Istanbul Pics

You can see all our pics on http://www.fototime.com/. Email me for the guest ID. It takes so friggin' long to upload from here. So, only a slection will be posted.

Our hotel was near a district that had lots of restaurants and bars. The narrow roads hosted the cafe dining. At night, musicians would come around to entertain the dining customers. As you can see, we were bundled up for the cool weather (what a welcome change!)

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Russell and Lyra are enjoying a cup of Cay (pronounced Chai) in one of the little places we found in the Grand Bazar area. Soon after this photo, she bumped her head a there were many tears. However, for most of the trip Lyra had a great time exploring and wanderint with us!

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Our hotel was built for the arrival of the Orient Express. As you can see, the decor has remained untouched for decades. On our last day, the lobby was turned into a movie/television set. Evidently, it is used for this quite often. We felt very welcome there. We met a nice couple of guys from Scotland. They were also in Istanbul for the first time and loving their visit.

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Here's a peek out one of the windows of the Aya Sofia (a church built in a 5-year period in the late 500s and then converted to a mosque in the 1400s). During Justinian's reign in the Roman Empire, Istanbul (then known as Costantinople) was established as the seat of the church. The Aya Sofia was built to demonstrate the power of the church and the Roman's. It is an engineering miracle. The mosque next to it, built nearly 1200 years later, still doesn't replicate the feat of engineering. Ever since converting this church to a mosque, the mosques in the Ottoman Empire took on this unique domed architecture. Their domes can be seen on the tops of every hill in Istanbul.

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Here are some folks fishing of the Galata Bridge. Every day, the fishermen would cluster along the railing to fish for sardines and sea bass. In the background is Yeni Camii (which means New Mosque). It is "only" 400 years old.

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One day, we took a ferry ride up the Bosphorus toward the Black Sea. At the far end, the ferry stops for 3 hours. We took a hike up a hill to a castle/fortress that was established to protect Istanbul from raiding parties coming in off the Black Sea. At the top, you can see the Black Sea in the distance.

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Our last day, we wandered into a very old historic area for lunch. The streets wandered back and forth and even with a map we got lost a couple of times. Finally, we found a great fish restaurant to sit and linger over a late lunch before heading to the airport. We were completely entranced with the street scenes around us.

A Visit to the US Consulate

Deep breath. Whew!

In order to get into the US Consulate, here are your procedures.

1. Arriving by car, navigate through the barriers, stop at the gate (guarded by a heavily armored UAE Army truck and 4 UAE Army men). Tell them your business.

2. Enter the lobby and pass through secured building entrance guarded by 3 UAE Army men. Put handbag on x-ray machine, walk through metal detectors. Get directions to US Consulate (the consulate is in a tall business tower.)

3. Enter US Consulate area, show passport for identity.

4. Taken to back room to put handbag on x-ray machine and go behind curtain for swipe with metal detection wand by UAE Army woman (she was wearing an olive greeen scarf to cover her head, a uniform jacket, and a long skirt down to her boots). Inquiries as to phone, digital camera, keys, and umbrella in my purse. Told to turn off phone.

4. Go to hand baggage check. Show passport for identity. Turn over handbag (after taking out wallet and all other paperwork needed for my consulate visit).

5. Walk through metal detector.

6. Take lift operated by security guard to 21st floor. Outside of lift, show passport for identity.

7. I'm in! Surprisingly swift service for my requests after that.

Turkey and Iraq

To answer Kathy's questions.



First, our flight to Istanbul took about 4 1/2 hours. Istanbul is on the far west side of Turkey and we are on the far east side of the Saudi peninsula. Also, we're quite a bit south of Turkey at the south end of the Saudi peninsula. So, our flight path from here took us north up the Saudi peninsula and then west across Jordan, Lebanon, area and finally west across to Istanbul. For obvious reasons, we fly around Iraq so that also adds a little time to the flight.



