Iyi gunler - a new day in Istanbul

SubhanAllah. I had de-activated this blog a few months ago, as I expected the Istanbul chapter of my life was more or less closed for the foreseeable future. Then fate brings me back here one more time, and so, here is one more entry.

Our managing partner in Turkey told me he might need me for a project last month. Then, on a day's notice, I had to book my flight, pack, and head out over the weekend. The following two weeks (including our Independence Holiday weekend) were rather rough, work-wise. Not quite like my initial trip. Very hectic. Still, I have managed to make some interesting observations to share:

Economic

• Turkey, according to a recent NYT article, is the second fastest growing market in the world, after China, and though I haven't noticed too much more bustle than last time I was here in late 2008 (perhaps that is a good thing, as the rest of the world is likely much slower than 2008), certainly our office is busier and people aren't worried as much about currency fluctuations
• There is no more YTL (new Turkish Lira)...now it is just the Turkish Lira again; I had taken back some YTLs with me to America, but unfortunately, have not been able to spend them upon my return here
• The exchange rate has been between TL 1.5-1.6 per USD, about where I left it (when it was the YTL), but unfortunately, there has been the typical and considerable inflation...so things are more expensive for me too; for example, I know a Tavukburger from Popeye's used to be 2 YTL, but now it is 2.25 TL, so at least 10% inflation per year; a Metro transfer used to be 0.4 or 0.5 YTL, but now it is 0.75; some Bursa towels I bought last time from Olivium are now 20% more than they were last time; at least the AKBIL is only 6 TL, same as last time (I know, I know, I should have brought mine with me, but like I said, one day's notice!)
• Despite the economic growth, I have noticed quite a few vacancies at the three big malls in this area - Cevahir, Profilo, and Astoria; I don't know if it is because rents are too high, or more likely, there should not be three huge malls 10 minutes walking distance from each outher!
• There is a lot of personnel turnover; other than the partner, everyone at the office is new, and I haven't recognized anyone at any of the restaurants or stores I used to go to either (other than the barber shop below my old place); now such dynamism is a good indicator in many ways - comparatively, I am sure people in Detroit feel stuck to their jobs given the uncertainty - and while a bit more stability would be nice, I am glad the teens I saw working the fast food joints last week have found greener pastures and have moved on
• One of the things I like about Turkey is the food, but of three times I had cravings for something specific, I was disappointed each time - Johnny Rockets was closed at Cevahir after I hiked down there on July 4th for a burger; the kuru fasuliye places near the Suleymaniye seemed to be dead or closed at 11pm when I went up there (usually they are the type of place open much later, but I guess 4 years of construction has caught up to them); and the Mexican place in Astoria also closed! Alhamdulillah, at least there are plenty of other options...
• Some things don't change...I bought a purple shag rug last time off some guy selling them out of his car near Cevahir - on my disappointed walk back, I saw the rugs again!

Social

• Despite the AK Party's continued success, Erdogan's growing position of leadership and respect in the Muslim world (so ironic that the Arabs are now looking to Turkey after what happened 100 years ago, this is deserving of its own blog post), and increasing political voice of conservatives, it seems to me that maybe Turkey (or Istanbul at least) has become just a little bit less religious; I have noticed fewer people in the masjid (aside from Jumuah), fewer hijabs (though ironically, more beards), more tatoos (that may just be the weather)...I don't know
• I don't remember if I noticed this last time (picture quality at the old apartment was awful), but Turkey censors cigarettes and smoking on TV...which is rather strange to see, especially when swear words typically censored in the US are quite audible!
• One of my colleagues gave me an interesting insight into why the Hagia Sophia has been under constant renovation for the past few decades - apparently, Turkey would be under Western pressure to let it re-open as a church, but by positioning it as a museum, and moreover, a museum under construction/renovation, Turkey is simply avoiding dealing with the problem
• A decent amount of PDA among the diversity of Istanbul - typically at acceptable levels for a Muslim society, but interesting to observe nonetheless

Personal

• My total time in Turkey is now up to more than 4 months (twice as much as India so far), and I have seen its beauty in all four seasons now, alhamdulillah
• I have some very strange thoughts cross my mind during this trip, probably because between work and sleep, there hasn't been too much in between (more isolation, no blogging or Skyping); some examples: thinking about the business opportunity of oud cigarettes, making the case for a massive internal survey at my firm, and wondering if anyone has ever put a slinky on an escalator...
• I ended up renting a place (to be reimbursed this time) for the final two weeks of my stay (http://www.sahibinden.com/ilan/emlak-konut-gunluk-kiralik-daire-sifir-tadilat-gormus-kusursuz-daire-1/detay) - it is nice enough, and only 8 minutes door to door to the office, but alas, no AC or fan, so it is a bit hot; at least the clothes dry quickly when I hang them!

Miscellaneous

• A lot off the buildings and towers under construction when I was last here have been completed, and some new ones are in the works (e.g., Trump Towers)
• Astoria, the mall/tower where our office is, used to be pretty vacant (was still brand new), but now it has much higher occupancy (I don't know how full it is), and you can tell at lunch time
• On the tourism front, the Suleymaniye, which has been under construction since 2007, is now even more closed than it was in 2008 - I had to pray in a tent outside when I visited this time!
• I also checked out Kariye last weekend - it is off the beaten path in a quiet part of town (Edirnekapi); a decent amount of western tourists, but for the first time in Istanbul, I felt I was in a place as quiet as Damascus; the iconography in the building was quite impressive, in even better shape than the Hagia Sophia I think; it was also strange to see the minbar niche not central to the building
• I walked all the way down Istiklal Cd. to the water for the first time, and I finally saw Galata Tower up close; I was about to climb up, but then felt that it was rather pointless to do by myself, and I was hungry anyways; it is also pretty impressive up close, more so than when it gets lost among the other buildings in the area
• The Metro network has been expanded - I have noticed at least a couple more stops on the ends of the train I usually ride from the office into the city center
• The tokens used on the metros have changed - they aren't small coins anymore, but larger, colored plastic bits
• I stayed at the Divan hotel again for the first week or so, and the rooms are as tiny as ever, or maybe even tinier...I literally had no place to stand and pray, so I had to pray on the bed this trip!
• Climate change seems to have impacted Istanbul too, not that the weather changed much; the first couple weeks here, it rained quite a bit (had to get a cheap umbrella for TL 5), which I was quite used to from my trip in the fall/winter, but I guess it is not too common in the summer; alhamduillah, this week is better
• Traffic is just as bad, if not worse; I walked back to the hotel one night at 3 am, and I had to wait to cross the road - there should not be a road with that much traffic at 3 am, and this Buyukdere Cd is not even Istanbul's main street; I think that at any given time, Buyukdere, in the two miles I see regularly, might have as many cars as Woodward has on 20 miles back home (and that doesn't even count the second layer of road that is a highway that runs on top of Buyukdere for two miles)!
• Even more dogs than last time, and they have gotten bigger! It seems like there are a bunch of stray wolves running around Istanbul; of course some are also pets, but they are just as bad if they are not leashed; I have to contend with at least 5 dogs on the way back from work to my apartment, two wild and unleashed, and one unleashed pet; needless to say, I carry my umbrella even on the sunny days; one day, one plopped himself in my garden, though thankfully, he politely moved as I wanted to pass, leaving the premises; however, when I shut the gate behind him, he barked at me and just stood there, so I ended up just jumping off the back wall to get out!

