When I was younger and traveled to Israel, my heart was captured by the history and the beauty of Jerusalem. It is a rough kind of beauty with some spectacular sites sitting side by side with buildings that are crumbling and in need of great repair. There is always some construction project trying to create a bridge between old and new that makes this dusty town even dustier. And when the weather is hotter, there is often a warm wind blowing (as opposed to a cool breeze) that can be a bit stifling even though Jerusalem is at a higher altitude then Tel Aviv and supposed to be cooler in temperature. Perhaps that's true in winter. But this was spring and it was quite warm and a little gritty from the wind bouncing the sand off the streets and side walk. In any event, I arrived at the bus station from Tel Aviv without a map so I followed my instinct (mostly correct) which took me directly through a Hassidic neighborhood as I made my way to my favorite antique shop in Jerusalem. Since it was a Thursday afternoon I had no fear of offending the religious for improper dress (shorts) or for schlepping my bags which might be considered work on the sabbath.
Back to the Hassids. I was immediately struck that this group of Jews appears to be living in the 17th century -- which I suppose is no one's business by theirs -- but that's not really the entire story. It just so happens that these religious devotees live in modern Israel which is supposed to be a secular democracy with freedom to practice religion to whatever degree you wish. But it seems like there is a religious state within a state which, as you can imagine, comes with a lot of implications for the society as a whole.
I know this isn't news but after spending about a week in Tel Aviv where ultra hip is "in" the contrast of finding myself in the middle of a shtetl (the Yiddish term for the Jewish ghetto) was jolting. And what I was reminded of quite quickly is that it's not just religious in quaint little neighborhoods, it's almost everywhere in Jerusalem. So while Tel Aviv is about 90% secular, I'd guess that Jerusalem is probably about 60% or more religious. At least that's what it seemed like to me. I'll leave the cultural and political implications of all that to another time. Let's just say that while they have their right to practice, a right is not a mandate to command others to do likewise or to live off the rest of the society financially. And it seems like Jerusalem has tilted in that direction, especially when many families (and I'll include men and women here) don't work because they don't have time because they have to "learn" and pray. And, therefore, by the way, the state financially supports their communities more than seems rational. It's hard to believe but it seems like Israel has moved from a secular socialist state to a capitalist economy, with a huge carve out for the ultra religious who enjoy the benefits of welfare and subsidies more than one might expect. I'm sure it's not just the religious who survive on welfare but from everything I've read, and the debate that is taking place in the newspapers and among politicians, it sure seems like a lot of them have found the state to be a very convenient and permanent funding source.
Luckily as I made my way to the home of Betty Van Essen (my friend Shaul's mother) the area where I was headed was much more secular and a whole lot more comfortable. After all the neighborhood of Talpiot sits adjacent to the German Colony which was originally founded by Christians in the 19th century. (These German Christians were later found to be Nazi sympathizers and were eventually exiled to other parts of the world.) Not only is life a bit more contemporary on the opposite side of town from where I entered but it is also an easy walk to the Old City -- a stroll I took early Saturday morning when it was still cool and quite beautiful since we were in the throes of spring and everything was in bloom. I will say that it was very solitary since it was Shabbat morning and everything was quiet. It gave me a real opportunity to appreciate the surroundings, especially all the flowers, which stood in sharp contrast to the rocky, historic terrain through which I passed on my way to the Old City.
In any event, one of the purposes of my visit that weekend -- in addition to seeing Betty and Shaul's sister Guelit -- was to take a one day seminar on the future of Jerusalem which was sponsored by a group called Ir Amim. This is a civic group which is trying to educate Israelis and others to think hard about what Jerusalem means to all its inhabitants, Muslim, Jewish and Christian and how to think critically about finding a way to the future. They are not necessarily knee jerk lefists but they are definitely more left than right. After all, it's not a bunch of settlers running these tours which, by the way, was attended mostly by Israelis and not tourists. And it certainly challenges conventional wisdom when the guide announces that he's a retired officer in the national police. At least in the US you don't think of the police as a hot bed of leftist activism. In any event, for more information on what this group does, you can check out there website at http://www.ir-amim.org.il/eng/
I labeled this post the tale of two cities. It is meant really to be thought provoking about the tale of two cities comparing Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, comparing religious and secular Jerusalem and comparing Arab and Jewish Jerusalem.
Israel is a complicated and interesting place and being there stimulates all of those complicated thoughts in one's head -- so much so that it can make your head hurt. I had a chance to hear a lot of Israeli feelings about the unfair and undeserved pressure that Obama is putting on Israel. While I don't have too much sympathy for that position, it was, nonetheless, interesting to hear this view from so many people, especially on the left. The future of the Jews and Arabs is complicated and no one knows the best way forward. And, unfortunately, years of enmity breeds fear, finger pointing and anger that is difficult, perhaps impossible, to put aside. All I know is that not finding a solution is costly in every way imaginable for all the people involved. Hopefully, some group of leaders on both sides will figure that out and find a way. Unfortunately, I think it will be a long time before any real progress is made. You always want to think that it will happen "this time" but something tells me we're in for many more rounds of diplomacy ahead. And life goes on for better and for worse. Back to the bubble of Tel Aviv.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A Respite In Israel
When I arrived at the airport in Istanbul for my flight to Tel Aviv, I was quite nervous about the interview given all the interesting stamps in my passport (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and two for the UAE -- in, out and back in as I circled the Gulf). And as my heart pounded, I guess this is Jewish guilt, the security guy asked me why I was coming to Israel. I immediately replied that I was coming to Israel to rest and relax. Rest in Israel?, he said. And that was the end of the interview.
