East Meets West: Istanbul, Turkey

“If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul,” Alphonse de Lamartine, 19th-century French writer and politician.

In hindsight it might have been a good idea to bring directions to the hotel.

Views from Topkapi Palace

Stepping off the tram in Sultanahmet, backpacks in hand, we soon realised we had no idea how to get from the station to our accommodation, Hotel Uyan.

It was around 9pm and the information centre was closed so after a brief moment of panic we asked a man in a snack stand for directions.

We’d barely shown him the name of the hotel when he was on the phone and calling the manager to get someone to meet us. What service!

That was the first, but not last time we got lost in Istanbul.

The next morning we were woken at dawn by the Muslim call to prayer. Thankfully we were able to fall back to sleep for a few more hours.

When we finally emerged we were greeted by a stunner of a day!

Istanbul is a beautiful city rich with history, culture and all the trappings of a first class European capital, but the exotic mix of Far East makes this a European city like no other.

The only city in the world situated on two continents, Istanbul lies on the Bosphorus Strait that divides Europe and Asia.

Hagia Sophia

This meeting of East and West is cultural as well as physical and the two come together in a perfect balance.

Beautiful European buildings and Mosques stand side by side and the day’s calls to prayer are heard across the city.

While the majority of the population dress in a secular fashion, observant Muslim women mix traditional head coverings with stylish modern clothing that wouldn’t look out of place on the streets of Paris or Milan.

The entire district of Sultanahmet is a Unesco World Heritage Site packed full of historic buildings, museums, bars and restaurants.

It’s fairly easy to make your way around the entire district on foot, but if you’re short for time or your legs are a little tired you can always jump aboard one of the efficient (and cheap) trams.

chandeliers inside Hagia Sophia

Our first stop of the day was Topkapi Palace – home to the Ottoman Sultans from 1465-1856.

Today Topkapi Palace is a museum with a massive collection of artefacts including royal robes, weapons, armour, manuscripts, murals, treasures and jewellery. It’s also a great spot for panoramic views of the city below.

My favourite sights were the collection of Sultans’ robes, jewelled and golden ornaments (very bling) and the Harem (definitely worth the extra entrance charge!).

Back down in the main town square with visited the impressive Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia).

Hagia Sophia began life as an Orthodox Christian Church between 532 and 537, before becoming a mosque and finally a museum.

Entering the grand building the first thing you notice are the dozens of low hanging glittering chandeliers that look as though they are floating just over your head. There are also several well preserved Christian mosaics on the upper floor that are well worth a look.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the Blue Mosque)

Just across from Hagia Sophia is another iconic building – the Blue Mosque.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 during the reign of Emperor Ahmed I.

Its nickname comes from the ornate blue tiles that cover its ceiling.

Ornate tiles in the Blue Mosque

Remember to dress respectfully when you stop by as it’s still a working mosque.

A must see for your visit is the Grand Bazaar; one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with a maze of 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops.

Stalls are organised by the types of goods they sell such as jewellery, furniture, leather, clothing and trinkets.

Our expedition was rather successful as I picked up a leather foot stool, pashmina scarf, some pretty sweet harem pants and several pairs of earrings.

Remember to haggle for a price you’re happy with and don’t be afraid to keep walking or say no if you’re not interested in what someone is selling.

Exotic sights and smells at the Spice Bazaar

Not too far away lays another shopping hub, the Spice Bazaar.

Also known as the Egyptian Markets, the Bazaar is the centre of the spice trade in Istanbul so go along for the sights and smells.

It’s a great place to pick up some tasty produce or, if you’re me, copious amounts of Turkish Delight.

Speaking of tasty treats, I could have written this entire blog post about all the heavenly food on offer in Turkey!

A melting pot of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines you’ll be planning your meals throughout the day!

Pastries, corn on the cob, baklava, halva, pide (Turkish Pizza), Turkish delight, köfte (meatballs), apple tea, Turkish coffee & of course, the kebabs! Ah the kebabs!

The best kebab I had was köfte, tomato and eggplant.

As per we hadn't really researched ahead in regards to dining options so a quick Google search later and we were winging our way over to Khorasani Restaurant.

The hardest part about the evening was deciding exactly which meal to choose from the massive menu!

