were shops and stuff - they were towns after all, but the crossing is probably the biggest thing that happens there all day. The river reminded me a bit of the Anduin from the LOTR movie - with the troops on both sides and just a kind of sense of emptiness but wariness.
For some reason, we stayed in this area until about 4/430 instead of leaving at 330, but we got back to IST on time more or less - about 930. The ride back was ok, if dark. I did some work composing Eid letters, but my battery lasted only so long. Alhamdulillah, I was able to stretch out. There was an officer with a gun patrolling the train, looking in after every stop. I'm not sure why - maybe to prevent stowaways.
I got back last night and came back to the office to drop off my laptop. I had a late, late dinner so I didn't have to worry about suhoor in the morning.
Today, I went to the Sunday bazaar near my house. I think I will get some gifts from there, like scarves. I also need to pick up a backpack for my trip. I will go back shortly.
I kept on trying to find the muezzin at Konyali but he has disappeared. Perhaps he is visiting family for Bayram (or on Hajj). I need to give him the clothes mom sent. I might have to wait until next weekend, in sha Allah.
Other anecdotes:
I saw a sign encouraging people to throw trash away in the metro (a sticker) - the trash was in the shape of a swastika, which was wierd.
They got rid of the manti special at my mall - disappointing - I paid YTL 17 for what I used to pay YTL 11.
Ayman doviz has changed the price on my downwards twice now, after I walked in.
The AKBIL recharge stations are easy to use - but be careful, they might spit out your money after you leave and void the transaction. I saw this happen to someone.
Now, I am off for some more errands, and then to the airport in sha Allah. If I take my laptop, maybe I will post from Konya.
Last week was busy workwise. I have a few small projects I have to wrap up, and only have one work day left - next Friday. Erkut also gave me some more to do's to deal with as well. Khayr in sha Allah.
On Wednesday, I made two liters of sheer korma using the packets my mom sent with me. She sent three packets total - I am not sure why, as there are only two Eids - so I brought the packets and the milk to the office and made it there for everyone. I think my coworkers liked it, but they certainly weren't as enthusiastic about it as me. I made the most damage through Friday, when I sent the rest with Gizem for her family. I will have to collect the pot next week, in sha Allah.
My colleagues had warned me that I would have a hard time getting tickets on buses or trains or even airplanes due to the Bayram. They were surprised I hadn't made reservations yet. I would have liked to, but I still hadn't decided on how pr when to leave the country so I could get a new Turkish visa. Still, their concern, and also reading about an early December Rumi festival in Konya that usually fills the city, spurred me into action.
On Thursday, I went to a travel agency near Ali Sami Yen stadium (I could hear chanting in the background) that I often walked by. I went just for information purposes, but I ended up buying some tickets. I tried to find out my options. A flight to Athens (one way) was several hundred Euros. Northern Cyprus would be cheaper - only YTL 300-330 or so roundtrip. However, I could not book a hotel room for only one night at this time - they wanted a minimum of three nights during Bayram season. I didn't want to pay that, and figured a day trip to Greece would have the same utility as one to Cyprus for less price, so I decided upon the train to Greece option. Alas, I couldn't get train tickets at the travel agency (or bus tickets) - I had to go to the train station (or the Otogar).
Alhamdulillah, when I asked about Konya, he did have a flight available for YTL 149 one way (including YTL 15 in fees), leaving from Ataturk airport on Sunday night. I went for it, since I didn't want to risk missing out on Rumi, and bus spots were now in doubt. Also, the price was rather reasonable compared to what I had seen online, and I would be saving a lot of time. I also asked about hotels, and he had availability in Konya, so I took it. It was rather expensive, at EUR 86/YTL 174 for just me, but it is a nice hotel, the Dedeman. As a foreigner, the price was YTL 174 instead of YTL 140, which is annoying. I ended up using my credit card for a purchase in Turkey for the first time (other than transactions with US entities like apps and flight to DC). I wouldn't have, but the ATM was out of order when I walked by to get some cash. I guess this does give me some protection anyways, which is not a bad thing.
The guy took a really long time to give me the tickets - I was in there for over an hour, mostly waiting for him. He was chatting with some girl the whole time, and the wierd thing is, I think it was for my tickets and reservations somehow.
