Yes I am alive and doing well in Istanbul and I haven’t gotten mugged or beaten up. I am actually staying in one of the best parts of the old city in between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia. I am traveling with three girls from my program of which 2 are from the Chicago area. Our story starts here:
The first day we decided that since our flight was so early in the morning that we would sleep over at the airport because that would be only a 7 Euro train ride rather than a 80 Euro cab. Charles De Gaulle is quite far for all of us so Monica, Maggie, and I took the RER to Charles de Gaul on the last train at 1AM. Since there was nobody around, we walked on and off the train for free by sneaking through the machines. The airport was barren but we found a row of benches and set up shop. All the lights were on and there were cleaning people so it was very hard to “sleep.” The time passed slowly and actually we ran into other people at the airport from our program, but by now we have gotten use to that because it happens all the time in Paris. I will randomly turn corners and run into the same people. Anyway we walked onto our Lufthansa flight to Munich running only on fumes with only a croissant for energy. The flight lasted only an hour and ten minutes and what made it go faster was the thought of beer and food in Germany. When we got there we immediately started to walk around the airport that was the complete opposite of Charles de Gaulle, beautiful and easy to find things. We ended up doing what I was joking about to everyone in the States. We had German pints at 10:30 in the morning right before our plane to Istanbul and the beer for 2.10 Euros was very good and made the 2.5 hour flight from Munich to Istanbul a little shorter.
We got off and our first impression of Turkey was that of any other European country. The airport was pretty modern but it was the Turkish language that started to make us think we were in a different part of the world. They made us buy a 90 day visa for 20 USD on the way off the plane which took months in France. We got our bags and experienced the onslaught of venders when we looked for a way to get to our hotel. These guys tried to get us to take a shuttle to our hotel for 65 Euros, Dollars, or Liras I don’t remember because all trip my wallet had three different currencies in it. We told them that we would find our own way. Only if we knew that would be a theme of the trip: people trying to cheat us because of people not knowing what currencies are worth or how much things should cost. We took our long taxi ride to our hotel and on the way experienced our first views of Istanbul. The city is situated on the Marmara Sea and Bosporus Strait with the touristy part being in Europe and the more residential in Asia. Our hotel which was more of a hostel than a hotel put us in a small room with 4 beds that were damp and had ceiling shavings on it. The worst part is that our hotel manager told us that the reservation was in Euros instead of Dollars liked we discussed in emails. So we decided to stick it out for a day, look around at other hotels. One of them, we met a hotel owner in the street and he showed us to his shack where he offered us rooms. If it hadn’t looked like a scene out of Hostel the movie, we would have considered it. Speaking of Hostel, that day we went to a tour agency and while waiting for the attendant watched scenes from Hostel 3 which were so grotesque that even the owner’s car made faces. After getting information on what to do Istanbul we ate across the way at a cafe that had music and whirling dervishes. Now at these cafes, they serve food along with different Turkish teas and Nescafe. They don’t like to brew real coffee; rather they love instant unless it’s Starbucks which just boggles my mind. That night we visited the Blue Mosque which is one of over 2000 mosques in Istanbul and was beautiful to say the least. Upon entering the mosque, we had to remove our shoes and the two girls had to cover their hair in the traditional way. The inside was picturesque with blue tiles and domes that were intricately inscribed in Arabic. Of course in the Islam religion, it is forbidden to depict any of the prophets or Allah in pictures so there are no mosaics or stained glass portrays of important religious figures. The Hagia Sofia is different is different in that respect but that comes later.
The second thing we did that day before retiring to our hole in the wall was to visit the Grand Bazaar. This is Turkey’s largest market where people are selling all kinds of things from souvenirs to rugs to fake bags and other brand name items. The best part about it which actually makes it really fun is haggling. Since the vendors know that tourists are either stupid or have researched the tricks of the bazaar, they bump up the prices at least 25% higher than a reasonable price. And over the week I developed some bargaining skillz with some sample purchases that I wish to use on my last day in Turkey. That will be in the second installment coming later. Getting back to the café and Hostel; two things more things I wanted to note about it which tie into Turkish culture dating back to the Ottoman Empire. 1) Dervish dance is a religious dance where the dancer spins in a circle 99 times reciting all 99 names for Allah (God) and has both hands out with one up and one down wearing a traditional costume. 2) At the cafes close to the mosque, they do not serve beer rather they have hookah machines and board games like backgammon and chess. Backgammon is the game of choice in Turkey and can be found in many cafes, we tried to learn it but the only rules were on Wikipedia because our servers could not explain it to us in broken English.
We spent the night in the bad hotel and got woken up in the middle of the night by Clarissa who had a late night flight. We woke up in the morning and decided to move hotels especially after we discovered that the shower stall incorporated the toilet. The breakfast was cheese, bread, coffee/tea and jam with a great view of the Sea, but not good enough to try and haggle for another hotel room. We checked out of the hotel after haggling with a nearby hotel that was actually across from the Four Seasons, nicer/bigger room, clean large bathroom and best of all for the same price per night for the remaining four nights. That day we revisited the Blue Mosque for Clarissa and then went to the Istanbul Art Museum where we saw a wide range of Ottoman art and Turkish carpets dating back hundreds of years. The displays were very well down except for the part where you could touch most everything because protective plastic cases are probably too expensive. After this thrilling museum we were tired and decided to take a tea break at a café which seemed to happen a lot on the trip because walking would prove to be too hard on our young legs. While we were drinking our tea overlooking the Blue Mosque, the horns erupted in Muslim prayer not only from the mosque en face but also mosques all around Istanbul. It was time to pray and through the horns the sheikhs would sing prayers that vibrated our table. I was able to get some of it on tape so people back home can experience it like they show in the movies.
