阿慢打胃之不落閣

Monday, 19 of July, 2010
It is funny that I write this travel journal of Turkey in English as an ending. Not that I like to brag how good my English writing is (just as some like to speak English loudly at the office), but that there is something wrong with my laptop so that I can't  type Chinese characters any more. I am sorry about that. Anyway, I really doubt how many people would have patience to read my blog. After all,  it is my blog. Surely I can write whatever I want as long as I don't break the law.

It was the last day in Istanbul and it was such a beautiful and lucky morning that I encountered several charming cats on the streets while I was rambling around the area behind the hotel after finishing my breakfast.

The sun rose from the east. I was facing the west, looking at the awakening Golden Horn Bay through my hotel room window. A bus stop just stood right across the street. The transportation here was very convenient. I saw buses come and go. The street was always busy, even in the middle of the night.

A part of the metropolitan Istanbul. I wondered if I could live in one of the small cells. Life in Istanbul is not easy, I think.

I was not  sure what I saw, something ancient and imperial, I guess.

The night view was fantastic. The day view was fabulous.

I turned to the small steep narrow winding alley just next to the hotel on the left. Walking up, I saw the first beautiful creature. A calimanco cat came to greet me with miaowing and posing. Even though I knew its motive was not simply out of hospitality, but hunger for food, I was pleased to meet it. Yet, I had to say sorry. I forgot to bring a boiled egg or a piece of cheese with me from the breakfast.

And then, the second surprise came along. An orange  furry taby. It was not complaining about my ill-manners without bringing  souvenirs for them. It was telling me it was nice to meet me.

And then, the third magic showed up.

If they were street cats, they would be the healthiest and happiest ones. Look at thier fur and shapes.

The street was not the cleanest one though, scattered with empty beer cans and garbage.


I only had 30 minutes left. I was in a hurry. I kept going up and then saw another fat one. The grocery shop was just open. The owner lit up a cigarrete sitting outside of the shop, ready for a day of work. 

Here was the metro station, called Sishane. I was curious to see what it looked like down there, so I went down to check it out. It was the deepest metro station that I have ever been to. It was about 4 or 5 levels down to reach the main entrance.

A wall decoration on the way  to the metro station.

Finally I saw the entrance. Strangely, it was Monday morning but It was quiet there. You see, it was quite clean, modern and spacious.

This was my lucky number 5.  It played with me for a while and was reluctant to leave.

I walked up a bit along a street full of hotels and shops and then I had to find the way back down to the street where my hotel was situated. I took a left cut and walked down to the stairs, and I saw my lucky number 6. This tiny one was like my own cat, allowing me to touch and pet it.

Before leaving, he turned around to gave me a farewell glimpse. ( Well, I am sure he is a naughy little boy. Look at the balls.)

Perhaps he did think about going  home with me.

The Turks know how to decorate their lives.

I could not take any more food that morning. Otherwise I would have tried some tradional Turkish bread. The baker nodded timidly and allowed me to take a photo of him even though I was not his customer.


Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı)

We then left for the Grand Bazaar as our last destination in Turkey. Kapalıçarşı, means covered bazaar. According to Wikipedia, it is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops. Opened in 1461, it is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops. Many of the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by the type of goods, with special areas for leather coats, gold jewelry and the like. The bazaar contains two bedestens (domed masonry structures built for storage and safe keeping), the first of which was constructed between 1455 and 1461 by the order of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. The bazaar was vastly enlarged in the 16th century, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and in 1894 underwent a major restoration following an earthquake.

Roast chickens

On the way to the main entrance to the Grand Bazaar. Following our tour guide, we had to walk straight to main gate of the Grand Bazaar.

There were plenty of the souvenirs for me to take home, but what caught my eye was this lucky number 7 cat. I could not help but stop to take a photo of it.

It was begging for food. Look at its yearning eyes. Who would not spare it some food?

The Asian lady gave it the breakfast for the day. She must be married  to a Turk here, I think.

The Grand Bazaar has four main gates situated at the ends of its two major streets which intersect near the southwestern corner of the bazaar. One street combines the Bayezid II Mosque and Bayezid Square with the Nuruosmaniye Mosque.

The main gate. Our guide told us that we should meet him at this gate again in one and a half hour. We couldn't be late because we had to arrive at the airport on time.

At every gate there was a security guard. Inside the bazaar was like a giant maze. Be sure to look up the signs hung on the ceiling. They help you to tell the directions. That's why I didn't get lost.

Basically if I came to Istanbul again, I would not come here for shopping again. It is full of deceitful businessmen, trying to rip you off.

You don't need to understand the words on the sign, but you need to know how to locate yourself.

All the merchandise was similar to the one in the spice bazaar we went the day before. Nothing really attracted me.

This metal chain lamps were nice, but the price was not nice to me. I even could not bother to ask the price.

The carpet shops. I gave up the thought of buying one rug home. The grand bazaar was huge but I still could walk out of the covered market to the uncovered street.

Behind the iron fence, there were some stone coffins when I walked past a park or cemetery.

This street must be nicknamed  jewelry street. The Cat's eyes attracted me most. Well, it closed its eyes, dozing away the late morning.

The Turkish musical instruments.

Finally I made it. I was not late nor got lost. I even came back to assemble with other mates on time. The mother and the son were late. I eventually bought some turkish delight. I should have ordered some from our tour guide. Even though it was expenisve, at least it would have saved my energy to bargain with the untrustworthy dealers in the Grand Bazaar and then end up finding the turkish delight tasted different from the one I sampled there.

Anyone wants to pee before leaving the bazaar need to pay a toll.it was 1 bloody TL.

Here we were at the airport, waiting in a long line. It was fun to see the passengers around us. We were especially curious of these black-veiled  women and the family.  The "spicy" English instructor helped me to secretly take a photo of them. Then  she started to talk to them, asking where they were from. They were from Dubai.

For some reason, inevitably, I was arranged to sit at the last row, with the toilet just right behind me. A father with a kid sitting the same row with me, complained to the flight attendant that his whole family were unreasonably separated. He demanded that his family should have 4 seats in a row, so they could sit together. Here came my chance. I told the young guy sitting next me to swap our seats with his wife and his little son. They agreed. Lucky me that I had a front aisle seat with a Swedish hunk next to me.


The Swedish asked me how to fill out the disembarkation form and then we started to chat a bit. He was a cook but fed up with his life in Scandinavia. He wanted to live in a warm country like Malaysia for a year. He even convined his wife of quitting her job as a nurse to move to a fish village in Malaysia. People make some strange decisions. I probably will quit my job as a teacher to go some where else, you will never know.


We transferred our plane in Kuala lumpur. This time I sat next to my tour mate, an elementray school teacher. He never told us the truth that he was a teacher in the trip. Mr. Secret offered us the wrong message that he worked for a hotel in Taoyuan but in the end he gave me a hint to check online to read his blog. Then his true identity was revealed. He also told me some little dirty secrets of his room mate during the trip. Even though I type English, I won't tell you the little dirty secrets.

The plane was quite small and I was arranged to sit in the back of the plane again.

While waiting to get out of the plane, I got the chance to ask the beautiful flight attendant to let me take some photos of her. She was a beauty. And it is the end of my travel journal as well.