Big Bike Island

(Bikes on the ferry to the Prince's Islands)

Over the weekend my friend Ian and I took our bikes out to one of Istanbul's Prince's Islands, a group of islands about an hour or so by ferry from the European side of the mountain.  By law, the only motorized vehicles on the island are official municipal vehicles, so it's one of the few car free places in the city.  It's really popular during the summer, but this was my first visit.

(One ferry to another)

We rode our bikes down to Kabatas and then hopped on the ferry.  It's slow, and makes 5 or 6 stops, but it's cheap.  A token for the ferry is the same price as a token for the the metro, tram, or bus (2 TL).  The ferry goes across the mouth of the Bosphorus, then out into the Sea of Marmara.  The area is like a multi-lane highway with all of the ferries, fishing boats, speed boats, barges, and tankers using the well trafficked waters.  A little further out we saw some small sailboats, but I think the weather is getting a bit cold for too much of that.

 (Horse-drawn carriages are a popular form of transportation)

The islands differ in two big ways from the bulk of Istanbul.  Number one: there are no cars, so people use horse drawn carriages or bikes to get around.  I'm pretty sure the carriages operate like taxis, but there's really only like... two places to go on the island (more on that later).  The result is a different, less disagreeable foul smell that pervades the landscape.  Number two: Wooden houses.  I was shocked to see so many wooden houses in various states of repair/disrepair.  The first word that popped into my head was "colonial."  It made me realize how little wood is used in construction in the city itself.

This is one of the few things to see on the island.  Well... I guess the landscape itself is the real sight, but if you're looking for things to look at, this is it.  It's an old abandoned Greek Orthodox Church run orphanage.  Long abandoned, there's some arcane law that prevents them from either tearing the building down or renovating it.

 

 This is the view from the other "attraction," a still functioning Greek Orthodox monastery at the top of the hill.  I wasn't aloud to take pictures in the monastery itself, but the grounds were nice, and the view was amazing.  It made for one of those Oh Man I Live Here moments.

Here are some of the horses (off-duty, I suppose), just hanging out by the side of the road.

And here's a shot of the city as seen from the top of the hill.  I think we're gonna try to get some people together this weekend and make another trip out there before the weather gets too cold.  I'll keep you guys posted.

 

Hey Dad!

You're gonna be so proud of me.  I went to see some Turkish* music the other night, and it was awesome!  Sorry about the quality of the pictures.  My camera is good, but point and shoots only do so well in low light...

(*It was actually Greek music, which I can't really make any clever jokes about: Greeks and Turks historically don't get a long at all.  However, this band was well received, and they even played a few Turkish classics, or so I've been told.)

The band played in this tiny bar up three flights of stairs in the back of a building off of one of Istiklal Caddesi (pronounced ees-teek-lahl ja-des-sea). I'm not sure what the band was called, nor do I even know what the bar was called.  Such is the nature of a lot of things in Istanbul.  Most of the good places I've been to have been great, but in really out of the way, almost hidden building and courtyards.  It's a such a jam packed city that anybody who wants to set up shop has to do in any available space.  The more desirable locations are all already taken up by big retailers (The Gap, Saturn (like Best Buy), Sephora, ad infinitum).

But anyway, back to the band.  They were a five piece.

There was no percussion save for hand claps, the stomping of feet,  a tambourine, and a the occasional thump on the acoustic guitar.

Later on in the evening, and I regret not having pictures of this, there was a lot of Linking of Arms and Intricate Foot Movements while Moving Around in a Circle.  It was exactly like what you picture when I say, "I saw this great Greek band in a dive bar in Istanbul."  Exactly like that.

Rainy Day in the Neighborhood

The front of my apartment building in Kasimpasha

The weather has been really lousy here the past couple of days, so there hasn't really been all that much to take pictures of.  However, I decided to take a few random shots around the neighborhood.  I'm trying to get the hang of this whole Taking Pictures things, so just bear with me.

 

Do you see that lady walking down the street?  My apartment is basically right above her... that first small balcony slightly to the left of her on the first (American second) floor is mine.

My building is close to the corner, right next to that little market.  They sell some fruits/vegetables, but it's really not that great.  The old ladies that live on my block love it though.  So much so, in fact, that they'll drop a basket down from their balcony with money and a shopping list and the clerk at the store will do there shopping for them and then put their stuff in the basket for them!  I know, pretty... um... well... pretty lazy, but the guy's  very nice for doing it.

This is Istiklal Caddesi, the main tourist/shopping street in Taksim.  It's pretty dead for a Sunday, but it's usually packed, all the time.  It's nice to have something so lively so close, but I'm glad I don't live any closer to it.

