URGENT POLL

Dear blog readers,

For the good of the people, please respond to this V.I.Q. (Very Important Question):

Do you know what a beer jacket is? If so, please provide your definition.

Many thanks,
Jackie in Israel

Istanbul: Day Three

Turkish flags.

Wandering around the city.

Shopping in the Grand Bazaar.
The Grand Bazaar is an overwhelming labyrinth of shops and booths-- pashminas, evil eyes, fabrics, trinkets, silver, gold, tapestries, rugs, souvenirs.

Tea cafe in the Grand Bazaar.

Yummy apple tea.

Istanbul University.

In a mosque.

Washing up before prayer.

Egyptian obelisk in the Hippodrome.

Turkish carpets!

Hellen does not look pleased.

The Pudding Shop.
Clinton has been here.

Turkish coffee.
Way too strong for me.

Apple nargile.

This was a great bar-- tons of locals.
However, as seemed to be the trend in Muslim Istanbul, there were about 50 men and only 5 women, including Hellen and me.

Sister Hellen Elizabeth --> Moslem Hellen

Cemetary outside the bar/cafe.

After nargile and tea we hit up the Turkish bath.

Inside the Turkish bath, you start out laying on the heated marble shown above. After you've baked and sweated up for a bit, these big topless Turkish women come out and soap and scrub you down. Vigorously. I came out a few shades lighter. Afterwards, Hellen and I had 30-minute oil massages and mud masks.

Another example of the interior of the Turkish bath.

Post-Turkish bath.
Sanford had such a good massage, his eyes wouldn't fully open for the next half hour. He looked like he'd been smoking some hash.

An "Only in Israel" Moment

Yesterday after school, one of the middle school teachers was in such a rush changing into his basketball clothes, that he accidentally left his work clothes crumpled up in a ball in the bathroom. In any other country, the clothes would be thrown into the Lost and Found. At the American International School of Israel, however, this was cause for a major security alert. Our guards thought the discarded clothes suggested that someone had either 1. entered the school in a disguise and after passing through security was running around wreaking havoc, or 2. decided to commit suicide and flung off his clothes (as a statement of defeat?).

The US Embassy security guards were called in and a search of the campus grounds was underway before my absent-minded colleague returned to retrieve his pants.

------------

On a slightly related note (the quirks of living in Israel), the Workers' Federation of Israel-- the Histadrut-- started a public sector strike, effective this morning. This strike, which includes all local municipal workers, has shut down Ben-Gurion International Airport, all trains, all seaports, land borders, government offices, courts, etc. I am fortunate that the strike began today, rather than on Sunday, when we came back from Istanbul. Our school's Model UN team is not so lucky-- they were scheduled to depart for a conference in Paris at 1pm today.

Oh, update on the rapist-- he's been spotted in Ramat Aviv, just north of Tel Aviv. I guess a man running around with handcuffs is a pretty conspicuous sight.

Rapist-at-large

Currently, there is a convicted serial rapist-- convicted in December 1999 for raping 14 women-- loose in Tel Aviv. He escaped on Friday, when he was being transferred from the Nitzan prison to a police escort service in order to be transported to court. It's a rather baffling situation, because the court was not even in session on Friday. Unfortunately, it's not quite unfeasible that the court summons was issued in error-- Israeli bureaucracy is unbelievably disorganized and complex.

Anyways, hope for my safety!

Full articles here and here.

Istanbul: Day Two

We started each day enjoying a breakfast buffet on the rooftop terrace of our hotel.
Gorgeous views of the city and the Sea of Marmara with the sun shining in our faces-- great way to start the day.

Sanford enjoying his breakfast.

Gretchen and little Donovan.

People in the Middle East LOVE babies. Gretchen and Tim got green stickers on their passports and blew right through security at the Tel Aviv airport, while the rest of us got yellow stickers and were subjected to questioning and full baggage rifling. Getting our passports stamped in Istanbul, the security dude came out of his little cubby just to hold and play with Donovan. Gretchen was mauled by Turkish schoolchildren at Topkapi palace, who swarmed around to kiss and pet Donovan. Gretchen said that once while eating out in Tel Aviv, the owner of the restaurant came by when they sat down, scooped up Donovan, and didn't return until they were done with their meal.

Sultan Jackie.

Hellen and I in the hotel.

Our hotel was amazing. Great accomodations right in heart of Sultanhamet-- the Old City-- the site of all the great mosques and major historical attractions. We were only a few blocks from the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofya, Topkapı Palace, the Grand Bazaar, and the Spice Market. Sanford is a fabulous trip planner.

Fishermen on the Golden Horn.

Bridge over the Golden Horn.

On the ferry heading up the Bosphorus.

Dolmabahçe Palace.

Fortress of Europe-- built by Mehmet II in 1452.

New and old.

Too many jellyfish!

This city is known for its yogurt.

The Genoese Castle: our final destination.

Anadolu Kavaği.

Cutie.
Four months old and already a heart breaker.

Walking up to the Genoese Castle.

Beautiful views of the Bosphorus.

Kim-Jo-Phan.

The Genoese Castle: a 14th-century Byzantine fortress.

Oh you know, just sitting on the wall of an old 14th-century Byzantine fortress...

Those two dots on the wall are Hellen and me.

The Bosphorus emptying into the Black Sea.

The Black Sea.

Back in the city enjoying a good Efes.
(Funny because efes means zero in Hebrew.)

Can't get enough of this guy.

Back on the ferry.

Back in Eminönü.

Street shopping under the Tram.

Rüstem Paşa Mosque.

Men washing before prayer.

Spices!

Leeches for sale.

Entering the Spice Bazaar.

Amazing.

Buying apple tea and Turkish delight.
I always thought Turkish delight was nothing more than a fictional dessert from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. But no, Turkish delight is real and it's amaaaaazing.

Aphrodisiac shop.

Entrance to the Grand Bazaar.
(Didn't visit this 'til the next day.)

In the hotel, waiting for Hellen to get ready for dinner.
Yup, I'm still messy.

Out to dinner w/ live Turkish music.

Our chef, who we met the previous day, may have had a little crush on us...

Laughing at our wooing by vegetables.

Out in Taksim-- the hot nightspot of Istanbul.

This was one of the amazing parts of Istanbul-- you spend all day touring ancient historical sites, only to return to a buzzing, cosmopolitan, modern urban center. There were bars and clubs stacked on top of each other down every alleyway, with Turkish pop music pumping uncomfortably loud. This was the first time I've been out in a foreign country and not heard American hip hop.

Out in Taksim.

Still in Taksim.

Church in Taksim.

Deserted alley.

Galata Tower at night.