The Cats Have it Good Here

We love cat friendly cities and there are more cats here than anywhere we have ever been. It may have something to do with being on the water and those cats are everywhere…on the roofs, under the table, though we haven’t seen any praying in the mosques. This was a day for mosques. We were determined to get to each one, the Blue Mosque and the Suleymaniye while they were open(they are closed for prayer). This is the first time we’ve been in a Moslem country. The Adhan or call to prayer is broadcast 5 times a day from the speakers on the minaret. We are staying in an area with many mosques. The American family from DC we hung out with on occasion on the “roof” informed us that it is not an echo we hear but that different mosques are not synchronized and therefore we hear it all going off at once. The sound is really quite moving.

Take off your shoes, put them in plastic bags, and borrow one of the shawls hanging outside if your head and shoulders are not covered. The Blue Mosque is breathtaking. The tiles and colors are incredible. The women have a separate section to pray behind a screen in the back. A woman making silk carpets on the street invited me for a quick lesson on how to double knot the thread and cut. What skill and workmanship goes into making these rugs.

We headed to the fish market on foot where we saw some kids playing soccer. You know Raf, we had to stop and watch, they were so cute. The cats were out in full force, when we got to the fish market, they were waiting for the boats to come in with the catch of the day and some kids were swimming in their underpants, posing for our camera. After a look around and no business in the restaurants except busses of Japanese tourists, we headed to the Suleymaniye Mosque for a bite on the property (the original kitchens of the mosque in a beautiful courtyard) for another delicious meal. This is the largest mosque here and we practically had it to ourselves. Not too many tourists so we could really enjoy it in quiet.


No dinner but we found a cool bar and hung out for a night cap. Went to sleep to the sound of cats in heat.

Istanbul Day Two

Amazing day. It is so beautiful out. Breezy and sunny. We walked the whole old city. Our hotel has the greatest staff that are so willing to give us suggestions and Seda at the front desk draws what she calls "funny little maps" for us so we can be sure not to get lost. After a breakfast of yogurt, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, olives and various homemade breads and sweets we headed off on foot for the Basilica Cistern. Of course everyone wants to know where we’re from, how many kids we have and they speak EVERY language. Afterwards it’s the mandatory…”Come have a coffee of tea in my carpet shop. Just look of course, don’t need to buy…today.” We’ve tried just about every language we know how to say hello in and they speak it all. When I said “konichawa” the salesman broke out in fluent Japanese. So our standard answer has become, “Planet Earth” which confuses the hustlers long enough for us to make a quick getaway.

The Cistern is wild. Under ground and built in 532. It supplied water for the palace and when the Ottomans invaded they did not know of its existence. There are fish swimming around and water dripping from the roof.

Around the corner is the Hagia Sophia. It is under construction but nevertheless quite beautiful, the supreme church of Byzantine empire. The mosaics are breathtaking.
We couldn’t enter the Blue Mosque because is was noon and prayer time People were washing their feet outside, We then walked from there to the Topkapi Palace home of the sultans. The layout reminded us of the Forbidden City in Beijing with it many layers. The Harem was particularly interesting, another beautiful jail, and the tales of conniving concubines even more interesting.

On to the Spice Market. Uh oh … food. I want everything! The spices, olives, cheeses, Turkish Delight and lots of souvenirs much less expensive than the Grand Bazaar. Many locals shop here and we plan to go back. The pounds I gained looking at the food came off on the walk uphill to the hotel. Off to dinner…

Cocktails at 360. First through the metal detector, then on to the lovely terrace. It’s a bit touristy but the views are so beautiful and food seems reasonably priced. Drinks however cost more than the meals. Pashminas are handed out to help with the chill and men as well as women were wearing them. Nice touch! This is a new area of town for us. It is quite modern compared to where we are staying.

We walked a few streets up to a restaurant called Leb-I Derya in the Richmond Hotel. Food was good and view was magnificent once again. This city is so beautiful at night, We stopped at the desk to ask for a cab and we heard the desk clerk say on the phone “you are speaking Spanish…I don’t speak Spanish”. Raf took the wake-up call for six AM and relayed the message to the clerk.

