Thanksgiving Extravaganza 2012 - Part Two!

Next stop...Istanbul!!
Time keeps getting away from me...so I better get this taken care of before Christmas is here!
Two flights, a 2 1/2 hour layover in Abu Dhabi, and 15 "real time" hours after leaving the hotel in Bangalore, we arrived in beautiful Istanbul!  Half hour cab ride to the old city centre, Sultanahmet, and the Ayasofya Hotel.  Patrick has already been in Istanbul for two days, so he is ready and able to be our tour guide!  On the way in from the airport, we spotted a rainbow...amazingly enough, it was still there after we checked in, freshened up and got on our way to exploring!  What a perfect photo op!

Rainbow over the Aya Sofya.

Patrick has our next 48 hours mapped out - today's plan is the Grand Bazaar...nothing like jumping right in!  This crazy tourist trap is full of over 4,000 shops including everything from Turkish Delight (a type of candy) to Turkish carpets...and everything in between!  We went with the intention of purchasing a few things, including a carpet, and dove in...wallet first!  After a few small purchases, and a lot of rug viewing, we left for the day...promising a couple of rug dealers we were going to think about it and be back tomorrow...not sure they liked that answer!

One of the many entrances...

Lots of activity and color everywhere!

Beautiful pottery...unfortunately we were told most of the
colorful pieces aren't food safe...

Creepy baby heads for sale??

Dropped our purchases off at the hotel, checked with the owner (a great Australian woman!) for recommendations of places to eat, and headed out to the tram and a trip to Istiklal Caddesi in the Beyoglu area.  The street (Istiklal Caddesi) was a bustling, energetic place full of people, shops, and restaurants that Friday night.  We finally found our way to The House Cafe - our dinner destination.  Despite our lack of reservations, we were able to get a table, and enjoy a selection of yummy food!  

On our way back from the Grand Bazaar -
Aya Sofya in the background (but the rainbow is finally gone!)

Nice job on the architectural lighting! :)

Lights of Istiklal Caddesi.

Felt sooooo good to get in bed and have a good night's sleep...busy day ahead!

Saturday we need to see the major sights - Aya Sofya, Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque...and go back and buy a rug!  Patrick suggested we go to the Topkapi Palace first to beat the crowds...and he hasn't steered us wrong yet!  The Topkapi Palace was the seat of the Ottoman Empire for almost 400 years, and includes lots of different exhibitions (Treasury, Palace Clothing, Imperial Armory, Holy Relics etc.) as well as the the spectacular Harem which includes the living quarters of the Sultan, as well as his mother, his wives, his concubines, future heirs to the throne , and the Black Eunuchs...quite the place!  Tilework in The Harem is spectacular...

Tour Guide prep time!  Nice job matching the walls!

Patrick and Steve...they love posing for pictures :)

Tile and marble in so many colors!

It was definitely a good move to go to the palace first - we seemed to have beat the crowds in most of the rooms.  Now, on to the Aya Sofya (or Hagia Sophia) - subject of so many of our photos already! This enormous golden-domed Byzantine church, completed in 537 A.D., was the largest Christian church in the world for almost a thousand years...until it became a mosque in 1453...and then a museum in 1934.   During its conversion to a mosque, the frescoes and mosaics where covered, a minaret was added (with more to come later) and the altar was shifted slightly to the right to indicate the appropriate direction of Mecca.  

According to Frommer's, the Aya Sofya is so massive that the Statue
of Liberty's torch would barely graze the top!

Entrance to the enormous cathedral.

Uncovered Christian mosaics.

Note the altar seems a little off-center - pointing
towards Mecca.

More beautiful marble work.

View from the Upper Gallery.

I'm not sure you should be leaning on that pillar...

Last stop on the tour - the Blue Mosque.  Unfortunately we got there during one of the five times a day it is closed for prayer.  Instead of waiting in the rain, we decide to head back to the Grand Bazaar and attempt some bargaining for a rug!  Rug guys were pretty surprised to see us again.  After much haggling back and forth, we come to an agreement at what we feel is a reasonable price for the rug we wanted (of course they're probably still laughing all the way to the bank...) and we've got a great souvenir of our trip!  Interesting note - as Steve went to an ATM to get cash to pay for the rug (better price that way) - one of the rug guys told Patrick and I that "people never come back."  A lot of people say, "I'll be back, I need to think about it," but they never come back - until us!

Sunday morning made a quick trip to the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii) between calls to prayer.  It was built between 1609 and 1617 by Sultan Ahmet I to rival the Aya Sofya, as well as to leave behind an imperial namesake mosque.  It took on the nickname "Blue Mosque" in reference to the overall dominance of blue tiles throughout.

Spectacular!

