(Randy Gage is a wonderful human being. I am delighted to pass
along this adverture. Be sure to see the invitation at the end. If
you skip to the end you have missed a great deal. Steve Pohlit)
Dear Steve,
I’m just in from Istanbul, Turkey, finishing up what was an
amazing trip. It would be difficult to put together three more
interesting but different stops on one itinerary.
As you know, Prague is one of my favorite cities in the world.
The mélange of castles, languages, and traditions create one of
the coolest experiences in Europe. The people are friendly, the
food is amazing, and you are surrounded by culture everywhere.
I stayed again at the Four Seasons on the Vltava River, where
you can want for nothing. The Allegro restaurant there is one of
the best in the country, or any country for that matter. In fact
their strawberry lemon cheesecake rivals the “Tres Coco Muey
Loco†coconut crème brûlée here at Yuca in South Beach. (Which
is only the greatest desert ever made since the earth’s crust
cooled!) My favorites are the Italian entrees, but they also
feature Mediterranean and Bohemian specialties.
If you go to Prague, also be sure and stop by Cowboys
steakhouse, and the Kampa Park restaurant at the foot of the
Charles bridge. They’re part of the six restaurants of Nils
Jebens (one in Slovakia), a transplanted Norwegian who operates
some of the best restaurants around.
And finally, get reservations at Flambée, which is located in a
Gothic vault that dates back to the 11th century. The sampler
menu offers true continental dining with about seven courses,
and you drinkers will go ga-ga over the wine list. Be sure to
bring your Platinum card, as you can pick up a nice bottle of
Dom Perignon, for the bargain price of only about a hundred
grand. If you do order a pricey bottle of something, ask for a
tour of the wine cellar. They may not accommodate you, but if
you do, you’ll be simply stunned at the scope of what they have
down there.
As always, I hated to leave this magical city, but was excited
to visit to Israel for the first time. As you land in Tel Aviv,
you are immediately fascinated by the sights around you. When I
was there, it was a nice, balmy 113 degrees! Unfortunately I was
conducting seminars a great portion of the day, and didn’t have
a lot of free time to explore the city. But what I did see
certainly was intriguing. Everywhere you turn, you are
surrounded by history.
There was a civil service strike looming, so I canceled my
Austrian Air reservations for the next day, and flew in on the
red-eye on El Al, so I wouldn’t miss conducting my programs. If
you think security at the U.S. airports is tough, you should buy
a one-way, last minute ticket to Israel!
I received a security interview worthy of an international
assassin, which I finally ended only by showing a magazine that
featured a four-color profile of me. In all fairness though, I
must say Israel has ample reason to do serious security
screening, and they do it with a hundred times more efficiency
than the ridiculous and melodramatic bullshit the TSA in the
States makes us put up with.
Their security checkpoints are actually quite efficient, well
staffed, and quick. Ian Percy will be happy to know that they
don’t make you remove your shoes for no reason, and they have
x-ray machines that can actually see through your canvas laptop
bag.
As far as El Al, their airport gate management is horrendous and
their First Class cabin was nothing special. Service was
friendly, but you always have the feeling that the big burley
flight attendant in the front of the plane is chosen for his
biceps and self-defense skills, not his hospitality training.
(Which is probably as it should be.)
The Israeli people are absolutely delightful. They have a
vibrant passion for learning, and a voracious appetite for
success. There were almost 2,500 people at my program Wednesday
night, many who traveled down from Haifa, up from Jerusalem, or
from other areas of the country in the middle of the workweek.
Like Prague, I ate too much, slept too little, and was sad to
leave. But Turkey was beckoning…
The Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul was wonderful. It was an
older plane, but had been retrofitted nicely. The service was
friendly, the food was tasty, and the First Class cabin was one
of the brighter and roomier ones I have been in. And when you
start your descent into the city, the view is beyond
spectacular.
Like Mexico City, Istanbul isn’t dominated by skyscrapers, but
low-level buildings for as far as the eye can see. It’s just a
scintillating taste of what you’ll experience when you land.
Take the route along the sea, as you leave the airport. It will
take you 15 minutes longer, but the view along the way is
breathtaking. Everywhere you turn in the city, in any direction,
is a picture postcard, as it is one of the truly great romantic
cities. No matter where you go, you feel like you’re starring in
an Indiana Jones movie.
While you’re there, be sure and eat at Adana Dostlar or
Venge-Levent for some authentic Turkish food. Within ten seconds
of being seated, they will start loading your table with salads
and cheese. Within a minute they will bring out baskets of
steaming Turkish bread. This unique treat is wafer thin, covered
with sesame seeds and seasoning, and comes with a pillow of air
inside. Rip it open hot and stuff it with goat cheese for a
flavor to savor.
About the time you’ve eaten about ten things and are completely
stuffed, they start bringing the entrees! Barbequed lamb, shaved
lamb and lamb kebobs are main stays. Wash it all down with a
yogurt milk, and if you haven’t eaten everything, expect a
tableside visit from a horrified manager to ask what was wrong
with the cooking. The Turks believe a man without a belly is
like a condo without a balcony.
When you simply cannot eat another bite, then the desert starts.
You simply have to try it, as it really is special. They make a
special ice cream which is hand mixed in lamb skin, and so hard
you must cut it with a knife. It’s served with grated pistachio
on top and is simply heavenly. There is also a hot pastry,
similar to Greek Baklava, but served hot with baked cheese
inside. Just plan on starting your diet after you leave town.
Istanbul tracks back from Byzantium to Constantinople to its
place at the head of the Ottoman Empire. (You can still see the
walls built to protect the city during the Ottoman Empire.) The
skyline is studded with domes and minarets, as it is home to
over 4,000 mosques, each one more stunning than the last.
The city is divided into two continents by the Bosporus, a
strait joining the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmar. We were
staying in Anatolia (the Asian side), and went over to the
European side for dinner each night. The suspension bridge
connecting the sides is as beautiful as the San Francisco or
Sydney harbor ones, so it’s worth a drive over. Just don’t go in
a hurry, because traffic is a nightmare in Istanbul, and the
bridge is usually a focal point of the mess. But the
breathtaking view is certainly worth the effort. It will rival
anything you’ve seen.
But don’t stick to the bridge each time. The ferry ride from one
side to the other is a must experience. Walking around the city
is an absolute adventure. Just bring your Turkish dictionary, as
Turkey is still kind of a parochial place. Between my companion
Dmitry and I, we spoke English, Spanish, Russian, French, and
German – which will get you exactly nowhere with the vast
majority of the locals.
Bring a card with your hotel address on it and a map everywhere
you go. Istanbul is huge, and filled with thousands of little
streets. Most people, including taxi drivers, will have vast
swatches of the city they are not familiar with.
The streets here make the ones in San Fran look flat and
straight. Many are no wider than a compact car and a phone book.
If you drove a Bentley or a Testarossa into them you would be
stuck between the buildings on either side and would be forced
to cut a hole in the roof or die in your vehicle. Many appear to
be one-way, but actually go in the direction of the taxi driver
with the highest testosterone level. Some of these drivers will
roar down these glorified alleyways at 50 or 60 mph.
I can drive my Vipers at 165 mph without even raising my pulse
rate. But riding in Istanbul taxis I was petrified. The drivers
will weave between vehicles and people as though they don’t
exist. They flash their lights or tap the horn once. You get out
of their way or they go over you. If you are a pedestrian and
you think they will stop for you, you won’t be long for this
world.
Be sure and visit the Tunel neighborhood, which includes a
wonderful pedestrian mall you can walk through without fear of
being run down by a taxi. We found a funky restaurant called
News Cafeteria that had opened just two days before. They offer
fresh juices, burgers, sandwiches and some amazing crepe
deserts. It’s a cool, funky place, and the perfect spot to
people watch.
The other neighborhood to visit with a bunch of nice
restaurants, markets, and clubs is Ortakoy. We stopped for
coffee and cake on a roof top terrace overlooking the market
stalls one evening. Van Morrison was wafting through the
speakers, there was a perfect summer breeze, we heard the call
for prayers at a nearby mosque, and had a breathtaking view of
the bridge. It doesn’t get much better than that.
I was there three days and did a couple speeches, so I probably
saw about two percent of what the city has to offer. If you want
to do the city justice, give yourself two weeks. If you want to
explore the rest of the country, give yourself a year or so.
What an amazing place.
Just as I was leaving, I got a note from Chris Reynolds at the
Internet Marketing Center. They’re offering a special program
you’ll probably want to know about…
Chris told me that that Derek Gehl is offering 250 memberships
to the Web’s most powerful online Internet marketing community
— his “Internet Entrepreneur Club.” If you do ANY kind of
marketing online, you should make sure you snatch up one of
these before they’re all gone.
Here’s the deal…
Derek is looking for *real people* who’d like to become his next
Internet success story. (No computer or business experience is
required.) It’s a chance to use his team of Internet
business-building experts to learn how to start a wildly
lucrative Internet business in just 45 days.
He has protégées in this program earning an extra $4,000…
$7,500… even $12,000 per month, working as little as 15
minutes per day — even if you have NO business ideas or website
yet.
As you’ll see, there is absolutely no risk involved in test
driving this booming members-only community of Internet
entrepreneurs. In fact, for the next 30 days, Derek is willing
to let you try it for just $2.95. His only conditions are that,
once you’ve achieved your income goals, you agree to:
(#1) Write him a glowing testimonial, and (#2) Let him use your
success story to inspire others.
I strongly advise you to jump on this fast. You can get all the
details at: Internet Marketing Center
That’s it for now. I’m home just a couple days and then I’m off
on another around the world trip, so I’ll check in from
Australia or Asia. Have an amazing week!
-RG
PS RS is for Randy Gage. Click Here for his marvelous newsletter which is FREE
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