Two Days in Istanbul... not Constantinople

14 JUNE 2009

I had planned on having my first couch surfing experience staying at someone else’s place here in Istanbul, but I didn’t manage to find a host, so I ended up at the Ritz-Carlton instead. Not a bad trade, in theory, but I would have preferred to meet some more locals and have someone with whom to explore the city. That said, I’ve been very well taken care of at the Ritz, and Istanbul is a beautiful city. Straddling two continents, split by the turquoise waters of the Bosphorus, minarets shooting up towards the blue sky from every neighborhood in the city, Istanbul is enchanting in many ways, but I’m not in love. With 16 million people, Istanbul is a huge, busy city, and somewhat overwhelming.

On the way to the hotel from the airport, my taxi driver lectured me on Istanbul traffic and then nearly got into a fist fight with a particularly rude motorcyclist. Instead of wasting my time with a fight, he wrote the number of the license plate on his hand and simply said, “I kill him later.”

Saturday, I decided to hire a guide and explore the old town. Together, we explored the streets of Sultanahmet, visiting Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, Topkapi palace and the spice market. In between, we stopped at one of the more reputable rug wholesalers in town, and in a moment of weakness, I ended up purchasing three beautiful carpets from the Ararat region of Turkey. My guide had stepped out for a cigarette while I made my carpet selections, but when she returned, she said that I had picked out her favorite one. “When he pulled out that carpet at first, I immediately fell in love - you have great taste for beautiful things.”

Wandering around the spice market, I was impressed by the honesty of one vendor vying for my business. “Come in, we cheat less here, just enough.” The great success of the day was when we hailed a taxi to go back to the hotel and ended up with the same driver that had taken us into town. Over 30,000 taxis in the city, and we managed to find the same one twice. My guide was very happy because she said she almost always has to argue with drivers from the old town. The spice guy may cheat less, but taxi drivers here have a tendency to cheat more. That’s why it’s always better to get a driver at one of the major hotels because the hotels only allow the more honest drivers to work their properties.

It was my intent to have a relaxing day today, perhaps spending it by the pool at the hotel, but the Concierge, Cenk, had other plans for me. Cenk sought me out at breakfast to make sure I had a good tour yesterday. He pulled out a map and asked what all I saw on the tour so that he could plan out the day for me. His list included three suggestions, Dolmabahce Palace, a Bosphorus cruise, and a visit to the Ortakoy neighborhood. I decided to take his advice and do all three. I took a taxi over to Ortakoy, where I wandered around a bit and then boarded a boat to see the city from the water. After an hour long cruise, I decided to walk back to Dolmabahce and my hotel from Ortakoy because it looked deceivingly nearby from the water. Though longer than expected, the walk was very pleasant, but it ended with a disgustingly steep uphill trek from the river to my hotel.

Upon my return, Cenk announced that he had made dinner reservations for me at a place voted one of the 50 best restaurants in the world, Kosebasi. I was very excited to try the restaurant, but I have to admit that I was not impressed. The best part of the meal was the bread - a variety of fresh baked Turkish flat breads that were fantastic. Otherwise, all of the food was good, but nothing memorable. I went heavy on the eggplant tonight with yogurt-eggplant dip, pickled eggplant dip, and Patlincanli Kebap (minced lamb kebabs with grilled eggplant) all accompanied with a tomato salad, a Turkish cheese pastry and a small Lahmacun (meat pizza). The food was nothing special, and the service was mediocre as well. The place seemed to do a lot of delivery business with the breads, pizzas and kebabs, and I would probably be very satisfied with the restaurant as a delivery place, but I strongly disagree with the rave reviews the restaurant received in general. I took a short stroll after dinner, and then returned to the hotel for a tea and a scoop of pistachio ice cream.

Tomorrow, I leave for the Cappadocia region, where I hope to get a more authentic view of Turkey.

