bazaar Archives - Wandering North

Europe Sudan-South Sudan trip 2022 Turkey

24 hours in Istanbul

I was flying home from Juba, South Sudan, capping off my Sudan/South Sudan trip. It had been glorious. It had been exotic. It had been hot. So, on my way home, I was delighted to have a 24 hour layover in one of my favourite cities: Istanbul. Istanbul is great for a proper visit, but after that, layovers, from short to long, are excellent. Pop into the city, even for a few hours, smoke some shisha, get lost in the Bazaar, ride the ferry from Europe to Asia and back again…there are so many excellent options. I was glad to be back.

The thing that was different this time was that there was a new airport and the metro line connecting it to the city was not complete (update: the train is now running), so I had to take a taxi. It took longer than the train would have, but it was a nice drive with views I had never seen. Best of all, the driver and I smoked in the cab on the ride. How civilized. How wonderfully old fashioned.

I arrived in Istanbul just before sunset, to beautifully overcast and golden skies and flocks of seagulls cresting on the wind. The air felt blissful. I loved the heat of Sudan, but the cool, moist air of a November evening in Istanbul was welcome.

I ditched my backpack at a cheap, central, and unremarkable hotel and went out into the evening. I walked over to the square between the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophia and took in the views. I didn’t go into the Blue Mosque this time but did go to the Aya Sophia. There was no queue and since I had last visited it has been changed from a paid entrance ‘museum’ to a free entrance mosque. Regardless of what they are calling it, it is one of the most beautiful interiors I have ever seen.

I walked around some more and had a feast of Turkish appetizers for dinner, along with some shisha, tucked in under a blanket on a patio.

In the morning, I had breakfast at the historic “Pudding Shop”. I had seen it many times but never gone in. At whatever ungodly hour it was that I was out on the hunt for coffee, it was the only place open. It has a fascinating history. Its nickname is the Pudding Shop, but is actually called the Lale Restaurant and was opened by two brothers in 1957. In the 60s it became popular for travelers, and was the meeting point for hippies and vagabonds on their routes east into Asia. It had a bulletin board for people looking for rides and it had a bohemian vibe apparently, with books and bands. It doesn’t have that vibe now, but is still comfortable, with good food and a Turkish diner vibe. Lots of news articles and photos to look at. It’s more of cultural/historical interest these days, but I would go back.

With a stomach full of coffee and lentil soup, I walked over to the Grand Bazaar for a wander, which is always a delight. I had a couple of Turkish coffees and looked around. After that I continued to wander, but was mindful of the time and traffic.

I got a taxi back to the airport with enough time to enjoy the lounge.

And so ended my trip to the Sudans and my 2022 travel year. It was a good one.

Asia Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan/Albania trip 2022

Citadel to Shisha: Exploring Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan

I woke up early my second day in Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. I had arrived the evening prior and, while I went out, I hadn’t seen much or seen anything in the light of day. But first, breakfast. I was pleased to see that the hotel buffet breakfast had returned during these pandemic times. Even better, it was a middle eastern buffet breakfast. There were tons of fruits, nuts, yogurt, local salty cheeses, lentil soup, foul, fluffy pita breads amongst other delights. Best of all, was the view from the breakfast room on the top floor of the Erbil View Hotel.

Sufficiently fuelled, I walked back to the Citadel in the centre of Erbil, where I had been the night before. In the daylight, my assessment was still that it is not a beautiful city; not even really a charming one, but there is a lot to like, not least of which is that it all seems entirely authentic. There is very little that seems geared towards tourists. I liked this about it.

The Citadel is a high mound in the middle of the city with various structures and buildings on it. Apparently it has been occupied as far back at 5,000 BCE. It is an impressive sight from the ground and walking up to the top gives you postcard perfect views of the square, but there isn’t much to see of the Citadel structures themselves. They are (and have been for several years) undergoing a UNESCO restoration and so for now, much of the site is off limits.

