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Istanbul - Turquoise and Turmoil
12 Plays2 years ago
In this special episode, join me as I recount my recent escapade to Istanbul, a city steeped in mesmerizing history and captivating allure.
Prepare to be enthralled as I share my firsthand experiences of exploring Istanbul's historical sites that exude an aura of enchantment. From the majestic Hagia Sophia to the awe-inspiring Topkapi Palace, I'll paint vivid pictures with my witty anecdotes and lively storytelling, bringing to life the rich tapestry of Byzantine and Ottoman influences.
But hey, it's not all postcard-perfect sights and Instagram-worthy moments. In this episode, I fearlessly uncover the underbelly of Istanbul, revealing the city's notorious scams, encounters with less-than-friendly individuals, and the unexpected challenges that travelers like myself face. Don't worry, though—I've got you covered with valuable travel tips to help you navigate Istanbul's vibrant streets while staying one step ahead of the tricksters.
So, buckle up and get ready for a rollercoaster ride of laughter, cultural exploration, and cautionary tales. Istanbul has so much to offer, and I'm here to unravel its true essence—both its historical majesty and the not-so-glamorous side. Join me, Salman Qureshi, on 'Expat Brat,' and let's embark on this unforgettable journey together!"
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Transcript
The Quest for the Summer Bod
00:00:04
Speaker
Hello, everyone.
00:00:05
Speaker
It's Salman Qureshi.
00:00:06
Speaker
You're listening to the Expat Brat Podcast.
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome.
00:00:09
Speaker
I hope you've been having a great week and you're sliding into summer with ease, sliding into those shorts you haven't worn in a while, realizing you still fit in.
00:00:19
Speaker
If that is true for you, good for you, because I...
00:00:23
Speaker
have to go shopping again.
00:00:27
Speaker
Every year I'm at that stage now.
00:00:30
Speaker
Every year I go, I'm going to be ready with a summer bod.
00:00:33
Speaker
And we may have to redefine what summer bod means.
00:00:37
Speaker
It's the kind of body that you want to have covered up more or it protrudes out.
00:00:44
Speaker
It protrudes out so much that you're like, hey, I can see it from far.
00:00:48
Speaker
That's Sal's summer bod.
00:00:51
Speaker
Awesome.
00:00:51
Speaker
Like the rising sun and my rising tummy.
Travel Tales and Apologies
00:00:54
Speaker
They're both just terrible.
00:00:59
Speaker
Other than that, I hope you've been having fun.
00:01:01
Speaker
It's been a busy time for me.
00:01:03
Speaker
I haven't been regular on my podcast, so I do apologize to my regular listeners.
00:01:09
Speaker
It's...
00:01:10
Speaker
It's been hectic.
00:01:11
Speaker
You know, I have flown to more places and more times in the last six months than I may have done over the last three, four years, even without the pandemic hitting.
00:01:23
Speaker
I was just not flying a lot.
00:01:25
Speaker
And and it's been very interesting countries as well.
00:01:29
Speaker
If you've been listening to my podcast, I've been to Algeria, Jordan, a little trip to Pakistan, of course, hometown and then Turkey very recently.
00:01:39
Speaker
I realized I may have been the last person to have flown to Istanbul based on the fact that when I put it up on my stories on Instagram, like every single person I know had a recommendation.
00:01:57
Speaker
And I'm very grateful.
00:01:59
Speaker
I'm very thankful.
00:01:59
Speaker
They gave me some real great tips.
00:02:01
Speaker
And I was there for only four days.
00:02:03
Speaker
I didn't see everything.
00:02:06
Speaker
And I wanted to hit the tourist spots more.
00:02:09
Speaker
But it was it was it's just a sheer number of people going, hey, make sure you go there.
00:02:14
Speaker
Make sure you try this cafe on the corner of this street.
00:02:17
Speaker
Make sure you walk down that way.
00:02:19
Speaker
And some really just really cool, fun suggestions, which was nice.
00:02:24
Speaker
But like I said, it just made me realize it probably, you know, the last person to go to Istanbul.
Family Adventures in Istanbul
00:02:30
Speaker
And.
