Turkish Kitty Delights – Part II

Continuation of cats that we met in Turkey. This post is of the cats we met at Ephesus, an ancient Greek later turned Roman city near present-day Selçuk. Somehow the presence of these furry creatures complemented the scenery and completed and - in my case and I’m sure, my nephew’s too - enhanced our experience there. Again, thanks to Yan for one or two photos here.

This kitty greeted us

I called this one ‘Garfield’

Garfield and mosaic

♪♫ We had joy, we had fun, we had snoozes in the sun ♪♫

Ancient latrine

This chap was feeding the cats

At the Grand Theatre

Turkish Kitty Delights – Part I

We met a lot of furry kitties in Turkey and I tried to snap as many of them as possible. Here are some that I managed to capture (and some, thanks to Yan).

Outside Aya Sofya (aka Hagia Sophia), a former church before it was converted into a mosque and now a museum, Istanbul Outside Aya Sofya (aka Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

At Aya Sofya (aka Hagia Sophia), Istanbul

At Meryemana (House of the Virgin Mary) which is claimed to have been resided by Mary, Selçuk

Outside Lycus River Hotel, Pamukkale

Outside Tamara Restaurant in the Old City of Istanbul

At Topkapı Palace, the primary residence of the Ottaman Sultans during their reign. A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Istanbul, December 2011

My Turkish Delight

I had always wanted to visit Turkey but had reservations before because of its secular state. I do try to keep an open mind especially since I met a lot of Turks in the Holy Land. Surely not everyone is that secular? Besides, Malaysia is equally secular. But I’m glad I went when I did (I had thought that I was meant to go to the other destination I had planned from signs that I received but it was not meant to be yet and as it turned out, God wanted me to visit Turkey first).

What I discovered:
- Warm and friendly people
- A very clean country. Very clean. Too clean. You can go to the countryside or some pump station in the middle of nowhere (to use the washroom) and you’d be hard pressed to find litter anywhere. Why can’t Malaysia be like that?
- You can find squat toilets in addition to sit-down toilets in some areas. Most sit-down toilets have an integrated bidet. I wish we have more of these toilets with integrated bidet in Malaysia. It will definitely mean fewer wet bathrooms around
- A lot of cities/towns have some factory outlets in the outskirts. Not surprising as Turkey is a major clothing producer and exporter. Most are local brands though we did see some outlets of Marks & Spencer and Docker’s
- Patient people. You can be stuck in a crawl for miles and no one even used the horn
- Many, many furry cute cats everywhere. Not just at restaurants or fish markets but also at ruins and historical places. Most are black and white but we did find some calico cats
- The love of sweet stuff. I cannot even finish half of a baclava but they can do that and more!
- Turkish tea (cay) and coffee. They are served at most shops that we visit
- ‘New’ stuff like apple tea, pomegranate tea, rose jam and cherry jam
- The same food at almost every meal (even breakfast at some hotels): salad (red cabbage, shredded carrot, lettuce), bread, the occasional yoghurt. And lentil soup. Nice but not good for me (windy!). I don’t know how they can eat the same stuff over and over again without trying to vary the menu
- Many different kinds of cheese for us to sample
- They serve pork openly at some hotels’ breakfast buffet
- Don’t expect to find any halal sign at restaurants. Take it as a given. Though the same establishments may serve alcohol too. What did I say about it being a secular country?

Will I visit again? Probably another trip to Istanbul or other towns with Roman remains. And in spring time please. It will be my pleasure to tell you when that happens.

My Christmas Turkey: Fourth Bite

Friday, 30 December 2011
Erkan had mentioned that we would leave slightly later today at 8 am after the previous night’s debauchery but of course we only left at 0815. We drove towards Ankara, stopping en route at Tuz Gölü (or Lake Tuz) meaning Salty Lake. İ had seen the lake miles before our stop and no wonder, it is after all, the second biggest lake in Turkey. There was a small shop selling products based on the salt from the lake. We walked to the shore of the lake as Ekran explained about it.

We continued on to Ankara, the capital of Turkey since 1923 for its geographical location and lack of association with the Ottomans. We rolled in at around noon, just perfect and in time for lunch. Lunch was had at Traihi Gar Restaurant at Ankara Garı (Ankara Train Station). There were many photos on the wall of the restaurant and most had Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in it.

After lunch, we headed to Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Atatürk, on top of Rasattepe Hill. This enemy of Islam died in Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul and his body was brought to Ankara to rest, initially at the Ethnography Museum before being transferred 15 years later to this mausoleum which overlooks Ankara. We spent about forty five minutes at the War of Independence Museum and the tomb before leaving Ankara.

