Istanbul to Ayvalik

We packed up our whole flat into our snail-bags yesterday, dropped off our suitcase at a friend's place and set off for Yenikapi to take a ferry to Bandirma. Sadly our spur-of-the-moment "plans" didn't quite work out as the 12:30 ferry was full. Instead of opting for the 8 hour bus to Ayvalik we decided to wait for the 6:30 ferry and catch a movie while we waited. Given my penchant for big-budget action films and the fact that "Salt" was out with Turkish subtitles, this worked out perfectly.

The ferry to Bandirma took about 2 hours. Sadly, we didn't take any pictures as our energy was focused on getting non-sleazy accommodation for the night. We did walk around a bit later on after getting a pile of fasulye (beans) and pilav (rice). Surprisingly, Bandirma's center is quite well planned, with a large square and Ataturk statue (of course!) and a lit up bridge linking two parts of the harbour that provided a pretty cool vantage point for the sea as well as the city. There's not much to see in the city, but that's exactly what was nice about being there. That it was just a normal place.

After an uneventful night we took the bus to Ayvalik, sleeping most of the 4 hours. The countryside looked more and more arid, but absolutely gorgeous - stretches of nothing but olive groves on one side, a smattering of buildings and the sea on the other.

As always, we managed to find a delightful guesthouse in the center of old Ayvalik, surrounded by crumbling Ottoman era houses. We finally found what was eluding us in Istanbul - the opportunity to swim. It was awful to be surrounded by water and yet not be able to take a dip in the scorching weather. The beaches of Sarimsakli are only a 15 minute (gorgeous) bus ride away from Ayvalik.

So far, so good. There aren't even any bugs here. Tomorrow we head to Alibey/Cunda Island, where there are apparently fishing cats. We will report on this soon.

Eyup and Santralistanbul

If I had more time in Istanbul, I'd repeatedly visit SantralIstanbul museum and the Energy Museum on the campus of Istanbul Bilgi University in Eyup. The Energy Museum is basically a disused power plant (and I do love derelict factories) and the parking lot has breathtaking views of surrounding Eyup and the Golden Horn. We were able to catch the tail end of one of the free jazz performances from the Istanbul Jazz Festival, while P's frisbee team played nearby. Eyup is one of the more interesting areas in Istanbul, packed with colourful hillside houses, a beautiful cemetery, one of Istanbul's 2 cable car transport systems, and a bizarre carnival park. You can take the ferry from Uskudar or get there by bus/Bilgi's free shuttles from Taksim.

Eat: Tamirane, a converted warehouse, has delicious (though pricey) cocktails and a well thought out menu. Has the added bonus of live music.

Galata and Around

The area behind the Galata Kulesi is one of my favourite parts of Istanbul. Right next to the tower there are, of course, a fair amount of souvenir/trinket shops and tourist restaurants, one of which is the excellent Kiva Han, which serves specialties from the South East like tomato sweets and walnut fig compote. Getting away from the souvenir tack is easy enough, though. The newly-installed but ancient-seeming cobbled street leading away from Galata to the famous Dogan apartments has been transforming quite quickly, and is now home to a photography school and various independent Turkish designers. The buildings are old and gorgeous, and aside from all the well dressed and in-the-know Istanbullu, you're definitely aware that something creative and amazing is happening in this place. The end of the street is full of ceramic studios and antique shops. Though I'm not a huge fan of jewelry, Aida Pekin's workshop on the corner of Serdar Ekrem Cikmaz has the most whimsical collection inspired by Istanbul. There are little necklaces moulded into ships, stray cats, and the Istanbul skyline. Next doors ceramic showpieces are designed in house - we were lucky enough to get a peek at the process. The neighborhood behind Galata on the hillside that leads down to Tophane is a buzzing residential area with a few grocery stores and kiraathanes, coffee/tea houses traditionally frequented only by men with Turk kasis (Turkish bellies!). We found some delicious bal kaymak here - a type of creamy yoghurt with honey. Yum! Apparently there is a really old and famous kaymakci in Besiktas, but unfortunately we haven't managed to find him yet.

Sultanahmet and Pazarlik

Most tourists in Istanbul don't venture much further than Sultanahmet, which is a shame because all of Istanbul is breathtaking, and Sultanahmet is hardly representative of Turkey . In the two months I've been in this beautiful city I've only made it out there twice, once for train tickets to Europe at Sirkeci and once to show P's family around. We went to the Blue Mosque and the Yeni Camii (the New Mosque in Eminonu, which isn't new at all) and waited while the fam visited the Hagia Sofia since we didn't want to drop 20TL again.


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Then we went to Misir Carsisi (The Egyptian Market or Spice Market) to check out the smells and the leeches - there are a few shops outside Misir Carsisi advertising them as the cure for all ills.



After a short apple tea break we went to Kapali Carsi (the Grand Bazaar and the world's largest covered mall) to bargain for tea cups and other exciting goods.

Kapitan Andreeevo

A couple of weeks ago we ventured across the border. The Turkish authorities reduced the time for Polish passports from 90 to 30 days, so we have to leave and re-enter every month. We took a two hour bus from Istanbul to Edirne, then crossed the border to Bulgaria at Kapikule/Kapitan Andrevo. Like any immigration experience, this one was time-consuming and tiring, but worsened by the fact that we had to endure the searing heat at 2 am. Worse, the Bulgarian border control "office" was swarming with flying roach-ants. That, coupled with the unbelievable stench on our bus, made for a pretty awful 8 hours. Budget travel, I can't wait to forsake you! Nevertheless, our time on both sides of the border was fairly enjoyable.

Things Edirne has:

Amazing old mosques, delicious lokum, a fun main street, kokorec (a supposedly tasty, haggis-like, turkish specialty that I do not have the guts to try), and other yummy-looking street food. And super friendly people!







Things Plovdiv has:

Budget ruins, a pretty old town, old ladies with blue hair, scandalously dressed helmet-haired women, and a penchant for body-builders (both male and female)






Apparently a friend of a friend in Plovdiv (the turkish "mis" tense would be so handy here) discovered ruins while excavating for the foundation of a house and decided not to declare the find to the government. Also, one can attend concerts in a roman amphitheatre... on the regular. Oh, and did I mention that Bulgarians shake their heads from side to side to say yes, and nod yes, up and down, to say no? VERY CONFUSING. Oh, Bulgaria, I don't think we'll be back anytime soon....