Interestingly, that is exactly how it turned out. Not to be trite, but it was fun, relaxing and fairly social including meeting some new folks that I met, visiting with Shaul's mother and sister in Jerusalem and connecting with old friends who are stationed in Tel Aviv with the US embassy.
Best of all, the weather was exceptionally beautiful. Warm --but not too warm -- clear and sunny virtually every day. And for those of you who aren't familiar with Tel Aviv, it is a totally walkable city with lots of interesting neighborhoods and little nooks and crannies that you just wouldn't find without a month's time to wander and get lost -- as lost as one can get in a really small town that's really a very manageable small city.
Emblematic of the stay was a really neat experience I had on my first day. I should backtrack to explain that I stayed at the apartment of a friend with whom I am trading days at my place in San Francisco. I should add that the apartment is in a really terrific location and is very pleasant. In fact, after staying in hotel rooms for 2 1/2 months I was quite pleased to have a kitchen and a bit more living space. And that brings me to my first story.
I arrived from Turkey on a Saturday night. To add a little twist to the drama, the owner of the apartment, who was away for most of the time, passed off the keys via his office in Istanbul so I was really on my own when I arrived. I had been there once before but it was a very dark entry hall, I was unfamiliar with all the locks and I was just a bit tired after shlepping my abundant amount of luggage up to the apartment. I finally made it into the flat and headed to the kitchen for some water where I discovered there was no table to be found. Ok, no big deal but that was part of what I expected as part of my time in Tel Aviv. To hang out in the kitchen, cook some food, write my blog, read my paper etc. And I'm so sloppy when I eat that I was paranoid that if I had every meal on the couch, it would turn some other nasty shade by the time my host arrived home in several weeks.
I pondered this important question for a few minutes and went to bed hopeful that I would have a brainstorm in the morning -- which I did. I woke up recalling from my last trip that there is an Ikea north of Tel Aviv. I could resolve this quickly and just MOVE ON. After all, I realized this was just a silly little "problem."
But I really didn't want to start figuring out the buses, take a taxi back with my purchase and I especially didn't want to assemble a table, probably one of my least favorite things to do and something I'm really bad at. Instead, I got up and went for a walk, deciding that I would figure it out later.
So, I wandered down the main boulevard of Tel Aviv which is called Diezengoff, stopping for breakfast at a kiosk not too far from home where I was waited on by two handsome gentlemen who told me I could have whatever I wanted from their abundant case of sandwiches and accompaniments -- anything that would make me happy they each said in unison. What more could I ask for? Maybe I would eat every meal at this kiosk just a few blocks from home? After a fabulous sandwich stuffed with tuna, eggplant, hummus, pickles, roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes and every imaginable vegetable, I continued my stroll, ultimately making my way to Allenby Street. Allenby is an odd combination of retail stores, restaurants, bars (gay and straight), strip joints, flop houses, felafel stands, hardware stores and a few antique shops. After wandering in a big loop up and down Allenby, I was a little spaced out and stepped into the street at one point and almost got swiped by a car. I immediately stepped back onto the curb, turned around and found myself staring at a tiny antique store as narrow as a wedge of cheese.
As it turned out, this was a gem of a store overflowing with lots of interesting things including art deco dishes, old propaganda books, pottery of various sorts, food and candy tins, old photos and who knows what. Excited by all these antiques (at bargain prices I might add) I struck up a conversation with the owner, another handsome young guy (you get the theme) who was quite friendly and solicitous of my various antique interests. I bought a something from nearly every category mentioned above and, naturally, he was appreciative and kept trying to find more things to sell. At the end of this shopping spree which totaled about $80, the table situation crossed my mind and I asked him where I could find some cheap furniture. Since there wasn't room in his store for anything but knick knacks, I figured it was no offense to ask for a referral. After he gave me directions to a little neighborhood nearby that sells furniture (there's lots of segmented selling zones in Tel Aviv), he said "where are you living anyway?" One one hand I was a little reluctant to give my address to a stranger (even a member of the tribe) but I quickly got over it and said I was living at 21 Sokolov to which he replied that he lived at #8 Sokolov and he had a folding kitchen table that I could borrow and I should call him that night. And sure as shooting, I called him at 7PM and 5 minutes later I had a table for the duration of my visit. I guess that could happen anywhere but it sure seemed like a very happy set of coincidences and, possibly, a good omen for 3 enjoyable weeks ahead. Stay tuned...
Interestingly, that is exactly how it turned out. Not to be trite, but it was fun, relaxing and fairly social including meeting some new folks that I met, visiting with Shaul's mother and sister in Jerusalem and connecting with old friends who are stationed in Tel Aviv with the US embassy.
Best of all, the weather was exceptionally beautiful. Warm --but not too warm -- clear and sunny virtually every day. And for those of you who aren't familiar with Tel Aviv, it is a totally walkable city with lots of interesting neighborhoods and little nooks and crannies that you just wouldn't find without a month's time to wander and get lost -- as lost as one can get in a really small town that's really a very manageable small city.
