We arrived to Turkey in the morning and even though we would only be in the country for one full day, we had to buy a 90 day visas for $120 USD. The Americans behind us in line only paid $20USD and the Australians got free stamps. The lady at the visa desk was quite rude to us and we were not impressed. When we went through customs, the officer behind the counter did not even say one word to us. Our first impression of the country was not the best. We decided to rush to Fatih, an area in Istanbul where Baha u llah, the founder of the Bahai Faith lived in exile when he was banished from Iran. We tried to use the change we bought from the Kenyan guy at the airport but it was not working in the machines so we tried to speak with attendant. He took one look at the coins and told us they were too old and that they were garbage. My heart sank. The coins said 2006 on them but apparently the country had upgraded their coins and the ones we had were no longer accepted. We literally had a bag full of coins that were as good as dirty nappies.
We paid with new money and took a very convenient train to Fatih . We had vague directions to the house of Bahaullah but we still got very lost and the local people were trying to help us. They were coming up to us and asking if we needed help but no one seemed to know the street we were looking for. The people here seem to generally speak very little english compared to other countries we have been to. After walking around the area for over an hour we found the right house but there was no one there to let us in. We had arrived five minutes after closing and it was too late. We were very happy and content to pray and see the place even from the outside. It was very special. On our way back to the train, we had chicken shwarmas. We tried to pay with the old coins but the man spotted them right away and refused to take them. So again, we paid with new money. We took another train back to the city and decided to stop at a bank to ask them to change our money. They were very sympathetic but said that the only bank that can help us is the central bank. So we took another train further into town and walked several kilometers to this bank. Along the way we saw some of the very modern, clean and interesting city of Turkey. There were street vendors selling bagels, drinks, candies and other treats. There are large extravagant and surreal looking mosques in every direction. There is the odd church around as well but most of all it is completely full of tourists.
Outside the central bank, a lady overheard us telling the guard about what had happened with the coins and she got upset about it. She appologized on behalf of the person who cheated us. She works as a tour guide in the city and she said that she hated hearing stories about that from travellers. The staff inside the bank were also sympathetic but again they said that they stopped changing to old coins about a year ago, and there was nothing they could do for us. They currently only change bills. We were a bit upset that we got cheated out of the money but all of a sudden the tour guide lady from outside the bank came up to us and handed us Turkish cash. She told us to pretend that we had found the money or that the bad event had never happened. We told her we could not accept the gesture but she insisted. We were very humbled by the experience. We realized that every time something bad happened to us, a stranger came along and fixed it. The kindness of strangers comes out when one is in need.
So we walked around the city and saw the famous sights such as the blue mosque, the beautiful waterfront, the hundreds of men fishing, a few of the other 10,000 mosques, a couple of churches and some of the most beautiful architecture in the world. As we headed toward the ferry to meet with our couch surfing host, Guven, we came accross a small restaurant and took a quick look at the menu. The man working at the restaurant asked us where we were coming from and said that for Canadians the coffee is free. We sat down an enjoyed the delicious cup of coffee. We walked by an advertisement for local tours and one that we would have liked to do if we had more time, was the trip to the ancient city of Troy.
We hurried to catch the ferry to meet our friend and got there minutes before it departed. We met Guven on the other side, and he took us for a walking tour around Kadikoy. This area is about ten kilometers from where he lives, it is full of pubs, restaurants, and markets. He also treated us to an ice cream from a very popular parlour. After about an hour or so of wandering around and hearing about some of the history and current events of Turkey, we caught a bus back to his place. After a shower and washing some of our dirty clothes we ate the lovely dinner that Guven kindly prepared for us.
The next morning we caught the ferry back to get to the main bus terminal called Otogar. From there we were able to book a bus trip to Edirne. We expected this trip to cost about two Lira but it actually costed twenty five liras each. It is a two and a half hour ride to a place which Bahaullah lived for many years and wrote some significant tablets. We managed to talk to the guy at the counter a bit which saved us a couple lira each. The ride was very comfortable, they served drinks and snacks, as well as provided individual televisions with only Turkish channels. Upon our arrival in Edirne we took a free shuttle from the bus station to the center of town a few minutes away. Just up the street from our stop, there was a beautiful mosque which we were unable to photograph because I forgot the camera. As we wandered through the streets looking for the house, he walked in to a shop and the owner said simply, ``Bahai`? We were stunned but we said yes and he directed us to the House where Baha u llah lived during part of his time in Turkey. At the house, we were greeted warmly and the caretaker of the place presented a short orientation explaining the significance of the site. The lady spoke a little English and a little Farsi, so I was able to piece together most of what she was saying. We spent nearly one hour in the house visiting, praying and meditating and then made our way down the road to another house. This house was destroyed from bombs and an earthquake years ago but is surrounded by a lovely orchard and garden. It was a very peaceful place and the caretaker even gave us fruits off the trees to eat while we walked around.
