Topkapi Palace

The Topkapi Palace was on our schedule for the second day. We actually just made that schedule in the morning during the breakfast. We again didn't eat until 10 min before closing of the restaurant, because we just don't get enough sleep. We caught the noon bus again to Sultanahmet.








This time we used the main street to get to the Palace directly from the bus station. I was happy there was no line here either, because we were told that all of these buildings to visit have 1-2 hours wait in front. The ticket was again 20 lira, about $15, just like in Ayasofya. It is positioned on the hill between the Golden Horn and the Sea or Marmara. It is a maze of building that was the focal point of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and the 19th centuries. Sultans and their court used to live there. A magnificent wooded gardens, again with wild parrots, fills the outer, or first court. In the second court, on the right, shaded by cypress and plane trees, stand the palace kitchens, which now serve as galleries exhibiting the imperial collections of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain. To the left is the Hared, the secluded quarters of the wives, concubines and children of the sultan, which we didn't get to visit because it was an additional fee and we were already tires. Today the third court holds the Hall of Audience, the Library, and exhibition of imperial costumes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the treasury, some of which were as large and a tennis balls, and a priceless collection of miniatures from medieval manuscripts. In the center of this innermost sanctuary, the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle enshrines the relics of the Prophet Mohamed brought to Istanbul when the Ottomans assumed the caliphate of Islam. After few hours of walking, we had coffee there on the terrace of the palace overlooking the Bosphorus.

We were pretty exhausted after this long walk, but we headed to the Grand Bazzar or Kapali Charshi. This labyrinth of streets and passages houses more than 4000 shops. They sell everything from gold and silver, hand crafted tea and coffee pots, to carpets, leather and oriental looking clothing, and touristy t-shirts, of course. This multitude of colors and people really wore us out after just 90 minutes, and we walked outside for some ice cream in the park. We had just enough energy left to go back in for the "aksham pazzar" where people usually have a chance to get good bargains because it's considered a bad luck to turn customers down at closing and opening store hours. All the walking and heat made us so tired that we didn't really have anything to eat the entire day, and even the dinner was going to be light. We were plann ing to go down for some sea food on the Bosphorus.

We took the bus just before 10 PM from the main Taxim square down to the water. It was supposed to be a 10 min ride. We met some people on the bus who were advising us not to get off at the first water station, because the restaurants there are more just for having a drink. So, we continued on and the bus got into some grid lock. Mom was sitting down and I was talking with these people so I haven't even noticed that we were driving for 45 minutes. The man was from Washington state and his wife from Iran. They lived in the Philipines for the last few years, waiting for her US visa. He also couldn't get visa for Iran, so they decided to come to Turkey and see her parents on vacation. They ended up getting and appartment and settling ın here a month ago, because they just can't go together to either of their countries. They were telling me of the things that are now happening in Iran, the real things, not what the media is broadcasting. Horrible things that this revolution is bringing. Her brother has been beaten up. The Ayatola is bringing in the troups from Venecuela, Palestine, Hamas to fight the people, because their local police cannot do it. Ayatola is in the hiding in an underground city, that regular people there do not know where it is. The guy was also in the marines in Iraq on two terms, so he was telling me stories from there. In turn, I was recalling some of my experiences of war in Sarajevo. Neadless to say, I didn't notice that we were moving so slow that we only passed one station in half an hour.

Mom was getting tired, and it was already almost 11 PM, so we decided to get off and walk. We were moving faster than the trafic. We quickly relized this was not a good idea to begin with, and mom wasn't hungry for dinner either. So, we just crossed the street and cought the bus back. We had dinner at a near by small restaurant, meat and cheese pita covered with jogurt and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice - just what the doctor ordered.

Sultanahmet

Our second day started with us sleeping in until 9AM. I really enjoyed it because I still can't fall asleep until after 2AM. We rushed to get breakfast before 10 when the restaurant closes, even before we had our morning coffee. There were many choices for breakfast, and it was filling. We had some cereal, fruits, salads, pastries, cheese, coffee and juice. Their lunch meat was questionable, so we passed on that. We decided on our plan for the day. We were going to go to the old town, Sultanahmet, have a Turkish coffee and then visit the Blue Mosque and Ayasofya.

