Guest guest Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Lovely description Kishore! I was traveling with you. And great pix too :-) Ravin '82 > > > TURKEY - Part 1 > > The only things that I knew about the Turkish when I started off was that > they had towels named after them. Staying in India, one hardly gets to hear > > or read anything worthwhile about this great nation. So it came as a great > surprise to me that we share at least 2000 common words. > > For example, their word for book is 'Kitaap' (pronounced Kitaab, as the > Turkish say 'b' instead of 'p'). Sarap means wine and Saraf means jeweler. > Jawab means answer and heaven is called Cinnat (pronounced as Jannat). The > person who wrestles with oil on his body is called a Pehelvan. And despite > all these common words, you cannot understand head or tail of any Turkish > conversation. > > As we descended down the Turkish Airways plane, a cold blast of air shook > us > out of our jet lag, and the beautiful females scurrying around in mini > skirts and calf length leather boots woke up the remaining parts of my > body. > My God! How can they have so many beauty queens all in one country? But the > > worst part is that you cannot understand a single word of what they say. On > > second thoughts, maybe that is the best part. How can they wear mini skirts > > in this weather? Not that I was complaining, just perplexed. The males were > > equally handsome, but naturally I was not interested in them. > > In my childhood school days, I had duly noted in my Geography books that > Constantinople had changed its name to Istambul, and my teacher had given > me > half a mark less for misspelling Istanbul. As we made our way through > Istanbul, we were proudly informed by our guide that we were in the only > city in the world which straddles both Europe and Asia. And surprise > surprise, it was NOT the capital of Turkey. The capital is Ankara. Who > cares? As long as the mini skirts are around, all this does not matter. > > The currency of Turkey is Turkish Lira (1 TL = 30 Rupees), which in turn > consists of a 100 kurus. By the way, water is called 'Su' in Turkish. An > amazing thing was that while a bottle of water cost 50 kurus in the local > mall, a piss in the local toilet cost us a hefty 100 kurus. But as I > remarked to my wife, that is apt, since one 'Su' cost 50 kurus, Su-Su or > two > 'Su's were bound to cost double. We were there in the cold weather, so were > > leaking liras like, well, water every hour or so. It really hurt to pay 30 > rupees just to take a leak, and we pissed off a considerable fortune in > Turkey. > > Istanbul is a modern city with ancient monuments. So we have the most > modern > office complexes jostling for space with Greek and Roman Obelisks and > chariot racing tracks (Hippodrome) and old age mosques like the Blue > Mosque. > The Blue mosque is especially worth mentioning, because the first thing you > > notice about it is that it is not blue. It is only when you enter the huge > prayer hall, that you notice the beautiful blue dome and the blue tiles on > the walls. > > Another famous building here is the Aya Sophia or the Hagia Sophia. This > was > a giant church built when Christians ruled over Constantinople. When the > Muslims took over, they promptly, like all over the world, converted the > existing structure into a mosque. All paintings of and Jesus were > effaced with plaster and Allah's name was emblazoned in large plates on the > > four corners. Later, modern day Turks took special efforts to restore the > Christian paintings and now we have Christian and Muslim artwork mixed > here. > This is now a museum. > > Taxim square is a central place frequented by tourists as well as locals. > The road there, Istikbal road, is so crowded that it seems that a river of > humanity is flowing down it. Many shops line both sides of this road and > you > can enjoy the spectacle, eating charcoal grilled chestnuts (5 lira) or > Bagels (75 kurus) with flavoured syrup available at roadside carts. > > But the best place that we visited in Istanbul was the underground cistern. > > It has huge columns (336) supporting a large area of roads and buildings on > > the surface level. Underneath is a huge stock of water, used for drinking > in > the old days whenever the city was under siege. If you have seen the > Bond flick 'From Russia with Love', you will remember the climax fight > between Connery and the villain. This was filmed here in the > underground cistern, with its dimly lit columns and creepy water > reflections. > > There are also various palaces of the ruler Osman, whose name was corrupted > > to Ottoman. Hence we have many Ottoman period buildings. The most famous > amongst them is the Topkapi Palace, with its treasure trove of jeweled > daggers and carvings. There are also clothes of the Emperor, which unlike > the fairy tale, can be seen and are of giant size. Those who have seen > Sawai > MadhoSingh's clothes in Jodhpur may not be so impressed, as MadhoSingh was > really stupendously huge. However, these clothes were also in the large > category. The famous Turkish Topi was worn during this