Back in Istanbul

Had a six hour bus ride today from Canakkale on the Asian continent to Istanbul's European side.  I had planned to tour Troy and the Gallipoli Peninnsuala, so stayed in Canakkale for two nights.  But the weather was so bad: cold, rain and wind, that I pretty much stayed in my hotel room for the day!  I didn't even take any pictures.  So today as we made our way up the peninsula and then through Thrace, we hit more cold, rain, wind and SNOW!  It wasn't sticking, but it sure was coming down!

The only clothes I had to wear were 3/4 length pants, tennis shoes and two shirts with a black 3/4 length sleeve sweater-type thingy.  So I added a scarf to top off the outfit and try to stay not warm, but at least not freezing.  On the bus, I added a shawl on my shoulder against the window.  (I bet whoever is reading this right now is thinking -- man, I sure am glad I wasn't with her!  I'd have been so embarrassed!)   Tonight I went to the mall (dressed like this) and found a store, bought two pair of long pants and a lightweight fleece jacket.  Aw, so much better!

As I was on the bus, there was a woman with a young daughter, maybe 5 years old, that was sitting across the aisle.  Whenever the seat next to me was empty, the little girl would sit there.  The woman was friendly, but didn't speak English and my Turkish is limited to please, thank you, hello, etc.  When we stopped for a 20 minute break along the way, she made sure to let me know that it was a toilet break.  When I went to get off at the main bus station in Istanbul, she indicated she wanted to see my notecard (I had it in my hand -- I always write the name, address and phone number of where I am going so I can give it to the cab driver if needed), so I showed it to her and she confirmed I needed to get off here.  She also called out to another woman getting off and said something about me.  When I went to get my bag from the attendant, this second woman said something to the attendant and he looked around and said something to a man that was standing there.  By this time I had figured out there was continued shuttle service into the different areas of the city and I was to get on this man's van.  As I tried to make sure my bag was steady where I set it on the van floor, another man sitting there asked me in English if he could help me.  I told him I thought I was doing ok, and confirmed in English that the van was going to the area I needed to go.  As we approached the area, the driver called something out, and the man obviously answered for me and then asked me if I was going to take the metro the rest of the way.  I replied I was going to find a taxi, as I didn't want to take the tram with my big suitcase.  When we got off a few blocks later, the man said he would help me get a taxi and waved one down for me and then told the taxi driver where I needed to go and showed him my card!  All of this was done, from one person to the next, without my approaching them for help, rather each of them stepping up to help me on their own.  I have found this to be the case throughout my travels: everyone is very friendly and eager to help.

My hotel this time is again in the Sultanhament area of old Istanbul, but just a little off from the biggest tourist area. The neighborhood has a lot of the old wooden houses, some in pretty poor repair.  Looking forward to walking through this area tomorrow to get a better feel for it.

I will meet my family on Wednesday mid-day.  One of the people from the organization will pick me up and take me across by ferry to the area where the family lives.   So, tomorrow I will get my tram pass, and maybe just hangout one more day!  It is good to have time off from being someone's guest!