We got the directions from the hotel lobby personnel. Since we are staying in the center, we are very close to the main bus and taxi station. I don't think I saw more taxi's even in the New York city. And they slow down next to you if you appear to them that you might need some transportation and honk or call you from the car. We walked around until our bus scheduled time (it runs every 30 min). It took us about 20 min to get to the other side of town to Sultanahmet.The bus was not crowded, but it got a bit hot, since it was already passed noon. Without our coffee, we were dragging our feet to find a nice place to sit down. From the main bus station in Sultanahmet, Beyazit, we walked some 300 m toward the area where we wanted to sight see. We wanted a nice coffee place with a view of the Marmara sea and a garden, so we walked until we found one. We went through some back streets that only have shoe and leather shops. There must have been 30 of them, and the entire street smelled like leather. This was not a touristy area, only locals were there, and I noticed that there were very few women on the street. It was a nice break, or start, to get some caffeine in.

From there, we were already on the main square where all the places to see were. We walked around the Hippodrome, the Stadium of ancient Byzantium where the chariot races used to be. Of the monuments from all corners of the empire which once decorated it, only three remain: the Obelisk of Theodosius from 390 AD, a bronze sculpture of three entwined serpents from Delphi from 4th c.AD, and the column of Constantine from 10th c.AD.

Then we visited the Blue Mosque, built between 1609-1616, and named that way because of the blue tiles used on the interior walls. They have a special entrance for all the tourists, so as to not disturb people who come there to pray five times a day. They handed us scarfs to cover our bare legs, and plastic bags to put the shoes in, which we had to take off. The tourists are separated from the praying folks just by a rail, so we still got to see all the areas. I don't remember when I was inside another mosque to compare, but this one was very large.

Outside of the mosque is a beautiful park with a large water fountain. On the other side is the Ayasofya. It was built as a church by Constantine the Great in (?) and reconstructed by Justinian in the 6th century. It was then converted into a mosque in 1453 with the arrival of the Ottoman empire. Most of the frescoes were plastered over at that time. In the late 1800s or early 1900s it was converted into a museum, and the restoration of the frescoes started. It is still in progress, and some of the images are still partially covered. We saw some pictures of pope JPII when he visited it in 1979, pope Benedict in 2006, and president Obama just couple of months ago. Its massive dome, 50 meters high and 32 meters wide, with four minarets, just like the Blue Mosque, still dominates the skyline of the old Istanbul. It was interesting to see some pictures that showed people gathered there for prayer; it looked like entire village was there.

By the time we were done touring, it was already around 5 PM, and we were a bit hungry. We found this beautiful park, with super high trees, and nice grass. To our surprise, there were some wild parrots there as well. Many locals were there, having a picnic with their families. I found that to be so nice, particularly since it was a weekday evening. We ate our two sandwiches there, and relaxed in the shades a bit. This break showed us that we were really tired, and we made our way back to the hotel, where we had coffee in our room. Mom then went for a swim at the pool on the roof, and I found this Internet cafe.

The hotel lobby people told us of a restaurant that opened just today around the corner, called Istanbul, so we went there for the opening night. The waiters were all so ready to help, every few minutes they were around us. They served us 'mezze' before we even ordered anything. They still don't license to sell alcohol, but after seeing our disappointment they brought two beer glasses later during the dinner, covered with napkins. We had nice lamb kabobs, with two types of salad. At the end they brought us complimentary rice pudding. We had so much fun there, and were really pampered. We left the restaurant after 11 PM.

We had to walk it off, so we again strolled down the packed main pedestrian street. We checked out a few side streets, and were surprised to find outside restaurants all next to each other and packed with people having dinner, mezze or just drink. The day activity here doesn't stop until well after midnight.

It's Istanbul, Not Constantinopol

When we landed in Istanbul, it was already 6:15 PM local time. The passport control took quite some time, and by the time we were leaving the airport it was about seven. A man holding a sign with our names on it was waiting for us at the exit.