period. It is a > cylindrical taper on the head with a tassle on top. No one wears it now. > > No description if Istanbul would be complete without mentioning the Grand > Bazaar. Here everything is available, right from Souvenirs to Leather > jackets to amazing crystal pieces to even expensive carpets. One secret > here > is that if you reach the bazaar early and are the first customer of the day > > for a shop (among the more than 4000 shops), then you can drive a > stupendous > bargain and get some things for a steal. > > The people of Istanbul remember India as the land of Raj Kapoor (sorry > Amitabh and Sharukh fans). We even found one fan singing 'Awaara Hoon', > with > rare gusto. > > Our next stop was Ankara, the country's capital. We could take a flight. > However, all the flights left early in the morning at unearthly hours like > 4 > am and 2 am. Hence we followed our tour arranger, Mr. Sunil Deshpande's > advice, and caught the overnight sleeper train from Istanbul to Ankara. It > leaves at sensible hour of 10 pm and reaches Ankara at a convenient 6 am. > We could get off after a refreshing sleep, swayed by the lullaby of the > swaying train. For the first time in my life, I saw empty railway stations. > > Absolutely no rush. Fantastic trains with soft comfy beds and even a well > appointed refrigerator and clean toilets. > > That's all for now. I shall relate the next step of our travel in my next > mail. Off to Ankara. > > Kishore Shah 1974 > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Beautiful description Kishoreda......I found myself creating visual pictures like you try to do when reading a novel. I have not checked out the photos yet. The underground cistern - natural or manmade - columns made of ? Looking forward to part 2. Ashok 1984 > > > TURKEY - Part 1 > > The only things that I knew about the Turkish when I started off was that > they had towels named after them. Staying in India, one hardly gets to hear > > or read anything worthwhile about this great nation. So it came as a great > surprise to me that we share at least 2000 common words. > > For example, their word for book is 'Kitaap' (pronounced Kitaab, as the > Turkish say 'b' instead of 'p'). Sarap means wine and Saraf means jeweler. > Jawab means answer and heaven is called Cinnat (pronounced as Jannat). The > person who wrestles with oil on his body is called a Pehelvan. And despite > all these common words, you cannot understand head or tail of any Turkish > conversation. > > As we descended down the Turkish Airways plane, a cold blast of air shook > us > out of our jet lag, and the beautiful females scurrying around in mini > skirts and calf length leather boots woke up the remaining parts of my > body. > My God! How can they have so many beauty queens all in one country? But the > > worst part is that you cannot understand a single word of what they say. On > > second thoughts, maybe that is the best part. How can they wear mini skirts > > in this weather? Not that I was complaining, just perplexed. The males were > > equally handsome, but naturally I was not interested in them. > > In my childhood school days, I had duly noted in my Geography books that > Constantinople had changed its name to Istambul, and my teacher had given > me > half a mark less for misspelling Istanbul. As we made our way through > Istanbul, we were proudly informed by our guide that we were in the only > city in the world which straddles both Europe and Asia. And surprise > surprise, it was NOT the capital of Turkey. The capital is Ankara. Who > cares? As long as the mini skirts are around, all this does not matter. > > The currency of Turkey is Turkish Lira (1 TL = 30 Rupees), which in turn > consists of a 100 kurus. By the way, water is called 'Su' in Turkish. An > amazing thing was that while a bottle of water cost 50 kurus in the local > mall, a piss in the local toilet cost us a hefty 100 kurus. But as I > remarked to my wife, that is apt, since one 'Su' cost 50 kurus, Su-Su or > two > 'Su's were bound to cost double. We were there in the cold weather, so were > > leaking liras like, well, water every hour or so. It really hurt to pay 30 > rupees just to take a leak, and we pissed off a considerable fortune in > Turkey. > > Istanbul is a modern city with ancient monuments. So we have the most > modern > office complexes jostling for space with Greek and Roman Obelisks and > chariot racing tracks (Hippodrome) and old age mosques like the Blue > Mosque. > The Blue mosque is especially worth mentioning, because the first thing you > > notice about it is that it is not blue. It is only when you enter the huge > prayer hall, that you notice the beautiful blue dome and the blue tiles on > the walls. > > Another famous building here is the Aya Sophia or the Hagia Sophia. This > was > a giant church built when Christians ruled over Constantinople. When the > Muslims took over, they promptly, like all over the world, converted the > existing structure into a mosque. All paintings of and Jesus were > effaced with plaster and Allah's name was emblazoned in large plates on the > > four corners. Later, modern day Turks took