Pour accéder au blog en entier, cliquer sur "septembre 2005" dans les archives...
Il y a toujours du nouveau! Exemple, des photos du Bosphore, de la citerne Basilique, de la Cappadoce et du fameux harem!!
Some of the new posts are under "September 2005" in the archives...
You can click on the photos as well to enlarge them.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Happy couples in Goreme
Here's a nice pic taken by our friends Rich and Jude, a lovely couple from New Zealand, on our last night with them in Goreme. As you can see from our clothing, the temperature in Cappadocia drops drastically at night. Our days were quite warm (between 30 and 35) and our evenings nice and cool (between 15 and 20).
Here we are with Rich and Jude.
Here we are with Rich and Jude.
The Kelebek hotel & pension
Cet hotel est tellement genial qu'il merite son propre blog.
Niche' dans la colline qui surplombe la vallee de Goreme, nous y avons passe parmi les plus beaux moments de notre voyage.
The feeling you get the first time you step into the Kelebek hotel and onto its ottoman terrasse is one of complete inner peace. The view is spellbinding and the silence of Goreme is only broken by the occasional loud-speaker voice coming from farmers driving through the town, urging people to purchase their melons or announcing the arrival of Kayseri beef.
Five times a day, like in every Turkish town or city, the calls to prayer are broadcast from the minarets. Goreme receives the calls from the Nevsehir mosque, which is 30 kms away. On our third day in Goreme, the public (melon) annoucement was broadcast at the same time as the call to prayer and we only found out about it when we saw Ali, the Kelebek's owner, laughing hysterically...
En s'asseoyant sur la terrasse du Kelebek, on est temoin de petites "tranches de vie" turques. Je me souviendrai toujours du matin ou, de bonne heure en sirotant mon the, j'ai vu une petite madame surgir de sa maison troglodite, suivie par une douzaine de moutons tous plus gros qu'elle. Ils sont entres dans la maison voisine et je ne les ai plus revus de la semaine!
Ou la petite fille aux lulus qui pleurait tellement que ca en etait drole.
Ou les deux madames qui prenaient leur marche a la meme heure a tous les jours.
Voici un beau cliche' de Goreme, la nuit. On dirait des phantomes!
Here are some hotel guests snooooozing on the terrasse...tough life but someone's got to do it.
Niche' dans la colline qui surplombe la vallee de Goreme, nous y avons passe parmi les plus beaux moments de notre voyage.
The feeling you get the first time you step into the Kelebek hotel and onto its ottoman terrasse is one of complete inner peace. The view is spellbinding and the silence of Goreme is only broken by the occasional loud-speaker voice coming from farmers driving through the town, urging people to purchase their melons or announcing the arrival of Kayseri beef.
Five times a day, like in every Turkish town or city, the calls to prayer are broadcast from the minarets. Goreme receives the calls from the Nevsehir mosque, which is 30 kms away. On our third day in Goreme, the public (melon) annoucement was broadcast at the same time as the call to prayer and we only found out about it when we saw Ali, the Kelebek's owner, laughing hysterically...
En s'asseoyant sur la terrasse du Kelebek, on est temoin de petites "tranches de vie" turques. Je me souviendrai toujours du matin ou, de bonne heure en sirotant mon the, j'ai vu une petite madame surgir de sa maison troglodite, suivie par une douzaine de moutons tous plus gros qu'elle. Ils sont entres dans la maison voisine et je ne les ai plus revus de la semaine!
Ou la petite fille aux lulus qui pleurait tellement que ca en etait drole.
Ou les deux madames qui prenaient leur marche a la meme heure a tous les jours.
Voici un beau cliche' de Goreme, la nuit. On dirait des phantomes!
Here are some hotel guests snooooozing on the terrasse...tough life but someone's got to do it.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Ca sent la fın...
On est de retour a Istanbul et on quıtte demaın.
Il y a de nouvelles choses dans les archıves.
New posts ın the archıves.
Went last-minute shopping in a small bazaar near the hotel. Nice relaxing change from the Grand Bazaar.
Il y a de nouvelles choses dans les archıves.
New posts ın the archıves.
Went last-minute shopping in a small bazaar near the hotel. Nice relaxing change from the Grand Bazaar.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Lazy day boat trip
We spent the day on a 40 foot gullet, sailing between Kalkan and Patara and stopping to snorkel in crystalline waters.
Ultimate relaxation. Perfect way to end the trip. Only decisions were: which body part do I tan ? do I feel like taking a swim ? and when should I have my next beer?
The dot in the water is me!
Ultimate relaxation. Perfect way to end the trip. Only decisions were: which body part do I tan ? do I feel like taking a swim ? and when should I have my next beer?
The dot in the water is me!
The British Invasion
We have the sneaking suspicion that the Brits are planning to colonise Turkey.
And they're starting with Kalkan.
What was once a quiet fishing town, one of the oldest Lycian ports, is now a full-blown British resort, where all prices are in pounds (and Turkish Liras for the occasional Canadian tourist), where french fries (chips) are served with everything (including exquisitely grilled sea bas) and where talks have ensued in order to have the mosque converted into a church. Shameful and unfortunately quite representative of what seems to be a generalised problem on the Med coast.
