One of the countries on our European leg that I was looking forward to the most was Turkey. I anticipated that Turkey was going to be different from the other countries that we had visited in Europe and I wondered if it would be closer to my Asian experiences. But this was not to be the case.
Turkey is the only country that spans two continents, Europe and Asia and thus, the city of Istanbul is half European, half Asian. Apparently it used to be a very corrupt country but then the government cracked down, bringing about huge changes. Now it is very modern, with an excellent infrastructure. (India could take some lessons here on the eve of the Commonwealth Games.) The roads and highways are in excellent condition and there is evidence of planning and wealth everywhere. It helps that Turkey is enjoying a surge in tourism which was very evident during our stay.
Turkey is a Muslim country and I found that the Turkish people rarely made eye contact nor smile. Part of me wonders if they are sick to death of tourists. I can't imagine what it is like to have a gazillion tourists three hundred and sixty five days a year. There is never a lull or down season. Brand new state of the art buses were everywhere. Cruise ships arrived daily. We even had to time our museum visits to avoid the crowds.
The first part of our stay was in the lovely Sebnem Hotel, a small hotel owned by a young man who is eeking out a living in a very hotel laden city. Every morning we were greeted with an unbelievable breakfast of homemade pastries, made fresh daily. He was extremely helpful and one of the rare ones with a smile for us.
We spent many days touring the incredible sights: the Blue Mosque, Santa Sophia, Dolmabahce Palace, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market. My Mom was particularly moved by our visit to Santa Sophia. It is a former Christian church, dating 500 DC. Absolutely enormous in size with beautiful frescoed ceilings and mosaics. Unfortunately the frescoes were peeling and any symbol of Christianity that was removable was removed. Sadly, unlike our visit to the palace where people were yelled at for putting a finger on a wall, tourists in Santa Sophia are allowed to tramp through in great hoards without any care or thought for its protection.
One of the highlights of the week was a quick two day trip to Assos. John and I went by bus, over seven hours. The bus was state of the art, even with wireless internet and incredible free food service on board. I felt like I was on a plane. A young man in a crisp white shirt, complete with a bow-tie and black pants pushed his little trolley up and down the aisle every couple of hours. When we arrived in the closest town to Assos, we had to take a dolmus (a little mini-bus) the rest of the way and I made friends with an old man who was thrilled to explain his village heritage to a Canadian. Assos is a primitive stone village, which is also the site of ancient ruins. John and I trekked the hills and even hitch-hiked our way back to the village. Sadly, we wished that we had had one more day there.
Each country seems to bring out different feelings in me. One night an incident brought this to a head. John and I were walking up a hill to go out for dinner. We were walking about 1 ½ feet apart, when all of a sudden, a young man came running down the hill towards me. In the blink of an eye, with his hand flat, he whacked my upper chest, just below my throat. The stinging slap resounded in the night as he continued running down the hill. I was deeply shaken and to this day wonder why he did this. Was he trying to snatch my travel purse, which was over my head and shoulder? Was he making a statement about non-Islamic women, even though I was very conservatively dressed? Or was he simply deranged? I guess I'll never know.
The day before we left, in celebration of John's birthday, we decided to splurge and go for a Turkish bath. The Cagaloglu Hamam was constructed in 1741 and is still running today. After paying our forty Euros each (remember that I said splurge), John and I parted to go to our respective sections, men's and women's. It was an amazing hour long experience for me as I underwent a total exfoliating, massage and scrub, all while lying on huge marble platform with steam rising up to the beautiful mosaic domed ceiling. Other women lay around me in various stages of their bath, which is administered by women dressed in the old style full body, one piece bathing suits. Eucalyptus wafted through the air. As I lay there, condensation from the ceiling dripped on my face. After each step, my woman poured bowl fulls of warm water over my head. Finishing up in the sauna, I emerged from the Hamam, feeling very relaxed, much like a wet noodle.
One resonating sight that still remains with me is seeing women dressed in full burkhas: black from head to toe, with only a slit to see through. Not that every women was dressed like this, far from it. But there were enough to make it was a common sight. I often saw two or three women, with one husband, walking around or sitting in parks, totally covered. On our flight out of Istanbul, a woman in full burkha, further covered the slit for her eyes with yet another black cover when she went to the toilet. I have no idea how she ever saw how to get to the toilet at the back of the plane. And when we arrived in Doha, she and her family were all whisked away in a Mercedes taxi, directly from the plane. They did not board the crowded shuttle bus that took us into the airport terminal. I know that some women do chose to cover themselves up willingly but there are many others who have no choice. I often wonder how they see the world through a wall of black and what they are feeling underneath.
But what I missed most of all was being able to look into their eyes and connect, as women do all over the world.
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