TREASURES OF ISTANBUL-UNESCO SITES.

Usla with his guide license around his neck, flanked by Joel, his wife Maria hiding behind Gina, just a few of our companions as we digest a  sumptuous breakfast and listen to the day’s itinerary. First a walk through town.
Constantinople was built by the Byzantine Christians and was conquered by the Ottomans and has been Istanbul ever since. Near our hotel old wooden buildings, yet to be restored or replaced among the many modern buildings, is typical of ancient cities.

Usla points out an ancient fountain as we walk the cobbled streets of Old Town.

One of the nice things about traveling with OAT is they provide top rate hotels in the center of where the most intriguing sites are. We walk first to the Hippodrome built in the 5th century B.C. which just blows me away. It symbolized the victory of Greece over Persia. They melted all the gold into a huge golden ball which sat upon a giant twisted snake headed sculpture. (A picture I couldn’t find.) It was stolen by the Crusaders along with much beautiful statuary, including the Golden Horus which is now in Italy..

An ancient, restored fountain. It takes a moment to sink in that running water is something we take for granted. Here people congregated at the fountain and hauled their water to their homes a thousand years ago in pottery jars on donkey carts.

The fountain still works. The Square was once the site of Chariot races and marvelous statuary, much of it destroyed or stolen. The city is home to 20 million people.

Two prominent obelisks in the historic square are about 10 feet below the surface of the present street. 
This one is mounted on a “story” stone base showing the obelisk moving from Egypt on a boat. It was taken in three pieces and would have been as tall as the Empire state building, but only the one piece survived the journey to Constantinople.

A second obelisk is locally built of stone and on certain holidays, local men challenged themselves to climb it without any equipment, seeking finger and toe holds on the rough surface. Many fell and died. A feat no longer practiced.

I enjoyed the uniqueness of the vendors in the square.  He wears his wares.

Next stop, the Blue Mosque. As we approached the chained entrance, Usla scolded this girl for turning upside down on the chain for a picture. That is not allowed. Sultan Ahmet the first had the Blue Mosque built in 1609. When he tried to ride his horse through this gate it was chained and he complained why could he not ride his horse into his mosque? The Imam told him that even a Sultan is not above God and he would have to walk in like everyone else.

This is the main entrance to the mosque with three statements from the Koran printed above the door. I could not find in  my notes what they meant. Usla is very well versed in languages, the Koran, the Bible and he speaks perfect Kurdish.

On the side of the mosque, are washing stations. The call to prayer is five times a day. Before prayer the faithful must perform a ritual wash. Each person washes first his hands. Then he washes his mouth 3 times; his nose 3 times; His face, his hair each three times. Then his elbows to wrist, first left  then right. And last, his feet, first left and then right. Always 3 times. That cleanliness is in part what kept disease away and provided a healthful life.

We entered through a side door along with bus loads of others giving up shoes and gawking at the beauty above our heads.

Every arch is ornately decorated and we stand in awe of such beauty.

Owen thought his shorts just below his knees would be okay, and I thought maybe boys don’t have to be as covered as women. We were wrong, so they provided him with a wrap.

It is hard to capture the grandeur of a building the size of the Blue Mosque. The architect did a wonderful thing. He lit the heights with stained glass windows. He kept the oil lamps low so not to dirty the beauty of the ceilings. He made openings halfway up to draw out the smoke. Thus it is one of the best preserved Mosques in the world, a world heritage site. (UNESCO.)

One is not able to stand directly beneath each arch ceiling. These pictures can be double clicked to get a closer view and then back arrow for the next picture. These small photos don’t do them justice.

It is easy to see why it is called the Blue Mosque.

Tiles have been stolen from this mosque and were selling for $100,000 dollars each. protected now, that trade is illegal and stopped. Lower left you can see some missing tile spots.

The doors are made of rich ornamented woods.
If the faithful come to pray five times a day after a ritual wash, when do they have time to do anything else? The Imam complained to sultan that the faithful were lying around on the rugs sleeping and their family members would bring them food. Sultan, you must do something about it. One of the laws of the Koran is “work first.”  Sultan built a library and required each man to study after prayer and the problem was suddenly solved.

Street vendors sell this wonderful drink made with milk and cinnamon called salep.
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At Hagia Sophia we again see restoration taking place. This old, old church was built by  Byzantiine Christians under Emperor Justinian in 537 A.D. When it was later taken over by the Moslems, who do not believe in worshipping images, they covered the angels faces with stars.
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This face has been uncovered.

