Turkish delight

The delights of this country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia are inspiring

When I got selected for an International Conference for Democracy and Peace in Turkey, I shared the news with my friends. All the people who heard told me it's the most beautiful place. There was a list of dos. The don'ts were not too many - do not buy rugs, carpets and gold in Turkey.

Now most tourists go ahead and buy these. However, in India we get reliable rugs, carpets and gold, anyways I do not have that much money to splurge on exotic things like these, which cannot substitute good food.

That was one of the musts - eat their potato wedges, Turkish pizzas and sweets, all told me categorically.  I read a lot before I went on this journey. I am very fascinated with history and historic places. I adore forts, museums, and other such places, or even hotels which have a story. Hotel Pera Palace is one such, where Agatha Christie lived in room 411, which inspired her to write 'Murder on the Orient Express'.

I arrived in Istanbul on May 28. I landed at the Ataturk airport and was really amazed. I have travelled to America and China via Europe and have seen huge airports like New York, Washington, Beijing and Frankfurt. But for a country whose population is 7.2 million, less than even Mumbai, the airport was simply superb and humongous.

We went to Residence Hotel, in the middle of Taksim Square, which is like living on Mumbai's Colaba Causeway. We passed the Bosphorous when I began my clicking spree. It really is an amazing strait that divides Istanbul city across two continents. Istanbul is built across seven hills and two continents: Europe and Asia.

The crystal blue waters sparkled in the summer heat. Having read about the Bosphorous, a traveller must take a ride across the sea and enjoy the beauty of a night party on one of the yachts. Sadly, our yacht party was cancelled.

The bus was going past all the squares and we saw all the prominent places across the Bosphorous like Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and other historic sites. Soon we were ascending a steep slope with signage indicating Taksmi square. We passed the trams, brand shops and prominent eateries. Bang opposite a mosque we had to disembark.

We put our luggage in the Residence Hotel and headed to a traditional Turkish restaurant Revan. The food was delicious. A huge spread of Turkish food. Being a vegetarian was no way problematic for me. Even in China I managed without egg, meat or fish. This time I had progressed from NO egg to eating egg white. However I didn't have to test my tolerance, as most of the food had vegetables.

We got a bean paste roll, just steamed and tasty. There was a spicy tomato vegetable, looked a lot like pav bhaji as it was red. Then another mince concoction of tomato, apple and carrots. Yes, quite some mixture, which was extremely tasty. They then brought some aubergines (or baingan as they are known here). Now this is one vegetable, which I will never touch even if I am tortured. However, the tomato-based paste, and the Zuchini with it were yummy. There was another dish which was a green leaf stuffed with cooked rice, not at all spicy. Lots of bread, butter and cheese followed.

Later we got a spread of desserts. From Baklava and Turkish delight to a whole lot of other sweets. Much more was to come we were told. As the last dish, the Turks eat salad. Now this was not the end for meat-lovers. There was chicken and lamb or beef served later.

Believe me when I say that the middle name of Turks - and us for a week - was 'eating'. I really enjoyed the non-spicy vegetable dishes and rice…lots of bread and yes, the sweets. Interestingly, we did so much of walking that my food digested
every time I went traipsing around Istanbul.

The cities are hilly so the roads are steep and you can feel your muscles work as you walk along the roads.
After the meal, we all got two hours of free time to chill, get ready and dress for the cocktail party on the beach. This is the time when I began walking around

Taksim Road. Wow! This road was busy. The stores lining the street were high-end brand stores that one would see in Beverly Hills. There were also local shops, but most of the designer names had their outlets on this road.

Istanbul can be called a true international city. They have cafés everywhere. They have utilised street space effectively. And unlike our city, where people wash their faces, gargle and spit, people in Turkey keep their areas spotless. The other interesting point to note is that come nightfall every apartment on Taksim road resounds with disco beats. We went to a disco where we had the company of two 50-year-old Turkish women who danced with us to retro music. When we walked out of the disco at 2am the crowds on this street were akin to what we would see at Churchgate station at 10am.

