Maiden's Tower (Kızkulesi)

Welp, let me say there is nothing like having no internet, no smartphone and no TV to make you feel soooo disconnected from the world. As I finally settled into my flat in London this week, I have yet to set-up anything, although my closet is full already. So, I sincerely apologise for my lack of blogging.

A few weeks ago was Paul and I's third anniversary - time flies! We had  passed the Maiden's Tower a few times from our Bosphorus cruises, and I thought it was cute and picturesque The guide books never said much and I thought it was just a little place on the water that was pretty to look at from shore. However, I recently found out they had a restaurant there and decided I wanted to visit it.

I said something to  Paul in passing at some point and he took it upon himself to surprise me and made special plans for us to celebrate at the tower on my last weekend in Istanbul.

To get to the Tower, you have to take a boat. We left from Kabatas and while the ride was a bit choppy on the smaller boat, it was scenic as always.

Arrival at the tower

The restaraunt is a bit fancy - they call it "white glove service." It's a 4 course meal and you have two different menus to select from. I got the one without seafood and Paul got the seafood one, but I did have to steal his desert!

Other than the dinner, you can walk up to the top of the tower for a bit of history and a view.

Walk past the murals with stories of the fabled princesses 'emprisoned' here; read the stories of the tower's many uses of history including residence, hospital and lighthouse.

She was locked in the tower and a passing sailor fell in love
with her. When he came to rescue her, his ship was attacked and
he drowned trying to reach the island. Or something like that

Self portrait for our anniversary - we gave in and paid
the photographer for a 'professional picture

And finally, you get to the best part - the fantastic views.

Beautiful Bosphorus Brdige

Would I recommend it? That depends. The food is pretty good, but in no way Turkish and definitely overpriced. But, you are definitely paying for the experience. We sat there for over three hours enjoying course, after course, after course of food. Pay extra, and you even get a window seat! 

News from the Tarts

I know where everyone is going with this - and no, it's not what you think (unless you already know and then yes, it is).

The big news from the Tarts is that we will no longer be the Tarts in Turkey, we will now be the Tarts in the UK. I have relocated to London this week and Paul will be following shortly with Belle.

It is a bittersweet move. I am so excited for the new opportunity in London, to be back at work, back in an office and take on new challenges. I'm excited for a new place to explore and to be back in English speaking territory. And best of all, I'm just a short(er) plane ride away from home.

But, despite the excitement over our move, I will miss Turkey. A lot. I can certainly say we have had an adventure of a lifetime and I will always be grateful for the time I got to spend in Turkey. Of course there are many I wishes still around Turkey - I wish I would have made it to Trabzone, I wish my Turkish would have been better, I wish we could have been here just a bit longer. But, I know we will be leaving Turkey with more than we came with. I'm leaving with a new sense of myself, wonderful friends, confidence to get around a crazy city like Istanbul on my own and lots of once in a lifetime experiences, not to mention all the carpets, pottery, art and other physical things we've managed to pick up along the way!

So off to a new adventure we go! I can't wait to share all that our new life has in store for us.

A City Escape - Belgrade Forest

Just a 25 minute drive from our apartment is an oasis away from the crowded, noisy, busy streets of Istanbul.

This weekend, we took Belle for some running and playing in Belgrade Forest. This wasn't Belle's first visit - our fantastic dog trainer who watches Belle when we are out of town has taken her a few times. But I had never been and was curious to check it out and most importantly get Belle some quality off the leash time.

Driving up, you first pass through some of the cities old aqueducts from the 16th century. It still amazes me that these are regular sites which cars pass through every day, just a normal part of life.

Once we got there, we drove on the road all the way through the forest. People have pulled off to the official stops, enjoying picnics, hanging out in hammocks, grilling and enjoying time with family. People stopped just off the road and wandered to hike a bit through the forest. People were selling watermelons, vegetables and toys on the side of the road. Quite a bit of activity.

Yet, after a 2 minute walk past the picnic tables and gathered family crowds, we had the forest all to ourselves.

Belle had a ball. She'd run ahead several feet, sniff out plants and smells, trying to find a bite to eat. Just when we would think she might run off, she would stop, turn around and look at us, as if to say "Come on guys, you're slowing me down here!" We never did find the lake we were looking for, but Belle (and us) still enjoyed all the sights and smells of the forest, although maybe not the mosquitoes that come out in the summer.

I'm not sure what all there is to see here - there is a 6km trail that runs around the forest and passes by the lake where Belle usually gets to swim. There is also a beautiful arboretum with manicured lawns and lakes. We still don't know if we found the "right" place to walk around the forest, but enjoyed a couple of hours of quiet nonetheless before returning to our bustling neighborhood in urban Istanbul.

Ortaköy

The first time I went to Ortaköy was before we even moved to Istanbul. I tagged along with Paul on a 48 hour visit in order to confirm that I could indeed live in Turkey. While we were here, we got in a Bosphorus boat cruise and made a pit stop in Ortaköy. We were greeted by the hustle and bustle of Istanbul on tiny streets packed with restaurants, jewellers/artists selling their goods and people taking it all in.

  Back alley in Ortaköy with restaurants and bars along it

Since then I have been hooked and it is a favorite place to take visitors when they come into town. On the weekends, they have some great street vendors selling art, jewelry, books and more, in addition to the usual stores there.

Ortaköy also is a great place to have a meal and enjoy  the views. Whether you sit down at Mado or the House Cafe, or grab a kumpir to go and sit by the water, you won't be disappointed by the atmosphere. There's even a guy selling mussels if you want something "fresh" and slimy (I may be biased as a non-seafood eater, but there's something fishy about this).

