STREET SCENES, FOOD THE GRAND BAZAAR.

As I continue posting our trip to Turkey, the major attractions are a wonder to behold, but the street scenes and our surroundings also draw the eye, like this brass shoe shine stand in the hotel lobby. I was approached by a gypsy on the street with this very same piece of equipment. And I really needed my shoes polished, but we were on the move and we couldn’t stop on a street corner for me to have my shoes refreshed.

During our bus ride to the Turkish bath, Usla pointed out the recycler following the garbage truck. Joan Zucker pointed out that the garbage trucks play classical music while picking up garbage. Isn’t that a hoot?
A fancy birdcage greets us every morning in the hotel on our way to breakfast. The food changes somewhat every day, but the food buffets at our hotels, knock your socks off.

You can see fruit, yoghurt, honey, baklava, sausage, cucumbers, cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs, black and yellow apricots, raisins and at the back, strawberries, cereal.

Here we have olives, carab pods, garbanzo beans, nuts and marinated cheeses with herbs, rice and cereals. At the back is syrups and seasonings of all sorts and milk.

The cheeses are many and varied. You can see dried figs, beets, turkish delight, cashews, pomegranates, and parsley.

The juice bar.



The hot dishes, savory filled roles, egg dishes, stews and meats with rice and breads.

Of course there was turkish coffee, tea and water. We sat at tables that looked out through open windows on the beautiful Marmara Sea. This day was overcast, but other days were sunny. And one of those days a big gull came in and began eating off the plate of someone who left the table to get something else. And, as unbelievable as it sound, all breakfasts were like this one or better at our hotels.

And if you need a snack while you are out, you can always pick up a boiled egg from the lobby. This basket of eggs was about two and a half feet long. We don’t know if they were part of the wedding or what?

Yesterday, I posted Topkapi Museum? Immense color portraits of these interesting sultans in colorful garb don’t compare to these small black and white drawings in the lobby. It is the same inspiration we might find in our hotels or public buildings, a reminder of our great leaders with pictures of  Washington or Lincoln.

They kind of remind me of youthful meanderings after reading Arabian Nights, the romantic Calef riding across the desert with a sword by his side and rescuing the equally exotic princess.

They are just ordinary to the locals. Ahh, I know exotica and relish it when I see it.

But I dally. On to the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest and largest covered outdoor markets in the world. It has 3,600 shops and 58 streets. They have categories, gold, silver jewelry, leather shops and so on. Here you can find anything you want.

Things made with Crystals.

Ceramics of great beauty.

You can find quality and glitz.

Or a tailor to hand make your clothing. Obviously this short man cannot buy clothing to fit off the rack.

And food in bulk, just like in the spice market.

When you buy these stuffed black and yellow cots, or hazlenut chocolate delights, they are packed in fancy boxes and make great gifts.

The main street is a wide avenue.

Owen and I wandered some of the smaller side streets and it is important to know your direction to get back to your original entrance. Owen bought a souvenir dagger, similar in size as the Topkapi dagger.  And, luckily he has a good sense of direction or I probably would still be wandering the bazaar.


I looked at textiles because cloth items are easier to carry in a suitcase. I wanted something with the famous tulips on them.

There were many choices.
I like scarves and the market had many scarf booths. I ended up here and bought three scarves for $400 after a lot of dickering. The merchant wanted his picture taken with us and gave us his card. I left there thinking to myself, did I really pay $400 for three scarves?
They are pretty persuasive salesmen. And the scarves are cashmere and silk. This one from the Mevlana area.

This one is Kurdish with two Moslem letters or words from the Ottoman Empire and sewn with some gold threads.

Cappadocia with a beautiful leaf repetitive pattern. They are of excellent quality and feel like velvet. Long enough to stretch from one side to the other of my queen sized bed.
I hope you are appreciating that so far, all my Turkey blogs, are excursions we made on our first day in the country. You can double-click on any of these pictures to enlarge them and arrow back to return to the blog. I hope you are enjoying taking this trip with Owen and me. And, I cannot find a spelling or definition for the word Calef that I believe is a word for a leader similar to a general or minor Sultan. If anyone can help me, please do. More tomorrow.

CLARKSBURG WEST VIRGINIA.

We arrived in Clarksburg, W. Virginia, a busy city with lots of hilly areas and one way streets- no streets made for a wide bodied motor home. We had two other options, The Elks and the Eagles. We never did find them but the VFW appeared to have a huge parking area. When Jim pulled between the narrow yellow stanchions to enter their lot, I held my breath. The Commander happened to be sitting on the porch. He told me later he was sure he wouldn't be able to get that rig in.  The VFW parking lot is miniscule.  But, it was Saturday and you can see us parked in a bank's lot that runs right next to the VFW building. The commander assured us we would be okay for the weekend.
This old cannon has an interesting history, as does the post. Here they accept "Guest Members", the first time we'd heard the term.  We had lunch at the VFW, a gulllinos  sandwich for me. I always like to try a local specialty and it was stir fried hot peppers and onion with melted cheese, and a beef patty onTexas toast, which turned out to be the first sour dough bread I've had since I left California. I asked her to substitute a chicken breast for the beef patty and she did. I don't know where they got the name, but the sandwich was excellent.

The forecast was rain. While it was still overcast, we took a walk around a four block area and just took some pictures. This lovely church with the bells, we heard play music at 5:00 while we were reading.

Other lovely churches with stained glass windows. No longer open like the refuges of the 1950's where you could walk into any church. They were always open 24 hours a day.

Would have liked to have a look inside.

Built in 1863. The plaque says, The Lord Is In His Temple.

You can get a sense of the beautiful glass.

And old town;  there was a cemetery that looked interesting as we came into town.  Stopping with the rig is not always an option.

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An old empty theater, a broken window,  looking sadly uncared for.

A beauty of a building that looks worth saving. A woman I spoke to on the street, when I asked her what there is to do in Clarksburg replied, "Walmart went in a few miles down the road and sucked the life out of this city. So many local shops closed, it is not a place you want to live anymore." I was stunned to hear that condemnation for a city of this size.  The population is 16,798 from the 2010 census.

There are some signs of degradation, closed up buildings, for rent signs on storefronts.

Graffiti.

This is not the kind of beauty shop I would choose.

You don't hear or see much about the International Order of Odd Fellows. The historic sign has been retained. The building now houses a couple of shops on the ground level.


Fire escapes up the side of an old building, a rare sight for westerners along with the narrow streets and alleys.

We made it back to the motor home just before the rain started. It cooled off and we spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing.

The City has beautiful buildings, and cities have been known to reinvent themselves. I'm sure Clarksburg will survive to see another economic upturn. I wish we could have spent another day here to look it over, but it was nice to have a day of relaxation, too.