Emblematic of the stay was a really neat experience I had on my first day. I should backtrack to explain that I stayed at the apartment of a friend with whom I am trading days at my place in San Francisco. I should add that the apartment is in a really terrific location and is very pleasant. In fact, after staying in hotel rooms for 2 1/2 months I was quite pleased to have a kitchen and a bit more living space. And that brings me to my first story.
I arrived from Turkey on a Saturday night. To add a little twist to the drama, the owner of the apartment, who was away for most of the time, passed off the keys via his office in Istanbul so I was really on my own when I arrived. I had been there once before but it was a very dark entry hall, I was unfamiliar with all the locks and I was just a bit tired after shlepping my abundant amount of luggage up to the apartment. I finally made it into the flat and headed to the kitchen for some water where I discovered there was no table to be found. Ok, no big deal but that was part of what I expected as part of my time in Tel Aviv. To hang out in the kitchen, cook some food, write my blog, read my paper etc. And I'm so sloppy when I eat that I was paranoid that if I had every meal on the couch, it would turn some other nasty shade by the time my host arrived home in several weeks.
I pondered this important question for a few minutes and went to bed hopeful that I would have a brainstorm in the morning -- which I did. I woke up recalling from my last trip that there is an Ikea north of Tel Aviv. I could resolve this quickly and just MOVE ON. After all, I realized this was just a silly little "problem."
But I really didn't want to start figuring out the buses, take a taxi back with my purchase and I especially didn't want to assemble a table, probably one of my least favorite things to do and something I'm really bad at. Instead, I got up and went for a walk, deciding that I would figure it out later.
So, I wandered down the main boulevard of Tel Aviv which is called Diezengoff, stopping for breakfast at a kiosk not too far from home where I was waited on by two handsome gentlemen who told me I could have whatever I wanted from their abundant case of sandwiches and accompaniments -- anything that would make me happy they each said in unison. What more could I ask for? Maybe I would eat every meal at this kiosk just a few blocks from home? After a fabulous sandwich stuffed with tuna, eggplant, hummus, pickles, roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes and every imaginable vegetable, I continued my stroll, ultimately making my way to Allenby Street. Allenby is an odd combination of retail stores, restaurants, bars (gay and straight), strip joints, flop houses, felafel stands, hardware stores and a few antique shops. After wandering in a big loop up and down Allenby, I was a little spaced out and stepped into the street at one point and almost got swiped by a car. I immediately stepped back onto the curb, turned around and found myself staring at a tiny antique store as narrow as a wedge of cheese.
As it turned out, this was a gem of a store overflowing with lots of interesting things including art deco dishes, old propaganda books, pottery of various sorts, food and candy tins, old photos and who knows what. Excited by all these antiques (at bargain prices I might add) I struck up a conversation with the owner, another handsome young guy (you get the theme) who was quite friendly and solicitous of my various antique interests. I bought a something from nearly every category mentioned above and, naturally, he was appreciative and kept trying to find more things to sell. At the end of this shopping spree which totaled about $80, the table situation crossed my mind and I asked him where I could find some cheap furniture. Since there wasn't room in his store for anything but knick knacks, I figured it was no offense to ask for a referral. After he gave me directions to a little neighborhood nearby that sells furniture (there's lots of segmented selling zones in Tel Aviv), he said "where are you living anyway?" One one hand I was a little reluctant to give my address to a stranger (even a member of the tribe) but I quickly got over it and said I was living at 21 Sokolov to which he replied that he lived at #8 Sokolov and he had a folding kitchen table that I could borrow and I should call him that night. And sure as shooting, I called him at 7PM and 5 minutes later I had a table for the duration of my visit. I guess that could happen anywhere but it sure seemed like a very happy set of coincidences and, possibly, a good omen for 3 enjoyable weeks ahead. Stay tuned...
Monday, April 26, 2010
Rhodes -- A fascinating and beautiful island
After the last posting about the Traveler's Century Club, I have to admit that I chose Rhodes purely because it added to my "country count" and it was very convenient to access from southwest Turkey. And now, I have to say that Rhodes was one of the most memorable and enjoyable parts of the trip. It was beshert -- or meant to be -- as they say in Yiddish.
Rhodes is a Greek island in the Agean Sea just an hour or two from Turkey by ferry depending on whether you catch the slow or fast ferry on a given day. On the day I left the Turkish port of Marmaris the slow ferry was running. Let's just say that the trip felt very authentic. As we boarded and I was looking around, I thought that it might have been a converted fishing vessel -- and it had a whiff of one, too. But all that was soon forgotten as I was surrounded by a large group of boisterous Greek travelers who had been on holiday in Turkey and were returning from a chorus competition of some sort. As soon as everyone had settled down and gotten some tea, the group broke into a chorus of Greek folk songs (and others) to pass the time on our 2 1/2 hour journey. Talk about atmosphere. They were having a grand time and I was right in the midst of it all. I couldn't think of a better way to return to Greece for the first time since 1980 when I had a one day layover in Athens on my way to a semester in Israel.
Rhodes itself turned out to be a delightful island with an Old Town that is very well preserved and a new part of the city which is laid back, warm (in every respect) and friendly. (There is also a rich Jewish history on the island but I will save that for another post.)
