Bazaar merchants vs Japanese tourists

  Topkapi Palace (Topkapi Sarayi) was Ottoman palace to be built (1466-1478) in the capital of the Empire.
We paid admission fee and entered the Palace, and then we joined guided tour for the Harem at once.
We were obliged to join such a guided tour because all visitors could not visit inside of the Harem without guide.
When we visited there by led by an English-speaking guide, we found influence of the Empire in furnishing goods with every luxury imaginable everywhere.
In addition to there, it was pretty good to visit the treasury section too.
Well, it seems to make a difference of your impression whether you are interested in history or not, but it would be better to take time for sightseeing in the Palace.

  If you go out on the balcony of the Palace, you can look over one of the most beautiful views of Istanbul, incorporating the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the sea of Marmara.
Unfortunately these views were not very well due to rain.
We could have enjoyed to see views while eating if it was shiny.

  We moved to high-class hotel near the dirty lodging for staying last night after we checked out there.
This hotel also had a fridge and a bathtub, it seemed to stay here on the rebound of last night.
It may be said that it came to be ideal day for sightseeing because the weather was fair up at last.
However, we went to underground places cynically, Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayi).
Here is the vast columned cavern, which was the water source for both the Grand Palace of the Byzantine and for the Ottomans' Topkapi Palace.
Well, we did quite the opposite, but we could not help so because we didn't even imagine stopping rain, right?

  Galata Bridge is the main street in Istanbul which connects old city, Eminönü and new city, Karaköy.
The upstairs of the bridge has a normal carriageway and a sidewalk, the downstairs has the hawker's center.
Needless to say, many barker call in visitors violently, and they sometimes speak ambiguous Japanese words.
You know, like "There are some shrimp and cattlefish, and everybody wanna make love! (Minna yari-tai!)"?
What mean the latter, "Everybody wanna make love! (Minna yari-tai!)"?
Here is hawker's center, not hooker's one, right?

  Grand Bazaar (Kapali Çarsi) has over 4,000 shops, there are many gold and jewelry shops among them.
Visitors to Istanbul must come here, I guess.
There are a lot of risks, but you may find an interest in bargaining very well.
It's a chief enjoyment there, but when it comes to bargaining, sellers are a cut above buyers.
There is no possibility of buyers' win, but you will try to enjoy bargaining.

  Carpets and turquoise stand in the front rank here, but it would be better to just look them if not the reliable locals take you to these shops.
If you would like to buy some souvenirs, you might try to be looking for small articles.
Of course you must bargain without restraint here, it's a tradition.
In addition, payment by USD bills pleases shop owner, I recommend you to bring many ace (one-dollar bill).
Needless to say, you must not think that you wish to get the change when you pay in bills of high denominations.
Because it would be better to think change to be tip for sellers.

  By the way, you try to bargain without restraint as already stated.
In fact, it is very important for buyers to tell low the first buyer's price because bargaining come to an end by any price between the first seller's price and the first buyer's one.
Then if bargaining is likely to end up in failure, you break it off and go through the motions of going to next.
And such things may bring buyers some benefits.
Therefore sellers always tell buyers "It's a last price! (This is the best price I can do.)," but this sales talk was not at all true.
In addition, those who haven't been good at calculation are handicapped in bargaining.
It is quite possible to get cheated into wrong currency converting.
It would be better to become skilled in the use of calculator at least.
Needless to say, travelers must check the exchange rate (own currency, US dollar, Turkish Lira) before traveling.

  You may think where trustworthy shops are, but if you think scoundrel is in the examples listed below, these facts may prove any shop owner to be conscientious.
Sellers showed buyers a picture and said "I have some friends in your country.".
Sellers allowed a great cut in price.
Sellers cheated buyers by wrong currency converting.
Sellers wished to show buyers something which was different from what buyers asked.
That just about does it, right?
Anyway you will try to mean shopping as a gambling here.

  When you get a quarrel with persistent guys in Japanese.
Nameru-na-yo! (I'm not so stupid!)
Mou-Unzari-da! (I've had it!)
Tsukimatou-na! (Get off my back!)