While we were in Turkey, I picked up a book called "Turkey, Iraq, and the US". The intent of the book is to outline why Turkey took the positions that they did in the latest war in Iraq. If you remember, up to the last minute, Bush thought that the US would be able to station US troops in Turkey to invade Iraq from the north. But up until the last minute the Turkish parliament didn't ratify to approve, so US troops needed to fly in from Europe and from carriers stationed in the Persian Gulf. Anyway, this book has been very insightful for me - and the timing is perfect with the recent conflicts between Turkey and the PKK (Kurdish Rebels) in northern Iraq.



What I learned was that up until WWI, the northern part of Iraq (the Kurdish area) was actually a part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. After WWI, the Kurdish area was split and part of it was put into northern Iraq and part into eastern Turkey. There was a long time that Turkey tried to re-establish their borders to include the northern part of Iraq. What is interesting is that the two Kurdish areas formed into different groups and they really are not supporters of one another. And between Iraq and Turkey it actually became advantageous to keep the Kurds separated from one another (sort of a divide and conquer approach). The PKK is actully the TURKISH kurds, not the Iraqi. In the 60's and 70's they went across the border to hide in Iraq and they have launched attacks on Turkey from there and then retreated across the border. Up until the latest Iraq war, both Turkey and Iraq had an gentleman's agreement that they could both cross each others borders (up to about 30 km) to chase the rebels that were attacking them. Then, when the Iraq war started, the Kurds in Iraq objected to the Americans and to NATO about these incursions. Since the Iraqi Kurds are such strong allies of the US in this war, the US agreed to pressure Turkey to stop these invasions. Since then the PKK has been able to launch attacks into Turkey and then retreat into Iraq knowing that they will not be followed. So, these latest attacks by Turkey onto the PKK are actually a resurrection of actions that were ok up until 2003. If you read the papers, Turkey was working with the Iraqi Kurds and asking them to intervene with the PKK hiding out in northern Iraq. But this was ineffective and they finally decided to stop waiting and took matters into their own hands.



As for how the war is reported here. I have never seen any outright condemnation of the war or pieces saying "We told you so". Mind you, I can only tell you how the English papers & news stations report it. I don't know if you get a different perspective on Arabic news. For the most part there is very little in the way of opinion pieces in papers. If there are, the writer is often Westerner, so what you're getting in the opinion pages is largely the same as what you would get at home. But that isn't a reflection of Emirati opinion.



You really have to read between the lines and draw some conclusions to get an idea of what they are thinking because the news that they report is very superficial. First of all, it's pretty clear that the UAE views itself as a liaison between the West and the Middle East. More than any other country in this region, the UAE has a very positive relationship to the US and the West. Islamic fanaticism is not tolerated here and there are HUGE pressures (economic, political, military) to make the UAE a safe place. However, as arabs, the UAE leadership also has strong ties and relationships to many of the countries in this region.



So, you will read in the paper that Dick Cheney, Condolezza Rice, and most recently Laura Bush are here. After Dick Cheney's visit, the president of Iran (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) came one week later. And then right after that the US and Iran announce they have come to agreement on something. So, it can't be a mistake really that they were both here in the two weeks leading up to that.


All in all, I think opinion here is that the war has been an unfortunate mistake. There was no one in the region who wanted this war to happen, and now that it has, they are just working like crazy to make sure the whole region doesn't destabilize - and the UAE (along with most of the countries in this region) is trying to play an influential role in that work. However, although they have friendly relations with many countries like Syria and Iran that the US doesn't officially talk to, they still have limited influence many times. I think they are able to temper some of the emotions, but cannot fully influence other countries to go one way or another.



If you'd like to see how things are reported here, go to: http://www.gulfnews.com/home/

In Cairo, It's the Driving.

Every city has its story. In Milwaukee, it's the weather. In London, it's the trains. In Detroit, it's the economy. In New York, it's the crime.

In Cairo, it's the driving. Everyone talks about the driving.

They have this odd way of just driving their car where they want it to go, irrespective of other cars or traffic signals, and by some force of will they are able to merge, turn, change lanes, pass, etc. It is weird really - almost like they are using an invisible force field around their cars. But everyone seems to have this force field. They just all drive their cars where they want them to go and the force field opens a space for them. Or they turn when they want to turn and the force field slows oncoming traffic for them.

