1B - Layover in Istanbul
One important lesson that Gym learned on this trip was to always remember to pack tooth floss. If you have that one tight spot where the turkey bacon always gets caught, you know how a slug of protein like that can feel between your two favorite molars. And if you leave it too long, you risk getting zombie breath, a condition Gym really wants to avoid. It won't surprise you though that he forgot to pack it on this trip and when he begged Mrs. Gym for some of her's, it became apparent that they had a general shortage of the commodity. He had to buy some and found out the hard way, it was the most precious item in all of Turkey. One spool of the stuff was $16 US. This was a very harsh transaction for a guy that tries to get by on the free stuff the dentist gives him but he paid it and fortunately, it was of a decent quality. It reminded Gym of the time he needed one more pair of underwear to get through a long weekend in Vegas. It cost him $80 US but it was a damn nice pair.
Our dynamic duo spent a total of 5 full days in Istanbul. During the first three days, they checked out some of the most popular tourist attractions and those were covered in the previous article. On their last couple of days in Turkey, they explored the neighborhoods around the hotel. Although they experienced pretty poor weather the whole time in Turkey, it was not too bad for a couple of Canadians that had packed a jacket and gloves. Istanbul is also a very hilly place and the exertion of hiking around also helped to keep them warm.
On Day 4, they turned away from the Golden Horn, veering right upon exiting the hotel gate. They were headed in the direction of the Kempinski Hotel. Across the street from the Kempinski is Yildiz Park. The mission on the day was to fully reconnoiter that massive green space.
Yildiz park was once the hunting grounds of the sultans. It rises up steeply from the Bosphorus to the sprawling Yildiz Palace at the top. It is completely enclosed by a high, rock wall. The majority of the 160 hectares is forested and is criss-crossed by well maintained stone pathways. A watercourse bisects the park and it runs down to the sea, forming small lakes and waterfalls along the way. Gym and Mrs. Gym hiked up to the apex of the park below the palace and climbed to the opposite side. On their descent they decided to cross the central waterway on several of the ornamental bridges that are all ideal photo stops. At the bottom, 9 feral cats lined up to bid Gym a warm adieu.
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| Yildiz Park - you can see from this shot that even though visited in late March, our intrepid travelers experienced some snow in Istanbul. |
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| The central waterway is criss-crossed by paths which come down the slopes and cross on scenic bridges. This picture is taken from one such bridge. |
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| Near the middle of the park is a sizable lake. The ducks have a shelter built on a little island to protect them from wild cats and dogs. |
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| Near the exit, feral cats line up to make sure no one leaves with leftover tuna sandwiches. |
On Day 5, they explored a couple of other smaller parks near the hotel and got a great feel for the Besiktas District. This district is the prime business and shopping area of Istanbul. It also has several historic sites but not as many as in the Old Town. The area has the highest per capita income and the highest per capita education level of any district in Istanbul.
Barbaros Blvd. begins by Besiktas Square on the Bosphorus and climbs north, rising quickly up a steep incline. After about 1500 meters you have risen about 150 meters in vertical height, that's a 10% incline for those that did the math. People who live here can get a good workout just going to the corner store. Our travelers, climbed up to Yahya Kemal Park and followed its central pathway past the Conrad Hotel. Then they crossed over into the neighborhood and wandered down the narrow streets to another park named Abbasaga Park. This park is on a very steep hill too. From the top, you might be able to roll a ball all the way to the Bosphorus through this park. It would likely bounce off a feral cat on its way down though. There are scores of very. well looked after felines in the park. At the bottom are interconnected alleyways with numerous indoor-outdoor restaurants and neat little wine bars that must be very enjoyable on warm summer nights.
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| Most of the the residents of Besiktas District live in 3 and 4 storey apartment buildings but there are also a few older wooden houses. They have no yards but there are plenty of parks. |
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| A cat hotel deliberately built in the park and fenced so dogs can't get in. In front of many buildings are bowls of water and food for these feral felines. |
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| Mrs. Gym in a warm coat standing next to a statue of a famous Turkish academic. |
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| The way to Galata Bridge |
On the way back to the hotel our travelers stopped to check out Barbarossa Park. They had strolled past it several times and they had failed to inspect the stunning statue of the famous Ottoman pirate/admiral and his actual tomb located meters away from the monument. Barbarossa is Gym's kind of guy. He got rich plundering christian ships and settlements throughout the Mediterranean. The sultans cheered him on because Barbarossa cut them in for a share of the loot.
Today, it seems that Barbarossa Park is a good place to protest the government. One day. Gym and Mrs Gym were returning to the hotel from the Galata area and they saw a couple of hundred protesters gathering under Barbarossa's statue. Gym advised his dear wife that they would miss their dinner reservation if they joined in, so they kept on walking. It's good they did because about 100 meters later they saw an eager platoon of riot police armed with paintball guns. Gym momentarily thought how it would be much more fun to join the police team.
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| Several old Ottoman cannons 'defend' Barbarossa Park from attacks by enemy ships on the Bosphorus |
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| Barbarossa's monument with protesters. |
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| Barbarossa's monument without protesters |
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| On their last night in Istanbul they walked along the Bosphorus and looked toward the Black Sea and the beautiful Bogazici Bridge. It is a bridge that connects two continents. |
On the 6th day in Istanbul, it was time to pack up and leave the Four Seasons. The beach was calling! They had a prearranged van for the one-hour return trip to the International Airport and everything went very smoothly. Airport security was a breeze. It might have been made easier because our travelers had fresh PCR tests and were triple-vaccinated but Turkish Air didn't really seem to care. The next leg of the journey would take them on an 8-hour flight east across 3 more time zones. Here is a preview of the final destination (see below).
Stay tuned!
Thank god they didn'tt havee to.tis is a popular nd provided high quality slaves for tthe they checked out
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