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.

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.

Zonguldak weekend

Alhamdulillah, I have been able to check off another to-do this past weekend - I saw the Black Sea! I wanted to see it sooner rather than later, since it is getting cold. Thankfully, the weather was quite beautiful - it didn't rain at all, and it was quite warm (in the sun - in the shade or wind, it was on the cold side). I also wanted to go to a nearby city, since I didn't want to fly last minute or take a very long bus ride. However, I didn't know where to go - Trabzon and Samsun are the big names on the Black Sea coast that I had heard of, but they were too far. Erkut suggested Zonguldak (later, I learned he has some family/historical ties to the area) on Wednesday or Thursday, so I did a little prep work and went for it.

Regrettably, there is not a whole heck of a lot of material out there on Zonguldak. It is a 5-6 hour bus ride. There are a lot of caves. There are some historical cities nearby. There is a nice waterfall. There are a lot of trees. It rains a lot. They make nice canes. The mine coal there (it grew as a result of the coal industry). It is on the Black Sea. That is about all I knew when I jumped on the bus. I found a bit of material on http://www.turizm.gov.tr/EN/ and one or two other sites - I emailed the relevant stuff to myself on my Blackberry so I could travel as light as possible - I didn't take anything other than money, keys, phones, camera, and the clothes I was wearing!

I left my apartment at around 9am on Saturday and took the same route to the Harem bus station - a bus to Besiktas (YTL 1.5), a ferry to Uskudar (YTL 1.4), and a taxi to Harem (YTL 6). I keep on forgetting about the dolmus from Uskudar to the bus station. Anyways, right as I entered the bus station area, one of the bus people was yelling Izmir, Bursa, ZONGULDAK, etc. I had to doublecheck the name on my Blackberry (I kept on forgetting what it was called), and then followed him to the right bus. I hopped on and it left a few minutes after 10am. It was YTL 30 for this trip. Another bus, another bus company - there are so many there. I am glad I haven't had to wait for a bus yet.

The bus was rather empty, compared to the Bursa trips. I had both seats to myself for some of the ride, although a kid sat next to me for part of the trip. There were a lot of empty seats, both going and coming. Zonguldak just isn't on most people's radar I guess. Probably for good reason. None of my other colleagues had ever been there besides Erkut.

The bus ride was okay, alhamdulillah. Not much traffic, except in a couple of spots. I dozed of for much of the trip. What I did see was quite beautiful though, subhanallah - lots of trees, hills, mountains, changing fall colors, pink and green mosques, windy roads, the Black sea, etc (thankfully, there was no rain, otherwise the trip might have been more dangerous). We made several stops to pick up or drop off people along the route, including one 10-15 minute break about halfway at a rest stop (the bus pulled out, so I thought I missed it, but perhaps it just went for fuel; all the buses were getting washed by the service station people as well, I noticed) where I got a chocolate bar (YTL 1). Most of the stops came in Zonguldak province, in smaller towns on the way, including Eregli, which is named after Herakles/Hercules. It is there were he supposedly entered Hades and defeated Cerberus. Eregli was on my radar as a potential place to see. More on that later.

We reached the final stop, Zonguldak terminal station, at around 330pm or so. I could see the Black Sea right away - it is quite easy to see from the central city area. I walked to the downtown, which was about 1 km away from the bus stop. I prayed at the only mosque in that area - there are a few in the city, but rather more spread out than even Istanbul. I saw other mosques, but they were in the distance. As I was walking in, I saw a hotel, the Mer Hotel, so I was relieved that I at least could stay somewhere - I couldn't find too much hotel info online and wasn't sure if there were any in Zonguldak or if they were in Eregli or what. I hadn't made up my mind if I wanted to spend the night or take the midnight bus back, but after darkness fell at 5pm or so, and all I had done was walk to the pier and gaze at the sea, I knew I had to stay the night to have a better experience for my time invested.

It was getting chilly, but I walked up and down the sea wall area around sunset time. The waves weren't too big, but they did break on the rocks and I did take a little bit of splash damage. Not a whole lot of people out watching the waves, but I wasn't alone either. It was very rocky - no beach. I didn't see too many boats at first, but then, a bunch left the harbor area - I think they went out to help guide the much larger Rafi back in. I saw it enter the port as I ate a very late lunch (Kofte Burger and Ayran for YTL 4.5) at a small cafe that was built on the water. Some people were selling fish, so that smell was there. Many of the restaurants seemed to specialize in fish as well.

