Day 8
A lazy Sunday...IN TURKEY.
Seriously, a lazy Sunday because I slept all the way until 9:30 AM, a new record. By the time I leave on Wednesday I should be almost adjusted to a normal Turkish sleep cycle. Poop. But anyway, waking up late and then relaxing in for a while meant we didn't have our enormous breakfast until around 11 and didn't leave the house until around 2:30 PM. A quick drive and a walk down the seaside and we hopped on a ferry across the Bosphorus Strait. I'm so jealous of my friend, Tanya, who got to take the ferry every day to get to school, because the view was incredible. To see the various palaces, mosques and other museums just spread out there all at once...well, the pictures should speak for themselves, but it was a great view. Also, it reminded me that I want to be a sailor someday.
But it was a quick ride, unfortunately, and then we spent the afternoon wandering around Anatolia. Apparently the Asian and European halves of the city are very different, but I didn't really notice other than to enjoy wandering around a fraction of the largest Asian downtown. There were Romanian gypsies, old Armenian churches, fish markets with live fish flopping around, and, most exciting of all, a pair of brand-new glittens I bought myself to make up for my lost gloves. I am also pleased with my 5 YTL purchase of nice little poster of Mehmet II's conquest of Constantinople, which will soon be adorning my dorm room wall. After threading our way up and down crowded cobblestone streets and through the occasional construction site -- apparently the Turks don't believe in "closing off roads" or whatever -- we decided to rest by trying out a local delicacy, iskander-style meat with yogurt, pita and tomato. It's named after the Turkish name for Alexander (as in the Great) and not bad, although apparently not as good as the iskander in Bursa. It also came with a delicious local drink whose name I can't remember but tasted a lot like tepache. I think it was a kind of lightly-fermented grape juice, very good.
After filling up, we met some friends of Tanya's at a Turkish T.G.I.F., which was very surreal. Everything was English and incredibly American, although there were a few odd things, like how the waiter had a Confederate flag stuck on his hat and how everything was ridiculously overpriced for a T.G.I.F. Side note: Turkish girls think it's adorable if you try and speak Turkish with them. Try it sometime. Anyway, from there, it was a long walk down the downtown sidewalk, which was nice and not too crowded, although it was freezing cold out. At least the snow had finally left so we could enjoy our ferry ride that morning. The last place we stopped at for the night was a coffee shop, "Kahve Dunya" or "Coffee World." I had my first real cup of authentic Turkish coffee! Sadly, it was too strong for me, though it's definitely something I could get used to. Despite that, bunches of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and a lot of chocolate with my chocolate fondue, I was still exhausted by 9:30 or so, when we left. We met up with old friends and spent the evening chatting over coffee, all in all quite lovely. I think I've decided now that I want to be a History major, probably minoring in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, and then work for the C.I.A. someday. We shall see!
So despite the aforementioned massive amounts of caffeine, I can barely stay awake now, and I've got to rest so we can get up early and see the last of Sultanahmet and the Grand Bazaar tomorrow. Shopping time! Finally! I plan on wasting so much money on touristy trinkets.
Seriously, a lazy Sunday because I slept all the way until 9:30 AM, a new record. By the time I leave on Wednesday I should be almost adjusted to a normal Turkish sleep cycle. Poop. But anyway, waking up late and then relaxing in for a while meant we didn't have our enormous breakfast until around 11 and didn't leave the house until around 2:30 PM. A quick drive and a walk down the seaside and we hopped on a ferry across the Bosphorus Strait. I'm so jealous of my friend, Tanya, who got to take the ferry every day to get to school, because the view was incredible. To see the various palaces, mosques and other museums just spread out there all at once...well, the pictures should speak for themselves, but it was a great view. Also, it reminded me that I want to be a sailor someday.
But it was a quick ride, unfortunately, and then we spent the afternoon wandering around Anatolia. Apparently the Asian and European halves of the city are very different, but I didn't really notice other than to enjoy wandering around a fraction of the largest Asian downtown. There were Romanian gypsies, old Armenian churches, fish markets with live fish flopping around, and, most exciting of all, a pair of brand-new glittens I bought myself to make up for my lost gloves. I am also pleased with my 5 YTL purchase of nice little poster of Mehmet II's conquest of Constantinople, which will soon be adorning my dorm room wall. After threading our way up and down crowded cobblestone streets and through the occasional construction site -- apparently the Turks don't believe in "closing off roads" or whatever -- we decided to rest by trying out a local delicacy, iskander-style meat with yogurt, pita and tomato. It's named after the Turkish name for Alexander (as in the Great) and not bad, although apparently not as good as the iskander in Bursa. It also came with a delicious local drink whose name I can't remember but tasted a lot like tepache. I think it was a kind of lightly-fermented grape juice, very good.
After filling up, we met some friends of Tanya's at a Turkish T.G.I.F., which was very surreal. Everything was English and incredibly American, although there were a few odd things, like how the waiter had a Confederate flag stuck on his hat and how everything was ridiculously overpriced for a T.G.I.F. Side note: Turkish girls think it's adorable if you try and speak Turkish with them. Try it sometime. Anyway, from there, it was a long walk down the downtown sidewalk, which was nice and not too crowded, although it was freezing cold out. At least the snow had finally left so we could enjoy our ferry ride that morning. The last place we stopped at for the night was a coffee shop, "Kahve Dunya" or "Coffee World." I had my first real cup of authentic Turkish coffee! Sadly, it was too strong for me, though it's definitely something I could get used to. Despite that, bunches of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and a lot of chocolate with my chocolate fondue, I was still exhausted by 9:30 or so, when we left. We met up with old friends and spent the evening chatting over coffee, all in all quite lovely. I think I've decided now that I want to be a History major, probably minoring in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, and then work for the C.I.A. someday. We shall see!
So despite the aforementioned massive amounts of caffeine, I can barely stay awake now, and I've got to rest so we can get up early and see the last of Sultanahmet and the Grand Bazaar tomorrow. Shopping time! Finally! I plan on wasting so much money on touristy trinkets.