I did research on the best way to get to Greece for visa purposes. I read about and called the bus companies. Alas, I couldn't make out what they were saying. I kept trying to piece together some itinerary, triangulating where and when the buses and trains stopped, so I could have as short and cheap a trip as possible. It seems like the schedulers have made it as difficult as possible to do what I wanted to do - just go, cross the border, and come back, painlessly. What I gathered was that buses and trains to Greece are rather infrequent. The bus companies might have one bus going per day. There are two trains a day between the two countries. That is it from Istanbul - from Edirne, there may be more, but I didn't want to risk my visa status on speculation. I had a hard deadline to be back in Istanbul as well, given my 1020pm flight to Konya on Sunday. I could either head to the Otogar or the Sirkeci train station to buy tickets. I opted for Sirkeci first, since it was closer.
Early on Friday morning, after fajr, I went to the train station, leaning towards getting the overnight Istanbul-Thessaloniki roundrip, where I would leave Friday evening, get to Saloniki Saturday morning, come back in the evening, and reach Istanbul Sunday morning. I just didn't want to risk getting stranded somewhere in the middle, waiting for a bus or train or connection that might be late. However, after studying the schedules, it appeared I could just do a day trip to the border, coming back on the same train on Saturday. The ticket guy recommended this, saying that doing that with the sleeper train would be much more expensive (4x). I got the roundtrip tickets to Pythion and back for YTL 55 total. They were open tickets, even though I told the guy the dates I wanted. It was still risky, depending on how long it took to process my visas and stuff, but I figured it was worth it. Sorry Omar, it would have been nice to go to Thessaloniki and actually see part of Greece, but I will have to save that for a more meaningful trip than simply trying to get a new visa.
I got up early again on Saturday to make the trip down to the train station. I got there with plenty of time to spare - it leaves and 830 each day. By and large, the train was on time, alhamdulillah. Of course, it was terribly inefficient - a dozen stops at least - making the 3 hour bus ride a 6 hour one way trip. Only one segment of the train makes it all the way to Greece, so beware what compartment you sit in if you take this train. Also beware of where you sit, because I had the most horrible seat in the train on the way there. The usher bade me to a relatively empty section - just one Japanese tourist in it. I sat there, and the entire trip, I was shaken up, down, left, right. If I was a baby, I would probably have shaken baby syndrome or something. My bottom was quite sore afterwards. I knew I had the worst seat on the train - the others in my compartment even didn't have it so bad. I thought I knew what was happening, and after getting off, I confirmed it - I was sitting on the wheel/spring part of the train that is on the track - each bump, each divot, each twist of the track, I felt. If I had a problem with motion sickness, it would have been all over. The way back, I picked a much better seat, right in the middle, and alhamdulillah, it was still a bit bumpy, but not so bad.
The ride was actually quite horrible overall. Some of the views were nice, though. As we exited Istanbul, there were new developments/suburbs wwhere there were nice looking cookie cutter houses. However, instead of each house being the same structure with different features, there were three or four of each type of house/building, EXACTLY the same, and there were dozens of different patterns. It looked pretty neat, maybe like something out of Dr. Seuss. Also, more leaves had started to fall.
Still, aside from the bumpiness, the compartment had filled up with some grungy looking Turks (long hair, scraggly beards, dirty, smelly). Actually, two were like that, and one was different - clean shaven, less annoying, less smelly. I couldn't figure out what he was doing with them, and I was wondering about this the whole trip. I later found out he was a Syrian, from Latakia, named Hani. They were conversing in Turkish the whole time, so I didn't figure it out until I saw his passport. He is probably Alawi, but a nice enough guy. Perhaps he is an outcast here, just like them. So anyways, I didn't have much room to strech out. I did manage to drift off a bit though. I had to stand several times to shake off the bumpiness though.
I hadn't eaten anything all day, so when we got to the Turkish visa checkpoint, I grabbed some cookies, biscuits, and water (YTL 4) - no dan cake (or anything) served on Turkish trains I guess! We were there for maybe half an hour, without any problems. Some guy came and collected all the passports and then gave them back after we got back on the train. We crossed some farmland and then a river before stopping at the Greek checkpoint.