This Church/Mosque has deep meaning for Christians and Moslems. It was a constant source of fighting and prayer was outlawed here by the Turkish Government in 1934 to save the history and artifacts of Hagia Sophia. At one time a group of American Christians came here with the intent to defy the law and hold a prayer session in the building.  Moslems got word of it and they decided if the Christians would pray, so would they. They were both stopped and the fighting was ended for good and Hagia Sophia turned into a museum. Interestingly, the altar faced East. When it became a Mosque, an arrow was placed on the floor before the altar about an inch to the right of center for TRUE East to face Mecca.
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The frescoes have been damaged and will be restored, but it takes years to do that. Much work and expense. Thus another UNESCO site where all countries share  the cost.

Lunch at Puddings was great. Owen chose chicken shish. But the ladies sign tripped my funny bone.

No trip to Istanbul would be complete without a trip to the spice market. The vendors there took a shine to Owen.

He quickly developed a taste for Turkish Delight.

The spices are sold in bulk and the smells are heavenly.

People here are very friendly. They asked us questions and we were glad to answer.
This guy teased and wanted to look inside the lens.

We bused to the Bosporus River for a cruise to where the river meets the sea. The captain served beer, fresh squeezed orange juice and apple tea, which is a very common and oft quaffed drink in Turkey. I had an Effes beer. Owen enjoyed the tea. We are still strangers;  slowly we get acquainted. You’ll meet them all at dinner my  next Turkey post.

This estate of brown buildings belonged to one of the richest men in Turkey. He told his children he wanted to be buried with his socks on. But Moslem culture does not allow a man to be buried with his socks on. The flesh returns to dust. The lesson was for his children. “You can’t take it with you, so enjoy what you have.”

It began to rain and we retreated to the Captain’s cabin. Owen made a run for the bathroom and I thought he might have gotten sea sick. He lost his lunch but it turned out to be the diesel fumes he was breathing over the rail.
If you double click on the album below, you’ll see all of the pictures from our day’s adventure.  Above the icons is a slide show button. Click it to see the pictures full screen. I always take too many and as time goes on I thin them, so forgive my excess and I hope you enjoy them.

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SNAFU AND WONDERFUL ISTANBUL

My 14-year-old grandson, Owen, accompanied me on this 16 day trip to Turkey. We left his house with two bags each and a heartfelt goodbye to family.

Fourteen year olds don’t yet know everything,  and they are still interested in keeping company with grandma. Maybe. Hopefully we have learned something about each other on this trip.

San Francisco’s United Airlines provided us with an hour-long snafu and I only mention that because a travel mate, Mike, informed me of the origination of that word. It was a common military acronym that stood for Situation Normal All F. U. You can guess  the last two words since the San Francisco Chronicle, one of the most liberal papers in the U.S., has a very rigid censor. Mike also taught me an extension of that acronym that came out of the Viet Nam military era, called fubar. _ _beyond all reason. A marvelous exhibit of Belgian lace borrowed from a museum in nearby Sunnyvale, made up for the snafu, but I will never use that word again without a secret chuckle.

Our guide, Usla, pronounced Oulash picked us up at the airport and pointed out the famous Blue Mosque…

…ancient walls of the “old city” and sights we will visit in Istanbul.

My eye was drawn to modern, renovated buildings like this hotel, sidewalk cafes on cobble streets amid older buildings of wood.

Hotel Armada Ahirkapi, on Street 24 Sultanahmet  was hosting a wedding and the wedding guests were eating canapes and drinking champagne when we arrived late afternoon the 19th of April.

A woman in a stunning strapless gown? This is a Moslem country and we are prepared to keep shoulders covered at all times, no shorts, hair covered in Mosques. Hmm!

Another strapless gown. Notice her tattoo.
Young wedding guests with short skirts.

I couldn’t understand the ceremony, but it was fun watching all the excited faces and a panoply of ages enjoying this special time.

What a fascinating wrinkle to my expectations. This is modern Istanbul.  A city of a thousand years, in its current transition. I’m trembling with excitement as Owen and I head out for dinner on our own. Usla pointed out a few restaurants right around the hotel.

We chose Cankurtaran Ogretmenevi. It has trees growing through the floor and ceiling.

I wasn’t very hungry but Owen slept through dinner on the airplane and he ordered Chicken Shish.

It came with a basket of bread, bottled water and seasoned olive oil to dip it in. I had a bowl of wonderful lentil soup and a huge bowl of yoghurt. I gave  $12 since  I had no Turkish Lira, yet. And they tried to give me change.  Ahh, the surprises that await us.

WILDFLOWER GOODBYE

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My friend Jan and I went to see wild flowers when we veered to Jackson. Here they are in an album along with those from Tuolumne County. Hope you enjoy them. Click on the picture, then click on slideshow. This will probably be my last blog until I return from Turkey. Much to do. Can’t wait to share my photos from Istanbul and the countryside.  Hope we have good weather.

HANGTOWN FRY.

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THE OLDEST PROFESSION.