I have never seen so many exchange outlets as I saw in Istanbul. It definitely indicates the number of tourists that this city sees. A friend from the Congo, Dominique, wanted to buy some clothes for the evening, as the airline had not delivered her luggage to her, despite her landing on May 27. She was shattered and this is something we all need to brace ourselves for.

It was devastating for Dominique since the cocktail party in the evening was organised by the Mayor of Beyoglu, Ahmet Mizbah. There was immense pressure on me from my Indian friends back home to look 'hot' on this trip. I was told to get a holiday romance on this trip. I admit I nearly succeeded!

We headed back to the Residence. I had warned my colleagues that they would see a new Neeta in the evening. If I had to look hot, and this was a challenge since the dress code was strictly formal, I thought the best attire was a saree.
Yes, I had to drape myself thrice in order to get that perfect length of the pallu. No sooner was I in the lobby than I got a reaction: Jaws dropping!

From then on my Turkish experience was romantic and wonderful. I have never received such an overwhelming response. People greeted me with a "Namastey Hindoostani" and the compliments just flowed from the minute I stepped out of the hotel. At the party, the lady who greeted us could not believe I was the same one who had come to the restaurant in harem pants and a T-shirt. I was among the three who had worn national dress. At the party I was pulled in for every picture.

The setting of the Golden Horn is amazing. It is now a Transport Museum. So at the entrance of the Golden Horn there is a double-decker bus, which looks like our BEST bus. There is also a locomotive engine on the tracks. Inside there are cars from a VW Beatle to Rolls Royce and a Ferrari. Turkey is also now officially on the Formula One calendar.

The sunset was romantic with all us on the shores of the Bosphorous. We witnessed the sun set behind the Blue Mosque and the evening was ever so chilled out. Here I must mention the Turks are a really handsome race. Many Indian men asked me about women, they too are extremely attractive and stylishly dressed. Very few women - married and mostly old - wore scarves. All the others wore trendy fashionable clothes. It is an extremely good-looking country!

The next day we left for Kefken, a village three hours away from Istanbul. As a result I did not visit Izmir, the place where it is said that Mary's tomb is kept. Now Kefken is a village on the shores of the Black Sea. I have not seen such blue water, yes even clearer than the Bosphorous. While we went to Kefken, we stood at the mid-point between Asia and Europe, on a bridge. We also had very good Turkish coffee on the banks of the Bosphorous and clicked innumerable pictures of the Bosphorous bridge and the sea.

The Turks love to fish. It is a good pastime for the nation and they are a most peaceful people. They come prepared with their beer cans, cigarettes and food, they stand with their fishing rods at any water hole and fish. Before you know it, they've got a good catch of fish, which they take home and fry.

Kefken has a small port. We saw fishermen build boats and yachts anchored at the port. There are two lighthouses and we lived in a camp area owned by the mayor of Beyoglu. Well this man is the epitome of good looks, except he doesn't speak English.

We all walked around the beach and the port. We went on to the yacht of the family of young boy Hussaini who took me around the village. He was a brave young kid who showed us the painting on the wall of this yacht, which was autographed by Ataturk. Ataturk is the Turkish Revolutionary leader. His pictures are displayed all over Turkey, but this was something really rare.

Overall the country was friendly, however being a small town, the people here were not friendly with some of our black colleagues from Africa. In fact Nubieu, was one person who was first cheated in Istanbul before we left for Kefken. He was invited into a pub by few people, and the owner ordered some drinks and demanded $1000. A ridiculous an amount, poor Nubieu was unaware of the dangers of travelling alone in a foreign land. This is something that can occur in Mumbai, London or even New York. Nubieu poor thing bargained and brought down the cost to $300, which was still an obscene amount. Since drinks are not expensive in Turkey.