En gros, a Kalkan, on ne se sent pas en Turquie. Ce n'est pas dutout laid mais c'est bourré de boutiques qui vendent à des prix ridicules et il n'existe plus grand facteur de rattachement avec le pays, à part les vieilles maisons qui sont demeurées sensiblement intactes et les jeunes serveurs ou vendeurs turcs qui vous parlent très poliment mais qui, clairement, ne doivent pas non plus se sentir tout a fait chez eux. Il semblerait que les Britanniques plus âgés vendent leurs maisons pour s'en acheter une à des prix qui sont encore très bas à Kalkan. Le phénomène s'est répandu à Kas, Bodrum, Marmaris et Fethiye (soit les grandes "villes" qui forment le sud-ouest de la côte de la méditerranée en Turquie).
De ce que nous avons compris en parlant à des turcs, la tension monte graduellement et ça risque de mal finir. On craint des attentats à la bombe et on se plaint du fait que le gouvernement réagit trop lentement.
Cela étant dit, il y a de nombreux turcs qui profitent grandement de ce marché très lucratif. La plupart des propriétaires de boutiques et de restos sont encore Turcs alors leur marge de profit est considérablement plus élevée a Kalkan puisqu'il peuvent se permettre de hausser les prix. Voila le dilemme. Tant et aussi longtemps que le lucre et la commercialité passeront avant l'héritage culturel et historique de la côte, le problème persistera.
As for Patara, it is too far away from everything to be completely overun but you never know what could happen if the right people were convinced to turn a blind eye. The first real estate office catering to foreigners opened in Patara this summer. That, in itself, is something to worry about a little.
And they're starting with Kalkan.
What was once a quiet fishing town, one of the oldest Lycian ports, is now a full-blown British resort, where all prices are in pounds (and Turkish Liras for the occasional Canadian tourist), where french fries (chips) are served with everything (including exquisitely grilled sea bas) and where talks have ensued in order to have the mosque converted into a church. Shameful and unfortunately quite representative of what seems to be a generalised problem on the Med coast.
En gros, a Kalkan, on ne se sent pas en Turquie. Ce n'est pas dutout laid mais c'est bourré de boutiques qui vendent à des prix ridicules et il n'existe plus grand facteur de rattachement avec le pays, à part les vieilles maisons qui sont demeurées sensiblement intactes et les jeunes serveurs ou vendeurs turcs qui vous parlent très poliment mais qui, clairement, ne doivent pas non plus se sentir tout a fait chez eux. Il semblerait que les Britanniques plus âgés vendent leurs maisons pour s'en acheter une à des prix qui sont encore très bas à Kalkan. Le phénomène s'est répandu à Kas, Bodrum, Marmaris et Fethiye (soit les grandes "villes" qui forment le sud-ouest de la côte de la méditerranée en Turquie).
De ce que nous avons compris en parlant à des turcs, la tension monte graduellement et ça risque de mal finir. On craint des attentats à la bombe et on se plaint du fait que le gouvernement réagit trop lentement.
Cela étant dit, il y a de nombreux turcs qui profitent grandement de ce marché très lucratif. La plupart des propriétaires de boutiques et de restos sont encore Turcs alors leur marge de profit est considérablement plus élevée a Kalkan puisqu'il peuvent se permettre de hausser les prix. Voila le dilemme. Tant et aussi longtemps que le lucre et la commercialité passeront avant l'héritage culturel et historique de la côte, le problème persistera.
As for Patara, it is too far away from everything to be completely overun but you never know what could happen if the right people were convinced to turn a blind eye. The first real estate office catering to foreigners opened in Patara this summer. That, in itself, is something to worry about a little.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Patara
We are ın Patara, apparently the most beautıful beach ın Turkey. I belıeve ıt.
17 km de plage. Sable blanc. Eau claıre. Et ça ce n'est rıen. Patara étaıt le plus grand port Lycıen et le vıllage et les envırons de la plage sont donc couverts de tombeaux et de ruınes lycıennes. On dıt qu'ıl reste encore 85% de Patara à découvrır. Pour cette raıson, ıl est ımpossıble de construıre de nouvelles bâtısses sur la plage et c'est ce quı luı donne tout son charme. Autre chose, c'est un des dernıers lıeux de ponte des tortues géantes Caretta alors la plage est également protégée par la WWF. Les prıx des restos et des hotels sont également fort raısonnables, ce quı est rare sur la côte turquoıse puısque la plupart des vılles sont lıttéralement bondées de tourıstes brıtannıques...
Comme ça faıt du bıen de VRAIMENT relaxer.
No photo of the beach. Didn't bring our cameras because of the wind.
Patara village is 3 km from the beach and consists of 20 or so pensions, restaurants and hotels. Definitely centered around tourism but quite quaint nonetheless. We're staying in a lovely hotel called the Patara Viewpoint and have met some great people. Beautiful pool with bar and a very comfy ottoman bar to relax before turning in. Only problem. The damn mosquitoes. They're everywhere and we have to sleep with mosquito nets.