Our waiter took it upon himself to demonstrate the correct procedure to eat it - mush everything together with your fork and wrap it up in a piece of Turkish bread – divine!

On that note, get yourself to Istanbul for exotic sights, sounds, smells and tastes and an amazing time.

NOTE: All travellers arriving in Turkey (except those on New Zealand passports) will need to buy a visa on entry (approximate 15 euro). Just another benefit of being a New Zealand Citizen.

Egypt: Beyond Expectations Part I - Cairo

It’s hard to say just when the culture shock set in.

View from the roof of our hotel

It could have been coming into land at Cairo Airport watching the desert below turn into the biggest, most sprawling city I’ve ever seen.

Or maybe it was the chaotic roads where you’re as likely to see horse drawn carts and people walking on motorways as cars and you really can say a lot with flashing lights and beeping horns.

Whether it was the farm animals, the hawkers, the security checks, or simply the incredible sights and welcoming people Egypt is a destination like no other!

Before we’d even made it to passport control we were greeted by our Topdeck Representative.

An energetic young local, he helped us buy our landing visas (approximately $10 US dollars each) and walked us through to luggage claim where we met a few of our fellow travellers – two bubbly Brits, a Canadian, a Columbian and a group of Antipodean travellers.

From there we were whisked to the waiting Topdeck van and driven to our hotels.

My first journey to a non-English speaking or European country, there was no doubt in my mind that this trip to Egypt was going to be a real eye opener.

We approached our hotel to find inner city streets lined with goats, cows and the occasional horse.

The animals seemed oblivious to the vehicles whizzing past and swerving to miss them.

We soon learned we were in town on the eve of the Muslim feast Eid al-Adha and the animals roaming outside our hotel would shortly find themselves on family dinner tables!

The hotel rooftop pool

After an early morning and a day of travelling we were exhausted so it was an early night for us at the Nile Inn.

Our trip didn't official start until the next evening so we had day to laze around the hotel pool. 

The hotel is in a weird location. Opposite the Nile, it is in a poor part of town filled with families. 

From the roof we overlooked a neighbourhood of block shaped house with the Great Pyramids off in the distance.

But what really caught our attention was the aftermath of the morning's Eid al-Adha sacrifice.

We watched as families gathered on roof tops and proceed to skin and gut the various animals that had been killed early.

The adult men carved up the beasts while the women sat around talking. The little children watched the whole process intently before putting their hands into the spilt blood.

At 7pm it was time for the meet and greet with our Trip Leader Rafik.

My Topdeck group - amazing!

A native of Cairo, from here on in Rafik was going to take care of everything including buying tickets, meal times, accommodation and transport leaving us to sit back, relax and enjoy our holiday.

We were up bright and early for the first day of our trip – Egyptian Museum here we come!

It soon became obvious we were a novelty to the locals with many surprised stares and cries of “Welcome to Egypt!” whenever we were out and about.

Khafre Pyramid - we went inside!

One thing that’s certain – Egyptians are very proud of their homeland.

Since the revolution in January 2011 there has been a lot of upheaval in the country, but the Egyptian people are enthusiastic and optimistic about their country’s future.

The museum holds an impressive collection of over 120,000 ancient artefacts and our guide for the day, Medo, gave us a quick run through of the key exhibits before leaving us to explore on our own.

Thanks to my love of all things morbid and creepy I had only one destination in mind - the Royal Mummy Room! The room contains nine royal mummies including Ramses II and III and Queen Hatshepsut and for 100 Egyptian Pounds (approximately £10) it’s well worth the extra charge.

We conquered the pyramid!

After our little history lesson it was time to get out into the field as we made our way to one of the World’s Seven Wonders - the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Words can’t describe the first time you lay eyes on these magnificent ancient tombs. You’ve seen them all your life in books, on TV, in films and suddenly here they are right in front of you!

Putting our explorer hats on several of us headed deep into the heart of the second pyramid, Khafre (25 Egyptian Pounds). The passage to the burial chamber gets pretty tight at points and there was plenty of ducking involved, but despite being hot and sweaty after our journey nothing beats being able to say you’ve actually been inside one of the Great Pyramids!

We weren’t finished at Giza just yet as we joined the crowds at the Great Sphinx. 

Again, I really struggle to describe how it feels to see these majestic sights up close.