Our last stop of the day was Takim Square which we walked to, across the bridge or something called the Golden Horn separating Europe. That may be confusing but after crossing that bridge you can cross another to get into Asia. Along this bridge were fisherman of all shapes and sizes who cast long poles into the water in hopes of catching their dinner or salaries. Either way they weren’t very big and it was weird because I don’t remember seeing any hooks. I wonder if they just tangle fish in their long lines like ocean fishers do with dolphins. Regardless they put their catch in a Styrofoam container filled with water which is funny because I couldn’t find the purpose in that because the fish will die anyway once they use up the oxygen in that small container of water. While crossing one would notice the large Turkish flags that were flying over the city. Monday was the day of Independence and the city decked itself out in red and white flags along with pictures of the national hero, Ataturk. Originally, we thought that they were being flown in solidarity over the PKK attacks on Turkish troops, which actually got us a little scared because an invasion of Iraq would definitely bring consequences in terms of the Turko-American relationship. Thus on this trip we have rarely said that we were from America, which worked for most people except British who knew our accent and other French speakers who called us out on not having Parisian accents. Looking back on the last few days, it seems silly but we are half way cross the world with only probably two hours by air between us and the border of Iraq. Takim square is one of the more popular sights of Istanbul with good bars, great clubs to go to, and a nice street lined with stores and bakeries. This was where many of the Turks went to do their shopping rather than the touristy grand bazaar. I actually picked up an English book written by a Turkish writer explaining the Armenian controversy in Turkey which I saw as not only fitting but a good buy because it is filled with bias that is opposite to the bias I am used to in the States. I will read the book like it says without prejudice for the book was published without.
Food in Istanbul for at least me has consisted of different kinds of kebobs and other grilled meats. I have had some rice and vegetables but mainly the same thing. There is probably a reason for my consistent stomach ache that won’t go away probably until I get back to Paris. Since we have been here, my group has made an effort to try as many things as possible. This includes Hevla (paste they make pastries out of I think); Turkish delights; Baklava; Turkish lentil soup; corn on the street, grilled walnuts; and best of all this spicy chicken casserole that was probably more American than anything. I guess just eating relatively the same thing all week and having it be foreign just screws with your system especially if you haven’t totally settled into your new surroundings. Although I could get used to our breakfasts at our new hotel because it consisted of cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bread. Yeah there isn’t protein and you are hungry come lunchtime, but it’s really healthful.
We woke up early the morning of the Turkish Independence Day and decided to go to the Asian side of Istanbul which involved taking a ferry. It was only 1.5 Lira which was cheap meaning that I was a little suspicious because you always hear about ferries capsizing. Due to two names of ports looking exactly a like, we ended up taking an extra ferry trip but nonetheless we made it over to the Asian continent and tried to go to two destinations a mosque and a fortress. The mosque was under renovation and the fortress was actually a government facility guarded by men with machine guns. Hence we went to the shopping mall, which was an experience in itself. You walk into the mall and think you are in the US. Yes everything is in Turkish, but many of the stores are American and European brand names. When you go to the food court, the most popular places are Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Arbys. The worst part about all that is that they are really expensive and the opposite of cheap fast food. They take a long time and are expensive. I decided to go to the Anatolian express which is fast Turkish food. We didn’t buy much due to the inflated prices because of import taxes most likely and were astonished when we found out that the Canadian dollar is now worth more than the American dollar. That in itself could be a blog rant. Another odd thing was that pictures of Ataturk were all over the mall as well along with the Turkish flags. It was just odd to see a Turkish flag in a Ralph Lauren store. We stocked up at the super market with Turkish beer and wine because it’s cheaper to have a late night soiree on our hotel terrace that overlooked all of Istanbul at night. After walking around the Asian side we decided to go back to our hotel, take nap, and then try back at the Grand Bazaar. We were going to stay away from the Independence Day celebrations because of the possibility of a terrorist attack in this troubled time.
The Bazaar was closed but we ended up eating at a really cliché Turkish restaurant where they had music and costumes along with good food. We also saw the fireworks display on the walk back to the hotel. That night we grabbed the cartons of beer and walked up the 4 flights to the roof terrace where we looked at the skyline so to speak of Istanbul at night with ships passing through the sea and horn. We hung out in the cold, playing a drinking game between both the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque at night. Good times especially when Monica was dared into yelling out to the Bellman of the Four Seasons along with the people eating at the restaurant terrace on the next building. We began to call our hotel the Three Seasons after this point because not only was our accommodation nice, we had a better view of the city that was once Byzantium on this terrace than anyone in the Four Seasons right across the street.
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