Our hostel (and apparently the surrounding area) had no running water from at least 9pm until 9am this morning. That sounds like it should be fine, but consider for a moment the toilets, or washing your hands. The bathrooms very quickly turned into a disaster zone.
I'll mention it publicly - I suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and my trigger foods, amongst many, include garlic, garlic powder, onions and onion powder. Now these flavours are impossible to avoid in Turkey and so I expected any and all reactions to the food I eat.
What I didn't expect was the toilets to be essentially out of order. This caused me a lot of stress! Oh well. We got through the night. And toilet-wise, I guess it could be worse - they could be squat toilets! (Even with visiting India and Japan and I've managed to avoid these...I'd like to continue that trend...)
I actually managed a couple hours sleep last night, so that's pleasant. It rained all night - it seems the rain that was forecast for today tuckered itself out over night and now we have a beautiful albeit chilly day.
We finally pulled ourselves together enough and stepped out into the beautiful, clear day. We chose indoorsy things to do today as the weather was supposed to be shocking, so first stop was the Basilica Cistern which turned out to be just around the corner from our accommodation. There was a short queue and it wasn't long before we were down in the deep, dark depths. The Cistern is an ancient structure originally used to hold water when the city was under siege, and this one is lined with 336 columns, earning it the title of the Basilica Cistern (as well as there used to be a Basilica on the same spot). It was dark and damp inside, and much of it was under renovation, but you could still gain the sense of enormous size.
From the Cistern, we walked to the Grand Bazaar. As much as this is the "touristy" bazaar, I actually enjoyed it a lot more than the Spice Bazaar! It was huge, and most of the walkways were spacious, so I found it easy to stop and take photos, or just appreciate the surroundings. The wares were higher priced and I don't think as nice as those in the Spice Bazaar, but we weren't there to buy anything
anyway. (Although I seriously could spend so much money in this country!). After getting lost in the maze of alleyways in the bazaar, we popped out into the sunshine to begin walking towards the Süleymaniye Mosque.
Looking across the street, I noticed a man shaving döner meat off the skewer from a little platform which was located directly onto the street front, not inside a store. There was quite a queue, and we realised this was a hole-in-the-wall sandwich/kebap store. We heard the person in front of us say what we wanted, and so we copied as best we could and ordered two çeyrek. It was delicious. I said yesterday I love Turkish bread, and it just keeps getting better! We were handed two small bread rolls filled with döner meat, pickles and tomato. Simple, delicious, and hit the spot.
Soon we arrived at the mosque, which was still shut to the public for another half an hour as prayers were taking place inside. On the other side of the mosque was a beautiful view so we stopped here to take up a little bit of time. We returned to the courtyard and waited for the mosque to open. Outside the mosque, men were washing their feet, arms and face before entering to pray. As visitors, we had to take our shoes off to enter, and all women must have their heads covered so their hair is not showing. I struggled with my fashionable blue scarf as it kept wanting to slide off my hair (or over my face) but I got there in the end.
Inside, it was rather beautiful, with the low hanging lamps and patterned flooring typical of a mosque. We watched as some men finished their prayer routine, and spotted the tiny out-of-the-way women's prayer section.
Once we were finished in the mosque, I needed to visit the ladies. I'm mentioning this for two reasons: 1) I've finally used a squat toilet, which was generally unpleasant, and 2) I discovered that the women's feet and body bathing is located all the way out here in the toilets so that they can unwrap themselves without being in view of the men.
While on the mosque grounds, we noticed directly in front of us was a lovely rooftop terrace cafe. We climbed up here and had a delicious Turkish coffee with a gorgeous view. From here, we walked down via more markets and arrived at the waterfront, and turned left to go towards metro bridge as it would have a nice view.
On the way, we passed a little boat selling fish sandwich and, upon passing it, we made the snap decision to turn back and grab one. So. Delicious. It had a lovely lemon vinaigrette, and fresh fish straight off the boat. And that great Turkish bread again!
After our second lunch, we continued to the bridge which did indeed have a lovely view, before catching the metro back one stop.
On my list of things to do was to try Turkish stretchy icecream - dondurma icecream. We had found a store near our accommodation a couple of nights previously but today was perfect weather (still no sign of rain) for the cold treat. The man behind the counter was a wizard - he enjoyed tricking the children with empty cones and other tricks - and he even did the same to me! I didn't think I'd get the full service as I am an adult (debatable..!) but he did, even finishing it off my smooshing the whole icecream into my face. I couldn't stop laughing! When it was Dan's turn, he knocked an empty cone against Dan's face and then his crotch, which set me off laughing again (as I was still wiping icecream off my cheeks).