We drove on to Bolu, a town roughly half-way between Ankara and Istanbul. Murat had driven a lot of miles today and apparently, there is a daily limit on the number of miles that a driver can legally drive. We spent the night at Yurdaer Hotel.

Saturday, 31 December 2011
We left at 0715 today and drove to Istanbul, passing Izmit en route. During the ride, we all agreed to go on the optional Bosphorus cruise. The cruise usually costs $60 for adults and $30 for children below 12 and Ekran managed to negotiate the rates down so that the cost could be offset by the refund from the hot air balloon ride that Ekran had managed to get for us.

We took the 1115 cruise and I was very glad that we went on it for it provided wonderful views of the buildings overlooking the strait. It wasn’t a very clear mid-morning but it cleared up briefly.

The cruise lasted slightly more than an hour. We got down and made for the Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar). It had started to drizzle by then and we were glad of the shelter. The bazaar derived its name from the many spices imported from Egypt during the Ottoman period. We were only given half an hour to shop (boo hoo) and unsurprisingly, were late for our rendezvous with Ekran and the rest in front of the New Mosque (Yeni Camii).

Next up was lunch at Tamara Restaurant in the Old City. After lunch, we headed to Topkapı Palace, the primary residence of the Ottaman Sultans during their reign. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a major tourist attraction and contains important holy relics of the Muslim world including the Prophet Muhammad’s cloak and sword and large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armour and displays of Ottoman treasures and jewellery including a gigantic piece of diamond. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers but only the most important are accessible to the public today. We spent two hours at the Palace.

After the grandeur of the Palace, we went to the Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) to experience the splendour of the covered bazaar and the delights on offer. To be honest, I much prefer the Spice Bazaar as the sellers are friendlier and more willing to entertain you. At the Grand Bazaar, even if you’re interested, the seller may not care to entertain you, nor will they care to call you back if you walk away to another stall. Even if you stand there and the seller decides he doesn’t care to sell to you, you won’t find yourself being served. Well, at least that was what happened to me.

We spent more than an hour there before heading to the car park area to meet up with the rest. It was time for dinner and this time, we went to Grup Restaurant in Sultanahmet area (near Hippodrome). After dinner, we requested that Murat take the route passing Taksim Square. As it was only 8.30 pm, the New Year revellers were not there yet. We passed the square twice before heading to our hotel (the hotel we stayed at on our first night in the city).

I hardly ever celebrate New Year. I always sleep right through it

Sunday, 1 January 2012
Can you believe it, it was now time to say goodbye to Türkiye?! Well, like they say, time flies when you’re having fun. We went for breakfast later than normal, at 8.30 am. Then we went for a brief walk around the hotel before heading back to the hotel.

We left the hotel at 1145 and headed for the airport. We checked in immediately and went into the duty-free area. After performing prayers, we headed for our boarding gate for our flight to Bahrain where we would transit for more than six hours...

Monday, 2 January 2012
We boarded the flight back to KL at 0100 this morning and just as we were about to take off, el niño threw up. He vomited repeatedly throughout the flight and I must confess that I was getting panicked. I asked for anti-motion sickness pill from one of the air stewardess and while she told me it would not be effective as we had taken off, I still insisted on it. Poor boy.

We landed at KLIA at 1420. Our bags took so long to make their appearance (I had gone to perform prayers and back and still the bags were not out). They finally appeared at 1450 but alas, we were unable to catch the 1500 train.