I may not get another chance to comment on this trip, but I probably should develop some conclusion entry for the blog in the near future, if Allah wills it.

Shopping, moving, and Parising

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!

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.

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

Visitor week

Alhamdulillah, I am coming off a very enjoyable week. Muhammad Baba and Atiya left Friday early in the morning, but they had a great time I think, as did I. Muhammad Baba even suggested to Atiya that they move to Istanbul, only half jokingly I think. Still, during their visit, I was unable to blog, so I will try to recount the past week's events here. Alhamdulillah, we were able to achieve much of the schedule, though a few line items were passed over. I think the Galatasaray match deserves its own blog entry. Also, on Friday night, I saw Osmanli Cumhuriyeti, a Turkish movie about what things would be like if Ataturk had not been, which also deserves its own entry, in sha Allah.

Alas, I did not take any pictures of this week, and have only now recharged my battery. Atiya and Muhammad Baba took quite a few, and said they would send me some, so I will post a few when I get them, in sha Allah.


Saturday - 11/22


Alhamdulillah, I got to the airport with time to spare. Their Lufthanasa flight was to arrive at 1240 in the afternoon, and I reached at about 1220. I took the Metro to Taksim, then the microbus to Aksaray, and the other Metro all the way to the airport. The trip was about an hour or so, and I was able to sit the whole time, alhamdulillah.


Muhammad Baba and Atiya came out of customs about an hour after the arrival time, so I just hung out a bit. I had a hot chocolate, and just leaned on a pillar in front of the exit area, waiting. I was a bit hungry, haven not eaten breakfast, but I figured I would wait, as we had lunch plans.

As I was waiting, I saw three African Americans walk past security and into the customs/baggage area, just flashing their passports. I would have thought that was crazy, but I had overheard one of them telling an earlier guard that they were there to pick up Mike Tyson, who was coming at 1pm, and that one of the guys was Tyson's brother. I thought that was crazy, but the guards let them past. I guess the one guy was stocky like Tyson, so who knows. It would have been a crazy coincidence, seeing as the only other time I had seen Iron Mike was at a DC area airport. Alas, he didn't show at 1pm, and they headed back out - I don't know what happened.


Anyways, alhamdulillah, Muhammad Baba and Atiya came out without any trouble and we made our way to the taxi stand, as my mom had sent three suitcases (completely unnecessary, but they were pretty much full of clothes to give away). It was great to see them, alhamdulillah - I haven't had much of a social life over here, to put it mildly.


The first taxi we tried could not fit all of the bags, because there was a huge, oversized, unnecessary tire in the trunk. Someone offered to call another, larger vehicle, but I didn't want them to call those shuttles that cost YTL 70. Another taxi driver had a larger vehicle, so we fit in alhamdulillah. He asked me if I wanted to take the regular way, or a way that is 8km longer, but with "no traffic." I opted for the longer way, even though the meters run by distance, hoping to save time, but you really can't give these guys an inch. It took over an hour to get back, and the alternate route had incredible traffic. My guests weren't even able to get a nice view of the city, becuase we were on back routes. The trip cost YTL 50, compared to YTL 30 when I came the first time. Still, better than the shuttles, I guess.

Atiya napped during the trip, but Mobaba and I caught up a bit. We carried the bags up the stairs when we got to the apartment. Muhammad Baba took two suitcases up at once for the challenge of it, but I think he rather regreted it by the end.

I think the place was reasonably well prepared for their visit. Obviously, a hotel would probably have been more comfortable for them in a number of ways (elevator, cleaner, etc.), but alhamdulillah, they were happy enough. It was Atiya's inspection that I was most worried about, but I think the place passed muster.

Atiya and Muhammad Baba brought me a nice gift - a picture frame with several pictures from the wedding for me to rotate periodically and remember home. It was good, since I didn't have anything like this (although some images are still stored in the digital camera). It is still set at a picture of me and Mobaba.

We snacked a bit - cookies, sticks, cheese, and juice. We skipped lunch, as they were still full from several meals on the plane. The cheese was a big hit, alhamdulillah, as were the juices. I sent some cheese back with them. I think Muhammad Baba broke out some brownies my mom had sent as well - he was initially under the impression that the whole suitcase was full of them, but thankfully, there was just one box.

It was wierd - for the first time in two months, there were other people besides me in the apartment, other voices than the TV. For the first time in two months, I led prayer (Asr). A nice pace of change, of course, but a little surreal too.

After the snacks, Muhammad Baba and I went to pray Maghrib at the mosque. He really liked Konyali (which he refers to as Coney Island), and wants to bring something like that to the US (as opposed to my barebones ideas). Certainly, it is beautiful.

Atiya and Muhammad Baba napped a bit before dinner. I cleaned up a bit and waited. At around 615pm or so, I woke them up, so we could eat before the game. We went to Profilo's food court and had some Burger King. It was good, and both Atiya and Muhammad Baba were somewhat impressed by the size and nature of the place, I think. Mobaba changed some money at the Doviz, but I told him to change more money at Ayman doviz later on.

We had felt some rain entering Profilo, and it was raining quite hard when we left. Atiya got an umbrella and we headed to the internet cafe. I was pretty drenched by the time we got there, and I think Mobaba was also quite wet.

Although Mobaba tried to find some online sources of the game, we Skyped with mom, and she put the camera on our little TV back home - the picture was poor quality, but the audio was great. Of course the game was horrible. Next topic.

When we got back, unfortunately, our water supply had stopped. I'm still not sure what the cause is. We ended up going to my office to make use of the running water there. Mobaba and Atiya liked the view, but I was careful to point out that the skyline they saw was just a fraction of a fraction of the city.

We didn't stay up too late on Saturday.

Sunday - 11/25

I went and picked up some simit for breakfast. We had it with cheese, honey, and juice. It was quite good, and I think Mobaba might have become addicted to the stuff (sorry Atiya). I might have to bring him a fix of the stuff when I come back in sha Allah.