I lucked into a well situated hotel I had found on the internet for 30 Euro per night that even had a view of the sea from my deck. And the front desk manager, George, was a font of knowledge which he eagerly shared with me in his near perfect English. So everything about the experience was enjoyable. The island is slow paced yet there is plenty to do and the blue green color of the water is just spectacular. If you ever have the opportunity to include Rhodes in your travel itinerary, I highly recommend it. I gave it only 3 days due to other scheduling pressures but I would suggest at least 5 days on the island.
To learn more about the island, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes
And for a day trip into the countryside to the spectacular seaside town of Lindos, please check out:
http://www.lindoseye.com/
And for a map of the Aegean so you can see where Rhodes is situated (closer to Turkey than Greece) go to:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/greece_rel_1984.gif
Next posting: the Jewish experience on Rhodes.
Rhodes is a Greek island in the Agean Sea just an hour or two from Turkey by ferry depending on whether you catch the slow or fast ferry on a given day. On the day I left the Turkish port of Marmaris the slow ferry was running. Let's just say that the trip felt very authentic. As we boarded and I was looking around, I thought that it might have been a converted fishing vessel -- and it had a whiff of one, too. But all that was soon forgotten as I was surrounded by a large group of boisterous Greek travelers who had been on holiday in Turkey and were returning from a chorus competition of some sort. As soon as everyone had settled down and gotten some tea, the group broke into a chorus of Greek folk songs (and others) to pass the time on our 2 1/2 hour journey. Talk about atmosphere. They were having a grand time and I was right in the midst of it all. I couldn't think of a better way to return to Greece for the first time since 1980 when I had a one day layover in Athens on my way to a semester in Israel.
Rhodes itself turned out to be a delightful island with an Old Town that is very well preserved and a new part of the city which is laid back, warm (in every respect) and friendly. (There is also a rich Jewish history on the island but I will save that for another post.)
I lucked into a well situated hotel I had found on the internet for 30 Euro per night that even had a view of the sea from my deck. And the front desk manager, George, was a font of knowledge which he eagerly shared with me in his near perfect English. So everything about the experience was enjoyable. The island is slow paced yet there is plenty to do and the blue green color of the water is just spectacular. If you ever have the opportunity to include Rhodes in your travel itinerary, I highly recommend it. I gave it only 3 days due to other scheduling pressures but I would suggest at least 5 days on the island.
To learn more about the island, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes
And for a day trip into the countryside to the spectacular seaside town of Lindos, please check out:
http://www.lindoseye.com/
And for a map of the Aegean so you can see where Rhodes is situated (closer to Turkey than Greece) go to:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/greece_rel_1984.gif
Next posting: the Jewish experience on Rhodes.
Update on my quest to join the The Traveler's Century Club -- 100 Countries/Territories
As some of you may remember from the email which introduced this journey, one of my goals is to add to the number of countries/territories that I've visited -- at least according to the rules of the Travelers Century Club. www.travelerscenturyclub.org
I know that many of you are sitting on the edge of your chairs wondering what number I'm at -- so here you go. Wait no longer -- I am now at 84! The additions during this trip so far include:
1) New Zealand
2) Tasmania
3) China
4) Macau
5) Bahrain
6) Qatar
7) Kuwait
8) Ajman (UAE)
9) Ras Al Khaimah (UAE)
10) Sharjah (UAE) (previously driven through this area but my feet had not touched the ground until this visit -- which is my rule!)
11) Umm Al Qaiwain (UAE)
12) Turkey (Europe)
13) Turkey (Asia)
14) Dodecanese Islands (Rhodes)
According to the plan as it stands today, I have just a few more than 16 countries left to visit. So if all goes well, I will reach 100 by the time I return to the US in September. And then, I can officially join the meshugana (Yiddish for crazy person) club that is for people who have been to 100 countries/territories or more. Get ready to celebrate!
New places yet to visit on the round-the-world journey include:
1) Rwanda
2) Tanzania
3) Zanzibar
4) Kenya
5) Malawi
6) Zambia
7) Mauritius
8) Swaziland
9) Lesotho
10) Namibia
11) Ghana
12) Bulgaria
13) Macedonia
14) Kosovo
15) Albania
16) Montenegro
17) Croatia
18) Slovenia
I know that many of you are sitting on the edge of your chairs wondering what number I'm at -- so here you go. Wait no longer -- I am now at 84! The additions during this trip so far include:
1) New Zealand
2) Tasmania
3) China
4) Macau
5) Bahrain
6) Qatar
7) Kuwait
8) Ajman (UAE)
9) Ras Al Khaimah (UAE)
10) Sharjah (UAE) (previously driven through this area but my feet had not touched the ground until this visit -- which is my rule!)
11) Umm Al Qaiwain (UAE)
12) Turkey (Europe)
13) Turkey (Asia)
14) Dodecanese Islands (Rhodes)
According to the plan as it stands today, I have just a few more than 16 countries left to visit. So if all goes well, I will reach 100 by the time I return to the US in September. And then, I can officially join the meshugana (Yiddish for crazy person) club that is for people who have been to 100 countries/territories or more. Get ready to celebrate!