So that was my 2011 year-end and 2012 start-of-year break. How was yours?

~~~~~~~~

I was very satisfied with the tour package. It was well-planned. We were very lucky to get Erkan as our tour guide as he was very patient and accommodating. He bent over backwards trying to make us feel comfortable. For instance, when we told him the hot air balloon didn’t even last half an hour, he called up the company to negotiate a discount. He even negotiated a discount for us for the Bosphorus cruise. He waited patiently for us and answered our queries patiently, never mind that he had explained the fact earlier. He helped keep us entertained in the long road trips with his DVD movies. I also like the fact that he had two maps in the vehicle – one of Turkey and another of Istanbul. He also brought along books when we visited Ephesus to help us visualise how the place looked like before. He helped make us understand and appreciate everything easier. Murat the driver was also a calm, nice and patient chap. He may just be a driver but he is the epitome of professionalism. He’s always neatly-dressed with a necktie to boot and not a single hair out of place.

And the best part? We paid RM1,200 less than another group of 14 from Penang and RM600-700 less than another group of 19 from KL. There were only seven of us in our group. What group discount? We hit jackpot alright. Alhamdulillah.

My Christmas Turkey: Third Bite

Thursday, 29 December 2011

We had agreed on the previous day that we would ride on the hot air balloon over Cappadocia this morning – it’s quite costly at $220 per adult and $110 per child below 12 (that’s USD y’all. Turkey accepts use of the greenback extensively), add $10 if you use your plastic but hey, it’s one of the 1000 things to do before one dies. We left after morning prayers (the vehicle was to leave at 0610 but of course it didn’t as we had to wait for some people. No prize for guessing who) and went to Royal Balloon premises where we had our breakfast. Then we drove off to the ‘launch site’ and boarded a balloon (we had help to board. Some of the workers carried and dumped us into any of the four basket compartments of the balloon!). We took off before long and soon had a bird’s eye view of the fairy chimneys (or hoodoos) below us – the rock sites of Cappadocia are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a very cold morning and it even snowed briefly – tiny snowflakes.

Erkan had told us the flight would take us an hour so it was disappointing when it lasted barely half an hour. It did take us an hour getting into the vehicle from Royal Balloon premises to getting into the vehicle again after our ride. The foggy morning reduced visibility somewhat and I thought we didn’t flow over the hoodoos long enough (after a while, we were no longer flying over the hoodoos. Boo!). We subsequently told Erkan this and he called up the company to ask for a refund ;’) (of $50/adult and $25 for el niño). It would be better to come in spring or summer as visibility would be greater but I can’t see myself forking out another $220 for that hot air balloon ride.

We were given directions on how to land: you need to push yourself against the back of the balloon compartment, hold on tight to the ropes and bend your body slightly. We didn’t really make a very smooth landing and our basket was tilting until some personnel of Royal Balloon came to help steady it

We reached the hotel at 8.20 am and had another round of breakfast. Erkan told us to meet again at 9.15 for our tour around the place (but of course we left way after that).

Our first stop was Kaymaklı Underground City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent forty minutes in the underground, walking in the tunnels and public areas. There are stables, storage area, churches, kitchens and cellars. Only a fraction of the complex is open to the public.

We drove around and then went up to the Uçhisar Hill and Castle, a viewing platform (where I fell down for no reason at all. Strewth!) before heading to a gem store (selling mainly turquoise jewelleries) and then to another area to view the hoodoos up close. Then we went for lunch at Uranos & Sarikaya Restaurant in Avanos, a restaurant carved into the soft tufa formations. A satisfactory lunch was had by all.

After lunch, we headed to a carpet store/showroom. I didn’t want to buy any more carpets so was just content to sit back and admire the beautiful silk carpets. After the carpet shop, we drove on to Göreme Open Air Museum, the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent about 40 minutes there.

Our next stop was a pottery shop/showroom. The Cappadocia region is famous for its earthenware pottery, even back in the times of the Hittites. The red silt from the local river, Kizilirmak (Red River) makes good pottery although white clay potteries are better. We were given a demonstration on pottery-making and when the potter was done and asked for a volunteer, unsurprisingly el niño volunteered. After that, we wandered around the showrooms (there were two). I had wanted to buy some plates and was happy I managed to find some pieces there.

We returned to the hotel. It would be Turkish Dinner tonight at Yasar Baba Restaurant. We were initially reluctant to go (if only we had packed instant noodles, we’d happily stay in!) but was persuaded by Erkan to go. He even promised to get Murat to drive us back half-way through dinner. So we got dressed and just before leaving, realised our room key was missing... we ended up spending the next fifteen minutes frantically looking for it (the key ring had become separated from the card), looking in our bags and on the beds. Finally, we found it in at the bathroom sink counter and called Erkan who turned around to pick us up. We walked through the door, had some sweet drink and descended down to the restaurant area. There were many long tables with other tourists already seated there. We had some appetiser then the main meal (beef and pilaf rice). As for the dances, first we were treated to the whirling dervishers (didn’t last long) and then some traditional dances. Towards the end of the last traditional dance, the dancers invited the diners to join them (we didn’t). The three of us left way before the belly dance.

