Turkey / Turkmenistan Getaway 2009

My do-nothing-much routine

2009-12-11T22:11:00.000+08:00

I’ve been on leave for 19 days and there are 17 more days before I start work again. Besides the vacation in Istanbul for 4 days, I basically spent the rest of my time being a full time mom. After Istanbul, we stayed in Ashgabat for 4 days 4 nights in a staff transit house. On 1 Dec 2009, we flew to Turkmenbashy. When we arrived, we ‘checked-in’ into our rented house here. So here my routine as a full time mom really starts.

After already 10 days staying in Turkmenbashy, my routine mostly consists of the following:

Morning

Prepare breakfast using whatever minimum food supply we have. I brought some Brahim instant food, instant gravy, instant soups, nasi goreng powder & instant noodles from Malaysia. Other raw food stuff my husband bought here are rice, onions, chicken, sausages, eggs, potatos, carrots, salad & cabbage. We also have instant pizza, some biscuits & plenty of teabags. That’s about all, estimated to last for 3 weeks.
Do the laundry. I’d dry the clothes in front of the fireplace.
Bathe my lil son.
When all kids have all eaten and bathed and were doing something (watch TV, reading, play PSP or toy blocks), I’d start logging on the internet, either checking e-mails or blogging. I am a Facebook semi-addict, unfortunately I cannot access FB here :(

Afternoon

Prepare lunch, again with whatever ingredients available. Somehow the simple meals are really enjoyed by my kids. Maybe it’s the cold weather which keeps them hungry.
Eat lunch with the kids.
Clean up the kitchen.
Continue being online or watch BBC World News. Luckily we managed to find a channel we can understand.
Put my lil son to sleep, and sometimes ending up sleeping with him.

Evening

Do something with my kids.
Fold up the dried clothing.
Tidy up the house after messed up by my boys. And shortly after that it gets messed up again…
Prepare dinner. Sometimes my husband brings back food from his office canteen, so that’s an extra dish for us.

Night

Eat dinner with kids & hubby.
Clean up the kitchen.
Self grooming, i.e. apply beauty cream, body lotion, eye cream – these things I don’t normally have time to do in my normal life in Malaysia, except the basics…
Relax with hubby n kids until bedtime.

So, each day goes on with similar routine, with the occasional vacuuming the carpets and throwing the garbage. Not a very heavy routine indeed. When I dunno what to do, I’d just bug my kids at what they’re doing, or log on the internet again and again, some light reading, or just lie down and rest. Sometimes we would also stay at my husband's little room at the work camp site, Kiyanly (see photos). He normally stays here as single status. The rented house was only for 1-2 months to accommodate our visit. The room is small, yet comfortable, with TV, Internet (here I can access FB after office hours, yeay!) and we can have meals here like the other staff. Here again, I rest most of the time, besides managing the kids and their occasional tantrums...

Right now I am 30 weeks pregnant, so I think some extra rest is acceptable. Particularly considering what a hectic routine I had back in Malaysia several weeks before this holiday, being a temporary single mom to 3 super active boys and working as an engineer in KLCC.

Hurm, my normal routine in Malaysia would be:

Going to work Monday to Friday by LRT (squeezed amongst loads of people and has to do loads of walking – quite painful for a preggy lady sometimes) or drive (stuck in traffic jams – which can be quite stressful as well). After work I usually fall flat out of tiredom.
Doing groceries or other necessity shopping for the household during weekends.
Some cleaning around the house.
Some cooking.
Laundry, ironing and the likes.
Checking son’s homework.
Occasional visits to dentist, clinic and hospital for check-ups.
Occasional family visits and events to attend.
Everything else that needed to be done, being in charge of the family in the absence of my husband.

Comparing the 2 routines, I think I well deserve this rest, perhaps rejuvenation as well. So I’ll take good rest, tell myself it’s ok to do nothing much for now, take this opportunity to take care of myself, spend time with my kids and accompany my husband who will have to be alone again when I return to my normal life in Malaysia in 1-2 weeks time. And I will also be back to being a single mom after that.

