turkey - istanbul

After a brief sleep of about three hours (due to our late ferry ride to Athens from Santorini) we hopped over to the airport to catch a quick flight to Turkey.  Although groggy when we arrived, we did wander around Istanbul for a bit, since we couldn't check into our hotel quite yet.  Speaking of our hotel, it is located right in the heart of the main attractions of Istanbul and has incredible views from the rooftop terrace where we ate our breakfast every morning.

We discovered quickly that Istanbul is more bustling than Santorini at this time of year, and while they share some of the same culture and cuisine, Turkey certainly has a distinct feel.  After taking in the large mosques, street carts and abundant shops (and by take-in I mean merely a quick glance while walking by), we headed to enjoy our first meal.  I was lured in by a beautiful window display of buffet style food...colorful and scrumptious looking.  I chose one with bits of beef, tons of veggies, smothered in tomato sauce and topped with cheese.  We also enjoyed our first taste of Turkish tea - served in the typical clear glass fluted cups that look so charming.

The next day we circled back to take a closer look at everything we caught a glimpse of the day before.  First we walked along the Hippodrome (scene of ancient chariot races) to peek at the "German Fountain of Wilhelm."  Next we visited the magnificent Mosque of Sultanahmet, aka "Blue Mosque," named such because of the beautiful blue tile work.  Before entering, we removed our shoes and women were to cover their heads (although I saw many didn't).  Inside, the decoration was breathtaking.  The sky-high domes were covered in intricately painted tiles, along with stunning stained glass windows.  I have never seen anything quite like it.

Next we visited the famous Ayasofya - "St. Sophia."  Built in the 4th century, it was originally an Orthodox basilica, later a mosque, and currently a museum.  It was so interesting to see both Christian and Muslim remnants/relics co-mingling in the same building.  Just like the Blue Mosque, the vastness, beauty and amazing details were quite overwhelming.

Our final stop of the day was to the Topkapi Palace.  This palace was that of the Ottoman sultans from 15th - 19th century and currently a museum of some pretty incredible artifacts: robes worn by sultans, jewelry, gold diamonds, the staff of Prophet Moses, the Mantle of Prophet Muhammad, as well as remnants of his beard.  We also learned a little about the Islamic faith.  All was quite impressive to see, no photos were allowed of many of the stunning artifacts.

The following day we went to check out the Grand Bazaar, which indeed it was - but we blasted through it quite quickly, due to the fact that a.) we knew we weren't buying anything and b.) if you stopped to look at anything you wouldn't be given a moment's peace.  There were some lovely things being sold, however: glass tea sets, beautiful glass hanging lamps, painted ceramics, lather jackets and shoes, carpets, antiques and richly colored scarves and materials.

For lunch we stumbled upon some delicious vegan wraps that are a popular "fast food" here, then later dined at a great restaurant where I had spinach and rice and Guy had chicken kebabs.  Our waiter was quite entertaining, speaking the languages of all the diners - from English to Spanish to German.  We picked up a Turkish delight assortment from this store called "hafiz mustafa."  Rose, orange, pistachio, hazelnut, so many delicious varieties!  (See them here:  http://www.hafizmustafa.com/en/index.html#/Products-04-01/ ).  

For Guy's birthday, he had previously decided what he wanted to do that day: take a ferry to the Asia side of Turkey, visit a Turkish bath, and go somewhere to sample nārgil (the Turkish version of hookah).  The ferry ride was short and pleasant, gliding along the Bhosphorus River, giving us a chance to view the sights along the coastline.  The Turkish bath we were planning to visit was not one visited much by tourists and Guy had read that no one spoke English.  When we arrived outside of the bath, we realized there were completely different entrances, so we would have to face the unknown each alone.


When I opened the door labeled "kadinlar"(women), a woman came over to me and I immediately asked if she spoke English.  She didn't.  No one did.  I thought it was worth a try.  She led me to an open booth along the edge of the common room I had entered.  I gestured to her that I needed a wrap, as is the custom to wear at the bath, and she came back with the wrap, a towel and rubber sandals.  I slowly got ready for the "bath"as I looked around hoping someone else would be going in that I could follow and mimic what they did.  Guy had read a few things to me ahead of time so I sort of knew what to expect, but anytime bathing, etiquette and language barriers are added on top of inexperience, its sure to feel a bit awkward.