Iraq in a nutshell - Pistachio probably

The Main Gate of the Erbil Citadel

The Kurdish flag flying in the old Erbil Citadel

Fish grilling to perfection

The finished product
Eating ice cream with a former Kurdish body builder
The Erbil Citadel
Kurdish Textile Museum
Enjoying Arguileh
Some big Kurdish Guy
Lazgin and our "ninja"


What exactly did I get while I was in Iraq? Probably lung cancer, possibly some new business opportunities, definitely a desire to go back and spend more time. My time in Iraqi Kurdistan was very brief, but it was full of priceless experiences and the incredible hospitality of the Kurdish people. I have nothing but good things to say about the Kurdish people and the enormous strides they have made towards creating a stable and prosperous region in a very turbulent part of the world. The welcome I received rivaled that of my own champions of hospitality back in Lebanon, and it was one of the very few places in the world where I actually felt completely comfortable being an American.

My friends in Iraq are definitely very well-connected within the Kurdish regional government, and I had the great pleasure of meeting some of the movers and shakers of the region and learning more about the Iraqi Kurdistan. I have many interesting and entertaining stories from my short time in Iraq, but I don’t feel that it is appropriate for me to share many of the details in an internet post. I will, however, give a brief explanation of how I spent my time in Erbil.

As the guest of some successful business people in Erbil, I was lucky enough to be able to visit some of their stores and offices and to learn more about business in Kurdistan. I was able to sit in on a meeting with two Swedish Kurds that are trying to develop the film industry in the area. I enjoyed many glasses of perfect Kurdish tea that reminded me very much of the warm glasses enjoyed with Mansour out at Willow Creek Inn. Multiple times a day we would sit back and smoke some excellent Arguileh (aka Hookah or Shisha) with various fruit flavors, sometimes even with the tobacco packed into some fresh fruit. The thick sweet smoke felt icy against my face, and the Shisha we get in the states or Europe pales in comparison. The food was all excellent, although most of it was transplanted from an area I am very familiar with, Lebanon. One night, amongst some very important company, we enjoyed some local fresh-water fish, grilled to perfection by an open fire. One evening, we negotiated our way into the historic Erbil Citadel right at closing time, and wandered the ancient streets and visited the Kurdish textile museum.

The most important thing I can say about Iraqi Kurdistan is that it is a wonderful place, where I felt very safe and very welcome, and with any luck, I will be returning soon. The opportunities available in the region are innumerable, and I sincerely hope that I can find a way to take advantage of them. Next time, I hope to spend a great deal more time in the region and explore some other parts of the area, particularly the mountains. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even bring a tour group with me one day. Many thanks to the people of Kurdistan!

Iraqi Kurdistan - First Impressions

07 JUN 2009
Arif, Lazgin and I flew together on the Austrian Airlines flight to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. I really felt genuinely excited, and surprisingly (at least to me personally), I wasn’t the slightest bit nervous. Exiting the plane in Erbil, a friend of Arif’s from airport security was waiting for us with a flashy bus with tinted windows. We were taken to the VIP side of the airport, where our temperatures were taken to check for swine flu, and we were ushered quickly through passport control and into a very posh lounge. Apparently, normal procedure prohibits vehicles from driving up to the airport, so usually you have to take a special airport bus to the waiting cars, far from the terminal. It wasn’t a great shock to figure out that Arif’s friends had their bright white Toyota Land Cruisers waiting right outside the door. The not-so-standard procedure that Arif always follows involves a leisurely stop at the office of the head of airport security for a cup of tea.

I felt immediately comfortable in these surroundings, not just because of the special treatment my friend had arranged, but because everyone was very eager to welcome me to Kurdistan, and the laid-back-drink-some-tea-ten-minutes-means-two-hours culture was right up my alley. Laying here at 2:30AM in a fortress like hotel that doubles as the British consulate, I have really seen very little of Kurdistan or even Erbil, but I’m very content and really like the place. I met for juice and arguileh with some of the guys in the early evening, and then a large group of us went out to the beautiful restaurant Marina in the Christian district of the city. The food was great, the live music was moving (they even played my favorite Iraqi song, Khuttar), and the company couldn’t have been better. On the way into the restaurant, though, everyone had to pass through a security check including a metal detector. Funny thing about it, they started to search my camera bag, but Saad told the guard, “he’s American, he won’t blow himself up,” and I was sent on through. We did note, however, that the metal detector wasn’t on, and they didn’t search any of the other guys because they didn’t have bags - we’ll give the security team a D+ for putting on a good show.