It was a hot day, even that late in the afternoon. The rolled down windows on the highway served us instead of an AC. The driver didn't speak any English, so we couldn't ask him for any pointer about the city. Their driving here is more loose, for lack of a better term. The barely visible lanes are there just for suggestion. Cars are smaller and apparently more narrow, because they were squeezing between what I would think is two cars in two lanes spaces. They mostly drive with just one hand; the other is either holding a cell phone, supporting the right side of the body on the arm rest, or dangling out the window and signaling other driver to pass or as a turn signal, or it's on the horn. There is a lot of honking here.

I was surprised how big Istanbul is. It took us about 45 min to get to our hotel in Taksim, and we drove through all densely populated areas. My first impression was that it looked like much larger and advanced Sarajevo, but the people's mannerisms are about the same.

Our hotel, Golden Age 1, is mediocre. It wasn't my pick, and I just lost interest in making a decision on it after weeks of talking about it. We paid EUR90 per night for it, but "at the door" price at the reception desk is EUR190. It has a great location, just 3 min walk to the main square, but is still on a quiet street. It has no view, and the room is about what you';d find in a motel 8 type of places. They don't offer toiletries in the bathroom, but they have two soap dispensers. Our night stand lamp cable was sparking and smoking when lamp was turned on. We asked them for a soap and to fix the lamp, but they didn't come while we went out in the evening. When we were back, I couldn't figure out how to turn any light on *apparently you have to plug your room key into some wall pocket(, so when they came about that, I had them change the lamp, too. We'll see, maybe my opinion about hotel will improve - we spend so little time there anyway.

We ate kebabs for dinner and had "the best Turkish" Efes beer, recommended by the owner of a small restaurant, Hanchi Baba, near by, after being handed to some four paper menus in the same block of the street. Afterwards, we went for a stroll down the main drag filled with people, both locals and tourists. It reminded me a lot of the main pedestrian street in Sarajevo, Ferhadija. Although it was close to midnight, many shops and all eateries were still open. Within five minutes we saw a Subway, McDonald's. Burger King and Starbucks, two of them. The side streets had many restaurants and cafes with outside seating areas. The street merchants were were selling cooked and baked corn (misir), one was even selling mussels served with lemon juice. All ice cream places had a man dressed in traditional Turkish outfit and with huge metal spoons folding and poking the ice cream inside the metal bins. We passed by couple of mosques and two churches as well, but gates of the courtyards were closed on each. One was even guarded by a police car and men with guns. We even saw a couple of priests walk by while we were eating dinner. I also noticed several people turning their prayer beads as they were walking. Many women had their heads covered, much more so than in Sarajevo, Mom observed it's most common now then 20 years ago when she was here. Many of them were older, but we saw quite a few with small children as well. It seems most of them are from other countries, because they spoke English with the locals. Majority of young people, and other tourists of course, were dressed just the same as folks in the west do; there were all sorts of stiles.

There are so many things we could see here, so tomorrow we'll make a plan. We tentatively each put in three ideas; mine were the Basilica of Hagia Sofia (Holy Wisdom) no called Ayasofya Museum, the Blue Mosque, and a boat ride down the Strait, that separates Europe and Asia. Mom would like a dinner on the Bosphorus canal, some time on the beach and long perusing through Kapali Charshy (Covered Bazaar). It's supposed to be sunny and hot (86F) this week, unlike Sarajevo where it's 50s and raining this week, so hopefully that won't slow us down too much.

The Night Sheds Some Light

The last night I felt as if I talked with a Psychiatrist, and He kept probing for deeper questions to untangle source of some of my anxieties.

I woke up last night around midnight and couldn't fall back to sleep. It was raining outside. My mind started rolling and in no time I was completely awake, my body still thinking it was afternoon hours. I was thinking about all sorts of things, from writing a complaint letter against the airline, through work related things, to different expectations for this vacation. Couple of hours later, mom was going to bed and came in to check up on me. Since I was awake, she lay next to me and we started talking.

At one point we came back to the topic of home improvements in the apartment. This place could use some fixing up, and there are some appliances that are on their last breaths, not to mention numerous smaller things that I'd like to change. My mom's budget doesn't allow her these expenses. Any money that I leave her she turns around after some time and gives us in presents or sometimes just cash for my brother. Since what I give is a gift, I try not to look at how she uses it, so I try to implement personally what I see fit while I am here.

