Walking tour

On our first full day we had only one thing on the agenda, a walking tour of the city. We were supposed to meet in a location we didn’t know and wait for a person we never met to show us around a place where we’ve never been. Of course all that is the point of the walking tour. 

We were scheduled to meet our guide in the morning, and were a bit concerned it was going to be too early. That turned out to be no problem because all of our sleep schedules were so out of whack that we were up at the crack of dawn. Actually it is hard not to be up at the crack of dawn in a predominantly Islamic society. One hour before sunrise the city-wide loud speakers announce the call to prayer. Five times a day the call to prayer is projected loudly enough to be heard in every corner of the city. The practice is certainly eerie to the unfamiliar tourist. The caller’s voice is slow and drawn out making a droning sound that echoes through the air. It sounds much like a siren that we would attribute to a warning call or alarm back home.

Our breakfast buffet at the hotel consisted of Turkish coffee or tea, and a medley of vegetables, cheeses and breads. They also had eggs and some assorted meats. None of which are pork, since that is not allowed as part of the Islamic diet.

We easily found our way to the assigned location and a few minutes later connected with our tour guide Erol. He was a young slim Turkish guy in his upper 30s. We were his only clients for the morning so off we went on our private walking tour of the city. He led us to all the major tourist areas and provided as much detail and history of the area as we wanted, and perhaps a little more. He also gave us the ins and outs of city life and how to maneuver as a tourist throughout the city.

At the end of the highly beneficial three hour tour, we were left in a popular area of the city to continue the day with our own exploring. The old city streets are all cobblestone, and often so narrow that they are typically designated as one-way for vehicular traffic. We found the street signs to be a bit lacking or confusing, and often not matching up with the names on the map. They frequently use abbreviations for names just as we do in the states.  For example, we will abbreviate the word Avenue as Ave. Not being familiar with the words or what they meant proved a bit tricky at first, so it required some fast learning to decipher it all.

The city was bustling with people. Literally people from all over the world were here, whether residing or just visiting, and we could hear people speaking many languages. We frequently ran into Russians, Germans, East Asians, and also Spanish speaking people. Perhaps the language we have heard spoken the least is English. Those that know it the best are the shop keepers and restaurant employees in the tourist areas. Outside the tourist areas English is infrequently spoken.

We stopped for lunch in a busy tourist spot, then slowly navigated our way back to the city center, and eventually back to our hotel. The town certainly was crowded, and the streets were lined with small shops and restaurants. “We have the best carpets for you, please come in and look.” “Look at our spices, the best in the country, right here.” “Sweets and candies are here for you, the best anywhere.” “The best leather jackets at the best prices for you!” Every step along the way we were being solicited. We found it fortunate that every shop and every restaurant we passed had the best of whatever it was they sold. How privileged we were to be in the best part of the country having the best dealers around. LOL

Interestingly enough the people rarely pegged us as being from the U.S. The first day someone referred to us as Americans stating that they could tell by Bryan’s Levi jeans. Levi’s are apparently still a rare commodity in this area. When we all wore other kinds of pants, we were typically thought to be German, English or from some other European country. Once we were even thought to be South African.

Our afternoon consisted of napping in our rooms, unpacking a bit and trying to adjust to our new environment. We roused for a late dinner and then back to our rooms for a less than quality night’s sleep. The rooms and beds were comfortable enough, but all of our bodies were still having a hard time adjusting to the new time zone.