Day 33: Tea and Ruskis

Place: Terrace of the Mimar Sinan with a view

Time 18:00

Thought for the day:

Traveling is the only thing that you buy which makes you richer.

I cant say that waking up at 05h30 to the squawking of men (from all directions) on loudspeakers is a great experience, but what I can say is amazing, is the falling asleep after and only waking up 3 hours later.

Craig was more courageous and put his asics on for a jog through the city, while I

stayed out of the cold (terrible packing and didn’t think that I would need my winter running gear-schoolgirl error I know). Anyways, I jumped in the shower to make sure that I would be ready for Craig, as I know he will be STARVING once he got back. Craig returned, and as anticipated, breakfast was a priority.

At the start of our travels, Craig and I were always intrigued by the people who would walk to their table with a salad of olives, tomatoes, cucumber and feta cheese for breakfast, so I had to giggle when sitting on the terrace to a plate of olives, feta cheese, tomatoes and cucumber for myself.

I am so looking forward to Mamma Rene’s rusks and crunchies with a nice cup of rooibos when we get back.

Craig then organized that Edim (who works at the hotel) to take us to his contact at a travel agency to help us book bus tickets etc. for the next leg of our journey. We shadowed Edim through the fascinating streets and markets, often losing sight of his small frame and being distracted by the sights, smells awesome photographs I had to take for when I return to buy it all J

We passed through the small local market and onto the Neo Mosque next to the Spice Bazaar where a section was cordoned off and guarded by police as the new ‘James Bond’ is being filmed there. Craig and I are planning on walking the streets quite regularly and maybe we will be cast for a small role so be on the lookout.

On a side note: it is so interesting walking passed these mosques during prayer time. The men are all on their knees on mats in and around the mosque (probably because it is so full inside), while the women sit on benches on the side not really partaking in the prayer. The prayers are sung over the loudspeaker and men move in unison with the songs. Heads face one way and then the next while hand movements are made over their faces. 

We reached the travel agency, but wasted his and our time as they charge a fortune and we can make the same arrangements for a fraction of the price. We did however score a map and headed to the ‘Blue Mosque’ and the ‘Topkapi Palace’ but the long queues, ridiculous prices and the exposing of Craig’s legs in his shorts (not allowed in Mosques) didn’t go into them, but merely enjoyed the surroundings.

We ran into an awesome park where we tasted roasted Chestnuts and some smacked Turkish Bread so that we didn’t hit the markets hungry. Good call on Craig’s behalf I must admit…but nothing could have stopped us I don’t think and we bought a sizeable goodie bag of Turkish treats. Sticky fruit rolled in almonds, and hazelnuts, syrup rolled crushed nuts, pastries encrusted in syrup and pistachios, marshmallows rolled with chocolate and covered with tiny white chocolate balls, Koeksister thingies and Turkish delight of course J With gigantic smiles we headed to the terrace for some Cay (Tea) and a picnic of wonderful pleasures 

We sat in the sun and chatted to the hotel owner, a cute petit lady called Moazess who is very keen to learn as much English as possible and eventually Craig and I headed to a quiet and undisturbed bench to relax and read. I took the opportunity and grabbed my ever-generous husband to get some longs and a tracksuit top, which Craig says makes me look like a Russian with the psychedelic pink stars stretching across the pockets. But I now have no excuse about being cold and look forward to a lekker jog tomorrow morning in my Russian black suit.

We were referred to grab some proper Turkish cuisine close by and made our way there for dinner. When being told about this tasty dish, they said that people come from across the Istanbul to eat it, so we were quite eager. When it arrived, it was in simple South African terms: rice, cooked baked beans and a salad washed down with a sour milk…..’YUM YUM YUM’.

Needless to say that it was very well priced and we will probably go back before we leave.

Tomorrows plan involves a lot of the same, walking, taking pics and trying new foods.