Green eggs and Hamam

A Hamam is a Turkish public bath house / sauna / steam room / pummelling room / water world.  Local Turks and tourist a like gather to get soak, heated and massaged. All by a pretty big guy in nothing but a towel. Just not enough fabric between me and his unmentionables. I think both Francois and I were a little nervous at venturing into the mixed hamam were you are required to wear nothing but a sheet. At least it was not a white sheet. Maybe this is too much information for some folks.

Step 1- People start by warming up in a warm steam room, Atilla starts by repeatedly dumping cool water over your head and then leaves you steam for a while, while he tortures some other misguided sole. Then its off to the hot room, wear  you lay flat on a marble table and cook for a while, turning frequently to ensure an even wellness. After a session in the hot room, the bather dunks into a chilly plunge and then exfoliates with a rough mitt, now raw you are thrown bag on the table to cook some more.

Step 2- Atilla soaps you up and proceeds to need knead the crap out of your muscles, flips you over, cracks you toes, fingers, knees, yanks on your arms, beats on your shoulders, chocks you, squeezes you and then dunks you back in the cold water. Then you are free to go.

The offer tea as some kind of a peace offering and boot your out into the street, I didn't even get to know his name. Really it was a great experience, a must if you come to Turkey.

I wonder if insurance will cover this....

Sultan Ahmet Mosque

One sight more than any dominates the skyline of Istanbul and can be seen from our hotel window, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque or "Blue Moque". The dome of the mosque has over 20,000 handmade blue tiles, hence the popular name. It was built in the 17th century by Sultan Ahmet, he wanted to build an Islamic place of worship that would rival Hagia Sophia which happens to be only a few hundred meters away, separated by the cities main square. It's difficult to decide which one to see first.

Cheech & Chong

When in Turkey you must try Nargile..you know the old saying..when in Rome...Hubble-bubble, or Nargile is one of the oldest traditions in Turkey and has enthusiasts of all ages and sexes who find great pleasure in smoking it. The original nargile came from India, but it was rather primitive as it was made out of coconut shells. Now day, young and old get together and smoke this variation of tobacco, mine smelled like apple. There are no side effects if that is what you are wondering. See I always knew that smoking was good for you...


The hookah uses a small charcoal tablet to gently heat a special, flavor-infused tobacco blend. The tobacco never burns, but is filtered as it is drawn through the water-filled, hand-blown glass base and inhaled through ornate, embroidered hoses. The vapor is incredibly smooth, sweet and aromatic.

Witt Hotel

Witt Hotel

In the city of Sultans for a lot less than a king’s ransom, the Witt Istanbul Suites brings you a touch of Parisian chic in the centre of the time-hallowed Cinhangir district of Istanbul, with views overlooking the picturesque Golden Horn and Galata Tower. Voted one of the world’s best 100 hotels in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine November 2008, the hotel has also been featured in magazines such as Wallpaper and Monocle. All the cultural charisma of the old city is just a two minute tram ride away, including the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazar. The breakfast each morning has a wide selection of yummy items. My favourite, the croissants loaded with nutella.

Taber Corn

You and purchase pretty much anything you need from a vast number of street vendors. This gentlemen is serving up corn on the cob. Chestnuts freshly roasted on an open fire are another local favouring. I have not had the courage to try them yet, however, I almost had my skull bashed in by one falling off a tree. It seems that vendors are divided in districts, you need to know what part of town to go to..if you want underwear to to underwear alley. If you want socks its two blocks down...they even have little guys running down the street to deliver Turkish tea. There is order in the chaos that are the streets of Istanbul.

Where East meets west

We made it...we were supposed to connect to Munich via Toronto and then Istanbul, however, our flight was delayed to Munich and as such we could not get our flight to Istanbul. So we went directly to the AC counter where they told us (between conversations about how much they hate their jobs) that we would just have to go to Munich and then deal with it there. "That how it work with AC". To me that was not a reasonable answer and surely there was another flights earlier through another German town that would allow us to get to Istanbul. She left us..."I'm going on break now...." with a very helpful gentleman would went out of his way to make sure that we got to Istanbul.....and so did our bags, much to our surprise.


We are pretty tired having been up since 3am...our hotel is wonderful (pictures to be posted..I did forget one thing)...and we went for a nice walk this evening to Taksim square a pedestrian shopping and restaurant area. We had traditional tea and played some backgammon and then eat some food from a street vendor...I had the McGurggles but am feeling better now.


Off to bed..more to follow tomorrow..Picture uploading failed..doh..

T minus 2 hours

Was up at 3am attempting to score better seats and thankfully it work. We have a window and an aisle. Francois' suite case is almost packed, I am sure by the time we leave he'll be set.
We're fortunate to have such good friends, Jacky will be staying over to medicate Mao on a daily basis and we dropped off Tekko over at Christie and Greg's last night. The pets will be well cared for and that takes away a lot of stress. It's surprising how much I miss Tekko already.... it puts me in mind of one my favourite poems. Be good Tekko...

The Power Of The Dog

by Rudyard Kipling


There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.


Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie--
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.


When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find--it's your own affair--
But...you've given your heart for a dog to tear.


When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!);
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone--wherever it goes--for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart for the dog to tear.


We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long--
So why in Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

The final countdown

My suitcase has been packed for over a week now, clothes folded and sorted by how I get dressed and colour coded. If the airline had called to say I could leave early, I only need to jump into my travel outfit (on a hanger in the front cupboard) and head to the airport.

Air Canada has kindly assigned us the worst seats on the plane from Toronto to Istanbul. Last row, in front of the washroom, non-reclining seats, likely with screaming babies on either side of us. People will want to strike up conversions with me as they wait in line right after the pilot has switched on the seat belt sign. You can check out better seats at SeatGuru . Let’s hope we can change those seats.

You know that saying “planning is half the fun”….pretty sure a travel agent came up with that line, it’s stressful and really no so fun. Especially when your parents and mother-in-law will be spending two weeks with you. We have some great places to rest our heads. TripAdvisor and HotWire  helped a lot.

First stop: Witt Istanbul Suites - voted one of the world’s best 100 hotels in the Sunday Times Travel Magazine November 2008, the hotel has also been featured in magazines such as Wallpaper and Monocle.

So if you are interested in following us around Istanbul and Greece, please check out our blog from time-to-time. I promise it will be entertaining.