Istanbul, Turkey (Day 4)

The first stop on my last day in Istanbul was the Basilica Cistern.  Matt and I weren't sure what this tourist attraction was all about, we had just been told to go and check it out, that it was an underground aqua duct system.  Hmmm, okay.  We knew it was several hundred meters under ground and as we were making our way down the winding staircase, I don't think we could have been prepared for what we were about to see.  How freakin' cool!  This place was very dark on the inside and glowing red.  If you're a fan of the tacky reality TV show "The Bachelorette," like I am, then you'll know that Aly and Frank went on a date in the cistern.  The place was very damp and musty but surprisingly not humid.  There were rows and rows of columns all aligned perfectly with a soft red glow illuminating each one.

Towards the back of the cistern there were 2 random pillars with Medusa heads as platforms that is apparently still a mystery as to how they go there.  Of course Matt and I got some type of information pamphlet when we entered the basilica and that's the information given to us....just passing that along.  I'm no historian folks.  So anyway, we made our way to the crowded area in the back to check out ol' Medusa. 

This first one of course is Medusa upside down, and the one below is Medusa sideways.

The Medusa head's were a bit eerie, especially since they supposedly don't know how they got into the Cistern.I was so mesmerized with the place I went on photo overload to try and catch all the cool angles.  Everything was so symmetrical.

Look!  There's even some pretty big fish that live in the cistern!  I thought that was pretty neat.  After I flicked a coin over my shoulder and made a wish, we were on our way to the next stop.

Now we were headed over to the Sultan's Palace.  Neither of us were quite sure what this entailed but it was a palace and we figured it would be worth checking out.  Of course when we get to the ticket window there are about a dozen different ticket options you can purchase and they want to charge you for each additional room of the palace!  The area that was supposed to be the coolest was where the sultan kept all of his girls in the Harem....they also wanted a cool $20 extra bucks to enter (can't remember the price in  Lira)!  So of course we blew that off, and this time didn't talk ourselves back into it.  Instead we weaved our way in and out of the various rooms, displaying really expensive jewels, war paraphernalia, and family heirlooms.

Soon after entering the gates of the Topkai Palace I almost got in a fight with a tour group of about 20 Chinese women.  There was clearly a line forming outside the door of one of the exhibits, and Matt and I were standing in the line.  Next thing I know one of the Chinese ladies has gone to the side of the line and somehow weaseled her way in front of everyone and then the other 19 of her comrades figured they would follow suit....uh homey don't pay dat.  I then cut back in front of her and also another lady who was an actual tour guide (with another group) also got onto the women.  After they were behind me, where they belonged, they then continued to creep so close, I could feel the lady touching my clothing.  Back back lady, gimme 50 feet!  Or how about 10 inches where your breath isn't tickling the hairs on the back of my neck!  Anyway I was glad to get in the exhibit where the room opened up and my personal space belonged to me once more.  I didn't take many pictures of any of the stuff we saw, because most of it was enclosed in glass cases (for obvious reasons) and a lot of the times there was a glare when I tried to get a shot.  We did find a nice little park area where a few folks were lounging in the grass, so Matt and I decided to partake in this lazy activity.

 After weaving in and out of a few more exhibits we had had enough of the palace and decided to head back to the hostel.  I still had one thing left on my list of things to do...someone can't travel to Turkey without experiencing a ......TURKISH BATH!

I got a couple of suggestions from our hostel but ultimately ended up going to the world famous Turkish Bath that has been around for over 300 years.  Plus I did have some type of discount coupon to the place, and I love discounts.  The place I went to is also the same place the book "1,000 things you have to do before you die" recommends.  After the guy from my hostel calls ahead to let them know I'm coming, I start on my journey over there.  I wasn't really sure what I was about to encounter, but I'm not shy so I figured I would be fine.  I did know, however, that inside the men and women are separated into completely different sections.  In a largely populated Muslim country, this was taken very seriously.  After I checked in and told them which Turkish Bath I preferred, I was lead to the women's area.  On a side note there are different levels of baths.  For instance you can pay a cheaper price and give one to yourself instead of having the ladies do it for you, basically you're just using their facilities.  Okay so after I was in the women's section they gave me a key to a room and also a cloth to wrap around my body and some wooden shoes.  I go upstairs and get in one of the rooms and change out of my clothes and come back downstairs with my cloth wrapped around me and clanking every step of the way due to the clodhoppers I had on my feet.