17 km de plage. Sable blanc. Eau claıre. Et ça ce n'est rıen. Patara étaıt le plus grand port Lycıen et le vıllage et les envırons de la plage sont donc couverts de tombeaux et de ruınes lycıennes. On dıt qu'ıl reste encore 85% de Patara à découvrır. Pour cette raıson, ıl est ımpossıble de construıre de nouvelles bâtısses sur la plage et c'est ce quı luı donne tout son charme. Autre chose, c'est un des dernıers lıeux de ponte des tortues géantes Caretta alors la plage est également protégée par la WWF. Les prıx des restos et des hotels sont également fort raısonnables, ce quı est rare sur la côte turquoıse puısque la plupart des vılles sont lıttéralement bondées de tourıstes brıtannıques...
Comme ça faıt du bıen de VRAIMENT relaxer.
No photo of the beach. Didn't bring our cameras because of the wind.
Patara village is 3 km from the beach and consists of 20 or so pensions, restaurants and hotels. Definitely centered around tourism but quite quaint nonetheless. We're staying in a lovely hotel called the Patara Viewpoint and have met some great people. Beautiful pool with bar and a very comfy ottoman bar to relax before turning in. Only problem. The damn mosquitoes. They're everywhere and we have to sleep with mosquito nets.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Termessos
Coined as the Machu Pichu of Turkey, Termessos is a Pisidian fort-like settlement and its ruins date back to the 3rd century. Very little is known about the city and its people. Built 1500 meters up in the mountains, overlooking Antalya and the Mediterranean, it is, by far, the most dramatic location for any ancient city we've seen.
Il est rare de se sentir aussi en paix en visitant des ruines car elles sont generalement bondees de touristes. Comme Termessos est eloignee et que la marche pour s'y rendre est assez rude, peu de tours guides choisissent d'y aller. Quelle vue, quel silence, quelle paix. On se ferme les yeux et on s'imagine la, il y a 2000 ans.
Le site est aujourd'hui un parc national et on peut marcher partout (sauf dans les trous menant a la citerne...profonde d'une cinquantaine de pieds). On fait de belles decouvertes, comme des sarcophages et des colonnes.
You really can't tell by the theater photos, but the walls supporting it are basically built on cliffs and the drop is easily a few hundred feet.
Here's something from the web about the Pisidians: "Pisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor, located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. Pisidia was a wild, mountainous region, and one of the most difficult for outside powers to control. It was largely independent from both the Lydians or Persians. Alexander the Great had somewhat better luck, although the city of Termessus defied him, but the Hellenistic kings were never in full control. Cities in the region was among the last in western Anatolia to hellenize and to coin their own money."
Il est rare de se sentir aussi en paix en visitant des ruines car elles sont generalement bondees de touristes. Comme Termessos est eloignee et que la marche pour s'y rendre est assez rude, peu de tours guides choisissent d'y aller. Quelle vue, quel silence, quelle paix. On se ferme les yeux et on s'imagine la, il y a 2000 ans.
Le site est aujourd'hui un parc national et on peut marcher partout (sauf dans les trous menant a la citerne...profonde d'une cinquantaine de pieds). On fait de belles decouvertes, comme des sarcophages et des colonnes.
You really can't tell by the theater photos, but the walls supporting it are basically built on cliffs and the drop is easily a few hundred feet.
Here's something from the web about the Pisidians: "Pisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor, located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. Pisidia was a wild, mountainous region, and one of the most difficult for outside powers to control. It was largely independent from both the Lydians or Persians. Alexander the Great had somewhat better luck, although the city of Termessus defied him, but the Hellenistic kings were never in full control. Cities in the region was among the last in western Anatolia to hellenize and to coin their own money."
Friday, September 16, 2005
Cappadocian Village rugs...
In addition to being beautiful, Goreme, the village we are staying in in Cappadocia, is also a great place to buy carpets. Closer to Eastern Turkey, the prices are lower and the choice of authentic Anatolian village rugs is much much larger than Istanbul's, at more reasonnable prices.
Yesterday, we met a Kiwi carpet shop-owner through some people staying at our hotel. Her name is Ruth and she's been in Turkey for 15 years. She gave us a four hour course on carpets and taught us everything, from different origins and styles to weaving methods, age recognition, etc... The great thing was that, contrary to Istanbul, we could listen without feeling that there were any strings attached.
That doesn't mean she wasn't a good sales woman. She is infinitely smoooooother than Jamil in that she immediately saw through me and charged. She didn't refer to carpets as just "rugs made by village peasants" but as rugs made by BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMEN for their dowries...and focused on every small detail, interpreting what would have been the woman's state of mind when she spun the wool for it and chose specific symbols...went a little far at times but I still thought it was lovely. Luigi, on the other hand, didn't like her at all. Whatever the case, we left her store with a much better knowledge of carpets and, more importantly, with a good idea of what we were looking for. The problem is that her prices were quite steep.
Soooo, today we went to see Mehmet - part owner of the hotel we're staying in - in his carpet store. We prefer the Yahyali tribal rugs, ie. rugs made by villagers for everyday life. Anatolian women and girls weave certain motifs into these carpets which, throughout the years, have acquired very specific meanings. For instance, dowry rugs will often have earrings on them (which look more like menoras), which are a symbol of riches. Or, a married woman will sometimes weave human beings into her carpet to symbolise her desire for a child. The evil eye is quite present as well as both male and female fertility symbols.