00:02:31
Speaker
And it was cool.
00:02:32
Speaker
I went with my wife, my mother-in-law, and my little kiddo, Zayan.
00:02:36
Speaker
He's four.
00:02:38
Speaker
I don't know how fun it is for children unless you travel around to other places.
00:02:45
Speaker
But we kind of stuck to a lot of the traditional, like I said, tourist main spots.
00:02:51
Speaker
I wanted to hit those because back when I went to Jordan, I didn't really see the things properly.
00:02:56
Speaker
And it just felt empty to not...
00:03:00
Speaker
have you know ticked that off i think the first time you go just take that stuff off man so you don't feel like a complete moron uh even though i'm not a big fan of touristy spots and stuff turkey istanbul that's some of that stuff was great right like um the good stuff
00:03:16
Speaker
about it was just seeing some of these things.
00:03:19
Speaker
I've always wanted to see the Hagia Sophia.
00:03:22
Speaker
I'm still not sure if that's how it's pronounced.
00:03:25
Speaker
Clearly, traveling hasn't helped me become more cultured.
00:03:30
Speaker
But for me personally, that was one of the hardest-hitting places.
00:03:37
Speaker
Just this sudden calmness.
00:03:41
Speaker
It was just very nice to be there.
00:03:45
Speaker
It was a very cold day when I went in, just out of the blue in the middle of May.
00:03:49
Speaker
You just had this super freezing day.
00:03:51
Speaker
Zayn fell asleep in his, cuddled up in his blankets on his prime.
00:03:55
Speaker
And the architecture and the history, just, you know, just thinking about the history of the place, for me, it was very surreal and very cool.
00:04:04
Speaker
Um.
00:04:05
Speaker
I do think, you know, those, was it the Byzantine builders?
00:04:09
Speaker
They must have had like a serious case of like next train looking up over there.
00:04:13
Speaker
If you look at the height of the ceilings and I'm like, how did they build this back then?
00:04:17
Speaker
And so much of it is preserved.
00:04:20
Speaker
What was sad though was that
00:04:24
Speaker
it they've covered up a lot of the church stuff and it's less of a museum not a functioning mosque there was a prayer going on when i went and i know maybe some people want that but for me it was kind of like you know just covering up the church stuff was was a huge disappointment i forgot i kind of had heard about it at some point
00:04:43
Speaker
But I was surprised when I saw it and I remembered that, oh, this is what's happened there.
00:04:49
Speaker
And, you know, I wish I'd gone five years earlier.
00:04:51
Speaker
Sarah had my wife, she'd been, and she said, you know, she's like, it was so beautiful, some of those paintings up there, the depictions and stuff, that she was also really annoyed at the stuff being covered up.
00:05:05
Speaker
So that's really sad that they've done that.
00:05:08
Speaker
I think, you know, it was a church and a mosque.
00:05:11
Speaker
It's a unique piece of history.
00:05:14
Speaker
And, you know, we should honor that and just preserve it and get to see it.
Navigating the Grand Bazaar and Dining Tips
00:05:18
Speaker
That's my two cents on it.
00:05:20
Speaker
I'm sure everybody's got some other thought about it, but I just wish I'd seen that.
00:05:25
Speaker
But overall, the whole place was quite, you know, it was still kind of special.
00:05:30
Speaker
And if you walk out, the Blue Mosque is like a five minute walk across this park and you go in there.
00:05:37
Speaker
I didn't really see it properly because like I said, the day we went, it was super cold and Zion was sleeping with me.
00:05:42
Speaker
So I was handling the pram while my mother-in-law and Sarah went in.
00:05:48
Speaker
And they loved it.
00:05:49
Speaker
Again, it's a unique, you know, kind of stunning blue tile interior.
00:05:54
Speaker
I think Zayan might have referred to it as the Smurf mosque or something because he thought blue and blah, blah, blah.
00:06:00
Speaker
I'm kidding about that.
00:06:01
Speaker
But it would be hilarious too if we had walked in and they were all like running around in the mosque with Papa Smurf leading the prayer.
00:06:07
Speaker
He does have a beard.
