DAY 15...ISTANBUL

I’m tired, my horse is tired...as the saying goes.  We left the ship this morning around ten and met up with yet another amazing couple and shared a taxi with them to the Grand Bazaar.

Before we stepped through (actually pushed by a thousand people all going somewhere) the north gate into the bazaar I pulled Bill aside and gave him a wee lecture.  I told him to not give in to any people selling things...don’t respond, no eye contact, just keep walking and for heaven’s sake don’t engage.  He is sooo bad at just walking on and saying no firmly, just once.  I am really good at being firm, polite and very finite at saying no.

So lecture done, in we went.  The place is phenomenal.  If you want it, you can find it there.  Bill even found a cane.  They sell everything from pepper grinders to spices to material, belly dancing costumes, dishes, carpets, linens, jewelry, glass ware, toys, turkish delight, soaps and on and on...and within those warrens and alleyways, there are 4,000 stalls, each with a lovely looking young Turkish man and an uncle or father, all hawking their wares, at high pressure.  We must have said no a thousand times in a thousand ways.  

We finally ended up in a restaurant in the middle of the bazaar and ate a delicious, very Turkish meal.  As we were to leave, the waiter asked if we were interested in anything...he could direct us.  I mistakenly mentioned maybe I might like some apple tea.  Before you could blink your eyes we were in a store, not big, sitting on a low couch, drinking apple tea, and looking at carpet after carpet being rolled out.  What???  How did this happen?  Bill was sort of sitting there blinking and I was trying to figure out how we got there and, more importantly, how were we going to get OUT of the place.

And then it happened.  Something I swore would never happen.  Not to me anyway.  Maybe Bill, but not me.  They rolled IT out.  The most beautiful incredible delicate iridescent silk rug.  It was so beautiful and I immediately saw it on my new purple room floor.  It would be perfect.  And then the next unbelievable thing happened.  “How Much??” I ask.  The moment I asked, the moment I looked him in the eye, I knew I was sunk.  Me.  This is what Bill does, not me.  I was horrified.  Totally horrified.

“Three thousand five hundred...” he calmly says.  “In New York it would be 25,000 thousand but here in Turkey where it is lovingly and carefully woven we can give you such good price.”  “No no no!” I say in shock.  “I have dogs and kids and mud..there is no way can I put a 3,000 dollar rug on our floor.”  I instantly stomped the lovely image of it in my purple room out of my brain.

“Okay just for you, just today, this just one time I make it 2500 dollars.  Oh, it hurts my heart, such a good price, this is art, this is an investment, you enjoy rest of your life!!”  “ No!  I just can’t afford that and I have no room and I do not want rugs in my house anymore. NO!!!”

Back and forth and back and forth, the whole time I am astounded at how this all happened!  This just does not happen to me!

After three cups of apple tea, and, what seemed a very very long forty minutes, I turned and pulled Bill up off the very low couch, put our backpacks on and hoisted a very very heavy  bag with handles with a very very beautiful EXPENSIVE rug in it up into my arms and we left that place.  There is just nothing more I can say.  TTYL