I thought I had an idea of what Cairo would be like, but my expectations didn’t even come close to reality!
It’s louder, busier, more colourful, vibrant and full of history than I ever imagined.

And this was only the start of my Egyptian adventure.

How Facebook Found My Family

I apologise if I ever doubted your intentions. I'm sorry for spending more time with a new friend (Twitter) and less with your familiar screen.


Because Facebook, you can change lives.


It all began with a harmless case of Facebook stalking, in my case trying to find a picture on my cousin's profile. When I couldn't find her profile I thought I'd been dealt the ultimate Facebook insult - unfriending. And if it could be any worse, unfriended by my own family member!


In a bit of a mood (I mean, why would my teenage cousin unfriend me? I'm cool! Right?!) I searched for her surname and to my relief there she was - and still my friend too. 


But something much more intriguing came out of that search.


Two other people, based in Auckland, around my age with the same surname.


***


Let's take a step back. 


From about the age of 7 I knew I had an uncle who for whatever reason left the family at 18 and has never spoken to his parents and brother and sisters (one of which is my mum) since.


This always seemed strange to me since my family are pretty normal (a relative term of course) & nice, but everyone has their own point of view and you can never really tell what is going through a person's mind.


As a child I imagined what this mysterious uncle was like - was he important, rich maybe, or famous? But most of all I wondered if I had any other cousins, relatives my own age who'd undoubtedly be cool & we'd be best friends!


***


I guess this is one of those occasions when my impulsiveness was a good trait. I think if I'd taken a step back and thought about what I was doing I might not have acted at all.


I clicked on the young man's profile - he looked so much like other members of my family - and saw he had a sister.


Not to sound sexist, but when it comes to family matters boys can be a little useless so I figured the sister was my best bet.


So a brief email later - "Hi, you don't know me, but I think we might be related. Is your dad so-and-so? I think he's my long lost uncle" - and there was nothing to do but wait.


The next morning, there in my inbox, was a Facebook notification saying I had a new message.


Not only was this young lady my older cousin, but she never knew her father had any siblings (and therefore had no knowledge of any cousins) and to say she was thrilled was an understatement. 


From there things got crazy.


Let's just say I hadn't really thought this through, so when it turned out that I had in fact tracked down missing family members I started to go into panic mode!


"Now I have to tell my parents I found missing family members! What are they going to think? Will they be happy/sad/angry/confused? Will I be disowned?"


Thankfully, and I really should have know better, everyone was pleasantly surprised.


Soon, there were family meetings and greetings taking around Auckland and the new family was welcomed into the old!


Look at me, I think I should become a private investigator. Bringing people together from half way around the world.


I can't wait until April when I get to meet them myself! 


I wonder how many people out there have reunited (or in our case united) through social media?

Update...

As a way to ease myself back into the world of blog I’ve created a little list of what I’ve been up to...

• Went to Shakespeare’s Globe
• Watched several musicals – Legally Blonde, Lend Me A Tenor, Wicked & Shrek the Musical  
• Saw some slightly experimental theatre/cabaret – The Office Party, Medium Rare Cabaret & La Soiree.
• Celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving
• Spent the day in Cambridge
• Rode a camel
• Travelled to Egypt
• Took a cruise
• Booked tickets to New Zealand for a wedding
• Climbed inside a pyramid & ancient tomb
• Witnessed my first pop concert – Britney Spears Live
• Won a Kindle
• Ate a lot of Cupcakes
• Finished Christmas shopping for New Zealand

Now that I’ve dipped my toes into the waters of blogging you can rest assured I will begin writing again with new vigour and regularity.

In a flood of inspiration...

In a flood of inspiration (and thanks to a reconnected internet connection) I have two new blog posts coming shortly.


Watch this space! Well, not literally, because you might be waiting for a day or so.

Rugby World What?!

Okay, so I kinda stole that headline from my friend's t-shirt design.

Even over here in Old Blighty there is no escaping the monster that is Rugby World Cup hype - not that I'm saying it's a bad thing!

Working in an Aussie/Kiwi (okay, mostly Aussie) office means there will be a lot of friendly rivalry going on over the next few weeks.

Also our lovely little travellers are largely antipodeans so we will tap into & feed their excitement too.

