Day Trip with Sami to Bazaar and Asmanli Restaurant with RC grads

We are getting a slow start this morning, as I was up early, around 5:00 but we have been lazing around, trying to figure out what to do, as I meet with an RC student, Buse, at 1:00, and with Sami in the afternoon. After some yogurt and bananas, I went for a 15 minute walk towards Kurucesme while Evie worked on pictures. We headed towards Rumeli Hisar, to the Kale Cay Bahcisi, a waterside café we ate at last week. It took us about 45 minutes to walk here from the village, mostly along the sea with the exception of Bebek, where you must squeeze your way through the town. We both ordered menemens, mine perynirly, with cheese, and it was great. We cannot figure out how they make them, as they are served in small frying pans, bubbling, with cheese melted on top. We ate them with simits, digging out the egg with pieces of the simit. Yum. I could eat these every day. I did talk to the cook, who seems very friendly, so the next time we go there for breakfast, I am going to watch him make them. I a sure he will be thrilled.
I met with a representative of the Bosphorus Chronicle, a senior named Buse, who interviewed me for the school newspaper. She was a delight to talk to, spoke very good English, and understood our conversation easily, laughing along with me at many things. I spent a half hour with her, came bac k, relaxed until Sami picked us up at 5:00

Sami drove us down to the Sultan Ahmet area during rush hour, taking about an hour, as we fought through tangled, thick traffic, especially around the Galata Bridge. We parked and walked along the main road from Sultan Ahmet towards the Bazaar, a very lively and interesting area, filled with tourists and every kind of shop imaginable. He pointed out some of the major monuments, as he is very intersted in history and knows quite a bit about Turkish, Ottoman history, and seems to read quite a bit too. We stopped at tea shop/hookah bar, just next to a mosque, or a medhrrdin, some thing to that spelling, which was filled with mostly Turks smoking narghiles. It was an inner courtyard, open aired, with vines and trees, surrounded by covered areas as well, and there most have been 50-100 people drinking tea and smoking narghiles. It was surrounded by small shops, but had all kinds of lighted globes decorating and illuminating the area. Sami had a good friend who owns a carpet shop, so we stopped int and looked at carpets because Sami needed a couple for a renovated stone house he is building in Avalik on the Aegean coast. We looked at many carpets and, and as we feared, Sami asked us which one we liked because he wanted to buy one for our house in Chautauqua; we tried as best we could to say no and I think we were able to dissuade him but who knows until we leave the country what he has done.

We then drove back to the Beyoglu area, where Sami lives, which is hopping with outdoor restaurants filled with mostly Turks, as I mentioned from our previous dinner with RC graduates. We at upstairs at the Asmanli Restaurant, an older, famous place, with dark wood wainscoating and photographs all over the walls. We had a table for five, set by a small open balcony, for air and a view. We had a typical Turkish dinner of various mezzes and ended with fish. We got there about 7:30 or 8:00 and did not leave till midnight, so it was a long night, of stories, laughter, and fun. Egber told an unbelieveable story about a 71’ RC graduate who happened into his store the day before. They had not seen each other in years, and for some reason, the grad told him about an escapade to steal a history exam; they snuck up to the school offices, somehow opened the safe, and in it was a pile of money, with a note that said Transfer money for Tom Davis, Besiktas player. Supposedly, they pushed the money aside and took the exam. After hearing the story, Egber told the grad that you are not going to believe this, but I am going to have dinner with Tom Davis tomorrow night. Egber also told an amusing story about helping me to drop off my van on my trip to India; I gave him some turkish lira to return to my wife, he went back to the college, found no one home, and left a note and the money outside a door of what he thought was our Barton Hall apartment. He asked if we ever got the money; of course, Evie doesn’t remember getting any money so we all had a good laugh. Serdal also told some funny stories about the RC days, especially a couple about Refik Soyer, who they all think of with affectionate. They all seem very successful and have worked all over the world. Serdar has had mines in South Africa, has lived in London for over ten years, has a home also in Istanbul and Bodrum, land in Ayvalik. Egber lives in Emirgan, but has worked in all kinds of areas, some in Africa as well, though he now owns an antique book and map store on Istiklal Cad…he seems to specialize in hard to find items like old maps and books. Sami has had numerous businesses, the last being a textile company in China but because the EU put quotas on goods from China, his business has evaporated or was too much trouble so now he seems to be retired, or has left it in others hands to take care of. He also owns a multimedia couple of some sort, which is involved in setting up kiosks for tourists to learn about the various highlights. Istanbul has been named Cultural Capital for 2010. He mentioned John Julius Norwich, the famous historian who has been involved with him in the project but he has since died, leaving a huge hold in the project. Sami also seems to have homes in Cannakalee, where his olive orchards are, Cesme and now on a small island off the coast of Ayvalik, which we will be visiting. His stone house sounds amazing, and was once, he thinks, the residence of the priest or bishop from the famous Orthodox Church next to his house. He seems really excited about taking trip with us to these areas; as he said to Evie, “It’s a pleasure to be able to travel or share with someone else my travels. I am usually alone.” Fortunately, we were able to get a cab home with both Serdar and Egber, who lives in Emirgan, so Sami did not have to drive us home. We came home exhausted, slept somewhat fitfully, and do not feel very refreshed this morning, though we are to meet Egber for breakfast with his wife at 9:30 in the morning. Our days are awfully full and interesting but also very tiring. We have think way ahead to say we are busy so we have time to ourselves. Every night this week, for example, we are going out with someone. Time to shower and get ready to head to Emirgan for breakfast with Egber and his wife.