イスタンブールの歩き方 Walking in Istanbul

イスタンブールの観光名所は一か所にかたまっていて移動が便利。
白地に青のタイルの美しさからブルーモスクという名で知られるスルタンアメフト・モスク、
キリスト教の大聖堂から、オスマン帝国時代にモスクに転用されたという面白い歴史を持つアヤ・ソフィア、
など見逃せないものばかりです。

In Istanbul, there are main tourist attractions in one distinct, so it's convenient to visit them.
Such as Sultanambmet mosque, commonly known as Blue mosque because of the excellent white tiles with blue patterns, and Hagia Sophia, which has interest history ; it was changed to a mosque from a cathedral in a period of Ottoman Empire, those places are must-see.

そんな観光地を歩いているとよく話しかけられます。
トルコの人は日本好きが多いといいますが、中には日本語が大変流暢な人も。
「中国人や韓国人もいるのに、なぜ日本人だと分るの？」と聞くと、
「歩き方で分る」とのこと。日本女子は「足をすって歩く」。
・・・確かに私はそうかも。もはや着物を着ない時代になったのに、歩き方だけは変わらないのでしょうか。
男性は見わけがつかない場合があるけれど、女性ならほぼ間違えないね、と自慢げに語ってくれました。

When I was walking in that area, many people talked to me.
I had heard that many of the Turkish liked Japan, still I was surprised that there were many fluent Japanese speakers as well.
I asked one of them how to distinguish Japanese from other Asian although many Chinese and Korean came there.
He said that he judged by their walking style, "Japanese walk with their feet scuffing the ground."
Certainly so do I. Today we hardly wear a kimono, but still walk the same as old days, do we?
(We cannot walk in long strides in a kimono, because the bottom would be opened.)
He would mistake it in case of men, but be almost right in case of women, he boasted.

物が売りたくて話しかけてくる人がほとんどだと思いますが、ナンパや話したいだけの人も多いかも。
私はこんなおじさんに話しかけられました。
「２回トルコの女性と結婚して、２回失敗した。トルコの女は口うるさい。私の友人の奥さんは日本人でとても静かでいいそうだから、次は日本人と結婚したい。」
また、夜のブルーモスク（ライトアップされていてきれいです。）を見ていると、流暢な日本語で話しかけられました。
彼は日本に住んでいたそうで、日本語を話したかったんでしょう。
「歳いくつ？」と聞かれたので「秘密」と答えると、
「秘密ということは２９歳か３１歳くらいですね。それくらいの女性は歳を言わない。」
うるさい！図星だわい。

I guess that the most of them who talk to visitors may want sell something but some of them may want to have a chat or to pick up a woman.
I was talked by a man.
He said, "I've married a Turkish woman twice and divorced twice. Turkish women are noisy. A friend's wife is Japanese, he says she is quiet and nice. So I'd like to marry a Japanese woman now."
When I was looking at Blue mosque, which was lit up beautifully in the evening, a fluent Japanese speaker talked to me.
He used to live in Japan, so would want to speak in Japanese.
He asked my age and I answered that it was a secret.
Then he said, "The secret means that you must be 29 or 31 years old. Women of that age won't say their age."
Hold your tongue! You hit it !!

イスタンブールの魚 Fish in Istanbul

トルコといえば、ケバブが有名。どこにいっても大きな肉の塊が回転していて（ドネル・ケバブといって屑肉を塊にして焼いている）、それをそぎ切りにしてパンに挟んだケバブサンドが食べられます。たぶん一番一般的なファーストフードなのではないでしょうか。

Turkey is famous for kebabs. We can find huge chunks of meat turning around everywhere, which are made from meat scraps and roasted, called "doner kebab". Vendors cut the meat into slices and make sandwiches. The sandwiches are the most popular fast-food there.

でも、イスタンブールは魚も豊富。なにしろ、アジアとヨーロッパの境界線となっているボスポラス海峡をはさんでいる町ですから。ガタラ橋という金角湾に架かる橋の上では釣り人が列をなしていました。
以前は釣った鯖で作るサバサンドが名物だったらしいのですが、景観を損なうという理由で、一掃されてしまったらしいです。でも、近くの店で食べることができました。
焼きサバとパンの相性は・・・意外と合うかも。まずくはなかったです。

Istanbul abounds not only in meat but also in fish. This is because it sits on the Bosphorus Strait which is the dividing line between Asia and Europe. At a bridge, which is called "Galata Bridge" over the Golden Horn, there are often many people lining the parapet for fishing.
I heard that the bridge used to be famous for mackerel sandwiches made from the fish caught there, but that those stands had been swept away to avoid spoiling the landscape.
However I got a sandwich at a nearby shop. The fried mackerel and bread were a good match, I could say the sandwich was OK.

マーケットをのぞくと魚屋さんではたくさんの種類が売られていました。
中でも私の注目をひいたのが50cmほどもある大きなイカ。（表面についたタツノオトシゴにもひかれましたが。）トルコでイカリングフライはポピュラーな料理。日本ではパン粉をつけて揚げますが、トルコのは唐揚げ風。もしこんな巨大イカで作ったら一体どんなイカリングができるんでしょうか。

I looked around a market, then found fish shops selling many kinds of fish.
Exceptionally big squids, maybe about 50cm long, caught my attention, because of their size as well as the seahorses on them.
I hear that deep-fried squid rings are a popular dish in Turkey. They are not covered with bread crumbs like Japanese ones. I was wondering how their taste and look would be if they were cooked to make squid rings.

イスタンブールの道路 The streets in Istanbul

イスタンブールの空港から市内まで移動はとても便利。メトロ（地下鉄）とトラム（路面電車）に乗って移動しました。
メトロもトラムもそれぞれどこの駅まで乗っても1.5リラ（当時約120円）。専用のコインを窓口で買って、それを改札口に入れて入ります。
大都会なのに（しかもコインは1種類しかないのに）自動販売機ではないのが不思議。
トラムの駅なんかでは、そばの売店でコインを取り扱っているので、どこで買ったらよいのか迷いました。

自動販売機がこんなにどこでもあるのは日本くらいではないでしょうか。
外国では、防犯の問題から自動販売機は屋内に設置されていることが多いようです。

It was convenient to get to the city center from Istanbul airport. I took the Metro and a Tram.
It cost 1.5TL.(Turkish lira) each, which is around 120 Japanese yen then. It was a fixed charge irrespective of number of stops traveled.
I bought a token at a ticket window and put it in a slot at the gate.
I was wondering why they didn't use vending machines, because Istanbul was a large city and also there was only one kind of taken.
At the tram station, the coin was sold at a nearby food and paper stand, I got confused when buying it.

I think there is no country which has as many vending machines everywhere as Japan.
In foreign countries, the machines are usually set up indoors to prevent crime.

自動販売機はありませんが、屋台は町にたくさんでています。
スミットというゴマをまぶしたリングパンやケバブサンドイッチの屋台の他にも、焼き栗の屋台をよく見かけました。トルコの冬の風物詩だそうです。
焼き栗屋台は他のヨーロッパの国にもあるようで、意外と色々な国で食べられているんですね。

In Istanbul, there were no vending machines, but many food stands on the streets.
I often saw stands for ring bread with sesame, called "Simit", for kabob sandwiches, and also for roast chestnuts.
I heard that roast chestnuts brought the real feeling of winter to people there.
It seems that there are roast chestnut stands in other European countries as well.
I had not expected that they were eaten in so many countries.