Exploring Istanbul- day one Feb 12 2011




 

View from Galata Tower over Bosphorus



It has snowed a little today, Sat Feb 26, so it is a good day to catch up with a couple of blog posts.

I am staying in all day today, it is too cold and miserable to go exploring, but the last two weekends have been great. My good

friend, Liz Coughlan, whose husband David recruited me, has been very kindly showing me how to get around Istanbul on the various modes of transport.

There are manyways to get from A to B.

Taxi- lots of tiny little yellow taxis that are exceptionally mobile weaving their way through the traffic. You pay by the kilometre, because if you paid by the time taken it would be very expensive as sometimes it takes ages to get only a short distance.

Dolmus-(means stuffed) minibus- as explained in previous blog, these are an extremely efficient means of getting around, as long as you look out the window or shut your eyes, they are incredibly skilful with their driving. The traffic doesn't travel very fast in the city, but all the drivers seem to be able to weave, dodge, swerve, brake, honk and drive without too many accidents.

Train- there is an overland train system tthat runs trough the city , on both sides, the European  and Asian sides of the Bosphorus (stretch of water dividing the two sides of Istanbul). The train doesn't go over the Bosphorus and I haven't used it yet.
Trams- these run around the European side and are excellent for getting to different sites. I have purchased an Akbil which is an electronic ticket for use on the ferries and trams. You just have to top the up every now and then with more money, saves buying a ticket as you can get on and off transporrt where you like.
Ferry- there are many of these that go from different ports around the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn

(stretch of water between 2 areas of the European side).


Magnificent Haydarpasa Railway station
which was severely damaged by fire last year
. The whole roof behind the clock tower
 has been burnt. It is still used and in the process
of being rebuilt. This is on the shores of Bosphorus.

 Tunel- which is a cable car type thing that goes from one of the ferry stops, Karakoy up a very steep incline to Beyoglu which is near the Galata Tower. A tram will then take you to Taksim Square.

Saturday Feb 12- I walked to Liz's apartment on the beautiful shopper's paradise Bagdat Cadessi (Bagdat Avenue) there are about 4 kms of all the high end shops and many lovely restaurants and cafes.
The aim of my first few trips with Liz were to be familiarised with the transport and layout of Istanbul- not to actually visit any of the main sites as these, I will do at leisure over the next couple of months.
We caught a dolmus to Kadikoy Ferry pier and hopped on a ferry over to Karakoy on the European side.
Kadikoy was originally a separate village as were many other littleareas,but as Istanbul has expandded to about 16 million, it is now very built up and busy, It is a very cheap shopping area and plenty of bargains to be found. Good for shoes and bags, all the fakes I would imagine.
The ferries are very comfortable and waiters come around selling tea (chay) in the sweet little tulip shaped  

We sailed past Leanders Tower which is on a small islet in the Bosphorus it was built in the 18th century and in Turkish is known as "Maiden's Tower" after a Turkish legend.


Leander's Tower

 

Selimiye Barracks where Florence Nightingale's lamp is housed.
She worked with nurses here during the Crimean war
 when the British sided with the Ottomans to Fight Russia.


We alighted the ferry at Karakoy and caught the Tunel up the very sttep incline to Beyoglu. From there we began walking back DOWN the hill we had just climbed!!! The tiny little cobbled street we walked down was absolutely jammed packed with music stores, it was quite unbelievable anything from a grand piano, drum kits, guitars and other wierd and wondeful musical instruments that I had never seen before, were for sale here. Don't know how you would get a grand piano out on your vespa!!!!
We stopped and had a pomegranate juice, yum! at one of the hundreds of stalls that sell fresh seasonal juices.


