Turkish fences

It's miserable here today, overcast, wet, dismal.

I let myself drift away to a warmer place with clear blue skies and sparkling seas on the banks of the Bosphorus in Intanbul, where the fences were crispy white and majestic.

Linking to Teresa's fences.

Anadolu Kavagi

You can't be an Aussie or a Kiwi and not know about the special modern relationship between Turks and Australians and New Zealanders. 

It's a friendship that has developed out of the horror of the First World War experience at Gallipoli.  Before the battle at Gallipoli, Turks and Anzacs (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) had never been in contact with each other neither in a political or economical sense.  Most Turks and Aussies and Kiwis would probably not have even known where the other's countries were. 

There's a famous Turkish tale that tells the story of two New Zealanders taken prisoner. They were asked where they were from. On being informed, the Turks said: "Never heard of New Zealand".  Some Germans who were eavesdropping explained it was a country in the Pacific, on the other side of the world. The incredulous Turks then demanded of their captives: "Why are you here?"  The prisoners said they thought it would be like playing an away game of rugby.

Today Turks, Australians and New Zealanders stand beside each other. They have a strong and friendly relationship.

Last year, at the quaint fishing village of Anadolu Kavağı, the last port before the Black Sea I experienced proof of this friendship. 

It was a hot day and after enjoying the sea breeze on a tour boat, it seemed even hotter in the tiny village with the mountains at it's back.   The first thing we wanted was an icecream and the cheerful icecream vendor asked where we came from.  Upon hearing that I lived in New Zealand he smiled and waved his arms in a welcoming gesture announcing, "Ahh, Kiwi.  You are welcome. We are friends."  He invited us to use the table and chairs in front of his shop, under the shade of the only big tree in the village.  We politely declined as we wanted to wander around and explore.  

For someone who wages war on feral cats I had been charmed by the cats of Istanbul.  There was at least one hanging around every eatery, sometimes a few, depending on the friendliness of the proprietor I guess.  In the village I found a lovely little ceramic cat to bring home for Georgia.

It really was too hot to wander far and when we returned to the area of the big shady tree we decided to take the icecream man up on his offer to use his table.  A few minutes later a man in a dirty apron with little order pad and pencil in hand came along and wanted to take our order.  Now we noticed the table was more in front of the fishmonger's shop than that of the icecream seller.  

We said we didn't want to buy fish.

He said the table and chairs were for his customers.

We said the man just there in the icecream shop had said we could sit there.

You didn't need to understand Turkish to work out the shouting that ensued.  The fish monger reinforced to the icecream vender who owned the table and chairs, he was fed up with the icecream vendor.  There was a bit of backwards and forwarding until the icecream vendor played his trump card.  The lady is a Kiwi, Kiwi, Kiwi.  Whereupon the fishmonger underwent a personality change and insisted that yes, Kiwi, we are friends, good friends, you must stay at my table, you are welcome.  The icecream vendor beamed.  The fish monger beamed.  I felt truly special.  

Sharing the shade of the big tree was a golden statue of Ataturk, a Turkish army officer, revolutionary and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the modern Turkey.

Bosphorus Tour

One of our days in Istanbul was taken with a boat tour of the Bosphorus.  I would never have imagined the delightful view along its banks where Europe truly does meet Asia.   

The European side has all the mosques and palaces of the Istanbul where we stayed which I thought was beyond spectacular. But somehow it's the much more subdued Asian side that really delighted me.  The entire city, with its endless shoreline is staggeringly beautiful.  

It was a hot, hot day (it was around 40C (100F) every day we were there) but, as long as you stayed in shade, it was much cooler on the water.   I was impressed with the cleaniness of the water of the strait.  A population of 14 million and they maintain water clean enough for swimming. 

With that many inhabitants it's not surprising that every inch of space is well utilised.    The bridge across the Golden Horn between Beyoglu and Fatih is lined with fishermen, cars, and fish restaurants. The cars ride across the top where the fishermen stand and try their luck with very long lines and poles. Staircases lead down to a lower level closer to the water and lined with restaurants. 

 A beautiful waterside mosque, Buyuk Medidiye Camii 

(Grand Imperial Mosque of Sultan Abdulmecid)

 

 Ciragan Palace, built by Sultan Abdulaziz in 1874

At the narrowest part of the Bosphorus, stands the impressive fortress of Rumeli Hisari built by Sultan Mehmet the Conquerer (around 1452) in order to control commercial and military traffic along the strait in preparation for the siege of Constantinople.  He conquered the capital a few months after it was completed and since then the barracks has served various purposes - a barracks, a prison and finally an open-air theatre.

 

The Bosphorus is a very busy water highway with boats of all shapes and sizes going through it, huge container ships and tankers as well as small local fishing boats and the many ferries that go back and forth.  Around 48,000 ships pass through this strait annually, three times denser than the Suez Canal traffic and four times denser than the Panama Canal.

Bosphorus is a very busy waterway with many ships and oil tankers going through it, as well as local fishing and ferries go to the Asian side back and forth. Around 48.000 ships pass through this strait annually, three times denser than the Suez Canal traffic and four times denser than the Panama Canal. Approximately 55 million tones of oil are shipped through the strait each year. - See more at: http://www.greatistanbul.com/bosphorus.html#sthash.uyU68i3I.dpuf

Bosphorus is a very busy waterway with many ships and oil tankers going through it, as well as local fishing and ferries go to the Asian side back and forth. Around 48.000 ships pass through this strait annually, three times denser than the Suez Canal traffic and four times denser than the Panama Canal. Approximately 55 million tones of oil are shipped through the strait each year. - See more at: http://www.greatistanbul.com/bosphorus.html#sthash.uyU68i3I.dpuf

A new bridge, is inching out from each side of the strait, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge.  It is 60 metres (200 feet) wide with eight traffic lanes and two rail lines.  It will stretch over 2 kilometers with about 1.5 kilometers over water, and will be the longest suspension bridge in the world carrying a rail system. 

When we reached the end of the strait, passengers on the boat tour were given the choice and staying on the boat and venturing into the Black Sea for a swim (with a warning that the water was very cold) or going ashore at the quaint fishing village of Anadolu Kavağı, the last port before the Black Sea.

We chose to stroll around the village.  I'm so glad we did because here we had an interchange with two shop owners that touched me so deeply I will never forget it.

Next time.