A Slice Of Constantinople

“If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul. “
Alphonse de Lamartine

View of European Side of Istanbul from the Asian Side on a Ferry (Pic courtesy – my own click)

View of the Hagia Sophia from inside the structure (Pic Courtesy – My own click)

The Colourful Glass Lamp Stores at the Grand Bazaar

This winter we decided to celebrate New Year and ring in 2014 at Istanbul in Turkey, in freezing temperatures and discover the exotic locales of this ancient civilization of Contantinople!

So  an adventurous bunch of us, our Friend Nayare, My hubby, mom, my sister and brother in law all packed in all our layered clothing, woolens and a lot of positive spirit and reached there, all geared up to take this city on and experience its culture.

Hugged by the Golden Horn, Bosphorus and Marmara Sea this massive ancient city, is a confluence of both the Asian and European side of the world. Thus attributing its diversity, cuisine and vibrant culture to this fusion of people from both sides.

We spent 6 days in Istanbul (it was called Constantinople in the olden days).The first 3 days were spent covering the monuments, walking the streets and enjoying the peculiar customs of its people. The Turkish people apart from being warm and friendly, are not conservative unlike most Islamic cultures. This was obvious when we visited the famed Blue Mosque(Sultanahmet Mosque) wherein both men and women prayed together there in this beautiful architectural masterpiece, named after the ceramic blue tiles lining the interiors of this mosque. We indulged in sampling a hot Turkish traditional apple tea in the cafe outside the mosque which is a Must do there.

The Hagia Sophia, a church earlier that had been converted to a mosque and now to a museum is a reminder of the former ancient Orthodox Greek rulers that ruled here. It is a stunning structure with an ethereal aura, with remnants of both Christian Holy Relics and mosaics as well as Islamic verses on the walls and ceilings.

The cold not deterring our spirit, we went On the third day to the amazing Grand Bazaar, which in one of the oldest covered bazaars in the world with more than 3000 shops. A treat to your eyes these shops stocked everything from spices to Turkish coloured glass lamps, carpets, blingy tea ware, ceramics, jewellery and Turkish evil eye in all forms and sizes. The rule here is to bargain all prices down to half when buying at this market. Two hours was just not enough to finish shopping here(-: We trudged back to our hotel with Turkish must buys including a Turkish lamp, blue ceramic Salad bowl and delicious dessert, Rose Turkish Delight.

Another definite thing to do in Istanbul is to visit a Turkish Hamam.  The experience is definitely worth a try…they basically have separate ones for both men and women, but its like a mass scrubbing bath in a hot steam room.  It reminded us of our childhood where an old matronly woman  first scrubs  you to detox your skin, then massages you with a foamy bath and finally washes you up. We kept away from the Touristy type Hammam and visited The Tarihi Galatasaray Hamam, which is quite Popular with the locals there. http://www.galatasarayhamami.com/ It was quite a refreshing way to start the New Year since we did it a day after the New Year festivities!

Turkish Food to say the least is sensual and delicious and the Turkish do really know how to rock the nightlife there. More on that in my next Blog to come…

Mysterious and Exotic Sri Lanka

    The Enlightened Buddha at The Peace Pagoda Near Galle 

Sri Lanka has been written about for ages as The birthplace of the Famous Demon Ravana, from the Ramayana...This Island country has more to it, with a stark scattering of stunning beaches, scented Tea Mountains and amaziing Forests all within this small country, is the most Exotic place to ever visit as I felt during my trip there last year to celebrate the coming in of 2015. We started the last day of 2014 i.e. my Hubby +Arjun Pandalai, Enthu Friend +Ruru Edekar and always Spirited Mother, +Bindu Lulla Jaising with Colombo Of course. Shopping Of course High on our agenda we started off with Odel, Then dropped by for coffee and cake at Dutch Hospital (Yes thats a Shopping Village) and boasts of local Boutique Stores like Avirate, Barefoot (with the best tea & Cinnamon based products including Cinnamon Toothpicks) & of course The Ministry of Crab that serves the best Black Pepper Crab this side of the world. 

Seema Malaka

 We started the New Year by Visiting the the Buddhist Temple of Seema Malaka bang in the centre of the Chaotic and Colourful Colombo. Apparently the original Seema Malaka temple had sunk into the lake, and the Government commissioned, Famous Architect, Geoffrey Bawa to design a replacement in the 1970s, that to say the least is one of the most gorgeous Buddhist meditation Centres I've Ever visited. Thus this part of our visit was the much Needed Serenre Antitode to a noisy partying we did the night before, ending 2014!

Sri Lankan Food is both Delicious and spicy with a lingering taste of fresh herbs, spices and the sea, as the country is famous for all of them in abundance. My Friend Angelo, whose a resident of Colombo, took it upon him, to indulge us to the best food that his city had to offer, and like all hospitable Sri Lankans, introduced us to Kaema Sutra (Literally means Art of Food) a joint venture of the glamorous Bollywood Hottie Jacqueline Fernandes & Chef Dharshan Munidasa, located in the stunning Arcade Independence Square. Our Meal of Fresh Cashew Curry (my Favourite), Freshwater Prawn Curry(the size of their prawns would put our shrimps to shame), Boneless Goat Curry, Chicken Kothu (they even had a non carb version of this though I wonder why you would like to be health concious with all these yummy smells taking over) with Both Plain & Egg Hoppers, kicked us into a definite state of Food Coma, a fitting end to our Colombo trip.

The Next day we took off to the less touristy beaches in Waskudawa & the Dutch City of Galle, 2 hrs from Colombo. En Route to Galle we had a quick stop at Ambalangoda, and hoarded some masks for our homes(we can shop anywhere obviously) grabbing another spicy Sri Lankan meal at a road side shack, staring mindlessly a thte clear blue Arabian Sea hugging it.

The quaint town of Galle is a must visit for its cobbled stone streets, European style desserts in the cafes (their cheesecake was even better than the one I've eaten in the town of Lake Como) & the Rumassala with The Peace Pagoda.

The Rumasalla as legend would have it, is the spot where Hanuman, The Monkey God dropped some medicinal herbs that he was carrying to treat the wounded, fighting the war against Ravana. Right next to the Hanuman Idol, there is a glistening Peace Pagoda built by Japanese monks, depicting the four stages of life of King Siddhartha to Lord Buddha in Gold through statues. This is also one of the sights that had the most beautiful view of Galle Bay & the Dutch Fort also from there.

The Sri Lankan Masks play a big role in Rituals & warding away Evil

Pic Courtesy - wikipedia

Our Large Meal at Kaema Sutra

All in all Sri Lanka was a treat to all our senses and we left definitely wanting to return to discover many more of her hidden treasures to be uncovered(-: and to come back for the taste of their fragrant Cuisine & famed friendly hospitality.