We are at the Izmir Hilton and the view from our room is great.
This the view of our hotel from the Velvet Castle from the top of the elevator (more on that in a moment).
This is what is left of the Velvet Castle.
We went thru the procedure of sending pictures of our passports and personal info to get permission to visit one of the synogogues in Izmir. We decided to walk there, rather than take a taxi as suggested by our guide, not because we are cheat, which we are, but we didn't want to sit anymore. So, we walked about an hour. It was wonderful and interesting. We passed by this elevator that was built hundreds of years ago and takes people to the upper level of the city. School kids were coming home from school using the elevator. We went up and were a little uneasy since the doors open outward and there is no inside door, so the rock walls shoot by right along side your elbow.
We went thru the procedure of sending pictures of our passports and personal info to get permission to visit one of the synogogues in Izmir. We decided to walk there, rather than take a taxi as suggested by our guide, not because we are cheat, which we are, but we didn't want to sit anymore. So, we walked about an hour. It was wonderful and interesting. We passed by this elevator that was built hundreds of years ago and takes people to the upper level of the city. School kids were coming home from school using the elevator. We went up and were a little uneasy since the doors open outward and there is no inside door, so the rock walls shoot by right along side your elbow.
We met 3 boys at the top. One asked in pretty good English where we were from and the normal questions, but he asked who we liked, McCain or Obama. We were stunned that he even was aware of our election. I asked him who he like. He said Obama. Amzing that he has an opinion.
We went to the Synogogue
which is under tight security. We had to show our passports to the guard (no copies, originals only) in order to get thru the metal gate.
Some of the crafts for sale at the castle. The walls may be down, but the shopping stalls are still up.
We took another ferry to the 'Otherside' which is the name of that part of town. On this ferry ride we also made an effort to talk to the natives. We tried our Turkish on them and they laughed. Not real good for our egos, but fun. We learned some new words tho.
We went to the Synogogue
which is under tight security. We had to show our passports to the guard (no copies, originals only) in order to get thru the metal gate.
Some of the crafts for sale at the castle. The walls may be down, but the shopping stalls are still up.
We took another ferry to the 'Otherside' which is the name of that part of town. On this ferry ride we also made an effort to talk to the natives. We tried our Turkish on them and they laughed. Not real good for our egos, but fun. We learned some new words tho.
On the otherside we saw a fleamarket being set up. These nice ladies sold me a special healing necklace. They were wonderful. They wanted so much to help, even tho they didn;t speak English. A young girl came by and helped translate for us and they gave her a bracelet for helping.
On our way back fron the synogogue we were looking for a place to get a lite lunch, we were in the business area with tall office buildings so we didn't have high hopes of finding one. When we turned the next corner we found an atypical shopping street. The streets were very narrow, alleys went off in every direction. On some streets men were standing in the middle of the street hawking there pants or pots or toys very loudly. It was a wonderful circus. We spent 1-2 hours there and never did stop for anything to eat :)
The rest of Izmir was taken up with doctors, but you know about that already.
On our way back fron the synogogue we were looking for a place to get a lite lunch, we were in the business area with tall office buildings so we didn't have high hopes of finding one. When we turned the next corner we found an atypical shopping street. The streets were very narrow, alleys went off in every direction. On some streets men were standing in the middle of the street hawking there pants or pots or toys very loudly. It was a wonderful circus. We spent 1-2 hours there and never did stop for anything to eat :)
The rest of Izmir was taken up with doctors, but you know about that already.
No comments:
Post a Comment