More in Turkey, and Turkish Men!!

Am back in Paris now, but I will finish telling you about the end of my time in Istanbul.

NO ONE told me about the Turkish men!! And I am not young, nor on the prowl, but OMG.

I cannot believe the hassling I got. Grabbing, following me, touching, stroking, talking all the time. I was not left alone. It was funny at first, but in the end I just got really ticked off. It seemed that because I was on my own, I was easy bait. They would say such corny things, that if it was just a one off on one day, it would be hilarious, but it was relentless. "you must be a movie star" "dont break my heart, please come for a drink" you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen" "let me touch your beautiful skin" Wait for this one, "I love your colours" ...... what the hell does THAT mean?!!

At the Grand Bazaar, I was trying on necklaces, and this guy was too hands on for my liking, but I really liked this one necklace, and as he was clipping it on me from the back.......he stuck an erect penis up my bum!!! I kid you not.

I swirled around like a whirling dervish (not that I had seen one yet, but I am sure I looked the part) and yelled at him, and he looked all innocent, and said "what?" and "you look so pretty as you are angry"......

I sped out of there like a bat out of hell.

NOT all were like that, I met a couple of nice ones. This one was from the Tapkapi Tiles, an old tile and ceramic store that has been in the family for centuries, and only the family are the potters and painters. He gave me a tour and did not expect anything back except for me to appreciate the history and beauty and colour.

This plate is hand painted, took 9 months to make, as every little dot is an eye, (which wards off evil eyes) and is the family symbol and is patented. It costs around NZ 5,ooo. and is a one off.

I also met a really nice guy, on my way to buy a pair of socks, on my last day, and ended up buying a leather jacket!!! He was a real sweetie, and asked if I could photograph him and I , and to send him the photo. So I did.!

BUT.....on the whole, they were dodgy.....

YUK, YUK YUK!!!!!

On a brighter note!! I had a ball going on a cruise up the Bosphorus one day!! It included lunch on the boat,

It was a fish dish fresh from the Bosphorus!! It took ages to eat as all the backbones were still there!! Had to use my specs!!

Then we cruised to the Black Sea, and stopped for 45 minutes, near a beutiful beach, and the tour guide said to change into togs, and to jump in, trouble was, I was not told you had to bring togs, so I was not going to lose an opportunity like this, so I JUMPED IN FULLY CLOTHED!!

It was awesome!! I loved it!! And did not care one bit, about the strange looks I got from the resto of the people on the boat!! I dried out in about half an hour!


The Byzantine era buildings that were built by the shores of the Bosphorus were amazing.



It was a full on day, and I was so exhausted in the end.

Made it back to Paris, not an easy task, as I had to lug all my stuff through barriers, steps and trains to get back to Sam!! Made it though, and now am on the home straight. More on a cooking class, museums and my last week in Paris!!
x
Daphne