*View of the citadel behind a shisha café*

That said, there are still some interesting buildings to see and there is a Kurdish textile museum, which is one of the few museums in Erbil. It is small and interesting and the entrance fee is negligible. Plus, there is an unflattering and candid photo of Steven Segal pinned to the wall from when he visited.

I snapped a selfie against one of the hanging carpets and decided to don my sunglasses as my eyes were still a bit haggard looking from the long flight the day before, resulting in my own ridiculous photo.

*I take my Kurdish Textiles very seriously*

I walked around the square, which was full of local people sitting and strolling; vendors selling nuts and fruit, cigarettes and phone cards.

I walked to the Qaysari Bazaar, which is just at the foot of the citadel. Qaysari Is the Kurdish word for market, so it might be redundant to call it the Qaysari Bazaar (like saying chai tea), but I’m sticking with it because that what it was called on my map. The Qaysari Bazaar is a covered bazaar, just like a smaller version of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. It was established in the 13th century and was a delight to wander in. It has the usual, colourful stall selling fruits, sweets, tea, and clothing, but with some unusual twists. It also has a renowned tea shop, but I wouldn’t stumble onto that until day four.

Around the perimeter of the bazaar were money changers with blocks of foreign currency sitting in or on top of clear, plastic boxes. A lot of the Iraqi Dinars still had Saddam Hussein’s face on them, which was not surprising, but I still did a double take.

I stopped at a cute little coffee shop on the edge of the bazaar and ordered a Turkish coffee, which came served to me on a purple velvet cushion, covered with two gilded, metal domes, like Russian nesting dolls. It was so elaborate. It seemed like something made for tourists, for Instagram, but the other people in the shop were unenthusiastic local men smoking cigarettes and seemingly blasé about their pretty coffee service. I was delighted.

I walked around a lot more that day. A bit aimlessly, but then as I started to see all there was to see in the centre, I decided to walk to Dream City for a coffee and to visit a cigar shop.

Dream City is a new development a bit out of the city centre. It was a long walk, but it is walkable. I stopped for more Turkish coffee and a couple of baklava at Ashtar Sweets.

Dream City is gated and very much geared towards drivers. In most parts there were not even sidewalks. The homes were huge and garish (and, I found out later, very expensive, like $10M expensive); but they all really looked like nouveau riche “McMansions”.

If you want international food, or a sports bar, or a steakhouse, the area around Dream City is for you. They even have a “Central Perk” cafe that is themed after the TV show friends. Honestly, I hated the area and both the cigar shop and the book-themed café I went there to see had recently closed, but I was happy for the walk and it was interesting to see the newer, richer areas.

On the plus side, as I excited the Dream City gates and turned to walk back down a different street, I realized I was near another cigar shop: H&H Cigars. I was thrilled. It was a proper cigar shop and, despite it not having any Cubans, it had a great selection. I bought a My Father cigar and settled into one of the comfy leather wing backed chairs and smoked and read my book (Wuthering Heights – my second go at it and I still couldn’t get into it) until dark. It was heaven after all my walking.

I opted to take a taxi back, which was a bit of a hassle. There are beige taxis everywhere and they may or may not use meters. This one did, but the driver ‘got lost’ several times on his way back to the Citadel, which is literally the most famous and visible and easiest to find sites in the city. The fare was still very cheap but I was annoyed at being taken advantage of – not that I could express my irritation easily when I knew only about four words in Kurdish and he knew about the same in English.

I ate my dinner from the same street-side falafel cart as the previous night. The proprietor seemed to remember me, smiled, and refused to take any payment for my meal.

I stopped for some shisha at a hole-in-the-wall type of place where I attracted a bit of attention from the all male clientele, as they looked up from their backgammon, cards, dominos, and mahjong, but I contentedly puffed away, watching the smoke drift off into the night sky before walking back to my hotel.