New places yet to visit on the round-the-world journey include:
1) Rwanda
2) Tanzania
3) Zanzibar
4) Kenya
5) Malawi
6) Zambia
7) Mauritius
8) Swaziland
9) Lesotho
10) Namibia
11) Ghana
12) Bulgaria
13) Macedonia
14) Kosovo
15) Albania
16) Montenegro
17) Croatia
18) Slovenia
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Turkish Hospitality
I found the Turkish people to be warm, hospitable and happy that international visitors have made their country a destination site. That was entirely true outside of Istanbul and virtually true within the city. But I have to share with you a rough 24 hour period that was, let's say, trial by fire.
It actually started in Dubai where there was a standoff between United Airlines and Turkish Air about my reservation and whether it had been cancelled. (Turned out it was a human error on the part of United) But that wasn't known at the time. And as I was standing in the Dubai airport for 2 1/2 hours (after midnight) and the Turkish Air representative refused to call United, I wasn't feeling very "welcome" to Turkey.
Ultimately I placed a call to United on my blackberry and shoved it in front of the rep and the two of them had a terse conversation -- which in the end meant something I suppose. The happy ending is that at about 2:05AM, the Turkish air representative declared that a seat was available and that I should run for the gate (having to go through immigration still) to catch the flight at 2:25 AM. Fun :)
After a smooth flight, I arrived in Istanbul around 8 AM and, of course, my room wasn't ready. But I had prepared for this possibility by identifying a walking tour that was starting near to my hotel at 9. I figured if I was moving around I would be fine for a few more hours. And if the guide was knowledgeable and, perhaps, a cutie, even better. Check. Check. The tour was followed by an authentic Turkish lunch around the corner from the hotel at a place called Doy Doy where about 30 Turkish guys and I dined. My $10 got me a mezze plate, chicken skewer with rice and vegetables and a diet coke. Nice.
I came back took my nap and then asked the hotel manager (who I like very much) for a recommendation for dinner. He suggested fish and since I'm trying to be good AND since one is surrounded by water everywhere in Turkey, I said sure. He also said that the restaurant will send a car. Mistake #1. Never accept a "free" ride to the restaurant. Need I say more?
Here's the long and short of it: There is a phenomenon with fish places (at least in Turkey) where the primary goal is to rip off the tourists for as much as they can possibly get. And since fish is cheap and plentiful, fish restaurants charge extraordinarily exorbitant prices -- say $50 or $80 or more for a modestly sized pan fried fish which costs no more than $5 at the wholesale market. But don't think there's any transparency about any of it. There's this whole drama where they wheel in the table of fish, pick up every last fish and talk about it, wheel the cart out, bring out different fish, take them away, weigh some and not others and so on and so forth.
For me, I wound up with an extraordinary dinner bill of $212 US which was probably about 75% more than the meal was worth. Among other things (mind you I'm leaving out the details) is that the restaurant insisted that I had ordered two main courses in addition to three small appetizers. That would have been enough food for 3 people let alone one but that didn't seem to matter at all since this was one big farce! I refused to let them even put the second fish on the table despite repeated efforts to do so because I felt that would have been an acknowledgement that I, indeed, ordered that darn fish.
By the time the bill came I had caught onto this situation and began to converse with two lovely British couples sitting behind me who informed me that they had been through the same theater more than once. In fact, after they observed my encounter with the fish salesmen (they weren't waiters, really), the Brits called the staff over and the Brits themselves wrote down the price for each item and handed the "check" to the wait staff. All this before even one item was served at the table. Lessons learned, I suppose. My takeaway was never to eat fish in Turkey again. And I didn't. The next place I ate anything from the sea was on my departing flight on Turkish Air where it was included in the price of my ticket :)
To conclude this little story, I paid the $212 in cash for this delight. The last thing I wanted to do was to give these guys any of my credit card information. And I didn't want to engage with them very much because we were on a very long pier and I didn't want to wind up swimming back to shore -- or worse. But that wasn't the end. I took the issue to the hotel manager the next day and I told him that I expected to see the money back and that he should feel free to tell the restaurant that I would be happy to call the police. Whether that would have worked or not isn't clear but I wanted them to have a lot of hassle if they were going to so blatantly rip people off. I wasn't the first and I certainly won't be the last. (I now know that there are plenty of postings on Trip Advisor on this one and all of its variants!) In the end, 100 Turkish Lira showed up in an envelope at the hotel. And I learned a lesson.
Back to the hospitality part. Admittedly, it took a few days to get over this incident and I was feeling a bit uneasy about my host country. (There was also a cab ride that cost $16 for a 5 minute drive but I'm not going into that one.) The sad truth is that the Turkish economy overall is still developing and a few people will go beyond looking for an extra $1 or $5 to capture some larger sums of money. It is unfortunate because once the tourists begin to figure it out (after about 2 days) it creates a bit of a bad vibe between visitors and our hosts. And, at least on my trip, Turkey became a place where I started to watch the bill at restaurants much more carefully and to be more cautious -- not for my physical safety but from preventing a continuous flow of little, petty rip offs. In fact, I know there were others but I didn't obsess over them. I just prevented as many as I could through more caution. And it seemed to mostly work, at least in my head.
On the more positive side, I actually liked the Turkish people quite a bit. I was touched, for example, when I was on the tram and a teenager with kind of wild hair and outfit gave up his seat and took an elderly gentleman by the arm and helped him sit down. Or the staff at the Sarnic hotel in Istanbul who couldn't have been more gracious. Mehmet, the manager, Ergin the front desk guy and Murat the owner's brother were warm, generous and a pleasure to be around.
