May 29 – June 2, 2011
I’m nestled comfortably in my economy seat flying to Istanbul. I’ve had an amazing retreat and tough transportation issues after the retreat that challenged my new calmness (maybe Buddha’s test of me).
I arrived in McLeod Ganj (also home to the Dalai Lama) at 1pm the day of the retreat – the same time as check in – so got my provisions and jumped in an auto-rickshaw to get to Tushita Meditation Center. I had traveled 1 ½ days to get there and patiently waited through flat tires and uncomfortable rides.
The retreat was such a wonderful, unique experience. We went silent the first evening all 76 of us arrived. I was shocked to find the two countries most represented by far were the US and Israel. There were five Indians there. It must be strange for them to be in India, but in the minority even in McLeod Ganj because it’s mostly Tibetan. During the first six full days we had three 45 minute meditation sessions and four hours of teachings about Buddhism. We also had a stretching session and our karma yoga job.
My karma yoga job was helping to wash the breakfast dishes. My karmic effect for not being prompt about hand washing dishes at home - I’m great with dishwashers though. :) At least I wasn’t assigned to the bathrooms! Though some had easy ones like turning on the light in the gompa (our meditation and learning building where a large statue of Buddha fills the space with warmth) or switching chairs for the two different teachers. I actually didn’t mind the dishes and after the first day the group of us got our system down.
This retreat is named Introduction to Buddhism so it isn’t just about meditation. There is a neighboring retreat center led by the Vipassana Meditation Center that just focuses on meditation. It is the one I tried to do in Thailand, but was full. Compared to the Vipassana one mine has been called the “Club Med” of retreats. I tried to sign up for it again, but was waitlisted and it started the day before, which I could not do because of the strike. It would have been a much greater challenge because you wake up at 4am and meditate for 12 hours a day, but I think it would be very worthwhile. For my retreat we woke at 6am and because of the lessons our minds had quite a bit of distraction. We also were allowed to break the silence for our daily hour long discussion session and for Q&A during the lessons. In the Vipassana one there is truly no talking and they don’t want you to write, do yoga or even notice the people around you. I would like to do this one in the future, but mine was a good initial step.
The Buddhist teachings were interesting and though I haven’t adopted the religious aspects of it, I want to take much of it as a philosophy and guide for living. I knew the basics about Buddhism before and had respect for it, but now I have a much deeper understanding and appreciation for it. The Buddhism I was taught is specifically Tibetan Buddhism as the center was established by a Tibetan refugee, Lama Yeshe, in the 1970s. One major result of Chinese occupation in 1949 and oppression in Tibet is that Tibetan Buddhism has spread globally and the Dalai Lama is a household name. The initial refugees came to India at a time when many westerners were seeking alternatives to western thought and religion. This was “The Sixties.” Huge numbers of hippies found the teachings of the Tibetan Buddhists fulfilling their needs. I can see why Tibetan Buddhism in particular was appealing because it focuses on equality, happiness and compassion. These notions tapped into the hearts of the hippies.
Now there are Tibetan Buddhist centers all over the world and there are not only western Buddhists, but also teachers, monks, nuns, and lamas. At the center there were Tibetan monks because it is also a monastery, but the people we worked with were all westerners. The nun organizing the retreats is from Germany and the teacher about Buddhism is from the UK and the meditation leader is American or Canadian (I forget).
The goals of Mahayana Buddhists (of which Tibetan Buddhists are a part of, as opposed to Theravada Buddhism) are to achieve true happiness through wisdom and compassion. The compassion applies to all sentient beings and you put their lives before yours. When this occurs you have reached Enlightenment and your uncontrolled rebirths end. Through giving to others we make ourselves happy. In direct connection with these goals, the main idea Buddha taught in the 6th century BCE was that all beings (not just humans, but all sentient beings) suffer and that the cause of suffering is desire and attachment. So the aim is to find your happiness internally in your mind and recognize that nothing in the external world can give you lasting happiness. You might feel happiness due to relationships, travel, cars, the new iPhone, etc., but due to the fact that everything changes this happiness will invariably also cause you pain. If you depend on these things to give you happiness you will suffer when people leave you or die, when your iPhone breaks, when your trip ends, when your new car gets old, etc. Therefore, the ultimate aim of Buddhism is to have non-attachment, to recognize that everything changes so nothing in the external world can bring lasting happiness.
