Dolmabache palace

Yesterday was a visit to Dolmabache palace.  It is everything you would expect a European palace to be — gilded up the whazoo, with humongous chandeliers and very French Louie some number furniture.  Pretty amazing.  Loved the crystal floor candelabras that were taller than me.  We don’t have any sense of the place, of course, because for some reason no tour of this kind shows you things directly.  And you never get to see the kitchen and the servants’ quarters!  This had more rooms than not closed off.  It is an astounding place poorly presented, as Laird so aptly described.  We’re giving it low marks on Trip Advisor because the tour guides were incomprehensible and the tour of the harem had over 100 people in it — exactly how where we supposed to learn anything with that many people even if the guy could speak understandable English???  Six sultans, one halifi and Attaturk lived here.  Supposedly it’s where Attaturk died, but I swear the boat guide said he lived in died at the palace we saw the other day, the sultans’ hunting palace.  Hmmmmm.  Bad English or false claims?  Anyway, we were showed the amazing grand hall where Attaturk laid for three days after he died and was mummified so the people of Istanbul could come pay their respects.  Then he was taken to Ankara and a monument was built around his tomb.  It’s quite something, I recommend you go see for yourselves.

We went on the tram there and back, stopped off to walk on the Galeta bridge and eat fried anchovies (me — yum) and shrimp (Laird), with salad and Efes beer, which I like a lot even though not a beer drinker.  We took the tram out to the end of town for what we thought was an overlook of Topkapi palace, but all we saw were remnants of the old city walls.  So back on tram, back to Sultanamet and walk home.  By the time we got back everything on me hurt from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet.  My body is way over it — just laughed at the pain pill and muscle relaxer I fed it, said, “Ha! Are you kidding me?!? Gonna take more than that shit to make me feel better!” And it’s true.  Except I don’t have any more than that.  So Laird went off to Troy by himself this morning.  I figured if I went it would be disappointing and not worth more pain; if I didn’t go it would be fantastic.  See, I’m giving Laird a great day!  I know I’ll be jealous tonight when he tells me all about it; I’ll just have to figure out how to turn un-green.  Now I have to stop, get out of the room so maid can clean.  Hurtingly yours, jm