special efforts to restore the > Christian paintings and now we have Christian and Muslim artwork mixed > here. > This is now a museum. > > Taxim square is a central place frequented by tourists as well as locals. > The road there, Istikbal road, is so crowded that it seems that a river of > humanity is flowing down it. Many shops line both sides of this road and > you > can enjoy the spectacle, eating charcoal grilled chestnuts (5 lira) or > Bagels (75 kurus) with flavoured syrup available at roadside carts. > > But the best place that we visited in Istanbul was the underground cistern. > > It has huge columns (336) supporting a large area of roads and buildings on > > the surface level. Underneath is a huge stock of water, used for drinking > in > the old days whenever the city was under siege. If you have seen the > Bond flick 'From Russia with Love', you will remember the climax fight > between Connery and the villain. This was filmed here in the > underground cistern, with its dimly lit columns and creepy water > reflections. > > There are also various palaces of the ruler Osman, whose name was corrupted > > to Ottoman. Hence we have many Ottoman period buildings. The most famous > amongst them is the Topkapi Palace, with its treasure trove of jeweled > daggers and carvings. There are also clothes of the Emperor, which unlike > the fairy tale, can be seen and are of giant size. Those who have seen > Sawai > MadhoSingh's clothes in Jodhpur may not be so impressed, as MadhoSingh was > really stupendously huge. However, these clothes were also in the large > category. The famous Turkish Topi was worn during this period. It is a > cylindrical taper on the head with a tassle on top. No one wears it now. > > No description if Istanbul would be complete without mentioning the Grand > Bazaar. Here everything is available, right from Souvenirs to Leather > jackets to amazing crystal pieces to even expensive carpets. One secret > here > is that if you reach the bazaar early and are the first customer of the day > > for a shop (among the more than 4000 shops), then you can drive a > stupendous > bargain and get some things for a steal. > > The people of Istanbul remember India as the land of Raj Kapoor (sorry > Amitabh and Sharukh fans). We even found one fan singing 'Awaara Hoon', > with > rare gusto. > > Our next stop was Ankara, the country's capital. We could take a flight. > However, all the flights left early in the morning at unearthly hours like > 4 > am and 2 am. Hence we followed our tour arranger, Mr. Sunil Deshpande's > advice, and caught the overnight sleeper train from Istanbul to Ankara. It > leaves at sensible hour of 10 pm and reaches Ankara at a convenient 6 am. > We could get off after a refreshing sleep, swayed by the lullaby of the > swaying train. For the first time in my life, I saw empty railway stations. > > Absolutely no rush. Fantastic trains with soft comfy beds and even a well > appointed refrigerator and clean toilets. > > That's all for now. I shall relate the next step of our travel in my next > mail. Off to Ankara. > > Kishore Shah 1974 > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Hi Kishoreda !did u also do goreme and stay in the fancy cave hotels ! Really nice place ! Also did u check the hot springs and rock formations at pamakkule ! Also the super beach resort Kusadasi !! Nice place friendly people !Good figs and dry fruits ! Sure u had a supertime !! Bye. Vinchi Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device Re: Turkey Part 1 Beautiful description Kishoreda......I found myself creating visual pictures like you try to do when reading a novel. I have not checked out the photos yet. The underground cistern - natural or manmade - columns made of ? Looking forward to part 2. Ashok 1984 > > > TURKEY - Part 1 > > The only things that I knew about the Turkish when I started off was that > they had towels named after them. Staying in India, one hardly gets to hear > > or read anything worthwhile about this great nation. So it came as a great > surprise to me that we share at least 2000 common words. > > For example, their word for book is 'Kitaap' (pronounced Kitaab, as the > Turkish say 'b' instead of 'p'). Sarap means wine and Saraf means jeweler. > Jawab means answer and heaven is called Cinnat (pronounced as Jannat). The > person who wrestles with oil on his body is called a Pehelvan. And despite > all these common words, you cannot understand head or tail of any Turkish > conversation. > > As we descended down the Turkish Airways plane, a cold blast of air shook > us > out of our jet lag, and the beautiful females scurrying around in mini > skirts and calf length leather boots woke up the remaining parts of my > body. > My God! How can they have so many beauty queens all in one country? But the > > worst part is that you cannot understand a single word of what they say. On > > second thoughts, maybe that is the best part. How can they wear mini skirts > > in this weather? Not that I was complaining, just perplexed. The males were > > equally handsome, but naturally I was not interested in them. > > In my childhood school days, I had duly noted