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Published: April 12th 2007
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We had a very early flight to Istanbul Thursday morning, and once arriving at the airport, we had to buy a visa to enter this beautiful city. It's unlike anywhere I've
ever been before. It's very middle-eastern, yet still has very European qualities in much of the city, as the city spans both Asia and Europe. We stayed in the Sultanhamet district, the Old Town. Mustafa, from the hotel, picked us up at the airport and transferred us back to the hotel, and I was so exicted/shocked to see a Gloria Jeans Coffee at the airport!!! We rested a bit to get our energy up and then head out to explore. Every corner you turn here during the middle of the day in this touristy area, shop and restaurant owners try to coax you in if you walk anywhere near their establishment. It's overwhelming. We finally made our way through the crowds (the city is home to 15 million people) to a hole-in-the wall but amazing little lunch restaurant. Reenergized, we set off for the Blue Mosque. We had to wait for prayer time to finish before we tourists could enter, and we had to remove our shoes and women
had to cover their heads before going in. It was amazing, huge, and absolutely gorgeous inside! It was also amazing to see everyone praying, especially once I noticed that only men were allowed inside the main part of the mosque - woman had a separate section that they had to stay in at the back. The whole city is not muslim, but there are still many women who are covered head to toe, some still in all black with only a hint of their face visible to the world. There are still so many examples of old and traditional values here. There are vendors all over the city selling warm chestnuts, roasted corn, and bagel-y things, and the streets are filled with their summery smells. Next, we bought tickets to visit Hagia Sofia, or Ayasofya, which used to be a mosque and is now an UNESCO museum (we went to an awful lot of these throughout our spring break travels). This place was also jaw-dropping. It was sooo ornate, complete with mosaics covering the walls and giant circles with holy Arabic phrases high up in the rafters. It tops many of the so-called fancy European churches I've seen this semester!
After exploring the two floors of the museum, we went to look at some ruins on the fringes of the museum, where I promptly twisted my ankle as I tripped over a misplaced step, and limped through the rest of Istanbul. After the fall, we walked/hobbled along through the Arasta Bazzar and browsed the crafts, and stopped at the outdoor cafe there for amazing flower tea and hookah. It was a huge hookah - I felt like the catepillar in Alice in Wonderland - and it was good hookah, very relaxing to do in the late afternoon sun. We dinner at a delicious place with a fun waiter who brought out a giant tray of mezes (appetizers and dips) for us to choose from before ordering. Later, walking back to our hotel, we heard the night time prayer call, which echoes all over the city throughout the day.
Friday, we head out for Topkapi Palace and wandered the sprawling grounds, seeing the treasury and sultan's gifts (which gives England's crown jewels a run for their money), the harem, old kitchens, tulip gardens, libraries...you get the idea. It was a big palace. After a snack, we set off for the Spice Bazaar, a covered market with stalls filled with colorful and aromatic spices, herbs, nuts and turkish delight candies, which most vendors have out on trays to sample. We bought some nuts and Turkish coffee to take back, and continued onwards to the Grand Bazaar. This place was just way too enormous and overwhelming for me.
Everyone was pouncing on us to buy their leather, their rugs, and other items you were never even thinking about considering. We left after a relatively short time and stopped for tea time at a cute cafe with a very nice man who knew but a few words in English. We ordered three teas from him, and he promptly got on the phone to call someone to bring them over from across the street on a little tray. This happened all over the city! Walking back down the trendy shopping street in Istanbul, we saw a couple Starbucks here, too (they're just everywhere! except Poland...). We bought a couple hand-painted tiles at a little shop and rested at the hotel after a long day of walking. We walked to dinner and were shocked to see how much the town clears out at 7:00 pm. It's sooo peaceful and beautiful at night, and all the monuments and mosques are lit up and all the hustlers and tourists are gone! It was great. We enjoyed dinner and wine - all the tourists apparently dine at the restaurants with wine at dinner because so many restaurants don't serve alcohol in this country. We walked around a bit afterwards, expecting to find entertainment or nightlife, but found only the quiet evening sounds of the city.
Saturday, we slept in a bit and explored the Arasta Bazaar more in depth. I bought some shoes and mom bought a tea set from a vendor who spoke surprisingly good English and Spanish, as he had studied in Ohio. We walked down to and along the waterfront, where there were less but still too many people sticking flowers and postcards in your face to purchase as you tried to just enjoy the peaceful sea. I was excited when we could finally see the Asia part of Turkey across the water! We walked back into town for lunch, and then had a leisurely stroll through the gardens filled with tulips there (it was tulip festival time!). I then had my most unforgettable experience of the trip - my first trip to a Turkish bath. The hot stone and sauna atmosphere felt great and was relaxing, but it was so crowded and kind of smelly and there were so many naked women getting bathed on other parts of the stone that it was awfully hard to just lose yourself in the warmth. We walked around a little more after drying off and cooling off, enjoying the lovely afternoon weather, and headed back to the hotel before an elaborate dinner to use up the rest of our Turkish money! It was the perfect way to end our great, albeit exhausting, spring break extravaganza.
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Aunt Mb
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I'm exhausted!
I need a nap after reading about all your adventures. What an amazing time for you all!! Aunt Carol will be happy to hear about all the Starbucks. I wonder if she could get transferred to Greece? They probably want you to speak the language though...hhmmm.... Can't wait to see you and all your photos! Lot of love! Andrew was thrilled with the postcard you sent. God bless!!!