The next thing I know we have walked back into the main bathing area and I am immediately in front of about 15 naked women.  My lady is also wrapped in the same type of towel/cloth that I have on my body and she is carrying a small bucket.  We sit down in front of a running faucet and she then yanks my towel off of me exposing my body, and then she tears hers off of her self exposing hers, eek!  She then rinses a bathing suit under the running faucet and proceeds to put on a 1 piece bathing suit...."hey, where's mine?" I thought to myself!  She then takes the bucket, fills it up with water and splashes me with it, hands me the bucket, motions something at me and then disappears!  There I am, sitting by myself, completely nude not knowing what the hell to do.  Finally I look around and take the hint that I'm supposed to be getting myself drenched in water.  Finally my lady shows back and and shampoo's my hair...with a bar of soap.  After my hair is cleaned and rinsed we go and find me a spot on the marble slab, where the rub down begins.  First she has me lay on my stomach and there is a small pillow for my head.  Good thing cause marble isn't the most comfy of surfaces.  I decide to look up and put my chin on the pillow and as soon as I opened my eyes there was a girl lying in front of me and I got a quick glance of vajay jay.  It was at that point I decided that this experience would be best enjoyed with my eyes closed!  So basically for the next 20 to 25 minutes or so, my massage lady scrubs me with soap and has this glove on her hand that scrapes away dead skin.  At the end of the Turkish Bath, my lady then proceeded to show me all the nasty black dirt and grime skin that she had ridden my body of.  It was kinda neat, but then again I'm kinda into weird things.  All in all, the Turkish Bath is definitely not for the shy and timid!  I saw all shapes in sizes in the marble room.  From tall and skinny, to short, saggy, and hairy!  They gave me a new cloth to cover back up in and took me to the sitting area to relax and have some coffee if I so inclined.  Since I had a coupon for a free coffee I decided to order one while I sat and reflected as to what on Earth I just encountered!

When it was time to pay for the coffee, I told the ladies I had a coupon and headed back to my room to get dressed and present the coupon....umm, where are you coupon?  I just had you!  In the end I couldn't find the coupon and of course was summoned to pay some outrageously overpriced tourist fee for the cup of joe.  Overall I am so glad I went and had the TB!  The only downer was that most of my henna tattoo had been rubbed off from the coarse gloved used.

Back to the hostel I went, all fresh and clean, to report my experience back to Matt.  He was interested in also getting a Turkish Bath, but first wanted to see what it was like.  I think he was a little weirded out that you had to be nude and that other guys would be rubbing around on you.  To this day, I'm still not sure if he ended up getting one during the rest of his stay in Turkey.  Next time he's on facebook I'll have to be sure and ask him.

Later that night we decided to go and eat a nice dinner.  We got a suggestion from a girl that also works at the front desk.  I can't remember what either of us ordered, but I do remember it being tasty.  Then again, anything would have been better than the Mexican food we had eaten the night before.  That was absolutely gross, even more so than the French's take on Tex-Mex.  All along my travels I tasted various country's take on Mexican food:  France (Paris), Italy (Rome), Greece (Santorini), and Turkey (Istanbul).  By far the worst was Turkey.  Good thing I like their traditional food which more than made up for my tex-mex snafu!

After dinner it was time for bed, I had a flight to catch the next day that left at 3. Or so I thought...

stay tuned for the final Turkey tale!

Istanbul, Turkey (Day 3)

My third day in Turkey proved to be packed with tons of tourist sites.  The first thing on the agenda was to visit the Grand Bazaar.  I didn't really have anything in particular I wanted to buy but Matt wanted to buy a couple of things, one of which was a scaled down version of the hookah pipes we had smoked out of last night.  He wanted a small one and had hopes of shipping it back to Australia so he didn't have to lug it around for the remainder of his trip around the world.

The Grand Bazaar wasn't too far from the hostel and we found it pretty easily.  We got their pretty early because we figured we could be the crowds and sure enough all of the vendors were just setting up for the day ahead.

Inside the Grand Bazaar they had absolutely everything you could imagine!  Jewelery, clothing, rugs, lamps, pottery, pipes, etc!  Matt tried on a few t-shirts he was hoping to get super discounted but after he haggled the price with the men for a few minutes he ended up walking away.  We also looked at a few pipes for him, but again he ended up not purchasing anything.

