Farewell Istanbul and Thank you

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Thank you to the Istanbul Tourist card people, who offered us some great trips at massive discounts. We got transport from the airport to our hotel, had walking tours of  3 palaces, completed 2 city  bus tours and had a 3 course dinner and entertainment cruise on the Bosphorus. Saved us a lot of time and met many interesting people!  Today, our last day we took the ferry  - the cost was peanuts – to the Princess Islands – a pleasant cruise to uncrowded holiday resorts to share the afternoon with lazing dogs and cats who just flop anywhere and we have to walk around them. What a life……

The Waste Disposal Issues of Morocco and Turkey

While in Marrakech and even during our memorable trip to the Atlas Mountains, I noticed that all drinking water was supplied in plastic bottles – the thin type of plastic that squashes together easily. Many pallets of large bottles were transported to the villages in the Alps, large and small bottles were offered in restaurants and  pedalled by people on vespa’s and with wheel barrows.  Where do these bottles, and other waste end up, I wondered? Apparently Morocco has a very serious waste disposal problem, I found out from Google. So bad that a new ‘breed’ of people now live at the waste dumps, making money from selling waste, just as they do in some Asian countries. Not only that, the World Bank has lent, or given Morocco $271.3 million to develop a plan.

I noticed that in Istanbul, all drinking water, except in a few restaurants we ate at, is supplied in plastic bottles. Like Morocco, there are piles of plastic bottles of water ready to be sold, everywhere.

Turkey has a huge rubbish issue, contributing to items disposed in the Black Sea. ‘Turkey is among the 20 countries responsible for 83 percent of the bad plastic waste management in the world, Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TÜDAV) head Prof. Dr. Bayram Öztürk has said’

Difference between Morocco and Istanbul so far and my general impressions

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Istanbul is  cooler, has a big city vibe,  with traffic everywhere working to get where they want to go and using short horn blasts, people wandering everywhere though traffic – even vendors.  The teas are different  - we have changed from drinking mint teas to fruit flavoured teas as the hospitality tea of preference. In Marrakesh markets people hassle you and expect you to bargain. In Istanbul people start up a conversation and volunteer information and by the way they have a shop just here…… Kiwis are well known in Istanbul because of people coming to do with the war. In Casablanca and Istanbul people can smoke at the bar and don't care if you are eating at the next table.

One of the great things about belonging to a Hotel Chain – we get great upgrades and accommodation recommendations.  Our current place has a rooftop breakfast/bar/dinner place and we get front row seats to activities on the waterways – the ferries, party boats and cargo ships navigating their way up the Bosporus channel to the Black Sea – the light configurations are very interesting and make great guessing games as to where they are going. And it has an awesome swimming pool!  I will miss my morning swims.....

I have realized my cold, or maybe it is a combination of sinuses and hay fever is persisting in spite of the numerous vitamins, minerals and health items I am consuming. It is the smoke fumes in the air. You can’t get away from it. Even your clothes start smelling. I recall our last trip to Trieste, Venice and other Italian cities. The stale, acrid smell in the narrow streets lingered because there was no wind. And did our clothes stink!! Tuesday night we are going on a dinner cruise. Hopefully the sinuses will clear then… However, on Tuesday morning we visited the famous Spice Market by the Yen Mosque – which, like many here in Istanbul, is being refurbished.  There we were offered a Eucalyptus Tea sample. Within one sip, I could feel my sinuses, chest and stomach clearing! 

 Is Eucalyptus Tea from Istanbul Europe’s alternative to sending one’s sinuses to Arizona???

Impressions of Casablanca and goodbye....

Colours – whereas Marrakech is known as the Pink City – Casablanca is more like the White and Beige City, to my mind. More coastal, the vegetation is reflected as such and when we arrived, a slight cool sea breeze helped cool down the humid temperatures. Nevertheless, our long trek, from our hotel to the mosque, around the coast to Rick’s Café, a total of over 11 k’s was taken very slowly. The neighborhood in which our Hotel was situated, was residential, with some of the world’s most expensive brands, but was grubby.  On the main street to the coast the footpaths were not maintained and bins of overflowing rubbish were dotted around. Apparently the ‘commissions’ taken between the taxpayers and workers were extremely high, leaving very little for street and rubbish maintenance. However nothing is being spared for the promenades’ refurbishments along the coast on either side of the mosque. Marble pavings and simple, elegant plantings abound making this a most ambient place to meet, as many locals were doing, especially in the cool evening.  Some uncompleted gardens had their own guards with dogs – Alsatians and Dobermans, and at night accompanied by friendly rats and the odd large cockroach.

Casablanca is a growing city – new buildings with all the big worldwide brands, with new tall apartment blocks, and new white and beige residences in the outskirts of the city.  After a wonderful sleep in the “Gray Hotel” – where everything is grey – grey curtained wall coverings everywhere, through to the grey concrete bathrooms - it is goodbye to Morocco, thank you for the glimpse!