Istanbul
The rule of five, HAVABUS, and the art of the haggle
We arrived in Istanbul - the city where the east meets the west - in a warm spring night. A 40 min HAVABUS ride (for only 14 Turkish lira, an equivalent of 3 US dollars) got us from the airport to the InterContinental Hotel downtown. We quickly settled in and headed out to meet Julia’s childhood friend from Belarus, whom she hasn’t seen for almost 15 years. Together we went to a nice and relaxing cafe, where we had our first taste of a traditional turkish chai served in small hourglass cups and of quince for dessert.
Awakened by a beautiful morning prayer coming from the nearby mosque, we started our second day in Istanbul with a full all-inclusive breakfast at Intercontinental. After, we went to explore the historic sights of this amazing city. Walking through the city was like going back in time with its narrow streets, mosques, and classic bazaars. This is where both the art of the haggle and rule of 5 came in handy, as we tried partaking in a bartering game with the vendors of the Grand Bazaar. The vendors try to get you in their stores, but you don’t have to buy anything, just politely decline their invitation. If you do want something, keep in mind the rule of five, which not only represents the number of times Turks have their chai breaks each day, but also represents the lira-to-dollar conversion rate. Even though the rate is actually higher, we used the number of five because it was easier to convert prices to dollars on the fly.
While near the Grand Bazaar, we made sure to check out the Blue Mosque (free of charge), Hagia Sophia (approximately $12), the Topkapi Palace Museum ($12), underground canals (currently being renovated), and spice markets. From there, we took a local ferry back to our hotel only to realize that we went the wrong way across the Bosporus canal. All in all, it ended up being a nice surprise because I got to set foot in a new continent “Asia” for the first time. We grabbed a quick bite of kumpir (loaded potato), as a nice treat to end a day of exploration.
The remainder of our time in Istanbul was spent navigating the charming neighborhood near the Italian tower and enjoying local baklava, as recommended by our friend. Before we left the city, we made sure to bathe in relaxing turkish hammam. After that, we waved goodbye to our friend and rode off on another HAVABUS to the airport.
Kusadasi
Kusadasi dramatically differed from Istanbul with its slower pace, breathtaking nature views, and yachts. In our first car rental of the trip (automatic, of course), we chose to avoid highways, which would take us straight to our hotel, and instead took the back way windy roads. We were astonished at the beauty and majesty of the turkish scenery. An hour later, we checked into the Hilton Doubletree Hotel. Our day was completed by a walk along the coastline and a mesmerizing sunset over the Aegean Sea with our new friend at the Ketchup bar looking out on the harbor.
Ephesus
“Letter of Paul to the Ephesians”
I had heard this saying on many Sunday mornings while growing up. At the time, I didn’t know what this really meant, until this trip.
We got up early to beat the crowds at the famous archaeological site known as Ephesus. To save on the tour guide fees, we downloaded a free Rick Steves’ guide app on our phones. It helped us learn the history of the site and understand the meaning of the ruins. Visiting Ephesian amphitheater and library (the 3rd largest of its time), we kept thinking to ourselves that this site can rival ancient ruins of Italy and Greece. And it dawned upon us that the Ephesians were the people from this once bustling city.
Afterward, we went to the Meryrm Ana El “House of the virgin Mary” a place where Mother Mary spent the end of her life under the watch of Saint John. It was a powerful place. Many leave their prayers written on small pieces of paper near her sanctuary. So did we.
From the peak, we saw a castle in the nearby town of Selcuk and decided to check it out. On our way, we stumbled upon the ancient site of St. John’s cathedral. While it was mostly in ruins, you could still make out the outline of the church, which allowed you to imagine the rising arches, the isles, and the altar. After that, I climbed the remnants of once formidable castle, while Julia was watching a turtle, which unlike other turtles, was pretty fast. Perhaps, it was eager to get out of the hot sun. All of these great sites can be seen for under ($23 per person).
To wrap up our day, we tried the local cuisine at Sirince a small mountainous village, that used to be called Ugly but now is called Pretty, to allure tourists. As we later learned, Nostradamus predicted that all will perish in 2012 but the dwellers of this small village. So, on the eve of 2012, this village attracted so many people wishing to survive that ironically it barely survived itself! Those people must have partied so hard that the rest of the world was spared.
Cesme
We said goodbye to our rental car and hello to HAVABUS ($5 per person) to head to Cesme. This was an unplanned part of the trip. Make sure to check out our lessons learned for more details. To make the story short, we were going to explore Cesme and a nearby village Alacati but after checking in to the Radisson Blu Resort and learning that our hotel has ($5 per person) spa, we gave up all promises of leaving the hotel that night. Their spa included wet and dry saunas, cold showers, hammams, a regular pool and thermal pool.
The next day, we left for the marina to catch a Turyol ferry to a land to the west. At the customs we were asked if the ticket was one way, since most passengers get roundtrip tickets. At this point, we both realized that this was our first one-way international boat ride. To learn what happens next please stay tuned for the next part of our trip.
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