For those “closer” to Enlightenment they will renounce worldly things and do things like becoming monks and nuns. I think most of us can recognize this general idea and see that especially material things do not bring complete fulfillment. However, I have trouble aiming to have complete non-attachment to my family and friends. I can recognize that they won’t be with me forever whether it is because of death or changing life circumstances, but I don’t want to get to the point where I don’t feel pain when they leave. This aim might not seem so bad to Buddhists because of their belief that the mind has always existed and always will. When a person dies his/her mind is reborn in a new body so they can continue on the path to Enlightenment. One thing that is unique to Mahayana Buddhism is that Enlightenment is not achieved until both wisdom and compassion have been fully realized. At this point the uncontrolled rebirths end, but that mind keeps coming back in the rebirths of its choosing so that it can help unenlightened beings achieve Enlightenment. The state of being in perpetual uncontrolled rebirths is called samsara. So once a mind becomes enlightened it leaves samsara, but will enter the world of those still in it out of compassion and the desire to help. The enlightened will keep choosing their rebirths until all sentient beings are enlightened. And it can take 3 eons to become enlightened!
Another fundamental idea of Buddhism is karma, which is about the law of cause and effect. Every action has an effect and that effect might not be played out in the same lifetime. For example, if you murder someone, you might be murdered in a future rebirth. Therefore, everything that happens to us is seen as an effect of some cause we committed in this life or a previous life. Of course, those in samsara don’t know their actions in past lives so the effects coming down the road are unknown. Some very close to Enlightenment are said to see past lives. The teachings of the religion however do not place judgment on people because all are equally valuable and all are the path to Enlightenment. It is unknown where on the path people are. And those who attain Enlightenment will not admit it because Buddha forbid it.
One of the interesting notions about these rebirths since beginningless time is that we have all been a mother to every other sentient mind. So if you look at an ant it might have been your mother. The German nun said to imagine that when you’re about to kill something. Strictly, in Buddhism you should be vegetarian though many aren’t (yet). The mother figure is also powerful in fostering compassion and the unconditional love you should feel for every being. A mother exhibits this love for her children and puts them ahead of her own wants and needs. An interesting twist happened when Tibetan Buddhism came to the west. Many people didn’t have a mother offering unconditional love so using their mother as a model wouldn’t work. So the teachings modified to include fathers or other caregivers who showed this kind of love. The modification also recognizes the shift in the role of western fathers in recent years.
We actually did a meditation where we focused on an unconditional caregiver and then imagined his/her love and generosity to try to expand our compassion to all sentient beings. I actually had tears in my eyes thinking of my mother and how beautiful her unconditional love and generosity has been and continues to be.
In addition to having to expand the model of compassion and unconditional love for westerners to include others beyond the mother, the teachings had to address issues of low-esteem and guilt. In Tibetan culture there is no notion for either concept. It’s so prevalent throughout our culture that it’s amazing to hear they just don’t even exist in some cultures. Lamas and teachers were actually told by some of their western students that they didn’t have self-esteem. The Tibetans had no idea what they were talking about. When understanding occurred it was recognized on both sides that until you have enough confidence in yourself and love for yourself you cannot truly love others or help them. So meditations were developed specifically for westerners to build self-esteem.
We did one of meditation focused on giving unconditional love to another and were told that we could focus on ourselves if we felt we needed to. As we briefly discussed why western culture has this phenomena, one Indian woman thought it was because, unlike Asian society, western society focuses so much on the individual. In Asian society the focus on family suppresses a focus on the individual. Several westerners also thought the Christian teachings of being born in sin also played into developing secular culture.