I should say that each of the five nights I was in Erbil I stayed out reasonably late and was always by myself. It felt completely safe. Most of the streets were busy with people and even the ones that weren’t did not seem menacing. The whole city seemed completely safe. (Of course, as I am writing this it is about a month after the fact and missiles have landed in the city from Iran, so it is impossible to know what to expect I guess, but my experience was a great one and without worry.)

The next day I had a trip organized to Lalish and Akre.

Europe Turkey

Pigeons to Peacocks

Hello agaın. I have survıved another day. As promısed, yesterday ı dıd vısıt the Basıcıllıa Cıstern, whıch ıs thıs underground resevoır from the 6th century whıch stıll collect water from roman aqueducts. The water ıs fılled wıth creepy lookıng fısh and ınsıde also are two huge carved Medusa heads.

I then made my way to the Grand Bazaar, whıch ıs practıcally a cıty to ıtself, wıh over 4000 shops ın a labryrınth also contaınıng cafes and tıny mosques. The selectıon of goods sold there ı ımpressıve, as are the relentless sellıng technıques of the merchants. I love to haggle, but ı have only so much that ı can buy, so mostly ı just looked. İ dıd walk away wıth a scarf, skırt, and necklace. I now offıcıally look lıke a gypsy or a hıppy. I have shed all remnants of my lawyer costume. The bazaar ıs overwhelmıng and ıntoxıcatıng. I wıll have to return at some poınt to make sure there ıs nothıng else ı need (want).

In the evenıng, after a short nap ı had a delıcıous dınner on a rooftop where ı met and ultımately dıned wıth a pleasant retıred couple from New Zealand who have been backpackıng around Turkey and Egypt for 6 weeks. They were full of good advıce and wıth them ı shared a glass of rakı, the anıse flavored drınk popular ın Turkey. I have to say that for a Mulsım country, there ıs an awful lot of drınkıng that happens here. I guess Allah turns a blınd eye where tourısm ıs concerned.
Thıs mornıng ı vısıted the breathtakıng Hagıa Sofya. It was buılt ın the 6th century as a church and sınce became a museum/mosque. It ıs truly magnıfıcent.

I then led myself on a walkıng tour up to the shore and to the Spıce Bazaar whıch sells, well, mostly spıces, but also sweets, an ınconceıvable array of turkısh delıght and delıcıous baklavas.

I also stumbled upon a weırd anımal market where every type of bırd was for sale (from pıgeons to peacocks), all flappıng frantıcally ın tıny cages. There were also cages of rabbıts, dogs and cats. The dogs and cats made me very sad and ı wanted to take them all home. There were also large jars of leeches, whıch were surprısıngly actıve. I dıd not want to take them home. I wanted to scowl at them and then run away.

I vısıted many mosques today, ıncludıng (but not lımıted to) Nurusmaniye Camii, Beyazıt Camii, Süleymaniye Camii and Yenı Camıı (ın case you haven’t fıgures ıt out yet, ‘Camii’ means mosque.)

Now, dınner and a bıt of hookah smokıng ı thınk.
My observatıons for today (Betty Lou was usually ın charge of the observatıons, so ı am tryıng to keep her happy): There are no maıl boxes ın Istanbul. If you want to maıl somethıng you must go to the post offıce and hand ıt to a postal worker. The reson for thıs? Bombs. For thıs same reason, there are very few garbage cans, although the cıty ıs not terrıbly dırty. Also, their streets really aren’t marked, whıch makes followıng maps very ınterestıng. Occasıonally there wıll be a card-sızed sıgn on a buıldıng ındıcatıng the street name, but usually these are absent or covered by plumbıng, plants, or other sıgns. Surprısıngly though, ı am fındıng my way around wıth ease. Usıng a mıx of ınstınct and land marks on the horızon ı have always found my way easıly (more so than ın Moscow).
That ıs all. I am famıshed.
Untıll tomorrow….

Tag: bazaar