The icecream was also delicious, and it has a strange chewy texture to it. We walked and ate our icecream back to our apartment, where we had a short relax before heading back out again.
Since arriving, I've been wanting to experience a hamam. I didn't really know what to expect, and I was getting more nervous by the minute. Dan wasn't thrilled with the idea, but then again he had never had any kind of professional massage before and so this, for him, was really jumping in the deep end.
A hamam is a Turkish bath, and the general gist is that you sit in a hot gender segregated room (naked or near so) and sweat for a while, before a rough scrub and a massage. However, each one does things a little differently, and I knew there would probably be a language barrier. I certainly didn't make things easy for us because I chose a local hamam instead of a tourist-friendly one, called Kadirga Hamam. It received great reviews online, and was only 53L for the full package. This equates to about €12 including a tip, as opposed to up to €100 for the touristy ones. I figured if I didn't like it, I wasn't losing very much money!
It certainly was an experience, and I don't feel particularly relaxed but I know if I go again (which I hope to!) I will know what to do and when to do it - and won't be so tense. A quick run through of how it went:
First I was supposed to pay upfront. I had just been escorted out of the men's area to the ladies, and I never carry any cash on me so I panicked. I started babbling something about my boyfriend and she replied "Husband? Ok" and pointed me to an upstairs room. I took this to mean that she understood that my boyfriend/husband would pay for me at the end.
I took my gingham towel, went to my assigned little room and got nekkid. I left my knickers on because I hadn't been given a disposable pair, and that is what I had read you should do. Wrapping my tea towel around myself, I descended the stairs, and the lady shouted at me SHOO many times. I literally had no idea what she was wanting me to do, until she came up to me and pointed to some slippers, or shoes, and that I was supposed to put them on. Oops. From here I walked into a steaming hot room.
The room was laid out in a rectangle with fountain taps at various points around the wall, gushing water. a few ladies were sitting on the marble tiled floor, and I was motioned to join them. The first thing I noticed was that no other ladies were wearing knickers, and I was surprised by this as I thought you were supposed to. Hello tourist! I watched what the other ladies were doing and followed suit - when it got too hot for me, I would dip my bucket into one of the fountains and splash some cool water on myself.
I was the last lady to join so that meant I had a bit of a wait until it was my turn, but also meant I was reasonably well prepared for what to do when it did come my turn. In the centre of the room was a big marble slab, and when it was my turn I laid down on my belly, while a large-bosomed lady scrubbed my whole body with a rough loofa. Felt quite lovely actually, not painfully hard. She slapped my butt, which was the signal to turn over, and she scrubbed my front, and then had me sit up and scrubbed my arms, face and neck.
Then she motioned for me to rinse with some water from the fountains, and return to the slab. Now I was lathered up, and massaged at the same time. I have very sensitive feet, and couldn't help but curl my toes up and grit my teeth - after the first foot, I think she realised and only briefly touched the other one! After my front and back lathering, she gave me a short head and neck massage, before throwing cool water all over me. Now I was to shampoo my hair (which I didn't really do because I have a sensitive scalp) and could sit in the warmth for a little longer.
Here's where it got tricky. There was only myself and another lady left in the room by this stage, and she was also clearly a tourist. After sitting for quite some time, I caught her eye and motioned a sort of "Are we supposed to go that way?" She wasn't sure, so I gathered my things and just made a move for it. Once out, I had my hair towelled and dried, and it was time to get my clothes back on.
I wasn't sure if I could go back into the mens from which I had come, so I went out the ladies entrance and ended up on an unfamiliar street. I walked a bit, before panicking, and returned to the hamam. The ladies inside seemed exasperated, and motioned towards the mens, so I figured I should be able to go back in there. Which I did, and got Dan to pay for me, and quickly left. If I do it again, which I hope to, I'll know the correct entrances and to bring cash with me! But for now, my skin feels fantastic and it has scrubbed off all the grime of the last few days.
Tomorrow we are catching a plan to Kayseri and then travelling onto Göreme - I'm really looking forward to this part of the trip! We will spend a few days on the road before returning to Istanbul.
Oh and yes! I bet you're wondering the most important part - how many cats did Dan pat today?
