A glimpse of Istanbul

Istanbul, 3 April 2018

This time, contrary to past years, we leave home in good weather conditions. No snowstorms, no tulips bowing under the snow. Just plain sunny weather with a couple of clouds and no-handshoes-needed-temperatures. Good start!

Uphill challenge

Good start? Not quite, as, when we arrive in Brig, I realize that my iphone is still in the kitchen. Not a good start at all, but still a challenging one. Without all the luggage, left with Martin, I ride back home, trying to break the Brig-Ried-Brig uphill challenge world record. As an excellent project manager however I had planned some slack, that unfortunately, was already partly consumed in the beginning (as always) for an unplanned photo session. Pffff, we finally manage to arrive at the train station just in time to throw our 8 bags, 2 backpacks, 2 steer bags and 2 bikes, including ourselves in the train. The first set of clothes already ripe for the washing machine. Never mind. We took the first hurdle. From there things go more smoothly and we even witness our luggage and bikes being put in the airplane (yeah).

In Istanbul we miss the hotel shuttle and order a taxi that brings us to the hotel. Not having any Turkish lira with us, the taxi driver proposes to pay him 20 Euro instead of 25 Lira. A calculation error of only a factor of 4, so we get some Lira from the hotel desk and choose to pay the taxi driver 25 of it (nice try).

Salted buttermilk and köfte

The next day we get a glimpse of Istanbul. The very efficient Turkish Airlines organizes a free tour for passengers that have a <24 hr stop-over in Istanbul. We visit the Hippodrome with its German fountain and its Obelisk of Theodosius. We go in and out the courtyard of the Blue Mosque, but can’t go inside the mosk because of restorations. This is of course very sad, because blue is my favorite color. I would have loved to admire the 100 something thousand hand made blue tiles ☹. We do visit Aya Sofia, a christian church built by some Roman emperor, at that time the largest building in the world. I am not sure how they knew that because America was still waiting to be discovered. Anyway, Aya Sofia still has very impressive dimensions, although I am more impressed by all the geometrical figures that go along with Islamic influence. After a Christian period the church was transformed into a mosque and later on into a museum, which it still is. For some reason the Topkapi palace is not anymore in the ‘visit-Istanbul-as-fast-as-you-can-tour’. After a genuine Turkish lunch, where we enjoy köfte (Turkish meat sticks) and salted buttermilk we get transported back to the airport, where we have plenty of time to write blogs, drink pomegranate juice and eat baklava.

Bye bye Ried-Brig. Leaving home. Unplanned photo session.

Photographer: Janine Steinmann (from Bleike).

Obelisk of Theodosius

Who said that tulips are from Holland? Wrong. Tulips originate from the Ottoman empire and they were imported in The Netherlands in the 16th century. When Carolus Clusius wrote his first important book about tulips in 1592 the flowers became so popular that the bulbs disappeared from his garden repeatedly. Tulips have an important symbolic value in Islam. Having only one stem and no branches,  they represent Unity, or Allah, the One.

Ayasofia and its geometric patterns

Taking and watching selfies amidst of the tulips

Martin enjoying sweet sweet baklava and trying to compensate it with a glass of freshly pressed pomegranate juice, full of heathy anti-oxidants and vitamins.