in my Geography books that > Constantinople had changed its name to Istambul, and my teacher had given > me > half a mark less for misspelling Istanbul. As we made our way through > Istanbul, we were proudly informed by our guide that we were in the only > city in the world which straddles both Europe and Asia. And surprise > surprise, it was NOT the capital of Turkey. The capital is Ankara. Who > cares? As long as the mini skirts are around, all this does not matter. > > The currency of Turkey is Turkish Lira (1 TL = 30 Rupees), which in turn > consists of a 100 kurus. By the way, water is called 'Su' in Turkish. An > amazing thing was that while a bottle of water cost 50 kurus in the local > mall, a piss in the local toilet cost us a hefty 100 kurus. But as I > remarked to my wife, that is apt, since one 'Su' cost 50 kurus, Su-Su or > two > 'Su's were bound to cost double. We were there in the cold weather, so were > > leaking liras like, well, water every hour or so. It really hurt to pay 30 > rupees just to take a leak, and we pissed off a considerable fortune in > Turkey. > > Istanbul is a modern city with ancient monuments. So we have the most > modern > office complexes jostling for space with Greek and Roman Obelisks and > chariot racing tracks (Hippodrome) and old age mosques like the Blue > Mosque. > The Blue mosque is especially worth mentioning, because the first thing you > > notice about it is that it is not blue. It is only when you enter the huge > prayer hall, that you notice the beautiful blue dome and the blue tiles on > the walls. > > Another famous building here is the Aya Sophia or the Hagia Sophia. This > was > a giant church built when Christians ruled over Constantinople. When the > Muslims took over, they promptly, like all over the world, converted the > existing structure into a mosque. All paintings of and Jesus were > effaced with plaster and Allah's name was emblazoned in large plates on the > > four corners. Later, modern day Turks took special efforts to restore the > Christian paintings and now we have Christian and Muslim artwork mixed > here. > This is now a museum. > > Taxim square is a central place frequented by tourists as well as locals. > The road there, Istikbal road, is so crowded that it seems that a river of > humanity is flowing down it. Many shops line both sides of this road and > you > can enjoy the spectacle, eating charcoal grilled chestnuts (5 lira) or > Bagels (75 kurus) with flavoured syrup available at roadside carts. > > But the best place that we visited in Istanbul was the underground cistern. > > It has huge columns (336) supporting a large area of roads and buildings on > > the surface level. Underneath is a huge stock of water, used for drinking > in > the old days whenever the city was under siege. If you have seen the > Bond flick 'From Russia with Love', you will remember the climax fight > between Connery and the villain. This was filmed here in the > underground cistern, with its dimly lit columns and creepy water > reflections. > > There are also various palaces of the ruler Osman, whose name was corrupted > > to Ottoman. Hence we have many Ottoman period buildings. The most famous > amongst them is the Topkapi Palace, with its treasure trove of jeweled > daggers and carvings. There are also clothes of the Emperor, which unlike > the fairy tale, can be seen and are of giant size. Those who have seen > Sawai > MadhoSingh's clothes in Jodhpur may not be so impressed, as MadhoSingh was > really stupendously huge. However, these clothes were also in the large > category. The famous Turkish Topi was worn during this period. It is a > cylindrical taper on the head with a tassle on top. No one wears it now. > > No description if Istanbul would be complete without mentioning the Grand > Bazaar. Here everything is available, right from Souvenirs to Leather > jackets to amazing crystal pieces to even expensive carpets. One secret > here > is that if you reach the bazaar early and are the first customer of the day > > for a shop (among the more than 4000 shops), then you can drive a > stupendous > bargain and get some things for a steal. > > The people of Istanbul remember India as the land of Raj Kapoor (sorry > Amitabh and Sharukh fans). We even found one fan singing 'Awaara Hoon', > with > rare gusto. > > Our next stop was Ankara, the country's capital. We could take a flight. > However, all the flights left early in the morning at unearthly hours like > 4 > am and 2 am. Hence we followed our tour arranger, Mr. Sunil Deshpande's > advice, and caught the overnight sleeper train from Istanbul to Ankara. It > leaves at sensible hour of 10 pm and reaches Ankara at a convenient 6 am. > We could get off after a refreshing sleep, swayed by the lullaby of the > swaying train. For the first time in my life, I saw empty railway stations. > > Absolutely no rush. Fantastic trains with soft comfy beds and even a well > appointed refrigerator and clean toilets. > > That's all for now. I shall relate the next step of our travel in my next > mail. Off to Ankara. > > Kishore Shah 1974 > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 