Tuesday, October 16, 2012

A FORTUNATE LIFE - PART 2



I am a small town coastal girl, a Mangalorean, who loves sunshine & sandy beaches. As a child, going to the beach with my cousins, rolling in the sand and getting drenched in salty sea water week after week were my favorite things to do.
But over the years, my idea of a vacation has changed completely. I have slowly started to realize that there's much more to see and experience in this world than relax by the beach for an entire week, watching the sun set or sipping Mojitos.

So the three important things that I now consider while planning my vacation are food, fashion and history, as these are an integral part of any good vacation. Even if I get to experience two out of the three, I am a happy camper!!

Being avid travelers, it was hard for Vandana and me to choose a country that had good food, fashion, and history as well. After much brainstorming, TURKEY it was: the only place where one gets to see the best of Europe and Asia.
The idea of inhaling the aroma of rich Turkish coffee, savoring honey dipped Baklava, getting pampered at a traditional Turkish bath, and shopping and haggling at the Grand Bazaar excited as immensely, as did walking among the ruins of Troy and Ephesus, and experiencing the charms of Istanbul and "the cotton castles" of Pammukale. So we gave TURKEY the green signal and anxiously waited for the day to arrive.



 A SIP OR TWO:

I think I had more fun, compiling and editing the pictures for "Part2" than"Part1" as it involved my favorite topic, FOOD. Looking at these pictures, one can easily figure out that the way to my heart is definitely through my stomach!!







In the daytime, hot tea is popular and is served strong and black in tulip shaped glasses. It didn't take me much time to realize that the Turks hardly drink any water, as it was a common sight to see people enjoying their black tea served in those beautiful clear glasses all day long.






In the evening, or after a meal, Turks prefer to drink strong black coffee that is served in small cups. Mostly served with dessert, this slightly bitter coffee reminded me of the Espresso we get back home.
The coffee goes really well with the Turkish sesame covered Pretzels called "SIMIT"





Mmmm, this was one drink that both Vandana and I enjoyed thoroughly: a refreshing concoction of freshly squeezed pomegranate and orange. They don't use water in this, so it was quite safe to drink this juice. One fruit that we got to see almost everywhere in Turkey were Pomogranates.






The juice machine looked simple & interesting. Vandana loved it so much, that she wanted to bring one back home!!





SWEET NUTHINGS:
Nuts, Nuts and more nuts everywhere—stuffed, glazed, and caramelized!!





The Phyllo based pastries were stuffed with pistachios, walnuts and other nuts & fruits. Dripping honey and sugar, the baklava contained layers of dough and nuts. I preferred the Kuru baklava to the Yer as it was less sweet and was drier.




Turkish Delight, also called “Lokum" is a famous Turkish sweet. It tastes a lot like halwa and is one of Turkey's popular exports.In the late 18th century, Sultan Abdulhamit broke a couple of teeth while crunching on rock candy. The royal confectioners came to the rescue and a delicate, jellylike sweet called Lokum was born.





  WARPS & WEFTS:

"Kilim" means "Flat woven", they are rugs without knots and the most famous kind of Turkish rugs which are hand woven and naturally dyed. These rugs are woven by nomads, mostly at home. The designs are original and depends on the weavers imagination. The designs are then passed on from mother to daughter. They are from the central region of Turkey, Anatolia, villages of Kayseri.




Sheep's wool is mainly used in the Kilims, but these days silk blends are are also used.





It's believed that the expression "Tying the knot" was originated from rug weaving. The loose ends of the rug were knotted when the girl was ready to get married, that was her way of telling the world that she was ready for marriage!
    
  A Turkish lady weaving a rug. 






                                                          An  array of colorful Kilims.











HAREMS & HAMMAMS:





The master builder Mimar Sinan was the royal architect of many Ottoman Sultans. He designed the royal kitchens of the Topkapi palace, the minarets of Hagia Sophia and the hammam of queen Roxelana. The architecture of many commercial hammams that you get to visit in Istanbul resembles the one built by Sinan in the 15th century.





A hammam consists of three interconnecting rooms. The first one is the hot room with a large dome punctuated with small windows. You lie on the heated marble stone that's in the center of the room. You will then be scrubbed, foamed and massaged by an experienced masseuse. The not-so-hot second room is where bathers wash. The final chamber is cool, a place to relax and enjoy a cold drink. When you are in Turkey, don't miss out on this one of a kind hammam experience. I experienced the Turkish bath twice during my stay, and it is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.





The room is entirely marbled, equipped with individual water sinks and white silver bowls for bathing.




The ceiling dome with small holes on them, to allow natural lights to stream in.





                                                               A TALE OF 2 CITIES:







PAMUKKALE:

The town of Pamukkale is situated at the base of the travertine cliffs which have become one of Turkey's top sites. They are also known as the “cotton castles”, due to the snow-white travertine cliffs all over, formed by calcium carbonate deposits.