No, count me out of audience participation!

To be continued

My Christmas Turkey: Second Bite

Monday, 26 December 2011
We left the hotel at 7.15 am (had to wait for the family of four, didn’t we. And this became a ritual. They were always fifteen minutes late. ALWAYS) and drove to Bursa. Bursa is about 80 km south of Istanbul and is the fourth largest city in Turkey. We boarded a ferry (vehicles too) to cross the Sea of Marmara to Yalova where we continued on by road. At Bursa, we stopped for a while to change money before heading for the cable-car station for the cable-car ride up to Uludağ National Park. El niño was so excited to see snow and I was so glad that he had the three older boys to play with because I’m not fond of the snow. I don’t hate it; I’m just indifferent to it. I do hate it when the snow melts into sludge and especially hate walking on ice because I’m bound to fall like a sack of potatoes. Which I did. %#*)_~!!

We walked a bit to the restaurant and while waiting for our BBQ lunch, went to perform prayers. After lunch, we left and took the cable-car down. El niño was disappointed that he couldn’t go skiing but we were nowhere near the ski centre. We drove on to Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey, and checked into Blanca Hotel. It was a very nice hotel but there was no kettle/tea-making facility provided in the room. Dinner was had at the hotel restaurant.

Not us. We took the cable car both ways...

Tuesday, 27 December 2011

We left 15 minutes later than scheduled (guess why) and made our way to nearby Selçuk, about 80 km away from Izmir. It was a cold, frigid, freezing morning and Erkan decided to bring us to Elegant Deri Leather House, a leather outlet first. There was a brief ‘fashion show’ where the shop staff modelled various pieces of the store’s latest collection of leather jackets. (They also asked me and the elder son of the other family to model some leather jacket/outfit too. I LOVED red leather jacket that I was asked to model; so soft to the touch *sigh*). We were given some time to shop but I wasn’t looking for a leather jacket even those soft lovely jackets which the staff claimed could be worn in all seasons.

Then we drove on to Meryemana (House of the Virgin Mary) which is claimed to have been resided by Mary. While there has been doubt expressed about the site, the house has received visits from various Popes.

We left shortly after and made our way to Ephesus, an ancient Greek city which later became a Roman city. I fell in love with the ruins and had a marvellous time exploring the place.

We spent close to 1.5 hours there. All that exploring had left me feeling very hungry and it was aptly lunch time too. We had lunch buffet at Hitit Restaurant, Selçuk. Buffet it may sound but the spread was pitiful (read: too little) ;’(

After lunch, we set off for Pamukkale. Pamukkale means ‘cotton castle’ in Turkish and the city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left in the water. The ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white ‘castle’ and the ruins are still there (not as many as at Ephesus). We arrived at Pamukkale just as the sun was setting (in the itinerary, we were supposed to do the site the following morning) so we enjoyed sunset there. Then, el niño and I went to walk at the terraces. The sun had set by then, the temperature was plunging, it was getting dark very fast (and not enough lights around the area too so we had to stumble in the dark) and we had to remove our shoes (wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits). So it was a funny thing (not in a ha-ha way) to be groping our way in the dark, feeling our feet slowly turning numb while stumbling over the uneven surface (it wasn’t smooth for sure. I felt like walking on reflexology pebble-walk). Still we continued. We finally reached some pools but it took some time before we reached warmer water. We spent about 30 minutes there before turning back.

We left after 7 pm and checked into Lycus River Hotel. Dinner was had at the hotel restaurant. The hotel has thermal pool and Jacuzzi but we were too knackered to check them out.

Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Another early start for us today as we had a long drive ahead of us (more than six hours). We left the hotel at 7.45 am and went to the base of the ‘cotton castle’ for some Kodak moments. Then we drove on to Konya, the old capital of the Selçuk Turks. It was another cold, cold day.

We were kept occupied by DVD movies on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire in our various legs of this trip and that is one of the things I like about the tour guide: he’s informative and knows how to keep us entertained. We stopped along the way to take some pictures at some marble blocks – yet another of Erkan’s way to help us understand the geology of the country. We also stopped every couple of hours for washroom break and he and the driver, Murat, would have a cup of Turkish tea (or coffee?) and cigarettes. Murat seemed to live on that diet alone.



We stopped at Sultanhanı Caranvanserai in Aksaray, a 13th century hotel for ancient traders and travellers for close to an hour before continuing on to our hotel in Nevşehir, Cappadocia, where we would stay for two nights. Dinner was had at the hotel restaurant. Our room was cosily warm, so warm we ended up switching on the air-conditioner!

To be continued

My Christmas Turkey: First Bite