Thank you Kishor.Wonderful memoirs! Why not make millions by publishing ?Waiting for part two eagerly. VK 76 Subject: Turkey Part 1 To: " MGIMS " <mgims > Date: Thursday, 2 December, 2010, 8:31 AM Â TURKEY - Part 1 The only things that I knew about the Turkish when I started off was that they had towels named after them. Staying in India, one hardly gets to hear or read anything worthwhile about this great nation. So it came as a great surprise to me that we share at least 2000 common words. For example, their word for book is 'Kitaap' (pronounced Kitaab, as the Turkish say 'b' instead of 'p'). Sarap means wine and Saraf means jeweler. Jawab means answer and heaven is called Cinnat (pronounced as Jannat). The person who wrestles with oil on his body is called a Pehelvan. And despite all these common words, you cannot understand head or tail of any Turkish conversation. As we descended down the Turkish Airways plane, a cold blast of air shook us out of our jet lag, and the beautiful females scurrying around in mini skirts and calf length leather boots woke up the remaining parts of my body. My God! How can they have so many beauty queens all in one country? But the worst part is that you cannot understand a single word of what they say. On second thoughts, maybe that is the best part. How can they wear mini skirts in this weather? Not that I was complaining, just perplexed. The males were equally handsome, but naturally I was not interested in them. In my childhood school days, I had duly noted in my Geography books that Constantinople had changed its name to Istambul, and my teacher had given me half a mark less for misspelling Istanbul. As we made our way through Istanbul, we were proudly informed by our guide that we were in the only city in the world which straddles both Europe and Asia. And surprise surprise, it was NOT the capital of Turkey. The capital is Ankara. Who cares? As long as the mini skirts are around, all this does not matter. The currency of Turkey is Turkish Lira (1 TL = 30 Rupees), which in turn consists of a 100 kurus. By the way, water is called 'Su' in Turkish. An amazing thing was that while a bottle of water cost 50 kurus in the local mall, a piss in the local toilet cost us a hefty 100 kurus. But as I remarked to my wife, that is apt, since one 'Su' cost 50 kurus, Su-Su or two 'Su's were bound to cost double. We were there in the cold weather, so were leaking liras like, well, water every hour or so. It really hurt to pay 30 rupees just to take a leak, and we pissed off a considerable fortune in Turkey. Istanbul is a modern city with ancient monuments. So we have the most modern office complexes jostling for space with Greek and Roman Obelisks and chariot racing tracks (Hippodrome) and old age mosques like the Blue Mosque. The Blue mosque is especially worth mentioning, because the first thing you notice about it is that it is not blue. It is only when you enter the huge prayer hall, that you notice the beautiful blue dome and the blue tiles on the walls. Another famous building here is the Aya Sophia or the Hagia Sophia. This was a giant church built when Christians ruled over Constantinople. When the Muslims took over, they promptly, like all over the world, converted the existing structure into a mosque. All paintings of and Jesus were effaced with plaster and Allah's name was emblazoned in large plates on the four corners. Later, modern day Turks took special efforts to restore the Christian paintings and now we have Christian and Muslim artwork mixed here. This is now a museum. Taxim square is a central place frequented by tourists as well as locals. The road there, Istikbal road, is so crowded that it seems that a river of humanity is flowing down it. Many shops line both sides of this road and you can enjoy the spectacle, eating charcoal grilled chestnuts (5 lira) or Bagels (75 kurus) with flavoured syrup available at roadside carts. But the best place that we visited in Istanbul was the underground cistern. It has huge columns (336) supporting a large area of roads and buildings on the surface level. Underneath is a huge stock of water, used for drinking in the old days whenever the city was under siege. If you have seen the Bond flick 'From Russia with Love', you will remember the climax fight between Connery and the villain. This was filmed here in the underground cistern, with its dimly lit columns and creepy water reflections. There are also various palaces of the ruler Osman, whose name was corrupted to Ottoman. Hence we have many Ottoman period buildings. The most famous amongst them is the Topkapi Palace, with its treasure trove of jeweled daggers and carvings. There are also clothes of the Emperor, which unlike the fairy tale, can be seen and are of giant size. Those who have seen Sawai MadhoSingh's clothes in Jodhpur may not be so impressed, as MadhoSingh was really stupendously huge. However, these clothes were also in the large category. The famous Turkish Topi was worn during this period. It is a cylindrical taper on the head with a tassle on top. No one wears it now. No description if Istanbul would be complete without mentioning the Grand