That's An Understatement, or how Day 3 of Istanbul was

My time is beginning to run down in Istanbul! But my jet lag is not. (So I always thought jet lag was being sick and really lethargic. But no. It means waking up at stupid hours despite the fact that you need more sleep. I didn't have this problem when I went to Europe last time... but I suppose I did it in stages, with a 3 then 5 then 1 hour jump on consecutive days.)

Whininininining.

Today was the Bophorous cruise up to see an Asian village called Anadolu Kavagi. The boat had a few other ports, so it took about an hour and a half to get there. It was noon when we arrived, so a perfect time for eating, and Rick Steves had some great suggestions! Fried local mussels is their trademark, so those and a bowl of plain yogurt were lunch.

The main draw of Anadolu Kavagi, besides the food places and their boisterous greeters, is Yoros Castle. Let me quote the guidebook for a minute here:

"The moderately strenuous hike takes about 20 minutes each way... Head up to the top of the courtyard for your reward: spectacular views of the Bosphorous and the Black Sea - and the cool northernly breeze." (Rick Steve's Istanbul, 270)

This passage is misleading. This "moderately" strenuous hike takes you vertically up a hill. It took some looking up, but I think it is about 110 meters, so 360 feet up when walking about 2000 feet (by the map I was looking at) to get to the top. That's a 18% grade, y'all! That's steep! (I had to look up the coordinates, look up the topography, look up the distance, and then look up how to calculate a hill's grade. All to prove a point. So difficult.)

If you were wondering, the grade is simply the distance to height ratio (so in this case, 360/2000).


Anyway, I'm not complaining (that much). The hike was worth it: the castle and views were stunning.


However, the book was still misleading. That "breeze" they were talking about was a crazy whirlwind (though I heard that it was windy everywhere). To get to the castle ruins, there is an arch in the wall that created this crazy vortex that whooshed people through. Speaking of people, I ran into two girls from my hostel while up there as well. We had been on separate parts of the boat, so didn't realize we were on the same one.

So, now to deviate to my stalkerish habits... While I was eating lunch, the one other man who was eating lunch in there was an older Turkish gentleman with a beautiful gray wool driving cap. While I was hanging around the castle grounds, I saw him approach an outcropping I had just been to. I was hanging on to my sunglasses because I was afraid they would fall off, but he was calm and the hat didn't budge.

After walking back down the hill and then getting on the ferry, I managed to snap this picture of him for your pleasure.

One of the ports was a place called Kanlica. I was so disappointed on the way out, because I had read about the fresh yogurt that they delivered to the ship then peddled from the Snack Bar. On the way back, though, it happened! The yogurt is topped with powdered sugar and was deliciously delicious. It was the third time that day that I had yogurt, one of my favorite foods.

We got back to the port by the Golden Horn about 4:30. I headed through the Spice Market (again, yes), down a bustling side alley, and managed to find the Rustem Pasa Mosque. While I had my shoes off and hair covered and was inside admiring the blue painted tiles, this other traveler walks in with his shoes, begins talking to himself loudly, and completely disrespects the place. I was sad and disappointed that he hadn't versed himself at all in how to visit a mosque, or even taken time to look at the signs. Those kinds of tourists give the rest of us who do our homework a bad name.

I continued wandering, attempting to get to the Grand Bazaar, a huge indoor market. Instead, I kept ending up on these other market streets that were half closed, with people cleaning up for the day.

Which convinces me of the fact that there must be a look that new travelers to Istanbul must have that says "Talk to me" since I barely got 4 comments (aside from the lunch craziness). The confident walk and lack of eye contact probably help too.

I made it to the Grand Bazaar, tired and disoriented and still a bit on edge from all of the streets I had just been down, so I pretty much just kept my head down and walked to find the exit by a street I needed. A bit of a walk later, and I got back to the hostel to write this and think about food so I can get hungry!

Here's to Turkish pancakes with hostel friends, lots of good sleep, and a final full day in Istanbul!