Our Day at Istanbul's Grand Bazaar

Rebecca with the scarf seller in the Grand Bazaar

Last Thursday, noticing a gap in the foul weather we have been experiencing lately, I took Rebecca to the ultimate of all shopping Mecca's, the Grand Bazaar. As we arrived, we were immediately hailed by the same scarf seller, who showed us how to tie scarves when Jessica was here. We promised to visit him as soon as we had finished lunch, and found our way to Pedaliza, where we were welcomed warmly, as I have been there several times.

This is a traditional Turkish restaurant in the Grand Bazaar, 

specialising in Ottoman cuisine, with the menu changing daily 

so there is no chance of it becoming boring! 

After lunch we returned to the scarf seller, who brought us tea, in the traditional Turkish manner. Rebecca eventually bought a scarf and we wandered off to see the rest of the delights of the Bazaar.

Rebecca loved the hanging lamps in the Grand Bazzar

We gradually worked our way downhill to the exit that leads to the warren of narrow streets that lead to the Spice Bazzaar.

 Rebecca stands next to some Turkish delight in the Spice Market

We bought some cheese in this delicatessen

After exploring the bazaar and the surrounding area, we decided it was time for dessert at the Saray Muhallebicisi in Eminönü. This is one of a chain of restaurants in Turkey, that serves a variety of Turkish dishes, and are also famous for their vast range of desserts.

The name, Saray Muhallebicisi, translates as "Palace of the Seller of Milk Puddings", and as you can see, they all look rather delicious!

After this we returned home, exhausted but happy.

Explosion in Istanbul!

There has been an explosion in Istanbul. I just want to reassure everyone, especially Mart and Babara, that we are far away on the other side of the Bosphorus. It appears that a bomb, carried on a motorbike, blew up a police bus in İmrahor Street, Beyoglu, at 9:00h this morning, near the Golden Horn. The Prime Minister, Erdogan, has described it as a typical PKK operation, as they have targeted the police in the past. So far they haven't reported any deaths, but 16 people have been injured, one seriously.

We were planning to stay at home anyway, as it snowed rather heavily in the night and it is very cold. So I repeat, we are quite safe, and would know nothing about it were it not for the news programmes!

Thousands March in Istanbul

David and Becca on the start of our day out

Sunday was a glorious day, so we decided to take Rebecca to Istiklal, the famous street for promenaders, that runs between Tünel and Taksim Square. On reaching Istiklal, we were surprised to see riot police standing by, next to a huge water canon. We thought at first it might be to do with the football match later that day, we soon found out, however, that a huge demonstration was planned for that day.

Thousands of people filled the streets. The slogan on their caps read, 

“Have your say against the Armenian lie”, and they were waving both the Turkish and Azerbaijani flags 

As we walked along the three kilometers of this long street, we were joined by thousands of people commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre, in which hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijani civilians were killed by the Armenian army. Aparently, people even travelled all the way from Azerbaijan just to take part in the march.

Although there were riot police armed and ready along the route, the march passed off peacefully and we never once felt threatened.

The Azerbaijanis waved their countries flag, but wore headbands, 

declaring that they too were Turkish

David and Becca in the middle of the demonstration

This sign says, "We are Turks", and in front are Azerbaijani veterans, 

carrying Turkish flags

Survivors of the massacre

This sign says, "We live to survive because we are Turkish".

The people marched to Taksim square, where they held a rally, 

but we decided it was time to go, so we fought our way through 

the crowds, and took the dolmuş home.

A Winter Wonderland in Ispra, Italy

 David and Jessica had to dress warmly for the snow

In my last week with Clare and Jessica in Italy, we were surrounded by a winter wonderland. Fortunately we were warm and cosy inside their apartment, while outside the temperatures plummeted. David joined us for my last few days and we flew back to Istanbul together.

We could see from Clare's window that no one would be 

playing on the tennis courts this week

Fortunately, I had bought a pair of snow boots.

They are very warm, with a good tread.

I took a walk to look at the scenery. This is the same 

farmhouse I photographed for a previous post.

This horse was looking suspiciously at all this white stuff

that had suddenly appeared

We walked to the little village of Ispra, and rewarded ourselves 

with delicious cakes and cappuccinos in a delightful café

We had such a wonderful time in Italy, that we were sad to leave. Here's to the next time!