The little red cart is a simit salesman.  Simit is a small sesame seed covered bread that is something like a cross between a bagel and a breadstick.  It's kind of like the ubiquitous "rohlik" of the Czech Republic.  These things are always available, and they're usually pretty good for a snack or breakfast on the go.

Let's see, what else is going on?  I think you guys are pretty caught up on the more personal things that have been going on, which I'll not get into here.  Oh! I know.  I was able to catch up on my American culture over the weekend... I drank beer, ate pizza, and watched football!

HELLO SUNNY CANADIAN STUDENTS

Hey guys,

This week I don't have anything new to tell you about Istanbul, but I was very impressed with how well you answered my questions.  I did see something very interesting in the newspaper the other day, though.  I was reading a very famous American newspaper.  It's called the New York Times, and they had an article that made me think of you guys.  Follow the links below to see the article and a slideshow of pictures from the article.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE

CLICK HERE FOR SOME GREAT PICTURES FROM THE ARTICLE


Have you ever been to any of these places?  What did you think?

Have a great week, guys!

Mr. T

HELLO SUNNY CANADIAN STUDENTS!

Hello everybody (especially 3.B)!

I hope you guys are having a great school year.  Are you being good for Miss Pien?  Of course you are!  I want to tell you a little bit about my school and my new classes.  I teach at a place called Terakki Vakfı Okulları.  You can click here to see their website.  It's written in Turkish though, so it might be hard to read.  It is a very big school.  I teach in the kindergarten and I have about 200 students.  I know, that's a lot of students, but they are all very nice and very fun.  I miss you guys a lot, and I'll be using this blog to teach you about Turkey and Istanbul.  Can you find Istanbul and Turkey on this map?  Can you find the Czech Republic?  Is Istanbul the capitol city of Turkey?  Post your answers in the comments section.

PS -- Can you send me some of your summer writing stories?  I would really love to read them!

My 180 Students

Ya know, I was really bummed out that I wasn't able to come back for the wedding.  I did see a lot of pictures (and some pictures of the honeymoon) and it looked really great.  Everybody looked wonderful, and I could tell from the photos that everybody was having a great time (even the ones where Steve puts on the serious face).  I guess I'll just have to wait until January to see everybody...

But!  I wasn't bummed out for too long.  As it turns out, my job is really physically exhausting.  I have 180 kindergarten students that I teach twice a week.  It's only 24 teaching hours, but man, I never realized how physical teaching is when the kids can barely speak.  What I mean is that it's all dancing, singing, running around and shouting the dozen or so words that they know in English.  It's really nice though, having all of the kids yell "Hello Mr. Matt!" when they see you in the hallway.  It's also kinda nice being salaried, because even though my classes finish at 3:30, I have to stay there until 5:00, so I'm forced to get stuff done ahead of time.  I like it.

Anyway, after the first week, we decided to celebrate by going down to the Galata fish market and eating some fresh fish and smoking a nargile (I know, bad for your health, but.. whatever) by the Golden Horn, the waterway that separates Beyoglu from Sultanahmet.  While we didn't take any pictures of the awesome view, I was able to find a picture on the internet that accurately depicts our setting...

(from http://istanbulstreets.wordpress.com/, so credit's given where credit's due)

So yeah, this is where I live now.  No castles in sight, but the view's alright just the same.

Claire's Here!

Claire finally made it!  After much deliberating on the issue, she just decided to fly in, rather than take the long way via train, so she got in on Monday evening.  I don't really have any pictures to show you guys of that.. but I'm sure we'll be doing something noteworthy soon.  We've just been eating really good food. I've been working, she's been getting job stuff sorted out... it's been great, but ya know, everyday life.

 Varna, Bulgaria

I know... I didn't get to come home last week on my holiday, thanks to the Storm That Wasn't Really As Bad For New York City As They Thought It Would Be But Was Really Bad For The Catskills, but I still had to take a trip out of the country for visa purposes.  I decided to go to Varna, Bulgaria, a small beach/resort town on the Black Sea coast.  It was about a 7 hour bus ride from Istanbul.  It was kind of like Prague 2.0... They had beer and beer gardens...

... but they also have awesome seafood that you can each at a beachfront restaurant...

 ... There's one drawback, though.  The Cyrillic alphabet (which, apparently, the Bulgarians invented).

I had a great time on the trip, but it definitely wasn't as nice as taking a trip home.  I've got a long break in January and a lot of credit with Delta, so I'll see all you guys then!