Dan's Cat Pat Tally: 4. With one special mention kitty who just did not want Dan to leave.
Til next time,
xx
I'll mention it publicly - I suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and my trigger foods, amongst many, include garlic, garlic powder, onions and onion powder. Now these flavours are impossible to avoid in Turkey and so I expected any and all reactions to the food I eat.
What I didn't expect was the toilets to be essentially out of order. This caused me a lot of stress! Oh well. We got through the night. And toilet-wise, I guess it could be worse - they could be squat toilets! (Even with visiting India and Japan and I've managed to avoid these...I'd like to continue that trend...)
I actually managed a couple hours sleep last night, so that's pleasant. It rained all night - it seems the rain that was forecast for today tuckered itself out over night and now we have a beautiful albeit chilly day.
We finally pulled ourselves together enough and stepped out into the beautiful, clear day. We chose indoorsy things to do today as the weather was supposed to be shocking, so first stop was the Basilica Cistern which turned out to be just around the corner from our accommodation. There was a short queue and it wasn't long before we were down in the deep, dark depths. The Cistern is an ancient structure originally used to hold water when the city was under siege, and this one is lined with 336 columns, earning it the title of the Basilica Cistern (as well as there used to be a Basilica on the same spot). It was dark and damp inside, and much of it was under renovation, but you could still gain the sense of enormous size.
From the Cistern, we walked to the Grand Bazaar. As much as this is the "touristy" bazaar, I actually enjoyed it a lot more than the Spice Bazaar! It was huge, and most of the walkways were spacious, so I found it easy to stop and take photos, or just appreciate the surroundings. The wares were higher priced and I don't think as nice as those in the Spice Bazaar, but we weren't there to buy anything
anyway. (Although I seriously could spend so much money in this country!). After getting lost in the maze of alleyways in the bazaar, we popped out into the sunshine to begin walking towards the Süleymaniye Mosque.
Looking across the street, I noticed a man shaving döner meat off the skewer from a little platform which was located directly onto the street front, not inside a store. There was quite a queue, and we realised this was a hole-in-the-wall sandwich/kebap store. We heard the person in front of us say what we wanted, and so we copied as best we could and ordered two çeyrek. It was delicious. I said yesterday I love Turkish bread, and it just keeps getting better! We were handed two small bread rolls filled with döner meat, pickles and tomato. Simple, delicious, and hit the spot.
Soon we arrived at the mosque, which was still shut to the public for another half an hour as prayers were taking place inside. On the other side of the mosque was a beautiful view so we stopped here to take up a little bit of time. We returned to the courtyard and waited for the mosque to open. Outside the mosque, men were washing their feet, arms and face before entering to pray. As visitors, we had to take our shoes off to enter, and all women must have their heads covered so their hair is not showing. I struggled with my fashionable blue scarf as it kept wanting to slide off my hair (or over my face) but I got there in the end.
Inside, it was rather beautiful, with the low hanging lamps and patterned flooring typical of a mosque. We watched as some men finished their prayer routine, and spotted the tiny out-of-the-way women's prayer section.
Once we were finished in the mosque, I needed to visit the ladies. I'm mentioning this for two reasons: 1) I've finally used a squat toilet, which was generally unpleasant, and 2) I discovered that the women's feet and body bathing is located all the way out here in the toilets so that they can unwrap themselves without being in view of the men.
While on the mosque grounds, we noticed directly in front of us was a lovely rooftop terrace cafe. We climbed up here and had a delicious Turkish coffee with a gorgeous view. From here, we walked down via more markets and arrived at the waterfront, and turned left to go towards metro bridge as it would have a nice view.
On the way, we passed a little boat selling fish sandwich and, upon passing it, we made the snap decision to turn back and grab one. So. Delicious. It had a lovely lemon vinaigrette, and fresh fish straight off the boat. And that great Turkish bread again!
After our second lunch, we continued to the bridge which did indeed have a lovely view, before catching the metro back one stop.
On my list of things to do was to try Turkish stretchy icecream - dondurma icecream. We had found a store near our accommodation a couple of nights previously but today was perfect weather (still no sign of rain) for the cold treat. The man behind the counter was a wizard - he enjoyed tricking the children with empty cones and other tricks - and he even did the same to me! I didn't think I'd get the full service as I am an adult (debatable..!) but he did, even finishing it off my smooshing the whole icecream into my face. I couldn't stop laughing! When it was Dan's turn, he knocked an empty cone against Dan's face and then his crotch, which set me off laughing again (as I was still wiping icecream off my cheeks).