BEWARE- Sharpening the knife to
slice meat from the kebap- looks dangerous


Partway back down the hill we came to the Galata tower which , it is advised, is a good starting point when visiting Istanbul. It is 60 m high and dates back to the 6th Century- boy that is old!!!!! We caught the lift to the top where there are a couple of restaurants. The viewing platform around the conical tower gives a splendid 360 degrees view which is stunning. It was so windy up there and the sun was shining very brightly over the "traditional" view of Istanbul, so my usually "bad" photographs will now be even worse, still I guess they're memories.
After visiting the Galata Tower we had delicious pizza lunch at a lovely restaurant- House Cafe- there were hundreds of restaurants in this area,and I imagine in high summer it would be exceptionally crowded.
We then walked down another beautiful old street - Istiklal Cadessi- on our way to Taksim Square.  Istiklal has many wonderful shops and many little streets that branch off it. It will be a wonderful place to explore on a weekend.  The street was very busy, mainly with Turks at this time of the year. They love to shop!!!! Guess living in an apartment, you would need to get out so shopping is a good pastime.The tram runs down the whole length, it is about 2kms long. Taksim Square is huge and would be where all the Turks would gather if there was to be a "people's gathering". A number of very fancy hotels are situated in this area. They would have lovely views over the Golden Horn and Bosphorus.

Liz helped me purchase my Akbil and then we caught a dolmus home, across the "first" Bosphorus bridge. There are 2 bridges and there are plans to build a third. Its called the "first" because it was built first. Fairly logical i thought!!! 

View from dolmus, travelling over the first Bosphorus bridge
on our way back to the Asian Side



I walked home and was there before dark which was good.

So now I can catch a ferry, tunel and a dolmus quite sucessfully!!!

Tram next week!!

Reduced to tears by Turkish beauracracy

On Wednesday I was driven to the airport by the school driver, Satilmus, and accompanied by my deputy, Figen. We were going to collect the two bags I had sent unaccompanied  baggage from Sydney on the day I left. ($400 to do so) . The school HR woman who had met me at the airport om my arrival had already rung Emirates to find out the procedure for collection. I had written it all down as i was to go to 3 different places to obtain various documents before finally collecting my bags. Sounded simple enough on paper. In real life it was another story!!!!
I was so grateful I had Figen with me, otherwise i truly believe that, speaking no Turkish and having been brought up to stand politely in a queue while waiting, i would still have been at the airport today!!
We took one hour to get to the airport in the horrendous traffic, Went to the first cargo terminal as directed and obtained my customs consignment- 150TL ($120)- they didnot take a card, I had only 20TL in my wallet as I didn't know I was to pay customs! Luckily Figen had some cash. Part One done, drove to the next cargo terminal this is where Figen became very useful. We spent nearly two hours here getting paper work done, I had to get paperwork signed by officials, had my passport photocopied twice on different occasions and we went up and down the same flight of stairs(3 floors) 3 times to get stamps and signatures. The queues of men standing waitng to do similar things was daunting, but Figen in typical Turkish style very politely walked past all of them to the front of the line and into the office of the official, twice to get my documents signed. I just followed along not making any eye contact with anyone.
Part Two done, time consuming, but looking as though we were getting somwhere. The weather was freezing by now and I was sure it was going to snow, the biting wing was whipping through us as we had to walk outside to another building to get passprt and documents photocopied.
Now onto the third stop, the cargo store where the bags were held for collection. Once again following Figen as we queue jumped right into the office of the main man!!!! he invited us to have tea while perusing my documents- an indication that this could take a while!!! Finally we were escorted down to the underground storage area, similar to what I imagine a dungeon to be like, spiral stircase, locked gates, security guards and then yes!!!! there were my two suitcases sitting all alone among thousands of pallets of imported goods. At last! but NO it wasn't over yet! They opened my bags to check I had no illegal contents and then we were escorted back up stairs minus bags, to get more forms signed and stamped only to be iformed it was going to cost another $190TL because they had been there for 8 days. GREAT- they wouldn't accept cards for payment either, Figen didn't have enough money to loan me and now things were getting a little tense. There were no banks as it was in Cargo city and I certainly did not wasnt to male the trip out there again! After much Turkish talk and carry on we found out that there was an ATM in the building next door, so Satilmus, the driver, escorted me next door to the ATM. Everywhere one goes in Turkey, one has to go through security, and this building was no different. It was about this time that the tears began to well, we had spent four hours at the airport obtaining all the relevant documents and then to be charged the money and have no access to pay, it was all too much- In hindsight I would have been better off saving my money and buying my Summer wardrobe over here. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Anyway got the money, got the bags and got the hell out of there, only to have another hours trip home. One consolation was that Figen, who is about 60, was an incredible tour guide, so it was very interesting to have her pointing out many beautiful places on the way out and back into the city.
The whole paperwork process probably used about 3 trees just for my 2 little bags and who knows who looks at the 3 copies of every document I had to have signed, stamped and copied!!!!!!
Turkish beauracracy at its best.
Anyway, guess you had to be there, but it was quite an arduous day and I was glad when it was over.