The notion of guilt is likely also from the Christian roots of western culture. Regret exists in Tibet, but not guilt. So this is another emotion that the teachings have to help westerners remove.
Buddhists also don’t believe in the self or a soul. They believe no intrinsic self exists because we are always changing. Even the endless mind is always changing. So there is no intrinsic me, no “Kristen.” This is also a radical notion given our western tradition and one I can see to an extent, but don’t full agree with. One idea tied to the notion is basically that the world does not revolve around us and our conditioning, experiences and imprints make us see the world a certain false way. Our ego tricks us into thinking we know “the truth.” Consequently, we do not see the truth of situations or people and if we are aware of that we can keep arrogance, selfishness, and anger at bay.
The basic meditation we were taught was Shamatha, which aims to achieve a single point focus. So we focused on our breath and tried to clear our minds to achieve “calm abiding.” When thoughts, images, or sounds came into our mind we were to let them go and not focus on them. It sounds quite simple to just pay attention to your breathing, but it’s hard to keep the focus for even 2 seconds. Try it yourself. Sit in a quiet place with your hands in your lap and your eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths to release tension in your body and sink into the earth. Then pay attention to your inhale and exhale. Threes of the ways to focus on your breathing are to count the breaths, observe your diaphragm or feel the air moving in and out of your nostrils. So pick one and see how long you can stay focused. It’s amazing how untrained our mind is. I think my longest count lasted only 11 breaths. Usually, my mind wandered and I lost count way before I even got to 7. Meditators far along the “shamatha path” can hold the single focus for hours, weeks and I think even months! Clearly, I need loads of practice!!! But even when my mind strays I don’t get frustrated and always feel more relaxed afterwards. Some meditations I can focus more than others – there is no linear path.
A little trivia I learned from one of the meditation books – our body cycles which nostril dominates during the breathing process. I had noticed before during my yoga meditations that my left or right nostril had more air passing through, but had no idea that our body regulates this and shifts about every 90 minutes (if this book is right). As the shift occurs you will have some time where both nostrils are getting equal use. As I write, my left nostril is getting more air action which apparently means my right brain is more activated.
The book suggested switching nostrils if you are doing a task and finding it difficult to focus or think effectively. So if you want to be doing something creative you want to breathe through your left nostril, but if you are doing accounting or such then you want your right nostril getting more air. You switch by closing the nostril you don’t want to use as you inhale through the one you want to. Then I think you exhale through the one you don’t want to use. After a couple of minutes the body switches over. Apparently, it’s also better for digestion if you are breathing through a particular nostril, but I forget which one! The same goes for sleeping. It’s best to go to sleep on your right side breathing through your left nostril.
It’s going to be tough to make meditations part of my routine, but I hope I manage it as I feel so much better. At the very least I feel more relaxed. I also want to keep in mind some of the teachings, but it’s easy for the outside world and your thoughts to distract you.
On the tenth day we broke our silence and it was a shock to the ears to hear so much noise. I sort of worked my way back into talking by just sitting near noise and then eventually talking a little. Then it was great fun to chat. So fun I ended up being 10 minutes late for my dishwashing duty! Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one. The other woman who was always prompt only arrived right before me and the two guys arrived several minutes later. :)
We had a picnic that afternoon and then headed our own ways… for me that meant trying to find a room in McLeod Ganj. One of my roommates went with me, but all the cheap rooms were already taken. I ended up heading back to the center and stayed back in my old room.
