"The Alley"

The Alley is the area just outside the base. We usually park our car at the gate and walk off base into the Alley. Essentially its just the street that runs along the perimeter of the base. This is where you'll find all sorts of stores and restaurants. It is no more than a mile long. You can find anything from machine and handmade carpet, jewelry, sunglasses, watches, tailor made suits, and custom made furniture...all for reasonable prices. You can also find clubs and bars that sell Tuborg, my favorite 'unregulated' Turkish beer.

First stop today... a picture in front of a handmade carpet store. The gentleman inside said some of these handmade rugs take anywhere from 8 months to 4 years to make. After hearing that, it's not surprising that they cost much more than the machine made ones. Some of the prices we were quoted today were $800, $1,600, and $2,000. These rugs easily last over a century.

This is an interesting one. After waiting for the train to pass...we found this guy in the shirt and tie cranking the railroad arms back to the raised position. It is his job to hand-crank the wheel that lowers and raises the arm. When no train is in sight, he relaxes in the blue booth you see behind him.

The railroad from the other side. Do you recognize that octagonal sign? You guessed it. "DUR" means "STOP". I still laugh inside whenever I see that. Some things never get old. The Turkish flag in the background is actually a big billboard that has a bunch of small sequins. It's very pretty and we'd take a closer picture, but the flag on the base and that's about as close as we can get without getting busted.

One of our goals on this trip was to get some food. We stopped at Mujdat's Restaurant. Here I am with my Tuborg.

Here's Kylie with her Tuborg...oh wait, I mean her Sprite.

Here I am eating Mujdats Special. It had chicken, muchrooms, peppers, sauce, tomatoes, and melted cheese on top. It was served with a plate of white rice. Very good. Me like Mujdat's.

Kim is not a very adventurous eater. She has found the Shish Kebab and has now tried it in every restaurant we've gone to. Mujdat's is her favorite so far.


This is the Cheesy Bread that Savannah wrote about to her class in Tucson. She hasn't had it at this restaurant, but I'm sure she'd love it just the same. It is served as an appetizer in most Turkish restaurants. This one was served with a plate of honey and some butter. We've had it served with jam and also garlic sauce. It is very good.

At the end of our meal, they brought out a complimentary plate of fruit for us. Mujdat's is our favorite restaurant so far. The total cost for this meal, including appetizer and beer was $20. Not bad.