Alhamdulillah, the water was running in the morning. However, when we tried to plug in a hair drier with a outlet converter we had bought, the apartment's power went out. I couldn't figure out how to turn the circuit breaker back on from the apartment, but alhamdulillah, when I went to the basement, it was clear enough.

After breakfast, we headed down to Topkapi. We took the Metro to the funicular to the tram, so alhamdulillah, Muhammad Baba and Atiya got a good overview of the public transport system. I was using my recently purchased AKBIL (YTL 6), but alas, the discount only works on one person, not all three of us, for connections.

We prayed Zuhr at the Sirkeci mosque near the train station. Some nice brother there who had lived in Germany told us that today was the last day of certain sacred relic exhibits at Topkapi, so it was a good day for us to be visiting. I thought initially it was the whole exibit, which would be a disasterous loss for the museum but it was just some clothing and other items of the Prophet's family - still important, but not everything.

Alhamdulillah, we spent a few hours at Topkapi. Mobaba went and got the tickets (YTL 20 each), and we explored it ourselves, without a guide. We didn't get a chance to go to the Harem area (another YTL 15), since it closed at 3 or 330 or so, but I think by the end, we were tired anyways.

Obviously, the treasures and sights of Topkapi are well documented - we saw just about everything. We had some tea/apple tea and some snacks in a cafe overlooking the Bosphorus (way overpriced place - about 4x too much). I prayed Asr in the complex's mosque.

Alas, we were too late for Dolmabahce, and didn't feel like heading to the Galata tower, so these line items were skipped from the itinerary.

We decided to have dinner at a place near Sirkeci train station, instead of going to the water front or up to Suleymaniye - it was just too cold. The food was quite good - we got a mixed plate of different kebab types, upon the waiter's recommendation. We thought we were getting a good deal - a family platter type thing for YTL 12, but it ended up coming to three times that - they gave us three of the plates, which was the most expensive item. You really can't give these guys an inch. Alhamdulillah, at least it was good. As usual, I drank Ayran, but neither Mobaba or Atiya really developed a taste for the stuff during this trip.

I thought we could salvage our trip down to the Eminonu area by a visit to the Spice Bazaar at least, in lieu of the Galata Tower or Dolmabahce, but alas, it was closed.

We took a bus back to the apartment, and Mobaba and Atiya both took a nap. Mobaba only thought it would be 5 minutes of shuteye, but I waited for a bit, and when I heard some snoring, I headed to the office to check my email. It was certainly the jetlag effect making its presence felt. I left my Turkish cell phone with a note for them to text me when they woke up.

They texted me at around 1030 or so when they awoke, when I was on my way back. We ended up heading to starbucks for some hot chocolate and baklava. We stayed until closing (midnight), and then chatted about this and that when we got home for another couple hours. At least it wasn't raining, and and the power was working at this point, alhamdulillah.

Monday - 11/24

Mobaba picked up some borek and simit for breakfast, which we had together. Mobaba and Atiya thought the borek was okay, but it had nothing on the simit and cheese in their opinion.

I went to work and left the AKBIL for transportation and the cell phone for communication. Work was a bit rough because of the late night.

First, Mobaba and Atiya went to pick up the Galatasaray tickets, which had finally gone on sale on Monday. We ended up getting some "seats" in the Galatasaray fan section for YTL 30 a piece. They looked around Cevahir a bit, but not much at this point.

After that, the plan called for Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque in the morning. Alas, Hagia Sophia was closed on Monday. I don't know what is up with these Turkish museums - they have very strange schedules, hours, and pricing schemes. Alhamdulillah, Mobaba and Atiya at least saw the Blue Mosque and liked it very much, although they agree with me about the wires.

They had some Sultanahmet Koftecisi for lunch. They also spent some time walking around the Spice Bazaar and shopping. Atiya really liked the plates that my mom also admires. They were still in that general area (at a Starbucks) when I came down. I left work at 715 or so, and got to Eminonu at 8pm using the Metro/funicular/tram. Alas, there was a bit of confusion on the train, so Mobaba and Atiya were held up a bit near the Blue Mosque. We met at the Yeni/new mosque, and then walked over to the Suleymaniye. Alas, it was rather cold. I was wearing only my suit, as I hadn't had a chance to change, coming straight from work, and would have liked a warm coat.

Alas, the Suleymaniye was closed at this point, but we walked around the complex. We had some fasuliye, which was quite good, alhamdulillah. Then, we headed down to the same downstairs plaza where Omer and I had gone earlier this year. We sat around the fire and had some apple tea. They really enjoyed this. I wish I could come sometime when it wasn't so cold though!

We thought we would return on the bus, but after waiting for a few minutes, it appeared as though the buses were done for the day. We went to the Eminonu tram stop, which was rather empty, and went back up the funicular/metro instead.


Tuesday - 11/25


Bad news today at work - alas, my boss back home lost his job. I'm not sure what that will mean for me, but it can't be good, and I only see downside at this point. Khayr in sha Allah. Not much good news coming out of Michigan these days. I sent a letter to hundreds of state senators, representatives, other leaders, analysts, and press to spur thought about my ideas/suggestions for Michigan to help itself. I had been thinking about it for a while, and decided to get people thinking. I drafted the letter, had Zeshaun Ahmad, Aamir, and my mom review it, and sent it out after collecting the contact info. Basically, Michigan should take a stake in the Big 3 (like VW) if the US government is slow to act, and we should also have a gas tax that is used to pay for new jobs. We'll see what happens. So far, not much response, but that might be because of the holiday week.

Again, no joint breakfast, but I think my guests had some Simit and cheese - they really liked that cheese. Mobaba and Atiya decided against Buyukada and went for the Bosphorus cruise instead. They liked it, but didn't feel the need to see the fortress up close. They had Iskender kebab for lunch and enjoyed it quite a bit. After that, I think they checked out the grand bazaar before grabbing some baklava while waiting for the Dervish show. Alas, around this time, the cell phone I had given them was lost, so our communications was rather crippled for the rest of the trip. Alhamdulillah, I don't really need it, and it was not a terrible loss, but it made things a bit more inconvenient. They didn't think the show was too great either, after the first few minutes of spinning.


I had gotten out of work early, so I was at the apartment when Muhammad Baba and Atiya rang the bell (first time I heard that). We decided on pizza for dinner and went to Domino's. We got a couple - one called the Turkish pizza, and I forget the other. They were both good. I told the Domino's staff that the order was for Mehmet Bey - I think they both got a kick out of that.


Alas, Mobaba fell asleep early, so our night was cut short a bit.

Wednesday - 11/26


No joint breakfast today unfortunately, although I think Mobaba and Atiya made it to one of the numerous Simit cafes in the area. Alhamdulillah, things were busy at work, but I was able to take a half day for Thanksgiving at least (I am down to 1.5 personal days left now). I took the brownies in, and everyone liked them. Our Bahrain partner came in to visit - it was nice to see him. I hope he has some work for me soon in the Gulf.


