We spent our last morning in Athens quickly checking out the
Ancient Agora ruins. Nothing like a
quick climb up a hill in the morning to get your heart rate pumping! I wish we’d scheduled another day or two in
Athens as we didn't get to see everything, and I really liked our simple
pension – it was cheap and so well located (Adams Hotel the Plaka if you are
going there). We jumped into the
pre-ordered taxi for our trip to the airport.
Greg was a bit concerned about Pegasus airlines, however it
turns out that they are a new airline (who have recently taken over Olympic)
with new planes and we landed quite safely at Ataturk Airport. To be slugged with a visa fee of 45 Euros
each. Most countries are on the “visa
required” list. One of the few to be
exempt is New Zealand. Lucky
buggers! Being hit with 180 Euro bill we
didn't expect was not a nice welcome! I know, I know, I could have done some
research on this…
I’d organised an airport pick up for us. I had been emailing a Turkish tour company,
as I thought that if Turkey was still as cheap as our last visit (back in the dark
ages, 28 years ago!) that it might not be too expensive to have our travel,
hotels and tours all pre-booked and organised.
I could just sit back and relax.
Bad news: Turkey might not have joined the EU yet, but they act as if
they have. All tours, hotels, and
transport are in euros not Turkish Lira (try). That’s bad news for us as the
Aussie dollar is still so crap against the euro (not as tragic as the pound,
but not too much better!). The first
quote for six days was 845 euro each; when we dropped Cappadocia from the
itinerary and went to four days it was 545 euro each – still 2,200 euro (or
around $3,500). I'm sure I can do it for
less than this… I hope so anyway! So
even though we decided not to go with the tour we booked the transfer and hotel
through the tour company. The Hotel
Deniz Houses is in Sultanahmet, the area most tourists stay in and the place we
stayed last time. Not that we recognised
a thing (except the obvious landmarks like the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia). The area has changed amazingly! Our rooms were on the first floor, with an exceedingly low roof combined with beams
every three steps; the door frames are also very
low, as is the bathroom door. The kid’s
room has a sea view and is a decent size, but ours was so tiny that we couldn't
fit our luggage in the room too; we put Greg’s pack in the kid’s room and mine
squeezed into the cupboard, just so we could walk around the bed! It goes without saying that Bella, Greg and I
had all hit our heads within 10 minutes of arriving (despite chanting “duck,
duck, duck” all the time!). In addition
our room was above reception and we could hear everyone coming and going – it didn't
make for a good night’s sleep, so the next day Greg asked if there was a chance
we could be moved. Our new room, on the
3rd floor (no lift, so good exercise!) is amazingly spacious and even more amazingly,
has normal height entry and bathroom doors, it’s just a delight in
comparison! I still have to duck when visiting
the kids on the 1st floor (poor Bella, she is coping very well!) and
on the fourth floor, where we have breakfast.
There is an outdoor terrace, but the door leading to it is so low that
even Liam has to duck, it feels as if Bella, Greg and I have to crawl through!
Our first night in Istanbul we followed a recommendation in
Trip Advisor (as we have so often done) and went to a Turkish café which had
such disappointing food (and expensive) that I wrote my first ever negative
report on Trip Advisor! Not such a great
start. Yesterday we woke up and thought
we'd go to the Topkapi Palace. As we
wandered past the neighbourhood bazaar Greg was offered some tourist assistance
by a very pleasant man who insisted we visit the Blue Mosque then and there, as
it was nearly prayer time; as he led us to the mosque he revealed he was in
fact a carpet salesman, and would be very happy if we could visit his
shop. Well as it happens I DO want a
Turkish carpet. I wanted one last time,
but we seriously couldn't afford it; actually we can't really afford it this
time either but I still have a credit card (yay!) so I was keen to have a
look. It’s a real performance, looking
at carpets. First you have to accept a
drink (usually apple tea, which is quite delicious); the carpet salesman does
some small talk with you, then has his little helpers throw carpet after carpet
in front of you, extolling the virtues of each one (“double knotted!” “silk
thread!” “very old!”). He then gets you
to choose your two favourites; gives you a price for each singularly, then a
dramatically reduced price if you decide to get – not one, but TWO
carpets! What a deal! I had explained that we were not making a
decision that day – I refuse to be rushed on a big purchase like this. I don't think he believed me – especially when
he'd made his bargain offer! – but I stuck to my guns. So escaping outdoors once more, we finally
came to the gates of the Topkapi Palace and realised we'd be better off getting
a 72 hour Istanbul card when we return
to Istanbul, and seeing everything we wanted for the one price. The kids were happy – they were hungry and
not interested in the palace. I thought
we may as well go to the carpet guy in the local bazaar that I'd promised we'd
call into when we wandered past the night before. Once again, the performance; once again, a
disappointed carpet seller. We had a
brief rest at the hotel (still luxuriating in my high ceilinged room!) – Greg went
off on a small errand and was away for ages. It turned out that he'd been picked up by
another carpet guy! He’s got them to put
aside two carpets he thinks/hopes I will like.