Every time I come to visit I try to do what I can, even though mom usually tries to talk me out of it. Over the last four or so visits, I installed window treatments, restructured stackable cabinets, resurfaced bath tub, sink and toilet, replaced faucets, installed shelves, wallpapered the kitchen cabinets and a storage unit, installed a new counter top, replaced a fridge, microwave and TV, framed several paintings, detail cleaned kitchen and baths, decluttered and reorganized, and several other odd jobs here and there.

This year I was also thinking of having someone install new windows in the living room since the old ones are so dried out that they don't close properly. They are not good in hot nor cold weather, and last year while mom was in the US her neighbour told her the wind blew the window open, so we had someone come in to close it. The living room is also facing the west side, so the afternoon sun on hot days makes it unbearable to sit there. I was thinking of installing the outside rolling blinds and possible even install an AC unit for that room. I was especially warming up to that idea after the heat blast I got yesterday upon arriving to the apartment.

But mom is refusing to do anything about the windows, blinds or the AC. She doesn't want to deal with contractors and mess they leave behind (even though I was convincing her I'll handle all of it) She doesn't like the look of the outside blinds, and the fact that they cannot be cleaned. The AC she is most against, because she thinks the direct air can make one sick, there are not that many very hot days here, the wall unit looks ugly, and the east side of the apartment is not hot in the afternoon so she can sit, eat or drink coffee on the balcony on that side. We were not getting anywhere with our disagreement, so we dropped the conversation about it for that night. After she went to her room, I started thinking about it again.

So, I had some kind of inner dialog trying to understand why making these changes in the apartment is so important to me. What I first realized is that I actually never lived in this place. I moved to the US before we bought it and I only came to visit mom for a few weeks since then. I realized that because I never lived here, I don't actually feel this place as a home. I don't have my room - I sleep in a room that has all the things that my brother used before he moved away, but he, too, never lived here for more than three months during his summer visits. I started thinking about people who go back to their parents' house to visit and stay in the same room they grew up in. I know there are many people whose family moved through different homes while they were growing up, but most of them still had material things in the new environment to help them make feel at home. I don't have anything here that reminds me of my childhood or any years of growing up. That realization made me very sad.

I allowed myself to weep a bit, and after accepting this 'new' fact, I wanted to probe more to realize why it affected me that way. I wanted to find out why I have such a need for control in fixing up this place, and am so irritated that mom doesn't seem to want or need the change. I realized that, since this doesn't feel like home, which I apparently didn't realize before, all my striving to improve it were not just a way to help and better my mom's life, but also a way of making my imprint on this place, making it feel like my home, too. The fact that it is not up to my standards, and I am limited, in time and decision power, of how much I can change, was agitating me because I am trying to make this place my home (it is also registered under my name). But, this is not my home. I actually have a new home now in Austin, and I have all control over what I want to do with it.

Discovering that the reason for my I-want-to-fix-it issue is the fact that I don't have the things around me that remind me of the past, allowed me to step back and look at it from a different angle. For example, if I was here visiting a friend in his/her place, I wouldn't at all think about the drawbacks of that apartment and how I could make it better. And when I then started thinking about this place as simply my mom's apartment that I am just visiting, I felt at peace. It is hers to make the decisions, and ask me for help if she needs or wants it, and I would extend that help. I am here on vacation, not a home improvement mission.

This little psycho-analysis has helped liberate me a bit further from holding onto the past, especially the material aspects of it. I felt warm and fuzzy when thinking about my home. And peaceful. My mind has calmed down, and was ready for sleep. The rain was still rolling outside, but now it was a soothing sound.

Made It To Sarajevo

After a failed first start, I left Austin a day later. My flight on the first day from Austin was delayed because the plane we were supposed to board was late coming in from Chicago. Since I only had one hour to catch the next flight in DC, and it was already late afternoon and no other connection was possible that evening, they booked me again for Friday. A different route, one less connection, but a 5 hour fly over in Vienna. I was pretty tired when I arrived to Sarajevo, not having really slept on the planes. But, I had a nice chat with an older gentlemen sitting next to me on the nine hour flight, and all my bags arrived at the same time with me.

