A lovely day in Eskisehir!

Hello!

Well, honesty compels me to admit that we actually slept in until almost 10 am!  Can’t remember a time that has happened before, but not only did we miss breakfast, we were definitely in sight of missing lunch as well!  However, feel much more refreshed and we were able to make the 10:30 am cutoff for turning in the laundry without the 50% penalty for later turn-in. 

And, it snowed during the night! 

It snowed last night!

Not a lot – two inches or so we think – but lots of white and slush wherever we look. 

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Down to the car about 11 and headed to the Archeological Museum.  No problem driving in town – and Eskisehir is really a lovely city!  About 700,000 people and with two universities.  Additionally, there is a river that runs through town, and apparently the mayor has improved the parks and there are even gondola and kayak rides available in the summer.  (Which this definitely is not!)  Found the museum and were able to find a parking place right next to the museum café, which we remembered from our first visit here several years ago. 

Street view in front of museum

Kids outside were throwing snowballs at each other.  The snow is very wet and good for packing snowballs, according to Robert, who was a kid growing up in Chicago, so he should definitely know.  The Museum is two floors, and very nicely done.  The signage is in both Turkish and English, which was, of course, helpful. 

It turns out that Eskisehir is in the middle of a fairly well populated Chalcolithic area.  There are mounds, tumuli and excavations in many directions, and evidence of civilization layers from the Chalcolithic period through the Roman times, including a Hittite layer! 

Me in front of Roman sarcophagus

Hittite crest!

(Let’s hear it for the Hittites!)  There were some really lovely artifacts displayed.  For most of the time, we had the museum to ourselves (and the guards didn’t even follow us!) until another man showed up.  Turns out, he is an American (his mother lives in Mesa, Arizona) and has been teaching in Bursa for the past 15 months or so.  He actually greeted us in German.  I do remember from prior trips that Germans seem to make up the majority of travelers in this area.

By now, it was lunch time, and we were hungry, so we headed to the Museum café.  Fortunately for us, the menu, while entirely in Turkish, also had some photographs at which to point.  I ordered their chicken (tavuk) with peppers, chips and pasta, and R ordered chicken fajitas.  R had cups of hot tea and I had a wonderful cup of hot chocolate.  R’s fajitas came in a scalding hot and sizzling small cast iron skillet, which was fun.  My chicken dish, which was delicious, was much less entertaining, but excellent nonetheless.  Afterwards, we decided to head back to the hotel and park the car, and see if we can manage at all to find our way around via the city’s sleek tramline!  So … out we go, and wish us luck!

m

xxx

We did it! 

Beautiful incised bronze bowl

Stir sticks made from bone!

Beautiful Chalcolithic stylized deer

And, we made it back, although knowing a few Turkish words would probably have helped us a great deal!  So … to begin.  The gal at the front desk indicated that the spot on the hotel map marking the tram stop wasn’t right, so we just decided to wing it. 

Walked down the street and past the big hospital, and then through a city park.  It was extremely wet and slushy out, but temperature-wise, it was about 1 degree C, which equates to something in the middling 30’s.  Seriously, it was MUCH colder in Detroit last February!!  We were able to spot the tram, and headed over a couple of blocks to the stop.  Uh-oh, problem #1.  We didn’t have a ticket or card and for some strange reason, you can’t buy one at the stop itself!  We had to take a long walk down the street to a little green kiosk at the next station where we bought what we thought was a one-day pass for two people.  (How wrong could we be?)  Back to the closest stop – not far, 50 feet or so, and voila, we were able to get into the crowd for the tram.  Fun, though people-packed, ride; most everyone standing.  Amazingly, people kept shoving their way on, some with absolutely HUGE suitcases!  We rode the tram through the center of town and across the river (I’m sure it’s beautiful here in summer!) and got off at Ataturk Lisesi, the old quarter of town. 

R's chicken fajita lunch

 My chicken with peppers and chips and pasta lunch

View of the river from the bridge

We wanted to find the modern glass blowing museum, and that was quite a chore!  Fortunately, the Turkish people are uniformly pleasant and polite, even for those who spoke no English.  A school girl pointed us in the right direction, and then turned us over to a man who was going to his prayer time at the nearest mosque.  From there, a nice lady on the street helped us find the final bit, up some stairs and around the corner.  Beautiful renovated buildings; lovely area.  The area is full of Ottoman-style buildings, beautifully restored and painted in wonderful colors.  The second floors of the buildings are built out over the street, with plenty of wood.  Now mind you, there was the complete wreck every now and then, but overall, it was quite a lovely area.

We toured their small glass museum – apparently glassblowing/working is a major in one of the universities here.  We saw some Chihuly-like pieces, as well as lots of unique “things” and wall hangings.  The building itself was great, and the central courtyard was roofed in, making a great exhibit space.

From the museum, we sauntered back through the narrow streets and buildings, wending our way back to the tram stop.  However, when we got there and tried to use the ticket again, Nope; didn’t work!  Had to again find the local green kiosk and figure out what to do.  As I knew we wanted to stop at Espark shopping center, we ended up buying four individual tickets, which worked quite well.  Back on to the tram and off at Espark.  We checked out Migros (which we knew from Switzerland as a major grocery chain).  Not a patch on last night’s grocery store, so we settled for a sit down and cokes at the food court on the top floor.  Quite a mix of local and international franchises – including KFC, Burger King, McDonald’s, Sbarro.  Made for a nice rest.  Then, out once again, and we were able to get off at the stop closest to the hotel, which was nice!  Probably a five minute walk back to the hotel, and we were even able to cut through the big mall from last night!  (Turn the corner, and they’ve got food, play areas, as well as a large cinema complex.  Who knew?) 

Loved the tram!

Restored Ottoman house; glass museum

Very Chihuly like entryway!

Now settled in our comfortable suite, drinking glasses of a nice Turkish red wine and watching the Australian Open (taped) on TV.  We’ve decided that the food was so good last night, that we’d see what else was on the menu tonight!  Also makes it nice for having a glass of wine without worrying!  Oh!  And our laundry is back, and truly stunning!  Everything pressed and folded, or hanging up in the cupboard.  Yeah!  We’re now clean, and should be able to go for the next week or so!

Turning the computer over to Robert to review, and then we’ll head downstairs.  Dinner food pictures to follow!

m

xxx

Dinner – Part 3!

Glass sculpture

Glass vase; lovely bottom trim

Ottoman quarter

Still some tiles!

Went downstairs about 7:30 pm to the main dining room.  This time, we started by sharing the mezze platter – nine different things that came with their wonderful olive bread.  We had melon, and prosciutto, and feta and walnuts, and roasted eggplant, and wrapped grape leaves, and hummus, and (best of all) a red pepper tapenade – and a few things I either didn’t know or can’t remember!  At any rate, everything was delicious, and we realized that if we had both ordered a mezze platter each, that would have made the perfect dinner!

However, I still had my penne and eggplant and mozzarella to come, and R had the Adana kebap.  Everything was really excellent, and R’s kebap was actually served on a wooden plank.  He said it was very spicy, and he enjoyed every bite!  Then, back upstairs where we will be to bed shortly, and hopefully up in time to see what breakfast is here!

Shopping mall decorated for Christmas

ATM anyone?

Outside our local shopping mall

Mezze that we shared; yummy!

R's Adana kebap

My penne with roasted eggplant and mozzarella

Relaxing after a long day!

Good night all!

m

xxx