Before dinner we walked down to the fish markets. Greg was very keen to show them to us even
though Bella is horrified by dead animals and Liam hates the smell of
fish. So it wasn't a successful
visit. There are lots of restaurants
there and Greg & I would love to go there for dinner, but Liam point blank
refuses. We'd already chosen a restaurant
(again, from Trip Advisor) and it turned out to be some distance from the fish
market – but co-incidentally, quite near our hotel! - this time, with more
success. I’d recommend the Ortaklar
restaurant which had great Turkish food at very reasonable prices. No beer though, Greg was disappointed!
Heading back to the hotel, we'd just pulled out the map to
get our bearings when a guy approached Greg offering his assistance. After a bit of a friendly chat, he turned out
to be – you guessed it, a carpet seller!
As we went along to his shop the kids and I were killing ourselves
laughing that Dad had been picked up 3
times that day by carpet seller touts!
So we had our third cup of apple tea (fourth for Greg!) and oohed and
aahed over the carpets. It’s not
hard. They are gorgeous. The prices are outrageous but I think by the
time we finally make a decision, we'll also know what we can get them for.
Today we had booked a walking tour with She Tours, as Lonely
Planet said it was the best way to get to know the Grand Bazaar. And we trust Lonely Planet! We were a bit
peeved to be collected at 8.30am, only to spend an hour on the bus going around
the place collecting people for other tours – and ending up just 10 minutes
walk from our hotel!! We started in
Sultanahmet Square, going past the two obelisks and one monument (and finding
out some interesting information about all three) before going into the Blue
Mosque (again!) and then Aya Sophia. Our
guide was interesting but very
quietly spoken; you had to stand close to hear what he had to say. Our next stop was … a carpet shop! This was for “information about carpets only,
no obligation to buy” – more apple tea, more performances. However I was interested that they showed cotton
on cotton carpets, which I've decided I like better for Darwin than wool on cotton. Softer for my grandson’s knees! Once again, we refused to be pushed into a
decision (and believe me, this salesman REALLY
pushed!). Even Liam was convinced he was
offering us a once in a lifetime opportunity!
And then our guide pointed the way to the Grand Bazaar…and that was our
tour. We were seriously not impressed as
the tour cost us 30 euro each (normally 35 but it’s easier to get discounts in
the off season). I called into the tour
office to tell them what I thought of the tour and that I would give it a bad
review on Trip Advisor. They claimed
guides can’t go into the Grand Bazaar, as people then worry that they will get
a commission on purchases. So what was
the story with the carpet shop I demanded? “No commission, no commission” he
claimed. Rubbish. So please don't go on a She Tour!! So much to buy at the Grand Bazaar. I lusted after beautiful multi coloured glass
lampshades (they ship to Australia! No
problem! Just buy a carpet too!) and the
most gorgeous brightly coloured platters.
I'm trying to convince Greg he could carry one as hand luggage!
We've worked out that pulling out a map alerts carpet seller
touts, so we are very careful to look around before we whip out the map – but heading
to the hairdressers this afternoon we weren't quick enough for the guy outside
the Aya Sofia! We gave him short shrift
now we know the deal. Greg insists this not be counted in his tally of carpet
sales touts! Bella, Liam and I all went to the hairdressers – Salon Kadir. As is usual with Turkey, the front part is
very smart but is only for boys; women have to go through to the dingier, darker back
area. However I couldn't fault the
hairdresser who was extremely quick and competent. She insisted on trimming off my very dry ends, which I had to agree
needed to be done J
It was 55 euro for all three of us – much less than I'd usually spend just for
me!
Oh and we had some good news! Greg’s wallet has turned up at Heathrow lost
and found, so it was not stolen, just mislaid!
It’s 20 pounds plus postage to get it back – Greg has authorised them to
use the money in the wallet to return it, so I suppose when we hear back from
them we’ll also find out if the cash and cards were still there!
Tonight we are trying a restaurant recommended to us from
one of the carpet touts and tomorrow have an early start to head down to
Gallipoli. Next blog update from somewhere near there!
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