  Finally, we went to Turkish Baths (Hamam) at night.
For a start, we entered there at the different doors by sex, and we sweated while we lay down on the center stones with only small cloth around our waist.
Then the personnel, tellak for men and natir for women, massaged the skin with a roll silk cloth (kese).
For the last time, we got them to wash our hair.
Well, we felt refreshed after the bath, but the fly in the ointment was that they worked roughly.

  One of Japan's red light, "Soapland" was called "Toruko" formerly, which was something like Turkish Bath.
However, its former name "Toruko" was changed into "Soapland" by Turkish remonstration.
In fact, Japan's "Soapland" is distinct from Turkish Bath, right?
In "Soapland", therefore, the "women attendant" soaps all of her customer's body, often applying the soap by first lathering her nude body and acting like a human sponge.
She is then well positioned to take care of any matters that arise.

It was beginner's luck, right?

  I had endured suffering from diarrhea before dawn.
 I thought to have cholera or dysentery, not food-poisoning in earnest because Japan's digestive medicine "Seirogan" didn't remove diarrhea.
Its indications are diarrhea, diarrhea for indigestion, food-poisoning, vomiting and purging, water-poisoning, loose bowels, soft feces, and diarrhea with belly ache.
What this medicine didn't take hold on me was out of the ordinary.
Why didn't I see the doctor or go to drugstore?
I would have done that if I spoke English well, right?
In fact, we stayed an exclusive hotel like Hilton Hotel because there was Japanese staff and with casino.
Therefore my friends went sightseeing in the city, but on the other hand I only stayed in bed all day.

  We entered in casino for the first time in our life.
There are some gambling in Japan, but not such as casino due to breach of the law.
It is incomprehensible for us that even though there are horse racing and pachinko, which is a kind of vertical pinball, there is not such as casino.
Therefore it would not be better to dwell on such things, because there are many exception to Japan's rule.

  By the way, it seemed to me that Slot Machine, Roulette and Black Jack were popular among the casino games.
All bets were in US dollars, not in Turkish Lira in the casino.
Minimum bet was 1US$ (4,670TL/140Yen) on Slot Machine, 5US$ (23,350TL/700Yen) on Roulette and Black Jack.
I had been still in bad health, but I stayed long time in the casino because even brandy and cognac were unlimited available.
By the way, I gained 100US$ (467,000TL/14,000Yen) on the casino games on the strength of winning Black Jack.
Such things are called beginner's luck, it happens in gambling.
Therefore how to play Black Jack is written here, it would be better to visit.
In addition, It is best that you can talk about global economy and history of own country in English.
Because European casinos have sociable disposition.

Whew!...I made it back to Japan safety, but...

  What the breakfast in the Hilton cost 40,000TL (1,200Yen) was far from price in the city.
When you come to think about that the breakfast for the locals usually cost 1,500TL (50Yen), you may know Hilton's price was very expensive.
Thanks to winning at casino games on the previous day, I was able to have an expensive meal.
As the Japan's proverb says, such things is called "Lightly comes, lightly goes."
Well, my friends slept late and skipped breakfast.
I said "Let me pay for the breakfast," but...

  I leaved for home with in bad condition due to diarrhea.
I had no idea when Turkish flight attendant asked me "Emergency?" because I bothered to ask her to call Japanese flight attendant for getting a medicine.
Well, let's study English words about disease just in case.
Fortunately for us, I was diagnosed as having only traveler's diarrhea, not cholera or dysentery after homecoming.

  By the way, Turkish Airlines Flight 592 called at Moscow en route from Istanbul.
Besides Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was ruined and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) came into existence on December 21 1991.
In addition, CIS contained eleven republics;  Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
How would these countries turn out in 21th century?
study about more countries, please click here.

  On the other hand, in Japan, the average share price on Nikkei 225 Index hit an all time high with 38,915.87Yen (268US$ / 1US$=145Yen) on December 29 1989.
After that, Japan's Babble Economy had burst and it spread concerns over the course of the economy.
At all the same, karoshi (death from overwork) have become an object of public concern; however, government, each enterprises and labor unions all might hardly have made efforts to solve this problem.
What is more, some Japan's company made a statement "The Germans take a holiday too much!" and retreated from Germany.
Many Japanese employee who have worked hard without any days off, their life is only for work and money, isn't it?
Should they say "happy"?