What can I say? This charming man started walking my way very soon after I left the hotel yesterday morning and struck up a conversation. He told me he wasn't a tourist guide and soon after invited me to look at his carpets. Totally charming! What he didn't know was that I don't actually have a home to put any of his carpets in.
This man named Omar wasn't actually the only man who charmed me yesterday. There were at least five Omars and they all told me they weren't tourist guides but they did have carpet shops. The introduction patter was almost identical word for word as well. What are the chances of that happening to one person in one day in Istanbul? I wonder.
When I did manage to shake these men off and resist looking at their carpets, I did the Blue mosque, a mauseleum, another older mosque, the Islamic Art Museum, the Mosaic Museum and two cafes to thaw out. I learnt lots about the Umayyads, Abbasids, Ottomans and how their power in the region waxed and waned over the centuries. The net result is a very beautiful city with arts and crafts of unimaginable quality and workmanship. The Roman Mosaics aren't as good or as well preserved as those in Madaba, Jordan though.
I needed to catch a tram in the evening and yet another man came up to me with different opening gambit and said I looked lost. I asked if he was selling carpets and he laughed. I have to say a big thank you to this man. He showed me how to buy the tram card and probably saved me many minutes where I would have had to figure it out when it is written in Turkish.
I have to admit to eating far too much in one day. I met up with my Syrian friend, Naeroz in Taksim Square. We ate at a Lebanese Restaurant and I had the best food of my trip so far. So simple yet so lovingly made.
The big damper of my time here is the icy rain and oh so cold weather. It is still raining as I write. My boots are now a godsend and don't look the least out of place here in Istanbul whereas I felt a little odd wearing them on Koh Lipe beach. They now also look lived in and still have the tint of red dust from Laos. That might well come all the way back across the channel with me.
You might be surprised that despite the cold weather there are dogs and cats on the streets. If you were with me, Marms you too would need to get out and face the adverse conditions. It is character-building in so many ways.
Love
Andie
XXX
شركة تنظيف بالقطيف
ReplyDeleteشركه نقل عفش بالقطيف
شركة تسليك مجاري بالقطيف
شركة مكافحة حشرات بالقطيف
شركة تنظيف بتبوك
شركة نقل عفش بتبوك