We walked back to the park in front of the mosque while we waited for the shuttle to take us to the station. We saw a man selling some kind of treat and inquired about what it was. It was very bright, multi-coloured, thick paste that the man wraped around a stick into a popsicle like shape and rolled on a lemon. We tried it, and it was very good but very sweet, and Tyson had to finish mine as well as his. As we were relaxing in the park a small child ran away from her parents and was running straight toward the busy street. Tyson leapt into action and grabbed the child just before she went onto the road. He is a hero. After all the excitment it was time to head back for our 6pm bus back to Istanbul. We had more drinks and snacks on the bus which made the time go by fast. We arrived just before sunset at the Otogar and decided we should check out the famous night life. We took a free shuttle to Taksim. This part of the city is home to thousands of pubs, clubs, restaurants and shops. There were over a million people walking around the main street which is apparently a typical night in Taksim. As it was getting late we decided to try to call our host. This turned out to be a much more difficult task than we initally antisipated. Luckily the fourth hotel we asked, finally let us borrow their phone. We planned to meet at the pub where he was hanging out in a few hours so we ate at a spot that sold one lira donairs. We scarfed down five donairs and continued on to meet up with our host. It seemed like an impossible task but we surprisingly found him and met a few of his friends. We walked together to where the eight person taxi shuttles pick up and had to wait in a line for about twenty minutes before we could catch one back to near his place. Tyson and I fell asleep during the ride so we took a private taxi from the shuttle stop to his door step. After a quick shower it was off to bed after a long day.
The next morning we made a couple of wraps for breakfast and made our way to the ferry for the last time. On the other side we walked about five kilometers or so to the metro that took us to the airport. On the way we stopped for groceries and candy and could not resist some window shopping for the fabulous clothes and shoes available. As the walk took longer than expected, we thought we were going to be late for our flight and rushed to the airport. Luckily for us, the flight was delayed by an hour, so everything seemed to work out. We were in Turkey for a very short time we got a really great feeling about it and cannot wait to go back and spend more time there.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
We paid with new money and took a very convenient train to Fatih . We had vague directions to the house of Bahaullah but we still got very lost and the local people were trying to help us. They were coming up to us and asking if we needed help but no one seemed to know the street we were looking for. The people here seem to generally speak very little english compared to other countries we have been to. After walking around the area for over an hour we found the right house but there was no one there to let us in. We had arrived five minutes after closing and it was too late. We were very happy and content to pray and see the place even from the outside. It was very special. On our way back to the train, we had chicken shwarmas. We tried to pay with the old coins but the man spotted them right away and refused to take them. So again, we paid with new money. We took another train back to the city and decided to stop at a bank to ask them to change our money. They were very sympathetic but said that the only bank that can help us is the central bank. So we took another train further into town and walked several kilometers to this bank. Along the way we saw some of the very modern, clean and interesting city of Turkey. There were street vendors selling bagels, drinks, candies and other treats. There are large extravagant and surreal looking mosques in every direction. There is the odd church around as well but most of all it is completely full of tourists.
Outside the central bank, a lady overheard us telling the guard about what had happened with the coins and she got upset about it. She appologized on behalf of the person who cheated us. She works as a tour guide in the city and she said that she hated hearing stories about that from travellers. The staff inside the bank were also sympathetic but again they said that they stopped changing to old coins about a year ago, and there was nothing they could do for us. They currently only change bills. We were a bit upset that we got cheated out of the money but all of a sudden the tour guide lady from outside the bank came up to us and handed us Turkish cash. She told us to pretend that we had found the money or that the bad event had never happened. We told her we could not accept the gesture but she insisted. We were very humbled by the experience. We realized that every time something bad happened to us, a stranger came along and fixed it. The kindness of strangers comes out when one is in need.