 Kumpirs! Basically a baked potato + salad bar

 For those who are brave and have strong stomachs

But, like I said, the best part of it is the view. Right up on the Bosphorus and right under the Bosphorus bridge, you get a fantastic view of the ships, water, bridge, birds and everything else that makes the Bosphorus so unique.

Six Months

Today is my six seven month anniversary of living in Istanbul. Wow. Time really does fly. It seems like both just yesterday and forever ago that we packed up, sold off our junk stuff, rented out our house and got on a one way flight to Istanbul.

Has everything worked out perfectly according to our well laid plans? Of course not, life is funny like that. Still, looking back, there are absolutely no regrets. I love the life of an expat, travelling the world on weekends, exploring a country I had only thought about visiting but I now call home. I love my friends here, and even as some of them head back home to 'real' lives, we will always share memories of this crazy, fantastic, sometimes trying experience of living as yabancılar (foreigners) in Istanbul.

It has been six months full of lots of firsts - first time living overseas, first time haggling in the bazaar, first time getting lost on the subway (or the bus or just in general), first time living by the water, first time missing Thanksgiving in Texas, first time.......  

So, what has the last six months brought us?

• Five new countries stamped in our passports
• Three visitors from home with whom we got to share our city
• A little bit of knowledge of Turkish
• More snow days than I care to count
• Many, many visits to the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya and other city sites
• Two Turkish rugs  (and that's only because of my wonderful shopping self restraint!)
• An appreciation for a new culture

 Turkey bound! And yes, that is one of those plane face masks. I love them and may or may not use them at home too. Just saying they're great.

Visiting my first mosque in Istanbul (Nov 2011)

 Hanging out in Ortakoy (December 2011)

 Driving through Tekirdağ - having some of their special kofte (December 2011)

 Celebrating the New Year in Gelibolu (January 2012)

 Family portrait at Troy (January 2012)

 Official resident of Turkey - and yes, I look terrible, just ignore that part (February 2012)

First trip to the Asian side of Istanbul and almost made it to the Black Sea (March 2012)

 First tulip festival (April 2012)

What will the next six months have in store for us? Well, besides the 4 sets of visitors, and lots of trips, only time will tell!

Update: I apparently skipped one of those basic math lessons. This was my seven month anniversary! Time really does fly.

Winter Wonderland

As a Texas girl, summers in Turkey were not a concern to me moving over here (you call 40 degree C hot?!).  I was worried about the winter - with no car, no seat warmers (I definitely miss these on rainy days) and only our radiators to keep us warm inside!

In true Urban winter fashion, the last few weeks have been cold and rainy - the worst kind of winter weather.  Poor Belle probably misses the outdoors because on these kind of days I venture out only when she needs to go.

This week though, much to my surprise, we got a special treat - SNOW! Not just once, but twice! From what I have heard, snow isn't too frequent in Istanbul and doesn't stick (sounds a lot like Texas, huh?), so this is really something extraordinary.

And to sound completely not like a Texas girl - I liked it.  At least if it's going to be cold, we get something beautiful out of it. 

Snow #1 - daytime snow.  Big beautiful flakes that fell for hours.

Snow #2 - evening snow.  Teeny little flakes that didn't seem like much but accumulated pretty quickly.

Enjoying the beautiful snow while it lasts - before it turns into icky urban slush!

Kumpir!

When we came to Turkey for Paul's interview, I had noticed some baked potato stands and thought - hmm, that's an interesting concept.

After coming to Istanbul, I decided I just had to try one of these delicious looking baked potatos. I did some online research, and it comes to find out that these spuds are a bit famous in Turkey - they are known here as Kumpir.

There are Kumpir stands in various parts of town, but probably the most number of these are in Ortakoy, a little shopping area right on the Bosphorous on the European side.  Saturday we decided to get in some Christmas shopping and we went hungry so that we could have one of these delicious treats!

When you first walk into Ortakoy on the north side, you see a whole row of these stands - they all sell the same thing, so everyone is calling out to you trying to get you into THEIR stand.

Once you carefully choose a stand, you go up and pick your toppings just like a salad bar.  They have the usual butter and cheese, and other toppings such as peas, corn, black olives, green olives, pickles, rice, cabbage, mushrooms, yogurt and other unidentifiable (at least by me) things.  Then they mash it up and wrap it up in foil for your eating pleasure.

Odd combination, yes.  But, the kumpirs were a hit. 

Turkey Tourists

Istanbul is a giant city, and Paul and I live no-where near the tourist sites.  Great for everyday living to avoid throngs of tourists; not so convenient when you are trying to be one of thousands in those very throngs.  This weekend, Paul and I set out on a trek to get in some sight-seeing, full of taxi's, trams, and a whole lot of walking!

Sultanahmet is great because all the tourist areas are so close together - from one stop on the tram, you are in walking distance to Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazzar.  Two stops down is the Spice Bazaar.   There are other tourist sites in this area that we missed this time (the cisterns, Topkapi palace, historic turkish baths aka hamams)

This was the first time I really felt like a tourist.  Maybe it was the fact that there were sooo many other tourists, even in the off season, or maybe it was that no one even assumed that I was a local and just spoke English right off the bat.  You are also getting hustled like a tourist - from the domar stand on the corner, to the bus tour guides, to the carpet salesman at the Grand Bazaar.  There is always something to see.

We are looking forward to having some visitors now so that we can show you the sites!

Paul in front of Aya Sofia enjoying his tavuk wrap

Inside the Blue Mosque

Inside the Grand Bazaar