Turkish Delight

Frau Langendorf's driver came and picked Darryl and Pammie up in the morning and took them to Hamburg Airport for their flight to Istanbul. Checked in, Pamela grateful they had decided to buy full fare tickets like real people, and headed to the gate area. Sitting there Darryl noticed that this one little man sitting in front of him with his back to him. This guy was totally nervous and his head seemed to be on a swivel like in the movie "The Exorcist". He kept looking around checking things out. Darryl started to get antsy but then..lots of people start to get nervous when they travel..."Stop profiling Darryl" says Pammie. So Darryl settles down trusting that Pammie knows what she is about in this scene. Suddenly two police officers walk up to the dude with his passport and say "Kommen sie mit!" (Come with us). Darryl just about jumped up and down and yelled at Pamela.."Told you so!!!" Pamela shot daggers. "Probably being deported" says Darryl, "you know..Persona non Gratis!. Glad he is not Turkish and on our flight" says Darryl

P&D settle down again and wait for the flight to be called...they are traveling on Turkish Airlines. Finally they get their seats called and the two adventurers head off to the aircraft. Warm welcomes from the crew...friendly smiles all around. Down the aisle they trundle to their row...and yeah...you guessed it...guess who is sitting beside them...Persona Non Gratis!!! What are the chances??? D&P sit down and realize this dude has been through the wringer ..cause he has not had a shower in about a year apparently!! "Oh NO!" squeaks Pam.. "I can sit here for two hours..and the flight looks full." Pam goes to ask the crew if they can switch seats to two open seats near the back "Please sit down now..we are taking off". Pamela frets ... BO is something she can't handle well at all...suddenly the same crew member comes over and says..you want to sit there? Go now please. No need to ask twice and P&D move back a couple of rows. They felt bad for the poor guy but it was a matter of survival!!

After that P&D felt so spoiled..traveling economy class they don't expect too much service...so when a menu arrived Pam is excited. A choice of hot meals, bar service, not stop attention! "This is like we used to have on AC" says Pam. "North American airlines need to take a lesson from Turkish Airlines ... this is totally old school. Dear Readers...if you ever have a chance to travel TA...do it..amazing service.

Next stop Turkish customs. Darryl has images of Midnight Express in his mind as they approach the stern looking passport dude. He takes their passports, looks at them, looks
at D&P, looks back and shakes his head at the passports. He looks at Darryl and says "Mr Pantyhose you have no visa". Darryl's heart sank thinking he is himself going to become the newest Persona non Gratis. Pammie to the rescue..."We were told we get the visas on arrival" she says. "Ah" says Passport Dude.."over there". D&P heave signs of relief and head over to Visa Dude. Pamela says it should be about $25 lire each according to their travel agent. When Visa dude says "125Lire please".. D&P don't even try to question it at this point..pull out their Visa to pay to be quickly told "No Visa for Visa" ... well alllllrighty then..cashola is it! Off they go to Passport dude with their pretty visa stamp in their passports. Pam refrained from asking for an extra stamp for her scrapbook as they Visa stamp is like a postage stamp..pretty cool. Stamp stomp stamp...and they are through and officially on their adventure of Turkish Delight!

Bags are waiting...and they gallop through the doors into a gaggle of guides with name cards..."Ack" say the travelers...where is our Guide Dude? Pammie leaves Darryl standing guard by the bags and goes hunting. Sure enough she finds a Sea Song guide and looks questioningly at him..he turns around and there is the name...Pantyhose!! Pamela is a little in awe...their guide is actually Billy Joel...

Pam brings him back to Darryl and intros are made, nice guy, perfect English, should be great! They head out to the car, supposedly a deluxe air-conditioned car. BJ introduces the driver, to become known as Magic Murat from his ability to appear and disappear as they need transportation around Istanbul for the next few days. "WOW! Cool ride" says Darryl!! An airconditioned Mercedes mini bus with seats fro 6 plus the guide and driver. All for the two adventurers. And they are off...to the Ottoman Imperial Hotel. A restored Ottoman house boutique hotel on the Golden Horn. Darryl and Pammie are in love, small rooms but beautiful with all the amenities.

BJ says he will walk them to the area down the road where there are some restaurants to eat dinner. The restaurant is called the "Pudding Shop" . Pam is worried..she is not a big fan of pudding...and why on earth would she want to eat pudding for dinner? Once they arrive Pam understands...there is no correlation between the name and the food. This is a local style of eating where there is a selection of dishes...you choose what you want and they bring it to you

After dinner they bid Billy Joel goodbye and head off on their own to explore the area around the hotel. D&P have arrived in Istanbul during the Ramadan period and as they leave the restaurant it was time for the break of fast. The area near the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofia Mosque is packed with families gathering to have picnics and enjoy their first meal of the day. Children are playing, adults laughing and sharing stories, Vendors are doing a brisk trade with roasted corn on the cob, pretzel like breads, popcorn etc. Others are selling spinning tops for the kids and other trinkets and toys. D&P are captivated by the environment of festivities. They wander down a little shopping area and look at beautiful carpets, ceramics and other amazing treasures. Pammie can feel her credit card start to vibrate!

On the way back to the hotel D&P pass an open air restaurant and see their first Whirling Dervish.

D&P will see a Dervish show on their very last night before returning to Istanbul. "Can't wait D" says Pam..."that is the most beautiful thing I have seen in ages. They whirl with almost no movement"