There were a lot more people closer to the inner harbor/dock area, as the seaside restaurants were full from about 4-9pm. Lots of people playing backgammon. However, after walking up and down (and avoiding more dogs, even here), I decided to go and check out the hotel to see what the rates were. It is always nice to have a base (and bathroom) in any new place. Alhamdulillah, YTL 70 is what I paid as a single person for a decent room - more people would have a higher rate. Hotel Mer purported to be a two star. It was clean, and my room was quite large. No AC, but there was a TV and (I think) even wireless. Alas, the elevator was worthless. Still, the lights were motion sensing and the key card was needed to power the room's electricity. I also got some tourism material and maps to help plan my activities. I was happy with the place and it was in a good location. My target rate would have been YTL 50, but 70 was close enough. FYI - I haven't needed a passport to use the bus system, but I did need one to check in.

It was still early when I got the room, and even though the staff wished me a good night, I wasn't quite ready to sleep. I had passed by a movie theater earlier, so I figured I might as well do that. I went and saw Max Payne at the 745pm showing for YTL 7. I walked in right as it started I think - I didn't feel like I missed anything other than the previews. An usher showed me to an empty row. It was a decent movie. A little dark, and somewhat predictable, but in English! About halfway through however, the lights came on and the show stopped - there was an intermission! That was wierd.

After the movie, I went to an internet cafe for half an hour (YTL 0.5), but they didn't have Skype. I walked around a bit more. I almost walked into a different restaurant that was packed, but upon closer inspection, it appeared as though a wedding was happening there, so I went to the same restaurant for a late dinner (hamburger combo for YTL 6.5) - this time I sat inside though. I went back to the hotel, watched a bit of TV, and slept early.

Some things in Zonguldak are relatively cheap compared to Istanbul. Aside from the hotel, even candy bars (I got two for YTL 1) are about half off, and movies in Istanbul are closer to YTL 10-12. It is like Damascus in some ways actually, with some guys picking up garbage with donkeys, and it got quiet even earlier than Damascus - nine or ten at night. Still, I didn't hear the adhan at all during my visit.

Alhamdulillah, I was able to start my day early. I went back to the sea wall/rock area at sunrise and hung out for a while - the primary purpose of my visit was to see the Black Sea after all. The Black Sea is not really black. I am not sure how it got the name, or how the Red Sea got its name, or even the Mediterranean, which the Arabs call the White Sea. Rather, I saw four colors - cloudy green, sea green, aquamarine, and blue. Alas, there were some clouds that morning, so I missed the sunrise part anyways.

I went back to the hotel and got ready. I grabbed a simit (they are growing on me; I know think of it as kind of like cram) for breakfast for YTL 0.75 and went out. I wanted to see the nearby Gokgol caves as well as the Harmankaya waterfalls before coming back for a noon checkout. Gokgol was only 2 km away, so initially I figured I would just walk or maybe take a bus. However, I wasn't sure how to get to Harmankaya from there, so I ended up going to a taxi stand and asking how much it would be for two hours, to take me to both places and bring me back. I got a quote of YTL 40, which I thought was reasonable, so I went for it. Alas, taxi drivers are ever scammers and not to be trusted.

A short, five minute drive brought us to Gokgol. The place opened at 9am, so we waited about 10 minutes before the caretaker arrived. Entrance was YTL 3, although I paid after I exited. I went in alone, as the taxi driver stayed to chat with the caretaker at the entrance. I certainly had not planned on entering a huge, dark cave that was actually quite dangerous by myself, but that is the situation I ended up in. The cave itself was actually secondary - I really wanted to see the waterfalls, However, I decided to go forward, despite the possibility that wild animals might have taken up residence in this out of the way Turkish cave! Alhamdulillah, the cave was completely empty except me. No evidence of bats or bat guano at all, unlike the caves I saw near San Antonio. Another difference was the presence of an underground river that would overflow with any rain from above. It was quite wet throughout, with lots of dripping and puddles on the path itself. The deeper I went into the cave, the more that worried me (I had seen The Rescuers on the plane just a few months back!). Another thought that troubled me was the possibility of being buried alive in an earthquake - after all, I am in an unstable, quake-prone part of the world. Still, I kept pushing forward until I reached the end, almost 1 km in. I was quite impressed that even here there was motion sensing lights - they are everywhere in Turkey!

Alhamdulillah, the cave is quite beautiful - lots of neat formations, stalactites, stalagmites, crevices, and open areas (alas, no pics or touching allowed though - no one was watching, but I don't like breaking rules unnecessarily). Still, I wouldn't recommend it, given the potential for earthquakes and flooding I mentioned. The flooding risk is quite serious. I was quite thankful that I wasn't exploring the caves in Eregli - those caves are named the Caves of Hell or something like that (after Hades), and I would rather not be buried alive in the Caves of Hell or even give fate the chance to do that. Needless to say, once I reached the end, I hurried back.