00:06:08
Speaker
He does have a beard.
00:06:09
Speaker
Are we on to something?
00:06:11
Speaker
Okay, well, I didn't get up to the Blue Mosque, and I'll come back to that as well.
00:06:17
Speaker
I saw the courtyard very quickly, and the entrance just very quickly, and we got out.
00:06:24
Speaker
I did spend a lot of time, because lo and behold, I was with two women, not to stereotype, but I'm stereotyping, at the Grand Bazaar.
00:06:33
Speaker
And that was, that again, I thought, I really am glad I did go in there, because
00:06:38
Speaker
Because you think about how actually old it is.
00:06:42
Speaker
And at the entrance, they still have, I suppose, the original gates with the years like 1400 or something.
00:06:47
Speaker
And you think about what sort of things must have happened through these little alleyways and stuff.
00:06:54
Speaker
And that part was kind of cool again, just because of the history of the place.
00:06:58
Speaker
But it's also...
00:07:00
Speaker
It's quite interesting.
00:07:00
Speaker
It's like a it's a it's a shopaholic's paradise and a claustrophobic nightmare all rolled into one.
00:07:11
Speaker
The salespeople are really good.
00:07:13
Speaker
You know, they'd be probably doing it has like families and families of it.
00:07:16
Speaker
So they're like the masters of the art of persuasion and stuff.
00:07:20
Speaker
they'll convince you you need that 10th Turkish rug or the 20th fridge magnet and stuff.
00:07:25
Speaker
And so you have to kind of be careful about it.
00:07:28
Speaker
But I think we kind of enjoy looking at this stuff.
00:07:31
Speaker
You got to bring your bargaining skills to the table here and just be wearing comfortable shoes.
00:07:36
Speaker
OK, getting lost, haggling your way out.
00:07:39
Speaker
I think all of that is part of the night, the experience.
00:07:42
Speaker
And it's cool.
00:07:43
Speaker
It was nice.
00:07:44
Speaker
It's built near other spice markets and whatnot.
00:07:47
Speaker
And I didn't see all of it.
00:07:49
Speaker
I don't know what all I saw, to be honest.
00:07:51
Speaker
It's just so huge.
00:07:53
Speaker
And we had multiple gates.
00:07:54
Speaker
Every time we exited, we were like, okay, because we went there twice over two days.
00:07:58
Speaker
And I was just like, I think this is where we came in last time.
00:08:02
Speaker
No, no, that's a whole new entrance and exit we found coming out.
00:08:08
Speaker
There's one thing, don't eat.
00:08:10
Speaker
I'm going to go into these things in a bit later in the episode about things to watch out for, but I can't help but tell this one right now.
00:08:16
Speaker
Do not eat around in cafes around that area.
00:08:21
Speaker
Okay, these are like if you're a Dubai Saudi kid, you know what cafeterias are like, right?
00:08:25
Speaker
I'm talking about Jabal and Lur type and the shawarma shops.
00:08:29
Speaker
So you have those donor kebabs there.
00:08:32
Speaker
And those kind of cafes, same look and feel.
00:08:35
Speaker
And you would think the prices would be similar to cafeterias around.
00:08:39
Speaker
Nope.
00:08:39
Speaker
The touristy sites charge you so much.
00:08:42
Speaker
I don't think it's like a scam.
00:08:44
Speaker
I just think the prices are hyped up a lot, but just too much for that kind of stuff.
00:08:49
Speaker
Having said that, the food was really fresh and really nice.
00:08:53
Speaker
Meat was really good there for some reason.
00:08:56
Speaker
The fruits were awesome.
00:08:57
Speaker
So I did enjoy eating.
00:08:59
Speaker
But if you go away from the touristy sides, you'll find normally priced places which are very affordable and the food and the people are really nice.
00:09:06
Speaker
Okay, so that's one of the problems like any other, obviously, like any other touristy kind of country, right?
00:09:14
Speaker
What else did I try?
00:09:15
Speaker
Turkish tea.
00:09:16
Speaker
They give you that a lot.
00:09:18
Speaker
The coffee and the Turkish coffee is also really good, as people know, but to have it there.
