Turkish Delights

We did more than visit Mosques and Palaces in Istanbul. With food vendors just about everywhere, we had no problem finding local food to taste. Turkish breakfast is normally composed of fruits, soft cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, and bread. Lunch and dinner revolves around kababs (meat cooked on a stick) served with yogurt sauce, rice and bread. Of course the doner kabab (think gyro style where the meat is shaved off a massive slab) is very common.

The desserts are very sweet with most of them bathed in honey. We had our fill of baklava-like treats that included pistachios, filo dough or shredded wheat and of course honey.

When the food vendors didn't have us entranced, the retailers did. Istanbul is home to the oldest "shopping mall", The Grand Bazaar. It's basically a massive maze filled with small shops selling one of a few things: scarves, knock off designer clothes, jewelry, or souvenirs. Here is the best part: everything is negotiable. We were in the market for a pashmina scarf and peaked into at least 15 shops. At last we found the right scarf (see last posts for results). The shopkeeper was an excellent salesman lavishing Dana with praise on her choices and asking me if I had Italian bloodlines because I dressed stylishly (those of you that know me, this clearly isn't a trait I possess and only look presentable due to Dana's influence) and tan skin (another stretch). Once we settled on 2 scarves, he suggested the price was 80 lira for one. We countered with 20 lira for one and we ended up at two scarves for 50 lira (about $30 usd). Success! But he keeled over on his price too quickly. After reducing his price nearly 75%, I still left the store thinking we could have beat him up further!

We also visited the underground cistern, built by the Romans to store water. Only the Romans could make water storage this cool. The cistern was supported by orderly lines of columns taken from various parts of the Roman empire. Two columns were supported by medusa heads, which is of Greek origin rather than Roman. If I had a tripod I could have spent hours taking photos (and annoyed Dana in the process). Pictures below.

Istanbul

In that last post I suggested the blog was going to be dormant until we landed back in USA. Change of plans due to the blogger app for iPad that will allow pictures to be uploaded.

We had a 30 hour journey to Istanbul that included layovers in Sydney and Abu Dhabi (which has an over the top airport that also is home to all the luxury shopping stores you could imagine).

Istanbul has the energy and crowds of a massive city, plenty of historical sites, great food, and a different religious culture from anywhere I've ever been.

The history of Istanbul is key to understanding what it is today. It was formerly the eastern half of the roman empire (known as Constantinople then) and continued it's control over the region until the 15th century. The Muslim Ottomans took over and expanded the empire to much of eastern Europe, northern Africa and the middle east. It was the greatest world power with the peak in the 16th century. The Ottomans ruled this region until WW1 when they fought with Germany. The loss had their territory reduced to what Turkey is today.

This history of housing two world powers, one Christian and the other Muslim, makes Istanbul both amazing and unique. One of the main tourist sites is the Hagia Sofia, built as a massive church to rival those in Rome by the Byzantines and later converted into a Mosque when the Ottomans took over. The restored walls have mosaics of the Jesus and the virgin Mary as well as Islamic symbols praising Allah.

Today Istanbul is a huge city with crowded streets and a general feel that is different then the 'western' cities. There aren't many high-rises, the streets in the city seem impossible to drive in due to congestion, and there are virtually no street signs. There are an overwhelming amount of shops (basically everywhere) so it seems like everyone is making their way as a retail merchant (though that probably isn't true). The diversity of dress is much different as well. Have not seen one suit, and rarely what we would call 'business casual', men are primarily in pants and short sleeve polo shirt, women ranging from conservative Islamic black garb where only their eyes are visible to contemporary.

As Turkey is 98 percent Muslim, you can feel the religious influence. At various points in the day chants ring out over loudspeakers calling worshippers to the mosque to pray. We are here during the month long Ramadan. The Muslims fast during day with celebrations at night. That has made the restaurants fairly quiet during the day, but the streets lively at night. Everyone speaks English and in a couple cases where we clearly looked lost, Turkish people were eager to help point us in the right direction.

The US press can at times give the impression that all Islamic countries are dangerous. That couldn't be farther from the truth in Istanbul. The city feels as safe if not safer than New York City. However we have seen very few US tourists here. If Istanbul is the type of place you'd like to visit, don't hold back over fear of safety.

Istanbul is truly the city where east meets west (literally and figuratively). It's where eastern culture and religion blend with democracy. Plus half of Istanbul is in Europe and across he Bosphorus, the other half lies in Asia.

There is a ton more to say about our time here, but it will have to wait for a future post. The visit to Istanbul has been an inspiring eye-opening peek into a different culture!

Pictures are from The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent.

Goodbye New Zealand

Our time in New Zealand is coming to an end. As of this writing, we have less than a week left until we depart. It's been a great year. I'm going to have fond memories of New Zealand...

We arrived here with hopes of exploring a beautiful country and immersing ourselves into a new culture. New Zealand didn't disappoint. The highlights for me: the 4 day Milford Track hike, helicopter landing onto a glacier, bungy jumping & mountain biking with Reinaker, climbing a volcano, driving the south island with my family, and sailing in the Bay of Islands. It was great to explore Australia as well: Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Melbourne, Adelaide and Kangaroo Island, and a recent trip to the Gold Coast and Fraser Island (blog post on that pending... our computer broke and won't allow us to upload pictures). Every time we set out on another adventure, there was always excitement knowing there would be some new experience to take in or sight to see. I love that feeling....maybe I'm addicted.

