Turkey Day #1 (Istanbul - Finally)

I had arrived at the airport one hour early so that, in accordance with airline procedures, I could stand around. ~Dave Barry

Travel plans didnt go neitherly as smooth as planned. After a relatively smooth trek through security (had to be record time for me), we discovered our plane was delayed by 5 hours then was cancelled all together. We hustled to the service desk where we had to wait an hour to reach the counter. Once we reached the counter, we spent another hour as they tried to get us on another flight. Because there was a problem with the computer system and we could not be unseated by United for another flight, we had to leave terminal one and go to terimnal 5 and visit Turkish air. Turkish air told us there was nothing they could do for us and that United had to give us a FIM. So, back to termianal one, back through the now very long security line, back to the service desk for the FIM then back to Terminal 5 with the FIM for a booked flight. All in all, the entire process from entering O’hare to finally getting on a flight saw us spending 9 hours at the airport. The fight cancellation was not the fault of the airlines as foul weather in Europe was the straw that broke the camels back for this trip. I must give credit to United as they busted their butts to get us an alternate flight. And they gave us $40 in food coupons to spend in the terminal. I am very glad I didnt have to pay my own money to eat because the food we purchased was barely edible. I would like to say everything went smoothly once we boarded the plane but that wouldn’t quite be true. Upon landing, our checkin bags were nowhere to be seen and as of midnight, there is still no words on their whereabouts. The best guess is the were still at O’Hare.

We reached our hotel, a hostel actually, around 7:30 pm Turkish time(GMT-2) on 07-May-2012. All told only lost about 5 hours of vacation time. However, we have tight plans which now must be adjusted so we can visit the old palace in Istanbul.

The Yakamov hostel is a very small room near the heart of old istanbul. We only plan to spend sleeping time here so a luxurious room was not something for which we felt the need to spend our cash. The hostile is ideally situated within walking distance of the grand attractions of old Istanbul and even closer to a myriad of restaurants that had us salivating on the cab ride up to our hostel.

We checked in and immediately went out for dinner. For some reason I cannot eat on airplanes, the smell of the food induces nausea, so I was quite hungry by this time. Right around the corner from our hostel was a restaurant called the “Sembol Meat House”. People that know me will understand why this place immediately attracted my attention. I am a meat lover. I consider anything green as what food eats and not something to be consumed by human beings, not unless there are copious amounts of meat for primary ingestion.

Our dinner consisted of the meat special, flat bread, wine by the glass, water by the bottle, chai (Turkish Tea), and, for desert, baklava. We ate on the patio and idyllic weather conditions. In the distance, the mosque sent out a call for prayers that could be heard quite distinctly. Hearing the call was a new experience for me. I am not Moslem, still, the call struck me with a sense of reverence.

The meal was outstanding. The flavors were rich and varied and the portions perfect of the two of us. The ambience was also rich in the multitude of languages spoken. We were the only two I heard speaking with a US English accent. THere were, however, quite a few British people eating at this restaurant.

I have noticed on my travels, that food outside of the US is much richer in flavors. I love American food, it’s what I grew up stuffing my face with and something I crave when returning from abroad. My travels have brought me to the conclusion that American food is dumbed down for the masses. The rich and varied flavors found the world over are somehow, to rich and varied for a generation raised on fast food to appreciate, to rich and varied and subtly exquisite to a people used to fat and grease and bland to understand the culinary joy they are missing. Food in America has become something to fill the void of a hungry stomach while in other parts of the world, food is an event unto itself

We took a nice long walk after dinner, We waked through the town, away from our hostel, and found the night life of Old Istanbul. Though we had just eaten and could not fit another morsel into our bellies, which is usually a time when i don’t even want to smell food, I was drawn to the scents of the many restaurants and found myself planning on which to try the remaining two evenings we are in Istanbul. I was only able to narrow it down to ALL of them.

We walked to the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque, both places we will visit tomorrow, and admired their resplendent exterior beauty as highlighted by the lines shining upon their facades. The architectural glory, what I could see in the night, left me with a feeling of awe, awe at these marvelous architecture both contemplated and implemented by man, awe at the Engineering genius going into these ancient creations.

The vacation has just begun and I already feel that Istanbul has gotten under my skin, that Istanbul has touched my sense of adventure, that Istanbul is a city I could, one day, call home.