My  friend Jan, and I, took a ride out toward Jackson to see a rugged wall of wild flowers along the river. We tripped on seven miles more into Jackson to be tourists for a couple of hours.
We stopped to read the above plaque embedded in the sidewalk which refers to the wild west type of politicking, rough and deadly. Jackson is in Amador County, but at one time Jackson was part of Calaveras County. Mokelumne Hill is still part of Calaveras Co. The two towns are across the Calaveras River from each other.
The plaque reminded me of other heart-shaped plaques that lined the Main Street of Jackson commemorating a more shady history of the gold rush, the buildings that were once bordellos. The idea being the plaques would  bring more tourists to town. Some people thought it was too risqué and a little war raged over the plaques until  they were removed and peace reigned. I was surprised when Jan had never heard of them. Nor had the owner of the olive oil place.


She met the owner of this business, and visited her ranch a long time ago. We asked several business owners on the street and the answer was “No way!”  “Never heard of it.”


We walked along looking for where there might have been a plaque and found several scraggly heart-shaped sidewalk patches, but none quite as obvious as this one next to the Jackson Hotel. The owner, Sam, was a supporter of the plaques and it is possible the plaque is still hiding under the patch. ONE hotel employee knew of the plaques and told us to go to Fargo, the bar across the street. They saved a plaque that now hangs on their wall.


It might have been the ERECTIONS word that offended some of the towns people, instead of saying erected in 1968. But, this one is the only one left in town. Another is in a restaurant and bar in the town of Volcano, nine miles from Jackson.


Fargo flaunts their former history.


This is a portrait of Miss Kitty. I have no idea if the history they flaunt is accurate or not, or if there was a Miss Kitty. But, the bartender at Fargo knew all about the plaque’s history.


I thought this is a good time to publish pictures of my coin collection. They are for sale at the Bathroom Machineries Store in Murphys. I thought they were fun.


I don’t know if any of these coins came from Jackson Bordellos, but they were definitely used during the gold rush. One I have is from nearby Placerville, or Hangtown as it was called then.

When you hang out with Jan, you are bound to get in trouble. She said, “Let’s sign our names to this one.”  Yeah, sure. I’m not bailing you out of jail when you get arrested for defacing property.


She didn’t sign her own name, but I can honestly say the rains will soon take care of the graffiti. And, there probably was a “girl” name Mary in one of those places. It is an old name.



We shared a beer at Fargo. Tasted some delicious, flavored olive oils. Looked at pretty stained glass. Tourists to the core. Jan reminded me about visiting a gold rush town in Alaska that had a shop called “The House Of Negotiable Affections.” (Where men and fish spawn for sperm.) Hey, its life.

ROADSIDE WILDFLOWERS.

The late rains have brought out the wildflowers and we thought it would be a shame to miss them with the lens. So out, we went. I admire every year this knobby hilltop when it get's taken over by swaths of white and yellow in its green meadows.


We crossed the bridge to Tuolumne County and noticed the swaths of purple taking over the barren banks of the reservoir.


The purple is most likely a combo of lupines and purple vetch, above. The lupines are big and showy this year.

And they seem to like the same soil as these small yellow California poppies.


It seems so sweet of them to cover ugly spots and beautify the scraggliest places along the road. Wouldn't we feel cheated without them in the spring?


A close up of the poppy blanket.


Here and there is this orange flower.


Some pretty blue bells.


And a buttery yellow flower that grows bushlike.


Two types of insignificant, tiny, white flowers cover the forest floor.


Unless you look closely, you don't notice the difference.


What they lack in size they make up for in numbers. These tiny beauties can cover acres of ground on a hillside, and make themselves tall in the shade of trees.


Looking back at the river from our hillside perch, we saw about five red tail hawks combing the area for food.


Graceful wings, just there to offer more beauty to our day.

Man made signs, have  beauty too.  We returned to Calaveras County, a day well spent. Tomorrow, I'll try and figure out how to provide a  slide show of all the pictures. It will probably be my last blog before leaving for Turkey. I heard from our guide today and his information has rearranged my packing and what I will bring.

Yesterday, I printed out all my paperwork associated with my trip. Copies of credit cards, insurance papers and so on. I make a copy of everything important for my grandson to carry with his things. The idea is if your suitcase gets lost, you have the numbers and information in his luggage. And, his information is in my luggage should his get lost. It is a precaution we hope we won't need, of course.

Then I read about the clothing requirements, or suggestions,  as I prepared to select what I would take with me.  In the country, men and women do not wear sleeveless shirts or shorts. Women cover their hair. In mosques, if you do not have proper attire, you must rent it or stay out of the mosque.

In the cities, one can get by with showing knees, or even a sleeveless shirt, but it is still considered rather impolite to go out in public "improperly" dressed. Boys do not typically wear shorts. They wear trousers. I'd forgotten how much importance is placed on what we wear.

