twoemu adventures

Istanbul was an interesting place to visit.

If you need to get a tourist visa in your passport on arrival, note that you cannot do so with the border agents, there are little visa booths on either side of the massive passport control areas, so if you arrive at 2am like we did, be prepared that you might have to walk a good 500+m in the opposite direction to get your visa, if you happen to walk to the wrong one. They only accept cash, either in Turkish Lira or Euro, so make sure you have a little cash on hand for your visa if needed (there are ATM’s that you can get to as well if needed, but you will forfeit your space in the queue, if you haven’t sorted that before).

There is wifi available at the airport, but you need to either use one of the little kiosks (everyone mills around screens to register & get a code) or you can find an information booth & ask the person there if they can help you out. You only have access to the free wifi at the airport for about an hour apparently.

There are places to buy sim cards, as you come out of the baggage claim area & are making your way to the exits. Everyone will have left you alone, before this point, after this though, people start to approach you to ask if you want a taxi or whatever. They aren’t overly pushy and will generally ask once & leave you be, but I was definitely hounded a little more than G was, which humoured me (not really at 3am, I was in more of a please leave me alone mood & please, please, please stop asking the same question as I walk past every single booth). I really don’t cope well with red eye flights & definitely appreciate not being approached unless I approach you, when I feel like rubbish.

We read this article about sim cards, before we decided to buy ONE sim card at the airport. As mentioned in the article, they are super expensive there, compared to somewhere in the city, but having one card allowed us to get to our airbnb via an uber & also to find another sim card place closer to where were were staying.

Note: You will still pay more than a local for a sim card, that’s just the way of it, no matter which route you go, but at least outside of the airport the cost is a little easier to bear. We both ended up with Turkcell simcards, but I bought mine from an independant seller. I would suggest listening to your gut in terms of where you buy it from & not pay or leave the place where you buy it from, UNTIL it’s working correctly, which for us was about a 20-30 minute investment. There are lots of tales of tourists getting caught out so just be aware. I personally used google reviews to find the least offensive review & then bought from the shop next door.

Speaking of Google reviews, they will be helpful for some things & not for others. I also used Trip Advisor when I was looking for different places. You will be approached by some places to write reviews, and you will find that some of the reviews you sift through are not the most helpful, but sometimes you get lucky.

The Grand Bazaar is one of those places that you have to visit, but one needs to appreciate that it’s all very overpriced. Hardly anything is ticket priced, although there is a small section that has “fixed” prices. If you are looking for touristy geared stuff like the evil eyes that they have in the bazaar in excess, you could look at the prices that they have set there, to get a “benchmark” as to what might be more reasonable to pay. Note that prices vary too, I would get vastly different prices quoted to me than G. Pretty much everything is mass produced here, you won’t really find true artisan wares in the Grand Bazaar, which isn’t surprising really, but one cannot help but think how amazing it would be if you could find truely unique items here. The Grand Bazaar is a great place to hang out to get out of the rain, like we did, for a few hours, but we found it more of a once & done thing.

Oh, the security check on the way in, humoured us every time we went through a difference entrance. They don’t seem to serve much purpose, other than to look like there is some security in the Bazaar, even though the alerts were just ignored. Frankly, I felt like the riot police we saw frequently on the streets instilled more of a sense of security than any of the machines around the city did. I was definitely more aware of my surroundings & where everyone was, when I saw groups of riot police about.

We were staying very close to Hagia Sophia & The Blue Mosque so we visited both. Unfortunately, when we visited, both were having renovation works done within. The Blue Mosque had a lot of scaffolding both outside & in, you could wander in, but the scaffolding within it, made it really hard to see & appreciate the details inside that lead to it being called The Blue Mosque. Hagia Sophia we definitely saw more of inside, but the museum part that we were hoping to see more of, was closed due to restoration work as well. As a woman you aren’t allowed to go into some areas that are reserved for men, which greatly vexxed the youngest, but honestly it didn’t really seem like we missed out on much vs what G & L managed to see.

Both mosques offer head coverings/ scarves for women to wear that might have need (for free). I asked at both places (and more than one person, as we were making our way in) & was dismissed as needing one, as I was told that the hat that I was wearing was more than adequate, which confused and humoured me. perhaps it was my short hair too, so I didn’t need to have a scarf, as my hat covered it? There were other women who seemed to do fine with a hoodie over their head too, so it seems that as long as your head is covered & you are respectful, you do not necessarily need a special scarf. I would however make sure to ask if you are unsure, even if you get told once that you are ok, I always checked 2 or 3 times. Both mosques were “free” to go into. There are security checks at both & make sure that you wear socks, as you need to take off your shoes to go inside. I had read that there is a smell of sweat & feet & was not disappointed, but it really wasn’t that bad. It might be a little more intense in warmer weather though.