The yahyali rugs have quite a balanced distribution of motifs and are much less floral than typical Persian or Iranian palace rugs. The weavers aren't following a diagram when making them and they can take up to a year to finish them, which often explains how the color of a certain motif can change throughout the rug depending on whether or not the weaver ran out of a certain dye. Still, they are very symetrical and the color differences are hard to notice. The dyes are natural and produced from such things as vine leaves, wild mint, walnut shell and buckthorn.
Mehmet a une belle selection de tapis et ses prix sont assez raisonnables. Nous sommes immédiatement tombés en amour avec deux tapis Yahyali qui sont agés entre 60 et 65 ans. Ils font environ deux mètres et demi par un mètre et demi.
On a réussi à enlever 35% du prix que nous offrait Mehmet, ce qui est bon pour Goreme, et nous en sommes maintenant les heureux propriétaires!!
Pas pire pour deux personnes qui n'avaient aucune intention d'acheter!
They're lovely and you're all invited over to see them, once we own a house in which they'll be able to fit. Too bad for Ruth, but that's the way it goes. I've uploaded a pic of one of them.
Yesterday, we met a Kiwi carpet shop-owner through some people staying at our hotel. Her name is Ruth and she's been in Turkey for 15 years. She gave us a four hour course on carpets and taught us everything, from different origins and styles to weaving methods, age recognition, etc... The great thing was that, contrary to Istanbul, we could listen without feeling that there were any strings attached.
That doesn't mean she wasn't a good sales woman. She is infinitely smoooooother than Jamil in that she immediately saw through me and charged. She didn't refer to carpets as just "rugs made by village peasants" but as rugs made by BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMEN for their dowries...and focused on every small detail, interpreting what would have been the woman's state of mind when she spun the wool for it and chose specific symbols...went a little far at times but I still thought it was lovely. Luigi, on the other hand, didn't like her at all. Whatever the case, we left her store with a much better knowledge of carpets and, more importantly, with a good idea of what we were looking for. The problem is that her prices were quite steep.
Soooo, today we went to see Mehmet - part owner of the hotel we're staying in - in his carpet store. We prefer the Yahyali tribal rugs, ie. rugs made by villagers for everyday life. Anatolian women and girls weave certain motifs into these carpets which, throughout the years, have acquired very specific meanings. For instance, dowry rugs will often have earrings on them (which look more like menoras), which are a symbol of riches. Or, a married woman will sometimes weave human beings into her carpet to symbolise her desire for a child. The evil eye is quite present as well as both male and female fertility symbols.
The yahyali rugs have quite a balanced distribution of motifs and are much less floral than typical Persian or Iranian palace rugs. The weavers aren't following a diagram when making them and they can take up to a year to finish them, which often explains how the color of a certain motif can change throughout the rug depending on whether or not the weaver ran out of a certain dye. Still, they are very symetrical and the color differences are hard to notice. The dyes are natural and produced from such things as vine leaves, wild mint, walnut shell and buckthorn.
Mehmet a une belle selection de tapis et ses prix sont assez raisonnables. Nous sommes immédiatement tombés en amour avec deux tapis Yahyali qui sont agés entre 60 et 65 ans. Ils font environ deux mètres et demi par un mètre et demi.
On a réussi à enlever 35% du prix que nous offrait Mehmet, ce qui est bon pour Goreme, et nous en sommes maintenant les heureux propriétaires!!
Pas pire pour deux personnes qui n'avaient aucune intention d'acheter!
They're lovely and you're all invited over to see them, once we own a house in which they'll be able to fit. Too bad for Ruth, but that's the way it goes. I've uploaded a pic of one of them.
Cappadocia
Sorry for being incommunicado. We're just having such a good time, we've forgotten about all of you.
Seriously, we're in Cappadocia, right smack in the center of Turkey. Have been here all week and we are completely enchanted. Internet connection is rare and very far from the hotel.
I've been writing in my journal and will backtrack to the last few days and send you some posts soon.
It's hard to describe Cappadocia. It's just absolutely breathtaking.
Imagine the canyons in Utah, throw in some pinkish rock formations made of volcanic soil in which millions of people built their homes from the 3rd century onwards and throw in hundreds of churches adorned with frescos painted with natural dyes and pigeon egg whites. Then, imagine undeground cities which are 100 meters deep, in which up to 4000 people would hide from the Romans (them damn Romans) with their cattle. The chlostrophobic in me only managed to make it to two levels down before panicking and running for air. Can't imagine what it must have been like then...
On dort dans une grotte qui a ete creusée au 10ieme siècle. Elle est sûrement plus confortable maintenant puisqu'elle contient un gigantesque lit, un magnifique divan, des meubles en bois et une salle de bain en marbre...meme une fenêtre qui donne sur la vallée et un beau balcon fleuri...
Ce matin, on s'est réveillés a 4 30 et on a fait un tour de montgolfière...absolument indescriptible. On a un sentiment d'apesanteur et on n'a pas dutout peur de la hauteur, ce qui est bcp dire considérant qu'on est debout dans un panier d'osier à 1500 pieds d'altitude, qu'on n'est pas attachés, qu'on est tassés comme des sardines et qu'on est complètement à la mercie d'un pilote turc qui ne parle que deux ou trois mots d'anglais. En plus, c'etait un vrai cowboy. Il descendait jusqu'au arbres fruitiers et ensuite remontait subitement pour se coller sur des rochers....wow.