Kucukyali Kindergarten Istanbul



Kucukyali Kindergaten- Istanbul



Kucukyali Kindergarten is situated on the main road that runs along the Marmara Sea, overlooking the six islands off the Istanbul coast.
There are 11 students at the moment but three more will start next week. They range in ages from 2years to 5 years. They are hoping to get up to 20 by May, now that the "long awaited" English teacher has finally arrived. NO PRESSURE, NOT MUCH. I have quickly found out that teaching English is not like teaching Reading and Writing to Kindergarten.
The staff consists of Principal- Naz - speaks english well and gorgeous
Deputy- Figen- about 60, speks quite good English and lovely
Two teachers- Sevgi and Meryem- speak VERY limited English but are lovely and very supportive
TEachers Aide- Yeter and her husband, Ahmet who is the gardener, janitor and general handyman- They live on the premises.
Kitchen lady- Turkan- lovely
All we seem to do is eat and drink cay (tea) and occassionally teach!!!
Routine- I get picked up by the school driver at 8.30, arrive at 8.50- the Istanbul traffic is very congested so it moves slowly.
Children begin arriving at 9.00- breakfast is at 9.30-10.00 Bread, jam or honey, cheese, olives, milk.
(I have breakfast before I get to school, but I do have tea there!)
English Gym (me) for 15 minutes- action songs at this stage (thanks Ann-Margaret for the CD has come in very handy!)
10.00-11.15: 2-4 year olds- English
11.30- 12.15: 5 year olds (3 students)- English
12.30 lunch- 3 course meal- soup, main course, fruit or dessert and OF COURSE MORE TEA!!!! All ISTEK schools are provided with lunch by a catering company. All the children sit at little tables and eat everything!!! even the 2 year olds. Amazing.
The youngest one is a little boy whose name is Gorkem- his is so cute, I could smuggle him home.

Teacher Meryem with some of the two and 1/2 and 3 year olds in the upstairs indoor play area. 



Before the nap time



During the nap time!! Cute!



1.00-2.00: little ones have a nap and I have the older ones for English

2.00-3.00: break

3.00-3.15- Snack time, nad YES you guessed more CAY (tea)

3.30-4.15- English Activities all together (some younger ones have gone home by this time so there are about 7 children)

4.30 Home time-

I am learning to catch the minibus (dolmus- means stuffed) home. They are called this because its exactly what they are at peak times. You get on and off anywhere you like along the route you're taking. You pay the driver when you get on , he continues to drive, take your money and give you change all at the same time as negotiating the traffic, beeping his horn, braking and accelerating with ferocity. Talk about multitasking- the dolmus drivers are experts!

I can now pronounce where I need to get off, so that's handy. I then walk for 5 minutes to my "lodgements"!

So, that's my day in a nutshell.
Today, though, I visited our main feeder school, to meet the other English teachers and to get a bit of an idae how they do things. They were very helpful and managed to bring back some resources. I also sat in on a couple of classes. They are preparing a little play in English, shades of KWS K-2 shows, only more riotous!
Children are sweet and I now know all their names. See how you go pronouncing them!! And see if you can guess if they're girl or boy!
Gorkem, Demir, Mira, Renk, Deniz, Eda, Arman, Kayra, Ela, Elif, Katya.