I was told a story while I was in Cairo.

A man is in a car with a taxi driver. As they approach a traffic signal, the light turns red and the driver speeds up to go through the intersection. After catching his breath, the man asks the driver, "Why did you speed up for a red light?" The driver responds, "You have to go fast in order to make it through."A little further on, they approach another traffic signal and the light turns green. The taxi driver slows down. The man asks, "Why are you slowing for a green light?" and the driver responds, "In case someone is speeding through from the other direction."

And that is how traffic works in Cairo.

I was only there for two days and didn't even see the Nile or the pyramids. So, no pictures to share with you. I'm sure I'll be back.

Send in Your Questions

Anything that you'd like to ask, something I haven't covered. Send me your requests and I'll try to get to them in between my own posts.

Autumn Leaves!

What a surprise. On my desk today was a package from Wauwatosa.

Inside . . . beautiful red, orange, & brown autumn leaves!

Perfect! Thank you, Kathy. It DID make me laugh.

Tomorrow night, we carve our jack o'lantern (have to wait until the day before Halloween because they quickly go bad here). I have all the fixin's for chewy Ginger cookies. We're cutting out bat shapes from black construction paper to decorate the house. We're hosting a Halloween party on Friday for Lyra and some of her friends.

We're also planning a bonfire night this weekend. In England, this is an autumn tradition. We can at least imagine what it would be like to wrap a scarf around our neck, have a constant drizzle hanging in the air and huddle next to the fire while we sip hot toddys.

Slowly, the autumn spirit is arriving (even though we're still in shorts & sandals).

No Dull Shoes in Our House

Last week, Lyra's school discussed professions and each of the kids spoke about what they would like to do. Lyra declared that she would like to be . . . a shoe polisher.

Never let it be said that we're pressuring our kid into being an over achiever!

Actually, the reason she said this is that when we were in Istanbul there were lots of men giving shoe polishings on the street. They had these cute little boxes with carvings and paintings on the outside. To give a shoe polish, the box opened up and was placed on the ground. There were two perches where the customer would rest their feet. The little drawers contained the brushes, polishes, and rags. Every time we went past one of these men, Lyra was fascinatedwith the box. What 4-year old wouldn't think that box was theBEST? Now I wish we had a photo of one of those men.

When I spoke to her later that night, I misunderstood that they were discussing the uniforms that each profession wears and I asked her, "What kind of costume will you wear as a shoe polisher?" (I used the word uniform first, but she didn't understand it). She said, "No, Mom, I don't want to *pretend* I'm a shoe polisher, I want to be one FOR REAL." Evidently, other kids chose the more traditional professions (doctor, dentist, teacher).

Russell told her that when she is old, then she can be a shoe polisher. I'm sure she has interpreted that to mean when she is 12.

Sometimes I wonder what that school thinks of us. Lyra goes to a school where most of the kids are extremely wealthy. Not only do they have live in maids, they probably have a maid/nanny for each child. Each child comes into the school spotless, neatly pressed, & in expensive clothes (Burberry, Gucci) and Lyra is wearing $2 shoes from the local hyper market with her hair pulled into higgledy-piggledy pony tails by her loving Baba. Luckily, there is a school uniform, so you can only tell a child's wealth by the shoes, socks, hairpieces that the kids wear. Then she tells them she wants to be a shoe polisher (FOR REAL).

LOL, ROFLOL.

She cracks me up!

Peeps - Another Food for Non-Muslims

I knew they wouldn't be vegetarian. It must be pork geletin.

If you'd like to try a fun web site, go to http://www.peepresearch.org/

Lyra's into Surrealist Humor

Lyra: Mama, why did the goose cross the road when he was in a bottle of water riding on a cow? How did he get so small to get into the hole for the bottle of water?

Me: (I know better than to say "I don't know") Hmmm . . . because he was thirsty?

