It’s back to carrying toilet paper in my pocket; taking bits from rolls so as not to buy any; trying to remember to put the used toilet paper in the bin and not in the pan; and hope for a sit-on not squat toilet. I can’t wait until we start camping! The joys of travelling!
Turkey is 2 hours ahead of the UK and petrol costs £1.20/litre with diesel at £1.40/litre and driving is on the right.
Some gossip now. This afternoon I came back to the hotel where the manager, cafe owner and others were sitting out in the street just talking. I was told, not asked, to join them for a cup of tea and a chat making it very clear that no women were allowed to sit with them. According to one man, who spoke good English and visited London once a month for business, any male over 30 years of age and not married is considered by society to be ’suspect,’ I’ll leave it to your imagination what was meant by this. He said that his mother continually nagged him to get married but would not let him move out into a flat as that was some sort of slur as well.
Turkish women were the topic of conversation as well with the men saying that there are basically two type here, ones that wear a head scarf and those that don’t. Almost all wear a headscarf as far as I could see, especially the younger women. It seems that the Turkish male is somewhat protective of the women here especially if one tries to take photos of them.. I have been asked not to do so rather forcefully on one occasion when I was more interested in the clothing worn by a group of girls and the colour combination of the clothes. As a group they were quite impressive. It seems that taking a photo of the back of women is frowned upon as well. However, below is some of the photos taken, quite openly and without any bother to anyone.
There are a lot of dogs and cats in the street which are fed by the local people. I did ask why some dogs had tags in their ears to be told that they had been checked to be healthy and had been neutered (they could not catch all the cats to do the same thing). I mentioned that some of the dogs were very big and was convinced that the dogs had been checked for temperament as well. The shepherds in Turkey have large dogs to fight off wolves and an endangered species of wild cats.
Why it is I do not know but I have had people come up to me and start talking Turkish to me. When I have explained that i did not understand them, they understood my English, they said that the though that i was Turkish by the way I walked. One man said that he thought that I was an Imam as well what with the beard. When another approached me i actually did say that I was an Imam and he believed me wanting to know when I became a Muslim and where did I preach. I very quickly dissuaded him of the wrong impression.
I have been walking round with one polished boot and one dirty one. A shoe cleaner said he would clean my boots for free (fine chance) and even though I said I would not pay anything he insisted on cleaning (if that was what it was called) one boot then asked how much I would pay for cleaning the other boot. I just walked off and learnt a few Turkish swear words in the bargain. The usual thing in the streets is to be accosted by someone wanting to sell me a carpet from the family business. I use the well worn phrase ‘that my wife will not let me spend any money’ to which they feel sorry for me, leave me alone or I get invited to the shop for tea as compensation.
The people here are generally friendly and helpful especially as I look old and frail at times. I get offered a chair to sit on, offers of free tea and the odd sample of food. I’m putting on weight already! It did not help my putting the wrong money when buying Turkish delight to end up with 2kg of it and actually getting change when I did not expect any. When I tried to find this hotel (the second one in Istanbul that I stayed in) four people phoned the place to find out where it was and even given directions I could not find the place (I was not the only one either as others on the trip had the same problem). Eventually one man walked me to the door. The hotel manager speaks very little English and wanting to talk to me turned his computer on and we both typed our words into a translation page one by one to get an instant translation. I was quite interested to watch how the translated wording changed as words were added and how the sense of the sentence changed with it.
Some buses/coaches here have video screen in the back of the seats. This is a good place for umbrella sellers as when it rains they sell them by the hundred at £1 each. Photographs of street scenes get very boring then as all the umbrellas are the same non-colour. There is a girls school across the road from the hotel and during the day the girls get kebabs and things from the cafe next door put through the fence to them. There are plenty of delicious hot chestnuts and freshly cooked grilled fish in a bread roll available on the streets at the moment. Turkish delight and baklava are a given as well.
Turkey is 2 hours ahead of the UK and petrol costs £1.20/litre with diesel at £1.40/litre and driving is on the right.
Some gossip now. This afternoon I came back to the hotel where the manager, cafe owner and others were sitting out in the street just talking. I was told, not asked, to join them for a cup of tea and a chat making it very clear that no women were allowed to sit with them. According to one man, who spoke good English and visited London once a month for business, any male over 30 years of age and not married is considered by society to be ’suspect,’ I’ll leave it to your imagination what was meant by this. He said that his mother continually nagged him to get married but would not let him move out into a flat as that was some sort of slur as well.
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| Having dinner for £3 |
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| Dinner at £10 that I walked pass to have mine |
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| Girls at the Topkapi Palace |
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| In the Spice Market |
Why it is I do not know but I have had people come up to me and start talking Turkish to me. When I have explained that i did not understand them, they understood my English, they said that the though that i was Turkish by the way I walked. One man said that he thought that I was an Imam as well what with the beard. When another approached me i actually did say that I was an Imam and he believed me wanting to know when I became a Muslim and where did I preach. I very quickly dissuaded him of the wrong impression.
I have been walking round with one polished boot and one dirty one. A shoe cleaner said he would clean my boots for free (fine chance) and even though I said I would not pay anything he insisted on cleaning (if that was what it was called) one boot then asked how much I would pay for cleaning the other boot. I just walked off and learnt a few Turkish swear words in the bargain. The usual thing in the streets is to be accosted by someone wanting to sell me a carpet from the family business. I use the well worn phrase ‘that my wife will not let me spend any money’ to which they feel sorry for me, leave me alone or I get invited to the shop for tea as compensation.
The people here are generally friendly and helpful especially as I look old and frail at times. I get offered a chair to sit on, offers of free tea and the odd sample of food. I’m putting on weight already! It did not help my putting the wrong money when buying Turkish delight to end up with 2kg of it and actually getting change when I did not expect any. When I tried to find this hotel (the second one in Istanbul that I stayed in) four people phoned the place to find out where it was and even given directions I could not find the place (I was not the only one either as others on the trip had the same problem). Eventually one man walked me to the door. The hotel manager speaks very little English and wanting to talk to me turned his computer on and we both typed our words into a translation page one by one to get an instant translation. I was quite interested to watch how the translated wording changed as words were added and how the sense of the sentence changed with it.
Some buses/coaches here have video screen in the back of the seats. This is a good place for umbrella sellers as when it rains they sell them by the hundred at £1 each. Photographs of street scenes get very boring then as all the umbrellas are the same non-colour. There is a girls school across the road from the hotel and during the day the girls get kebabs and things from the cafe next door put through the fence to them. There are plenty of delicious hot chestnuts and freshly cooked grilled fish in a bread roll available on the streets at the moment. Turkish delight and baklava are a given as well.
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