Istanbul Day One

So we’re in Istanbul. It’s 4:35 AM and both of us have been up since 3. At least we can listen to the call to prayer from the Mosque. We arrived yesterday afternoon, and it was raining so we had a walk around the Grand Bazaar. Didn’t buy anything yet (we decided to explore without wallets so we wouldn’t be tempted to come home with 3 carpets, a few lamps and another hookah) but will have to come back and use some of those bargaining techniques before we leave. All hotels and many restaurants have rooftop gardens, cafes, bars etc and ours is no different. It is really nice up there and we were able to enjoy an aperitif while surfing the net and watching the sunset, before heading out to the restaurant. Develi restaurant overlooks the sea. The food was delicious and we were so caught up in the thrill of trying new things that we ordered the raw, spicy meatballs, an eggplant dish and one with ground walnuts just for starters. We also enjoyed the local Raki, which is similar to Pernod and served with water as well.

Istanbul Here We Come

FInally vacation once again and we promised we'd write. It's been an exciting, productive, but tiring school year and we are ready for some serious fun! Check back with us next week when we join you from Turkey and begin our next adventure.

Shanghai

Two days ago it rained in our hearts. With great sadness we said our goodbyes to those we’ve grown so close to for the past month (our Chinese students and hosts, our American and Canadian friends, the locals who slept on lounge chairs on our street and the bar girls we befriended) and left Suzhou with an open invitation to return. Words cannot convey the warmth with which we were received or the gratitude we feel for having had this amazing opportunity. I can only hope that this is the first of many future adventures in China.
I write this sitting in the clubroom in the Portman Ritz Carlton, overlooking the city of Shanghai. With all the construction we have seen while exploring this vast city, I very much doubt I will recognize this skyline next time. I think we have been fortunate to see a few pockets of Old Shanghai and I am sure my pictures don’t do it justice. This is a nice way to end this adventure although not reflective in any way of the rest of the rest of the trip. We are feeling very pampered at the moment.
Enough champagne…time for a nice hot bath. See you in Miami!

Lajio Jian

Lajio Jian…This is Rafs favorite word. Those of you who know him well have probably guessed this means hot sauce or chili sauce. Oh, he has learned many other words with that knack for languages, but this one is used more frequently than the others, and he says good morning, zao shang hao to at least 6 or 7 people every day, and ni hao or hello. I almost forgot, pijiu or beer is high on the list too.
As I write this I am sitting across the street from the hotel at a restaurant, Provence that serves a nice breakfast (an omelet of choice with toast and coffee) for 20 RMB, about $2.50. It is funny, if you order a cup of coffee alone it also costs 20 RMB. There is usually French music playing and many foreigners looking for a western breakfast. We have come here a few times but still prefer the local cuisine. There are nice couches with big windows, a perfect place to write on a Sunday morning.
We are nearing the end of the program, a few more dinners with the officials, a final performance that each of us have put together for the closing ceremonies, and then goodbye to Suzhou. Most of the classes have invited their teachers to lunch and my group is taking me out tomorrow afternoon. Thank goodness the class is all girls and there will not be too many ganbeis (bottoms up). It has been interesting and pretty funny teaching afternoon classes to those who have just downed several bottle of beer. Raf and I will really miss them.
In the mad rush to see everything before we leave, we braved the heat and took off on foot to see a few more gardens and places of interest. I think I had heat stroke yesterday, my face was so red and this was with a hat, sunscreen and an umbrella. Just like the locals. Here are some pictures along the way.

Hangzhou

There is a saying in China...In heaven there is paradise and on earth there are Suzhou and Hangzhou. I have to admit, both are quite beautiful. As you know, we are living in Suzhou, and there are many canals and bridges. Hangzhou on the other hand is a city in a park. Truly amazing! Everything is so green. Education is tops in Suzhou and I do not know about the ed system in Hangzhou, but I was quite taken with the greenery. We went to the oldest Budhist temple in the southeast. It climbed forever. Also, the famous West Lake, which you will see in some of the pics. A little girl attacked me on the street asking for money and things got bad when she started touching my bum to see if I had any cash? Then she grabbed my shirt and one of the guys yelled at her and she left. I managed to get a picture of her which is really cute. No problem, guess that happens everywhere. We spent the weekend here with all of our assistants as well. I wish we had more time here, and next time this will be one stop on our itinerary. There is a water (fountain) light show here just like Suzhou but on the lake.