First weekend

Alhamdulillah, my first weekend in Istanbul has just wrapped up. Shortly, for the first time in over six weeks, I will be heading to work in sha Allah. I thought I would give a short recap of the weekend and some quick impressions of various aspects of Istanbul. I really should start taking pictures, because there were some very interesting sights.

The weekend was pretty uneventful. I slept in quite late on Saturday, and missed an apartment showing. That is okay, since the guy rented it out anyways. In the afternoon, I took a bus down to Sultanahmet, where I walked around until Iftar and stayed for Taraweeh. I couldn't find the original bus stop, so I had a long walk to Aksaray before I found a Dolmus (minibus) that took me to Taksim where I got on the Metro back to the hotel.

Sunday, I still got up late, but not as late as Saturday. In the afternoon, I took the Metro down to Taksim/Cihangir to take a look at an apartment. It was nice enough I guess, but way too far of a commute for me. It would take twenty minutes just to get back to Taksim square - the overall commute would be forty five minutes, which is unacceptable. I walked around Taksim, trying to figure out the public transportation/bus/Dolmus network, but I think I will just have to take random trips to figure it out. I need to get one of those speed pass credit buttons they use (I'll post a pick, in sha Allah.) Also, I should keep track of my expenses anyways, so I will start saving receipts and posting prices I come across.

Ramadan in Istanbul - I've seen signs showing that the City is celebrating Ramadan (Ramazan) and there is a holiday spirit certainly. It is nice that there are a lot of masjids, but I haven't encountered them with the same frequency as in Damascus. There is only one that I can tell is within walking distance, and I can't even hear the adhan in my hotel or just about any building. Even outside, I had to concentrate to hear the adhan over the road noise of Buyukdere. At the Blue Mosque, I could only hear one adhan, despite so many being nearby. Perhaps they turn the volume low so that you can't hear multiple adhans at any given place - I don't know. That being said, Sultanahmet on Saturday night was something else that I had never seen before. Maybe it was like that in Syria, but we never really went out like that that I can remember. A lot of people are celebrating Ramadan I would say. However, ...

Role of Fasting in Istanbul - I don't think all, or maybe even most, people in Istanbul are fasting. The cafe's and restaurants have a suprising amount of traffic during daytime hours, not just in touristy Taksim, but even nearby where I am. The restaurants are not full by any means, but I've seen quite a few places that looked half full at least.

Taraweeh in Istanbul - I thought it would be easier to concentrate if the taraweeh rakats were not so long. Well, it might be a little bit easier to concentrate, but not much. At both places I've been to so far, the Blue Mosque and the one near my hotel, the imam has read one or maybe two ayahs per rakat. It was like this at some mosques in Damascus as well (e.g., Jamiah Kinnaneh). I could hardly get into it before we went into ruku. Something in the middle might be better. You can be in and out in less than an hour. I wonder if there is any place in the city that does the whole Qur'an. That being said, for the summer time, maybe these Istanbulites have the right idea. The recitation was great, and they do say salawat on the Prophet after every two rakats loudly. Unfortunately, they don't have an indication of what rakat it is like they do in Syria though.

Blue Mosque experience - This deserves its own post and more time. I will get to it in sha Allah.

Public Transportation in Istanbul - Alhamdulillah, very easy to use, although somewhat time consuming. Just going down into the Metro takes five minutes. Walking to the station is another five, ten minutes. Walking to your destination may be another five, ten minutes, so it adds up. The bus trip that I took from my area to Sultanahmet was even longer, since the bus makes several stops. The Dolmus from Aksaray to Taksim was quick though. It is easy enough to make connections, and if you know where you need to go from a given hub, you probably won't get lost. Alhamdulillah, so far, I've been able to get back without a taxi. Each trip on a bus or Metro or Dolmus is about YTL 1.3 or 1.4, or a bit more than a dollar.

Malls/Shopping in Istanbul - CNN had some clip talking about the shopping craze in Turkey, and I would have to agree. Less than ten minutes from my hotel on both sides are rather large, nice malls. One is five levels, the other is a bit smaller. Very fancy. I didn't do any shopping, but things in Turkey are not cheap. There is a Migros in one of the malls, which is a supermarket where I will probably do most of my shopping. Although I missed big shopping centers when I lived in Syria, I kind of liked having the corner store that had just about everything I needed. They still have that hear, bakkals, but maybe not for long.

Gastronomic experiences - So far, I haven't really eaten too much. I missed suhoor on Saturday, and for iftar, I just had a YTL 5 doner kebab sandwich outside Sultanahmet. It was okay, but sometimes it can be tough eating that thick bread. Lots of air. I tried some tamr hindi drink (YTL 3.5) which I had always seen in Damascus, but never tried (didn't trust the cups). I got a disposable cup, so I tried it. It was nice and sweet, I guess. I had suhoor Sunday at the hotel. A very nice buffet with the typical cheeses and meats and breads that I remember from my last trip to Istanbul. For iftar, it was Sbarro's, where I spent YTL 7 for a slice of pizza with veggies and meat and a Pepsi. Once I settle down in sha Allah, I will branch out more and maybe make some things.