00:09:21
Speaker
They have these tiny tulip-shaped glasses to serve it in.
00:09:25
Speaker
They're kind of like shot glasses for tea enthusiasts or coffee enthusiasts.
00:09:31
Speaker
It's like you'll be sipping tea like a Turkish cowboy downing shots at a salon.
00:09:35
Speaker
It's a...
00:09:36
Speaker
A caffeine infused game of bottoms up.
00:09:39
Speaker
No, I liked it.
00:09:41
Speaker
I liked the tea and the coffee there as well.
00:09:43
Speaker
It was nice.
00:09:43
Speaker
They want to offer that.
00:09:44
Speaker
And of course, you cannot miss the Turkish delight when you go there.
00:09:49
Speaker
You know, when I say you can't miss it, you can't because they force it down with everything.
00:09:54
Speaker
Everywhere you go, everything you buy, it's almost like anything you buy to give you Turkish delight with it, which is cute.
00:10:00
Speaker
And they're really good there.
00:10:02
Speaker
I had some, I wasn't a big fan of Turkish delight when I was growing up.
00:10:06
Speaker
And my dad always loved it.
00:10:08
Speaker
And now I have a newfound love for it.
00:10:11
Speaker
It's great.
00:10:12
Speaker
Like, you know, it's a sweet treat, sugar-coated adventure for your taste buds because they're different flavors as well, you know.
00:10:19
Speaker
And I have to be honest, like they're kind of addictive, you know.
00:10:23
Speaker
They should come with like a warning label or something, like caution me.
00:10:26
Speaker
may lead to uncontrollable cravings and empty wallets because we ate a lot.
00:10:32
Speaker
I was hooked on to that stuff.
00:10:33
Speaker
We bought some home as well.
00:10:35
Speaker
Moderation is key unless you want to turn yourself into a Turkish light addiction support group or something.
Transport Trials in Istanbul
00:10:42
Speaker
So it's good.
00:10:43
Speaker
And when I say they have it everywhere, even in the hotel we were staying, this was the Conrad Bosphorus Hotel.
00:10:50
Speaker
bus versus the area.
00:10:51
Speaker
It's kind of near enough to the ferries in the riverside.
00:10:55
Speaker
It was a river, right?
00:10:57
Speaker
And so it's a cool place to be.
00:10:59
Speaker
The hotel's very nice.
00:10:59
Speaker
The staff, amazing.
00:11:01
Speaker
And it would leave a couple of Turkish delights for my wife and I in our hotel room and for my mother-in-law in her room as well.
00:11:08
Speaker
Really good, different flavors every time.
00:11:11
Speaker
And that was a nice little touch.
00:11:12
Speaker
They also...
00:11:13
Speaker
gave like a little cute package for babies and kids because they saw Zeyan.
00:11:18
Speaker
Very nice and helpful when they see kids and prams.
00:11:22
Speaker
So they had this nice shampoo set that they gave on after the first day when they realized I'm with a kid.
00:11:28
Speaker
And all that was very kind of nice touches they have there.
00:11:32
Speaker
There was one time we were leaving the Grand Bazaar and we were trying to catch a taxi.
00:11:38
Speaker
And the guy stopped in the middle of this thin lane and 10 cars piled up behind while I was trying to negotiate with this dude and then put the pram in.
00:11:45
Speaker
And it all took a little while.
00:11:47
Speaker
Not a single person honked.
00:11:50
Speaker
And I asked the taxi driver.
00:11:51
Speaker
They all have these Google translators.
00:11:53
Speaker
English isn't common there with a lot of places.
00:11:57
Speaker
But they do have these translators.
00:11:59
Speaker
We had this conversation over a translation app.
00:12:04
Speaker
And he told I said, how come no one beeped?
00:12:06
Speaker
And there was a lot of patience.
00:12:07
Speaker
And he said, yeah, yeah, of course, you have prime and so people will wait.
00:12:10
Speaker
They're impatient in different ways.
00:12:13
Speaker
That's the nicest thing that I had experience I had with the taxi drivers, because let's let's get into some of the dirty stuff now.
