turkey ahoy !

geceligi ne kadar?

(or how much per night?)

We've just decided that we will reach Istanbul and look for a place to stay.
We have a couple of places that have mailed with a (sorta negotiated) rate of 30Euros/night (for a double room with private bathroom), and a couple that are just above it. That's our ceiling, by the way- we definitely cannot spend anything more than 30- and of course, the cheaper the better. The Side Hotel & Pension comes highly recommended from various quarters- including the Thorn Tree Forum and our contact at Jimmy's place down in Selcuk (the second leg of the trip), but they are sitting pretty (and unmovable) at 35Euros a night.

So. We are just going to land. Go to Sultanahmet with a shortlist. Check out some places. Check in.
Any which way, there is no bad thing or good thing on this trip, only experiences, right?
Right.

in: travel / turkey / turkey travel / travel accommodation / istanbul

ohmegodohmegodohmegod!

Not even 24 hrs left.
After 48 hrs of misery I am giving in to all the excitement and letting the butterflies flutter as much as they want in my tummy.

Have a long list of stuff to finish today -
Dishes to be washed
Clothes to be washed
Trip clothes to be ironed
General cleaning to be done
Neck strap for the camera to be bought
Money to be deposited in the account

Oh and how can I forget - packing to be done!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
(running away with hands on my head!)

in: travel

whether or not

Weather forecasts, I tell you. I've checked three of four different sites since morning for the weather in Istanbul over Fri/Sat/Sun- and of course, I've got varying predictions. In fact, msn weather has actually changed from morning till now. I suppose it is to be expected, what with weather being so fickle and all.
Generally speaking, though, there is some consensus- about 18/19 degrees (celsius) in the daytime, with a few showers here and there. Light winds, if any. It sounds lovely dunnit?

and by the way, this is the history of Istanbul weather for Oct 14-18 since '96 or so.
average max temp: 19.4C
average min temp: 13.8C

So it looks like one jacket and one sweater/sweatshirt. (definitely a sweater for -d-, but i am not sure about myself- will I need a sweater, really...?)

in: travel / turkey travel / turkey weather / istanbul

baingan!

Ok, so the latest trivia thingy in the sidebar is that Turkish recipe books list over 900 recipes for patlican- that is eggplant or aubergine or...baingan! (source:LP)
Of course this is an approximation, but can you imagine how excited -d- must be about his? She is an eggplant freak!

more turkey trivia

in:turkey trivia / turkey facts

spending

Some musings on my outlook in life made me think.
I tend to want to spend. Also, I tend to believe (at the time of reckoning) that its ok to spend. “Just a little bit more for a good meal, or a little bit more on that something for someone, is ok” I’ll tend to think. Except, with a budget like the one we have drawn up for this trip I cannot afford to (oh, really cannot afford to!) be like that in Turkey! I mean, I can’t sepnd money that is specifically for something else, just because that something else is later, and turkey is ‘now’. Y’ know? Aargh, this is going to be tough, especially given the kind of foodies we are.
Listen up mate, you better get your act together.

And then I get this from a dearest friend:

"Spend money even if you don’t have it because the moment will never come back
but money will, someday or the other. "

Thanks, man. Keep that spare room in your house handy.

in: travel / travel planning

lists

our medicine kit for the trip

things we need to get done

update:
make that second list thus: either bought or dropped or not found
-flashlight
-batteries
-ziploc bags
-garbage bags
-tape
-clothesline
-camera cloth
-shades
-eno

in: travel / travel planning

turkey trivia

- "Turks with an average of 14.5 partners have had more sexual partners than any other nationality in the world.- DurexGlobalSexSurvey 2005

- Acc to the UN, Turkish is one of the most widely spoken languages spoken in one form or another by over 150 million people from Old Yugoslavia to NW China!(source: Lonely Planet)

- The American turkey was accidentally named after the country. After the Spanish first found the bird in America more than 400 years ago and brought it back to Europe, the English mistakenly thought it was an African bird they'd named for the country it was shipped through-Turkey. The name stuck even after they realized the birds weren't the same (source:brockpress & wordorigin)

- it is said (in a guide to modern bridge published in London in 1901) that a group of British soldiers posted to Istanbul during the Crimean War invented a card game. They would cross the Galata Bridge nightly to play it in a coffeehouse, so they ended up calling the game 'BRIDGE'! (source: Lonely Planet)

-mount Agri, also known as Mount Ararat, is the place where it is said that Noah's Ark came to rest.

-Van Cats, or cats from the Van district in Eastern Turkey are pure white, like to swim, and have one blue eye and one amber eye!

- Julius Caesar proclaimed his celebrated words, "Veni, Vid, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)" in Turkey when he defeated the Pontus, a formidable kingdom in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
source: LP, allaboutturkey

-"Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and as sweet as love" - Turkish Proverb. Finely grinding coffee beans and boiling them in water is still known as "Turkish Coffee." It is still made this way today in Turkey and Greece or anywhere else Turkish Coffee is served.
(source)
- Turks with an average of 14.5 partners have had more sexual partners than any other nationality in the world! DurexGlobalSexSurvey

-In 1442, a young Vlad the Impaler was a hostage to the Sultan in Istanbul for a couple of years, where he supposedly picked up many cruel torture techniques. This Vlad is the same as Vlad Dracula, from whom the more popular legend of vampires took off. He was 'given' as a hostage alonwith his brother by his father, to assuage the Turks. He later ruled in Wallachia (romania) and is remembered for-besides his terrible cruelty- keeping the Turks at bay for a long time.

in: turkey trivia / turkey facts