And, perhaps most memorable, there was the pudgy seven year old boy at a food stall in Bursa (the 1st Ottoman capital) who was gushing with pride as he took my order, served me and then took my money and made change. He kept looking at his dad to make sure he was doing things right and the father both gave him guidance and wide smiles of approval as the boy completed the sale. It was a special moment which I probably related to on some level because of all my days as a busboy and waiter.
And as if my little shishlik sandwich experience wasn't enough, I decided somewhat impulsively that I really needed some baklava. That's my stubborn sweet tooth kicking in no doubt. Conveniently, within five seconds, I encountered a stand with all sorts of sweets most of which I remain clueless to identify. But that didn't make a difference. So I stopped, got the attention of the purveyor and pointed to the baklava, pushing two fingers up in the air to indicate how many I wanted. All was good. The man took out some paper to prepare my gooey goodies to travel -- not that they would last more than a minute. And then, much to my surprise, the gentleman, who didn't speak a word of English, signaled that he was offering the baklava to me for free. While I appreciated the gesture, I felt rather badly about it since I'm certain I have more resources than he. I insisted at least twice that I wanted to pay him but he absolutely refused. So maybe it was a higher power intervening since the fish incident had taken place less than 24 hours earlier? Who knows? But I certainly won't forget that courtyard in Bursa for a long time to come.
These were by no means the only acts of generosity by my gracious Turkish hosts. One more cute story relates to a long distance bus ride between Izmir and Mamaris which is about 6 hours down the coast. I was a bit flummoxed at the end of the ride as I thought there were several more stops to go. But as the bus emptied, I realized we had made it to our destination. So as I was getting off the bus I left one of my bags in the overhead -- something I never do since I usually make a habit of keeping all my carry-on bags at my feet when traveling by bus. In any event, by the time I realized I was missing this bag (with insignificant items I might add), the bus was 100 yards away and 2 seconds from exiting the lot. I threw my hands up in the air, dropped all my papers, started to run and, frankly, probably looked a bit crazed. Within an instant, another van driver saw me, understood exactly what was going on, and accelerated his vehicle to literally cut off my bus before it could turn back onto the highway. Within seconds, the bus driver opened the door and the attendant handed me my little orange bag. I then turned to thank the driver of the van but it was gone. So I will never have an opportunity to thank that gentleman for helping me out. But his efforts provide an opportunity to think of his act of kindness as being typical for the Turkish people which it really is.
It actually started in Dubai where there was a standoff between United Airlines and Turkish Air about my reservation and whether it had been cancelled. (Turned out it was a human error on the part of United) But that wasn't known at the time. And as I was standing in the Dubai airport for 2 1/2 hours (after midnight) and the Turkish Air representative refused to call United, I wasn't feeling very "welcome" to Turkey.
Ultimately I placed a call to United on my blackberry and shoved it in front of the rep and the two of them had a terse conversation -- which in the end meant something I suppose. The happy ending is that at about 2:05AM, the Turkish air representative declared that a seat was available and that I should run for the gate (having to go through immigration still) to catch the flight at 2:25 AM. Fun :)
After a smooth flight, I arrived in Istanbul around 8 AM and, of course, my room wasn't ready. But I had prepared for this possibility by identifying a walking tour that was starting near to my hotel at 9. I figured if I was moving around I would be fine for a few more hours. And if the guide was knowledgeable and, perhaps, a cutie, even better. Check. Check. The tour was followed by an authentic Turkish lunch around the corner from the hotel at a place called Doy Doy where about 30 Turkish guys and I dined. My $10 got me a mezze plate, chicken skewer with rice and vegetables and a diet coke. Nice.
I came back took my nap and then asked the hotel manager (who I like very much) for a recommendation for dinner. He suggested fish and since I'm trying to be good AND since one is surrounded by water everywhere in Turkey, I said sure. He also said that the restaurant will send a car. Mistake #1. Never accept a "free" ride to the restaurant. Need I say more?
Here's the long and short of it: There is a phenomenon with fish places (at least in Turkey) where the primary goal is to rip off the tourists for as much as they can possibly get. And since fish is cheap and plentiful, fish restaurants charge extraordinarily exorbitant prices -- say $50 or $80 or more for a modestly sized pan fried fish which costs no more than $5 at the wholesale market. But don't think there's any transparency about any of it. There's this whole drama where they wheel in the table of fish, pick up every last fish and talk about it, wheel the cart out, bring out different fish, take them away, weigh some and not others and so on and so forth.
For me, I wound up with an extraordinary dinner bill of $212 US which was probably about 75% more than the meal was worth. Among other things (mind you I'm leaving out the details) is that the restaurant insisted that I had ordered two main courses in addition to three small appetizers. That would have been enough food for 3 people let alone one but that didn't seem to matter at all since this was one big farce! I refused to let them even put the second fish on the table despite repeated efforts to do so because I felt that would have been an acknowledgement that I, indeed, ordered that darn fish.
