Schwartz Illustrated

TURKEY JOURNAL ENTRY

September 4, 2001 (Continued)
ISTANBUL, TURKEY

Our next stop was the Hagia Sophia, a church built by the Byzantine Empire in 535 A.D. In the 15th century, the Ottomans converted it to a mosque. What struck me was the fact that the Ottomans left much of the Christian art but added what was needed to make it a functioning mosque. It was as if two cultures had clashed in the Hagia Sophia.

Ali tried to steer us away from this site for two days but the kids would not let up. We finally went to the Grand Bazaar. Maybe the word "grand" caught their attention but they HAD to see it. The guide books said many a tourist had gotten lost in the labyrinth of streets covered by painted vaults and now I knew why. There are over 4,000 stores in the Bazaar and the shopkeepers are relentless in their quest for a sale.

Mike and I almost had a claustrophobic feeling because at each turn there are just more stores with the items spilling out and the shopkeepers yelling at you to buy.

Andrew spotted a Sultan's turban, in red of course and HAD to have it. Mike said no but it cost only 2 milyon (not to worry - that's $14 American), and I said that 2 milyon was a small price to pay for the photo op alone! Andrew wore his turban out of the Bazaar and was the hit with the Turkish people and other tourists as well!

We said our good-byes to Ali because the time had come to board the cruise ship, the Millennium. The mere size of the ship was overwhelming. We later learned that the ship is 965 feet long! From the waterline up, there are 14 stories.! The kids were beside themselves and couldn't wait to explore. We checked into our stateroom and checked out the ship. We found 3 pools, a spa, a basketball court, an outdoor jogging court, shops and a place called the "Fun Factory" for kids. Imagine our delight to find there was a place we could drop off the kids 24/7! Imagine the kids delight when they discovered the Fun Factory had 8 Play station games!

September 6
KUSADASI, TURKEY

We left the ship, which was docked in Kusadasi, Turkey and boarded a bus for an eight hour tour. We were just minutes into the tour when the kids noticed, off in the distance, a huge water slide park. We then saw a sign for the park stating that it was the largest water park in Europe. Chaos ensued. "Why can't we go there today?" said Alex. "I don't want to see another ruin," said Andrew. "Can't we get off the bus and go NOW?" said Alex. "Can we go tomorrow?" asked Andrew.

< back one page | to the next page >

	TURKEY JOURNAL ENTRY September 4, 2001 (Continued) ISTANBUL, TURKEY Our next stop was the Hagia Sophia, a church built by the Byzantine Empire in 535 A.D. In the 15th century, the Ottomans converted it to a mosque. What struck me was the fact that the Ottomans left much of the Christian art but added what was needed to make it a functioning mosque. It was as if two cultures had clashed in the Hagia Sophia. Ali tried to steer us away from this site for two days but the kids would not let up. We finally went to the Grand Bazaar. Maybe the word "grand" caught their attention but they HAD to see it. The guide books said many a tourist had gotten lost in the labyrinth of streets covered by painted vaults and now I knew why. There are over 4,000 stores in the Bazaar and the shopkeepers are relentless in their quest for a sale. Mike and I almost had a claustrophobic feeling because at each turn there are just more stores with the items spilling out and the shopkeepers yelling at you to buy. Andrew spotted a Sultan's turban, in red of course and HAD to have it. Mike said no but it cost only 2 milyon (not to worry - that's $14 American), and I said that 2 milyon was a small price to pay for the photo op alone! Andrew wore his turban out of the Bazaar and was the hit with the Turkish people and other tourists as well! We said our good-byes to Ali because the time had come to board the cruise ship, the Millennium. The mere size of the ship was overwhelming. We later learned that the ship is 965 feet long! From the waterline up, there are 14 stories.! The kids were beside themselves and couldn't wait to explore. We checked into our stateroom and checked out the ship. We found 3 pools, a spa, a basketball court, an outdoor jogging court, shops and a place called the "Fun Factory" for kids. Imagine our delight to find there was a place we could drop off the kids 24/7! Imagine the kids delight when they discovered the Fun Factory had 8 Play station games! September 6 KUSADASI, TURKEY We left the ship, which was docked in Kusadasi, Turkey and boarded a bus for an eight hour tour. We were just minutes into the tour when the kids noticed, off in the distance, a huge water slide park. We then saw a sign for the park stating that it was the largest water park in Europe. Chaos ensued. "Why can't we go there today?" said Alex. "I don't want to see another ruin," said Andrew. "Can't we get off the bus and go NOW?" said Alex. "Can we go tomorrow?" asked Andrew. < back one page \| to the next page >

	© All Rights Reserved, Mike Schwartz, 2001.