... and so after needing someone to kick me out of my room this morning, low-and-behold Allah came to the party. No sooner had I posted on FB for someone to come and help me and the internet connection disappeared!
So I got dressed and headed out for Rumeli Hisarı.
I really wanted to go to Anadolu Hisarı but I was confused and thought that RH was the correct one. In fact they are on opposite sides of the Bosphorus (which in Turkish is Boğaz or throat - the ğ is silent and turns the o into a long vowel). It wasn't until bus stopped that I realised my mistake.
Luckily I was familiar with the area and texted a couple of friends to see if they were available for lunch. 3 strikes out of 3 later I decided to walk down to the water front. It was a beautiful walk with great views of the bridge and water together with blossoms blossoming along the way.
Once down to water level (the castle is on a hill naturally to aid it's protection) I wasn't sure where to go. I eventually started to walk north as I don't find myself so far up the Bosphorus so often. It was slightly frustrating as I could see the destination I had originally wanted on the other side!
Nevertheless it was a lovely walk which came to a halt when I decided I needed some food. Looking around I found myself near a hospital which in itself wouldn't have normally been useful but this one had a canteen in clear view from the street and this canteen just happened to be right on the edge of the Bosphorus with lovely views to-boot.
Shimmying between sick people and staff I found a nice bench to sit on. The middle-aged woman looked a bit offended (and scared as they often do) when I asked her if the spot next to her was free. In fact she nervously opened up her bag and started smoking a cigarette.
At this point, and I confess after a long time just relaxing in the sunshine, I finally pulled out my Turkish study books to continue my preparation for tomorrows exam. In a way it's a silly exercise (see previous post) as they don't really mark the exams however I want to get a reasonably good mark. Even after the study I'm not overly confident of that but time will tell...
Going back to the reason I stopped here ... food... I looked for some but wasn't inspired by the very cheap prices. So when the hunger pangs really set in I left and headed further north again.
I had gone a fair way when my stomach decided it was time to stop. Looking around I saw a tiny cafe/shop in a side street. For those that don't know it's often good for us poor folk to hop into these side streets as the food is often of the same quality and yet a lot cheaper than the busy main streets.
The owner was quite hospitable, which isn't the norm in the big city, and belted the order out to his wife. I pulled out the study gear again and worked my way through some more exercises before my köfte arrived. Here it translates into meatballs but it's considerably different in flavour as it lacks the herbs and spices.
Once finished I did some more study and of course had the compulsory post-eat çay (tea).
Afterwards I took the long bus ride(s) home.
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