Before my 10am bus I walked down part of the mountain to McLeod Ganj to see the Dalai Lama’s temple. The moment I left the center life threw me a few curve balls. The first was a troop of monkeys where one tried to attack me. It ran at me with its aggressive gestures and I leapt from the stairs and into the rocky dirt of the mountainside. The monkey stopped short, but didn’t move from the area and my bag was still out of my reach. Now I’m not used to dealing with mad monkeys so I just stayed back and made sure not to look her in the eyes or show my teeth. A woman had walked up the path before me and she was trying to help me. It turns out she had thrown rocks at the monkeys to keep them away from her so she agitated them and I guess they took it out on me. She threw more at them and I got my bag and flip-flops that had come off when I jumped and started down again. I had bruised my heels and scrapped my shin so I walked a bit gingerly.
Down a few minutes a dog came along and started nipping at my bag and then me. So of course I was trying to shoo him away at the same time I was having visions of rabies. His nips were more like playful puppies so at least he didn’t break the skin. As I’m still trying to shoo him away a monk joined my path and helped scare the dog away. Once the monk showed up and walked with me I had no more problems. A sign?
The Dalai Lama’s temple was interesting. I saw women and men prostrating themselves outside the temple room. They were doing full prostrations (going from standing to lying on the floor and touching your head to the floor) and these are meant to help purify you. These “prostrators” were using boards and hand sliders to help ease their movements. Does that mean each prostration is worth a little less??? At the retreat we were told one’s Buddhist teacher might suggest you go in retreat and do 100,000 prostrations. Our teacher did it once!!!
The temple was smaller than I expected – maybe 30’ x 15’, but had some beautiful murals and statues of Buddha. Outside there are wheels to turn that have a mantra on them. When you spin them the prayer of the mantra gets multiplied.
I caught my bus and had a long bus and train ride to Amritsar (including another flat tire). I wouldn’t even have 24 hours here, but I wanted to see the major Sikh temple as well as the memorial to the 1919 British massacre of Indian protestors. The temple gives board to pilgrims and tourists for a donation. They seem to prefer to keep the non-Sikh foreigners separate from the others. The room for non-Sikh foreigners was full and the “receptionist” refused to give me another bed and then started pretending he didn’t speak English. My guidebook made it sound like I could stay in any of the areas, but clearly not. I walked back to the dorm area and the gentleman there was kind and showed me a place on the floor to sleep with a thin mattress. It was late and for one night I figured I could deal so I laid my things down and showered. I lucked out because after I crawled into bed a woman came and said she was leaving so I could use her bed.
The next morning I left my flip-flops in the room, donned my head scarf and headed to the Golden Temple. The city itself was founded by the fourth Sikh guru in 1577 and Akbar the Great granted land in perpetuity to the Sikhs. His religious tolerance demonstrated once again thru his actions. The city grew from its beneficial location along the Silk Road. The temple was first constructed by Guru Arjan Dev, the son of the city’s founder, in the late 16th century. Every devout Sikh tries to make at least one pilgrimage here. And I saw that many non-Sikhs also come to make offerings.
The Golden Temple is dominated by a massive water tank, the Amrit Sarovar (“Pool of Immorality-Giving Nectar”). Many men were resting in the holy waters. My friend from the dorm and I happened upon the private building where women can also go for a dip. We walked into the building noticing only women entered, but we weren’t sure what it was. We were sternly warned we couldn’t take pictures, which a few seconds later I realized why!
The Harmandir, or “Golden Temple of God,” marks the center of the pool and houses the sacred text, Adi Granth. Guru Gobind Singh revised the text and declared in 1708 he would be the last guru.
This temple saw its share of violence under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (daughter of Nehru and named after “the Gandhi”) and this led to her assassination. In the 1980s there was a protracted and bloody movement to set up a Sikh homeland. In 1984 fundamentalists following preacher-warrior Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale gathered heavy arms and occupied the building in the Golden Temple that traditionally houses the seat of the Sikh religious authority. Indira Gandhi responded with Operation Blue Star, a massive paramilitary attack. The siege ended at the end of June 1984, but at the cost of 200 soldier lives and 2,000 others (including pilgrims who were trapped inside). Bhindranwale was one of the people killed. Four months later Indira Gandhi was assassinated by one of her Sikh bodyguards.
