Turkish Delight

Let me just preface by saying that Istanbul is the 5th largest city in the world.

The second we landed at Ataturk airport after the day from hell in Sarajevo (although the day was far from over), I knew I was going to like Istanbul. Granted, I had really high expectations which usually fail me in these situations, but I haven't yet been disappointed. The airport was huge and bustling and oddly reminiscent of Hartsfield. It was a strange comfort to be back in crowds...that sounds weird.

We schlepped our bags off the carousel and were met by our ride to the hostel...it was a HUGE van. Grand success. We were offered juice and explained some of the passing surroundings in the car by the driver who spoke no english. So, while I was left to my own devices to figure out where exactly I had just arrived, I couldn't help but confirm my excitement as we passed ocean, sky scrapers, and minarets, all in a miles' distance. I immediately felt comfortable and I still can't figure out why...

However, continuing the epic fail that was May 25, our nice little driver dropped us off at a hostel. Not our hostel, another one. Fail. We get out and have to explain to the poor woman who came to the door that this was not our hostel and work out a chain to communicate back to the driver that we were at the wrong place. Back in the car we went and off to the correct hostel. We arrived to an empty 10 bed room, HOT showers, and our bags being carried FOR us down the stairs. It was so super.

Side note: cats must just be an Eastern European thing. They are quite populous here as well. This particular evening, we even had the fortune to see one fall off the roof behind us, as it crept up on and terrified Tatum, and her scream conversely terrified the cat. Cats really do have 9 lives. And always land on their feet. Always. It's unbelievable.

In the morning, we went up to the hostel's roof top terrace and ate breakfast overlooking the Bosphorous on a glorious morning. After two very large and very needed cups of coffee, we ventured out and saw Turkey. Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia), the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the public bathrooms. I paid 50 cents to pee in a hole in the ground (the one lacking aspect of this country's westernization...they're everywhere. Mistake #1, but I quickly learned). Turkey is wonderful, mosques never cease to be an artistic and architectural marvel to me, and they have great street food. If you give me a country that serves sesame seed-esque (but better) bagels, roasted corn on the cob, chestnuts and almonds, and orange juice for their street food, I'm pretty sure I could be contented with that alone. Oh, and the call to prayer never EVER gets old.

Turkey is also HOT. Sure, I'm used to it, but problem is, it's not entirely acceptable to run around in shorts here. It's also apparently rude to show the soles of your feet. Not that it's not allowed (it is, after all, an incredibly secular and western country), you just get looks. And cat calls (although, being anything but Turkish-or even being Turkish, I of course wouldn't know-that's sort of inevitable). I'm trying to decide my favorite line, but right now it's a tossup between "are you America's next top model?" and "Hey, black girl" (assumedly referencing the black dress I was wearing.) And then there was the "I have some diet pills for you, ladies." Ouch. Vendors also have a strange obsession with Charlie's Angels...but maybe that's cause there's 3 of us. Anyway...moral of the story, I still have yet to figure out how the women who are fully veiled and covered, down to gloves, don't melt here. Literally. On the note of covering, it's obviously crucial for entering mosques, so I'm constantly with scarf and sweater in my bag, but the day we decided to wear dresses rather than pants and bring leggings to don before going inside certainly warranted some looks. Fail.

The next day we went to the Basilica Cistern, a huge underground pool built in the 6th century by Justinian to provide water to his palace with over 330 massive stone columns and fish swimming in the water. After, we ventured to the spice market, smelled lots of curry, wanted Indian food, and remembered we were in Turkey, land of the kebab (Indian food updates to come when in London). We were supposed to meet a friend of Lauren's in a different district, but plans failed and so we were left to walk around an entirely new district right on the water with views of Asia that we would have never known to exist otherwise.

That night, we returned to our room to find 2 new room mates. As I got in bed and was ready to fall asleep, I realized I couldn't...because there was a FREIGHT TRAIN in our room. That, and a barking pitbull. My dad snores so loudly that he normally sleeps in another room, and he has NOTHING on this girl. And the other evidently has some bronchial infection that sounds like she might actually cough up her lungs. I'd say it took me about 3 hours to fall asleep. And staying that way was hopeless. I would also say that I hate these people a lot and want to stab them in their noisy sleep, but I'm afraid I can't do that. Turns out, they've just returned from 2 weeks in Kazakhstan on their anual visit to the orphanage from which they both adopted their children. They're saints. And I wanted to suffocate them for the sake of my sleep. Fail. Oh, and one of them is a champion knitter-just thought that detail was necessary.

Today, we ventured to the spectacle that is the Grand Bazaar. I went in with wide eyes and terror of being harassed and heckled but was pleasantly surprised when we entered the massive covered, air conditioned market lined with shops all selling pretty much the same things. After the first 5 minutes, you realize that it's not rude to blatantly ignore the shopkeepers, and that you can usually reduce the offered price by at least half. In fact, shopping in Istanbul is more of a social interaction than anything else. It's not unusual for shopkeepers to converse with you about your country, explain their heritage, talk about their families, offer you tea (apple tea is amazing), etc. Dare I say, this whole experience actually became kind of...fun?

Other than that, our trip's been the sight seeing, visiting mosques, and walking to areas of the town that make you feel like you're in a different city entirely, and I couldn't be happier. Anyhow, tomorrow it's off to the Asian side, so more news to come.