Merhaba Turkey!

It's been a BUSY first week in Turkey. I unfortunately forgot my connection cable for my camera in my other bag, so I won't be able to upload any photos this time.

Day One/8.14.2010: Departed Finland and arrived in Istanbul. Took the Havaş to Taksim, a popular central district in Istanbul. My friend Sibel who is a graduate student in the NES department at the UA met me there and we took my things to her apartment. She lives with her brother who had prepared a delicious meal of salad, cooked green beans with onion, and a Turkish soup/ Delicious! Especially after the unsavory airline "lunch". I should mention that this is the hottest summer on record in Istanbul, and has been in the 90s with insane %s of humidity. The moment I got into Sibel's apartment I started sweating, and I haven't stopped since then. :/ How I wish I had my personal mini-fan with me!!

Sibel took me out to the Istaklal Cadessi that night where we walked down the crowded boulevard, surrounded by every kind of shops imaginable, tourists & locals alike, bars and restaurants, and towering Ottoman-era buildings with their French architectural designs. She took me to a chic club atop an art school, where we sipped Efes (Turkish beer) while listening to live music ("Layla" by Eric Clapton and "La Bamba" were featured) and looking out over the Bosphorus at Topkapı Palace and the Haya Sofia aglow. I felt in this moment that it was truly unbelievable I was in Istanbul, as if in a dream.

I stayed at Sibel's that night, awoken in the early morning by the drums and singing of a man in street who traditionally does this during Ramadan (Ramazan in Turkish) to wake people to eat before the day of fasting. I didn't mind though. It reminded me of being in Morocco.

Day Two/8.15.2010: Sibel accompanied me back to Taksim where I caught a mini-bus to the other side of the Bosphorus, the Asian side, to meet my friend Serkan's family who I was going to stay with. Serkan's brother in law, Can (pronounced "John") spoke English very well. It was helpful for my transition since I don't speak any Turkish (I'm learning...). Serkan's two sister's Serap and Mehtab were there, as well as his parents Ismet and Fatma and his nephew. The whole family was very warm and welcoming, and excited to see the photos I had of Didar and Serkan's wedding in Tucson.

We spent the afternoon play a Turkish tile game called Okey. It's kind of like Rummy. I sat and watched for maybe 1/2 an hour and then joined it. Tons of fun! I'll have to pick up a set to play back home in the states. I think my Dad would really like it, too.

Then Serkan's 3rd sister, Sevtap, who is just a few years older than me, arrived. She speaks English very well, and like the rest of his family, was very sweet and welcoming. We had a delicious dinner of soup, green salad, a cold sauteed eggplant/tomato/onion salad, kefta (meatballs), pilaf (rice) and a sweet, syrupy drink with dried fruit in it.

Day 3/8.16.2010: It was so hot and humid, and I was jet-lagged. So, I spent most of the day relaxing, Skyping with my sister, and napping. I headed back to Taksim that night with Sevtap to meet up with her friend and her friend's sister, who both spoke English. We went to a great cafe next to the famous Galata tower and had drinks & dessert while looking at a beautiful view of the Bosphorus and Golden Horn. I slept on the balcony because of the heat, I think to the dismay of Fatma.

Day 4/8.17.2010: My first day venturing out into the world of Istanbul without a Turkish speaker with me to translate...and I didn't get lost!! I ate the usual Turkish breakfast (like the Levant-Arabic breakfast) of tomatoes and cucumber, olives, cheese, bread, and tea.

Then I got ready with my map and camera in tow, took the mini-bus to the port district called Kadıköy. From there, I took a ferry to Eminonu (the "Golden Horn") to explore the historical area, leaving of course the main attractions like Haya Sofia and Topkapı Palace for the next day to see with my friend Noel who was coming to join me from Syria. I went to the Museum Complex which houses the Archeology Museum, Museum of the Ancient Orient (which unfortunately was closed for renevations) and the Tiled Kiosk.

At the Archeology Museum I saw LOTS of sarcophagi, mostly from the Necropolis of Sidon (in present Lebanon). Other than the sarcophagi, there were lots of roman statues and frescos which all kind of ran together. There was a great statue of the Roman god Bes as you enter the museum. I'll be sure to post that photo. But I think the museum has more than it can handle in terms of artifacts. Broken columns, headstones and statues line the street as you approach the museum, and a courtyard outside the main entrance has rows of marble this-and-that laying in the open without any order or labeling.

The Tiled Kiosk was gorgeous. Built in 1473 , it now houses samples of pottery and ceramics from the Ottoman empire and beyond. I thought a lot about my cousin Sara who majored in Ceramics at Notre Dame University. As someone who knows nothing about ceramics, I was in awe, so I can only imagine how she would have felt.

I was thoroughly exhausted after spending just these few hours site seeing (in my defense, at the hottest time of the day), so I headed back to the Asian side to Ismet and Fatma's apartment and napped, woke up for dinner, and then went back to bed.

I woke at 3:40 am to Noel's phone call saying he had arrived in Istanbul. I called a taxi and after a long communication struggle with the driver, finally found Noel. It was a small feat which felt like a huge victory and I hugged Noel with all my heart and soul, so happy to see a familiar face. The same poor cab driver took us to Kaldikoy where we had coffee and tea with baklava and caught up on the past 3 months since we saw each other last.