Muhammad Baba and Atiya started the day at the internet cafe - they hadn't been online in a couple of days, and there were some urgent messages that needed to be sent. After that, they went down to see Dolmabahce. Alas, they went the wrong way from Taksim and missed it, going toward Kabatas. Still, they enjoyed a nice walk - the weather was beautiful on Wednesday, alhamdulillah. They also stopped at some five star hotels to ask about Turkey dinners for Thanksgiving, but no such luck. They saw the Hagia Sophia, went back to the Blue Mosque, and did some shopping. They picked up some interesting gifts. They also had lunch on a waterside restaurant - nice view but bad food/service unfortunately.


We had pre-arranged to meet at 730 at the apartment, as our means of communication had been eliminated. I was caught up in a meeting at 730, and headed back home at 740. It was raining and I forgot my umbrella at home, so I briefly considered waiting at the Astoria. Alhamdulillah, there was a lull of merely light rain, so I quickly sped home, but did not find them waiting. I was really worried that they had come and gone. I went up, changed, and then came back down to look for them at nearby cafes. Alhamdulillah, right as I left the building at almost 8pm or so, they came around the corner - I hadn't been too late.


We dried up and recovered a bit, and debated where to eat. Johnny Rocket's was the plan for Thursday's lunch, but we decided to prepone it. We headed out to Cevahir mall in the rain and made it in one piece, although we all took at least a little splash damage, I think. I don't think Muhammad Baba and Atiya were too happy with the walk, but what can you do - taxis aren't really an option since they don't like short distances and are typically full when it rains anyways.


Muhammad Baba and I split the Smokehouse burger. We also had some chili fries. Atiya ordered a salad (Turkish Johnny Rocket's doesn't have the same appeal to her as it does to us). It was all good. I'm glad we split the burger, because I was quite full by the end. Our waiter was a bit confused by our English - some things were lost in translation. Still, he was nice and pleasant, so we left a good tip.


I had discovered some hot chocolate packets in one of the bags my mom sent, so I boiled some water and we had that and some cookies to warm up. There were a lot of different flavors - so far, they have all tasted good.


Everyone stayed up reasonably late today, alhamdulillah, although Mobaba did try to drop off early again. We had a nice discussion anyways about a variety of different issues.


Thursday - 11/27


I wasn't able to eat breakfast again with my guests on Thursday, as I was running late. Work went ok, but was a bit busier than it had been - I had to go back in briefly after lunch, despite the half day. I delayed lunch until Muhammad Baba and Atiya came to the Astoria (they slept in to prepare for the short night and decided against going to Eyup Sultan), so we could have manti together at the smoothie bar. Somehow, they became lost and the 7 minute journey took half an hour, but we fortuitously ran into each other at the elevator. They really liked the manti (if not quite as much as the simit!). They shopped around the mall for a bit while I went back upstairs - Atiya debated buying galoshes do deal with the constant rain. In the end, bags around the socks seemed to be the optimal option instead.


We headed from the mall back to a super market to pickup some things to take home (e.g., cheese, cookies, etc.). Then, we went to my place for a short break, before heading out. We stopped at Starbucks and Gulloglu to pick up some coffee/sweets, then head down to Istiklal street on the Metro. It was already getting dark by this time, but at least it wasn't raining, alhamdulillah. The road had a decent amount of traffic, and I think Muhammad Baba and Atiya liked it. First, we went to a Starbucks to enjoy our spoils. Then, we stopped and prayed maghrib at the large mosque, then headed to Ali Muhideen Haci Bekir to get the Turkish delight. We spent about half an hour there, and received some advice from some German immigrant who hadn't heard about Roland Berger, but really recommended some coconut variety. I bought one kilo of mixed cookies for YTL 20, and then 10 half kilo mixed turkish delight boxes for YTL 10 each. I didn't really allocate the 10 boxes to anyone, but just wanted to send them to my mom to distribute as she saw fit.


At about 6pm, we headed to a KFC we had seen for our Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of basing the meal around a bucket, we took an alternate approach. We each got the same thing - two pieces of chicken, two biscuits, and some mashed potatoes. I had it with Ayran, which was interesting, but it doesn't really go with Thanksgiving. Then again, I am not really sure what our traditional Thanksgiving drink is in our family, come to think of it. I think Popeye's might have had a slight advantage with the corn, but it was decent. It filled us up I guess, although I wanted seconds (at the next door doner place) just for tradition's sake. However, we were running late, so we left Taksim at about 7pm. Thanksgiving was Muhammad Baba's treat - thanks Mehmet!


We got back to Mecidiyekoy at around 730, but we had to go back to the apartment to get the tickets, so by the time we reached the stadium it was 750 or so. There was no time to check out the Galatasaray store ahead of time, though we were afraid it would be closed after. Adil was waiting near the bus stop. We headed toward the game - I will detail the rest in another entry in sha Allah.


After the game, we went to the store, as it was open. The place advertises 40% off, but the jerseys, jackets, and other good stuff is still full price. Muhammad Baba found another outlet branch across the street which was even cheaper, and he ended up getting some stuff there. I will have to come back later and check it out in sha Allah.


We briefly stopped at the office, as Mobaba had to contact home and Farah Auntie in Germany before leaving, and we couldn't find a payphone. I also took the opportunity to bring back the leftover brownies.


After that, we headed back and hung out/rested/chatted a bit before preparing for the early departure.


Friday - 11/28


Muhammad Baba and Atiya's flight was at 530am on Friday, so there wasn't going to be much sleep in any case - they needed to leave around 3-330 or so to reach on time. Still, they both got at least a little shuteye before leaving. After our midnight snack of hot chocolate and cookies, I emptied the three bags mom sent finally, and packed them with various gifts and the things I felt I didn't need anymore. I sent some turkish delight, extra prayer rugs, some clothes, other sweets, towels, cookies, cheese, etc., and that pretty much filled the bags 80% volumewise, if not weightwise. Alhamdulillah, there is a taxi stand just outside my building, so we didn't have to go looking for a cab. Muhammad Baba called one over after we took the bags down, and they were off. It ended up costing YTL 45 I found out later - cabs are more expensive in the evening - but at least they got there in half an hour. As I trudged back up to the apartment, I felt the emptiness right away. My place was no longer bustling - I doubt anyone else will come in now before I leave in a few weeks. It is certainly never good to be alone - I will have to continue to keep busy until I leave, in sha Allah, to fill the gaps.


Work was tough on Friday, seeing as I didn't get much sleep, but alhamdulillah, I didn't doze off, even without caffeine. I was awake enough to see Osmanli Cumhuriyeti in the evening as well.