Basilica Cistern is located to the left of Hagia Sophia (when you are facing the entrance of Hagia Sophia) and across the road. In the summer, you might want to book tickets in advance & there is a QR code posted outside that you can use or you can buy them here, but at the time that were were there (December) it isn’t exactly the high season, so the wait wasn’t too arduous to get in. Once we were past security (more of a formality) we were able to buy tickets immediately, no wait. Note that if you are a foreigner, that kids 6 or above pay the same price as a (foreign) adult, this is the same for most things in Istanbul. I highly recommend a visit to the Basilica Cistern, even in the off season it was very popular. It would be a lovely place to escape to in the warmer weather, and any wet weather, as we did. The lighting changes throughout & there are some lovely art installations that really add to the experience. The kids are huge Mythology fans, so they loved the Medusa columns, as well as a Medusa art installation they had.

Topkapi Palace Museum is a must see as well. I highly recommend a full day to visit. Opening hours vary to what you see online, but getting there earlier in the day to avoid too many of the crowds, especially if you are going to be there in the high season is worthwhile. There are lots of places were you can buy tickets online, but to get the official ones onsite, it isn’t that arduous. When you first enter, you immediately go through a security check (it’s the typical security check you will see here, only there are armed guards at this entrance). Once you are past security, walk up the path a little & off to the right you will find little kiosks that you can buy your entrance tickets for the palace. Again, don’t bother to look for cheaper tickets for kids, that isn’t a thing here. You can only buy up to 4 tickets at a time, so if there are more than 4 of you, you will need to run through another transaction. Your ticket price includes a free audio guide, so once you get to the audio guide kiosk show them your ticket & leave them a piece of ID (any photo ID works), they will give you a card to give back to them to get your ID when you return with the guides, so keep that safe & you are good to go.

There are some places to get food (at a premium) if you have need, but you cannot have food or drink in any of the buildings. The weird thing we noted was the number of signs that say “No Camera’s”, but the staff there just tell you to take pictures, if you are unsure, just ask. No smoking signs seem to be something people ignore too, so don’t be surprised if someone lights up next to a no smoking sign, this is just the way of it. Not saying you should do it, but it happens.

That about sums of some of the highlights for us.

We did actually plan to see more whilst were in Istanbul (something I didn’t mention that we did a drive-by of part of Theodosian’s walls), but ended up quite sick. In part we think it was due to the mothballs in the place that we were staying in, it was incredibly bad. It seems like it might be a thing though to use mothballs as a way to mask other smells, which was enlightening. We all lost some weight. I went down at least one size, which is why you always bring a belt (it’s not just to add one more piece of clothing on you to have to whip off at the airport line), I learned that from 6 months travel in Asia over a decade ago. 😆

As a last note if you have any dietary restrictions like I do (all dairy, gluten, eggs & peanuts), I would recommend bringing whatever breads, flours or whatever else you might like to have with you. In fact this comes recommended by locals too. Unlike other places, like Poland, who had my bread at the small corner stores, you will not find much here that is gluten, dairy, egg or peanut free at a larger supermarket like shop, let alone corner store, that isn’t plain produce. For me, that meant there weren’t any substitutes available for flours, pasta, cereal, bread, milk, margarine etc. I thought that I would be fine with rice for a week, but for some reason the rice that we got didn’t cook properly no matter what we did, so choking that back was not as pleasant as I imagined. Perhaps you will find nicer rice if you happen to be there though (I might suggest getting a smaller bag than what we did). 🙃

If you are like the rest of my family & don’t have any food restrictions, I hear that the doner kebabs are really tasty, as are some of the breads. The Baklava is a bit sweet though, so only have one, or they might make you feel a little sick. 🙂

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So, after much debate we decided to take the kids to visit Auschwitz – Birkenau. I have been preparing them in earnest for a few weeks, for the likelihood that we would take the kids to see the camps, but even as we got to the ticket window, we knew that there was a chance that we were going to back out, after all, the content is pretty heavy. The youngest is 9, whilst the oldest is 11. They have very different personalties, we thought that the oldest, who reads a lot of literature well above his suggested age group & is very logical, was likely to manage it not too badly. Whilst the youngest is an empath & feels she needs to right all the wrongs somehow. It is actually suggested that those 14 years of age or older go to Auschwitz – Birkenau, but we were clearly not the only ones with kids under that age.

