Goodbye, Istanbul

We all took one last walk in the park outside our hotel before our 3:15am wake up call.  We are all exhausted, but filled with lifelong memories of food, friends, and Pat's bowels.

6:00 am flight to Paris

Kev and I considered heading into Paris on our 5 hour layover, but got talked out of it by epic lines at immigration, our own cluelessness, and pretty French airport workers. They convinced us it was  a far better idea to get drunk in airport lounges. We agreed. 

Taksim Square and Gezi Park Protests

We all walked up to the protest sites on Friday, but there were no protesters.  We could walk all around Gezi

There was, however, a solid police presence

In blocked-off Taksim Square, every park bench and entrance had 3 or 4 cops sitting on it

On one side of the park, it looked like the demolition had begun

These images were spray painted everywhere

So, we went home Friday, slightly disappointed we didn't get to see any action.  Then, on Saturday, Pat was doing some shopping up in that area, and texted us the next two pictures.

He said he stood as protest groups passed him for 20 minutes solid heading to the park.  Kev and I hightailed it up there to go check it out.  

Just before getting to the protests. Notice the capitalism at work with the guy selling masks. 

This guy was leading the chanting.  We got very close to him

The crowds were HUGE!  It was very peaceful, and most people had smiles on their faces.  You could feel their relief about being able to speak their minds, to stand up to what they'd feared for so long.  Still it was otherworldly. We were walking up THE shopping street in modern Istanbul with children playing and nothing out of sorts. Then you come upon thousands singing and chanting ready for the government to make the next move. 

We climbed up onto the rooftop terrace of a Burger King to get a better view.  We watched for 30 minutes or so, then left.  As we were leaving, police buses looked like they were being moved around strategically.  When we got back to our hotel, we were reading news reports of police dispersing the crowd and arrests, including arrests of foreign nationals.

We did get lucky with the timing of it all to emerge unscathed (foreign nationals were arrested on Sat). It was exciting to be in the middle of what feels like an historic change taking place in a country and region.  

Last Days

The last couple days in Istanbul were a blur.  We were all trying to fit in our souvenir shopping as well as sites we had missed.  We spent a good amount of time apart, doing our own thing.  We didn't get to Cappadocia, nor did we go to a Turkish bath, but we accomplished a lot.  Pat felt ill the last few days and had to rest.  Also, Taksim Square heated up, so we ran up there, again, and got some good shots of the protests.

Gulhane Park was lovely

Our room. Four grown men in 300 sq. ft., one bathroom, one guy with explosive diarrhea, and a snorer...interesting mix.

Lamb pancake was superb

Turkish coffee has lots of grounds in it.  Makes it thick like oil, and leaves a sludge in the bottom

Old delivery guy

Curt isn't impressed by ice cream guy's trickery. We thought it was a joke when he said cone was $5

I took 30 shots of street scenes.  Hard to capture hustle and bustle.

Galata Tower at night

Even the mannequins are hairier than us

Blue Mosque

Tried hookah pipe (it's tobacco, not drugs). This guy's job is to get the coals fired up.  

We called him, "The Dragon."

You each have your own removable mouthpiece...very sanitary

Kevin Hendrix

Andrew finding the other. 

Curt tries to play it like an oboe

Kev and I take the ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul

Great views for 3 lira

That's Europe on the right and Asia on the left. Pretty cool. 

Topkapi Palace with mosques in background.  We couldn't help but think how awestruck the people on boats must have been coming into this city seeing these sites for the first time

Sulimayne mosque

Dan's Column

Dan writes a column in a Luxembourg newspaper.  His latest is about his recent travels with us in Bulgaria.  Check it out:

http://www.wort.lu/en/view/forget-exotic-destinations-it-s-the-company-that-counts-51cd460de4b09237d19dcebf

Night Out

Back to Cheers Hostel bar for pre-dinner drink.  Epic backgammon game between Turkish bartender and Spanish patron.  Everyone in bar gets into it. We create white board to keep score.  Turkey comes from behind to win 3-2.

Special assist to the Brit Amy who kept score here. (She had it wrong. Still 3-2 Turkey).

 

Trici suggested a restaurant. (Salay?)

We devoured everything 

Trici suggested a rooftop bar, Seven Hills

Views were unbelievable.  Moon was yellow and hovering over the city.

Blue Mosque