So just enjoy this while it lasts... :)

Ashgabat, Part 2 - The wonderful

2009-12-10T19:26:00.001+08:00

Saturday, 28 Nov 09, our 2nd day in Ashgabat. Today was Eid-ul-Adha in Turkmenistan (which they also called Bayram) Unfortunately we slept like logs due to a long day before and woke up so late, so despite having 2 repeated Eid days to celebrate, we did not celebrate anything at all (the first time in my life not celebrating Eid!). Our baggage still hasn’t arrived, so we needed to get some more basic stuff, clothes and milk among others. Milk rapidly depletes for us since not only the kids, I too drink a lot of milk for the baby in my tummy.

We went to the Russian Bazaar by about noon, the weather here was colder than Istanbul… Here we saw some sports clothes which bear the name ‘Turkmenistan’ on it. I quickly grabbed a pair for me and few more for the kids, partly for immediate wearing, partly as souvenir. Then we saw beautiful fabrics which the locals normally wear as long dresses. In fact, the Turkmen women generally wear long dresses, not many wear pants. I have one of these bought by my husband earlier, and I planned to buy some more for myself and close family & friends, but maybe later… We also stopped by for lunch, typically bread and meat. Not much rice here.

After lunch we continued looking around the shops but did not buy much. With our baggage still a question mark, the last thing we needed was additional stuff to put in the baggage! We just ended up going back to our transit house and rested until the night…

Sunday, 29 Nov 09, still no news on our baggage, but life goes on. That morning we went to a theme park in Ashgabat city. A good trip for the kids indeed. So they went on the bumper car, Ferris wheel, mini car ride, games arcade, folklore museum (I call it by that name, don’t really know what that is) and we also took photos around the place.

Our days end early here, after a late lunch, we returned to our house and just stayed there til the day ends.

Monday, 30 Nov 09, in the morning we were joined by another Malaysian Petronas staff, En Ithnin on his transit from Turkmenbashy back to Malaysia. And after 3 days, our baggage finally arrived! Alhamdulillah… We were supposed to fly to Turkmenbashy on Sunday night, but luckily we managed to change the ticket to Tuesday morning without extra charges. Well, it wasn’t exactly our fault anyway that the baggage arrived late. Since all was good and well, we took this last day in Ashgabat to tour around any other interesting places here, before heading to our ultimate destination, Turkmenbashy.

We started with a visit to one of the locals who had an ‘Open House’ for Eid. She was Dr Ruli, the doctor in charge of Petronas staff here. This was an interesting visit as I had the experience to see the local people up close, the local celebration and the local festive food. Thanks Dr Ruli for inviting us!

Then we headed to somewhere a bit outskirt of the city. This place had a big grand mosque and tomb of the previous President and his deceased family members.

After prayer and some photo-sessions, we headed to another tourist destination in Ashgabat, the cable car. The ride was cheap, costed 2 Manat (RM 2.50) per pax, 2-way. The ride was long and passed over a large hilly yet desert-like area. That day was super cold and very foggy up the hills, so not much could be seen from inside the cable car. Nevertheless the ride was fun, particularly for the children.

After that we headed back to the Russian Bazaar, for some final window shopping prior departure the next day. Then we waited at the Grand Turkmen Hotel for our driver to send us back to the transit house. The day ended with repacking of our baggage to include some of the clothes and necessities we bought here.

That was the end of our holiday in Ashgabat. It was a fun and eye-opening experience to see another country, its people, culture and lifestyle. We were then all geared for the longer stay at Turkmenbashy…

Ashgabat, Part 1- The not-so-wonderful

2009-12-10T18:40:00.002+08:00

After the end of our vacation in Istanbul, on Friday 27 Nov 09, 6.30 am, my husband, kids & I headed to the Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, to take the onward flight to Ashgabat, the capital city of Turkmenistan. This was the main objective of the whole trip actually, which was to visit my husband who works in Turkmenistan. For my parents, brother, aunt and her family, another exciting tour day in Istanbul awaited them, yet I was not sure what their plans were for the day. They would only return to Malaysia on 28 Nov 09, 3 pm flight.

This day was actually Eid-ul-Adha in Istanbul, but we did not manage to celebrate it as such, rushing to catch a flight…

We were due to travel via Turkmenistan Airlines, an unfamiliar airline to me. During check-in, there were many Turkmen nationals in line and I was informed by my husband that they overtake queues without guilt. And I witnessed this. A lady dressed in nice Turkmen long dress jumped the queue in front of us and then asked another person to queue behind her i,e, also in front of us, even though we were already queuing. After some time, she called some other people to stand in front of us (what nerve!) I quickly stood in the proper line, blocking any other people who intended to jump our queue.

