Türkiye

So it’s been awhile! After my last post, we went on a absolutely spontaneous week long dream vacation! The afternoon of Valentine’s day I got a Gchat message from the husband asking if I was up for visiting Turkey? My reaction was something like “What the?! You better not be joking with me!!!” Before I knew it I was off getting my passport renewed and 3 days later sitting in Istanbul!!!

 

View of Blue Mosque from the inside courtyard

We visited Istanbul, Antalya and Pamukkale (Hieropolis). Along the way we also drove through parts of Taksim and Denizli. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about my trip. The people I encountered were some of the kindest I have ever met. The food was lovely, we had 7 days of eating kebabs, with only 1 experience that did not taste amazing. As far as travel around the country goes, I quite enjoyed the ease of the metro which traveled around most of Istanbul and allowed us as tourist to easily move through the city without much knowledge of the language/area. We took a bus to the airport for our flight to Antalya, we mistakenly booked the flight out of Sabiha Gökçen airport which is in a far part of Istanbul so our ride on the Havatas bus to the airport was longer than our flight itself!

Suggestion: Get a week long or full day pass for the metro so you can easily hop on or off while sightseeing in Istanbul. And when booking local flights to other regions within the country, make sure to book to/from Ataturk airport because the amount you pay in taxis/bus fare to get to the farther airport will end up costing the same.

Roman Columns in Hieropolis

We flew into Antalya on a 1 hour flight and rented a car to drive 3 hours to Pamukkale. Renting a car was a great decision in Antalya since it is not as walkable as Istanbul. The only advice about renting a car I have is: Get a GPS! We used a map thinking we could figure it out relatively easily. But with no knowledge of the Turkish language and the fact that Turkey doesn’t seem to be big on the use of street signs  as commonly as in the US, we wish we hadn’t chose to be explorers!  It was a fun exploration nonetheless.




Reasons why Turkey is an Ideal vacation spot:

It’s SO romantic! Maybe it’s all the historical architecture around you in Istanbul, or the adorable cobblestone roads and buildings reminiscent of Italy/Greece in Antalya, but everywhere we went we saw people of all ages cuddling up in corners or walking hand in hand with infectious smiles and a twinkle in their eye. Honestly, just the sight of the sun glistening down on the deep cyan Mediterranean sea was enough to set the mood! It’s the perfect place for honeymooning!

In Istanbul, you have thousands of years of history all in a 5 minute radius of each other. We saw the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and Bascilia Cistern all in 1 day, and we still had time leftover to make a quick trip on the metro down to the Grand Bazaar!

Fresco of Jesus inside Hagia Sophia from the Roman/Byzantine Era

If finding amazing knock offs is your thing, then you have to hit the Grand Bazaar! It’s like going to China Town but no shady back doors or rooms, it’s all right in front of you! Tory Burch, Hermes, Chanel, Celine, LV. Basically, you name it and they had it. And best part was the quality. Everything was all 100% genuine leather, some of the best imitation boot and bags I’ve ever seen. But apart from replicas there is SO much more. Ornate lamps, luxurious hand-woven rugs and tons of small trinket, it’s like candy for the eyes! Expect to spend an entire day shopping and exploring the markets (both Spice and Grand Markets can be done in 1 day) because they are enormous and you can easily get lost in the maze of streets and pathways. Suggestion: Brush up on your bargaining skills and pack an empty duffle bag to bring back tons of goodies!

Assortment of Herbal Teas inside the Spice Bazaar

It’s relatively cheap. We went during off season, towards the end of February. Round trip tickets for 2 adults 1 child came to US$1,200, that’s cheaper than a trip we made out to California! Both of us being nerdy accountants meant we kept a tab on costs. Due to the currency conversion rate hotel stay is cheaper too. You can stay in affordable hostel type hotels for as low as $30/night in Istanbul, we paid $70 at a classy place in Antalya but found the cheaper one just as clean/safe/friendly. Since you’re eating out a lot, food cost does add up. The main thing we noticed was if we ate at Burger King/McDonald’s the prices were about the same, but local food vendors or even nice restaurants were still cheaper than dining out in the US. Adding up museum admissions, meals, lodging, metro fees (we used it more as we had a toddler, young singles can easily walk and save on that expense), shopping (depending on how much/little you buy in souvenirs) a 7 day trip for two + child is easily doable within US$2-3K. That is a steal for a honeymoon trip or a trip to any European country where you get to do sightseeing, relaxing, tons of eating and a good amount of shopping.

Lastly, If you’re Muslim and keep to eating only zabihah halal meats, then obviously dining out in Turkey is a nice change with not having to worry about limiting your choices to seafood only! And if you have not been properly introduced to an Iskender kabab, there is no better place :)

Natural hot springs in Pamukkale, used by ancient roman societies as luxurious baths

Amphitheater in Hieropolis

In deciding how to spend your time in Turkey, I would say 3 days are sufficient for enjoying Istanbul and leaving you with ample time to check out other cities which are definitely worth seeing. Places like Bursa, Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Antalya to name a few, are all full of beautiful landscapes and most of them are ancient Roman or Ottoman historical locations. Local flights aren’t very expensive or even a short ferry trip to do a one day excursion in Bursa is a great idea.
I now believe Italy and Greece, while still beautiful, are totally over hyped. Turkey really is the ideal tourist spot due to: the close proximity of all the historic sites in Istanbul, ancient cities like Pamukkale give view to amphitheaters, columns, hot springs, and ancient Roman lifestyle and you can soak in Mediterranean sunshine in Antalya. Also, since it’s not on the Euro currency it’s relatively cheaper than most other countries in Europe.