Again, the passports were collected. Everyone was told to get off the train for the switch. I did as well, but I mentioned to some official looking people that now I wanted to go back to Turkey. One of the train people kind of figured out what I was trying to do, so he had the Greeks expedite my entry/exit stamp at the same time. I got back in the same train (only one segment had made it across), and went back after another half hour. I think what I was trying to do was at least not unheard of. Hardly anyone was on the train going back. I had a whole compartment to myself, and it stayed like that. The Turkish officials wanted to make sure I had the Greek entry/exit stamps before giving me a new visa. Make sure you have Euros if you try this, since the visa place asks for them - USD did not appear to be an option. Alhamdulillah, I had Euros on me (first time I was carrying my wallet in months - I had just been putting cash or cards in my pocket). I wouldn't recommend this way to get a new visa - planning a nice trip to Greece or Cyprus is a much better option, but I just don't have the time. In terms of time wasted, it worked out to about the same as the overnight train, but I slept at home two extra nights and spent much less.
Both the Greek and Turkish border posts were in little more than villages. I'm glad I didn't have to wait around in either one or get stuck there. The Turkish post is about 50 km from Edirne, so there might have been transportation, but it was probably more trouble than it was worth. There were shops and stuff - they were towns after all, but the crossing is probably the biggest thing that happens there all day. The river reminded me a bit of the Anduin from the LOTR movie - with the troops on both sides and just a kind of sense of emptiness but wariness.
For some reason, we stayed in this area until about 4/430 instead of leaving at 330, but we got back to IST on time more or less - about 930. The ride back was ok, if dark. I did some work composing Eid letters, but my battery lasted only so long. Alhamdulillah, I was able to stretch out. There was an officer with a gun patrolling the train, looking in after every stop. I'm not sure why - maybe to prevent stowaways.
I got back last night and came back to the office to drop off my laptop. I had a late, late dinner so I didn't have to worry about suhoor in the morning.
Today, I went to the Sunday bazaar near my house. I think I will get some gifts from there, like scarves. I also need to pick up a backpack for my trip. I will go back shortly.
I kept on trying to find the muezzin at Konyali but he has disappeared. Perhaps he is visiting family for Bayram (or on Hajj). I need to give him the clothes mom sent. I might have to wait until next weekend, in sha Allah.
Other anecdotes:
I saw a sign encouraging people to throw trash away in the metro (a sticker) - the trash was in the shape of a swastika, which was wierd.
They got rid of the manti special at my mall - disappointing - I paid YTL 17 for what I used to pay YTL 11.
Ayman doviz has changed the price on my downwards twice now, after I walked in.
The AKBIL recharge stations are easy to use - but be careful, they might spit out your money after you leave and void the transaction. I saw this happen to someone.
Now, I am off for some more errands, and then to the airport in sha Allah. If I take my laptop, maybe I will post from Konya.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Galatasaray
Alhamdulillah, I'm down to my final two weeks in Turkey, at least for this trip, in sha Allah. The original plan was to return on the 15th, and it looks like that will stand. I may come back next year if one of the acquisitions I have been pursuing materializes - we'll see. I wouldn't mind, certainly - I have enjoyed my time here in Turkey and like it quite a bit. However, I am looking forward to at least seeing my family for a little while before leaving the country again, in sha Allah.
The next couple of weeks look quite daunting actually - there is so much to do. I don't even plan on being in Istanbul most of the time either. I have to pack, shop, empty the apartment, finish and send out Berkeley, travel to Konya, Ankara, Cappadoccia, Izmir, and Greece (over the Bayram break), and see a couple of more things in Istanbul too! Khayr in sha Allah. I will certainly be tired by the end of it. On top of that, of course, I have some things here at work I would like to wrap up before returning home! I don't know how much I will be able to blog over the next few weeks - I may have to post some thoughts and pics once I return home in sha Allah. I hope not, but we'll see.
The team took me out to lunch today to a nice place I hadn't been before - Bebek. I guess that is where a lot of the expats stay (near Etiler). It was nice, right on the water. We went to a restaurant called Divan (the same Divan whose Turkish delight Mobaba and Atiya liked so much). We all had soup and this really small fish from the Black Sea. It was much better than the fish I had eaten earlier this trip, even with what looked like the skin on. At least the bones had been taken out. Alhamdulillah, it was also a rather warm day, especially for early December (compared to Michigan).
Anyways, back to the Galatasaray game. Alhamdulillah, I was looking forward to it since I learned I was living next to the stadium. On game days (usually Thursday or Sunday), my area gets full of people wearing yellow and red, and there are usually traffic jams. We learned why the hard way last Thursday night.
