Then, 10 feet later, there’s another security checkpoint, in order to get into the check-in area. You must present your passport to the policeman, along with a statement of where you are traveling to. This man decides if it is time for you to check in, which they don’t allow until an hour before your flight is scheduled to leave.
We passed the test and headed to the Turkish Airlines check-in “line.” I say “line” because it may look like a line from afar, but inevitably, someone in front of you is going to decide that a different desk’s line is moving faster, move over there and then decide that it wasn’t and come back and cut in front of you. You might even be lucky enough to have someone come from behind you and try to finagle their way in front of you. You are reminded that you are a nobody. This would drive my mom crazy.
For some reason, it took the check-in lady a significant amount of time to check me in. Who knows what the issue was, but 3 different other workers came over and punched some things into the computer and then shrugged their shoulders. After finally getting my boarding pass, she had not put Huzz and I in seats next to each other, so we had to ask her to do so and reprint the boarding pass.
Then, the Passport Control…oi. The lines were long, especially considering it was 2:15 in the morning. They only had 4 of the 15 or so desks being manned. We very strategically picked which line to stand in, stood there for about 20 minutes and moved up about 5 spots. Then, a security guard came along and decided to close the line, without making everyone move to the new line in the same order, so there was a mad dash for who-can-get-to-the-next-available-person-first. We ran 5 lines over to the left and managed to be second in line, with a clearly drunk man standing next to me, trying to wheedle his way in front of me. Don’t worry, I stood my ground.
Anyway, the rest of the process at the airport went fine. I have to say that Turkish Air has chosen the ugliest interior for their planes. Huzz said the plane was probably only 7 or 8 years old, but the inside made you feel like you were back in the ‘60’s. Turquoise blue seats, pink curtains to divide the first class from economy, and for some odd reason, our row did not have a window. The people across the aisle did, but we did not. Thankfully, we are not claustrophobic people. My only real complaint about the flight was it was so stinkin’ hot. I’ve never been that hot on a plane. I slept, but fitfully, for the six hours. Oh, and the man sitting next to me (I was in the middle seat) must have thought I looked very cuddly. I was relieved to get off in Istanbul.
Our driver from the hotel was there, waiting with a sign after baggage claim and we headed to the Hotel Alp Guesthouse. Since this is a very small boutique hotel, our room wouldn't be ready until around noon and it was about 7:30 am. The guy at the front desk was very friendly and talked to us until about 8 and then invited us up to the terrace to have some breakfast and Turkish tea. Now, this is my kind of breakfast: crusty rolls, cheeses, tomato, cucumber, olive tapenade. Put a little of each of those together, and you have heaven in your mouth. We hung out up there for a couple of hours and I started my book, Water for Elephants (see the picture on the left side of my blog?) and it sucked me right in. I already read four chapters in one day! Anyone read it?
The water is just a couple of blocks down the hill. We are on the European side of Istanbul, at the peninsula where the Bosphorus Strait meets the Sea of Marmara. Look it up on a map. You'll be intrigued.
There are these stone walls everywhere and it baffles me to think about how old they are.
Notice the street is completely made of stones. And notice how narrow the sidewalk is? You really have to watch where you are going! I said this to Huzz today and just after I said it, I managed to have a big, orange construction cone between my legs. What can I say? I'm very graceful.
This is an inner courtyard before you go into the Mosque. I like all the archways.
Did you all know that I love architecture? When I was in high school, I took Drafting for a couple of years and really enjoyed it. I thought I might be an architect. Then, I realized how many Math classes I would have to take in college and decided against it. What if I had stuck with it? I wonder how different my life would be. Weird, huh?
Anyway, we headed to the entrance. You have to take off your shoes outside and put them in a plastic bag. Then, I got a free pamphlet about Muhammed! We headed inside and I won't go into details here because I didn't get to take any pictures because our self-designated tour guide didn't want to leave us alone and talkednonstopaboutthevariousthingsinsidelotsofsymbolismsomuchsymbolism.
After we finished up there, he asked us back to his carpet store for some tea. Ding, ding, ding! You DO want us to buy something! Us Americans, we are smart people.
Now, my teacher friend at school had told me that this is customary and not to feel pressured to buy anything. Every proper store owner will invite you for tea, so just take it! So, we accepted some water. And then they began pulling out the rugs. Rug after rug after rug. Mysteriously, our tour guide left the room, while he left the selling to his cousin. His cousin kept asking me which rug spoke to me. I said none. He said no pressure to buy anything, but clearly, there was so much pressure, you could feel it. I'm sure cousin could sense that Huzz and I were getting more and more uncomfortable and he asked us why we weren't looking him in the eye anymore because he doesn't like it when people don't look him in the eye. Huzz told him we don't like it when we're tricked into going somewhere when we were just enjoying the nice day, walking around. We thanked him for their hospitality and got the heck outta there.
We headed to lunch and discussed what we should have done in that situation. Neither one of us is an abrupt, rude person, but now we feel like if we are approached again, we will have to be really firm that we're not interested in talking to them. I have that fear that we will fill the American stereotype with rudeness, but that is also my need for people to like me. Huzz joked and said that after 9 months of living in the big K, you wouldn't think we'd be so nice anymore!
So, we will have to go back to the Blue Mosque so I can get some pictures because it really is an impressive building. It's very sad that there is so much history and energy put into something that is based on lies, but it's interesting, nonetheless. Oh, and the free pamphlet really cleared up the whole Muhammed thing for me...
After lunch, we were able to get into our hotel room and take a nice, long nap! We went to dinner last night at one of the cafes nearby and had Iskander kebab, soup, and I couldn't resist some Baklava for dessert, which I had to eat alone because of the nuts and Huzz's allergy. We went to bed and slept good. Well, Huzz is still sleeping while I write this.
Since we actually have internet access in our room (as of now), I am going to try to blog each day, rather than doing it all when we get back. So, watch for more updates! I do wish we had asked if anyone wanted to meet us here because I think it would be fun to be here with a few other people. Don't get me wrong ~ we are enjoying each other and having a romantic time, but...
Okay, sorry for the LONG post. No I'm not. You didn't have to read it if you didn't want to! Just kidding.
Look at all the food we got! We were only expecting the ramen, but then they brought SEVEN complimentary side dishes. There was plain kimchi, which we didn't touch, cucumber kimchi (yum), onion omelette thingy, seaweed strips, some type of warm, kimchi-tasting thing that was delish, and another kimchi thing that I liked.