00:12:20
Speaker
Taxi drivers.
00:12:21
Speaker
The way they drive is as bad as anywhere else.
00:12:25
Speaker
But they're also just very rude and bored and will try to scam you by trying to drop you off a little earlier to the spot you're supposed to.
00:12:35
Speaker
They'll overcharge you like hell.
00:12:37
Speaker
You need to ask them to put on the meter, which is like, I'm not exaggerating, like 10 times cheaper.
00:12:43
Speaker
Right.
00:12:44
Speaker
So you got to do that.
00:12:46
Speaker
Trips that will cost you 50 Turkish lira, they'll try to charge you like 400, 300, 400 livres instead.
Historical Exploration with Accessibility Hurdles
00:12:52
Speaker
OK, so I really mean they really go after it.
00:12:55
Speaker
Ask if you do plan to use taxis in Turkey.
00:12:58
Speaker
If you go to Istanbul, make them put on the meter.
00:13:01
Speaker
Otherwise, refuse it and make sure they don't talk you into dropping you earlier because of traffic and stuff.
00:13:07
Speaker
We did completely leave cabs after we were scammed a few times and the fact that some of them smoke in there.
00:13:12
Speaker
And I'm going to get to the smoking in a second.
00:13:15
Speaker
And we found the tram and understood the system.
00:13:17
Speaker
And once we got that, walking around the city is really fun.
00:13:20
Speaker
It's easy in some ways.
00:13:23
Speaker
The weather was nice.
00:13:24
Speaker
And so the tram and the bus and all that kind of made it much easier, much more convenient and much faster to get through, get around.
00:13:31
Speaker
So I would recommend that instead.
00:13:33
Speaker
You know, there were a few other good places that we went that were interesting for me.
00:13:38
Speaker
Again, it was the Topkapi Palace.
00:13:41
Speaker
It took me the whole holiday to learn to say it right.
00:13:44
Speaker
And we kept calling it the Topi Palace, which in my language means the top.
00:13:49
Speaker
Topi is used for hat, but it's also kind of used as a slang for like put one over someone, you know.
00:13:56
Speaker
So if you gave someone a topi, you've tricked them, you've conned them.
00:14:01
Speaker
Anyway, it's a magnificent residence of the Ottoman sultans, right?
00:14:07
Speaker
From back of the place.
00:14:09
Speaker
And yeah.
00:14:10
Speaker
It really is a place where you can walk with the footsteps of royalty.
00:14:16
Speaker
And they lived in style.
00:14:17
Speaker
It was pretty cool.
00:14:18
Speaker
I loved it.
00:14:18
Speaker
My personal favorite was actually looking at their clothes, their wardrobe.
00:14:22
Speaker
Because they have it on display.
00:14:23
Speaker
And they are these huge things.
00:14:26
Speaker
Their outfits are just huge encrusted with diamonds and whatnot.
00:14:31
Speaker
It was really beautiful.
00:14:32
Speaker
Beautiful colors.
00:14:34
Speaker
Outlandish.
00:14:35
Speaker
They would make Elton John look beautiful.
00:14:37
Speaker
like a peasant, you know?
00:14:39
Speaker
And they were, when I say big, they were honestly probably as big as my apartment.
00:14:44
Speaker
They're just tall and huge.
00:14:46
Speaker
I don't know how big these guys were.
00:14:48
Speaker
And every time I looked at it, I'm like, what did they do?
00:14:50
Speaker
They went out and go, hey, I'm going to drape myself in this or the red one or the turquoise one.
00:14:55
Speaker
What's it going to be today?
00:14:56
Speaker
Emeralds or diamonds, just beautiful stone work all over it.
00:15:00
Speaker
Very cool to see.
00:15:01
Speaker
The palace was interesting in different ways.
00:15:04
Speaker
They have this one section, which is called the holy relics.
00:15:07
Speaker
And I loved everywhere where they had these signs probably from before where you can't take pictures, but everyone had their cameras out.
00:15:14
Speaker
And I guess you just can't stop that stuff from happening.
00:15:17
Speaker
And the holy relics had all these Islamic stuff like the prophet, peace upon him, his hair from his beard and stuff and like swords.