Bazaar. Here everything is available, right from Souvenirs to Leather jackets to amazing crystal pieces to even expensive carpets. One secret here is that if you reach the bazaar early and are the first customer of the day for a shop (among the more than 4000 shops), then you can drive a stupendous bargain and get some things for a steal. The people of Istanbul remember India as the land of Raj Kapoor (sorry Amitabh and Sharukh fans). We even found one fan singing 'Awaara Hoon', with rare gusto. Our next stop was Ankara, the country's capital. We could take a flight. However, all the flights left early in the morning at unearthly hours like 4 am and 2 am. Hence we followed our tour arranger, Mr. Sunil Deshpande's advice, and caught the overnight sleeper train from Istanbul to Ankara. It leaves at sensible hour of 10 pm and reaches Ankara at a convenient 6 am. We could get off after a refreshing sleep, swayed by the lullaby of the swaying train. For the first time in my life, I saw empty railway stations. Absolutely no rush. Fantastic trains with soft comfy beds and even a well appointed refrigerator and clean toilets. That's all for now. I shall relate the next step of our travel in my next mail. Off to Ankara. Kishore Shah 1974 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 2, 2010 Report Share Posted December 2, 2010 excellent travelogue. Su-su- great! Are u sure the cold is to blame and not the aging prostate? Some detail on your hotel/food please? bought any carpets? flying or otherwise? Malini From: mgims [mailto:mgims ] On Behalf Of Shah Sent: 02 December 2010 08:32 To: MGIMS Subject: Turkey Part 1 TURKEY - Part 1 The only things that I knew about the Turkish when I started off was that they had towels named after them. Staying in India, one hardly gets to hear or read anything worthwhile about this great nation. So it came as a great surprise to me that we share at least 2000 common words. For example, their word for book is 'Kitaap' (pronounced Kitaab, as the Turkish say 'b' instead of 'p'). Sarap means wine and Saraf means jeweler. Jawab means answer and heaven is called Cinnat (pronounced as Jannat). The person who wrestles with oil on his body is called a Pehelvan. And despite all these common words, you cannot understand head or tail of any Turkish conversation. As we descended down the Turkish Airways plane, a cold blast of air shook us out of our jet lag, and the beautiful females scurrying around in mini skirts and calf length leather boots woke up the remaining parts of my body. My God! How can they have so many beauty queens all in one country? But the worst part is that you cannot understand a single word of what they say. On second thoughts, maybe that is the best part. How can they wear mini skirts in this weather? Not that I was complaining, just perplexed. The males were equally handsome, but naturally I was not interested in them. In my childhood school days, I had duly noted in my Geography books that Constantinople had changed its name to Istambul, and my teacher had given me half a mark less for misspelling Istanbul. As we made our way through Istanbul, we were proudly informed by our guide that we were in the only city in the world which straddles both Europe and Asia. And surprise surprise, it was NOT the capital of Turkey. The capital is Ankara. Who cares? As long as the mini skirts are around, all this does not matter. The currency of Turkey is Turkish Lira (1 TL = 30 Rupees), which in turn consists of a 100 kurus. By the way, water is called 'Su' in Turkish. An amazing thing was that while a bottle of water cost 50 kurus in the local mall, a piss in the local toilet cost us a hefty 100 kurus. But as I remarked to my wife, that is apt, since one 'Su' cost 50 kurus, Su-Su or two 'Su's were bound to cost double. We were there in the cold weather, so were leaking liras like, well, water every hour or so. It really hurt to pay 30 rupees just to take a leak, and we pissed off a considerable fortune in Turkey. Istanbul is a modern city with ancient monuments. So we have the most modern office complexes jostling for space with Greek and Roman Obelisks and chariot racing tracks (Hippodrome) and old age mosques like the Blue Mosque. The Blue mosque is especially worth mentioning, because the first thing you notice about it is that it is not blue. It is only when you enter the huge prayer hall, that you notice the beautiful blue dome and the blue tiles on the walls. Another famous building here is the Aya Sophia or the Hagia Sophia. This was a giant church built when Christians ruled over Constantinople. When the Muslims took over, they promptly, like all over the world, converted the existing structure into a mosque. All paintings of and Jesus were effaced with plaster and Allah's name was emblazoned in large plates on the four corners. Later, modern day Turks took special efforts to restore the Christian paintings and now we have Christian and Muslim artwork mixed here. This is now a museum. Taxim square is a central place frequented by tourists as well as locals. The road there, Istikbal road, is so crowded that it seems that a river of humanity is flowing down