The stadium, Ali Sami Yen, is not that big, especially compared to the Big House. It can fit just over 20 k people, and is from the 1940s. Still, tons of people lined up to get in. We were running a bit late, so a huge crowd had gathered by the entrance where we were supposed to go in. People surrounded the door in a big semicircle. We approached the door from the front, as it was closer distance wise, although the line was less clear. For at least ten minutes, I didn't feel like I had moved. We pushed ahead, and were pushed ahead. It felt a little bit like we were trying to get to the Black Stone or something. Only one person could enter the stadium at a time from that door - it was quite annoying, considering there were at least three hundred people trying to get in at that time, and the game had already started.
There were people shouting and screaming and cursing. I think some curses were even directed at me. I couldn't really make anything out, other than maybe "ya vash", or "ya wahsh". A bunch of policemen showed up and started pushing the crowd, turning the semicircle into a quarter circle. This increased the pressure on us, but luckily, we were near the 90 degree mark, so we weren't sent to the back of the line (even though the pressure was probably most on us). We inched our way onto a step, but this became rather perilous, as we could have easily twisted an ankle or something being pushed back and forth. Still, on the step, there was a bit less pressure. Once we got on there, it was much quicker to get in, although I was a bit worried that the cops would push us to the back of the line, since they weren't letting up the pressure. Adil was quite worried, since the fans were cursing the cops and vice versa, and he didn't want us to get caught in the potential clash.
Anyways, once we got in, we could not access our seats, wherever they were - every stairway was blocked with fans. I guess they oversold the game. It didn't matter too much, since we would have had to stand the whole game anyways - everybody stands, just like at the Big House. We made our way over to a relatively less crowded stairway and alhamdulillah found some nice steps together with a good view. The stadium was packed, except for a small section reserved for FC Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine) fans who came for the UEFA match. There were about ten of them, surrounded by dozens of guards in uniform. The whole section of maybe a couple hundred seats was surrounded by guards.
It was a great atmosphere, alhamdulillah. Everybody was singing the whole game it seemed. There were lots of different chants, and everybody seemed to know them. I even picked a bit of one or two. This link has a bunch of them listed out:(http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Galatasaray/Galatasaray_Taraftar_K%C3%B6%C5%9Fesi/Tezah%C3%BCratlar).
Mobaba liked this one in particular, I think:
Haydi bastır Galatasaray
En büyüksün Galatasaray
Yönetim futbolcu taraftar
Şampiyonsun Galatasaray (İnşallah)
Nobody was selling alcohol, although there were a few vendors I saw. I think our neighbors were typically entertained by Mobaba's typical enthusiasm, alhamdulillah.
Alas, Galatasaray lost the match. I think they were the better team, and although they weren't great, they played better. However, the field was wet, and the Galatasaray Lions goalie slipped and fell towards the end of the match at a crucial point, leading to the Ukrainian goal. Adil left right before this, maybe with ten minutes to go. We headed out as the game entered penalty time, and it was just the right time. A few seconds after we made it to the top of the steps, we could see many more people exiting, and we didn't have to wait to exit, alhamdulillah. Had we waited 30 seconds more, our wait could have hit ten minutes or more.
There was no rioting or anything after the game. Indeed, the fans kept singing even after the goal. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the enthusiasm. I couldn't see why the place was called hell, although perhaps if I understood the lyrics, the moniker might make more sense...Adil did a bit of translation for me to get the gist.
It was certainly a great experience - it would have been nice if we had won, but I guess the Lions were cursed on Thanksgiving this year, back home and in Turkey. Khayr in sha Allah
The next couple of weeks look quite daunting actually - there is so much to do. I don't even plan on being in Istanbul most of the time either. I have to pack, shop, empty the apartment, finish and send out Berkeley, travel to Konya, Ankara, Cappadoccia, Izmir, and Greece (over the Bayram break), and see a couple of more things in Istanbul too! Khayr in sha Allah. I will certainly be tired by the end of it. On top of that, of course, I have some things here at work I would like to wrap up before returning home! I don't know how much I will be able to blog over the next few weeks - I may have to post some thoughts and pics once I return home in sha Allah. I hope not, but we'll see.