By the time the bill came I had caught onto this situation and began to converse with two lovely British couples sitting behind me who informed me that they had been through the same theater more than once. In fact, after they observed my encounter with the fish salesmen (they weren't waiters, really), the Brits called the staff over and the Brits themselves wrote down the price for each item and handed the "check" to the wait staff. All this before even one item was served at the table. Lessons learned, I suppose. My takeaway was never to eat fish in Turkey again. And I didn't. The next place I ate anything from the sea was on my departing flight on Turkish Air where it was included in the price of my ticket :)
To conclude this little story, I paid the $212 in cash for this delight. The last thing I wanted to do was to give these guys any of my credit card information. And I didn't want to engage with them very much because we were on a very long pier and I didn't want to wind up swimming back to shore -- or worse. But that wasn't the end. I took the issue to the hotel manager the next day and I told him that I expected to see the money back and that he should feel free to tell the restaurant that I would be happy to call the police. Whether that would have worked or not isn't clear but I wanted them to have a lot of hassle if they were going to so blatantly rip people off. I wasn't the first and I certainly won't be the last. (I now know that there are plenty of postings on Trip Advisor on this one and all of its variants!) In the end, 100 Turkish Lira showed up in an envelope at the hotel. And I learned a lesson.
Back to the hospitality part. Admittedly, it took a few days to get over this incident and I was feeling a bit uneasy about my host country. (There was also a cab ride that cost $16 for a 5 minute drive but I'm not going into that one.) The sad truth is that the Turkish economy overall is still developing and a few people will go beyond looking for an extra $1 or $5 to capture some larger sums of money. It is unfortunate because once the tourists begin to figure it out (after about 2 days) it creates a bit of a bad vibe between visitors and our hosts. And, at least on my trip, Turkey became a place where I started to watch the bill at restaurants much more carefully and to be more cautious -- not for my physical safety but from preventing a continuous flow of little, petty rip offs. In fact, I know there were others but I didn't obsess over them. I just prevented as many as I could through more caution. And it seemed to mostly work, at least in my head.
On the more positive side, I actually liked the Turkish people quite a bit. I was touched, for example, when I was on the tram and a teenager with kind of wild hair and outfit gave up his seat and took an elderly gentleman by the arm and helped him sit down. Or the staff at the Sarnic hotel in Istanbul who couldn't have been more gracious. Mehmet, the manager, Ergin the front desk guy and Murat the owner's brother were warm, generous and a pleasure to be around.
And, perhaps most memorable, there was the pudgy seven year old boy at a food stall in Bursa (the 1st Ottoman capital) who was gushing with pride as he took my order, served me and then took my money and made change. He kept looking at his dad to make sure he was doing things right and the father both gave him guidance and wide smiles of approval as the boy completed the sale. It was a special moment which I probably related to on some level because of all my days as a busboy and waiter.
And as if my little shishlik sandwich experience wasn't enough, I decided somewhat impulsively that I really needed some baklava. That's my stubborn sweet tooth kicking in no doubt. Conveniently, within five seconds, I encountered a stand with all sorts of sweets most of which I remain clueless to identify. But that didn't make a difference. So I stopped, got the attention of the purveyor and pointed to the baklava, pushing two fingers up in the air to indicate how many I wanted. All was good. The man took out some paper to prepare my gooey goodies to travel -- not that they would last more than a minute. And then, much to my surprise, the gentleman, who didn't speak a word of English, signaled that he was offering the baklava to me for free. While I appreciated the gesture, I felt rather badly about it since I'm certain I have more resources than he. I insisted at least twice that I wanted to pay him but he absolutely refused. So maybe it was a higher power intervening since the fish incident had taken place less than 24 hours earlier? Who knows? But I certainly won't forget that courtyard in Bursa for a long time to come.
These were by no means the only acts of generosity by my gracious Turkish hosts. One more cute story relates to a long distance bus ride between Izmir and Mamaris which is about 6 hours down the coast. I was a bit flummoxed at the end of the ride as I thought there were several more stops to go. But as the bus emptied, I realized we had made it to our destination. So as I was getting off the bus I left one of my bags in the overhead -- something I never do since I usually make a habit of keeping all my carry-on bags at my feet when traveling by bus. In any event, by the time I realized I was missing this bag (with insignificant items I might add), the bus was 100 yards away and 2 seconds from exiting the lot. I threw my hands up in the air, dropped all my papers, started to run and, frankly, probably looked a bit crazed. Within an instant, another van driver saw me, understood exactly what was going on, and accelerated his vehicle to literally cut off my bus before it could turn back onto the highway. Within seconds, the bus driver opened the door and the attendant handed me my little orange bag. I then turned to thank the driver of the van but it was gone. So I will never have an opportunity to thank that gentleman for helping me out. But his efforts provide an opportunity to think of his act of kindness as being typical for the Turkish people which it really is.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Turkey Part II.....
I have just returned to Istanbul after a journey across southeastern Turkey, along with a ferry ride to the Greek island of Rhodes where I spent 3 enjoyable days exploring and learning.
One of the things I've taken to heart on this trip is that you can't do everything -- even if you have seven months to travel. And, to my parents' credit, one of their last suggestions (of many) as I was leaving Florida in January, was that I should pace myself. That was very good advice -- especially since I've been wanting to visit Turkey for so long and it is such a VAST country. I have resisted temptation to see it all.