Preparation and Airport

Alhamdulillah, my guests are finally arriving in a couple of hours, so I will head to the airport shortly. I think the most efficient way to go is to take the Metro to Taksim, the minibus to Aksaray, walk to the other Metro, and go from there to the airport. I could use the funicular/tram route, but I would have about fifteen less stops this alternate way I think.

I've spent much of the past few evenings and this morning cleaning and getting ready for my guests. The apartment was much dirtier than I thought - the realtor "cleaned" it himself, instead of hiring a professional cleaner, so I think most of the dust and dirt predated me. I did a better job cleaning than he did, certainly. For example, he left a bunch of garbage from the previous inhabitant that I started disposing of - there is still quite a bit left, but it is more out of sight.

I didn't really feel any need to clean up when it was just me - it wasn't overwhelming by any means, and I am hardly in the apartment, and my corner of it is clean enough. Now, I will be leaving it cleaner than I found it, which I hadn't necessarily intended. I must say, if it was just MoBaba visiting, I doubt I would have expended a quarter of the effort, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Alhamdulillah, the weather the past few weeks has been nice, although this week it rained a couple of times - at least it hasn't rained every day. I haven't been wearing my winter jacket much yet by any means. My colleagues expected snow this weekend, but so far, it has just been windy.

I probably won't be able to blog too much this week, but we'll see what I can do. At least there should be more pictures coming, in sha Allah.

Edirne/Adrianople

Alhamdulillah, all is well. I am slowly making preparations for Muhammad Baba and Atiya's visit (e.g., buying stuff, cleaning up, etc.). I sent them a proposed itinerary (see below) - we'll see what happens in sha Allah. The highlighted areas are where I can probably join them. Alas, still no luck with the Galatasaray tickets - I hope they go on sale soon!

Alhamdulillah, I prayed fajr at the masjid on Sunday, but still got up too late to make an early start to Edirne. I need to pray fajr at the mosque more often, since it is difficult to make the later prayers in congregation during the week now that the time has changed. I also need to start getting up earlier for these weekend jaunts - especailly the day trips. Khayr in sha Allah.

As I returned home from Konyali, I could smell the fresh delicacies from the bakery - unfortunately, it was not open that early. Speaking of bread, I think that it goes moldy rather more quickly than I am used to out here. In about week or less I have had packages of bread go bad - probably because of the moisture/humidity. I think I will just buy individual pieces of bread from now on, in sha Allah. I managed to salvage a couple of half loaves, so that is what I had Sunday morning, with some cheese.

After my second slumber, I got ready and left my apartment by about 915am. I headed to the office so I could download the Turkey Travel Planner guide for Edirne (that is a great website by the way, for any visitors to Turkey). I left the office at around 10am and went to the Gayrettepe metro station. Unfortunately, no AKBILs for sale on Sundays, I think. Most stores were closed, and the station was empty - I guess Sunday morning is quiet time, kind of like how Sunday is quiet day in Germany.

As I had to get to the other Metro line, I did not use the funicular. At Taksim, I went up (first time I had seen Taksim in weeks it seems) and got on a minibus to Aksaray. From Aksaray, I walked to the start of the other Metro line. It was the first time I used this line, so it took a little while for me to find the entrance. This line is a bit older, so it isn't as fresh as the Taksim-Levent 4 line, but it works well enough, alhamdulillah. I took it to the Esenler Otogar stop, and I reached at 11:15 or so, for a trip time of about 1:15.

Alas, I had to wait this time for a bus to Edirne - for the first time, there was not a bus leaving for my destination within a few minutes of my arrival to the Otogar. The Esenler Otogar is huge (see the borrowed picture below). I walked around the whole complex, trying to find a bus that left at 11:30, to no avail. It took me half an hour to make a complete circuit. There are about 180 stalls, and probably almost 100 bus companies. I'm a bit surprised there has been no consolidation, but I guess no small company owner wants to kill the golden egg laying goose. This Otogar was much bigger than the Harem station. It is probably double the Harem station, kind of how like Marjeh is the dominant station compared to Baramkeh in Damascus.

Despite the hundreds of buses, I couldn't find too many companies going to Edirne, let alone one going at 11:30. I had to settle for a noon time with a company called Volkan, which seems to specialize in Edirne and even dominate that route. There were a couple of other companies also going to Edirne, but I think Volkan had the most times. I guess Edirne is just out of the way for most companies - you can't really stop there on the way to anywhere else in Turkey so companies can't combine two destinations on one bus (like Bursa and Izmir). Maybe the buses going to Greece or the rest of Europe stop there.

My ticket cost YTL 20, and the ride was about two and a half hours - we only had one brief, five minute stretch break. The bus was not completely full, but I did have a seatmate. Alas, the sun was in my face nearly the whole trip, so I couldn't get much sleep. It was not really warm outside, but the beating sunlight became rather uncomfortable. The busride had the typical service - drink, Dan cake, etc., but the attendant had a strange getup - he had a white shirt and bowtie, but instead of a sweater vest, he was wearing a jacket vest the whole time, which looked rather odd to me. Better than the return attendant, I guess, who had crude tattoos clearly visible on his hands.

Alhamdulillah, once again, it was a very nice ride with interesting views. It took about forty five minutes to get through the urban areas surrounding Istanbul. Thrace seemed to be much less hilly/mountainous than the areas of Anatolia I have seen. There are some hills, but not too many. At first, I could see the Sea to the south, but gradually, we went further inland. The land was very green, with lots of farming, closer to Istanbul - they do a lot of organic farming in this area. I saw a lot of nice country homes - it would be a nice area to live, I think.

There were some trees along the route, but I didn't see any forests. The trees were still mostly green, but some were changing colors. I didn't see any conifers in Thrace, although there are some in Istanbul. The middle part of the journey found us in a rather desertish and barren area. It was brown, and at best, uncultivated. Once we got closer to Edirne, the farming and greenness reappeared.

Upon reaching the Edirne station, I went to the back of the station, looking for the minibuses. I learned my lesson from the previous trips - it was completely unnecessary for me to take a taxi, especially since I didn't need to go anywhere in particular. Besides, I figured it would be a good way to see a bit of the city. Still, I needed a starting point, so I consulted the notes I had downloaded - apparently, the city center is called Hurriyet Meydani and there is a tourist office there. I thought I would start there, so I asked at the minibus station which one went there - someone pointed me to the A bus, so I got on.

In my trip to Edirne (Adrianople, the second Ottoman capital, before Istanbul, after Bursa), I didn't see any normal buses - only extended minibuses or stunted large buses. There were steps to get on, and benches on both sides, but at most these things were half as long as the typical bus in Istanbul. The bus I got on was decked out in Fenerbahce colors for some reason (which are essentially maize and blue - I wish I could root for them). The fare was only one YTL.

