Two More Days in Istanbul

Today, Saturday, June 7th, we have signed up for a guided tour. It's starts in the Old City at a mosque down by the river. Although we have visited several mosques it's always nice to have someone explain something about what we are seeing. More than one minaret means it is a Royal mosque. Red is the royal color. We admire some nice tiles, then leave the mosque and go back into the Spice Bazaar briefly where we end up buying some saffron. We'll have to make paella when we get home, what else can you do with the stuff?

Now the main attraction of this tour, a cruise of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. Many many factoids crowd my brain. We get a good idea of the size and scope of Istanbul and see a lot of the city that would otherwise be impossible to cram into a week. We end up on the Asian side for lunch, and then take a bus to the highest point in the city, Camlica Hill .

There are amazing views from the top, and the other tourists and visitors are interesting too. There are many more traditionally garbed women up here, not wearing burkas, but covering their hair with colorful silk scarves. They wear black or brown long cotton coats, or versions thereof. I am accosted by a group of school children, young teenagers wanting to practice their English on me for a school project. They ask me a series of questions and mostly understand my answers. Better practice would have been for me to ask THEM some questions!

The final activity on this tour turns out to be a private tour of the Dolmabahce Palace. This turns out to be worth the price of the tour itself. Even though I couldn't take pictures of the interior of the palace, I'm glad we didn't miss it!

The next day, our last in Istanbul, Lee wakes up with a cold. I run along the sea and ruminate on the lack of female runners, dodging stray dogs, wondering at groups of men swimming in the sea. After a late breakfast in the square outside the Blue Mosque we take the tram over to the other side of the Golden Horn. The tram is super easy to navigate and only costs three Turkish lira a ride. We exit the tram and take the funicular to the top of the hill and Taksim square, scene of the protests of the past year. There is no sign of protesters now, just families having picnics and walking on the dusty paths. We stroll down Istiklal Street. It's a nice walk, supposedly the Turkish equivalent of the Champs Elysees, but it's really just a shopping street in Anywhere, The World. Mango, Zara, H&M, you get the picture. As we descend into the older portion of this part of the city we attempt a bit of a Frommers walking tour. We see the Galata tower, narrow cobbled streets, a glimpse of an old synagogue. We make a stop for ice cream and espresso and then walk back over the river to the hotel to rest. It's our last night in Istanbul. On to Ephesus tomorrow.

The Grand Bazaar - Friday June 6th

Today our goal is the Grand Bazaar and maybe a runner carpet for the hall. We have lots of Persian rugs and really don't need another but we could use one in the hallway. We have read all the information on how to bargain in Istanbul and what to watch out for. We are steeled, expecting some version of Lo Wu in Shenzhen, where you don't dare look at the shopkeepers unless you want to be chased and harassed.

The grand Bazaar itself is kind of nice; huge, old, a maze of little shops and twisty streets, all in a catacomb-like structure. It is warm inside the bazaar, but not horribly so. Of course as we walk along the sales guys approach us, but by now we are used to them. They have funny lines, some of them anyway. We are sort of looking for some shops that Lee found online but have only mediocre results that way. We finally decide to work with a salesman with very good English and a calm demeanor.

Once we are seated in his shop he starts bringing out lots and lots of rugs. We are just not that excited by a standard Persian rug, neither wool or silk. We have a bunch and can get them from a dealer online so why bother? Then he brings out some Kurdish tribal rugs and we start to become more interested. They are embroidered and different. We settle on a couple and start the bargaining process. We are given tea, explanations of costs, shipping, duty, taxes. It's more than we want to spend, but we continue to discuss. We decide that we will carry the rug home ourselves as an extra suitcase (it's not that large, or heavy) and that reduces the price to about twice what we want to pay, so now the bargaining starts in earnest. I quote a price that is about 40% of what he is asking. He looks aggrieved, but comes down slightly, although nowhere near enough. Mentally I am doing the Lo Wu walk away. When bargaining in Lo Wu, if the salesperson is not being accommodating, a popular tactic is to say, "oh well" and start to walk away. Sometimes this backfires and they let you go, but more often than not they'll come running after you, sighing "okay, okay", and you get your price. Back in Turkey, we sit and continue to talk quietly. Lee counters at about 60%. The carpet guy counters at about $100 more than that. Now we are close. I split the difference with him and we are done! Yeah we probably paid too much, but not TOO too much. It was a pleasant experience overall. No "missy missy" no touching. Not very Lo Wu-like at all.

On the way out of the bazaar sales guys tell Lee he needs another carpet to balance things out. Haha.

Outside the bazaar it is pouring. At first we are lost, but eventually we find the street and then the store recommended in the class I took on traveling in Turkey a few years ago. Argammon. But this is crazy, like Tiffany's, or a museum. We wander through in amusement, this is way out of our price range. But eventually we find their restaurant and that part is nice. A long leasurely lunch. And then back to the hotel to rest.