Next on the agenda was to visit the wonderfully delicious and aromatic Spice Bazaar!  Upon entering the archway of the Spice Bazaar you are suddenly overwhelmed with the aroma's of some of the richest spices in the world.  There are also pyramids of different types of loose tea and most famously....Turkish Delight!  Every vendor tries to sway you over to his booth by offering free samples of this gooey treat.  There heps of different flavors.  Some with coconut, some with almonds, or perhaps pomegranate.  It wasn't long after we entered that Matt bought a box of assorted different flavors.

How beautiful are all these arranged!  The colors just pop out at you and they are neatly piled high to look like little pyramids.  I was impressed to say the least.  I would love to be a local and go to the spice bazaar to grab fresh ingredients for that evening's dinner.  Absolutely delicious I would imagine.

Next up after all the markets, we decide to trek over to the other side of the river.  I had already done this on my first day in Istanbul, but Matt hadn't seen the other side yet.  On our long journey to the Taksim area we stopped off at a little jewelry place where a man made handmade necklaces with all sorts of pretty jewels and stone on them.  They were different than your typical tourist jewelery.  They were stranded on a waxy cotton thread and all the necklaces were adjustable.  I picked up 4....one for myself, my mom, Lauren, and Andrea.  Matt picked up a couple as well for his mom.  After we perused around awhile, we happened upon the Galeta Tower again.  I posted pictures of this in one of my earlier blog entries on Istanbul.  We were both excited about going up the tower, so we went inside and inquired how much it was.  I can't remember the exact amount but I remember Matt and I both looking at the lady like she was crazy when she spouted off some unreasonable amount of Lira.  We immediately walked out and started talking it over.  We had both blown off the idea because we didn't want to spend that kind of money, but then something came over us and we talked ourselves back into it.  I'm glad we did, it was very pretty up there!

After we climbed the tower, Matt and I headed back to the hostel and met up with some folks on the terrace bar.  A few of us thought it would be a good idea to climb out the window and sit on the rooftop as the sun went down.  I think we were out there for about 10 minutes snapping photos when someone came and told us to get back inside.  We finished off the night having drinks and dancing the night away to tunes we requested from the bartender.

Below is a couple of our dorm mates.  Margot from South Africa and Selim who is from another part of Turkey.  Selim didn't speak much English, but he did know how to dance!

Above is Matt and another guy that was staying at our hostel.  I can't remember his name but he's from Australia and he's also the guy that was starving a couple of nights earlier who paid for everyone's late night food.  They're drinking some Efes which is a Turkish beer.

After a few beers I decided to head down to our dorm room and go ahead and get a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow was my last full day in Istanbul and I still had several things I wanted to go do and see.  The music was blaring pretty loud and our dorm room was only one flight of stairs away so it was a bit hard to drift off, but in the end I had no problem.  I'm not even sure if I heard the others come in later that night.  Overall it was a great 3rd day in Istanbul and you absolutely cant beat the view from our little rooftop terrace!

Istanbul, Turkey (Day 2)

The next day I woke up and fiddled around on the computer for a bit trying to find a henna tattoo place near my hostel and also a design.  I decided I like the design of "Fatima's Hand" which wards off the evil eye.  I wanted to get it on my wrist and finally found a pattern of 2 different ones that I wanted the guy to combine.  I ended up finding a place just a few blocks from Cheers Hostel.  The owner leads me down to his tattoo studio and then I show him my design.  He was extremely nice, spoke some English, and really took his time drawing up my design and combining the 2 pictures I brought into him.  It probably took around 30 minutes to complete and I was really happy with the outcome!

Soon after I arrived back at the hostel, Matt was still not there.  I lazed around for a bit and then finally heard the familiar Aussie voice that I had been around for the past couple of weeks.  After he got settled in we decided to go for some lunch at a little cafe up the hill from our hostel near the colorful buildings.  I think we both go some sort of kebab wrap and just as we were getting ready to ask for the check the prayer calls started blasting from the mosques.  Next thing we know we are being asked to wait for all the men to go pray and come back to take care of the check!  So as any good patrons would do, we patiently waited while they closed up shop, went and prayed, and then returned to finish taking care of us.  They also gave us some complimentary orange tea which tasted more like hot minute maid soda, however it was tasty and free!