During security check, another 2 ladies (this time some other foreign nationals) made some fuss and without guilt, jumped the line just in front of us. So if you think in Malaysia some people are not civic minded enough, some places are worst! The irony was that, we were with small children, and you’d think people would show courtesy for those traveling with kids. Well, not the case here… Or maybe these were remote examples, I don’t know… Oh ya, just to share as well, since I’m on this subject, the way people drive in Istanbul and the traffic congestion there also makes you feel that Malaysia is not that bad… Just feel blessed wherever you are, alhamdulillah :). (I suddenly recalled all the TV ads at home on “Budi Bahasa Budaya Kita”, “Jangan Memotong Barisan” etc etc)

Then the flight was delayed for 2 hours, again typical of this airline as my husband informed. After a long wait, it was finally time to board the plane. The airline was a Boeing 757 with 3-seaters on each side. The flight took 3 hours and the food was not bad, alhamdulillah. After arrival, we had to go through all sorts of immigration procedures. Here’s where I produced my Letter of Invitation with some payment. I found it an interesting experience all along this trip, as language was a barrier. The officers were talking in Turk language and I could not understand a single word. At the end, I can only understand numbers written on paper as the sum to pay. After that, finding our way to baggage pick-up and other counters, all in this language which made me totally lost here. Not many here speak English at all…

Another problem we faced was our baggage. There was a severe baggage delay and I could see heaps of bags at the pick-up counter and no one taking them! When I checked the dates on these bags, they were 24 Nov, 3 days before! We waited and waited for our bags and no sign whatsoever. My kids were already fidgety and running around the unoccupied conveyor belts and making lots of noise. We finally decided to leave the Airport and come back later for our bags. Little did we know it would only arrive 3 days later!

So before going to the staff transit house where we would stay whilst on transit to Turkmenbashy scheduled the next 2 days, we had to go to a shopping mall (yeay for me!) to buy some basic necessities e.g. milk, diapers, clothing, toothpaste & toothbrush since we have no luggage.

Well that’s the not-so-wonderful experience, being stuck in a foreign non-English-speaking country with no personal luggage! But alhamdulillah, I found it as an unforgettable experience and a memory to cherish. We just have to make the best of our circumstances. On the following day we plan to do more shopping if our baggage still did not arrive and take chance to see the Ashgabat city. It was a long day for us and alhamdulillah the transit house was a beautiful comfortable one, to take a rest after the long tiring day. This was a place for any Petronas staff stopping by Ashgabat on their way to either Turkmenbashy (work site) or Malaysia (home). Here are the photos.

Day 4 - Bosphorus & Ayasofya

2009-12-10T01:23:00.001+08:00

26 Nov 09, our final day here, but not for my parents, brother & aunt. They have another day. So we decided to take the famous cruise boat along the Bosphorus Strait. The Bosphorus connects the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea and is the dividing strait between Eastern & Asian sides of Istanbul. Our cruise started at a harbour near the Golden Horn, a river which enters the Marmara Sea. The boar ride was about 1 hour & 30 minutes from start to end of the strait and along the way; we could see the Dolmabahce Palace, Boshphorus Bridge, Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Bosphorus II) Bridge, Rumelihisari Castle and mansions worth USD 80-100 billion. One scenic view was the meeting point between the Bosphorus, Black Sea, European side & Asian side of Istanbul (see 7th photo below). On the boat we also enjoyed some Turkish cay (tea) and yogurt topped with sugar powder. At the end of the boat trip, i.e. near entrance to the Black Sea, we exited the boat and had lunch at another mall, Istinye Park. We then took the van back to Sultanahmet.

Some more info on the Bosphorus: Also known as the Istanbul Strait, The Bosphorus is a strait that forms part of the boundary between the European part of Turkey (Thrace) and its Asian part (Anatolia). The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, it connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. It is approximately 30 km long, with a maximum width of 3,700 m at the northern entrance, and a minimum width of 700 m between Kandilli and Aşiyan; and 750 m between Anadoluhisarı and Rumelihisarı. The depth varies from 36 to 124 m in midstream. The shores of the strait are heavily populated as the city of Istanbul straddles it.