Looking up at the domes through one of the light fixtures.

Soon it's time to head out to the airport for our short, 2 1/2 hour flight back to Zürich!  Little did we know as we flew off home that Patrick's flight to Newark had been cancelled and he'd be spending yet another night in Istanbul - but this time at a 5 star hotel - gratis!

Thanksgiving Extravaganza 2012...the first 48 hours!

The "typical Thanksgiving" has never really been the norm in our house.  When we were still back in Wisconsin in the late 90's, Meghan (and I) spent a number of Thanksgivings traversing nearby states for the annual Midwest Region Oireachtas, a huge Irish dance competition.  Thanksgiving dinner was usually a mediocre group buffet at the hotel prior to rehearsal and "tanning" for the next day's competition in places like Pittsburgh, St. Louis and the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago.  Then we moved to Tokyo where Thanksgiving meant a 4 day school vacation, so it was off on a mini trip...we spent those Thanksgivings in Hakone (Japan), Hong Kong, and Singapore (fyi - the Singapore American Club has a fabulous Thanksgiving buffet!)  Upon returning to the USA, all of Steve's family came to our house in New Jersey for our first "real family Thanksgiving" in many years.  Little did they know they'd have to help hang the new dining room chandelier in order to have dinner! The following seven years we settled into a comfortable, traditional Thanksgiving routine...enjoying a scrumptious dinner and the day's football games with our good friends, the Richsons.  Other than the year Target (their dog) had a little stomach issue while they were at our house...(that put a pretty big damper on the idea of having dessert over there)...things ran along smoothly. We had joined the ranks of the traditional Thanksgiving people!! That brings us to 2012.  This year our family is scattered throughout 3 continents - Steve and I are here in Switzerland, Meghan is in India, Patrick is in New Jersey and Connor is in Wisconsin!  This would NOT be a traditional Thanksgiving in the O'Hearn household...

First off, Patrick decided back during the summer that he wanted to go to Istanbul for Thanksgiving (get it...turkey in Turkey!!)  He had a four day vacation from work, why not?  And he got a great price on airfare...so his Thanksgiving ticket was booked!  If Patrick wasn't going to be in NJ, there was no way I was going to let Connor come back to Summit and enjoy the annual pre-Thanksgiving festivities on his own...off to Grandpa and Grandma's you go!  So, we might as well meet up with Patrick in Istanbul as well!  Meghan really wanted to come to Istanbul too, but her tourist visa won't allow her to leave India if she wants to come back in less than 60 days...so that's how our 2 continents in 5 days Thanksgiving extravaganza came into being!  48 hours in Bangalore, India...48 hours in Istanbul, Turkey...a combined 7 hours of layovers in the UAE...and 24 total hours of flight time!  Jet lag...bring it on...I dare you!

We left Zurich at 2:30 on Tuesday afternoon and arrived in Bangalore on Wednesday morning, around 9 am.  Meghan had arranged for "Jojo" - a former Sneha employee turned taxi driver - to pick us up at the airport and take us to the Sneha campus where she lives and works (most of the time!)  We searched the numerous driver-held signs outside of baggage claim for something along the lines of "O'Hearn" or "Steve & Lisa" but found none.  Fortunately Jojo eventually found us and off we went in his very compact taxi for our 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive to Sneha!  I'm not really sure exactly how far it is from the airport to Sneha, but suffice it to say that traffic control is not one of Bangalore's strong points.  The city's population and businesses are growing much faster than its infrastructure (it is known as the "Silicon Valley" of India), resulting in crazy, chaotic traffic...a little like rush hour on the freeways in Chicago, with a few extra stray dogs and cows along the streets for good measure!  Fortunately, we had a relatively easy 1 1/2 hour drive to Sneha and Meghan!

Jojo driving us from the airport to Sneha in typical Bangalore traffic...who needs lanes?

Steve and Meghan outside the entrance to part of the Sneha complex.

According to the Sneha website...

Sneha Care Home is a ‘home away from home’ for the HIV infected children. Sneha Care Home strives to provide comprehensive care to the orphan and vulnerable children by creating an environment which would help them live their lives joyfully and responsibly. This is the second initiative of Camillians for the care of HIV infected children. It began in July 2008 in the Snehadaan campus as a separate entity. ‘Sneha Care Home’ is the residential part of the programme and ‘shining star school’ is the academic part of the same. It took off with 20 HIV infected children, but now it cares for 100 children. Using the National Open School System, the education system aims to help these children reintegrate into the larger community as responsible and productive citizens. It is a combination of institutionalized and community based services.