I really liked Edirne. I was on the bus for maybe twenty minutes, but I think I saw about a third of the city at least. A lot of the buildings were in pastel colors - pink, green, blue. The apartment buildings were also a bit more spaced out, unlike Istanbul, where they are almost on top of each other. Edirne wasn't very crowded either. I think I saw more people and automobiles at the Mecidiyekoy intersection when I returned home than I did in all of Edirne. It just seemed like a peaceful place. Lots of nice parks, and even a river. Indeed, it reminded me a bit of Sham, even though Damascus has twenty times as many people and you could probably fit Edirne into the Old City walls (I did not see any walls around Edirne, by the way).

I saw signs for the Selimiye, and shortly after that, the driver told me that I was near Hurriyet Maydani. Since I now saw the Selimiye (Sinan's masterpiece - see pics in previous post), I figured I didn't need to go to the tourist office anymore. Still, I didn't directly go the Selimiye, since I saw several other large mosques on the way from where I had been dropped off.

I saw this interesting looking tower as well. I approached it, and actually entered it. Alas, the stairs were damaged and I couldn't figure out how to reach the top. It had cannons and everything. It must have had an interesting view.

Anyways, I first went to the Üc Serefeli, or Three Balcony, mosque. It was built by Murad II, Fatih Sultan Muhammad's dad. It was named after an interesting minaret that had three balconies - I guess that was revolutionary at the time or something. Actually, each if its minarets is different, built by a different sultan (see pic in last post) - I thought the twisty one was quite neat. The courtyard area was undergoing construction, so there was a lot of dust everywhere. The pillars inside were quite massive. Interestingly, the women's prayer area was in the front right corner. I prayed zuhr and asr there. Unfortunately, my camera died as I was taking pictures in this mosque.

Next, I went to the Eski, or Old, mosque. It had had several name changes, but as the other mosques came up, it got the name Eski. It was also undergoing construction. I thought it was interesting that Imam Hasan and Imam Husain did not have their names up in this mosque like they do in most other mosques - rather, aside from a number of names for Allah and the Messenger painted on the walls and pillars, the 10 promised paradise had their names on the walls.

I went up to Selimiye next (all three of these mosques were within five minutes of each other; there are a couple of other notable mosques, the Beyazit II and the Muradiye, but I didn't see those or some of the other recommended sights as a consequence of my late start). Alhamdulillah, there was some photographer who had set up shop near the mosque, so I paid him YTL 3 to take a pretty good picture of me with the Selimiye in the background, seeing as my camera was out of juice. The guy made me take off my glasses - I think they must have been tinted. I picked up my picture after about half an hour.

While I waited for the picture to develop, I made a circuit around the mosque complex. It is on a hill and overlooks some of the city. There is a nice park surrounding the mosque as well, although I did see some dogs even here. The mosque itself looked a little bit like the Suleymaniye, but it is somewhat bigger. On the east side of the complex, I saw what looked to be a graveyard, I thought it was wierd however that the graves were pointing in all different directions - I figured, in a Muslim country at least, they should all be buried facing the Qiblah. As I looked closer, I saw a sign that said that it was a mock/exhibition graveyard. Wierd. There were some vendors selling the Ottoman era gooey sweet/treat as well.

The complex also had a museum and a covered shopping area as well. There was some neat stuff in the museum, such as examples of Ottoman calligraphy, metal works, wood works, ceramics, etc. Sinan had some pretty interesting quotes on display as well. I didn't pay an entry fee, although there was a metal detector even here. I almost cried when I saw the Ottoman era flag with various Islamic/Arabic inscriptions on display.

I prayed Maghrib in the mosque in congregation. There was a decent crowd - almost a hundred people probably. The mosque was quite beautiful - I like the dome and its paintings. It seemed like the lighting was better in this mosque than the others I have seen as well. The chandelier in the front was very nice with its colors. I think the Selimiye had much less tilework than the Blue Mosque though. It is a very solid building - apparently, it took a hit from Bulgarian artillery, but was hardly damaged - it hasn't been repaired, and I didn't notice any problems.

After leaving the Selimiye, I headed to look for the Hurriyet Maydani, since it seemed to be nearby. On the way, I noticed a sign advertising some badam sweet. I stopped at the store and picked up some Badam halwa for YTL 14, which Edirne is apparently famous for. I also got a bottle of a corn based, golden colored drink called boza, which I had seen before and looked interesting (I later learned from my colleagues that it is to be drunk cold and with cinnamon sprinkled on top) for YTL 3.

Edirne is also famous for peynir halwa and deva'i misk sweets. I stopped at another store and picked up some deva'i misk (misk medicine) for YTL 5 - it smells really nice, but tastes to sweet I think. It has an interesting story, being named by Murad II who liked it. It has 40 different spices in it as well. I got some two-colored halwa from another store for YTL 1, but it wasn't so good.

I walked up and down the Edirne equivalent of Istiklal Cd (pedestrian road with stores), but it was quite empty. Quite a few stores were open, but a lot were closed - not many people around. I stopped at a fasuliye joint for dinner, since I was quite hungy by then - 6pm or so. I ate fasuliye and rice and drank ayran for YTL 4.5. The staff was friendly and happy to see an Indian Muslim. I made some rudimentary conversation; alhamdulillah, my vocab is slowly growing.

Expectedly, it seemed Edirne was cheaper than Istanbul, between this, the price of sweets, and the price of the microbus. My whole trip, from door to door, only set me back YTL 80.55, alhamdulillah, or 50 dollars.

After eating, I went to the main road and waited for a minibus that had the Otogar label. Once again, YTL 1 only. Like a typical dolmus, it waited at the stops. It became very crowded - standing room only. I was happy to see for the first time in Turkey someone stand and give their seat to an old lady.

We reached the bus station a couple minutes before 7pm. I hurried in, found yet another bus company, Ulusoy, with a bus leaving at 7. I gave my YTL 20, jumped on, and got to the Esenler Otogar at around 930. I had been dreading the Metro ride back, but alhamdulillah, I had forgotten about the bus company shuttles. I quickly got on a shuttle heading north. It dropped us off at another Ulusoy base, where I got on a second shuttle that took me to Mecidiyekoy. I was in the office to type out notes of my trip by about 10pm, alhamdulillah - we didn't encounter much traffic.

Edirne was a pleasant experience, and if I get extended in Turkey, I will try and go back and see the parts I missed. I'm not sure if I will be able to find the Edirne specialties to send/take home in Istanbul though - I wish Istanbul had stores that carried products from the various regions of the country, so I wouldn't have to go all the way there to buy them (e.g., canes from Zonguldak, towels from Izmir, sweets from Edirne, etc.). Khayr, in sha Allah.