Lyra: Nooooo, silly. It was magic that made him small enough to get into the bottle of water and he said to himself, "hmmm, I wonder what will happen when I get in here" and he didn't know that he was going to fit, but the magic made him fit and that's how he got in there. . .hee, hee . . . isn't that funny? Now you tell one.

Me: I'm sorry, I can't.

Istanbul - Love It!

Love it, love it, love it. Lyra said in our trip, "I love visiting new places. It's interesting." And it was.

Love - twisting turning little streets that go up and down the myriad of hills in the city
Love - European city vibe crossed with being in a Muslim country
Love - the friendly shop keepers who were always out in front of their shops greeting the people walking by
Love - people walking, walking, everywhere
Love - great food; meze (little salads served before every meal); grilled fish; honey soaked cakes for dessert
Love - ancient and rich history as the one-time center of the Roman and Ottoman empires
Love - the Bosphorus; a beautiful straight that divides the European from the Asian side of the city
Love - the beautiful domed mosques with their spires that top the hills in every direction
Love - cats, cats, cats (and kittens) around every corner, in shop windows, sunning on sidewalk corners
Love - the rainy, damp weather we had our first days as we strolled the city with our umbrellas and leapt across rivulets running down the sidewalks
Love - lokum; gooey sweet lovely Turkish Delight with hazelnuts and pistachios
Love - Grand Hotel Londra; our lovely 'back in time' hotel built for the arrival of the passengers from the Orient Express - a lobby straight from an Agatha Christie novel
Love - the English bookstore we found on our last night - I could have browsed for days "That's OK, Baba. Books are more interesting than television," said Lyra.
Love - Simits; little round sesame coated bread (kind of like a round pretzel)
Love - Beer and wine available at every little cafe or restaurant (like it should be) instead of isolated to the high-priced hotels.
Love - wearing my jacket and wrapping a scarf around my neck to keep warm
Love - the hundreds of people fishing off the sides of bridges and piers for sardines and sea bass
Love - the sea of jelly fish we saw from our ferry as we neared the Black Sea
Love - Turkish coffee; sweet, smooth, a bit earthy, and strong
Love - cheese, olives, tomatoes, and cucumbers with crusty bread for breakfast.


What didn't I love?
Getting up at 2am to catch our flight, a touch of Ataturks revenge from what I think must have been a bad piece of chicken, the confusion/fascination/disorientation of the Turkish people wondering why Lyra looked 'Japanese' (they were totally smitten with her) it was sometimes too much attention, not having packed enough long pants (after months of heat & sunshine I couldn't get my brain to believe I'd want to actually wear long plants & sleeves), staying up until 5:30am on our flight home.

It was good to get away for a few days. Pics are coming.

Huge Piles of Rubbish

When we left for Turkey, the rubbish tip/dumpster across from our house was once again overflowing. To the point that that entire empty lot across the street was heaped with trimmings from the palm trees, rubbish from construction, car tires, you name it! When we got back, they city collectors had been by, but yet again our neighbors had carried out an amazing array of things to the tip (two single beds, bed frames, and bedding; more gardening branches and palm fronds; empty boxes; and general trash).

Who should stop by yesterday but the same fellow from Dubai Municipality who had stopped when I emailed a few weeks ago. He wanted to let me know that as recently as Thursday all the rubbish had been collected and that this was new. The special collection unit (with a claw on the front that they use to pick up all the trash) would be by in another 10 days to 2 weeks. He just wanted to be sure I knew that he was keeping an eye on it and that the pace of rubbish being thrown out was exceeding the pace of collection.

Now, if only we could figure out who in the neighborhood needs to dump so much stuff!

Eid al Fitr

Well, I woundered how we would know if the moon sightings had determined the end of Ramadan. I was told to look at the newspaper and if the Arabic date was 1 Shawwal, then that would be a sure sign.

