First let me post some pictures of the previous days.
Blue Mosque tour day
The Bosphorus opening up to the Black Sea behind the bridge.
Trying sheesha (hookah) on a rooftop with Seif, me, Josh, Emma and Anize (left to right)
Day 4 (Tuesday the 16th of June):
I woke up leisurely, half intending to see some sights, I only had Princes Island, Taksim Square proper, and a few areas to walk around in (just to see and feel more of Istanbul - I had accomplished my original goals). I messaged a few of the group and saw what they were up to. Josh Anize and Emma were heading to the Bazaar for gifts - I didn't feel like heading back there and James was near by so I recommended lunch in Taksim. James and I met and headed towards Taksim, I had done some research earlier on restaurants I wanted to try in the area. The following picture is from the restaurant with James...
It was really just a nice lunch on top of the Marmar hotel at a restaurant called Raika. The restaurant was relatively empty and had just opened at noon, we were some of the first guests with the ability to choose any seat in the restaurant. The view was incredible, the picture looks great but imagine the entire floor with glass walls like the picture, it was great. We enjoyed our lunch (splitting a beef fillet and appetizer). The beef fillet was around $20 and the champagne was $11 (I wanted a mimosa but they didn't have orange juice for some reason). The restaurant provided a great atmosphere for good conversation, it just felt nice to sit and chat up there. Thanks Raika for a great experience.
We continued the conversation on the walk back to the hostel so that James could grab the rest of his stuff before he flew out - he also had an apartment (I'm not the only one that does this! and Josh ended up staying at a friends apartment as well). James is from San Jose, just a 10 minute drive from my cousin Sophies, I'm pretty sure we will see each other again.
Once I returned to the hostel I attempted to start writing the blog on my phone but got a message from a fellow contiki traveler explaining she had arrived in Istanbul and would like to meet up (I had posted I would show people around that were coming into Istanbul early as I had acquired a lot of knowledge from Deniz the local). I postponed writing the blog and met up with Reannon from Australia, a smart, driven woman working in corporate retail and also had a degree (everyone had a degree it seemed). I took her back to the places we had gone the night prior and we enjoyed a great dinner at a local spot. We ordered things I had the night prior - Turkish Ravioli with yogurt, Chicken and mushroom casserole with cheese on top (I did not eat the mushrooms), and a five plate taster for two - the bill coming to $20 - amazing. The food was just as good as I remembered it - so delicious. The waiting staff didn't speak english, we had to write our selections down in turkish from the menu (which was in both english and turkish). The name of the restaurant was "Tavan Arasi" and was in the same general area as everything the hostel went to off Istiklal Caddesi (the main walking road with millions of people each day walking on it) (see picture below of both the restaurant and street):
the restaurant is difficult to find, is on the top floor and has a small view / open wall with a small breeze. cozy and simple - great food. GREAT bread / olive oil.
Istiklal Caddesi
I took Reannon to Balkon, the rooftop bar I arm wrestled at (see picture below) and the place we smoked sheesha at. Sheesha doesn't taste like smoke, and I don't like smoking but it was fun and I don't think I will do it many times in the future.
Seif from egypt, Mel from Adelaide, Deniz the local and Josh from Germany, with Istanbul in the background looking south from taksim over the golden horn to where the mosques/bazaar/palace are.
Day 5:
I had been meaning to go to princes island the entire time... I was waiting for Reannon because she was interested and I thought it would be a good idea, but I got news from work that I needed to take a drug test before I could return. I spent day 5 talking to numerous people trying to accomplish this - it was rather frustrating the language barrier was definitely difficult. I got a 5panel drug test but they couldn't do the second half (and more expensive) steroid testing. Reannon went with to the drug testing facility and we got to see a more business side of Istanbul near Profilo shopping center. We ran into some english speaking people that helped us on the metro and had a nice little journey.
After the drug test we made our way back to the apartment then the Erbil hotel where Reannon was staying and I checked in for the Contiki tour. We met her roommate (mine was not there yet) and we went to the number one trip advisor voted restaurant just a few blocks away from the hotel called Old Ottoman. Rochelle, Reannon, and I had white wine and two of their top dishes. WOW was it good. another restaurant added to the top of the top... Different, but just as good as Ireland (Serendipity) and Berlin (Schweissen(sp?)). It was an eggplant / almost hamburger tasting dish... that's how I knew it was good I don't even eat eggplant yet I was devouring it because it was so good. The service was fantastic, and they seemed unimpressed with the fact that we found them on trip advisor - they were legitimately great, they didn't care about rankings it seemed, which added to the authenticity. All the dishes were clearly home made and the presentation was unique as well. Reannon took a pic - I am trying to get it as I type. (EDIT: Got it!)
Once we were done with dinner we went back to the hotel to meet everyone else in the Contiki and our tour guide for our 7pm meeting and dinner. We had 38 people, and it seemed 30 women or more, it was really quite opposite of my work which is all men and while it seems great I would have appreciated a couple more guys this was really overly one sided. We went through the introduction and information of the tour - I liked our guide, a nice guy named Ahmet from Turkey. I tried warning people of the scam that happened to the hostel guys but to no avail it seems Luke had already been scammed in the first day he was here. The guide said this is normal but I've never seen so many people get scammed, that was four of the few people I had met... a rather large number. In case I haven't written about the scam it is where an english speaking person pretends to be a tourist and buys a beer for the traveler (all men so far) - even takes them around and shows them sites. Then he asks for a beer in return and women come out and they charge hundreds of dollars and lock the door. I was not approached... I like to think it's because I don't look like an easy target - I don't think I would want to talk to anyone anyway, but maybe I just got lucky, who knows.
Dinner was amazing, simple rice and beef dish with soup appetizer. All of it was really good - the food has just been amazing here and for the most part really really cheap. They say the prices have doubled, so I wish I could have been here before... I guess the grass is always greener in some other time or place, I am still happy and appreciate what I experienced here. Thank you istanbul.
After dinner a group of 11 of us went out, I wanted to show them Istiklal Caddesi and the rooftop bar I loved so much. We ended up smoking sheesha again because Reannon was hooked, I didn't think I would but I ended up doing it for a third night in a row. It is just fun, I don't know what it is about it, we chit chatted and split up into two taxis afterwards, I walked back to my apartment alone, and felt safe - finishing the previous blog (Israel > Istanbul 0, 1, 2, 3) and falling asleep around 4am.
I got my results for the 5panel sometime during the day and emailed my work hoping to get an exception on the steroid test. It seems there was no exception. I worked with my host and tried to arrange a urine shipment or steroid test through colleges/hospitals/labs. No dice.
Day 6 (18 June 2015, Thursday):
I spent the morning trying to find a drug testing facility in Athens, but having difficulty. At least athens speaks english more fluently and commonly... The last option is cutting my vacation short and instead of spending time on greek islands, getting sent to Uganda for a company contracted testing facility. I emailed them just now saying I think that is the option we have to pursue. I guess I wanted to see Uganda anyway, however my old boss from A&F just moved to Kenya so I am a little sad I won't have a friend there.
Ok, the blog is finally up to date... Istanbul has been just so easy to visit, so cheap, so fun, and the people here have been great. What a great experience. I'm starving, and going to head to the restaurant we ate at yesterday for the same dish... Can't wait.
Hoping to meet up with my old boss from Baghdad who works at the embassy here in Turkey for dinner or a quick chat, then meeting the Contiki group to watch some belly dancing at dinner again. We leave for troy in the morning I think, not sure. But we leave for somewhere in the morning.
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