It’s been a busy past two weeks: Athens and Crete at the end of March and then Istanbul for Easter with Lauren and Brie (friends from college), and part of the trip with Brenna (Brie’s much more adventurous younger sister – I don’t think I met the right Blakey). ;)
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| Partial view of Athens from the Acropolis |
First, let’s go through my impressions of Greece:
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| On the way to Rethymno, Crete |
1) I completely understand now why Greece is in so much debt – it doesn’t seem as if people there actually work…and they are all about giving you free stuff during meals (a coke here or an appetizer there) and of course always plenty of Ouzo (awful Greek liquor) to go around. But really, who can blame them with the gorgeous seaside views and plentiful sunshine?
2) Greece needs to invest in repairing its sewage system and cleaning up its streets…you’ll see what I mean when you read about or visit Greece. In comparison to Munich, Athens/Greece was like third world with a nice subway system.
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| Gyros - cheap and DELISH |
3) Greek coffee is excellent. Greek food...not as great as I had expected. Maybe it’s just not agreeable to my palate or maybe we went to the wrong places? Not sure, but here are the items I thoroughly enjoyed: feta cheese, spanakopita, greek honey with greek yogurt (I think my fave food item in Greece), grape leaves stuffed with rice, greek salads, olives, and gyros. Mmmm, good stuff; their appetizers are pretty tasty but the main course leaves much to be desired.
Brief summary of our activities w/ pictures below:
I have to admit (and Brie can certainly confirm), my knowledge of Greek history is very much so lacking. Luckily, I have intellectual friends and Wikipedia, both provide me with much needed education on history and culture.
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| Acropolis at Night |
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| Parthenon (sits on the Acropolis) |
Acropolis – apparently the Parthenon sits on top of the Acropolis – who knew?! I had to reorient myself slash ask Brie multiple times where we were and if we had “reached the Parthenon?” I am an uncultured and uneducated human being, it is true.
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| P signs can mean parking in an olive grove... |
Crete and drive to Rethymno – beautiful seaside views and apparently signs that have “P” do not necessarily mean that there will be parking for a scenic overpass. This “P” sign led us to an olive grove…I thought I’d take the Suzuki offroading to see how it’d drive. NOTE: NOT A GOOD IDEA! I’m amazed we made it up and down hills without the car sputtering out.
Knossos: first city in Europe – note that when the hotel concierge tells you that you can spend maximum of 2 hrs there…she actually means you can spend maximum of 30 mins there. This may be very ignorant, but ruins all look the same to me, especially when hungover!
So that’s about it for my Greece trip – I headed back to work and did a 50 hour workweek before heading off to Istanbul for Easter.
Onto Istanbul, much more exciting of a city than I originally anticipated. Imagine a Middle Eastern larger version of New York City with prettier landscape and a bit more run down housing.
Istanbul, a city with over 13 million inhabitants with a majority Muslim population, is bustling with culture and hotbeds of activity – as many people will tell you, it has a mix of Asian and European influences, which makes sense as it is the only metropolis in the world that sits on two continents (Europe & Asia). There are of course many mosques (usually elevated on hilltops so they look even more prominent) and the expectation that women dress more conservatively (with a scarf over a woman’s head when entering a mosque), but then there are also pedestrian only streets filled with cafes, clubs, bars, and other secular outlets. Quite a fun mix.
What Brie, Lauren, and I did in Istanbul:
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| Hagia Sophia |
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| Dome of Hagia Sophia - you can see it's not quite perfectly circular anymore |
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| Looking up at the Blue Mosque |
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| Hanging Chandeliers inside Blue Mosque |
1) Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia – there are quite a few mosques in Istanbul, but the two most famous are the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (which is actually now a museum rather than a mosque). I had never entered a mosque (not even in Jordan) so it was interesting to see the differences or similarities between a mosque and a Church. A) There are no faces/figures in mosques as Muslims don’t believe in veneration of a figure. B) There are large hanging chandeliers hanging from the dome everywhere (probably why the Hagia Sophia dome keeps collapsing…it wasn’t the most stable of buildings I had ever walked around). C) There is a pulpit-like area where maybe a religious head leads the group in Torah...and when I put here Torah, I meant Quran. (just a bit of a mix-up) haha oops. D) While not quite as decorative as a Catholic church, these mosques were hardly plain – the mosaic designs on the walls and lattice work done in the mosque are beautiful.
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| View at Kale Cafe Brunch in Rumeli |
2) Boat Tour on the Bosphorous – you don’t learn too much on these tours as the Turkish people’s English is not understandable at all. At first I thought it was just my hearing problems that kept me from understanding, but what I learned is that some who spoke English were mispronouncing every other word so you really could only understand 1 out of every 10 words he or she was saying. This was our experience on the Bosphorous tour, where I think one of the only facts I learned is that kitchens were built in another building detached from palaces in case of a kitchen fire, only the kitchen would burn down. Regardless, awesome views of the city – definitely recommend a Bosphorous boat tour.
3) Turkish Bath – if you are a prudish American (like myself), then it might be a bit awkward to go to a Turkish bath where clothing is basically optional. We went to Cemberlitas where the men and women are placed in separate rooms to be bathed by someone of the same sex: women are provided with underwear (you can wear a full bathing suit if you feel the need, but you would be one of the few) and men (from what I hear) are provided with just a towel. Once I got over the awkwardness of spending time with friends half naked, it was quite enjoyable – it’s like going to the spa with your girlfriends.
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| Turkish icecream - Dondurma - be careful... |
4) Eating tour with amazing views: If you ever go to Istanbul, you have to eat brunch in the neighborhoods of Rumeli or Babek. Both areas have cafés littered along the Bosphorous strait and are great seaside and people watching locations – these neighborhoods are extremely wealthy so you’ll see Porsches, Lamborghinis, Mercedes, BMWs, and other luxury cars displayed prominently outside the cafés/restaurants. In the evenings, there are plenty of “rooftop” restaurants with 360 views of the city – Lebiderya at the Richmond Hotel is a good one that we went to with tasty (and strong) margaritas. Oh and don't forget to try the Turkish icecream - the vendor likes to play hard to get. ;)
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| Galata insanity on a weekend night |
5) Partying / Clubbing: Lots and lots of bars and clubs even though Islam does not allow drinking…we went to Galata where there is a pedestrian only walkway that no matter what time in the AM it is, it is bound to be packed on Friday/Saturday nights.
Overall, a great trip with the girls –nothing similar to our tour of Catholic Churches and Easter mass at the Vatican in Rome three years ago. Istanbul is a place I definitely recommend visiting if you get the chance, maybe even multiple times!
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| Only decent picture of us from the trip - Blue Mosque in the background |