Last night we were invited to a concert given in a 6th century cave church. They had covered the ground with carpets and lit tens of candles everywhere. We spent an hour in awe, listening to a Turkish musician who know lives in santa fe and who is apparently on of the best saz (turkish guitar) players in the world. Even the local wine tasted good in that setting!
If I had a dollar for everytime we've thanked our lucky stars, I'd be a millionaire.
On a même rencontré Pat Yale, une britannique qui rédige le guide Lonely Planet sur la Turquie depuis 15 ans. On a bcp appris sur la région et sur le pays.
Les gens sont utlra généreux, curieux, accueillants et nous laissent tranquilles. Ali, le proprio de l'hotel, nous a invités a souper sur sa terrasse un soir et c'était comme être autour de la table avec notre famille et nos amis.
Seriously, we're in Cappadocia, right smack in the center of Turkey. Have been here all week and we are completely enchanted. Internet connection is rare and very far from the hotel.
I've been writing in my journal and will backtrack to the last few days and send you some posts soon.
It's hard to describe Cappadocia. It's just absolutely breathtaking.
Imagine the canyons in Utah, throw in some pinkish rock formations made of volcanic soil in which millions of people built their homes from the 3rd century onwards and throw in hundreds of churches adorned with frescos painted with natural dyes and pigeon egg whites. Then, imagine undeground cities which are 100 meters deep, in which up to 4000 people would hide from the Romans (them damn Romans) with their cattle. The chlostrophobic in me only managed to make it to two levels down before panicking and running for air. Can't imagine what it must have been like then...
On dort dans une grotte qui a ete creusée au 10ieme siècle. Elle est sûrement plus confortable maintenant puisqu'elle contient un gigantesque lit, un magnifique divan, des meubles en bois et une salle de bain en marbre...meme une fenêtre qui donne sur la vallée et un beau balcon fleuri...
Ce matin, on s'est réveillés a 4 30 et on a fait un tour de montgolfière...absolument indescriptible. On a un sentiment d'apesanteur et on n'a pas dutout peur de la hauteur, ce qui est bcp dire considérant qu'on est debout dans un panier d'osier à 1500 pieds d'altitude, qu'on n'est pas attachés, qu'on est tassés comme des sardines et qu'on est complètement à la mercie d'un pilote turc qui ne parle que deux ou trois mots d'anglais. En plus, c'etait un vrai cowboy. Il descendait jusqu'au arbres fruitiers et ensuite remontait subitement pour se coller sur des rochers....wow.
Last night we were invited to a concert given in a 6th century cave church. They had covered the ground with carpets and lit tens of candles everywhere. We spent an hour in awe, listening to a Turkish musician who know lives in santa fe and who is apparently on of the best saz (turkish guitar) players in the world. Even the local wine tasted good in that setting!
If I had a dollar for everytime we've thanked our lucky stars, I'd be a millionaire.
On a même rencontré Pat Yale, une britannique qui rédige le guide Lonely Planet sur la Turquie depuis 15 ans. On a bcp appris sur la région et sur le pays.
Les gens sont utlra généreux, curieux, accueillants et nous laissent tranquilles. Ali, le proprio de l'hotel, nous a invités a souper sur sa terrasse un soir et c'était comme être autour de la table avec notre famille et nos amis.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Le Bosphore
Aujourd'hui, nous avons fait une croisière sur le Bosphore pour clore notre séjour à Istanbul. Et quelle aventure.
On a pris le même traversier qu'empruntent des millions d'Istanbouliotes à chaque jour et sommes montés - en zig zag de la cote europénnenne à la cote asiatique - jusqu'à l'embouchure de la mer noire. Quel spectacle.
Constatation: il y a beaucoup d'argent en Turquie. Ou, plutot, certaines personnes ont beaucoup d'argent en Turquie. Les palais qui défilent les uns après les autres sont littéralement à couper le souffle.
Il y a quelquechose d'assez exhaltant que de voguer sur une des surfaces d'eau les plus convoitées de l'histoire de l'humanité.
Et la-bas, au loin, la mer noire!
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Egyptian Spice Bazaar
The colors, the smells, the noise. It's complete mayhem, like the Grand Bazaar, but not as confusing because it's got one main hallway and the stores are on either side. Tonnes of goodies to be tasted. Turkish delight central.
Nice bird and flower market right outside. You can get buy yourself a puppy and a few leeches for your sores.
We had our fortunes told by an old man's rabbit. Don't know the fortune because it was given to us in Turkish but we've been craving carrots ever since...
Further down is a flea market where Istanbulites shop. Less tourists there. We had the best chicken kebap sandwich of our trip.
Le Grand Bazaar ou "Trop c'est comme pas assez"
Vous avez dit bazaar ??
Croyez-moi, vous n'avez jamais vu un bazaar si vous n'êtes pas allés au Grand Bazaar d'Istanbul.
Il n'est pas grand. Il est IMMENSE. Appelons-le plutôt l'IMMENSE bazaar. Le plus immense bazaar couvert au monde, d'ailleurs.