We are withing hearing distance of two mosques in our neighborhood. Prior to Ramadan, their call to prayer was a calming chanting that we heard now and again for 5 minutes throughout the day and night. Then during Ramadan, the volume was turned up and not only was the call to prayer broadcast to the neighborhood but the whole prayer and sermon for about 20 minutes. This was because there was a large crowd outside praying (the mosque was so full). I was reminded of the Christmas mass crush. What was a calming and soothing low chant was now much more loud and disruptive. The 4:30am prayers woke me each morning of Ramadan.

I needn't have worried about how I would know Eid had started. On Friday, at daybreak, both the Imams at the mosques start calling and praying and calling - it went on for over an hour. Even without understanding what they were saying I could hear the sound of celebration in their voices. For Eid al Fitr, the families go to mosque at daybreak for the prayers of thanksgiving that they have been able to observe the fast and then the entire congregation breaks the fast together and they head home for festivities, feasts, and celebration.

And now we are back to our lovely call to prayers each day (at a lower volume). This morning, I didn't even wake up until my alarm went off.

Eid Mubarak

The sandstorms are gone, the dust is settling, the winds have blown all the polution and haze out of the air, and today we woke up to a beautiful morning. In addition to the palpable sense of excitement about the coming shift in the weather, the city is also anticipating the end of Ramadan with a celebration called Eid al Fitr (the Festival to Break the Fast). The last day of Ramadan will be determined by the sightings of the new moon. In this part of the world, the end of Ramadan and the sightings of the moon are determined by a committee in Saudi Arabia. So, tonight, they will look at the moon to determine if tomorrow (Friday) will be the last day of Ramadan. We'll have reportings in the news to tell us what the committee has seen. If so, the Eid celebration will be on Saturday and Sunday. In our office, Saturday is already a weekend day (it is not in all companies), so we'll have an extra day off on Sunday. It is possible the committee will say that Ramadan will last one more day and that means the Eid celebrations start on Sunday and Monday (so, two extra days off in the office). For those who aren't fasting, they're hoping for the extra day. But for those observing the practices of fasting, this has been a long month and I'm sure they are ready for the festivities and breaking the fast.

Honestly, the fasting period is a great endurance and test. Many people in the office look very tired. I could see that after a week or so your body gets used to only having food in the early morning and after sunset. But I think that having nothing to drink (especially in our heat) is especially draining and a challenge to the body. I just can't see, even if you drink gallons of water after sunset, that you could replenish your body with enough fluids.

Either way, if Eid starts on Saturday or Sunday, I've taken the week off from work (it is mid-term week for Lyra) and we're going to Istanbul, Turkey. I had posted earlier how much I liked that city. So, we're headed back. I'm looking forward to the autumnal weather and being in the vibe of a cosmopolitan city.

More information on Eid al Fitr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Fitr

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/holydays/eidulfitr.shtml
http://holidays.net/ramadan/eid.htm

Sandstorm Today

I'm told that this is a sign of a change in the weather. I think someone told me that last month, too. But I'm willing to try and believe them. The last two days have been hot and muggy. The kind of muggy where the laundry doesn't dry for two days, where your hands are instantly sticky as you walk outside, where your car windows have condensation on the OUTSIDE from the air conditioning. Then today the hot winds kicked in - it is a blustery day today (hope Russell brought the patio umbrella down). The picture from my office doesn't do much justice. Actually, it was worse earlier (seems to ebb and flow). Sand gets everywhere during a sandstorm. Even your eyeballs feel dusty. When I get home tonight, there'll be little sand drifts at the bottom of the pool. The front door, steps, car, bikes, windows, you name it, will be coated in a fine dusting of sand powder. Luckily Sanjay comes tomorrow to clean.

I've also included a photo of the sunset over the Persian Gulf taken from our office. It is hard to get a clear day during the summer. Lots of sand in the air creating a haze. This photo was taken about a week ago. The windows need a cleaning (that's the haze you see in the foreground). The office is overlooking an area of the city called Satwa and Jumeirah. Older areas, mostly residential and some commercial. Jumeirah is a very desireable place to live - too rich for our pockets.

Give Way Whenever Possible

People here are always in such a rush!!

At the traffic lights when the light turns green, even if you're the 10th car in the queue of traffice, the guy behind you will start to honk his horn to get you to go. Actually, they'll start honking before the light turns green sometime.