The icecream was also delicious, and it has a strange chewy texture to it. We walked and ate our icecream back to our apartment, where we had a short relax before heading back out again.
Since arriving, I've been wanting to experience a hamam. I didn't really know what to expect, and I was getting more nervous by the minute. Dan wasn't thrilled with the idea, but then again he had never had any kind of professional massage before and so this, for him, was really jumping in the deep end.
A hamam is a Turkish bath, and the general gist is that you sit in a hot gender segregated room (naked or near so) and sweat for a while, before a rough scrub and a massage. However, each one does things a little differently, and I knew there would probably be a language barrier. I certainly didn't make things easy for us because I chose a local hamam instead of a tourist-friendly one, called Kadirga Hamam. It received great reviews online, and was only 53L for the full package. This equates to about €12 including a tip, as opposed to up to €100 for the touristy ones. I figured if I didn't like it, I wasn't losing very much money!
It certainly was an experience, and I don't feel particularly relaxed but I know if I go again (which I hope to!) I will know what to do and when to do it - and won't be so tense. A quick run through of how it went:
First I was supposed to pay upfront. I had just been escorted out of the men's area to the ladies, and I never carry any cash on me so I panicked. I started babbling something about my boyfriend and she replied "Husband? Ok" and pointed me to an upstairs room. I took this to mean that she understood that my boyfriend/husband would pay for me at the end.
I took my gingham towel, went to my assigned little room and got nekkid. I left my knickers on because I hadn't been given a disposable pair, and that is what I had read you should do. Wrapping my tea towel around myself, I descended the stairs, and the lady shouted at me SHOO many times. I literally had no idea what she was wanting me to do, until she came up to me and pointed to some slippers, or shoes, and that I was supposed to put them on. Oops. From here I walked into a steaming hot room.
The room was laid out in a rectangle with fountain taps at various points around the wall, gushing water. a few ladies were sitting on the marble tiled floor, and I was motioned to join them. The first thing I noticed was that no other ladies were wearing knickers, and I was surprised by this as I thought you were supposed to. Hello tourist! I watched what the other ladies were doing and followed suit - when it got too hot for me, I would dip my bucket into one of the fountains and splash some cool water on myself.
I was the last lady to join so that meant I had a bit of a wait until it was my turn, but also meant I was reasonably well prepared for what to do when it did come my turn. In the centre of the room was a big marble slab, and when it was my turn I laid down on my belly, while a large-bosomed lady scrubbed my whole body with a rough loofa. Felt quite lovely actually, not painfully hard. She slapped my butt, which was the signal to turn over, and she scrubbed my front, and then had me sit up and scrubbed my arms, face and neck.
Then she motioned for me to rinse with some water from the fountains, and return to the slab. Now I was lathered up, and massaged at the same time. I have very sensitive feet, and couldn't help but curl my toes up and grit my teeth - after the first foot, I think she realised and only briefly touched the other one! After my front and back lathering, she gave me a short head and neck massage, before throwing cool water all over me. Now I was to shampoo my hair (which I didn't really do because I have a sensitive scalp) and could sit in the warmth for a little longer.
Here's where it got tricky. There was only myself and another lady left in the room by this stage, and she was also clearly a tourist. After sitting for quite some time, I caught her eye and motioned a sort of "Are we supposed to go that way?" She wasn't sure, so I gathered my things and just made a move for it. Once out, I had my hair towelled and dried, and it was time to get my clothes back on.
I wasn't sure if I could go back into the mens from which I had come, so I went out the ladies entrance and ended up on an unfamiliar street. I walked a bit, before panicking, and returned to the hamam. The ladies inside seemed exasperated, and motioned towards the mens, so I figured I should be able to go back in there. Which I did, and got Dan to pay for me, and quickly left. If I do it again, which I hope to, I'll know the correct entrances and to bring cash with me! But for now, my skin feels fantastic and it has scrubbed off all the grime of the last few days.
Tomorrow we are catching a plan to Kayseri and then travelling onto Göreme - I'm really looking forward to this part of the trip! We will spend a few days on the road before returning to Istanbul.
Oh and yes! I bet you're wondering the most important part - how many cats did Dan pat today?
Dan's Cat Pat Tally: 4. With one special mention kitty who just did not want Dan to leave.
Til next time,
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment