Turkey - Day 2

We were late this morning. Nothing unusual there, but we were trying to get around each other to get ready, and really not used to sharing a bathroom amongst 5 people, haha. (We got used to it, but were also offered the use of another bathroom in one of the other apartments.) I woke up and there was my sister! I miss my sister when she is away, we have lots to catch up on over the next week! *yay*

We were supposed to be ready by 9a.m. to start our tour of the city, but I think my brother and I weren't ready til about 8.45! So instead of doing the cruise of the Bosphorus River which would enable us to see the 3 parts of Istanbul, we reversed the day's plans, so that we covered the tours planned for the afternoon first.


Hence, we headed across the Bosphorus Bridge to Camlica Hill on the Asian part to view the European sections of Istanbul. Even on a cloudy (and rainy and cold!) day, the view was amazing. It was a pity the clearest objects in the photos were the trees in the foreground :)

We drove back to the European side after that - there are signs saying 'Welcome to Asia' and 'Welcome to Europe' on the respective continents - and headed for Beylerbeyi Sarayi (Palace). The summer home of Sultan Abdul Hamid and later Sultan Abdul Aziz, we got to see the furniture, paintings, and elaborate paintings, curtains and chandeliers that were used in the saray, which were similar to those at the more expansive Dolmabahce Palace. In Beylerbeyi Palace, we got to see the 'harem' - the domestic part of the palace which is separated from the official sections.


Next stop was Pierre loti Hill after (a big!) lunch for more awesome views, this time of the 'Golden Horn' - that part of Istanbul that is shaped like a horn, and where the water supposedly looks golden. From there, we took a cable car down from the hill and were treated to more beautiful scenery. It's so hard to explain the feeling, but it was like a calm just washes over you when you see such beautiful sights.

We then joined the cruise on the Bosphorus River, and got to see the different architecture on all 3 parts of Istanbul, as well as the luxurious homes by the river. We got to taste some locally made yoghurt, and saw the Ciragan Palace Kempinski. Once a palace, it has been converted to a grand hotel, with room rates up to 50,000 Euros per night... Okay, remember to breathe...inhale, exhale.

Back to the apartments to get ready for a special dinner - to celebrate my parents' wedding anniversary (belatedly) at Asitane, another restaurant specialising in Ottoman cuisine. It was a great dinner, but we ordered too much food for appetizers and mains, that we had no room for dessert! Was quite disappointed, but it felt like I had filled my separate 'dessert stomach' with the main dishes. Oh, well.

What I'd noticed by this point is that even in the nice restaurants, service in Turkey is very different from what it is in Australia. Australian restaurants emphasise service a lot - always very attentive, eager to please, usually polite. In Turkey, it was different. Perhaps it is because of a fundamental cultural difference, I'm not sure, but most of the waiters do not exude much warmth. Dishes are cleared without a word or asking whether you are finished with it, sometimes removed when you are taking your last bite and the fork has barely left your mouth. It was a bit of a shock, and not something I got used to, even after 8 days there. And at times, even when there are only a handful of occupied tables in the restaurant, the waiters were nowhere in sight when you needed them. But luckily, the food was good enough that I could ignore all this and concentrate on filling my belly with hot bread and kebab and kofte! And quince. Seemed to be a lot of that around.