It wasn't too long ago that women wore house dresses. The first time my mother came home with a pair of "slacks", it was war at her house. She wore her slacks until they were thin and then used them to make a rug which I still have. She wore house dresses most of her life and only rarely reverted to "pants."  For my generation it was giving up nylons at church and at work. I still had to wear a hat to church as a kid. Not until I met a firebrand teacher in fifth grade, was I allowed to wear anything but skirts and long stockings over long underwear to school. Boys had warm legs, we girls had to freeze. She let us wear "Jeans" which we did at home, by then, on the farm. Oh, how we adored her.

That was reversed when we moved back to Escanaba. We were required to wear long stockings, (no Jeans)  to school for seventh and eighth grades. By the time I arrived at school in the winter, my hands were so stiff with cold, I had to warm my hands before I could open my combination lock to my locker.

Now, though it is inconvenient and seems silly to me, I make it a point to obey the dress codes of the countries I travel in.  Each non-westernized country is so unique and interesting, I’m glad that I got to see the colorful clothing of the Inca peoples of Peru. And the folk music and dance costume of Costa Ricans, and that I learned to tie a piece of fabric that covers a man or a woman from head to toe without buttons to assist keeping it in place.

On our boat, we can only wear boat shoes or socks or bare feet. And, there is no electrical connections on the small boat we sail for a short time. I finally have taken the time to be excited about my upcoming trip, and can enjoy it through the printed word, first.

Today, Jim and I are going to go out and look for wildflowers in bloom and stop and take pictures.

LIFE IS BUSY, DUTY CALLS.

LIFE IS BUSY, DUTY CALLS.

April 6, 2014

Since I’ve been absent these pages, Jim thinks I should let people know what is going on in my life.
There is before taxes and now, after, taxes. Pre-trip details to ready. Also working on a new computer, and a new printer. The printer had to be shipped back. It weighs 45 pounds!!
I’ve been taking pictures of items I’ve purchased to place with receipts because my insurance will not cover them without receipts, should something happen. One of those things a person should do as you go, but I didn’t.
Also fielding the progress and problems with building a new place in Oregon.
Getting ready to leave for my trip to Turkey, means my housemate must be ready to take care of things while I’m gone. Jim will move on after I leave.
I’m also intent upon scanning pictures from my trip to Africa and Portugal and Spain and getting those old trips ready to blog. (Haven’t started yet.)  Some of the pictures, and experiences were pretty fantastic.  I think the accident made me realize how short life is and if you really want to do something, better get at it.
Now you know.

THE 99 CENT STORE DIET

I’m a fan of John Tesh who provides a radio segment several times a day called Intelligence For Your Life.
He has a staff of researchers who read through scientific journals and studies;  magazines that specialize in cooking, nutrition, gardening, parenting, counseling, home place and work place advice, relationships, marriage, school… I’ve heard him weigh in on topics such as cigarette damage from third- hand smoke (just recently), resumes, how to handle problems on the job, how to get a job and so on.
He happens to be on our local station Star 92 at 92.7 on my radio dial. If you are interested, his archive of “intelligence” is located on his website at:
http://www.intelligenceforyourlife.com

I heard him yesterday talk about a guy who lost over 250 pounds on the 99 Cent Store Diet.  I went to the dentist and my hygienist sent ME to the 99 cent store for some fuzzy toothpicks. So, while I was there, I looked around at what Tesh was talking about.
First the diet:
What this guy did was eat omelets with spinach or some type of vegetables for breakfast.
For a snack, he’d have yoghurt and fruit.
For lunch he’d eat whole grain bread sandwiches with canned chicken or tuna.
And for dinner he chose beans and rice with a small amount of meat, and a salad. Or soups with vegetables and beans with very little meat.  He avoided ANY sugar. No sugar at all, which is hard to do. In two years, he took off over 250 pounds, cured his diabetes, lowered his blood pressure so he didn’t have to take drugs and he bought everything from the 99 Cent Store because it is cheap.

Well, not all 99 cent stores carry fresh vegetables and eggs, but most have canned meats and vegetables. I expect the someone locally could vary his/her diet a bit with fresh veggies and a choice of fresh meats. And, it can certainly be done cheaply, even for a family or individual on  food stamps. I know, because I have a close friend that is temporarily on food stamps. Or the SNAP card, as it is called, and she eats healthfully.
When Jim and I are out on the road, we do shop some at 99 Cent stores and they have some wonderful stuff. I wouldn’t do it on a regular basis because I read labels and the chemicals are enough to turn you away from canned and packaged goods in the discount grocers and 99 cent stores. But, cheap, fresh produce, and the healthy improvement is worth the temporary, and yes, I’m calling a two-year program, temporary risks, of canned chemicals until your weight is under control.

I don’t often feel I need Tesh’s advice, since it is aimed at much younger people for the most part, but, it validates my thoughts on a subject; he dispenses common sense; and I never fail to learn something new from John Tesh. That’s  why I’m a fan.