After realizing I could stall no longer, I stepped out of the booth, with the same lady who let me in (aka, "The Sarge"), ready to show me where to go.  Before opening the door she pointed to my glasses questioningly, and I shrugged and implied I wanted to keep them on.  Giving me a disapproving look, we marched on.  The door opened and the heat of the room immediately fogged my glasses so I wiped them with my wrap until they warmed up to temperature.  By the time I put them back on, we had walked down the hallway to the main bath room, about the size of a large living room.  I put them back on just in time to see several rolly-polly grandmas standing, sitting or lying down wearing nothing but their granny panties.  I guess what we read about it being imperative that we remained covered wasn't exactly the case. The Sarge led me over to a basin with a tap and handed me a bowl, showing me how to splash myself with the water collected in it.  I continued to splash myself as I looked around trying to figure out what to do next.  There were about 8 basins in the room, all surrounding the large "belly stone" in the middle of the room.  It appeared there were a few women lying on the hot stone, waiting for their scrub, so I decided to do the same.  As I lay there, staring at the ceiling, I would randomly get splashed with a bit of soap from grandma's scrub down next to me, wondering how in the world this whole experience would end up.  

Just when I thought I was going to pass out from the heat, The Sarge had returned, motioning for me to come to the other side of the stone, where I proceeded to lie down on my stomach.  With a large black loofah-like mitt, she began to roughly scrub me from head to toe.  It felt a bit like coarse sand-paper running over my being, and I wondered if I would be able to endure this process.  She slapped my backside for me to turn over, sit up and finally rinse off.  While sitting, I noticed I had inch long gray worms all over my body, and at first thought the loofah was rubbing off on me.  Then I realized it was my SKIN!  Was I the dirty foreigner, or did this happen to everyone??  I hoped it was the latter.  After a thorough rinse, it was back to the stone for a soapy wash.  The Sarge was all business, and I tried to keep with what to do next, without offending anyone.  After the final rinse, she disappeared as quickly as she appeared, and I hung out my basin for awhile before washing my hair and then deciding it was probably time for my bathing experience to come to an end.  When I headed back to my booth, a number of women had gathered in the common room, and were not shy about staring at me, wondering what the foreign girl was going to do next.  After quickly dressing, I headed outside to get my tip from Guy to give Sarge.  When I returned she gave me a half smile and I said Thank You.  Although there was much hilarity, I did leave feeling refreshed and after having 20 layers of skin removed, a bit renewed. 

On to phase two of Guy's birthday plan.  We headed to a cozy and comfy cafe where we settled into cushy chairs and ordered tea and apple nargil.  I wasn't especially excited about trying the stuff, as I'm not a smoker, nor have I ever been.  I didn't understand what the whole appeal of it was.  Guy assured me it was not the same as smoking cigarettes.  So, while playing checkers that afternoon, we passed the water pipe back and forth.  Other than tasting a mild apple flavor, there was no remarkable characteristics of it, and I still didn't really understand the point of it.  The only thing I really enjoyed about was taking turns trying to look like dragons, breathing the smoke out of our noses.  It did make me slightly light-headed a few times, and mostly, it just left me with a gigantic headache at the end of the day.  I guess its just one of those cliche things to try while in Turkey.  One time of nargil is enough to last a lifetime for me.

Food.  What would my blog be without mentioning food?  I guess I've already talked about it, but here's the rest.  The street food here is right up my alley: roasted chestnuts, freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juice (out of this world), simit (ring shaped bread covered in sesame seeds) and sahleb, a hot beverage made of milk, cream, orchid, vanilla, and cinnamon.  The pizza comes in charming boat shapes, the apple tea tastes like apple cider; I think everything is just simple scrumptious here.

Other than the random "off" day we had in Turkey, which we dubbed "American Day" (where we visited a mall, ate at Pizza Hut, and watched the movie "The Fighter"), that's pretty much concludes our time in Turkey.  I think this is a strong contender for my favorite place in our travels.  I guess I'll wait a few more weeks to see if that's truly the case...