On the roads, if you're backing out from a parking space, no car will stop to let you out. You just need to keep backing and backing until someone is forced to stop or hit you. Of course, they'll honk their horns at you because of it.

As you're driving, be careful about getting into the left lane. Speeding cars will zoom up on your backside flashing their lights and honking to get you out of the way. I've even seen cars maneuver between the lanes to get between cars.

On the lifts, there is always someone who is pressing the "Close Door" button on each floor. So, if your elevator arrives and you're not standing directly in front of the door ready to dash on - the doors will instantly close (or you find yourself smashed between the doors).

People are so surprised and happy when you show the simple courtesy of holding the elevator door, letting them out of their parking space (in fact, they can't believe it and still will not back out of their space until you flash your lights at them), allowing them to merge in front of you.

Back in the UK, when Russell & I studied for our Driving Licenses, the training manual introduction started out saying the number one rule of driving was to "Give way whenever possible." We giggled a bit about it at the time - such a British outlook, but it is TRUE. A good rule to live by.

How Do We Get There?

I've learned that if you can plan a car trip making only right turns things are much better. The road system here is largely made up of broad streets with boulevards separating the different directions of traffic. As you approach a road (especially from a side street) you need to expect that you will only be able to turn right. Hopefully there is a U-turn opportunity soon - but frequently, the u-turns are presented quite a way down the road (1KM or more).

So, often we will plan a trip so that we over-shoot where we need to be so that when we get to our road, we turn right (instead of left). This requires that you also know what side of the road your destination is on, too. Because if you don't, you will find yourself shooting down the road - seeing your destination on the other side - no left turn opportunities to go there - hoping that a u-turn comes up soon.

I don't know why they have designed the roads this way. It is very unforgiving. We often find ouselves saying, "There it is!" and pointing in desparation resigning ourselves to the now inevitable trips around the block, or seeking a u-turn, or desparately hoping a second chance might appear (it rarely does).

Gradually, as we figure out more and more of the city, we're getting better at this. But it can make for some interesting map studies as we plot our way to the shops.

I Love Autumn

Cool crisp blue skies
Fresh honeycrisp apples
Pumpkins and gourds
My friend Cathe's Pesto Party
Back to school
Harvest bonanza at the Farmers' Market
Leaves turning
Halloween decorations
Planning Halloween costume
Thoughts of Thanksgiving menu
Football season
Baseball World Series

Here, it's still summer. Yesterday's high 40 F/105 C. BIG Sigh. However, ever since September, we have had lovely evenings. My favorite time of day is spending the evening on the patio in my deck chair. Believe it or not, it's starting to be a bit too cool to use the pool. I think if we get a cover, that will help - but right now the water is very brisk! Especially when you come up out of the water into the dry arid air. Brrrrrrr.

I have an inkling that you start to feel about autumn here the same way you feel about spring back home. You long for the change in the weather; if you have a warm autumn day - it's as depressing as a snowy spring day; days start to get busy (I've noticed all sorts of community events that have started now that October is here); plants start to come back to life (smelled mown lawn a few days ago for the first time). There is definitely an anticipation of the lovely weather to come.

But I miss autumn.

A Message from Half the Sky

I'm posting a message from the founder of Half the Sky. Half the Sky is a charity created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. They establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is their goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.

Hello all...

Our volunteers in Wuhan had a great idea.

It may be possible for some of our Half the Sky children to carry the Olympic torch next year. I've entered a contest sponsored by the China Daily Newspaper and, if I can get enough votes from 'netizens' all over the world, I may be able to have that honor. If it happens, I will run with 8 children from 8 orphanages in China. Believe me, I am no runner. But I would dearly love to give the children a place at the party.

Please take a moment and vote for me right now. This link will takeyou straight to my vote screen:

http://pub1.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/torch/members.shtml?mid=212

We need a LOT of votes. Please pass this on to your friends and family.

Thanks and love,

Jenny
Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org <http://www.halfthesky.org/>