Now the same man faced hostility and mockery in Kefken. However, he did not lose his cool. Instead we all simply decided not to have any coffee in the village. However at night we all ventured out to visit a bar in our Kefken hotel. It was cold since it had rained the day before we reached Kefken, the villagers said.

We were back in Istanbul. We wanted to ensure that we made it to the palace, Sultanehmat, the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia before evening. Since we had heard that all places shut by 5pm. We stayed in Laleyli circle area in Hotel Pisa. A very nice place with all facilities and most important it was centrally located. The electric trams were next to the hotel and they took us around the city. It was also close to the main metro junction.

We took the tram to Sultanehmat Mosque. The male Turks are very pushy and one has to protect one's bags like their own body. We headed to the mosque and I realised that there is a fountain in front of every mosque.

The security at the Sultanehmat was strange. Both my friends Dyiora and Muhebullah, were Muslims and we reached in time for prayer at the mosque. Obviously both wanted to catch prayer time inside the Blue Mosque. However, the Turkish security was initially reluctant. We then approached a tour guide who was shocked with the behaviour of the security. He led us inside the mosque. You have to remove your shoes and cover your head.

From what I read, the Blue Mosque was a church built by the Greeks in ancient times. It was taken over by the Moghuls, when they invaded and ruled Turkey. Now, there is little evidence in this mosque of the existence of Christianity. However it is one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen in my life. Blue mosaic tiles adorn the walls, and give out a blue light: Hence it is called the Blue Mosque.

Adjacent to this is the Hagia Sophia. This too was once a church. Later the sultan turned it into a museum. However there is evidence here of the co-existence between Islam and Christianity.

There are motifs from the Moghul Empire, while on the dome and walls one can see the fading fresco paintings: One of Mary with baby Jesus and another of an angel. They are brilliant pieces of art. In fact, when one ascends from the first floor the corridors of the Sophia take you back 1,000 years.

This truly was one the most historic places I have witnessed. In fact, they are struggling to restore the fresco paintings. They are also facing a challenge repairing the marble flooring which is giving way after a century.

We did a little shopping outside the palace, where the cottage emporiums really gave us a bargain. Little trinkets and souvenirs from Istanbul was all I bought. We then walked through the main street.

Like in American restaurants, the Turkish eateries too place their menu cards outside, so we could make our choice before we step inside. We passed the Hamams, which are good if you have time.

As we walked to the Grand Bazar, it was amazing to see the crowds thronging the bazaar. The bazaar is good to look at, though I wouldn't suggest buying anything here, since it is for the Euro-rich tourist. You have to bargain, and Indians don't need any tips on that.

However, I will recommend a market - like our very own Crawford Market - behind the Grand Bazar where if you bargain you can get very good lingerie, bags, and shoes.

The Egyptian Spice market is next door. However, one Hindi-speaking Chinese, told me categorically, "You are an Indian you get better spices back home, don't waste your money." I simply looked around and returned to the hotel.

The next morning was my flight back home. I asked my hotel manager if there was any stop for the airport service bus called Havash, which costs nearly Rs120. The manager suggested that if I was willing to walk 150 metres then I could take the Metro. The public transport in Istanbul is superb. The subways are air-conditioned, so what if they too have hawkers. There are air-conditioned buses, electric trams, ordinary trams and most importantly, the Metro.

The Metro cost me Rs13 and took me to the last station. Where an escalator took me straight to the departure section. I am truly impressed with this city.

Although some got cheated, I am lucky to have met a manager who not only guided me well, but on the last night before we went to the disco he suggested I keep my camera bag at the hotel. He also gave us good deal, whereby we saved money. Being peak tourist season, hotels in Turkey charge anything from 80 Euros onwards for a poky room. When you calculate that in Rupees you can understand how expensive it can get.

However, there are international hostels, guesthouses and hotels with all facilities at a reasonable rate. Remember the magic word, 'bargain'.
k_neeta@dnaindia.net