The main impression I took away from my trip was that Turkey contained the essential theme I wish to see in other countries (especially Muslim countries) of modesty while remaining moderate yet modern. My husband jokingly remarked that perhaps it’s the ‘Sufi vibes’ of this region that allows everyone to be so tolerate. I think he was on to something. We saw all types of people; Muslims/Non-Muslims who smoke, who drank, who dressed immodestly and they were living peacefully right alongside Muslims who donned hijabs and those who prayed in the mosques. We even saw a hijab clad female smoking a cigarette with no ‘haram police’ on her tail! Now that was a surprise!


Also, you hear of Europe being unsafe or of American tourist being treated poorly in some parts of the world, yet we were treated with so much warmth and kindness! Literally throughout the hustle and bustle of the Grand bazaar I found not a single crabby shopkeeper in a bad mood, they all greeted us with bright smiles. Even when my 2 year old would drop items off their shelves they did not show irritation. A few gave him toys, even when we were not buying anything from their shop. In fact, I was convinced that either my child was the cutest creature on the planet or Turkish people were severely deprived of toddlers, because we had SO many people like physically stop the stroller to reach down and kiss or play with him. Even the residents were so patient and helpful towards tourists, it was a rare sight to see after being used to the behavior found in the New York metropolitan area. Despite all the different types of people around, everyone was respectful of the religious sites, and you can sense a strong value of culture among the people. Turkey had the fashion sense and stunning sights of Europe with taste of Asian flavors and hospitality.

-->

Asleep to the world - Maulana Rumi

My entire existence is spent searching to do this.

Anyone who knows me well enough knows how affectedI am by the works of Maulana Rumi. I know in the past decade the western world has become highly fascinated with his work in romantic poetry. My own interest in this genre began far before who I knew who Maulana was. Something inside of me has always been drawn in that direction, but it was some time in the early 2000s during high school that I found a book at the library with his work and thus began my intrigue with Islamic Mysticism. I think I knew that this poetry wasn't about the type of love most people were using it for, which drew me towards it even more. This mystic has a message that my heart pulls me towards. Its a message only the heart can comprehend.

Love Drunk...can you handle your liquor?

"The promise of paradise is not enough. The mystic will not wait until he is cold in his grave to be with God. He wants to be with God in this life. He wants the immediate experience of the sacred. He is thirstier than other men."

http://www.theabodeofpeace.com/wine.html

A very interesting article about the presence of wine in mysticism using both Islam and Christianity as the main belief systems. Especially note the section where the liver is compared to the eye. It is described as the inner eye providing vision for our dreams and true reality; while the real eye is is our outer eye, providing vision for this illusion of a world. It further goes to indicate the tendency of Islamic culture to portray alcohol as a vile drink of those who are wayward and misguided. Yet many mystics used it in their pathway to enlightenment, they derive from the Quranic revelation regarding the rivers of wine flowing in Paradise to mean that those who are nearest to God are given this pure wine to drink from. Their indulgence in the drunkenness of alcohol is not to enjoy the taste of the drink but to quench the thirst they feel for the love and remembrance of God.

Ironically, in Christian culture, alcohol is widely accepted and only the mystics abstain from it as they say they will not drink wine until they drink it in the Kingdom of God.

Both of these mainstream monotheistic beliefs are in agreement with the fact that there will be wine in the paradise of God..it's just a matter of how it should be dealt with in this life.

I think the point is that the masses aren't ready for it. The masses see alcohol for all its worldly luxury, IE: getting wasted, forgetting about the woes of this life, doing sexual or other mischievous deeds that will be well forgotten by the morning. Exactly how us humans use our dreams on a regular basis, as a means to escape our reality for 7 to 8 hours of the night, to be lost in the world of the subconscious before we must return again. But, the masses aren't able to utilize it for what it's worth, because too much of any thing can turn into a bad things..... and in the case of alcohol, even a little of it may be too much for a person to handle when they aren't ready for it. Same goes for all things that give you an altered state of mind. They place you at the threshold of a world unimaginable. Most of us would not know how to behave or contain ourselves upon reaching that point. The mystic wants nothing more than to lose himself there and perhaps would have difficulty ever returning back into this realm of reality because after seeing true reality who ever would want to return to illusion? The test of a believer is to be aware of that place, of that reality, of the methods used to enter there, yet also to have an awareness that everything is meant for a reason and behave according to that understanding. We must not lose ourselves..no matter how deeply we may want to leave behind the 'truth' of this world we know, it is just as essential to our being as the unseen is. A true mystic, the one who is blessed enough to handle it; for him the pleasure of those short trips, occasional visits to the unseen are so divine..

Our dreams, this wine, all sorts of mind altering substances...they all take you there..but they are just means...just the mode of transportation....if you can't handle the journey, and especially not the destination, then you have no business getting on this ride.

The time has come...

It is your turn now,
you waited, you were patient.
The time has come,
for us to polish you.
We will transform your inner pearl
into a house of fire.
You're a gold mine.
Did you know that,
hidden in the dirt of the earth?
It is your turn now,
to be placed in fire.
Let us cremate your impurities.
-Maulana Rumi

Gone to the Unseen

At last you have departed and gone to the Unseen.
What marvelous route did you take from this world?

Beating your wings and feathers,
you broke free from this cage.
Rising up to the sky
you attained the world of the soul.

As a lovesick nightingale, you flew among the owls.
Then came the scent of the rosegarden
and you flew off to meet the Rose.

This phantom world gave you false signs
But you turned from the illusion
and journeyed to the land of truth.

I've heard that you can barely see your soul.
But why look at all? -
yours is now the Soul of Souls!

The flowers flee from Autumn, but not you -
You are the fearless rose
that grows amidst the freezing wind.

Now the words are over
and the pain they bring is gone.
Now you have gone to rest
in the arms of the Beloved.
-Maulana Rumi