Back in Sultanahmet, we headed to visit the Ayasofya Museum or also know as Hagia Sophia. This building was first a church, then it was converted to a mosque and after that it was turned into a museum. There were many stories behind this historical structure and all was told by our same tour guide as the previous day. Among the interesting features in this museum are the mosaic art, its high central dome and other ornaments & art. It was a very interesting place to visit.

Here are some photos inside the museum.

Some info on Ayasofya Museum: The Hagia Sophia church was built in Trebizond during the reign of Manuel I between 1238 and 1263. After Mehmed II conquered the city in 1461 the church was converted into a mosque. During the brief period of the city in Russia's hands during World War I, the site was used by the Russian military as a makeshift hospital and depot. Afterwards it was put back into use as a mosque, until 1964 when it was turned into a museum which it remains to this day.

That’s the end of the Istanbul Getaway for me. My husband continued the night shopping for more Pashmina shawls, key-chains and fridge magnets for souvenirs and gifts. Then we packed our luggage to prepare for the morning flight to Ashgabat the following day.

I felt very lucky and fortunate to have this opportunity to visit such a beautiful country, full of history, amazing culture and wonderful places to see. We didn’t manage to cover too many sites, 4 days were obviously not adequate. In fact, there’s more to Turkey than just Istanbul and there are various tour packages covering other parts of Turkey for those interested. I would definitely recommend Istanbul to those who wish to have a holiday.

Day 3 - Topkapi Palace

2009-12-09T21:02:00.009+08:00

25 Nov 09, the day continued with our next destination, the Topkapi Palace. The palace overlooks the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, with the Bosphorus in plain sight from many points of the palace. The site is hilly and one of the highest points close to the sea. The palace is full of examples of Ottoman architecture and also contains large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armor, Ottoman miniatures, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and murals, as well as a display of Ottoman treasure and jewelry. We were not allowed to take photos inside yet again, so I put here photos from the internet. There were various collections of treasures here, made from pearls, gemstones and diamonds, all mesmerizing for the eyes to see. There were also some historical objects linked to the Prophets, e.g. cane stick belonging to Prophet Musa a.s. and footprint of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w casted in a kind of stone. There was also Qur’an recitation here, whereby the reciters take turns to read the Holy Qur’an all around the clock, non-stop since 100 years ago. This place was truly fascinating. Visit this website for more info: http://www.topkapipalace.com/

Some general info on Topkapi Palace: The Topkapi Palace is a palace in Istanbul, Turkey, which was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years of their 600-year reign, from 1465 to 1856. The palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments and is a major tourist attraction today, containing the most holy relics of the Muslim world such as the prophet Muhammed's cloak and sword. Topkapı Palace is among those monuments belonging to the "Historic Areas of Istanbul", which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

Here are our photos outside the palace.

After Topkapi Palace, I stayed back at the hotel while the others continued for another shopping spree around the nearby bazaars. They bought decorative lamps, bed cover, cushion covers – wow, talk about shopping. Thank God I didn’t go, or else I’d hv shopped til I dropped!

Day 3 - Spice Bazaar & Taksim

2009-12-08T19:43:00.001+08:00

25 Nov 09, after breakfast, we started our tour for the day at about 10+ am, after waiting for the transport to arrive. This time we were given a bigger van and an English-speaking tour guide. Our adventure gets better by the day! Our tour guide has been a guide since the 1960's and has all info on Istanbul at his fingertips. Whilst on the road towards our first destination of the day i.e. Spice Bazaar, he talked and talked about Istanbul, historically, geographically, lifestyle, you name it, he knows it! And he keeps sharing all throughout our trip. My dad did some info sharing on Malaysia as well. It was a very informative trip I have to admit, we enjoyed every minute of it very much.

Once we reached Spice Bazaar, I decided, this time I WILL do some shopping. The Spice Bazaar is also know as the Egyptian Bazaar and is one of the oldest bazaars in the city. The famous stuff here are Turkish Delights, dried fruits, Pashmina shawls, Turkish upholstery, T-shirts, Turkish tea, other Turkish ornaments and of course, spices! I bought some shawls for myself, family & office-mates, my husband bought some Turkish Delights while others bought T-shirts as souvenirs. After shopping, which took longer than expected due to numerous bargainings for good price, we just strolled around the area, took photos of beautiful mosques nearby and also flocks of birds which my children found fascinating. They helped to feed some as well.