EPHESUS:

Ephesus is the most famous ancient city in Turkey. It was founded around 1000 B.C. Under Roman rule, glorious buildings such as the Library of Celsus were constructed.

Its perfectly preserved temples, merchant houses and theaters are breathtaking.


















Here's to our friendship and more exciting trips in the future!!








Friday, October 5, 2012

A FORTUNATE LIFE - PART1


While I was leisurely enjoying the Bosphorus boat tour in TURKEY, I remembered this quote that I had once read by Mae West.
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough,"      Well, I couldn't agree more!  

Considering I enjoy living life on my terms, making time to do things I love and trying to make the most of this "FORTUNATE LIFE"  that I am blessed with, Turkey was an amazing, one of a  kind experience that I got to share with my good friend Vandana  Rao.  
Savor a slice of this exotic, colorful land of the Ottoman Sultans, where East meets West and traditional values clash with the modern, all through our lens, in my words!! 
  



THELMA & LOUISE:
Neither am I a passive housewife like Thelma  nor has Vandana had a traumatic past like Louise and there aren't any similarities between us and the 1991 Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis classic. The only thing that's common here is 2 good friends, packing their bags and going away on a dream vacation to savor life to the fullest!! 
Vandana and I, two like- minded friends, who absolutely love food, travel, photography and Bollywood, plan a vacation to exotic TURKEY and return with loads of good memories, great stories and two thousand plus pictures worth sharing. From Harems to Hammams, Mosques to Mosaics, Bazaars to Bosphorus, Baklavas to Belly dancing, we experienced it all.
While I feasted on juicy kebabs, she gorged on veggie dolmas.  When I was enjoying my RAKI ( an aniseed flavored Turkish drink akin to Greek OUZO),  she kept me company by sipping her hot Turkish CHAI.  I shook a leg to Billie Jean and   she decided to do a "MashaAllah" and  while I shopped for rugs, she rummaged through silver Jewelry !!
Oprah Winfrey  once said - " Surround yourself with only those people who are going to lift you higher"  and today through this post, I would like to thank my dear Vandu for being a great friend, a strong support and a positive influence in my life, without whom things wouldn't have been the same.




THE GOLDEN GIRLS:
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
These words made more sense to me when I met the 'golden girls" Alma & Rose, 2 sisters from NJ, aged 90 and 96, on my trip. Crisply dressed and with their lipstick always in place, they charmed everyone with their humor and amazing zest for life. Being avid travelers, they walked among the historic ruins without complaining and cracked jokes without pausing.They sipped wine in style and watched belly dancing in awe. Their company was extremely inspirational for most of us and they were the highlight of our trip.
My thirties were fairly interesting and serene, my forties are passionate and I want my coming years to be like theirs, inspiring & charming with good health and spirits!!






MOSQUES & MOSAICS: 
Out of the many mosques and minarets that I got to see in Turkey, Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) takes the cake. It was originally a church but  after the fall of Constantinople, the beautiful gold mosaics from the Byzantine period were plastered and minarets were carefully added to the existing church by the Ottoman Turks, turning it into a mosque.  Only later in 1931, the mosaics were uncovered and the building was transformed into a museum.









The interiors are beautifully decorated with hundreds of hanging chandeliers and rich golden mosaics.








The mosaics depict  Jesus, Virgin Mary, saints, emperors and the empresses. The golden background is the original, remaining from the 9th century.






















 The mesmerizing hues of yellow, blue and gold on the ceiling make this mosque one of my absolute favorites!!















THE MISTRESS OF SPICES:
Istanbul boasts of the best bazaars in Turkey and if I were to pick my favorites from all the bazaars that I visited, then it would be the "Spice Bazaar" in Istanbul and the "Koza Han" silk market in Bursa.
Spice bazaar, an L shaped building built in the 1940's attracts thousands of visitors every day , from all around  the world. I love spices and the prospect of visiting a huge, ancient market that is primarily dedicated to spices got me all heated  up.  







A colorful assortment of mixed fruits and nuts, real eye candy!









Had a blast shopping and clicking away hundreds of pictures  in the Grand bazaar, one of the oldest and the largest covered market in Istanbul with 61 covered streets and over 3000 shops.









 A shop at the entrance of   Grand Bazaar with an interesting array of 'Evil Eye" glass hangings !!


Trivets and coasters in ceramics, where the motifs are inspired from original Iznik designs of the 16th century.
Don't miss the yellow "Sufi Dervish" motifs on the extreme right... Simply gorgeous!



Welcome to the mesmerizing world of "Turkish Lanterns".  
If I had a choice, I would have brought the entire store back home - I simply fell in love with them.






The courtyard cafe in the "Koza Han", a covered silk market in BURSA.
Absolutely loved the ambience and the energy. Wish we had something like this in the U.S.





                A wall full of character......KOZA HAN, Bursa.