Oh Dear, It's Monday Already

 October 18, 2021

This morning began quite early as Ammar came home around 3:30.  This young Saudi man has overstayed his welcome in my mind.  He refused to leave the night club (or whatever it was) for hours.  When Ammar got home he was sick and his head was spinning from the loud music and the terrifying cab ride home. I'm in favor of letting Jihad know what's going on and letting her decide whether or not to tell his mother.

Such an interesting sky this morning!

I got up around eight, after finally getting back to sleep, did my yoga, and went to breakfast.  A most solicitous young man was serving me at the buffet and he gave me more pancakes than I asked for, both green and black olives in huge quantities, two batter-wrapped cheese sticks that he decided I would love, and a huge glob of Nutella that he was sure I needed for my pancakes!  

At the omelet station I observed the subtle ways in which service people can show their favoritism.  I had asked for an omelet with everything.  The young lady started by sauteing my mushrooms before adding the other vegetables, and adding the parsley just at the end.  And I got a double serving of cheese.  Compare that to the brusque and surly man who placed a similar order and went off to get the rest of his food.  She dumped all his vegetables in at once and he got half as much cheese! He'll never know;  but I know she felt just a little bit better!!

There's a little lounge area in the back part of the lobby with this pretty carpet on the wall.

I love this kind of bidet! Didn't think I would.

It's eleven and I'm back in our room.  Ammar is still out like a light.  The only things I want to do today are visit the Meidan Bazaar and get our PCR tests.  That can happen right here in the hotel anytime between nine and six, so that should be no problem.  We could even do it first thing tomorrow morning, if need be, since we leave around midnight Wednesday/Thursday. I think I'll give him another half hour and then play alarm clock.  It always surprises me that the constant chorus of barking dogs from the street ten stories down doesn't disturb him.  Oh!  He's awake!  And it's only 11:23!  Hurray!! I didn't have to be the bad guy!

I've found a bazaar on line called Meidan Bazaar and it is all underground, in old tunnels.  We're thinking that sounds like fun;  but first we need to have our PCR tests done.  We just pay at reception and take the receipt round the corner to another part of the lobby.  There a nurse (I suppose?) copies our passports, writes our identification information on the little vials, asks for us to write our names and addresses on a piece of paper.  Eventually we figure out she wants our email addresses.  I imagine so we can get our results in the morning.  She pokes a looong q-tip up each nostril and another inside our mouths and sends us on our way.

Ammar has arranged for us to have one of the hotel's vehicles take us into the old city.  The driver is one of our buddies.  He always gives me a big smile and a fist bump.  He takes us to the area with the baths and, I think, he has a friend who gives massages;  but we want to find the bazaar before getting a massage and we thank him and send him back to the hotel.

Remnants of Soviet times

Our favorite landmark

The largest church in the city.  So easy to spot its gleaming gold.

Typical side street.  All the drivers here are some degree of crazy!

The electric meters are all decorated!

Down we go!

We can watch the cable cars as we eat lunch.

There are fortresses and monuments everywhere!

Such interesting architecture.

The souk

And there's a huge underground component!

The apartment buildings next door seem to stretch for miles!

I've got the bazaar on my phone and Google maps takes us right there.  We both imagined that it would be like the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.  We're wrong!  It's tiny!  Cute, but tiny!  I've got a goal for today and it won't be fulfilled here!  I need a bag to carry some of my goodies home so that my suitcase won't blow through the weight limit!

We passed several interesting shops on the way and now we retrace our steps and investigate them more thoroughly.  I keep repeating my "I don't need it!" mantra and manage to find a bag and not much else that I can't live without! 

Ammar missed breakfast and is starving, so we stop and share a khatchapuri.  I have a bottle of water and Ammar has the first tea I've seen him drink this trip.  He tells me that at home he makes tea with mint, or sage, or cardamon.  Yum!

We've exhausted the possibilities here and take a cab to the train station where Ammar had spotted a huge souk when we first arrived.  It is quite huge, covering the sidewalks of several streets.  But we still can't find winter PJs for Mohammad's kids.  Ammar has a ten-hour layover in Istanbul.  Maybe he can find something there.  And the Turkish-made clothes are of better quality, anyway, and not Chinese.

We're about done for and hail a cab to take us home.  We schedule massages for five o'clock and six o'clock.  The lady says to please not be late, so I've got fifteen minutes to shower, dress, and trek next door!  Whew!  Just made it!  We have the same lady as last time and when I'm finished we exchange big hugs and she tells me I'm sweet!  (I don't know what I did!  But it's always lovely to hear a compliment!)  I'm enjoying my post-massage tea when Ammar arrives for his turn.  When I go outside I discover that fall has turned to winter!!  I had brought my Jordan hoodie but didn't think I'd get to wear it!  Wrong!!  Glad I've got it!

The buildings along the river cling to the edge!

Metekhi Cathedral

It's a bridge! 

Winter!

Ammar finally gets his relaxing massage that he's been looking for, and after getting "de-oiled" we go downstairs for a light supper.  Good day!  Back upstairs I play with my suitcase and am pleased to discover that my "The country of Georgia" bag will be just the right size to accommodate my "extras"! The one I liked best just said Georgia!  We all know what that would mean to anyone who saw it at home!