After our bellies were full, our first tourist spot we decided to take on was going inside the Blue Mosque.  This is the only other mosque in the world with 6 Minarets outside of one in Saudi Arabia I believe.  To go inside the mosques, women must have their legs and head covered and you must also remove your shoes.  Women are only permitted in a certain area of the mosque as well.  Thankfully there is a woman right outside the mosque entrance that has some extra scarves and cloth to wrap around your body.  I brought along my own scarf and had her wrap it around my head for me.

The inside of the mosque was absolutely gorgeous, it was a wide open area with low hanging light chandelier type things.  Men were inside praying and it was a very awesome experience.

About 20 minutes after we were let in the Blue Mosque a security guard started coming around to everyone and kicking them out.  It was almost time for prayer call and they kick all the tourist out of the mosque during this time because it is sacred.  I first wondered how the security guard knew we were tourist.  "Hey" I thought to myself  "we could be Muslim and want to pray too!"  But then I decided not to hassle the guy and to just leave. 

The next stop was just around the corner and is actually where the main sultan, (can't recall his name) who had the Blue Mosque built, was buried.  There were actually several people buried inside this mini-mosque and we snapped a few pictures inside. 

Since Matt got in rather late that day we didn't get to do a whole lot, but we had been talking about smoking hookah ever since Santorini.  He smoked some when he was in Egypt a few months prior and I hadn't smoked any in ages either.  For those of you who don't know...hookah is flavored tobacco that is smoked out of those large pipes like the ones seen in Alice in Wonderland.  We head back to the hostel and decide to ask the locals where to go.  Luckily for us, the owner is sitting outside chatting with a friend and gives us a recommendation.  The place is called Chorlulu Alipasha and it's a huge "water garden" where all the locals go!  Sweet, we were gonna get the real deal!  And to top it off it wasn't far from the hostel.  He sent us with directions and he wrote the name of the place on a piece of paper for us in case we got lost, we could just show it to someone and have them point us in the right direction.  We stop off at one of the juice stands on the way and tell the guy working the stand where we were  headed.  He gave us a rec on one of his favorite flavors and said the place was awesome.  He also told us which room to go in because inside Chorlulu there were many different "companies" and they each had their own rooms and prices.  Yikes, this description is starting to sound like a prostitution house!  When we walk up there is a man tending to the hot coals, I was started to get excited!

Some man greeted us at the door and tried to lead us back to his section but Matt and I just walked over to where we had been advised by the juice stand man.  We were in a small smoky room, sitting on padded benches against the wall and our server came up to us.  We ordered the apple flavor and then it was presented to us in no time.  Of course Matt and I took turns taking pictures of each other blowing the thick billowing smoke from our mouths.  I'm sure the other people in the room were thinking, "stupid tourists."  Oh well, I'll never see those people again!

I also found it rather amusing that a sign, like the one below, would be posted in a business where all you do is smoke!

I later realized that the sign probably meant no smoking cigarettes inside, that only the smoke from the hookah's were permitted.  Either way it was a good laugh.  Matt and I also go to talking with another group of people that ended up joining us in the room.  An Arab man that spoke great English and then some teenagers he was with, they were all very friendly but after Matt and I had smoked an entire bowl of apple tobacco we had a headache and wanted to get out of there.  I grabbed a few more pictures of the main area of Chorlulu as we were leaving...I'm such a tourist!

Istanbul, Turkey (Gobble Gobble)

The flight went smoothly from Santorini to Istanbul.  We made one stop in Athens and even got a little meal from the Athens to Istanbul leg of the flight.  I can't remember what it was, but I remember it being tasty and delighted to get something to munch on during our short one hour flight to Turkey.  Once I landed I had really no issues getting on the subway system that I was to ride from the airport in the the city.  I think the only hangup was that I didn't have any Turkish Lira and needed to get some out of the ATM which only gives you bills and I needed coins to get on the subway.  Either way I was able to figure it out.  I was on the subway for probably around 30 minutes and then I was to get off at a certain stop and then get on the tram.  The trams are above ground and look similar to what you might find in San Francisco. 