I had initially planned to go to another country during the holidays and had booked and even paid for it. Unfortunately, the travel agent cancelled the trip due to public unrest in the last week of November causing me to alter my travel plans. I frantically tried to find another destination that would depart after 22 December (as I had an event) and finally, after scouring the dailies, I managed to find an agent offering a trip to Turkey on the condition that there must be at least two travellers. So I asked my dad to ask Akak if my nephew, el niño, could come along. While waiting, I contacted Yan, an old mate from varsity, and asked her if she wanted to join the trip. Both came back with favourable response so I called up the agent to book the trip.

Even then, it took a while for the trip to be confirmed. Firstly, we were on the waiting list for the flight out of KL (the agent has an arrangement with Gulf Air) – well, not altogether surprising, considering it was about four weeks before departure. In a busy festive season. The agent tried her best and finally, we managed to secure seats. Secondly, there was a problem getting a room at Manama, Bahrain (we had to transit there for a night). The whole trip was finally confirmed very near to our travelling date but everything was finally settled and we were good to go.

Saturday, 24 December 2011
I met up Akak and family at KLIA at 5 pm. Yan arrived after 5.30 and we joined the queue to check in our bags. The agent had earlier explained to Yan that our bags would be directly checked to Istanbul and that we should bring our change of clothes in our hand luggage. It was a full flight. Yan let us have the two seats by the window and aisle but our in-flight entertainment system didn’t work (nor did the reading lights) so I didn’t manage to watch my Chris Evans in Captain America. Yes, he’s mine, you know. I had some tummy pain (this happens whenever I fly. Blame it on gravity or wind) and was suffering throughout.

We landed at Bahrain International Airport at 2210 pm (Bahrain is GMT+3) and took the shuttle bus to the terminal. There, we headed for the transit desk where we met up the family made up of the mother and her two teenage sons (the eldest son would only join us in Istanbul the next day) before joining the immigration queue (no, I don’t understand the process either). Then we waited and waited while another group from Penang (14 of them) and for the hotel driver to finally decide to get moving. Le sigh. Welcome to the Middle East.

Our hotel is in Manama, some six km away from the airport in Muharraq. We checked in and quickly settled in for the night.

Sunday, 25 December 2011
We got up after 5 am and after performing morning prayers, went for a walk around. Sheraton Hotel is opposite our hotel and it is flanked by the impressive Bahrain World Trade Centre. MODA Mall, the ultra-exclusive shopping complex is located on the ground floor of the BWTC. We crossed the busy King Faisal Highway (only belatedly realising it was indeed a highway) to take more pictures before re-crossing and heading back to the hotel for breakfast. Barely 7 am on a Sunday morning and already so many fast cars with hurried drivers wishing to be somewhere else.

We left the hotel after 8 am for our 10 am flight to Istanbul. It was a smaller aircraft and surprisingly not full (considering it was Christmas Day) so we managed to hog three seats each and then stretch out.

After a four-hour-plus flight, we landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. There were about five flights arriving at more or less our arrival time so you can imagine the queue to clear the immigration. We then collected our bags, met up with our waiting tour guide, Mr. Erkan Kayiran, and went to check out the bureaux de change. Erkan said we could convert money elsewhere and that we didn’t really need money for that day. We then went out to wait for our vehicle and I quickly did my ‘transforming project’ – layering myself with my fleece jacket and donning muffler.

We left the airport and went for a ride along the Sea of Marmara to Sehir Restaurant overlooking the sea for lunch. The airport is in the European side of Istanbul by the way. I was surprised to find myself hungry especially as we were served food in the flight. We had kebab and as I’m not a big fan of meat, I didn’t manage to finish my meal. After our late lunch, we drove to the nearby Sultanahmet (Hippodrome) or Old City district. Our first stop was the Aya Sofya (aka Hagia Sophia), a former church before it was converted into a mosque and now a museum. There were excellent mosaics in the gallery, reached by a stone ramp to the left of the entrance (we descended from another ramp). Islamic features – such as the mihrab, minbar and four minarets – were added while in the possession of the Ottomans. For almost 500 years, Aya Sofya was the principal mosque of Istanbul and served as a model for many other Ottoman mosques, such as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul).

The guards rather rudely hinted for us to leave by gradually switching off the interior lights. The museum closes early in winter but it was way before closing time when this happened (fie on you!). We left and walked to Hippodrome, adjacent to Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque. This was the centre of Roman and Byzantine Constantinople; sadly, the building no longer exists. The sporting and social centre of Constantinople, Hippodrome is now known as Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultan Ahmet Square). You can find the Obelisk of Thutmose II, the Serpent Column and the Walled Obelisk still standing there.

We hung out at Sultanahmet Meydanı while waiting for the fourth member of the family travelling with us arrive. After that, we walked to the Sultanahmet Mosque (aka Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning its interior). We spent about fifteen minutes here before leaving.

Next stop was dinner. We stopped across the street from the fish market and went to Patara Seafood Restaurant where we had some nice grilled fish. After dinner, we had a quick look at the fish market before boarding the vehicle. We then drove to our hotel (near the airport). It had been a long day so sleep came easy.

I meant a different kind of Turkey, of course

To be continued