All the beauty in New Zealand couldn't capture us for more than this year, though.
After a while, we began to miss the comforts of home, friends, family, and our dog. I've had a number of people suggest "the time must have flow by." That really hasn't been the case. I remember not being able to sleep while camping at Niagara Falls and writing that first blog post. That seems like ages ago. Time flies when you are in your groove and things are comfortable. While our time here was great, it was undoubtably different than life back home. We had to learn a new culture, jobs, and lifestyle. That somehow made life slow down. And in many ways, that's a good thing. Dana's job didn't require nearly the amount of hours as residency and my job was flexible, so we took full advantage of the slower pace. I did a lot of reading, cooking, photography, hiking, swimming, and mountain biking that I wouldn't have been able to fit into my previous life. But the life of semi-leisure doesn't suit me long term. Call me crazy but I have missed the challenge and productiveness of life in the US. As they say: "the grass is always greener"...

So with a week left in New Zealand, its starting to feel like another page is turning in our lives. Over the past few years, we've developed a passion for travel. New Zealand has fostered this love for travel further.The next journey should be epic as we meander through Eastern and Central Europe for five weeks on our way back home: Istanbul Turkey, Athens Greece, Budapest Hungary, Vienna and Salzburg Austria, Munich Germany, Prague Czech Republic, Krakow and Warsaw Poland, then finally London England.

After that we're headed to Atlanta where we'll both be looking for new jobs. Dana says: "Never thought at 31 years old I'd be a physician and married.... and living in my parent's basement!" Never say never...
The blog is probably going to be on hold until we get back to the US at the end of September. We should have more stories and pictures to share from our trip. For anyone that bothered to keep up with the blog, thank you! Hopefully you enjoyed reading it half as much as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Maui

Maui is a good mix of relaxing resorts with opportunities for adventurous exploration. We stayed on the western coast among the resorts and slowed the pace down to spend time soaking up rays poolside. We also found time for adventure as Dana graciously agreed to join me in a surfing lesson. Both of us stood up on our boards (a few seconds count, right?) and we avoided serious injury, so I'd call it a success. We spent time indulging in shave ice, walking along the beach, and frequenting the local shops. A favourite was a photography studio of Peter Lik. He’s an Aussie who takes landscape shots in US and Australia and has a show on the Weather Channel. His photos are amazing: http://www.lik.com/

Our adventures in Maui also include a drive on the road to Hana and an early morning at the top of Haleakalā to catch the sunrise. Road to Hana is a curvy road through a rainforest setting littered with waterfalls and a fairly constant view of the ocean. Wikipedia tells me that there are 620 curves along the highway which is 68 miles long. After a while you begin to feel like a formula one driver. Not because your speeding (it’s probably not safe to drive more than 15-20 mph over most of it), but the constant turning of the wheel.

This sunset was not on the road to Hana. It was from a restaurant on the beach.

One member of our crew (ehhhmmmm, Dana) wasn’t all that enthused to get up at 2:45 AM to make it for sunrise at the volcano, Haleakalā. Compound that with a temperature in the 40s and plenty of wind and it was a miracle that she got out of the car to take a look. I think she was happy that she did because this was a beautiful experience. The Hawaiian chanting one guy was doing as the sun peaked out of the clouds made it feel like we were a part of a local spiritual ritual. In spite of the early rising and cold weather, it turned out to be well worth the effort.

The Big Island

The Big Island of Hawaii is named properly. It’s a heavyweight. The Big Island is larger than the other Hawaiian islands combined and the biggest island in the United States. The benefit of size is an incredibly diverse landscape. Downside is traveling from place to place takes forever.
We stayed in Kailua Kona on the western side of the island, home to the Ironman World Championships. If you’ve ever watched the one hour recap of the race on TV, they make the run and bike course among the lava fields seem gruelling. After seeing the stretch of road they race on, I can confirm that those contestants are insane. It’s completely out in the open with the sun beating down on the pavement and black lava rocks.

We rented a jeep and took advantage by braving the rocky and potholed roads Waipio Valley. Waipio is known as the Valley of the Kings as it used to be the home of the rulers of the Big Island. Unfortunately the sun wasn’t cooperating with us on this visit so it wasn’t  as spectacular as our first visit four years ago, but still an amazing place.

The next day we spent on the east coast, visiting the farmers market in Hilo, found some beautiful "off the beaten path" beaches, and visited the Mauna Loa macadamia nut factory.

That evening we trekked up to the visitors center at Mauna Loa, one of the volcanoes that formed the island. It’s the largest volcano on earth in terms of volume and area covered and last erupted in 1984. We arrived to take in the sunset at the visitors center- 10,000 ft above sea level!

Dana among the volcanic rocks shivering. At 10,000 ft, even in Hawaii it’s cold.

Hawaiian Churches

You can tell a lot about a place's history and character by its churches. Italy has large, ornate churches. New Zealand has many tiny classic rural churches that fit in with the country’s farming roots. Hawaii’s churches stand out for me with the amazing natural settings that surround them.

The Waioli Huiia Church in the town of Hanalei on Kauai:

The Painted Church – St. Benedict’s in South Kona on the Big Island:

Keane Congressional Church along the Hana Highway in Maui. Built in 1856 and the only building in the area to survive a tsunami on April 1, 1946:

Lahuiokalani Kaanapali Congregational Church. Built in 1859: