Tour of the Dolmabahce Palace
Saturday, November 23, 1991
Finally relaxed with no business calls. Leisurely breakfast and a guided tour of the Dolmabahce Palace. Absolutely spectacular! It was the home of the Sultan Kings who ruled Istanbul until the early 1920’s. We visited the Kings’ rooms and their Harem’s (wives and concubine’s) rooms. The women lived quite well. It’s just that they were not allowed into some parts of the Palace.
The King was allowed 4 legal wives, the one of most importance to him being the one that bore him his first son. The Palace was comprised of 40 tons of silver and 14 tons of gold, chandeliers weighing as much as up to 4 tons. Just beautiful! The Grand Hall of the Palace recently hosted President Bush for a Gala Dinner during his recent visit to Istanbul. The evening we spent in the hotel Casino - losing money, but having fun.
Grand Bazaar was Really Grand
Thursday, November 21, 1991
I accompanied Sema, the wife of another one of David’s distributors on a tour of the city. She is driving. Traffic is heavy and there are people everywhere. They run in front of you crossing the street expecting you to stop. There are lanes on the streets but everyone ignores them.
A 3 lane road quickly becomes a 5 lane, and they blow their horns at everything. The tuck drivers are especially hazardous as they get paid on how quickly they move goods across the continent and not for what they are carrying; therefore, a lot of them drive without much sleep.
Our first stop was the Grand Bazaar - a shopping area with over 2,000 small shops. The parking lot was full, so a man approaches and says we can park across the street. He had 2 sports on the street that “sort of” belong to him and he charged for them. Sema gave him money and her keys and asked others around if they knew him and they said “yes”.
The Grand Bazzar was really grand. We entered one of the many Mosques in the city, taking off our shoes at the door. The Mosques are very beautiful, large, old buildings, stained glass windows, with only a carpet and maybe a few kneelers inside. The praying is done on the floor. We returned to find her car still there and glad the man was one of the honest ones.
After a delightful lunch at the Sultan Pub we drove to the Bosphorous Sea, stopping at the Grand Hotel Tarabya for afternoon tea. Again, we parked, paying the man responsible for those “few parking spots” on the road. We watched fisherman throwing their hooks in (without bait) and catching minnows.
Minnows are eaten here as common as any other fish. A fantastic evening with Sema and her husband Coskun. They took us on a private yacht across the sea to the Asian side to a seafood restaurant. For starters we had selery salad, lettuce salad, celery pate, fried calamari, muscle relish, calamari and tomato salad, egg plant salad, bread, stuffed grape leaves, pastry puff and wine. The main coarse was fish, and desserts consisting of figs and numerous Turkish delights. Really a wonderful place.
Turkish Dinner and Some Bible Study
Wednesday, November 20, 1991
I visited the stores in the hotel and concluded my Bible Study work while enjoying the beautiful view of the sea. For dinner we were taken to a very Turkish restaurant called “Hanedan”, meaning Dynasty. For starters we had shrimp, egg plant, salad, red peppers, split peas, egg rolls, something that tasted like a Mexican pizza, goat cheese, hot sauce, green leaf stuffed with rice, large loaf of bread fresh out of the oven, and of course, Turkish wine.
The comes the main course. Lamb prepared in several ways along with skewed chicken. WOW!
Train Trip to Biel and Yverdon
Saturday, October 12, 1991
Again I took the train, this time to Biel and Yverdon. The towns being farther north, more German was spoken here. In France the bathrooms are called “Toilets” and in Switzerland, they are called “Water Closets”. Two restaurants we have enjoyed in Lausanne are the “La Mandarin” (Chinese) and “The Chateau” (French).
Upon visiting the grocery store I learned you take your own carrying bag or else buy a plastic one from them for your purchases.
Sunday, August 4, 1991
Church by Car in Paris
Our first trip by car to church - downtown Paris. David even survived the circle around the Arch de Triomphe. We’ve been told if you succeed in this roundabout, you’re capable of driving anywhere in Paris. It has many roads joining from all sides and you yield to those entering. Back to our favorite store, IKEA, in the afternoon to pick up our back-ordered hassock stands.
Now we must rearrange the living room - a bright idea I thought of last night about midnight as we’re eating chocolate covered cookies and enjoying the company of our neighbors. It looks great - but now we need 1 small corner table and a coffee table. We hope that’s it.
Monday-Saturday, August 3, 1991
Monday - Friday, August 2nd
Put to use the running paths in the gardens of the Castle as we rean/walked distrances each evening (weather permitting). Dinner guest on Friday - Michael Watson, technician at InterVoice, Europe. Our subscription to USA Today began delivery.
Saturday, August 3, 1991
Late to walking again. After today’s brunch and the thrill of reading an English paper, David enjoyed a round of golf on a beautiful golf course near St. Germain with a neighbor of ours and I spent the afternoon packing for our trip to the “Good Ole USA”.
Dinner tonight at “La Table St. Germain” restaurant (Chinese, Vietnamese, Taiwan food), with David’s golf partner and wife, Ray and Maura Beard. Maura is from Ireland and 4 months pregnant with their first child and Ray is from London.
They moved here from Singapore a year ago and speak French. Very enjoyable evening of being with new found friends.
Friday, July 19, 1991
Tuesday, July 16 - Friday, July 19, 1991
*The entries below are for the next few days combined. The entries were short so they have been put together into one post.
Tuesday, July 16, 1991
Coffee this A.M. at the Church with the ladies. Took some of my cookies. They went fast. Toured thru more shops and tourist areas with Iris and Soneda.
Wednesday, July 17, 1991
Decided to shorten the curtains. They look great!
Thursday, July 18, 1991
Back to the grocery store. Dinner guest tonight. Stopped at a great bakery for a Bagette. Walking down the street Rue de Paris, a gentleman asked me for the bread. I kept walking. George Swaggert visiting from Intervoice Dallas. Great meal - enjoyed his company.
Friday, July 19, 1991
Went to the market. Bought more of those great baking potatoes and couldn’t resist a dozen gladiolas for 30 Francs ($5USD) (They are gorgeous and we miss ours at home), and a couple of begonia plants.