Strolling along Istiklal Caddesi
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2006
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Trip End
Oct 25, 2006
Istanbul, Turkey
Sunday, October 22, 2006
There were not one, but two Starbucks along the route but I resisted! There were also a number of Christian churches in the area, but I didn't go in any of them as it was Sunday morning and services were going on. I enjoyed heading off the beaten track and discovering the nooks and crannies in the area and for the longest time I actually was able to find my way. I stopped for a cappuccino and slice of strawberry cheesecake at an art nouveau cafe named Cafe Markiz. I also went up the Galata Tower and took in the lovely albeit hazy 360 degree views of Istanbul. Once down the tower I got a bit lost though. Oh well. Upon reaching the main avenue, I flagged a taxi to Topkapi Palace but I got roped in to a carpet shop by a clever not so innocent bystander. I figured what the hell though and let him (Ibrahim) show me his best carpets/rugs. After an hour in the shop though, I didn't see any carpet to die for. I would've left empty-handed, but I accidentally named what I thought would be an unacceptable price ($70) for an opal stone - But to my surprise, Ibrahim said "okay" and I felt honor bound to follow through. When I return to Dubai, I'll have to find a jeweler who can set the stone in a silver ring.
Unfortunately, whilst I was in the shop, it had started to rain so I decided to forego the palace and instead went to the Basilica cisterns. Very cool place and I think I got some decent shots - thanks to my mini tripod.
After that, I headed towards the hotel but ended up going into another carpet shop in the Arasta bazaar - a shop called Galeri Desen. What a difference a shop makes! He showed me plenty that I liked and we were kept company by a cute kitten that lay on a chair acting all cute and cuddly. In the end, I purchased 2 rugs for $1700 - OUCH! What a sucker I can be! Hopefully, once I've laid them down on the floor of my flat back in Dubai, I won't be cursing that cute kitten for disarming my wallet.
I had arranged to meet Sara and her friend Marsha at the Sirkesi train station at 7:00 as we planned to watch the Whirling Dervishes. Unfortunately, the 7:30 show sold out so we had to wait for the 9:00 performance. While waiting around for them, I ran into a few HCTers I would've preferred not to - a man from the housing department. He naturally made a comment about me being a troublemaker (he will never forgive us for not taking one flat he showed us so he didn't get his piece of the commission pie I expect and we MLIers will never forgive him for doing basically nothing to help us find a place under such short notice). Anyway he was there with his wife and we all acted as friendly as can la di dah be. The Whirling Dirveshes were really something to watch I must say. They didn't spin as fast as I thought they would, but what they did do was impressive. Afterwards, I picked up a take away pizza from the Sultan Pub and fell asleep around 11:30.