Olivium and Towel Shopping

Alhamdulillah, despite getting a late start on both Saturday and Sunday, I had a pretty eventful/productive weekend.

I wanted to make a daytrip on either Saturday or Sunday to Edirne/Adrianople or Troy. I was kind of leaning towards going to Edirne on Sunday when I went to sleep, and that is what ended up happening, alhamdulillah. I will follow up about Edirne in the next entry - today I will just cover my shopping trip to Olivium, aside from the pictures.

I figured I would get some work done on Saturday, both in terms of business school (Berkeley) apps and preparing for Muhammad Baba's and Atiya's visit next week. I made decent progress on the latter issue, but none on the former. Certainly, not as productive a day as I would have hoped.

I got up late Saturday, and after getting ready and putting in a load of laundry, I headed to the internet cafe to send an email to call for a Skype telco with Osman, Mom/Rabia, and Muhammad Baba at 5pm Istanbul time (10am Eastern, 11pm Singapore) - it had slipped my mind that I could have done that on my Blackberry, but it was running low on juice anyways. In any case, I needed to access the internet to figure out where to go to buy towels and sheets, since Mom didn't want to send towels to a country that is apparently famous for producing nice ones. Aside from Bursa (where I should have found excellent towels but didn't know where to look), I found recommendations for a store in the Grand Bazaar as well as an outlet mall in Zeytinbornu, the Olivium. I was pretty certain that I would get ripped off in the Grand Bazaar, so I took my chances with Olivium, figuring I would be less likely to get ripped off in an outlet mall in working class Zeytinbornu than a tourist trap. Also, a trip to Zeytinbornu would be a test run for my trip to the airport next week in terms of timing.

After praying Zuhr at Konyali, I headed down using the Metro, funicular, Kabatas tram, and a dolmus/microbus to the mall. Alas, the trip to Olivium took a long time - 1hr 45min - longer than I expected. I thought I could walk from the Zeytinbornu tram station, but I ended up having to take the dolmus, which added 20-30 minutes.

The tram from Kabatas to Zeytinbornu was quite packed. I stood almost the whole time. Some people got off at the Sultanahmet station, but only after the A.O. Yurdu station could I sit. I had never been past the Grand Bazaar/Beyazit on this tram. There are twenty four stops in total, and I got off on the last one, Zeytinbornu. Some of the stops had rather interesting names, like Seyitnizam, or Akşemsettin (the light of the sun of the religion, or maybe white/pure sun of the religion; on a side note, I have taken to introducing myself as Şemsettin from Hindistan, since I had not heard of anyone named Nauman in turkey before; I still don't know how they pronounce it hear, but a week or two ago I learned that apparently there is an Islamist successor to Erbakan named Numan Kurtuluş who may challenge Erdoğan for power; alas, the AK Party has been undergoing some trouble in recent months; I will blog about it later, in sha Allah).

The trip was also a sight more expensive than it should have been. One way was YTL 5.4 (the microbus guy took 1.2 going, and 1.5 returning) and the way back was YTL YTL 5.7. If I had an AKBIL, the outlay probably would have been closer to half that. I need to get one in sha Allah. I have never seen them being sold though - only the recharge stations.

The Zeytinbornu area reminded me a bit of going down to Zablatani or parts of Midan from Mount Qasiyoon where I usually lived in Damascus. It was south, seemingly more polluted, more condensed, and just strangely, weirdly new and disorienting for a city I had been living in for two months. While in the dolmus/microbus, I had absolutely no idea where I was, where we were going or any sense of direction. That is kind of how I felt when I went to the southern areas of Damascus.

Olivium was a decent sized mall, but not as large as some of the ones near my apartment (like Cevahir or Profilo - more on that in the Mall entry, in sha Allah). It seemed like a typical outlet to me, with expensive stuff selling for less than normal, but still a lot of money. The place was about half foreign brands and half local brands. It wasn't packed, but there were a lot of people there. Apparently, it is a pretty well known mall, and my colleagues had been there several times before, I found out later.

I ended up staying in the mall area for almost six hours - I had reached at about 2pm and left sometime after 7pm. I had to pray Asr soon after I got there, but no one knew of any nearby masjid. Luckily, I knew that these big malls typically have a masjid/prayer area somewhere from my experiences at Astoria. I asked and was directed to the parking area (I guess this is the usual spot - that is where it is in Astoria as well). It was small and cramped, but it did the job. The one downside to the location is that I had to go through security again. I repeated the process at Maghrib as well. It felt like I should have been traveling, given the journey, but Zeytinbornu is only about 10 miles away from my apartment.

I walked around the whole mall, all four floors - I wanted to see everything, so I could make an informed decision if I thought of making the long journey again. Lots of clothing stores - typical. I did see three places that sold towels. They all had sale signs, but I tried to figure out what had the best deals. I ended up coming back to a place that seemed to be relatively specialized in towels and beddings. I just got some towels, after thinking for quite a long time - I think the salespeople must have thought I was quite strange, staring at the towels and bathrobes so long. In fairness to me, I did have a number of variables I was considering - cost, color, quality, towel vs. robe, weight, bulk, feasibility/logistics of taking home, purpose, etc. I settled on a large green towel for myself, and a couple of matching bathrobes and towels for my guests. We'll see how the washing process treats them - I have no fabric softener, and drying on a rack is no good. The only tip the guy gave me was to wash them at a maximum of 30 degrees (Celsius). Still, I was happy with my purchases alhamdulillah. I would probably go back for gifts if I decide to take back more than Turkish Delight for everyone. The robes were YTL 29 each, and I spent YTL 19 on the large towel and YTL 8 for each small towel - the total was about YTL 93 I think. It was a decent deal - I need to learn how to bargain though. The bulkiness and weight may preclude me from taking many back though.

I had some manti at a restaurant in the food court for dinner, as well as some soup. It was ok, and the service was quite quick, since the place specialized in manti. When I have ordered manti in the Astoria, it takes at least ten minutes usually. I also left the mall briefly to try and find an internet cafe for the Skype call. I did end up finding one - alas, however, the place did not have Skype. Quite a few internet cafe's do not have skype. Shortly after that, I prayed maghrib, got the towels, and left. It took another 1hr 45min to get back home. Alhamdulillah, at least the tram was not packed going from Zeytinbornu to Kabatas - it only filled up at Sultanahmet. Still, the Kabatas to Zeytinbornu tram I saw going the other direction was packed. I guess in the morning, it must be the other way around - there is no way the same direction is full all day long.