A week in London

Afte spending 2 days in Istanbul, I flew Easyjet from Sabiha Gokcen Airport Istanbul to London Luton Airport. The taxi to the airport was an experience, 120kms along the freeway darting and diving in between semi trailersand buses!!! omg! The drivers in Istanbul have to be seen to be believed! Caught  train into London to Wandsworth where Georgie is living?working. She is a nanny for a lovely and very lively family; 3 children, boy-  and two girls, 4 and 2. Husband is a banker and mother is Australian  and a gym junkie.
Georgie and I went to the country for the weekend (which she has off) and spent with the Weedon fmaily who I nannied for and who also rescued Georgie from her first job.
Julie and I went to Oxford on Saturday, had a wonderful wander around the University city, I climbed to the top of the Sheldonian- beautiful circular building where many scholars recieve their graduation degrees. The view over the whole of Oxfrod was stunning. Amazing painted ceiling. Had a great fish pie in a pub in the centre- didn't hang around to watch the rugby- Ireland v italy- plenty of others did though!!!!!Went to the movies and saw Rabbit Hole, I was pretty disappointed with it- not really a fan of Nicole!!
Back in London, G and I went to Buck Pal, didn't see Aunty Liz, but saw changing of the guard, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Walked to Hyde Park Corner and had lunch at the Hard rock Cafe. Touristy, I know, but they have AMAZING rock memoriablia (sp). Clothing, Instruments and great music/videos playing.
Met a friend from Orange, Phoebe, who is a Physio- been  in London for 12 years, went to a great fish restaurant in Clapham and then she took us on a FANTASTIC night-time drive round the wonderful city of London in her open topped minin convertible. We were all rugged up with hats, scarves and coats. You really can't beat London at night. The gold statue of Albert that Queen Victoria had made in his honour, opposite the Albert Hall is absolutely stunning all lit up at night. Harrods of course is spectacular.
We had lunch with Julian at the Orangery in Kensington Gardens, its not far from the fountain in Honour of Princess Di. Setting was beautiful but the fish pie was ordinary which was disappointing- Georgie does a better one, as did the pub in Oxford!
Georgie is driving the VOLVO round London as her boss has lost her licence til October. So we went to the movies one night to see the King's Speech- brilliant.
Also caught up with an English girl  Chelsea who lived with us for 2 months in Aus. when Georgie was 3- she now has 3 children herself, lives in a beautiful home in Clapham and has offered her house in the South of France- St Tropez at any time, so am planning a week in the Summer sometime.
Flew back to Istanbul on Thursday 10 and managed to catch a bus from airport to near my apartment. caught a taxi. The pronunciation of some of the areas, suburbs and districts is testing me a bit, but I am getting plenty of help from my wonderful colleagues.

Arriving in Turkey

Left Sydney on Monday night- plane delayed for an hour before we even took off! Arrived in Dubai at 5.30am- what an amazing airport, shiny, glass and massive pines growing indoors AND about a kilometre of duty free shopping! There for 5 hours then boarded plane for Istanbul. the passport office was SOOOOOOO slow at istanbul, the luggage carousel had even stopped revolving by the time I got through. Irem collected me, but have had my name announced several times over the loudspeaker before I got through customs which made me panic as I couldn't get to the information desk until I had cleared customs- I was hoping she wasn't going to leave as I didn't have her mobile number!!
We were driven to my "lodgements" in a school minibus-with driver. I can see why I won't be driving in Istanbul! OMG they just change lanes that aren't even there whenever they feel the need!
Apartment is fine- security guard 24/7, key to enter block and key to enter apart. In a nice part of the Asian side of istanbul. Am now off to the corner store to buy some dinner.