Keeping their advice in mind, but also remaining focused on my quest to visit 100 "countries" (which also includes many non-country territories in the definition), I decided to explore the Southeast coast and environs. The added benefit of this route is the proximity of the Dodecanese Islands (specifically the island of Rhodes) which is about 1 hour off the coast of Turkey. It is much closer to Turkey than Greece but more on that later.
As you all know, the entire Turkish region is rich in history and the ancient city of Ephesus is a great example where a number of civilizations were built, seemingly right upon each other. So one can begin to get their history straight (at least for a few minutes) and get a feel for how fully functioning societies (right up to the public library and the nearby brothel) operated in centuries gone by. The guide told a cute story about how the men used to tell their wives that they were going to the library but instead used a tunnel underneath to cross over to the rather sizeable brothel directly across the street. I'd guess that the story is probably true. It makes sense, doesn't it? For a more official version of the history around Ephesus written by someone (hopefully) who can get all of their facts properly associated with the correct periods (Byzantine, Greek, Roman, Ottoman) please see the great authoritative source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephesus
The other site I visited in the region was Bergama, a center for medicine and wellness in its day. On that day I was touring with two Cuban American physicians and they said that this site had been included in their studies as a significant place in the history of medicine. As the tour went on, I came to appreciate that when Bergama was at its height, the definition of medicine was quite different than today. It was really a forerunner to modern medicine but the symbols remain such as the famous snake we see on pharmacies, medical centers, texts etc. That said, though the guide was generally quite knowledgeable, he was certain that brain surgery among other treatments for the head (which he called psychology) had been conducted there in the 3rd and 2nd Century AD. I'll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions. I can't even think about it.
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/galeri/aegean/photopages/002.html
So you now have as much fill as I did about the ancient civilizations that were present here in Turkey. For my next posting, I will wrap up Turkey and share some of my experiences about the people and the culture of Turkey.
One of the things I've taken to heart on this trip is that you can't do everything -- even if you have seven months to travel. And, to my parents' credit, one of their last suggestions (of many) as I was leaving Florida in January, was that I should pace myself. That was very good advice -- especially since I've been wanting to visit Turkey for so long and it is such a VAST country. I have resisted temptation to see it all.
Keeping their advice in mind, but also remaining focused on my quest to visit 100 "countries" (which also includes many non-country territories in the definition), I decided to explore the Southeast coast and environs. The added benefit of this route is the proximity of the Dodecanese Islands (specifically the island of Rhodes) which is about 1 hour off the coast of Turkey. It is much closer to Turkey than Greece but more on that later.
As you all know, the entire Turkish region is rich in history and the ancient city of Ephesus is a great example where a number of civilizations were built, seemingly right upon each other. So one can begin to get their history straight (at least for a few minutes) and get a feel for how fully functioning societies (right up to the public library and the nearby brothel) operated in centuries gone by. The guide told a cute story about how the men used to tell their wives that they were going to the library but instead used a tunnel underneath to cross over to the rather sizeable brothel directly across the street. I'd guess that the story is probably true. It makes sense, doesn't it? For a more official version of the history around Ephesus written by someone (hopefully) who can get all of their facts properly associated with the correct periods (Byzantine, Greek, Roman, Ottoman) please see the great authoritative source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephesus
The other site I visited in the region was Bergama, a center for medicine and wellness in its day. On that day I was touring with two Cuban American physicians and they said that this site had been included in their studies as a significant place in the history of medicine. As the tour went on, I came to appreciate that when Bergama was at its height, the definition of medicine was quite different than today. It was really a forerunner to modern medicine but the symbols remain such as the famous snake we see on pharmacies, medical centers, texts etc. That said, though the guide was generally quite knowledgeable, he was certain that brain surgery among other treatments for the head (which he called psychology) had been conducted there in the 3rd and 2nd Century AD. I'll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions. I can't even think about it.
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/galeri/aegean/photopages/002.html
So you now have as much fill as I did about the ancient civilizations that were present here in Turkey. For my next posting, I will wrap up Turkey and share some of my experiences about the people and the culture of Turkey.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Itinerary Update
With all of the planning, there is always room for some creative change when circumstances dictate. A few weeks ago, I learned that my tour in Ethiopia had been cancelled due to lack of participation. After several weeks searching out alternative providers, I came across a brief posting on a travel forum about the upcoming Ethiopian election which was to occur right in the middle of my visit. Well, I love democracy and all that but in 2005 the election turned violent, and I'm not to anxious to be a first hand witness to this year's election as a solor traveler. I might like to be an election monitor some day but perhaps under the auspices of the UN or some other NGO. So, Ethiopia is going by the wayside this time.
The revised itinerary now includes:
1) A visit to London from May 10-14
2) Travel around northern Italy with cooking school for 4 days near Florence from May 14-27
3) A gorilla trek in Rwanda May 30-June 2
4) The previously sent itinerary picks up from there with the 18 night camping safari from Kenya to Zambia. Yes, that's 18 nights!
Note: there are a few travel days in between so no need to worry about "missing" days
The revised itinerary now includes:
1) A visit to London from May 10-14
2) Travel around northern Italy with cooking school for 4 days near Florence from May 14-27
3) A gorilla trek in Rwanda May 30-June 2
4) The previously sent itinerary picks up from there with the 18 night camping safari from Kenya to Zambia. Yes, that's 18 nights!
Note: there are a few travel days in between so no need to worry about "missing" days
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)