I stopped again at the internet cafe and Skype'd with the family. After going home, I did some more laundry - in sha Allah, more on Edirne tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are some pictures I have borrowed from the internet to illustrate my weekend (because my camera is currently out of battery). In sha Allah, I will try and upload what I have stored on my camera later, but these should suffice for now. In no particular order:

The Eski Camii, or Old Mosque (it had several names before this, but after the other ones came up, it got the name Eski; currently undergoing repairs):


The Üç Serefeli Camii, or Three Balcony mosque, built by Murad II, named after the three balconies on the original minaret, which was revolutionary at the time I guess (each minaret has a different style, built by a different Sultan; also undergoing construction):



Nice view of the Selimiye, Sinan's masterpiece, named after Selim II, the wastrel:

Dome of the Selimiye - very intricate:

You can see the nice park surrounding the Selimiye:

Inside of the Selimiye:

The Olivium outlet mall in Zeytinbornu - it reminded me a bit of Castle Wolfenstein or some other fortress, given the layout and the guards as well as people on the roof (they turned out to be customers):

Sweater Vests and Risk

Alhamdulillah, the weekend is hear. However, I have still not made up my mind about what to do this weekend. I have narrowed it down to Edirne, Troy, or staying in Istanbul. I am leaning towards Edirne. However, I had wanted to bundle Edirne with a border crossing to Greece, and I don't feel like dealing with that this weekend. Either Edirne or Troy would just be day trips, so the free day I could work on Berkeley essays in sha Allah. We'll see what happens. As for Konya, Cappadocia, and Izmir, in sha Allah, I will work on them over the next few weeks. I think Konya and Cappadocia I will try to visit in one trip over Bayram, since they are the furthest.

After dinner today, I had gone to try and buy some winter gear. In particular, I went shopping for some sweater vests. I have always like sweater vests (despite the recent emergence of Jim Tressel), and it seems that they are also rather fashionable in Istanbul. From what I can tell, about 10-15% of the men I see walking around are either wearing sweater vests or sweaters patterned to look like vests. Consequently, there are quite a variety of sweater vests for sale, mostly in the YTL 15-25 range. Mostly, I have seen either plain colored ones (ranging from traditional colors like navy blue and gray to more exotic colors like green, purple, and pink) or sweater vests with some kind of diamond pattern - I cannot recall seeing any other kind. Some of these vests look kind of wierd. I was quite close to buying a couple of solid colored ones, but decided to shop around a bit more. Maybe I'll have a chance this weekend in sha Allah.

Also today, I noticed a commercial for Risk on TV. Now, I have never seen a commercial for Risk before, and I don't remember seeing commercials for conventional board games in America for many years. That being said, I have not come across any place selling board games here in Turkey; I would presume the primary entertainment is video games these days, same as America. Perhaps Risk is a new entrant and board games have yet to make a splash. That would be wierd, considering that Risk was for sale in Syria when I first went there almost fifteen years ago. Maybe it was banned in Turkey so the people would feel bad thinking about how they once controlled most of three continents - I really can't think of any other reason Risk would be entering now, so late. Perhaps I should have brought Settlers with me to speed up the evolution.

Smoking and Geography

Alhamdulillah, Turkey has a pretty good position with respect to smoking, compared to other parts of the Middle East I have visited. Most indoor places are no-smoking areas, although some restaurants have smoking areas or are not smoke free. The buses are smoke free, alhamdulillah. Signs are everywhere, and more importantly, people follow them.

That being said, Turkey is between Europe and the Middle East, two of the most smoker-intensive places I've ever been. Naturally (or unnaturally), a lot of people smoke here as well. I think half of my colleagues here smoke. Most of the men probably smoke, and a lot of women as well. I must admit, it is a little disconcerting to see so many hijabis smoke. But then, after jumuah, most of the guys have lit up, so I have to deal with that as I walk back. Truth to tell, it is when I am walking that I get most of the secondhand smoke - people can't do it inside for the most part, so they smoke in transit. Whenever there is a lot of foot traffic, usually someone or the other ahead of me is smoking, so I smell it.

In other news ...

The dollar is rebounding again against the lira. It had dropped down below 1.5, but now is back near 1.7. Of course, my US holdings have fared quite horribly in the meantime.

The last veteran of the Turkish War of Independence died earlier this week. The last Ottoman veteran of WWI died last year. Only eight WWI vets are still alive around the world. Sad, but natural.

I am still watching quite raptly to see what becomes of my hometown - decisions made over the next couple of weeks in DC could have long lasting impacts on Michigan.

Other than that, I am trying to figure out if/how/when to visit other places in Turkey over the rest of my trip. I think Muhammad Baba and Atiya will probably want to stay in Istanbul for the most part during their visit, so I am keeping a few of my Istanbul to-dos undone for now. I still have a few extra weekends however. I am trying to figure out the logistics and feasibility of visiting Konya, Izmir, Cappadocia, Edirne, and Greece in particular. I probably won't be able to see all of them, but in sha Allah, I hope to visit at least some of them. Konya is a 10-13 hour trip, depending on if I take a bus or train, so it would make the most sense over my Bayram holiday, I think. Edirne is about a six hour bus ride - I could do that over a weekend, and see the Selimiye mosque, Sinan's masterpiece. Edirne is right next to Greece, so I could do that in one trip if I just want to go for visa purposes. Thessaloniki is a bit further - that would be about an eight hour trip total, but still doable on a weekend. Izmir is about eight hours away - also a possible weekend trip. Cappadocia is the furthest I think, out in Nevsehir. I should probably try and bundle it with the Konya trip, since it is three hours further from there. We'll see.

Anyways, I wanted to show you a map so you can see where all of these different places are. The orange dots represent places I've been this trip. Light blue are potential destinations. Dark blue, I have seen in previous trips.

Izmir is on the western end of Anatolia. Konya is in the south center, north of Cyprus. Cappadocia is near Nevsehir, which is northeast of Konya. Edirne is northwest of Istanbul in Europe. Zonguldak was on the eastern end of the Black Sea coast. Bursa was just on the southern side of the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul.

Hmm...while I have this map up here, I may as well explain some geography and the different bodies of water as well, since they confused me for a long time. The Black Sea is clear - north of Turkey. The Mediterreanean is clear as well - south of Turkey. The Aegean sea is east of Turkey, where all of those islands are near Izmir. Anatolia refers to the part of Turkey that is in Asia. The Sea of Marmara is the body of water directly south of Istanbul, that is separated from the Aegean Sea by a narrow channel. This narrow strait is the Darnadelles. Between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea is the Bosphorus, which cuts Istanbul into Europe and Asia. An offshoot of the Bosphorus is the Golden Horn - this cuts into the European side of Istanbul, but you cannot sea it on this map. Those are the main bodies of water in Turkey. Of course, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers lie to the east, but they are not clear on this image either.