The next interesting place for our visit was Taksim Square. It is a major shopping, tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops and hotels and is considered the heart of modern Istanbul. Here, we went shopping again! My husband fell in love with a winter clothing shop which offered unbelievable discount prices for good quality winter coats, which he bought 2 pieces, and was indeed a good buy. We spent a considerable amount of time here too until the tour guide wondered and asked us how we were going to bring home all these stuff we bought! Well, we explained that we travel light, such that we have enough luggage space to fill up with shopping stuff when we return. Made sense :)

After shopping, we had a late lunch at another shopping spot, Cevahir Mall, but this time purely for lunch, enough of shopping for now...

Day 2 - Camlica & Eyup Sultan

2009-12-07T20:42:00.004+08:00

24 Nov 09, after our overwhelming tour of Dolmabahce Palace in the morning, we headed across the Bosphorus Straits via the Bosphorus Bridge from our current location on the European side of Istanbul to the Asian side of Istanbul. Note that Istanbul in the only metropolis - with a population of 12.6 million - in the world that is situated on two continents! See the map.

We were recommended yet another famous Turkish restaurant by the hotel, well known for its kebab, i.e. Iskander Kebab near the Camlica Hill. So this was where we had lunch.

We then went strolling around the Camlica Hill, the highest point in Istanbul, 267 meters above sea level. From here we could see a panoramic view of the Istanbul city. It was cold, being winter time, yet beautifully surrounded by flowers, though not much. I imagined this place would be beautiful during spring. Here are our photos and at the end is a panoramic view of the city from Camlica Hill, taken from a website.

Our next stop is Eyup Sultan for a cable car ride. The first thing we noticed upon arrival here was... this was actually a large cemetery area... But later we were told that many chose this place for burial such that they can be buried near one of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.'s companion, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, hence the name Eyup. The cable car ride was a short one, over the cemetery area and we could also see a top view of the city. Then we performed solat at the Eyup Mosque and after that returned to the European side of Istanbul where our hotels were.

That was the end of Day 2 for me, because I needed to rest after a lot of walking (I am 28 weeks pregnant by the way...) For the rest, the night is still young - it was already dark at 6 pm - so they headed to the famous Grand Bazaar for some shopping... I just rested in my hotel room with my 3 boys, looking forward to Day 3. Oh ya, in the hotel we pre-prepared some home-made food for dinner which later on my mom continued with the actual cooking... My boys chipped in as well ;)

Day 2 - Dolmabahce Palace

2009-12-07T14:55:00.022+08:00

24 Nov 2009, our day started with complimentary breakfast provided by the respective hotels. My 2 older kids slept in with their uncle Izatt, so they had breakfast at Anatolia Suites. My hubby, Firas & I had breakfast at Tashkonak Hotel. A simple meal of omelette, sausages, bread and assorted jams, cheese, Turkish apple tea (I like this one). We then took some photos at the roof top.

At about 9 am, our transport arrived. We were overwhelmed that it was a mini van for 12 pax, very comfy indeed, again provided by my husband's Turkish friend. The driver (who couldn't speak English) brought us around town and then stopped at Dolmabahce Palace for our first tour of the day.

Upon arrival, we were lucky to witness the palace guard shift crew change, which occurs every 30 minutes. A line of guards marched and performed a short handover ceremony to appoint the new person in charge to guard the palace. The new guard on duty then stood as still as a statue, and we took photos with him :)

Then we joined the guided tour inside Dolmabahce Palace. It costed 20 Turkish Lira per pax (equiv to RM 48). It was indeed a wonderful opportunity to enter a grand palace, once the home of the Ottoman Sultanates and finally Mustafa Kamal Ataturk. This palace was also where Ataturk died and we managed to visit the very room and bed where he died with all his medications still intact! We saw the glorious interiors and decors in the palace with its numerous grand halls, beatifully furnished rooms (this palace has 200+ rooms), marble bathrooms, Turkish carpets, curtains, paintings and the magnificient chandeliers made of Bohemian crystals weighing between 1.0-4.5 tonnes! It was awesome!! No photos were allowed to be taken in the palace, so here are some images from the Internet. For more info on the Dolmabahce Palace, do visit this site: http://www.dolmabahcepalace.com/

Some general info: The Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul is located at the European side of the Bosporus, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922, apart from a twenty-year interval (1889-1909) in which the Yıldız Palace was used. This Palace is one of the most glamorous and fascinating palaces in the world built in 19th century, Ottoman architecture and it was located in an area of 110 thousand squaremeters. The Dolmabahçe Palace was built between the years 1843 and 1856, ordered by the Empire's 31st Sultan, Abdülmecid I, at a cost of five million Ottoman gold pounds, the equivalent of 35 tonnes of gold.

