I'm going to try to be better about updating this so here we go! -- I have had a great past couple days! To begin with this past Tuesday, I had the whole day off so I decided to make a trip down to Eminönü, a town at the mouth of the Bosphorus Strait, famous for it's fish, markets and ports. The Bosphorus Strait connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, dividing Europe from Asia. Boat traffic is just about as bad as automobile traffic here, as I watched for quite some time, many boats waiting for the go ahead to continue their journey to the Black Sea. I made it early enough to shop around for the best deal on a cruise up and back down the strait, a popular way to see many of the city's famous landmarks - not to mention a relaxing way to spend 2 hours on a ferry in the sunshine on a beautiful day. I had seen flyers advertising a Bosphorus Cruise for 75 Turkish Lira (a little more than $40) but I quickly realized that was the inflated price, meant for the tourists, as I was able to find a ferry for 10 Lira (about $5) easily.
I had about an hour before the ferry left the dock so I wondered around the harbor area, taking in the sights and smells of the Eminönü waterfront. It's a very scenic place, located right on the water with markets and stands selling everything from cheese to spices to baklava - lively street vendors and all this with the New Mosque (completed in the 17th century by the mother of Sultan Mehmet IV) as the backdrop - it almost seems to take you back in time. The smell on the other hand.. I haven't smelt anything so fishy in my life (don't worry, you get used to it eventually). Along the waterway, there are boats that catch fish from the strait and cook up the fish right there on the boat, put the fish on a huge cut of bread with lettuce and onion, and sell it to you for 5 lira (something like $2.50) if you reach out over the waterway and grab it from them. I knew I couldn't not try this so I pulled out 5 lira and made my way to get a 'fish bread', as they call it. It is advertised as "Half a Century Old Historical Flavor" because apparently this has been happening for quite some time now. So I grabbed a barrel (they had tons of little barrels for seats and bigger ones for tables, all near the boats for you to eat at), squeezed some lemon juice on my fish bread, added some salt and gave it a try. Now, half a century old flavor must be an acquired taste, because man.. I've never had anything like it in my life. It wasn't horrible, but I can't say I'd make the trip to Istanbul all over again just to have another. Needless to say, the experience was definitely worth my 2 dollars and change.
I finished my lunch and hurried back to my ferry, where I climbed up to the top deck, found a good spot and got comfortable. I was reading my guidebook, learning about all I would see on this trip when a group of lively people sat next to me. Half of them were speaking English and the other half Turkish - all middle-aged with the exception of the elder Turkish couple, and I could tell the English speakers were from the States. Eventually they asked where I was from, and once I said North Carolina - they went crazy. I was confused, because up until this point, I hadn't met a single person who knew anything about North Carolina at all. They finally clued me in, they were from Tennessee!! Now, not many Americans travel here (relatively speaking) so finding people who are that close to home was a pretty big deal. Over the duration of the cruise, we got to know each other really well. They were very curious about why I was traveling alone and what I was doing here and two of the women had just flown into Istanbul from India, so I was very interested to hear about their trip and what advice they had in terms of traveling there. After enjoying good company and the beautiful views along the Bosphorus, it got a little chilly so they invited me downstairs for tea and the for lunch as well, after the cruise was over.
It was SO nice to experience a bit of "home" - as a break from the culture shock (and loneliness that sometimes comes along with it) when traveling alone. For the rest of the day they took me under their wing, as we explored the Spice Bazaar in Eminönü and the Grand Bazaar in Beyazit. I am extremely grateful to not have my first go-round in the Grand Bazaar be on my own - I had read and heard so much about it that I really didn't expect it to live up to all the hype... but it does. It's a huge labyrinth of streets covered by beautifully painted vaulted ceilings, dating back to 1453, with thousands of vendors selling any and everything you could ever want. I really hate shopping, really. But I could spend some serious money in that place. I don't know if I will ever stop traveling and actually own a home, but if it happens, I want 80% of the decorations to come from here. So we explored, got lost a couple times, found some great stuff, and decided that it would take more than just one visit to this place to grasp it entirely, and then be able to actually shop in it. We had an awesome time and they were such great people, full of good energy - oh and did I mention, absolutely hilarious? - I couldn't have asked for a better group to spend my day with. Eventually we had to go our separate ways, only after quickly exchanging emails and hugs, and proceeding to jump on the subway a second before those hurried doors slammed shut.