Nous nous y sommes promenés la bouche grande ouverte pendant presque trois heures et en sommes resortis étourdis et aussi un peu frustrés de ne pas avoir pu dépenser un seul sou! Il faut vraiment être prêt à négocier et nous ne l'étions pas...
Plus de 3000 boutiques divisées en 5 grosses categories: tapis (PAS ACHETABLES), cuir, bijoux, lampes et meubles, vêtements et accessoires. En fait, on trouve à peu près la mme chose dans chaque boutique, ^à quelques exceptions près. C'est comme si l'immense Bazaar était constitué de 15 boutiques qui se sont reproduites. Les prix sont tres élevés et on est sensé négocier à la baisse. C'est crevant et les vendeurs vous harcelent constamment.
On a su par après que même les istanbouliotes se font avoir à l'IMMENSE bazaar. Les loyers sont apparemment très élevés et la marche est devenu tellement saturé que les vendeurs feraient à peu près n'importe quoi (sauf baisser leurs prix) pour vous avoir.
Bref, une expérience à vivre mais y aller la tête reposée et ne pas trop s'y éterniser...belles photos à faire par ailleurs!
Croyez-moi, vous n'avez jamais vu un bazaar si vous n'êtes pas allés au Grand Bazaar d'Istanbul.
Il n'est pas grand. Il est IMMENSE. Appelons-le plutôt l'IMMENSE bazaar. Le plus immense bazaar couvert au monde, d'ailleurs.
Nous nous y sommes promenés la bouche grande ouverte pendant presque trois heures et en sommes resortis étourdis et aussi un peu frustrés de ne pas avoir pu dépenser un seul sou! Il faut vraiment être prêt à négocier et nous ne l'étions pas...
Plus de 3000 boutiques divisées en 5 grosses categories: tapis (PAS ACHETABLES), cuir, bijoux, lampes et meubles, vêtements et accessoires. En fait, on trouve à peu près la mme chose dans chaque boutique, ^à quelques exceptions près. C'est comme si l'immense Bazaar était constitué de 15 boutiques qui se sont reproduites. Les prix sont tres élevés et on est sensé négocier à la baisse. C'est crevant et les vendeurs vous harcelent constamment.
On a su par après que même les istanbouliotes se font avoir à l'IMMENSE bazaar. Les loyers sont apparemment très élevés et la marche est devenu tellement saturé que les vendeurs feraient à peu près n'importe quoi (sauf baisser leurs prix) pour vous avoir.
Bref, une expérience à vivre mais y aller la tête reposée et ne pas trop s'y éterniser...belles photos à faire par ailleurs!
Jamıl
Jamıl, our carpet salesman, contınues to torment us.
Last evenıng, although we trıed to avoıd hım as best we could whıle returnıng from the hotel, he ımmedıately spotted us and we were doomed. Jamıl has an advantage over other carpet salesmen ın that he's quıte cute and that he never uses the words "you want to", "buy" and "carpet" ın the same sentence. Jamıl ıs smoooooooth.
Luıgı's theory ıs that he's on a four day plan to sell us a carpet. Anyway, he fınally managed to get us ınto hıs store for tea. Before we knew ıt, the fancy carpet-sellıng lıghts were lıt, we were sıttıng on some pıllows wıth tea cups ın our hands and Jamıl had a phrase book of Canadıan sayıngs that JUST SO HAPPENED to be lyıng around. Jamıl ıs not so smooooooth.
Anyway, he gave us some basıcs but mostly threw carpets around (he called them flyıng carpets) the way some Italıans flıp pızzas in touristy pizzerias. And then, there was a knock on the door and thıs burly, beer-smellıng man strangely resemblıng Santa Claus came ınto the store. He was from Ireland, an "old" frıend of Jamıl's, and had bought hıs fırst carpets from hım sıx or seven years ago. He then began to praıse Jamıl, dıstınguıshıng hım from the "typıcal" carpet salesman and sympathısıng wıth us as we gently explaıned to him that we dıdn't know the market and that we felt ınsecure spendıng 400 or 500 euros on somethıng out of what we consıdered to be blınd faıth. He also just happened to come ınto Jamıl's about half an hour after we had arrıved. Jamıl had gotten up to fetch us the tea and we fıgure he gave Santa a rıng. Whatever the case, we managed to get out of there wıthout a carpet, promısıng Jamıl that we would study the prıces durıng our trıp and return to hım before our fınal departure. Sınce then, we have been mappıng out alternate routes to our hotel which don't involve passing right by Jamil's store...
Last evenıng, although we trıed to avoıd hım as best we could whıle returnıng from the hotel, he ımmedıately spotted us and we were doomed. Jamıl has an advantage over other carpet salesmen ın that he's quıte cute and that he never uses the words "you want to", "buy" and "carpet" ın the same sentence. Jamıl ıs smoooooooth.
Luıgı's theory ıs that he's on a four day plan to sell us a carpet. Anyway, he fınally managed to get us ınto hıs store for tea. Before we knew ıt, the fancy carpet-sellıng lıghts were lıt, we were sıttıng on some pıllows wıth tea cups ın our hands and Jamıl had a phrase book of Canadıan sayıngs that JUST SO HAPPENED to be lyıng around. Jamıl ıs not so smooooooth.