00:15:28
Speaker
And that was all very cool to see from the people around him from that era.
00:15:33
Speaker
Preserves there.
00:15:34
Speaker
So a couple of things there that were very cool, right?
00:15:38
Speaker
What else did I experience there?
00:15:40
Speaker
Those were the main stuff.
00:15:41
Speaker
Like I said, the food was really good.
00:15:42
Speaker
I tried...
00:15:44
Speaker
What was it?
00:15:45
Speaker
Pida?
00:15:45
Speaker
I think they called it this kind of bread stuff with cheese.
00:15:50
Speaker
I mean, well, the toppings can differ, but they called them pidas.
00:15:53
Speaker
I think that's how it's pronounced.
00:15:54
Speaker
And, man, they made them fresh.
00:15:57
Speaker
And, again, like the meat was good.
00:15:58
Speaker
It was just great food that we had along cafeterias on the way home.
00:16:04
Speaker
Freshly baked bread stuff by women sitting there.
00:16:07
Speaker
You know, it was just that stuff was very charming and enjoyable, I think.
00:16:14
Speaker
The problem stuff comes in with, first of all, the amount of smoking, man.
00:16:21
Speaker
It's like an Olympic sport there.
00:16:25
Speaker
You'll see smoke clouds everywhere.
00:16:27
Speaker
Like it's a dragon convention.
00:16:30
Speaker
I don't know.
00:16:30
Speaker
Like the whole population decided to audition for a Turkish version of like Chimney Idol.
00:16:36
Speaker
I don't know.
00:16:37
Speaker
You'll find people puffing away with such enthusiasm.
00:16:40
Speaker
You'll wonder if smoking cigarettes are training, you know, if they're actually just smoking or training for like a smoke ring blowing championship.
00:16:48
Speaker
Just bring your own oxygen tank and gas mask.
00:16:50
Speaker
You'll be fine.
00:16:51
Speaker
All right.
00:16:51
Speaker
From the second hand smoke.
00:16:53
Speaker
Honestly, it is.
00:16:54
Speaker
It's also not just like in a lot of places you find old people smoking.
00:16:58
Speaker
Over here was a lot of young people.
00:17:00
Speaker
A lot of young people smoking.
00:17:02
Speaker
I wanted to run up to them and go, hey, man, the 70s are over.
00:17:05
Speaker
No one else in the world is smoking anymore.
00:17:08
Speaker
Maybe vape just so you look more current.
00:17:13
Speaker
But that was one thing that really shocked me.
00:17:16
Speaker
The cigarette thing was quite funny.
00:17:19
Speaker
It's big there.
00:17:20
Speaker
And then there's the infamous...
00:17:22
Speaker
rudeness of staff all right so there's a huge difference i think i was warned by some friends that turkish people can be rude i think turkish people largely were very nice um especially in the hotels and on the streets the common people but the but the staff at most of these places oh wow it's like um it's it's it's the perfected the perfected the art of grumpiness okay uh maybe they attended like the wrong training courses called customer service with a scowl seminar
00:17:53
Speaker
Don't be surprised, right?
00:17:54
Speaker
If you get there, you get like a cold stare when you ask a question of the staff.
00:17:58
Speaker
And they just developed a superpower of teleporting away whenever you need assistance.
00:18:03
Speaker
You can never find them.
00:18:04
Speaker
If you run into them, they won't answer your stuff.
00:18:06
Speaker
They like almost...
00:18:09
Speaker
I don't know, they're practicing something, right?
00:18:11
Speaker
Like the grumpy games or whatever it is that they're doing.
00:18:13
Speaker
You really need to try on smiling big and charming them to try cracking their poker face while I know.
00:18:21
Speaker
But I had some bad examples of like at the Tokapi Palace again.
00:18:26
Speaker
There was this place where they had stairs.
00:18:29
Speaker
And I'm with a pram with Zayan like lying in it.
00:18:32
Speaker
You know, he's tired.
00:18:33
Speaker
He kept taking breaks.
00:18:34
Speaker
I'm glad we took a pram.