The Dolmabahçe Palace was home to six sultans from 1856, when it was first inhabited, up until the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924: The last royal to live here was Caliph Abdülmecid Efendi. A law that went into effect on March 3, 1924 transferred the ownership of the palace to the national heritage of the new Republic. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, used the palace as a presidential residence during the summers. Atatürk spent his last days here, where he died on 10 November 1938.

And here are our fond memories here...

Day 1 - Sultanahmet

2009-12-04T20:05:00.002+08:00

23 Nov 2009, 6.30 am Istanbul time, flight MH 030 arrived at Ataturk Airport, Istanbul from KLIA, Malaysia. My aunt, her family & my brother headed to immigration counter to show their passports and exit, while my father, mother, my kids & I waited... before the immigration counter, for my husband to arrive from Ashgabat scheduled at 9.00 am. We anxiously opened our ears to any flight arrival announcements, unfortunately, at 9+ am, still no announcements. 9.30 am, still nothing. We assumed flight delay, but the waiting seemed forever. Then at 10+ am, my father called my uncle who could see the flight arrival schedule and mentioned that flight from Ashgabat just landed. *phewww* So we finally met my husband and off we went to start our exciting journey in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from 1453 to 1923).

We were greeted by a coordinator for our transport, courtesy of my husband's friend, a Turkish local who works at his office. We headed in 3 taxis to Anatolia Suites (where my parents, brother & aunt were booked for) and Tashkonak Hotel (for my own family).

After a brief rest, we headed around Sultanahmet town by foot. We passed by Arasta Bazaar, just looking around the little shops there. Things which caught my attention were the Turkish upholstery, ornaments, hats & shoes. But we were not thinking of shopping yet. We went for lunch instead at a restaurant recommended by the Hotel, famous for its meatballs.

After lunch, we went to the famous landmark, the Blue Mosque. We took pictures in and out of the mosque, outside Ayasofya Museum which was also nearby, had some of the local bread & snacks in between, then the last stop for the day was the Sunken Palace (Underground Museum).

A brief info on the Blue Mosque: Also known as the ''Sultan Ahmed Mosque'', it is the national mosque of Turkey, and is a historical mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque has become one of the greatest tourist attractions of Istanbul.

Here are our amatur photos of the Blue Mosque...

A professional photo...

Photos of our visit to the Sunken Palace and a bit of info: Yerebatan Saray, or the Sunken Palace is an underground cistern including impressive remains of the Byzantine network of waterways, built to supply fresh water to the inhabitants of Constantinople over 1000 years ago. The cistern has 336 illuminated Corinthian columns which rise nearly 30 feet to support arches and domes. Built by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD, the materials used were taken from even older buildings. Strolling through the haunting space, remember that the stones may have come from a Greek temple or Roman house.

Some other photos of us strolling around Sultanahmet town (a tram in the middle of town, in front of Ayasofya Museum & relaxing at the town square).

Keeping d kids bz...

2009-12-03T16:46:00.008+08:00

Today is our 3rd day in Turkmenbashy and the 2nd day at our rented house when my husband has started going back to work. So it's just me at home and d kids. The TV has Turk & Russian channels, none can be understood. We can't go out becos it's cold, we're still not familiar with the place, and despite having some shops nearby, I wudn't want to bring d 3 kids crossing streets at foreign places... So basically stuck at home, as anticipated. So how I keep my kids bz?...

As I type, the eldest n 2nd is coloring using magic marker on art paper. I brought along a whole art block for them. The lil one is just observing, but i bet in a few minutes, he'll start disturbing the bigger brothers and at some point will start to cry. He's been very moody and grumpy lately, maybe not used to the new environment. So maybe I will distract him with his toy blocks which I also brought along on this trip. Other things I brought to keep them bz are activity books, mathematic exercise books, magazines, paint set, jigsaw puzzle. Me? The Internet keeps me bz already ;)

OK, just some pics of our house here. It's not too big but comfy enough. Rental is an unbelievable USD 500/month! *can't stay here too long...* It's at the lowest floor. On the first day we had black-out for 1-2 hours. Today the gas ran out and the heaters' not working. Water supply seems to hv reduced today as well. Ok, time for lunch... Hope the heater & water will be back online soon...

