I woke up to a
breakfast of sweet scrambled eggs (cooked in honey, I think) and pancakes and
syrup. It was clearing to a gorgeous day, so I dressed quickly and met Yavuz in
the lobby at 10.
He asked me what I
would like to see so I showed him my list of the places I didn’t want to see
(because they are part of my tour) so we headed off to the Dolmabahce Place
which means something like “artificial garden”. It was the home of the last 6
sultans of Turkey before it became a republic. We walked down to the water and across the bridge where dozens of
fishermen had their lines over the railing and were catching lots of little
fish, which Havuz assured me were delicious eating.
We hopped on a
tram and arrived at the Palace within a few minutes. I stopped to take a photo
of the elaborate clock tower, “Little Ben” before buying tickets for the
Palace. We had to line up and wait for the English tour. Everyone had to put on
blue, plastic slip-covers on their shoes
to protect the carpets. I sat down on a seat next to a friendly cat while we
were waiting.
Finally we got to
enter the administration section of the palace. It was beautifully decorated
with huge crystal chandeliers, and was perfectly symmetrical in every respect.
The staircases were all carpeted as were the floor, but the floors were very
uneven so I was pleased I had brought my stick with me. The last chandelier weighed 4 and a half tons
and took 45 days to clean. Each piece is taken down and then it’s reassembled
like a jigsaw puzzle. We weren’t allowed to take any photos inside at all. A
photo probably wouldn’t have done its beauty justice in any case.
As we exited the
palace, it started to rain so we hurried to the Harem section of the palace,
and sat down to wait 25 minutes for the English tour. The gatekeeper offered us
both a cup of Turkish tea, which was gratefully accepted. We eventually joined
the tour with about 60 others, but only got to the first room with the guide
and he abandoned us. So much for being part of a tour!
We saw the study, bedroom and bathroom of Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk who lived and died here, after the foundation of the Republic in
1924. The palace was built in 13 years from 1843 to 1856 and still has all of
its original furnishings, including carpets and curtains. The chandelier in the
Royal Women’s Hall was indescribably beautiful, with not only crystal droplets,
but also ruby bells.
By the time we
emerged from the Harem, it was pouring rain. I kept my blue plastic covers on
my sandals, and Yavuz put on an extra pair for protection, but my feet were
saturated by the time we exited the palace. Very soon I realized I was going to
have to go back to the hotel to get dry feet, as they were now quickly becoming
iceblocks!
We caught the tram
back to the hotel and Yavuz encouraged me to find my own way. I’m getting a feel for the place. With warm
feet and boots on, we headed back on the tram to the Palace and then a bus to
Yavuz’ favourite restaurant, Durumce. Yavuz ordered me Turkey’s traditional
drink, Ayran, a fresh yoghurt drink, Kelle Paca, a traditional soup, and Adana
Kebab. Before any of this arrived at the table, we were served five plates of
starters free! Salad, spicy pita, pickled cabbage, tomato and onions mixed and
parsley. I was full before I even got my soup, but I managed to get through the
lot!
Most Turkish restaurants
don’t serve alcohol so then we headed to Yavuz’ favourite bar for an Efes or
two. We were planning to go on a boat trip, but I thought it was a waste of
money in this weather, so headed back to my hotel, footsore and too tired for
my massage.
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