Safranbolu

Tuesday, October 5th, we headed out of Istanbul, driving boldly through the old town, then the new town (TomTom didn't want us to miss anything), then high across the Bosphorus Bridge and into Asiatic Istanbul, the suburbs of which went on for miles. Our route took us along the Sea of Marmara a good ways--much industry of every size, to the port/refinery city of Izmit, then past a big steel mill town (Bolu), and finally to a rest area just past Gerede, where we spent the night. There was much traffic coming and going--the rest stop had 2 or 3 restaurants, gas stations, souvenir shops, even a small "outlet" mall. (On the outskirts of Asiatic Istanbul we had stopped for provisioning at the huge ViaPort Outlet Mall, which indeed was quite similar to the outlet malls one sees in the US). Anyhow, the next morning we headed north to Safranbolu, a small city now well known for its renovated 18th and 19th century Ottoman houses. Many have been converted to museums, pensions, restaurants, etc. In any case, because of its preservation/renovation, Safranbolu is one of Turkey's many World Heritage Sites.

Sanfranbolu also has a 17th century caravansary, a caravan 
stop along the Silk Road, the Cinci Han

The traders stayed in the upstairs rooms, the animals downstairs; of course, now it's 
all a hotel and restaurant, the hotel rooms apparently restored to original style; 
Vicki by the fountain

The Ottoman house we visited, restored to 1870s or so, was the Kaymakamlar 
Muze Evi; now a museum

Vicki by one of the revolving cupboards, whereby the women 
could serve the men without compromising their (the women's)

"modesty"

The men partying on

The women not compromising their modesty

Meanwhile, this guy is demonstrating the indoor  plumbing, 
hot bath, etc., available in all the living quarters

On another floor--these houses were multi-generational-- the younger family 
gathers

The young mother and child

She gets the Dallas-style walk-in closet

After the Kaymakamlar, we just walked around what turned out to be a very lively 
and only slightly touristy place; this guy is making his own marbled paper ("only 
slightly touristy" = in addition to all the hotels, pensions,restaurants, cafes, souvenir 
and trinket and rug shops, there are also many ordinary cafes, barber shops, 
bakeries, pharmacies, groceries, and other stores that residents use) 

Buying some really fresh bread

Ditto

Scrabble?

Local baths, about the same vintage as the caravansary

Istanbul Outtakes

From a side street in Sultanahmet, the Sea of Marmara, a sea

of  ships; the traffic through the Bosphorus, of every size,

was incredible

Bust with glasses, something new for me...

T-shirts at the Grand Bazaar

Turkish disability ramps always show the degree of incline

Raspberry/chocolate orgy: first a layer of raspberry and

cream, then chocolate mousse, then gingerbread, all in an

edible chocolate cup; at a patisserie on the main drag in

Sultanahmet; Turks definitely have sweet teeth

Mannquins, on the docks by fashionable

houses on the Bosphorus

On the seawall in Sultanahmet, some enterprising soul

has set up a BB gun target range; 15 shots, 5 YTL

The Bosphorus was jellyfish city: this one (you can't see

the tentacles) was at least three feet long and swimming

briskly against the current

Shippenglow

A last view of our most unusual "campground" in Istanbul

And a last view, from the Bosphorus Bridge, of the old city,

Hagia Sofia, flanked by the Blue Mosque and Topkapi

Palace

I really enjoyed Istanbul--such a comfortable combination of the familiar and the exotic--ever interesting and challenging. And then there was the food. I could have stayed another week, just wandering the markets, but Vicki kept reminding me there was much more of Turkey to see.

Cats of Istanbul

Cats are as prevalent in Istanbul as dogs are in Romania; but not so threatening nor disgusting...

How many cats, world-wide, enjoy the comfort of Turkish

ruggery?

At Anadolu Kavagi, the owner of one of the restaurants fed

this kitty sardines or somesuch as a restauteurial attention-

getter; lucky kitty

How feral cats survive: people feed them; here someone has

dumped a load of ribs, which the cats are gratefully (?!)

cleaning

Kitler (Google it)

Obligatory black cat: I believe that black cats must be some

sort of genetic default

There is also some sort of feline cultural archetype about
boxes and other containers

Feline oration

Dogs are so stupid...

Grizzled veteran

Rustem Pasa

If the Blue Mosque is Istanbul's Notre Dame, then Rustem Pasa is its St. Chappelle. So the guide books say. I wonder whether the writers have been to Paris. Anyhow, we found Rustem Pasa and enjoyed a look inside.

Porch; this small mosque is so hemmed in (OK, it's

a city of 15-17 million, been around for a while), it's difficult

to find, much less photograph

Time, date, temperaure, next prayer, and quote from the

Koran, on the porch at Rustem Pasa; next prayer time

extremely important for infidel tourists

Rustem Pasa interior

Carpet covering the floor of this small mosque, clearly

delineating individual worshippers' spaces

c

Pulpit, the highest part never preached from,

in deference to the Prophet

But the main attraction of Rustem Pasa is its tiles

Ditto

Ditto, again

And the dome

Istanbul Restaurant Recommendation

Monday we thought we'd finish off Istanbul by seeing the Mosque of Suleiman the Great and the Rustem Pasa Mosque. (We'll save the whirling dervishes for next time; or maybe the time after that). We knew that the Suleiman Mosque was closed for renovation in 2010, but due to re-open for Ramadan (last month). We decided to take our chances--really, everything in this town is worth looking at--rode the wobbly train from Cankurturan to Eminonu again and then walked, through ever more interesting markets and shop districts (including another stop at the Spice Market for those honey-soaked doughnut-holes and more coffee), up to the Suleiman. Indeed, it was still closed, and even the mausoleums were closed on Monday (despite what the guide book said). But we found and had our best restaurant experience yet in Turkey, at a place called...

Well, it's called Daruzziyafe...

Once the mosque's soup kitchen, it's a pretty neat
restaurant/cultural center now, approaching five centuries
later; its purpose, preserving Turkish/Ottoman culinary
traditions 

In nice weather, you can eat on the courtyard

There's Vicki, on the left, under the ancient plane tree

Or in inclmement weather, inside; the place

was designed by Sinan the Architect, who

also did the mosque, and scores of other

incredible projects in the mid-16th century 

The plane tree we sat next to; completely

hollowed-out, yet still alive

Planted in 1550; we saw many more of these, this girth,

similarly hollow, at Topkapi

Okay, the meal: we shared a yogurt/carrot/cucumber salad,

the chef's plate, which included about every kind of lamb,

chicken and beef, and dolma, and rice, and their interesting

meatballs; and the plum drink; I am no judge of such things,

but it tasted great and, to my dull wit, had the ring of

authenticity

They say you should always save something for "next

time"; for me, it will be the mosque of Suleiman the Great;

I wish it had been this time