Anyway, he gave us some basıcs but mostly threw carpets around (he called them flyıng carpets) the way some Italıans flıp pızzas in touristy pizzerias. And then, there was a knock on the door and thıs burly, beer-smellıng man strangely resemblıng Santa Claus came ınto the store. He was from Ireland, an "old" frıend of Jamıl's, and had bought hıs fırst carpets from hım sıx or seven years ago. He then began to praıse Jamıl, dıstınguıshıng hım from the "typıcal" carpet salesman and sympathısıng wıth us as we gently explaıned to him that we dıdn't know the market and that we felt ınsecure spendıng 400 or 500 euros on somethıng out of what we consıdered to be blınd faıth. He also just happened to come ınto Jamıl's about half an hour after we had arrıved. Jamıl had gotten up to fetch us the tea and we fıgure he gave Santa a rıng. Whatever the case, we managed to get out of there wıthout a carpet, promısıng Jamıl that we would study the prıces durıng our trıp and return to hım before our fınal departure. Sınce then, we have been mappıng out alternate routes to our hotel which don't involve passing right by Jamil's store...
Friday, September 09, 2005
Le palais de Topkapi
En tout cas, s'il fallait que j'habite dans un palais, Topkapi remplirait convenablement mes besoins...
Construit en 1453 après que Sultan Mehmet le conquérant pris Istanbul, le Palais de Topkapi a servi de demeure aux sultans pendant au moins quatre siècles.
C'est enorme et on n'en a accès qu'a une infime partie.
Magnifiques jardins et fontaines, vue incroyable d'Istanbul, du Bosphore et des îles des princes, les lieux sont impeccablement préservés et entretenus.
On a visité le trésor, où se trouve la plus grosse émeraude du monde ainsi que le fameux poignard de Topkapi incrusté d'émeraudes (symbole du palais) et de nombreux objets précieux qui ont appartenu aux sultans.
Ce qui m'a le plus impressionné: les reliquaires du crâne et du bras de Saint-Jean-Baptiste. De ce que j'ai pu lire sur l'internet, ils étaient détenus à l'origine par les byzantins et ils sont tombés dans les mains ottomanes après la conquête de la ville.
The Harem at Topkapi Palace
We visited the sultan's harem (the residence of his wives, concubines and children). He and his sons (the princes) were the only men allowed inside (well, unless you call his poor misguided eunuchs men...but I digress) (oh, and a few doctors in case his precious concubines were to fall ill...).
So this was the pecking order...1 being the most important and 8, the least.
1- the sultan (what a surprise!)
2- the Valide Sultan: known as the Queen mother, her quarters are centrally located to control the rest of the harm. She is the governess, so to speak. The queen Bee. Call her what you like really but she's apparently the one wearing the pants. Maybe bc the sultan wasn't often wearing his. But, again, I digress.
3- the Kadin Efendis : the sultan's wives (between 4 and 8).
They have their own hierarchy, from the First Woman (see below), to the Second Woman and so on and so forth...
The Kafin Efendi had their private apartments and concubines. When their sons were old enough to become governors, they would follow him to wherever he went.
Sultan's wives were reportedly the nastiest bunch of the harem because they all hated each other. They all wanted their own sons to become sultans and the eunuchs often had to break up their messy cat fights (I made that up, but I'm sure it happened once or twice).
4- the favorites and the odalisks:
The women who spent even one night with the sultan became Privy Odalisks and were given a private apartment and concubines to serve them. If they bore a child from the sultan, they became a Kadin Efendi (a sultan's wife).
If a sultan's first Privy odalisk had a son, she then became the First Woman and, then, usually became the Queen Bee, ie. Valide Sultan.
6 - the Haznedars and Ustas: these were the supervisors, or experienced concubines.
They were responsible for the education of the new concubines.
7 - the Kalfas: assistants to the supervisors.
8 - the concubines: they were chosen from minority groups or were given as gifts to the sultans by governors and other head honchos.
They were given a medical examination when they arrived and then, according to their beauty and talents (no comment), they were separated into groups. Each one was then educated differently. The more beautiful ones were assigned to the services of the sultan and the rest were trained to serve in different services of the Harem.
The number of concubines varied with each sultan. Although there weren't many to begin with, the numbers apparently went up to 1200 at one time but there were usually between 400 and 500.
After 9 years of service, the high-ranking concubines (Haznedars and Kalfas) were free to leave the palace or ask the sultan's permission to get married.
As for the other concubines, they received decent salaries at the harem and, when they left, were married to high-ranking civil servants. If a sultan didn't like a concubine, he could marry her off or have her disposed of.
I keep thinking of Donald Trump. Again, digression. Sorry.
Anyhoo, when a sultan died or was dethroned, his mother, wives, sisters and daughters were moved to the Old Palace. A Kafin Efendi could return to the palace only if her son became the sultan. She then became the Valide Sultan.
So, there it is. Needless to say, my sexy preconceived ideas of what a harem was were quickly tossed out the window.
Structurally speaking, the harem is beautiful.
The Golden Horn
We went out tonight in Beyoglu (or Taksim), on the other side of the Golden Horn, where young Istanbulites play, eat, drink and shop. Awesome.