This part was a bit more complicated.  I tried to ask a few people where a certain stop was and they weren't understanding me, yikes!  These people don't speak as much English as I was hoping they would.  Instead I had my handy cell phone and ended up calling my hostel and telling them where I was.  They told me to get off at a certain stop and that they would send someone to meet me at the stop!  How nice of them I thought, they didn't have to do that, but that's what I call customer service!  As soon as I stepped off the tram in Sultanahmet Square I heard the most beautiful sounds blasting from the loud speaker of the mosques minarets.  It was time for prayer.  Five times a day, voices and songs blast from the speakers at the mosques calling everyone to prayer and it is one of the most chilling sounds, it always gave me goosebumps.  These people are committed to serving their Lord. 

About 10 minutes later a guy approaches me and he is from Cheers Hostel, which I'll be staying at the next few nights.  We walk and talk all the way back to the hostel which was only about a 5 to 7 minute walk.  The whole time I'm thinking I sure am glad he came and met me otherwise I don't think I would have been able to find the place!  Cheers is also the same  hostel my friend Matt will be staying at (I got the recommendation from  him) when he gets into the city tomorrow.  I was a little worried about where I would be sleeping this first night because when I originally called, the guy said they were completely booked but that if worse came to worse I could sleep upstairs on the terrace.  It didn't matter however, because I ended up being placed in a dorm with a couple other people.  After I check in and put my things away, I decide to start walking around being careful as to remember my every turn so I could find my way back to the hostel. 

Once I started walking, I couldn't seem to stop!  I walked all over that massive city!  First I perused the area that was near my hostel.  There was a colorful little street with brightly painted buildings just up the hill from the hostel.

Then I walked over to the world famous Blue Mosque to take some pictures of the outside.  I wanted to wait until Matt arrived before I went inside.  Plus I wasn't dressed appropriately to enter a mosque.

I crossed the bosphorus river where local fisherman were fishing right off the bridge.

And worked my way over to the Taksim area where it's the main shopping center and also nightlife central.  I made sure to stop off at one of the many fruit stands that will serve you up an type of fresh fruit juice you could imagine...orange, apple, carrot, pineapple, pomegranate, or mixed!

The fruit juice was so delicious and pretty cheap too, the perfect combination!  Then there was the Galata Tower, that was beautiful as well.  Again, I only took pictures of the outside because I figured Matt and I would probably go up the tower.  If you've been keeping up with my blog, you know I love towers and panoramic views of the city!

Then out of nowhere, I enter this busy street with loads of name brand shops and restaurants, packed with people and lights hanging above the street.  I knew I wanted to get a henna tattoo in Istanbul because my friend John from Melbourne (who I met in Santorini) had gotten one when he visited the city, and it looked really neat.  I stopped into a few places but none of them had any designs I really liked, plus they were wanting to charge some outrageous price.  I blew off getting one that night and figured I would do a little research on the design I wanted and then take it in for them to copy.

As you can see from the above picture, the sun had already gone down and it was starting to get dark.  I decided that since I was wandering the streets alone I should probably start my trek back to the hostel before it got too late.  Plus I knew I was quite far from the place.  I knew I was on the right track since I passed by the Galeta Tower again, this time lit up with birds flying around!

The whole time I was walking back in the dark, in a foreign country, and in a place I didn't know, I didn't feel scared.  Yes I was cautious, but no one was following me and no one came up to me.  Finally I made it back to the hostel where I decided to go check out the bar area.  I was hoping there would be a few people I could chat with and get a good drink.  The bar area is on the very top floor of the hostel and it has windows that overlook the Aya Sofia Mosque, which is no longer an active mosque and instead a museum. 

I had a few beverages at the bar and chatted with the owner for awhile.  I also got to talking with an Australian guy of Turkish descent and he was extremely hungry and trying to talk a few of us into going for some eats.  He even said he'd pay for it.  So somehow I get wrangled into going with one of the guys that works at the hostel (the same guy that came and met me at the tram stop and ushered me to the place), an Australian guy, and some jerk that was Swedish or something.  We gorged on some typical Turkish food and some sort of foamy milk.  Of course I tried the milk and it was disgusting, but usually I'll always try something once.  We got back to the hostel pretty late and I decided to sleep in the next morning.  I couldn't remember what time Matt was supposed to arrive, but I figured when he showed up we would start our adventures.