Holy Flying Ice Cream!

My flight from Paris to Turkey took a little over 3 hours and as we were passing over the landscape I was struck by all the green realizing as we approached it was mainly trees. I expected mostly brown earth with spotty greenery, kind of like when flying into Mexico on vacation. I was also struck by the burnt earth smell as I stepped off the plane. We either think it is ash from the Iceland volcano or Hookah smoke galore. It is also hot and humid here which helps the odors of the country permeate even more.
After I paid my entry Visa fee and found my luggage I made my way to the information desk where a very nice lady pointed me in the direction of the yellow taxis and told me how much I should pay for the ride to my destination. This is something everyone should ask a local because you can get taken for a ride (so to speak) and pay much more than you should.

I was told it should take about 45 minutes by taxi and timed it also looking for signs of the area I knew we were staying so I knew we were headed in the right direction. One of my nightmare scenarios when traveling alone like this is to be dropped off in a neighborhood I don't know, in a country I am unfamiliar with and have the taxi driver leave me there by the road with all my luggage and nowhere to go.

The address was so unfamiliar to him that he had to call dispatch twice to locate it and even drove past this street where we are staying because I am sure he could not envision a blonde haired, blue eyed American lady staying here.

But when I started to step out of the taxi I heard my name called by a familiar and oh so welcome voice (Shan) and that they would be right down to help me with my luggage. With a sigh of relief, I handed my driver 20 Euro and let him drive away.

The aparment really is modern and nice. Nothing like you would expect walking up this street. It has one bedroom, a fold out bed and a full kitchen and washer for our clothes.

Fast forward a couple of hours and we are in Taksim, one of the main streets of Istanbul and after having a meal, sitting down for a drink and dessert we are taking numerous photos of Hookah smokers and cats. They are both EVERYWHERE. We then start walking down the street which is both very modern but also not so modern. Shan and Angela explain to me that the noisy large trucks coming at us are street sweepers which is the oddest thing because they are there every night driving through these huge crowds trying to run down tourists and locals alike. Then you are dodging trolly cars (another wierd thing to see) and people then cars and hoards of taxis crossing in locations where there should only be pedestrians.

If that is not enough to keep you alert, watch for the swinging blocks of ice cream. Angela and I were nearly Cold-Cocked (pun intended) by a huge chunk of chocolate ice cream men with strong arms stir with a metal sword like stick then swing it out into the crowd for effect. (see photo) They take great joy in doing this and love to hear the crowd scream with excitement. After asking our guide the following day about this and how it is possible that the ice cream could even hold together for such a feat he said it is made with some sort of cows milk and root or something I lost in translation which gives it the elasticity to stay on the stick. Fascinating stuff!

So this is my experience the first night in Istanbul, Turkey. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Teri