Rajiv Gandhi became PM and seemed to only partially learn from his mother’s errors. In 1987 he reneged on a key accord with the main religious party of the Sikh’s, the Akali Dal, and this led to a stronger separatist movement. Separatists occupied the temple again. The lesson Rajiv Gandhi did learn was restraint. The army’s force was held back and Operation Black Thunder was led by the Punjab police. The separatists also didn’t have the force of Bhindranwale’s followers nor the motivation so eventually surrendered.
Given the peace and tranquility of the place now, it is hard to imagine these volatile events. It’s a beautiful temple and the white of it makes it seem lifted and ethereal.
The generous spirit & value of equality in the Sikh religion was clearly symbolized by their Guru-ka-Langar, which was my next stop. This is a massive communal canteen that is open 24/7 and provides free vegetarian meals. Volunteers give you a plate and utensils before you are allowed into the canteen in shifts. As you can see in the picture you sit in long rows and more volunteers come down the line to give you food and water. I spoke some with the gentleman next to me, which is part of the point of the meal. The sharing of a meal with strangers reinforces the principle of equality. This principle became a key component of the religion in the 16th century when Guru Amar Dad tried to break down caste barriers.
Outside the canteen you see volunteers preparing the food and others washing the dishes. You hear a continuous clanking of metal trays being thrown into a big bin. There are donation boxes for those who wish, but there is no expectation or pushiness about it. The box wasn’t even clearly displayed; I had to ask around for it!
From here I went to see the somber memorial park for the Amritsar Massacre of 1919. This massacre was led by the British and greatly strengthened the independence movement and Gandhi’s resolve. During WWI Britain had promised Indians more self-governance in exchange for their help fighting in the war. After the war, Britain was not following through on the promises and actually suppressed activists by their passage of the Rowlatt Act. This act allowed the British to imprison without trial any Indian suspected of sedition (sound familiar to the Homeland Security Act?). Consequently, a series of one day peaceful strikes were held in Amritsar. At some point the demonstrations led to sporadic looting and the lieutenant governor of Punjab declared martial law and called in reinforcements. Infantry under the command of General R.E.H. Dyer soon arrived.
Mahatma Gandhi utilized his civil disobedience by calling for a mass demonstration on April 13th despite the ban on public meetings. About 20,000 people gathered in Jallianwalla Bagh. Before any speakers could begin, Dyer and 150 troops opened fire without warning. It was a slaughter with few escape routes for the activists because there were high brick walls and few alleys. Some jumped into a well to escape and bullet holes are still visible.
After 10-15 minutes of firing, hundreds of unarmed activists lay dead or dying. The official death toll is at 379 with 1200 injured, but the true figure might have been several times more. Britain hushed up the massacre for six months in Britain and when the story broke it caused an international outcry. The massacre shifted the minds of many Indian activists from wanting reform within the British Empire to wanting independence. It is also one reason Gandhi began his widespread civil disobedience campaign.
The memorial park had many visitors and its grounds are well maintained. There is an eternal flame and the well is now a memorial. There is also a monument sculpture. The most moving part for me was seeing a pyramid marking a location where troops fired from.
Amritsar is a huge city with lots to see, but these were my two “musts” and I had to get to the airport. Little did I know I was heading for many delays. I had booked flights to get me to Mumbai for my flight to Turkey. I was expecting many tiring hours waiting between flights in Mumbai because I was to arrive around 7:30pm and leave at 5:15am. I reserved my domestic tickets through a popular Indian travel website and they had me using two carriers.