Part of my preparation for the kids, involved readings of a few books, that I felt were reasonably age appropriate;
Maus I & Maus II by Art Spiegelman, both of his parents who went to Auschwitz. These books in particular raised a lot of questions. The use of imagery to tell the story seemed to resonate well. The images could be seen as being graphic, like the piles of dead mice which were understood to be people. The use of different animals to represent the different groups of people that were important to the story, was something that the kids appreciated. Nice to see my uni studies coming in handy years later with my own kids. 🙂
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak this one was difficult for the youngest to read, but the oldest once he got into the weird narrative style, seemed to enjoy it.
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr, this one, the youngest read with ease & really enjoyed as the narrative was smooth & easy to understand.

I had thought of having them read the Diary of Anne Frank/ Diary of a Young Girl for a while, but it is suggested to read it at a slightly older age, given some of the topics discussed (including sexuality & I didn’t quite get to reading it all again to reacquaint myself with her diary). I feel that the oldest might be ok to read it, but the youngest, I will likely have read the graphic novel first, something that will make some cringe, as it is encouraged to read the book in full first before reading the graphic novel, but I am not much of one for rules.

Some info about the museum:

The museum grounds are open from 7.30am & up until 10am you can get tickets without a guide & do a self guided tour, which is what we were thinking of doing. There is a guidebook that you can buy from the bookstores (there are at least 3 bookstores that we saw, where you can purchase it from in various languages). It is the suggested resource to use for a self guided tour OR in our case I picked up a copy to refer back to for the kids school work.

If you join a tour, which you have to do if you get tickets from 10am onwards (the tour is 3 hours long) & have kids under 14 years of age with you, do not get a headset to easily hear the guide as they take you around Auschwitz. The Birkenau camp is without a headset, so everyone is milling around to hear everything. The kids mostly stayed at the front of the group in Auschwitz, so that they could hear what the guide was saying & for us that was fine.

We had spent some time discussing what we might see at the camps before we came. The kids remembered a lot from our discussions and also referred to what they knew from Maus (mostly), when were were there. Both G & I commented on how we appreciated the tour style, which is one of presenting facts. It is important to remember that this is a memorial & there is a level of respect you are expected to show as a visitor, not just in behaviour but attire too. As we were bringing the kids, we did our best to prepare them & made it very clear what the expectations were whilst we were there.

At the end I thanked our guide for the style of the tour & for not minding us having the kids there. He commented that it is recommended not to have kids under 14 there, but he appreciated that they were attentive (even if they couldn’t quite hear all the time) & that he really appreciated their good behaviour throughout the tour. Apparently, many bring their kids here without preparing them at all & kids misbehaving in any way here, is not tolerated well, at all. I strongly suggest if you are a parent reading this to do your research & make time to properly prepare your kids.

Whilst we were all hit by the enormity of the camps, especially Birkenau, it was a little different to the visits that G & I have made to The Killing Fields in Cambodia & the Hiroshima museum in Japan, which I would definitely not take the kids to, until they are much older. I can totally understand the idea of not encouraging kids under the age of 14 to attend, as a general rule. The age that the kids are does mean that they are not fully able to understand the enormity of it all. As adults we can process that a little more though.

The displays were tastefully done. There were a few pictures that showed some of those who arrived & who very shortly after were sent to the gas chambers. In fact most were sent to the gas chambers. Birkenau was basically built to facilitate their death camp needs where they could gas 2000 people at once, in just one of the chambers alone. They had several there.

There were some displays in Auschwitz of some of the personal items that people brought with them that were found when the camps were liberated, with the few that remained. Suitcases with names on them, because those sent to the gas chambers were lied to, and told they needed to leave their things for a little bit, so they labelled them to make it easier for them to find them when they returned. The displays of cooking & eating utensils, shoes, glasses & many braces, crutches & other prothesis on display, as well as some of the hair that they would cut off the women & use to weave into material. Many of the items deemed to be of value (and there was a lot, as many thought that they would be living in the camps, so brought their prized possessions) were taken from them on arrival (they were told to leave them on the ramps & they would be able to retrieve their items later).

Part of the tour of Auschwitz involved walking through one of the gas chambers there, as just before the Birkenau camp was liberated, they exploded the larger gas chambers in an effort to try to hide the enormity of what they were doing. The one we walked through in Auschwitz had been repurposed into storage, which is why it was not destroyed. However, they did still use other gas chambers at Birkenau right up to the time that the camp was liberated.

For more information about Auschwitz, I highly recommend visiting the museum website, which we personally found highly informative & helped us in our decision to visit & pay our respects.

“Auschwitz stands as a tragic reminder of the terrible potential man has for violence and inhumanity.” ~ Billy Graham

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