00:18:36
Speaker
And I'm like, hey, is there another way to go down?
00:18:38
Speaker
And he's like, he just like shrugs.
00:18:41
Speaker
And I'm like, well, I have this pram and he shrugs again.
00:18:44
Speaker
The dude just with a scowl on his face.
00:18:46
Speaker
So I'm like, okay, what am I supposed to do?
00:18:48
Speaker
And he just like shrugs with bigger shrug.
00:18:51
Speaker
And then these two people, and again, I don't know if they were Turkish tourists or there were a lot of tourists from everywhere, Europe and everything, but two men just came and helped me take the pram down.
00:19:03
Speaker
And I found out later when we were leaving, there was like this, what do you call it?
00:19:11
Speaker
A place to roll up.
00:19:14
Speaker
Oh my God, I can't, I'm forgetting the words for it, but just, you know, like a place
00:19:20
Speaker
uh what do you call this a plank type thing like just you could just go up there roll up for people in wheelchairs and prams and stuff and i was just like why don't you just point me here i wasn't asking the guy to build one but this was the common thing everywhere when we went to the museum there's another museum uh i forgot the name was it the national museum or the antique antique museum something like that and it's right next to that palace and again the entrance the security
00:19:48
Speaker
was made like it had this cabin where you had to go up the stairs, go through the metal detectors and come back down.
00:19:54
Speaker
And I pointed at the pram and he's like, no problem, come up.
00:19:57
Speaker
And I'm like, no, no, there is a problem.
00:19:59
Speaker
I have a pram.
00:20:00
Speaker
How do I bring it up the stairs?
00:20:01
Speaker
And he's like, no problem.
00:20:02
Speaker
He's just sitting there staring at me.
00:20:05
Speaker
And I'm like, dude, what do you want me to do?
00:20:06
Speaker
How do I do this?
00:20:08
Speaker
And then again, there was this guy, this kid was Turkish.
00:20:11
Speaker
He just went, sir, I'll help you.
00:20:12
Speaker
And he picked it up and helped me take the pram up.
00:20:15
Speaker
But they had made no offer to help or suggest solutions like, hey, there's a sideway.
00:20:20
Speaker
Let me let you can roll in through there and just do the bags or something.
00:20:24
Speaker
Right.
00:20:24
Speaker
So that kind of stuff was a real letdown over there.
00:20:27
Speaker
And they really need to have more people walking around helping people.
00:20:31
Speaker
And when I mentioned the Blue Mosque, I didn't have much time because I was stuck with the pram down.
00:20:35
Speaker
Even I had to walk around a lot to figure out if there was any place where I could go in.
00:20:40
Speaker
And they've almost like decided if you are on a wheelchair pram, then it's your fault.
00:20:46
Speaker
OK, so I even found a gate where it said this is the entrance for people with disabilities or whatever.
00:20:52
Speaker
And there was no way to go up.
00:20:55
Speaker
It was just stairs.
00:20:55
Speaker
And I'm like, what is going on here?
00:20:58
Speaker
So there's a little bit of lack of accessibility or at least clear information on how to get through, right?
00:21:05
Speaker
So these incredible historical sites, obviously they're not designed back then, but you can easily fix this stuff.
00:21:13
Speaker
But it's like they're saying, if you can't climb these ancient stairs, then you don't deserve to see the view.
Final Thoughts on Istanbul
00:21:18
Speaker
Just bring your mountaineer spirit to these things, a sense of humor.
00:21:21
Speaker
and conquer the ancient architectural hurdles.
00:21:25
Speaker
Also, the pram made me realize a lot of the streets are like cobblestone streets.
00:21:31
Speaker
Is it cobblestone or cobblestone?
00:21:32
Speaker
Cobblestone, I guess.
00:21:34
Speaker
And there's these ancient streets.
00:21:36
Speaker
And man, if you were on a wheelchair like I was using this pram, that's an off-road obstacle course right there.
00:21:42
Speaker
It's like the roller coaster roulette.
00:21:44
Speaker
It's just unexpected bumps and jolts at every turn.
00:21:49
Speaker
Ramps, that's the word I was looking for, ramps.