So that evening instead of going back home to Beylikdüzü, I went to Umit and Seher's flat in Atakent. We were supposed to have a lesson but it had been cancelled so I was going to help out with their newborn baby, Öykü Normally to help out, I watch Öykü so that Seher can have a break and get dinner ready or do whatever needs to be done around the house. So I hung out with her and Seher prepared dinner - she loves vegatables like I do, so I'm always very excited for her meals. That night she lightly breaded and fried cauliflower and served it topped with yogurt (so so good!), amazing tomato soup with cheese, rice, beans, pickles, and bread - it was delicious!
The next morning instead of making my way to the city center like normal to explore, I stayed in with Seher and Öykü. Seher was having company over for breakfast and had invited me to join so I was excited to see what that entails. Apparently here, when you have "breakfast" with someone, it is an all day ordeal - which I found to be pretty interesting. So Seher prepared a meal while we both cleaned the house and watched Öykü, lots of multi-tasking going on. It was a great, relaxing day - and in the evening I took a walk to the nearest shopping area to go to the post office and have a coffee and some baklava.
The next day I decided to do my best at touring Topkapi Palace. Mehmet II built Topkapı Palace as his principle residence between 1459 and 1465, after his conquest of Constantinople. It consists of four enormous courtyards surrounded by tall stone walls with the Harem, various pavilions and intricately designed gates and gardens, and in various points in history has served as the seat of government, a school for civil servants and soldiers, and now as a public museum. There I was able to see exhibitions of arms and armour, imperial costumes, ceramics, clocks, manuscripts and much more of the treasures that Ottoman sultans had amassed over the course of their 470-year reign. In the 'Privy Chamber' I was able to see some of the holiest relics of Islam, all the while holy men chanted passages from the Kor'an that were being projected throughout the chamber. Here there is a collection of the Prophet Mohammed's stuff - hairs from his beard, one of his teeth, an impression of his footprint, his swords, and the most sacred treasure of them all - a mantle once worn by the Prophet. We weren't even allowed to walk into the room in which the mantle was stored, we could only look into the room from an antechamber through an open doorway. Unfortunately we also weren't allowed to take photographs of ANY of this stuff - so you're just gonna have to take my word for it.
It was fascinating getting the opportunity to see how different life was back then. And again, it was a gorgeous day - so I wandered around the courtyards and eventually found myself hungry so I made my way down the cobblestone roads to a restaurant where a woman was sitting on the floor at the entrance kneading dough and cooking it on this large, steel oven/flat-top type thing. It was intriguing enough so I walked in and took a seat on the row of pillows down the side of the far wall. It was a cozy spot, which was nice after such a busy day of site-seeing so I ordered a tea and a gözleme (Turkish style pancake, very thin, similar to a crepe) stuffed with spinach - this was what the woman at the front of the restaurant had been making. It was delicious but not filling enough so I then ordered some tzatziki sauce and bread and relaxed. Although this was a bit of a 'tourist trap' of a restaurant, located in the middle of the Sultanahment district, sometimes it's nice to just be a tourist every once in a while. And it too soon came time for me to begin my journey back to Beylikdüzü, so I packed up my things and headed on.
I have finally somewhat figured out where I will be heading after the end of this month. There is an eco-farm about 2 hours east of Istanbul in a town called Kandıra. I will be working there for a week or two before making my way south to venture out in the countryside. In my travels, I've learned that a "plan" is something that will only do one of two things: it will either hold you back or let you down - so it's best just to not have any at all. We will see what happens!
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”
– Lao Tzu
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