My JetLite flight to Delhi was delayed, which made me miss my IndiGo connecting flight. I landed with 45 minutes before take-off of my connections, but the “terminals” are a 20 minute highway drive from one another and I had to collect my bag and recheck-in. It turns out the airlines do not cooperate and also do not honor each other’s delays. So neither IndiGo nor JetLite would put me on another flight for free. IndiGo’s next flight to Mumbai was full and they don’t do standby. I was running between the IndiGo check-in counter, information and the ticketing room outside the airport. Airport security is so tight here that not only do you have to show proof of a reservation and ID to get into the airport, but you have to have permission to leave! So each time I had to exit a staff member had to explain the situation to the security guard and sign me out!
Finally, I bought a ticket on SpiceJet – the cheapest option – and was to arrive in Mumbai by 12:30am. Still plenty of time, right? Then this flight was delayed along with every other one it seemed because of some software going down earlier in the day. I tried to get on the earlier SpiceJet flight, but the employees said it was full. Another woman, Indian & 6 months pregnant, was also trying to get on the flight and was told no. Then two Indian men complained and yelled a bit and got on the earlier flight! The SpiceJet guy also put the pregnant woman on the flight, but not me. Then later while they are boarding another attendant asked if I had checked baggage. If I didn’t’ I could have gone on the flight! Maddening and I don’t’ understand why he wouldn’t change my flight. He seemed so confident that I would make my Istanbul flight.
In the meantime I spoke some with the woman. She is in her late 20s and is from Mumbai. She was very sweet and it was interesting to talk with her. She said she married a couple of years ago and it was a love marriage that took her parents six years to approve. Her husband is from Pakistan so was not the ideal son-in-law in her parents mind. She told me how modern she was. She was educated and before marriage worked for an American company. She took that particular job because she wanted to visit the US. She said she finally got the chance to go for two months, but it was just as she got married so didn’t. And after marriage she quit her job. She also told me after marriage she changed her dress upon her husband’s wishes. They are both Muslim and she had been observing modest dress, but wore western style long skirts and jeans. He wanted her wearing the traditional shalwar kameez. So it wasn’t just about covering up certain parts of the body, it was about traditional dress. Our conversation was a reminder of how relative everything is – in this case what is considered modern.
She’s been in Dubai where her husband is working, but came back to her family in India to have the baby. She hopes they don’t move to Pakistan, but said that is a possibility.
Back to “the drama,” I was at the gate of the earlier flight when they called for boarding and a riot was about to break out. The passengers were furious about their delay and most wouldn’t even board. It was a mob scene and I caught some people taking photos of it. I didn’t stick around, but I guess they eventually boarded and left. If only I had been on that flight…
So my flight kept getting delayed and we finally boarded at 1:15am. The “helpful” staff guy called the Turkish check-in at the Mumbai airport to let them know I’d have a tight connection. He asked them to have my boarding pass ready and gave them the weight of my checked baggage. He also said my bag was marked priority to come off the belt first (didn’t’ happen). He seemed helpful, but really wasn’t in the end.
If we had taken off right after boarding I would have made the connection, but we sat for nearly two more hours while new pilots had to come. Because of the delays the original pilots were over their allowable time. SpiceJet didn’t seem to be pre-emptive in catching this. So I landed in Mumbai just as my Turkey flight was taking off. I called the check-in counter hoping the flight was delayed, but of course my one flight not delayed was that one.
During this flight I met a nice, energetic young man from Mumbai. He spoke English fluently and has family in the US. He quickly gave me a rundown of his resume and told me his IQ. Each country has such different customs of what you present about yourself at the first meeting. I don’t even know my IQ! He was my cheerleader though trying to be optimistic that I would make my flight and then lending me his phone to call Turkish Airlines.
I spent two more hours at the Mumbai airport dealing with SpiceJet and using Skype to call Turkish Airlines (thank goodness I could get online there!). I had to be assertive and keep reminding the SpiceJet people what they needed to be doing, but in the end they did right by me. They put me up in a very nice hotel and paid for my transportation and meals (not drinks though - strange). And Turkish Airlines changed my flight for the next day without penalty.