The team took me out to lunch today to a nice place I hadn't been before - Bebek. I guess that is where a lot of the expats stay (near Etiler). It was nice, right on the water. We went to a restaurant called Divan (the same Divan whose Turkish delight Mobaba and Atiya liked so much). We all had soup and this really small fish from the Black Sea. It was much better than the fish I had eaten earlier this trip, even with what looked like the skin on. At least the bones had been taken out. Alhamdulillah, it was also a rather warm day, especially for early December (compared to Michigan).
Anyways, back to the Galatasaray game. Alhamdulillah, I was looking forward to it since I learned I was living next to the stadium. On game days (usually Thursday or Sunday), my area gets full of people wearing yellow and red, and there are usually traffic jams. We learned why the hard way last Thursday night.
The stadium, Ali Sami Yen, is not that big, especially compared to the Big House. It can fit just over 20 k people, and is from the 1940s. Still, tons of people lined up to get in. We were running a bit late, so a huge crowd had gathered by the entrance where we were supposed to go in. People surrounded the door in a big semicircle. We approached the door from the front, as it was closer distance wise, although the line was less clear. For at least ten minutes, I didn't feel like I had moved. We pushed ahead, and were pushed ahead. It felt a little bit like we were trying to get to the Black Stone or something. Only one person could enter the stadium at a time from that door - it was quite annoying, considering there were at least three hundred people trying to get in at that time, and the game had already started.
There were people shouting and screaming and cursing. I think some curses were even directed at me. I couldn't really make anything out, other than maybe "ya vash", or "ya wahsh". A bunch of policemen showed up and started pushing the crowd, turning the semicircle into a quarter circle. This increased the pressure on us, but luckily, we were near the 90 degree mark, so we weren't sent to the back of the line (even though the pressure was probably most on us). We inched our way onto a step, but this became rather perilous, as we could have easily twisted an ankle or something being pushed back and forth. Still, on the step, there was a bit less pressure. Once we got on there, it was much quicker to get in, although I was a bit worried that the cops would push us to the back of the line, since they weren't letting up the pressure. Adil was quite worried, since the fans were cursing the cops and vice versa, and he didn't want us to get caught in the potential clash.
Anyways, once we got in, we could not access our seats, wherever they were - every stairway was blocked with fans. I guess they oversold the game. It didn't matter too much, since we would have had to stand the whole game anyways - everybody stands, just like at the Big House. We made our way over to a relatively less crowded stairway and alhamdulillah found some nice steps together with a good view. The stadium was packed, except for a small section reserved for FC Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine) fans who came for the UEFA match. There were about ten of them, surrounded by dozens of guards in uniform. The whole section of maybe a couple hundred seats was surrounded by guards.
It was a great atmosphere, alhamdulillah. Everybody was singing the whole game it seemed. There were lots of different chants, and everybody seemed to know them. I even picked a bit of one or two. This link has a bunch of them listed out:(http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Galatasaray/Galatasaray_Taraftar_K%C3%B6%C5%9Fesi/Tezah%C3%BCratlar).
Mobaba liked this one in particular, I think:
Haydi bastır Galatasaray
En büyüksün Galatasaray
Yönetim futbolcu taraftar
Şampiyonsun Galatasaray (İnşallah)
Nobody was selling alcohol, although there were a few vendors I saw. I think our neighbors were typically entertained by Mobaba's typical enthusiasm, alhamdulillah.
Alas, Galatasaray lost the match. I think they were the better team, and although they weren't great, they played better. However, the field was wet, and the Galatasaray Lions goalie slipped and fell towards the end of the match at a crucial point, leading to the Ukrainian goal. Adil left right before this, maybe with ten minutes to go. We headed out as the game entered penalty time, and it was just the right time. A few seconds after we made it to the top of the steps, we could see many more people exiting, and we didn't have to wait to exit, alhamdulillah. Had we waited 30 seconds more, our wait could have hit ten minutes or more.
There was no rioting or anything after the game. Indeed, the fans kept singing even after the goal. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the enthusiasm. I couldn't see why the place was called hell, although perhaps if I understood the lyrics, the moniker might make more sense...Adil did a bit of translation for me to get the gist.
It was certainly a great experience - it would have been nice if we had won, but I guess the Lions were cursed on Thanksgiving this year, back home and in Turkey. Khayr in sha Allah
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