Been a nice ride but time to go home
Trip Start
Jun 24, 2011
1
12
Trip End
Jul 16, 2011
Istanbul, Turkey
Saturday, July 16, 2011
We took it easy on Friday, cracked open the map and after breakfast started wandering around town. We walked toward the general direction of the Spice Market and on the way picked up a package of mini hot dogs for the stray dogs and cats. We ran into a little cemetery that was quaint so while Pierre took a few pictures, I fed a few very happy cats. Eventually, we reached the New Mosque (only 600 years old) and the Spice Bazaar, which actually had very few spices. It should be called the Pet Bazaar instead and had poor little puppies in cages for sale, birds, turtles, rabbits and, hang on to your socks, leeches. Disgusting, slimy, blood-sucking leeches... apparently for medicinal purposes but last time I looked, we were out of the Middle Ages and somewhere along the way had ditched leeches as a potential cure for all types of ailments.
We continued on our trek to look for Suleymanye Hamami, a Turkish bath that was built in 1550, and noticed that the way the stores are set up is a bit like it was in Hanoi, Vietnam. There's a street for toys, one for hardware, one for cooking ware, one for scales, etc... Kind of strange, really, how do you become a resounding success when all your neighbours sell the same things for similar prices? Bizarre... When we got close to the Hamami, which is right next to the Suleymanye Mosque, we realised there were a lot of police officers around. Some dignitary must be visiting either the bath or the mosque and if he were in the bath, he's not likely to be accompanied by an inordinate number of policemen and secret service agents. We get to the courtyard of the mosque and everyone is standing outside gawking at the entrance. We asked someone and surely enough, the prime minister is inside the mosque. We waited around for him to come out to snap a couple of pics and it took a while, giving me time to feed another cat and to admire how handsome some of these secret service agents were... Strong, silent, fit, dark, tall and definitely very yummy... finally some Turkish delights to please my eyeballs. Pierre is pfffting me.
We made our way back to the hotel at around 5 PM and after dinner went back to Aya Sofia to take some shots of the place at sundown. It's exquisite at this time of day because of the way the light hits the bricks... The park between Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque is filled with people, mostly locals, picknicking on the lawn. There are vendors for cotton candy, corn on the cob, fresh watermelon, along with those who sell toys for children and tea, water, etc... The place is quite crowded and sadly, laden with garbage. The city doesn't put enough garbage bins around so there's rubbish all over the place.
I see this mother trying to take a self photo with her two daughters, stretching out her arm to capture the three of them and not having a success at it. So I put my knapsack aside, reach over to offer to take her picture and she retreats with alarm "no! no! thank you, no no!!!". You'd swear I was trying to kidnap her kid for ransom or something when I was just trying to be nice. What's wrong with these people? Like I'd actually be interested in taking off with her $10 camera. Pffft! Some people have no savoir vivre...
Saturday, we take off early to go to the airport and though the flights were long and the planes so cold I actually caught a cold on the way back, it was uneventful though tiring. Until we got to Canadian customs, where we were subjected to a search. For the number of times that we've travelled, this is the first search we've got so statistically speaking, it wasn't too bad. No orifices were violated, thank the Good Lord Buddha, only our luggage got the treatment. It was strange though to have someone go through our wallets and look at every single receipt. Don't think anyone's ever done that to me in over 40 years of living.
It's nice to be in our own bed again, with our little monster snoring in her basket on the floor beside us... The world is magical, mystical, full of wonders and discoveries; there are so many things to see, to absorb, to learn about; there are so many cultures to cherish, to understand and to appreciate, so many people to talk to, to listen to and to admire, and yet, it's always so comforting, so peaceful to get back to a little place called home where you can kick off your shoes, lean back and open an ice cold bottle of beer and say "yeah... that was a great trip".
Thank you for reading and for all your comments and encouragement. 'Till our next trip, which will likely be South Africa, because Gerrit and Gerrie say it's one of the most beautiful places on earth.