it. Many shops line both sides of this road and you can enjoy the spectacle, eating charcoal grilled chestnuts (5 lira) or Bagels (75 kurus) with flavoured syrup available at roadside carts. But the best place that we visited in Istanbul was the underground cistern. It has huge columns (336) supporting a large area of roads and buildings on the surface level. Underneath is a huge stock of water, used for drinking in the old days whenever the city was under siege. If you have seen the Bond flick 'From Russia with Love', you will remember the climax fight between Connery and the villain. This was filmed here in the underground cistern, with its dimly lit columns and creepy water reflections. There are also various palaces of the ruler Osman, whose name was corrupted to Ottoman. Hence we have many Ottoman period buildings. The most famous amongst them is the Topkapi Palace, with its treasure trove of jeweled daggers and carvings. There are also clothes of the Emperor, which unlike the fairy tale, can be seen and are of giant size. Those who have seen Sawai MadhoSingh's clothes in Jodhpur may not be so impressed, as MadhoSingh was really stupendously huge. However, these clothes were also in the large category. The famous Turkish Topi was worn during this period. It is a cylindrical taper on the head with a tassle on top. No one wears it now. No description if Istanbul would be complete without mentioning the Grand Bazaar. Here everything is available, right from Souvenirs to Leather jackets to amazing crystal pieces to even expensive carpets. One secret here is that if you reach the bazaar early and are the first customer of the day for a shop (among the more than 4000 shops), then you can drive a stupendous bargain and get some things for a steal. The people of Istanbul remember India as the land of Raj Kapoor (sorry Amitabh and Sharukh fans). We even found one fan singing 'Awaara Hoon', with rare gusto. Our next stop was Ankara, the country's capital. We could take a flight. However, all the flights left early in the morning at unearthly hours like 4 am and 2 am. Hence we followed our tour arranger, Mr. Sunil Deshpande's advice, and caught the overnight sleeper train from Istanbul to Ankara. It leaves at sensible hour of 10 pm and reaches Ankara at a convenient 6 am. We could get off after a refreshing sleep, swayed by the lullaby of the swaying train. For the first time in my life, I saw empty railway stations. Absolutely no rush. Fantastic trains with soft comfy beds and even a well appointed refrigerator and clean toilets. That's all for now. I shall relate the next step of our travel in my next mail. Off to Ankara. Kishore Shah 1974 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Thanks Ravin, I knew you would appreciate the pictures. Ashok, the pillars are of marble (in the underground cistern), constructed in the 6th century by the Byzanthine emperor Justianus. If you see the photos you will appreciate the beauty of this place. Yes Vinchy, I did go to all the places you mentioned, but be patient. I am still composing my thoughts and photos. Malini, we did buy some carpets, though sadly the flying ones were out of our budget. Yes Anshu, we had cold turkey salad at one of the breakfasts. But Turkey is not a popular food here. Beef is. So we also tasted some great juicy Adana kebabs. More on food later in my future write up. And Vk I have already made my millions......... Millions of friends and well wishers. It is people like you and everyone else on this wonderful group who make writing so exciting. Who needs the money? Kishore Shah 1974 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 3, 2010 Report Share Posted December 3, 2010 Hi , I had visited Istanbul many years back and the memories were beginning to fade. Thank you Kishore Da for so lively description. I felt like I was visiting it again and found it even more interesting .Gajendra Yadav'81 Subject: Turkey Part 1 To: " MGIMS " <mgims > Date: Thursday, 2 December, 2010, 2:01 PM Â TURKEY - Part 1 The only things that I knew about the Turkish when I started off was that they had towels named after them. Staying in India, one hardly gets to hear or read anything worthwhile about this great nation. So it came as a great surprise to me that we share at least 2000 common words. For example, their word for book is 'Kitaap' (pronounced Kitaab, as the Turkish say 'b' instead of 'p'). Sarap means wine and Saraf means jeweler. Jawab means answer and heaven is called Cinnat (pronounced as Jannat). The person who wrestles with oil on his body is called a Pehelvan. And despite all these common words, you cannot understand head or tail of any Turkish conversation. As we descended down the Turkish Airways plane, a cold blast of air shook us out of our jet lag, and the beautiful females scurrying around in mini skirts and calf length leather boots woke up the remaining parts of my body. My God! How can they have so many beauty queens all in one country? But the worst part is that you cannot understand a single word of what they say. On second thoughts, maybe that is the best part. How can they wear mini skirts in this weather? Not