This travel experience once again was really testing my ability to put into practice what I learned at the meditation retreat. I didn’t get angry or feel really stressed, except for the fact that I wouldn’t be there on time for my friend meeting me in Istanbul.
So I spent an extra day in Mumbai, but just stayed at the hotel sleeping, watching TV, eating and swimming. I had hoped to work on the blog, but the hotel charged $20 for 24 hours of WiFi!!! I got 30 minutes free on their computer in the lobby. What is up with these nice Indian hotels and WiFi! A budget hotel that Mom and I stayed at gave it to us for free.
The flight to Istanbul the next morning was smooth and uneventful, thankfully. I took the subway into the city and found my friend, Tania, sleeping away. I’ve been to Istanbul twice before so have seen most of the sights and she wasn’t interested in them so we relaxed, wandered and enjoyed restaurants. Tania and I have been friends for over 20 years and have traveled elsewhere in the region together. It was such a treat to get to see her as I travel the globe.
After a couple of days in the crowded bustling city we made our way to Cesme – a beach town. The tourist season isn’t in full swing yet so in our massive hotel we were maybe 2 of 10 guests. We enjoyed the pool, beach and Turkish bath. If you haven’t already, you must experience a Turkish bath. It is extremely relaxing. We made sure we had female attendants because it gets a bit intimate. We first went into a hot steam sauna and then were taken to a marble room. We lay down on a large marble slab in the center and had bowls of warm water poured over us. The marble slab was even heated! Then we got a massive scrub down. This is exfoliation to its max. After this you get bubbled up with soap and massaged. It’s such a wonderful relaxing experience.
Our second full day at the beach we headed out on a boat for seven hours. It’s a large sailboat, but there were only eleven of us with three crew members. We had a comfortable spot on the bow and napped, read and went for a dip when we anchored. The water was chilly, but we managed to stay in for a bit. It was a perfect day.
We flew back to Istanbul late that night and had a good long sleep. Tania indulged me the next day by accompanying me to the Dolmabahce Palace. I missed this palace on my last visits and wanted to see this mid-19th century palace built to signal the Ottoman shift towards western culture. The sultan who built it bankrupted the empire. He didn’t seem to have a good grasp of money as he gave the Armenian architect no cap on expense. He just demanded the palace be more impressive than any other in the world. Once the Ottoman’s collapsed and the Republic was established in 1923, Ataturk lived there until his death. After that it was turned into a museum.
We waited almost two hours in two different lines with the sole entertainment being the guard who didn’t move a muscle.
The palace is extremely opulent, but most of it is not unique since it mimics western European style. The most impressive room was the large reception hall that is styled like a cathedral. It has high arches and dozens of columns. This was an interesting twist on western architecture. No pictures were allowed. :(
We wrapped up the day with some shopping – well, I window shopped while Tania shopped. :) We found a nice shop with a friendly, but not pushy shopkeeper. We all had a nice chat and in the end he gave me a ceramic egg-shaped ornament for my Christmas tree. A nice unexpected gesture. So Tania did all the buying and I got the free gift! LOL!
Sadly, Tania flew back to the US the next morning and I moved to a hostel. I was to fly to Tanzania the same day, but just wasn’t practically or mentally prepared. So I decided to postpone a day. This turned into two because the route doesn’t run on Sundays. So I have made use of good WiFi to write the blog and take care of other business. I’ve also just enjoyed the relaxation after the bustle of India and anticipated bustle of Dar es Salaam.
I did get to the Suleymaniye Mosque, which was under renovation during my last visits. It was beautiful. The architectural style, like most Ottoman mosques here, mimics the Byzantine cathedral, Hagia Sophia. From the outside it’s very weighted and grounded, but inside there is lots of light and an openness that counters the exterior weightiness. The first three pics in the blog are of this mosque. Later I enjoyed a Hollywood movie at the rooftop bar of my hostel with one of the owners.
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