So far my efforts to get into the spirit of NZ's big event is to buy some black tissue paper to decorate my desk (it's all I could find, so Silver Ferns in London) and download the Outlook Calendar rugby app with all the game times.

I'm pretty far from being either a rugby fan or a rugby hater.

This t-shirt collection called 'This is Not a Rugby Shirt' by my lovely artist/cartoonist/designer friend Kilowatt Katie nicely sums up my middle of the road feelings about the sport.

My first memory of a Rugby World Cup is watching the match in the games room at our friend's parents house way back in 2003 and seeing a room full of teenage boys close to tears as the All Blacks lost to Australia in the semi-finals.

The image that is burned into my mind is of my friend Andy slowly swinging on a children's swing set, looking at the ground and sipping on a beer.

So here we are again, 8 years and another loss later, will the ABs fair better this time round?

Well all I can say is they better (no pressure guys)! 

I don't think I can afford (or put up with) having a boyfriend who slips into a post-loss catatonic state.

Go All Blacks!

Mystics & Healing: Stonehenge, Bath & Avebury

Like many an Antipodean in London it’s taken me a while to get out of the city and visit the UK’s sights.

I’ve travelled to the Continent many a time, but until now have failed to explore my own backyard.

Three of my new favourite spots are Bath, Stonehenge and Avebury in Somerset, South West England.

Our friends Jo and Tim were in town after spending two months travelling around Europe and wanted to make the most of their time in the UK so we hired a car and took to the countryside.

Near Salisbury in the Wiltshire countryside, Stonehenge is found in the most unlike of locations

Driving up the A303 motorway I caught my first glimpse of the famous landmark, standing in a large paddock surrounded by rolling green pastures filled with grazing sheep.

Despite the masses of tourists, Stonehenge remains a spooky and impressive sight - you can forget ever finding me there at night time!

This ancient monument dates from 3,700 to 1,600 BC. The tallest stone is 7.3m high and weighs over 45 tonnes! That sure is some heaving lifting!

The origins of Stonehenge are shrouded in mystery. The significance of its alignment with the rising and setting of the sun has puzzled many a scholar -was it a temple for sun worship, a healing centre, a burial site or a ancient calendar?

An even more fundamental, but no less intriguing question is how exactly did the prehistoric Britons move the massive bluestones across land and sea from West Wales to their current resting place in the West of England?

The Roman Baths is a well-preserved Roman site once used as a public bathing house and now a key tourist attraction at the centre of the town it gives its name to - Bath.

The thermal pools and a fascinating museum are housed within a beautiful Victorian reception hall.

At the heart of the building is the Sacred Spring. The 46°C water rises here at the rate of 1,170,000 litres every day and has been doing this for thousands of years.

In Roman times a great Temple was built next to the spring in 60-70 AD dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva, a deity with healing powers.

However, it was the Celts who first discovered the scared site, building a shrine to the goddess Sulis before the Roman temple was constructed.

In Roman times, visitors would throw offerings to the gods or curses into the thermal waters - about 130 curse tablets have been found many related to thieves who stole of clothes while visitors were bathing.

Aside from worship, people came to the baths to relax and treat a variety of ailments.

Sadly you can’t take a dip in the water these days because of high lead levels (thanks to the original working pipes) and the risk of infections.

Oh, and the lovely green colour is caused by algae that grows in sunlight.

Now it’s time to head further back in history to a strange and mystical past.

Heading back to London we stopped in at the weird little village of Avebury home to the largest stone circle in Europe.

It has a completely different vibe to Stonehenge.

With significantly less tourists, you can go right up to the stones set in lush green grass with sheep keeping them company.

Making our way from the car park to the first paddock of stones we came across several colourful characters that can best be described as a mix between hippies and new age witches complete with walking sticks that looked like wizard staffs.

Each stone is around 3 metres tall and together they create giant circles that stretch for several hundred metres.

The area is an important site for Pagans and one tree we came to ribbons, notes and little bags were tied to the branches.

We also saw this guy (or girl) walking around the stones. Yikes. 

Whatever your spiritual beliefs, it’s hard not to get a slight chill down the spine while you’re walking around ancient stones through windswept fields.

I think anyone who goes to Stonehenge should make the journey to Avebury to get an understanding of what the area would have been like before the hordes of tourists arrived.

And make sure you get out of London and see the rest of England.