The Sneha complex also includes a hospital for adult HIV/AIDs patients, as well as a conference center.  Among other things, Meghan works with the children at the Sneha Care Home - particularly the older kids (ages 10 - 14) who will soon be moving out into the "real world."  So, she thought it would be a good idea for us (Steve and me) to teach a class that afternoon!  With a short amount of prep time (24 hours prior to take-off) no supplies (I left all my craft supplies in NJ) and a little bit of help from the internet, I came up with a lesson plan on Advent, particularly focusing on the European/American custom of advent wreaths and calendars.  After a short period of instruction, we got to the fun part...Advent Bingo!  Using Advent-related words (four, wreath, calendar, Christmas, etc...) rather than numbers, the kids aimed to answer questions, get "bingo" and win an awesome prize! First we just gave out Swiss chocolate coins to the winners, but at the end we had two grand prizes...big "movie theater size" candy bars...boy were they excited!  Meghan is curious to see how they react this weekend at mass when the advent candles start getting lit...

Playing the Advent bingo game.

Everyone wants some more of the almond bingo "markers"

The class!

After class, we said farewell to Sneha and jumped back into Jojo's trusty cab for a little trip around Bangalore before heading to our hotel.  Enjoyed a delicious meal at Toit Brew Pub (microbrewery) in the happening Indira Nagar neighborhood.  

Toit Brew Pub

My awesome chocolate raspberry mousse dessert!

The "auto-rickshaw" we rode in to get there.
Has John Deere made its way into the Indian market?

At a beautiful park earlier in the day!

After a great night's sleep, and awesome showers, we were picked up by Meghan's friend, Cliff, who was going to take us on a tour outside of Bangalore.  Cliff is one of the founders, coach, and chief PR director for Bangalore's best Ultimate frisbee team, "Learning to Fly."  Meghan found the team via an internet search before she left the US, sent them an email, Cliff quickly replied back...Meghan went to a game about 24 hours after she arrived in Bangalore, and the rest (as they say)...is history!  Before anyone gets any ideas...Cliff is a happily married, 30-something guy who just happens to be between jobs at the moment and had the time and willingness to take us on a little adventure!  Besides being a great ambassador for the sport of Ultimate frisbee, Cliff is a great ambassador for Bangalore and India as well - couldn't have asked for a better tour guide and photographer!  If the whole engineering thing doesn't work out...he has plenty of other options!

My cow fascination continues in India...they are everywhere!!
Cliff promises that we will, "pet some cows" later...??

The "Tender Coconut" vendor on the side of the road
preparing our drinks.

Cliff and Meghan enjoying a thirst quenching drink
of tender coconut...better than Gatorade!

A traditional Indian breakfast.

Needed to get a photo with these cows pulling wagons full of sugar cane.

At Keshava Temple in Somnathapur

The pillars are so interesting - like turned wood, but not!

On the steps of the Temple - reminded me a lot of the Angor temples in Cambodia.

On the way back to Bangalore from the Keshava Temple, I finally got to pet a cow!  We looked for some friendly looking cows, with farmers who might be willing to talk to us...and that is exactly what we found! The people we found were rice farmers and they explained everything there is to know about rice farming in India to us (okay - to Cliff, but he translated)...what a great and memorable stop that was!

My cow and me!

The woman we met was at the other end of the rice paddy when
we got there.  As soon as she saw us, she came "running" over
to see what was up.  I thought this made a nice photo.
She was using the umbrella to keep the sun off her earlier.

The three of us with the rice farmers (thanks to photographer, Cliff!)

On the way back into town, I kept my iPhone camera on and took photos whenever I saw anything interesting.  I was really searching for a picture of a guy on a motorcycle with a woman in a sari riding sidesaddle on the back - saw so many of those the day before.  Didn't see any today :(

Steve thought these jugs were ceramic earlier in the day...
they aren't.

After a brief rest back at the hotel, it was on to the highlight of the trip - our very Bangalorean Thanksgiving Feast!  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we had Meghan invite all of her Ultimate frisbee friends to a special dinner to thank them for all they've done to welcome her, include her, and make her stay in Bangalore so wonderful.  About 35 of them were able to come (including some spouses) and enjoy a fabulous meal (thanks to the supreme negotiating skills of Meghan's friend, Sammy, the bill was about the same as dinner for four in Zurich...) and a super fun time!  What a great group of friends she has made...friendly, ambitious, well-educated, energetic, fun-loving and extremely proud of their country.  The future of India is very bright in their hands!

Smaller groups could eat in these fun auto-rickshaws!

In rapt attention as Steve thanks everyone for all they've done for Meghan.

Another table listens...

Pictures with just part of the group...

Back to the hotel just after 11:30 (city law requires all bars and restaurants to close at that time!)  Pack up our luggage, and it's off to the airport at 12:30 am for our 4:30 flight to Istanbul...and maybe a few hours of sleep??