Meandering through Turkey....

After a bit of a rough start in Turkey (stay tuned), I came to find my way around Istanbul and to appreciate this wonderful, historic city. For the size of the city (18 million), it is remarkably easy to get around and, after about 5 days or so, to feel grounded even though English is less frequently spoken in Turkey. (They had their own empire, afterall!) Ironically, it took years for me to feel like I could get my bearings in London but Istanbul seemed easier -- in large part due to the simple, modern tram line that crosses the city.

For about $1 you can ride from the Grand Bazaar through Sultanahmet (home to many of the historic sites) down to the Spice Market, across to Galata (more historic sites including one of the neighborhoods that was home to both the Jews and Italian Genovese) and then along the Bosphorous which separates Turkish from European Asia and connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

If you only rode the above ground tram you could stay busy seeing the sites in Istanbul but then you would miss the Istiklal Caddesi a lengthy pedestrian walk that runs through the center of the Beyoglu, the area populated by Europeans living in Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire. It is now home to boutiques, contemporary restaurants. galleries and any number of places of interest, including former consulates, churches and the minority Sufi muslim house of worship. (for more on where the expression "Whirling Dervishes" come from you can use this link to learn about this Sufi traditional dance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawlawi_Order

I spent 8 stimulating, frenetic days in Istanbul so I will spare you the minute by minute rendition. But a few highlights include the cooking course at the small hotel where I stayed, the beautiful and awesome Hagia Sohpia and the Blue Mosque where I saw up close none other than German Prime Minister Angela Merkel who was on a state visit. Since my "encounter" with the Prime Minster happened on my first day in Turkey, it was a fun way to start my state visit.

Of the two hotels I stayed at in Istanbul, my favorite was a small tourist hotel in Sultanhamet which is Istanbul's Old Town. It had been listed as "gay friendly" on some travel website and after two weeks in the Gulf, I decided to stay some place that would be a bit more personal as one commonly finds in small hotels. As it happens they were very friendly but I think I only saw one gay couple there the entire time.

It turned out that the general manager is a pretty savvy marketing guy and he told me that LGBT is one of his target markets. So it was more friendly than gay but that's ok. I met some very nice people there including an Italian man and his Jewish wife from NY and a nice German couple with their child among others. And, what was very helpful for me, the staff was incredibly gracious and warm, and acted as my personal tour directors throughout my stay.

As you may recall from an earlier posting, I had good fun at the cooking course in Shanghai and one additional benefit of this particular hotel is that they have a regular cooking class as well. Turns out that this was an especially fun time with an interesting group of people including a well traveled and friendly Australian woman, an earnest American couple who were with Teach for America (she in Liberty City in Miami) and a very cute, straight and fun loving Kiwi guy who gushed about how much fun he had at gay pride in Amsterdam. Why do I always meet the friendliest straight guys? Luck, I would say.