Driving at high speeds along the European highways suddenly pales in comparison to flying 100mph down the seemingly endless straight roads of Erbil in a Toyota Land Cruiser, the windows of which are tented so much that it is practically impossible to see outside in the dark, slowing down only to gently hop over the occasional speed bump. Tomorrow, the real exploring begins.

Austrian Airlines Premium Class Meal: Assorted appetizer plate including Hummous, Moutabel, roasted vegetables and fresh bread, Prawns in a creamy parmesan tomato sauce served with buttered rice and sauteed spinach, assorted Arab sweets and hot tea for dessert.

Leaving Slovenia

I arrived in Istanbul last night, and I am finally back to free high-speed internet access, so I'll be catching up on my blog posts over the next couple days. Not all of them will be in chronological order just to forewarn you.

06 JUN 2009
My last day in Slovenia was the perfect culmination of another great visit to the country. I rode with Natasa’s brother, Borut, to Celje, where we spent some time hanging out at Tropic Bar and having a great lunch prepared by Natasa’s mother. It’s like being home, surrounded by close friends in a country I love, eating Eta’s great food. Upon returning to Ljubljana, I met up with my new friend Jorge and another local couch surfer. The young Slovenian girl that was hanging out with us was quite the character, but I really enjoyed meeting her. The amusement started when she told Jorge, “I have to tell you, I have emotions.” It turns out that she had a Guatemalan roommate while volunteering in Ecuador to whom she was obviously very close. Just by fact of origin, Jorge had given her “emotions.”

When asked if Jorge reminded her of her friend Marcial and why, she replied, “You move and you smile.” Who knew that non-Guatemalan people were so cold and stationary? During dinner at Pizzeria Osmica, things got even more interesting. The girl began to explain how Latin people touch each other a lot more than Europeans in general. She admitted that she was sad because she really wanted to ask Marcial to “lay on top of [her], just to feel his weight and presence” before they said goodbye, but she was too shy. “Next year though, people laid on top of me,” she said very matter-of-factly. The conversation took another radical turn when she mentioned the interesting reactions one gets “if you just ask someone to touch you anywhere.” Apparently, she attempted this experiment with one girl and one guy, and the girl was very uncomfortable, but touched her behind the ear and “gave [her] emotions.” The guy touched her hair, but she was unmoved by that. Jorge recommended that she not try that question on people in Guatemala if she ever visits.

Soon enough, it was time for the young girl to go back to work on editing a film for her university. Jorge gave her two pecks on the cheeks to say goodbye, and she practically melted. I did the same, and she said, “He’s just American.”

Jorge and I finished the night by meeting some of the folks from his youth hostel for some drinks and a long walk in the rain and lightning. Trying to jump over a large puddle, I sorta kinda ended up jumping into a large puddle and splashing the poor English girl behind me. She pointed out every puddle for the rest of the night and asked if I’d like to jump in again. As far as these young folks were concerned, the night was young, but at 2AM, I thought it best to retire to my hotel to pack and rest before my 6AM departure to Iraq. Many hugs and multiple goodbyes, followed by the chorus of “please stay alive,” and I was back to the hotel, ready for another adventure.

Safely back from Iraq. Nothing but great experiences, and I can't wait to go back. More detailed posts to come from here in Vienna.

"Don't tell the authorities," were the last words spoken to me tonight. Needless to say, I am having a fascinating time.

Hot. Random power outages remind me of Lebanon. I think I like it here.