The Bosphorus splits Istanbul into two sides, one Asian and the other European, whereas the Golden Horn, which spawns from the Bosphorus, separates Istanbul's European side into two. Confusing but you get a hang of it pretty quick.
Anyway, we walked across the Galata Bridge (over the Golden Horn) and were immediately swept into the REAL Istanbul, not the one we're fed in the old quarters of Sultanhamet. People fishing off the Bridge and selling their catches, men holding baskets on their heads filled with pastries or fruit, smells, sights & sounds I can't quite describe.
Istanbul is bustling but, despite its 12 million inhabitants, it's still just a large village in many respects. Let's hope it stays that way.
The Bosphorus splits Istanbul into two sides, one Asian and the other European, whereas the Golden Horn, which spawns from the Bosphorus, separates Istanbul's European side into two. Confusing but you get a hang of it pretty quick.
Anyway, we walked across the Galata Bridge (over the Golden Horn) and were immediately swept into the REAL Istanbul, not the one we're fed in the old quarters of Sultanhamet. People fishing off the Bridge and selling their catches, men holding baskets on their heads filled with pastries or fruit, smells, sights & sounds I can't quite describe.
Istanbul is bustling but, despite its 12 million inhabitants, it's still just a large village in many respects. Let's hope it stays that way.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Istanbul
Mehraba!
Quoi dire!
Les turcs sont parmi les gens les plus sympathiques que nous avons jamais rencontres!
Istanbul est magique. Pour l'instant, nous n'avons vu que la vieille partie. Entre autre, la Mosquee bleue et la Sainte Sophie. Epoustoufflantes toutes les deux.
Il ne fait pas trop chaud (30) , l'air est propre mais c'est quand-meme assez humide.
Notre hotel est adorable est les gens qui y travaillent ultra sympathiques et genereux. On dejeune sur une terrasse sur le toit avec une belle vue du Bosphore et de la Mosquee bleue de l'autre cote.
Demain, nous irons visiter un Harem. Luigi est tres excite'.
====
This morning, we had tea in a bazaar and Jamil, a carpet salesman, warned us about Turkish carpet salesmen, and then offered to sell us a carpet! He's nice though and we'll meet up with him tomorrow morning for a game of backgamon (sp) and a cup of tea.
Apparently, the supreme insult is to ask for pricing, to start bargaining and to walk away with nothing. Turks will remember you, even if you come back three weeks later. You bargain it, you buy it!
We also met Aziz, a Turk who has lived most of his life in Germany and he somehow managed to strike up a conversation with us and walk us directly into his leather factory, on the third floor of a building not far from where we were. We sniffed around and left and there were no hard feelings.
When looking at carpets, jewelry or anything really, you're not supposed to look excited. You are to act nonchalant and disinterested. This has obviously proven to be quite difficult for me...
Other than that, Turks are very helpful and always willing to answer your questions. They'll even walk up to you if you look confused and ask you if there's anything they can do to make you feel better. Usually they offer tea!
Need directions ? They'll show you EXACTLY where it is, and if they don't know, they're so embarrassed not to be able to help that they'll make it up.
Tomorrow morning, a harem. Then, who knows!
Allaha ismarladik!
La Citerne Basilique
Si vous avez vu Bons Baisers de Russie, vous vous souviendrez de la scène ou James Bond (joué par Sean Connery) se promène en barque au beau milieu d'une forêt de colonnes...Cette scène a été filmée dans la Citerne Basilique, que nous avons visitée aujourd'hui.
On n'avait pas notre trépied mais Luigi a improvisé avec les ballustrades. Très beau resultat, quant è moi!
Beau vestige de l'empire Byzantin, la citerne a été construite par l'empereur Justinien au 6ième siècle et elle est creusée 65 mètres sous terre. Elle est longue de 143 mètres et peut contenir 80 000 mètres cube d'eau. On peut se promener en plein milieu des colonnades grêce a des petits passages surelevés. Il y a encore un ou deux pieds d'eau dans la citerne et des milliers de poissons rouges y nagent.
It's quite impressive and also a little creepy, to tell you the truth...Harbinger of doom that I am, I couldn't stop thinking of the North Anatolian fault line located 50 miles out of Istanbul, and felt as though I were walking through a giant tomb...
BUT, the place is also quite lovely and, in the end, it was a fantastic experience and the humidity and my allergies, rather than my fear of earthquakes, got the best of me !
On n'avait pas notre trépied mais Luigi a improvisé avec les ballustrades. Très beau resultat, quant è moi!
Beau vestige de l'empire Byzantin, la citerne a été construite par l'empereur Justinien au 6ième siècle et elle est creusée 65 mètres sous terre. Elle est longue de 143 mètres et peut contenir 80 000 mètres cube d'eau. On peut se promener en plein milieu des colonnades grêce a des petits passages surelevés. Il y a encore un ou deux pieds d'eau dans la citerne et des milliers de poissons rouges y nagent.
It's quite impressive and also a little creepy, to tell you the truth...Harbinger of doom that I am, I couldn't stop thinking of the North Anatolian fault line located 50 miles out of Istanbul, and felt as though I were walking through a giant tomb...
BUT, the place is also quite lovely and, in the end, it was a fantastic experience and the humidity and my allergies, rather than my fear of earthquakes, got the best of me !
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