istanbul

i spent the second half of our spring break in istanbul and LOVED it. i met up with carrie at the airport and after successfully making a turkish friend to lend us his cell phone, got on a bus to meet adrian, a friend of carrie’s who’s living in istanbul with her turkish boyfriend çaglyan (the g actually has a little hat on it but my computer doesn’t seem to have that letter- the point is it’s pronounced chaah-lee-ahn). these two were so very nice enough to let us stay at their apartment for our trip and were wonderful hosts, suggesting/showing us all the bests spots of the city.
for me istanbul felt like a very european city compared to my other travels, but for carrie it felt like the middle east with all the mosques everywhere. side note: the call to prayer was in turkish! i was so weirded out the first time i heard it and noticed it did not sound the same as in jordan haha. one of my favorite moments of the trip was our first night out to dinner, the waiter asked us if we wanted çay (=tea in turkish). this word happens to be very similar to the arabic word for tea (shai), so adrian and i said that yes all three of us would have çay. moments later we were sipping our tea when carrie announced “guys this is not chai, it’s english breakfast.” after overcoming our fits of giggles adrian and i explained to carrie that in turkey (and in jordan, syria, egypt, everywhere), varieties of tea do not exist and “çay” always implies a cup of standard brown tea. it was a great cultural moment :) and although i do think istanbul is very european it would be interesting to contrast the city with the rest of turkey, because i have a feeling it would not be like that throughout the country. but being in istanbul where not as many people cover their heads and there’s not as much homogeneity of appearance was a nice break from my constant sticking out in amman.
my trip to istanbul was also the first time in my life being in a place where i don’t speak the language and let me tell you i felt like a ridiculous and tongue-tied idiot the first couple days not being able to say even thank you. it was a very strange feeling but definitely an interesting experience for me, despite that it made me want to learn turkish (preferably within the six days we were there, but that didn’t quite happen despite our commandeering adrian’s turkish phrasebook). turkish is apparently related structurally to hungarian and finnish, but it also shares random words with arabic and it was fun to discover those.
istanbul as a city is friendly and beautiful with the bosphorus running right through the middle and the grand ottoman style mosques dotting every skyline. turkish food definitely receives a grade of A+ as we had delicious meals and treats and wine every single day. highlights include simit (bagel-ish things covered in sesame seeds), kebabs, turkish pizza, fresh seafood, turkish delight, roasted chestnuts, and these peanuts covered with sesame seeds and sugar that were quite the addictive snack.




carrie and i wandered all over istanbul and it feels like we saw and did so much that it’s impossible to blog a recap but i’ll make a quick attempt:
the mosques we visited here (the new mosque and the blue mosque) were magnificently grand both inside and out with their bubble-looking domes and thin minarets, and inside covered floor to ceiling in intricate and colorful designs.





we took a cruise along the shores of the bosphorus to see istanbul from the water and then had lunch next to a bridge full of fishermen and it was the only fish sandwich that has ever come close to rivaling the salmon sandwiches of the market grill in its freshness and deliciousness.




the spice bazaar with its myriad of smells and mixed and blended tantalizingly together and its piles of colorful spices and sweets begging to be tasted


one day we took a ferry boat to buyukada island in the sea of marmara south of istanbul, and we were reminded of seattle what with the seagulls, ferry boat, blue water and green islands on all sides. buyukada is a tiny island that boasts that its citizens only use bikes, horses, and their feet to get around, but after seeing a couple motor vehicles driving around (granted they were service vehicles not personal cars), carrie and i are a little skeptical about this. but all the same the island had a quiet and relaxed feel and we enjoyed our carriage ride and walk past cute victorian style houses to reach the monastery at the peak of the island.





the aya sofia truly embodies the phrase ‘the meeting point of two religions’ since it is a church that was at one point converted into a mosque. from the outside you can tell that the original basilica looks older than the four minarets now attached, and inside the walls hold a fascinating mix of christian mosaics and muslim arabic calligraphy all decorating the same sacred space, and this in addition to the simply amazing scope and architecture of the building itself.



the grand bazaar is literally a labyrinth of shop after shop- if they didn’t post signs pointing toward the exits i don’t think anyone would ever find their way out. we had fun getting lost in the shops of scarves, pottery, lamps, leather, jewelry, etc. as the shopkeepers had fun trying to entice us to buy by calling us ‘sunshine,’ ‘angel,’ ‘shakira,’ and many more.



topkapi palace was worth the 20 lira they made us pay to get in (no student prices for anything is my one complaint against istanbul). the grounds stretch on and on overlooking the water, and each and every room is ornately decorated. the highlight of the palace was the treasury, which displays the crown jewels of the ottoman empire, many coming from faraway lands as gifts to the sultans. after seeing pendants of gold, rubies and emeralds we had a hard time being dazzled by anything we saw in the grand bazaar :)



a night out dancing at ritim roof, a place off nightlife hub istiklal caddesi, that was my favorite bar/club i have ever been to- a smallish one-room bar on a rooftop terrace until around 10:30 when it turns into a dance party to a funky international mix of music from all over the world, so much fun.


a sunny afternoon in ortakoy, a small neighborhood outside the city center and right on the water. since it was sunday it was packed with families enjoying the sun, the water, the delicious waffle treats, and the beautiful mosque and bridge rising behind it.


since i stayed a day longer than carrie i got to see çaglyan’s band give a concert at a local bar- they play covers of american songs and did a really fun version of ‘these boots are made for walking’.


and to end, one last random side note: istanbul, similar to Santiago and valpo, has a funicular (füniküler in turkish haha), but istanbul’s version bears zero resemblance to the creaky and ancient wooden funiculars of chile- istanbul has a modern and underground version resembling a metro train, but it still serves the same purpose of getting people easily up and down a very steep hill. interesting contrast though they call it the same thing.