On Saturday morning, the boyfriend woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as the saying goes. He declared that we would get out of the house and set ourselves upon an adventure. I can’t tell you how shocked I was to be receiving such news, and before I had even gotten the sleep out of my eyes.

I had been bitten by a bit of cabin fever, you see. We hadn’t been out much in the preceding days. This usually occurs after going grocery shopping. We just hole up contentedly, nibble at our provisions and busy ourselves one way or another. We screw around on our computers, watch the occasional horrible movie (most recently Gods and Generals. God, it was generally awful!), and anything we might need from the outside world, even, arrives after making a phone call. It’s a charmed life in many ways, but it can become a bit of a fishbowl.

The boyfriend mentioned that he had read in the newspaper about a new aquatic center opened by the Belediye in Eyüp. Right off the bat, this causes one reservations. On the one hand, an aquatic center would be a most welcome addition to our many assets, if you ask me. On the other hand, if it was opened by the Belediye, it will most likely be half-assed.
The Belediye is the city government, FYI. They have a reputation of doing things as, ahem, how to put it most politely, frugally as possible. In other words, “almost, but not quite” suits the sentiment rather well.

We checked out the website, which unfortunately does not have an English option (If you want foreign tourists, you will have to fix this!), and felt a bit better about the situation. Apparently, the project is a partnership with the Russians and it had a huge budget. Most likely, we provided the land and the facility and the Russians provided the creatures and the expertise. Regardless of the arangement, we were promised a show with two whales, a walrus and four dolphins. Time to get excited!

We arrived around 12:30, a half hour too late for the 12 show, but two and a half hours late for the 3 o’clock. We thought we’d buy or tickets in advance and then go get a little lunch.

The Dolphinarium is located on the Golden Horn n Eyüp, not very far from Pierre Loti. Pierre Loti is basically a scenic overlook. It was named after a French naval officer (real name:Louis Marie Julian Viaud) who became a travel writer and later a novelist. He was very taken with Istanbul and the so-called oriental way of life.
He fell in love with a woman from the harem of a rich businessman. After an elaborate scheme was woven, they met for secret rendezvous on a boat in the Golden Horn. After the affair went south and she later died, Loti bought a house in this spot and often spent his evenings watching the famous golden sunsets which give the Horn their name.

Where the house once was is now a cafe named for Loti. It is a very popular tourist destination for those seeking to get off the beaten path, so to speak. It’s a chance to enjoy a place of natural beauty whose roots are steeped in both history AND romanticism. We saw plenty of Americans, (which is so handy when you want a picture of the two of you without someone’s arm hanging out of the corner), as well as Asians and even a lot of Turks.

I give the beautiful view high marks, but I will register one complaint. There were plenty of cafes to have tea or coffee in, but didn’t seem to be a decent spot for lunch. The choices seemed to be tost (grilled cheese) and gözleme (a savory pancake kind of thing). I was hankering for a bit more, but again with the “almost, but not quite”.

From the outside, the Dolphinarium is a pretty non-descript building. Not much money of the budget was wasted on making it attractive, that much is indisputable. The parking lot was almost completely empty, so we wondered if maybe it wasn’t yet open.
Oh, but it was.

We went inside to buy our tickets (stubs of plain paper with something scribbled in magic marker) and were greeted with a rather haphazard place. It sort of reminded me of the area of the stadium where you buy tee-shirts after a concert, except instead of tables and throngs of concert-goers, there was a small cafe, a stall filled with tacky trinkets masquerading as a gift shop and not much else. It echoed for lack of furniture and guests.
There may not be a proper gift shop, but there is a small mosque, just in case you feel the need to pray right there on the spot, and that pretty much sums up the Belediye for you right there.

We did enjoy the show a great deal. Although I have no photos of it because photography is forbidden unless you are paying them to do it. Even if you take a picture with your own camera, you must pay for the privlege. Not to be cheap, but we said no thanks to that arrangement.
Mostly, though, it warmed my heart to think that Turkish children will get the chance to get up close and personal with creatures like this. We don’t even have a zoo in Istanbul. So knowing that school children will be brought here and taught something about marine biology and ecology made me darn happy.

I should note that if you have been to Sea World, or a similar facility, prepare yourself. If you go in expecting that kind of professionalism and commitment and well, showmanship, you will be disappointed. If you just consider it a step in the right direction, you will enjoy it a lot more. And try to also consider that it is a young venture. As time goes on, it will hopefully mature and expand.

And again, if you have been to Sea World, take a moment to realize how lucky you are for that. When I think of all of the amazing things I got to see as a child back in America, with zoos, amusement parks, aquariums, water parks, even state fairs, I see how blessed I was. Turkish children don’t have things like this to look forward to and it makes me terribly sad. Hopefully, the Dolphinarium is just the beginning.

We rounded out a pretty great day with gourmet ice cream in Arnavutköy (Albanian Village) and a walk along the seaside. We then headed back to our side (Asia) for dinner. We found a cool place on Bağdat Caddesi (Baghdad Street) called Havelka where I not only had an amazing cheeseburger, but even played my first game of Turkish Scrabble. I am proud to say that I didn’t totally suck, either.

All in all I’d say, a pretty darn nice adult field trip!