00:21:53
Speaker
We lack ramps there.
00:21:54
Speaker
So that was sort of the bad side about the whole visit.
00:22:00
Speaker
Okay, so it took away a little bit.
00:22:01
Speaker
But overall, I can't help but recommend the place.
00:22:04
Speaker
Like I said, most people are very nice.
00:22:06
Speaker
The sights are worth seeing.
00:22:08
Speaker
The food, amazing.
00:22:10
Speaker
And when I went, the weather was nice, just the way I like it.
00:22:12
Speaker
So it was perfect.
NBA Playoffs Excitement
00:22:13
Speaker
You can always look around.
00:22:14
Speaker
A lot of tourists, but make sure you don't go at super busy times.
00:22:19
Speaker
I think that's the summer.
00:22:21
Speaker
nice you'll get the hang of it takes a couple of days you'll find your way around just be smart about it and make sure you know like any tourist place just be careful about prices and stuff they do try to scam you other than that there's so many more places that you can see around that I'm not doing justice so I'm just sharing my personal experience that was Turkey and Istanbul I'm grateful that I got the chance to go man it was something off my bucket list so that's good and I'd encourage you guys to go as well
00:22:50
Speaker
And besides that, I know this whole episode has just been about Istanbul.
00:22:54
Speaker
I'm enjoying, I don't know about you guys, but I've been enjoying the playoffs, man.
00:22:58
Speaker
We're down to the wire now.
00:22:59
Speaker
It's looking like it's going to be the Heat versus the Nuggets, which is amazing.
00:23:05
Speaker
The Lakers got swept.
00:23:06
Speaker
I hate Lebron.
00:23:07
Speaker
So I don't hate him.
00:23:10
Speaker
He's an admirable player, but also I don't like his attitude.
00:23:13
Speaker
I've said this a lot of times.
00:23:14
Speaker
I'm glad he's out.
00:23:14
Speaker
Yeah.
00:23:16
Speaker
And so are the Lakers.
00:23:17
Speaker
I'm not a Laker hater at all.
00:23:21
Speaker
But the Nuggets, you know, Joker, he deserves this.
00:23:24
Speaker
And I had predicted a Lakers and Celtics final.
00:23:28
Speaker
I'm glad I didn't put money on it now.
00:23:31
Speaker
But even on this side, man, Jimmy Butler, got to give him props, man.
00:23:35
Speaker
He's brought the heat back.
00:23:37
Speaker
down up till here the 3-1 as of today uh at this point although i was uh i've been talking about loving the celtics i do love them as a team but they didn't bring their a game to this series and at this point i really for the sake of heat and for butler i really want them it would be great for him to win this championship i really hope
00:23:57
Speaker
they don't suddenly lose the series from this point on.
00:24:00
Speaker
I mean, that would be tragic as hell.
00:24:02
Speaker
It'd be a remarkable comeback by the Celtics, but let's make it the Nuggets versus the Heat and maybe give Jimmy a good one just at the right time as well, right?
00:24:11
Speaker
He deserves
Closing Remarks and Future Promises
00:24:12
Speaker
it, man.
00:24:12
Speaker
What a story that would be too.
00:24:14
Speaker
So exciting.
00:24:15
Speaker
If you're not watching it, the games have been and the series have all been hard fought and it's been a good year.
00:24:20
Speaker
It also makes me think, what is the point of the whole 82-game season?
00:24:24
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:25
Speaker
We're going to talk about this some other time.
00:24:27
Speaker
All right.
00:24:27
Speaker
I got to run.
00:24:28
Speaker
You guys have a great week ahead.
00:24:30
Speaker
I'm going to get back to regular podcasting.
00:24:32
Speaker
So make sure you subscribe.
00:24:35
Speaker
Leave some reviews, especially on Apple Podcasts.
00:24:37
Speaker
It goes a long way.
00:24:38
Speaker
Tell your friends about the episodes.
00:24:40
Speaker
Have a great week, guys.
00:24:41
Speaker
Take care.
00:24:42
Speaker
Goodbye.
00:24:42
Speaker
Or as a dog would say, woof.