It was hot that day in Sarajevo, 86F. And my mom's appartment is on the 5th floor, with no elevator. Plus, each of my bags was 50 lbs. And there is no AC or fans. I am spoiled living with the AC for the last 11 years. I was cranky and irritable. I decided I don't want to stay in the appartment that afternoon and eat lunch and have coffee with mom, but wanted to go out to some cooled down coffee shop. So we did, even though it was hot outside and there is some walking. I also was not going to be in Sarajevo for the next 6 days, so I wanted to soak in the city for a bit.

It was a good idea. I enjoyed the walk through the town, seeing people on the streets, having 'pita' at my favorite place, more walking and then coffee at a new place on a narrow bridge above a small waterfall. It was even chilly sitting by the water, and the weather was starting to change. By the time we got home it was already evening. I unpacked all the stuff I brought for mom, repacked my bag for the Turkey trip and fell asleep exausted by 10 PM in front of the TV. I was hoping to get a good night sleep.

Vacation Time!

It's that time again for me to take a long vacation. My employer is forcing us to use 10 days of our payed vacation is second and third quarter this year, and I am not complaining. :) I was planning to go to Bosnia this year in September anyway, so this trip just came a few months earlier. I am using all my vacation time, and will be gone for three and a half weeks!

I am flying out this afternoon, and after four flights and almost 24 hours later, I should be in Sarajevo Friday evening local time. I'll have the weekend to adjust and relax a bit before going to Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday for 6 days. I have been to southern part of Turkey some 19 years ago (gosh, that sounds sooo long time ago), but that was in two smaller, resort-style cities. Istanbul is going to be something completely different.

After that, I'll be in Sarajevo probably until July 5th, and hope during that time to see my godmother who lives in Germany. Then I'll go somewhere on the Adriatic coast to the beach, possibly Makarska for 2-3 days. Those days should be all relaxing on the beach, in the shade. Then mom and I have a scheduled 3-day organized trip that leaves from Sarajevo and goes to the northern part of Croatian cost, Istra. We hope to meet up with this group somewhere on the coast, so we don't have to go to Sarajevo just to get on that bus. Those 3 days will be packed with sightseeing from one place to another.

The last couple of days of my vacation I'll again be in Sarajevo, to enjoy the walks, cafes, people watching, and local fast food....

It's a hard life, but somebody has to do it. :)

Duckling Update

The ducks were still in the bush when I got home last night. I changed their water and was surprised how dirty it was. The mom was happy with the new fresh water to drink. Few minutes after I went inside the house, the babies were outside the nest and in the water bowl! I removed the deep dish because I was worried they might have trouble getting in it, and here they were, five squeezed in on a little puddle. They quickly rushed back into the nest when they saw me, but then the other two from the back came out and took a swim. Adorable!

They didn't come out any more for the evening, and since they were so active last night I knew their departure is very close. This morning at 8 am they were already gone and there was an empty nest. :( Mom picked probably the best time to take them to the water, because there are barely any cars and people around on an early Saturday morning. I am sad that I didn't get to walk with them, but they didn't need to wait for me. They are wild ducks, and it is best for them to have minimal dependence on humans. The pond is just five houses away, and they only had one small street to cross that is used only by the residents there.

Maybe I'll see them at the pond in a few days, acting all grown up. You can come back any time, mama duck, and use the safety on our rosemary bush again!

Post Update:
The ducklings made it all to the pond safe. I saw all 12 of them in the afternoon with duck that, I suppose, is their dad, playing and grooming on the shore, and even already trying to eat bread crumbs the locals were throwing at them. Their swimming instinct has also kicked in.
The mama duck, on the other hand, decided to come back to the place she called home for the last month - our rosemary bush. As I was getting ready to trim the overgrown branches, she landed on the driveway and was just starring at me. I gave her some water, and she drank at least 20 times. Then she took some bread pieces out of my hand, and was still just standing there. I continued with my other yard work and she eventually slowly approached the former nest, examined it for several minutes and then made her way inside. I guess she just missed her own bed. :)