The taxi guy was waiting for me - about one hour had passed since I hired him. The sunlight was quite amazing as we left Gokgol - it seemed almost solid (perhaps due to smoke or dust; we did pass a coal mine shaft). We drove back into the city and then back out again in another direction (even though the map showed that we could have just gone further past Gokgol). Then the guy says, sorry, we can't go any closer to the waterfalls - you have to walk. He should have told me that to begin with! Then, he said, well, you can pay me YTL 20 more to go to the forest which is actually closer and on the way to the waterfall. I was angry and said just take me back to Zonguldak, which is probably what he was aiming for. I am not going to curse him to hell, but I will admit that I won't be disappointed if I get some of his good deeds on Judgement Day. I paid him the full YTL 40 upon reaching the hotel, even though there was still half an hour to go on my time. I certainly didn't need him just for Gokgol - I could have walked, taken a bus, or even paid a cab YTL 20 for that much. Khayr in sha Allah. I hate it that I spend more on taxis inside these random cities than I do on the bus to get there in the first place.

I cleaned up a bit, checked out of the hotel, and then started walking up the coast, trying to find a beach. Alas, all I could see was rock, rock, rock in Zonguldak. I went to the western end of the city limits and found a beach like area. The approach was a bit dangerous though, and I didn't want to risk it by myself. I called Osman as I tried to find a good place to stop and we chatted for a bit. I saw another beach further west, so I kept walking for a couple of kilometers and found it. Unfortunately, as I walked down towards the beach area, a dog started barking at me, so I ran back up to the road. Foiled again. Some things just aren't meant to be. Still, it was nice to watch the sea for so long anyways, alhamdulillah. I even saw some rainbows form in the spray as the waves smashed against the rock.

I had lunch at a nice looking restaurant with a penguin logo that is right next to the bus station. I had the house special, which was chicken in soy sauce with rice and some Ayran for about YTL 15. It was okay and the view was nice. The waiter took a while to break my YTL 100, so when I got my change, I rushed out to the station to see if I could catch the 1pm bus, since I had enough of Zonguldak and didn't want to get home too late. Alhamdulillah, I caught a bus right as it was exiting the station - I just stopped it and hopped on, without a ticket. I paid the attendant YTL 30 and it seemed everything was ok. However, at the first stop, he gave me my money back and told me to take another bus, so I went and got a ticket and jumped in the second bus, only paying YTL 20. Strange. We reached Istanbul at the same time, I think - certainly, we reached the rest stop at the same time. I'm not sure what the transfer was all about - it is not like the bus was full.

The ride back was also nice and beautiful. I felt a bit queasy, but it passed, alhamdulillah. The trip was a bit longer though, because of traffic near Istanbul. Erkut says traffic on Sunday afternoon is always bad. It took closer to 6.5 hours, including the transfer to Mecidiyekoy - the shuttle/transfer bus guy almost dropped me off very far from my place, and I indeed got off the shuttle, but I think the other passengers must have yelled at him, because he told me to come back on. It would have been quite a hike for me. Alhamdulillah.

I tried to Skype after eating dinner, but I think the internet connection wasn't working well in MI. That is too bad, since everyone was at our house. Khayr in sha Allah.

Overall, I had a nice trip to Zonguldak. It was an interesting place. I think more time would have been helpful. to hike to the waterfall and maybe see some other things. I am also disappointed I couldn't find a place with local cuisine (other than fish, which I didn't want). It was worth it to see the Black Sea, although I am a bit disappointed I didn't find a good beach. I saw some nicer beaches in Alpali, which is in Zonguldak province but closer to Istanbul. Perhaps that would be a better place to stop and stay to access beaches. Also, there is some Black Sea frontage very close to Istanbul - I could try checking that out as well. Khayr in sha Allah.

My trip set me back about YTL 200, or USD 130, which isn't bad. Alhamdulillah.

Here are some pics, not in any particular order:

A borrowed image of Gokgol - since I didn't take any pictures. A beautiful cave, but keep a weather eye on the weather forecast:


Me with the main area of Zonguldak in the background:


You can see the different colors within the Black Sea - none of them black:

The sunlight seemed almost physical, possibly due to smoke or dust or whatever that is:

Some nice fall colors just outside of Gokgol cave:

This boat was just sitting there the whole time I was in Zonguldak:

I couldn't tell this was a wedding for sure, until I saw the wedding car:

I saw this wall - it looks like a memorial or something; I couldn't figure out what happend to 1983 though - almost everyone was ripped off for some reason:

Fish mongers - no thanks:

Alas, the sea front area nearest to the city was just a bunch of rocks:

Alhamdulillah, I caught a nice sunset:

The bus ride had some nice views:

More bus views:

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.