Day 5/8.18.2010: Around daybreak, we dropped Noel's backpack at the Açikğoz apartment and took the ferry to Eminonu. After devouring some delicious Börek for breakfast, we headed to Topkapı Palace. Unfortunately, its lines rivaled Disneyland's and a can of Sprite cost us 9TL, or about $6USD. But I will say that the Harem (which you pay extra to see) was worth the trip and tourist mobs. There was spectacular tile work and architecture. We didn't get to see the jewelry and costume exhibits because the line to get in was ridiculously long and we were getting hungry. We did get to see the holy relics housed there, some of which Noel and I found questionable, i.e. Prophet Joseph's turban, Prophet John's skull, and Mohammed's beard,. However, others, such as the Ottoman era key to the Holy Ka'aba of Mecca we probably legit and pretty awesome to see.

Then we toured Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia) which has always been a dream of mine. I felt truly blessed to be there. Walking up the narrow corridors to the upper-level, I thought of all the people who have been in this holy place before me through the centuries, and what a historically important place it is. It is no longer in use as a mosque or a church, but is a designated state museum.

Then up the street to the Blue Mosque, or Sultan Ahmet. A very loud Imam was giving a khutba (sermon) over the loud speaker. The only words I could understand were "Yes" and "Ramadan". Noel went inside to pray while I took photos outside in the courtyard, not feeling that the dress I was wearing would be appropriate.

Then it was back to the Asian side, where Noel got to meet Ismet and Fatma and converse with them in his broken (surprisingly good) Turkish and sign/body language. It was hilarious to watch. While Noel entertained, I sorted through my bags and condensed the belongings I would need for Noel and my "Turkey Tour" into my large backpack. After finding Noel a hostel online, (the "Chill Out Hotel"), we ate a delicious dinner of stuffed eggplant with ground beef, rice pilaf, sautéed green beans w/ tomatoes and rice pudding for dessert. Probably the best meal I've had yet in Turkey. Fatma really knows her cuisine.

We caught a mini-bus to Taksim where we parted ways; me to Mehtab's house and Noel to his hostel in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Taksim.

Day 6/8.19.2010: I successfully found and caught the Metro ("Tramvay") to meet Noel outside Aya Sofia at 10am. I didn't quite understand the payment system for the tram, and ended up hitching a free ride. Woops!! I actually don't feel bad ripping off the city of Istanbul, especially after what happened to Noel the previous night. Over a breakfast donar (meat wrap), Noel told me about his insane night.

He had met a "business man" who spoke English very well, and joined him for some hookah ("Nargile"). The man proceeded to take Noel to a "club" which was really a strip club/ brothel where they demanded he pay 900TL (around $600) for drinking a Sprite (Noel doesn't drink) and talking with two of the girls. It was a bad confrontation, and Noel ended up paying 200TL (about $140) to get out of the scary situation. Now, I haven't heard of something like this happening in Turkey, but apparently it does because an American guy staying in Noel's hostel told him the same thing happened to him but he ended up paying $400. I was shocked to say the least and also felt horrible for my poor friend! He was dealing with it really well, but still, I could tell that it really bothered him. We decided to leave Istanbul the next day, feeling disenchanted and a bit jaded. Besides, it is a ridiculously expensive city, even by American standards.

We had a fuuuuullll day of sight seeing, beginning at an old Turkish graveyard we stumbled upon on our way to the Grand Bazar. Everything in the bazar was over-priced, but we had fun looking around at all the trinkets and fancy jewelry. Noel was especially taken by the miniature art, and spoke to an Armenian man who paints miniatures on leaves he imports from Florida. He seems to be quite renowned and had dozens of newspaper articles about his store and work on the wall, including a photo with both Hilary Clinton and Laura Bush.

Outside the spice bazar we happened upon the Istanbul University and then had a quick coffee in the President's Palace Hotel lobby cafe. We spoke more about our future travel plans, Noel suggesting we travel to Georgian and Armenia. We stopped at a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant for a sort of Turkish pizza which they made fresh before our eyes. It turned out that the baker was a Syrian Kurd who spoke Arabic, which was really exciting for both of us because we could better communicate He was very sweet, and so was his wife who was working the counter. He ranted about how we shouldn't go to Izmir or Konya, but should check out Antalya and Bursa. He blew off Urfa (supposedly Abraham's birthplace) and seemed very upset about Noel's story of getting conned.

We then wandered the streets of the old city attempting to find the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. We were lost, but it was fine because we got to see some amazing old wooden Ottoman houses. Finally we found the Arts Museum. It was well worth the effort and in my opinion, better than Topkapı Palace. There were artifacts from ancient Samara, the Safavid and Qajar Dynasties of Persia, lots of Ottoman finery and TONS of rugs! I thought of my mom, since she loves weaving. Afterwards we went under the city to see the eerie Yerebatan Cistern, a 6th century Byzantine cistern with 336 Corinthian columns under impressive brick vaulting. About a foot of water remains in the cistern full of fat carp, no doubt fed well by all the tourists. You're able to walk amongst the columns on raised wooden walkways.

We headed back to Taksim where, exhausted, we spent some down time at an Internet cafe and then had a delicious dinner at Lades Restaurant followed by some yummy pudding from a shop across the street. We ended the evening by smoking nargile at a cafe in one of the narrow side streets, eaves dropping on a crazy American talking to a Turkish friend about the Qur'an stating "There are easier ways to get 72 virgins". Sigh. I hope that not all American tourists make asses of themselves like this one. I'll also mention that his shirt read "I stopped being a feminist because bitches hate that shit".

I wearily dragged myself through the rest of the Istaklal Cadessi from Noel's hostel, exhausted after walking easily 7 miles that day, and took the tram all the way back to Mehtab's home on the other side of the Galata Bridge arriving around midnight.

And now it's day 7, and Noel and I are a planning on departing Istanbul for the coast, to see the ruins of ancient Troy.

More to come….

Much love.

AMS