So we walked around the city and saw the famous sights such as the blue mosque, the beautiful waterfront, the hundreds of men fishing, a few of the other 10,000 mosques, a couple of churches and some of the most beautiful architecture in the world. As we headed toward the ferry to meet with our couch surfing host, Guven, we came accross a small restaurant and took a quick look at the menu. The man working at the restaurant asked us where we were coming from and said that for Canadians the coffee is free. We sat down an enjoyed the delicious cup of coffee. We walked by an advertisement for local tours and one that we would have liked to do if we had more time, was the trip to the ancient city of Troy.
We hurried to catch the ferry to meet our friend and got there minutes before it departed. We met Guven on the other side, and he took us for a walking tour around Kadikoy. This area is about ten kilometers from where he lives, it is full of pubs, restaurants, and markets. He also treated us to an ice cream from a very popular parlour. After about an hour or so of wandering around and hearing about some of the history and current events of Turkey, we caught a bus back to his place. After a shower and washing some of our dirty clothes we ate the lovely dinner that Guven kindly prepared for us.
The next morning we caught the ferry back to get to the main bus terminal called Otogar. From there we were able to book a bus trip to Edirne. We expected this trip to cost about two Lira but it actually costed twenty five liras each. It is a two and a half hour ride to a place which Bahaullah lived for many years and wrote some significant tablets. We managed to talk to the guy at the counter a bit which saved us a couple lira each. The ride was very comfortable, they served drinks and snacks, as well as provided individual televisions with only Turkish channels. Upon our arrival in Edirne we took a free shuttle from the bus station to the center of town a few minutes away. Just up the street from our stop, there was a beautiful mosque which we were unable to photograph because I forgot the camera. As we wandered through the streets looking for the house, he walked in to a shop and the owner said simply, ``Bahai`? We were stunned but we said yes and he directed us to the House where Baha u llah lived during part of his time in Turkey. At the house, we were greeted warmly and the caretaker of the place presented a short orientation explaining the significance of the site. The lady spoke a little English and a little Farsi, so I was able to piece together most of what she was saying. We spent nearly one hour in the house visiting, praying and meditating and then made our way down the road to another house. This house was destroyed from bombs and an earthquake years ago but is surrounded by a lovely orchard and garden. It was a very peaceful place and the caretaker even gave us fruits off the trees to eat while we walked around.
We walked back to the park in front of the mosque while we waited for the shuttle to take us to the station. We saw a man selling some kind of treat and inquired about what it was. It was very bright, multi-coloured, thick paste that the man wraped around a stick into a popsicle like shape and rolled on a lemon. We tried it, and it was very good but very sweet, and Tyson had to finish mine as well as his. As we were relaxing in the park a small child ran away from her parents and was running straight toward the busy street. Tyson leapt into action and grabbed the child just before she went onto the road. He is a hero. After all the excitment it was time to head back for our 6pm bus back to Istanbul. We had more drinks and snacks on the bus which made the time go by fast. We arrived just before sunset at the Otogar and decided we should check out the famous night life. We took a free shuttle to Taksim. This part of the city is home to thousands of pubs, clubs, restaurants and shops. There were over a million people walking around the main street which is apparently a typical night in Taksim. As it was getting late we decided to try to call our host. This turned out to be a much more difficult task than we initally antisipated. Luckily the fourth hotel we asked, finally let us borrow their phone. We planned to meet at the pub where he was hanging out in a few hours so we ate at a spot that sold one lira donairs. We scarfed down five donairs and continued on to meet up with our host. It seemed like an impossible task but we surprisingly found him and met a few of his friends. We walked together to where the eight person taxi shuttles pick up and had to wait in a line for about twenty minutes before we could catch one back to near his place. Tyson and I fell asleep during the ride so we took a private taxi from the shuttle stop to his door step. After a quick shower it was off to bed after a long day.
The next morning we made a couple of wraps for breakfast and made our way to the ferry for the last time. On the other side we walked about five kilometers or so to the metro that took us to the airport. On the way we stopped for groceries and candy and could not resist some window shopping for the fabulous clothes and shoes available. As the walk took longer than expected, we thought we were going to be late for our flight and rushed to the airport. Luckily for us, the flight was delayed by an hour, so everything seemed to work out. We were in Turkey for a very short time we got a really great feeling about it and cannot wait to go back and spend more time there.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
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