So far surviving... :)

Prior departure

2009-12-02T21:23:00.015+08:00

On Sunday, 22 Nov 09, ~8 pm, after months of planning, me & my 3 boys Mohd Farhan, Mohammad Faris & Ahmad Firas, joined by my father Ramli, mother Rosma and brother Muhammad Izatt Daniel and also my aunt Rozitah and her husband Zolkiply, son Muhamad Zarif and daughter Nur Ayuni Qistina headed to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to begin our long awaited journey to Istanbul.

The initial idea was actually a trip to Turkmenistan for all of us to visit my husband Mohd Fairusham who has been working there since December 2008. It's a rare opportunity to go to this unheard of country before, so it's best to go while he's there. Then the issue of Letter of Invitation (LOI) came up. Only immediate family members were allowed and would get LOI from the Turkmenistan Government to enter the country. So we changed our minds, let's go to a midpoint country between Malaysia & Turkmen, everyone spends a week there for a good vacation and then my kids & I join my hubby in Turkmen while the rest return home. Choices were Bangkok (too near), Abu Dhabi (too expensive n not very interesting) and Istanbul (Yup, a good tourist spot!) So Istanbul it was, and we started fixing dates, checking leave availability, scouting for cheap tickets, hotels and got our own travel checklists sorted. We managed to get MAS Supersaver tickets for all and very afforable apartments via Booking.com, most by coincidence though. I also surfed TripAdvisor.com for more tourism info on the country. Tickets & accommodation matters were sorted out by end October 09.

After that, we started shopping for winter clothing. I settled for minimal purchase, since we won't be needing these clothing very much after the trip is over. Then going through the checklist one-by-one, from applying my unpaid leave, preparing work handover notes, changing currency, preparing the travel documents, clothing packing, to foodstuff for my 1-month stay in Turkmen and other stuff (books, toys, games) for the kids to keep them occupied. As time went by and the date drew closer, the excitement built up until the day finally arrived, 22 Nov 09!

But wait, an unexpected crisis occured during our flight check-in. Me & kids only had one-way tickets while the rest had return tickets. My onward ticket to Turkmenistan was with my husband who purchased it via Turkmen Airlines. This was a problem we did not anticipate. Me & kids were not allowed by MAS office to board the plane, saying that we would face problems at Istanbul immigration upon arrival, which required either a return ticket or an onward ticket. My father met several MAS officers and finally the Duty Manager to explain that we had onward tickets but with my husband who will join us in Istanbul. He had to convince this officer that we had onward tickets, he had to call my husband in Turkmen (alhamdulillah my dad's HP had roaming, mine didn't!) and do more and more convincing. After almost an hour, the office finally let us go with some letter documenting the booking reference no of the onward ticket given by my husband via SMS. *pheewww*

The irony of it all was that, some weeks before, my husband wanted to join me only 4 days later due to leave issues. But at the last minute, he managed to get his leave and thus able to join us on the same day 23 Nov, just 3 hours later. The duty manager informed that me & kids cannot exit the immigration without this onward ticket and had to wait until my husband arrived at Istanbul. Alhamdulillah he managed to join us on the same day and waiting 3 hours at the Istanbul Airport immigration is not as bad as 4 days!

So here we are after all that, waiting to board the flight to Istanbul scheduled at 12.30 am 23 Nov 09. And in 12 hours, we'd be there!

My diary

2009-12-02T21:00:00.003+08:00

Welcome to this blog.

People have suggested me to blog but I just didn't have the time - busy with work, kids, household responsibilities etc. Now I am on 1 month leave (including 3 weeks unpaid leave) due to following my husband who works in Turkmenbashy, Turkmenistan. So I basically have plenty of time to kill. I hereby decide to create this blog to capture the wonderful and not-so-wonderful memories of this leave of mine. Partly with vacation to Istanbul during the first week, followed by just being a Stay-At-Home-Mom (SAHM) at Turkmenbashy for 3 weeks.

So here goes... This is a diary of my vacation at Istanbul, Turkey (23-27 Nov 09) & holiday at Ashgabat & Turkmenbashy, Turkmenistan (27 Nov - 24 Dec 09).