that I was complaining, just perplexed. The males were equally handsome, but naturally I was not interested in them. In my childhood school days, I had duly noted in my Geography books that Constantinople had changed its name to Istambul, and my teacher had given me half a mark less for misspelling Istanbul. As we made our way through Istanbul, we were proudly informed by our guide that we were in the only city in the world which straddles both Europe and Asia. And surprise surprise, it was NOT the capital of Turkey. The capital is Ankara. Who cares? As long as the mini skirts are around, all this does not matter. The currency of Turkey is Turkish Lira (1 TL = 30 Rupees), which in turn consists of a 100 kurus. By the way, water is called 'Su' in Turkish. An amazing thing was that while a bottle of water cost 50 kurus in the local mall, a piss in the local toilet cost us a hefty 100 kurus. But as I remarked to my wife, that is apt, since one 'Su' cost 50 kurus, Su-Su or two 'Su's were bound to cost double. We were there in the cold weather, so were leaking liras like, well, water every hour or so. It really hurt to pay 30 rupees just to take a leak, and we pissed off a considerable fortune in Turkey. Istanbul is a modern city with ancient monuments. So we have the most modern office complexes jostling for space with Greek and Roman Obelisks and chariot racing tracks (Hippodrome) and old age mosques like the Blue Mosque. The Blue mosque is especially worth mentioning, because the first thing you notice about it is that it is not blue. It is only when you enter the huge prayer hall, that you notice the beautiful blue dome and the blue tiles on the walls. Another famous building here is the Aya Sophia or the Hagia Sophia. This was a giant church built when Christians ruled over Constantinople. When the Muslims took over, they promptly, like all over the world, converted the existing structure into a mosque. All paintings of and Jesus were effaced with plaster and Allah's name was emblazoned in large plates on the four corners. Later, modern day Turks took special efforts to restore the Christian paintings and now we have Christian and Muslim artwork mixed here. This is now a museum. Taxim square is a central place frequented by tourists as well as locals. The road there, Istikbal road, is so crowded that it seems that a river of humanity is flowing down it. Many shops line both sides of this road and you can enjoy the spectacle, eating charcoal grilled chestnuts (5 lira) or Bagels (75 kurus) with flavoured syrup available at roadside carts. But the best place that we visited in Istanbul was the underground cistern. It has huge columns (336) supporting a large area of roads and buildings on the surface level. Underneath is a huge stock of water, used for drinking in the old days whenever the city was under siege. If you have seen the Bond flick 'From Russia with Love', you will remember the climax fight between Connery and the villain. This was filmed here in the underground cistern, with its dimly lit columns and creepy water reflections. There are also various palaces of the ruler Osman, whose name was corrupted to Ottoman. Hence we have many Ottoman period buildings. The most famous amongst them is the Topkapi Palace, with its treasure trove of jeweled daggers and carvings. There are also clothes of the Emperor, which unlike the fairy tale, can be seen and are of giant size. Those who have seen Sawai MadhoSingh's clothes in Jodhpur may not be so impressed, as MadhoSingh was really stupendously huge. However, these clothes were also in the large category. The famous Turkish Topi was worn during this period. It is a cylindrical taper on the head with a tassle on top. No one wears it now. No description if Istanbul would be complete without mentioning the Grand Bazaar. Here everything is available, right from Souvenirs to Leather jackets to amazing crystal pieces to even expensive carpets. One secret here is that if you reach the bazaar early and are the first customer of the day for a shop (among the more than 4000 shops), then you can drive a stupendous bargain and get some things for a steal. The people of Istanbul remember India as the land of Raj Kapoor (sorry Amitabh and Sharukh fans). We even found one fan singing 'Awaara Hoon', with rare gusto. Our next stop was Ankara, the country's capital. We could take a flight. However, all the flights left early in the morning at unearthly hours like 4 am and 2 am. Hence we followed our tour arranger, Mr. Sunil Deshpande's advice, and caught the overnight sleeper train from Istanbul to Ankara. It leaves at sensible hour of 10 pm and reaches Ankara at a convenient 6 am. We could get off after a refreshing sleep, swayed by the lullaby of the swaying train. For the first time in my life, I saw empty railway stations. Absolutely no rush. Fantastic trains with soft comfy beds and even a well appointed refrigerator and clean toilets. That's all for now. I shall relate the next step of our travel in my next mail. Off to Ankara. Kishore Shah 1974 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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