Between Quarter 2 and 3, we had a week off during the first full week of February so two friends and I planned to go to Istanbul, Turkey to get away from everything and experience something completely new. And here is what we did:
Saturday
My friends, Iris and Andrea, and I all took separately flights to Istanbul from Amsterdam. The day before the Netherlands had a "snowstorm" that was a nice surprise. As the weather became quite chilly for awhile, the train tracks apparently became "frozen", thus leading to all fast trains around the Netherlands to being canceled. I ended up having to take slow trains to Amsterdam and then to Schiphol, so thank goodness I left early for my flight! 
As my flight arrived in the Asian side of Turkey, had to take an hour bus ride into Central Istanbul and meet Iris and Andrea at the Marmara Guesthouse in Sultanakmet near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. For dinner we ate at a restaurant around the corner. During our entire time in Istanbul, we were able to get discounts since it was the off-season and every place was trying to attract customers. Iris and I both enjoyed some Lam Kebab with yogurt. I also tried Apple Tea for the first time and discovered that I really enjoyed fruit teas.
Sunday
This was the nicest and warmest day we spent in Turkey and the sun was shining all day. There were a number of fruit stands with fresh oranges and pomegranates and we were able to have freshly squeezed juice from them, so good!! We walked all around the Sultanakmet neighborhood and went inside both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. I remember first talking about the Hagia Sophia in World History in high school and my friends who were taking Art History. So upon first walking into the main section of this old church turned mosque, it was quite the sight and my favorite one. 
The Blue Mosque is still active unlike the Hagia Sophia, which has been turned into a museum. As people were going in to pray, I didn't feel comfortable taking any photos so only have some from the outside. We wrapped our hair in scarves as that is what all the woman were doing and took off our shoes. Inside, the air was quite cool and only the men were allowed in the main section to pray while the women were in sections along the back.
Afterwards we walked a local park just below the Topkapi Palace and sat drinking Turkish tea at a tea garden overlooking the Bosphorus River and Golden Horn. The city has a busy port and lots of fishing boats besides the numerous mosques you can see all around you. One can also hear the call to prayers all around you - beginning when the sun rises and when it sets. The sounds of it just echo all around and I found to be uplifting.
That evening we walked down to the fish market, where we had the best service ever at fish restaurant called Beyaz Restuarant. When we first sat down, we were presented with a huge platter of the different types of fish we could order. You discussed what you wanted and how you wanted it cooked with the waiter. Two waiters served us all evening - one who wanted to take Iris out on a boat to an island and the other who wanted me to go out that night after he finished work - so they were highly entertaining and hospitable. Since it was not very busy, they were able to chat with us all evening and even join in having some tea after the meal. We all had a very enjoyable time together and had a really nice discount too at the end for such a nice meal.
Monday
We decided to go into Topkapi Palace because Sunday the lines had been too long. This palace was where some sultans had lived and overlooked the river. There are numerous courtyards, buildings and the harem (that actually was the living quarters of the family and not just for the women of the sultan). Many of the rooms inside the buildings had been converted into rooms to properly display famous artifacts, jewelry, clothing and other pieces of art.
Next we headed to the Basilica Cistern, which had been a largely forgotten water reservoir underneath Sultanakmet. It was rediscovered after it was reported that some locals would just drop a bucket down beneath their house for water or fish. There are a couple of famous pillars inside with upside down Medusa heads serving as their foundations, but historians have no idea why or how they are there.
Afterwards we went shopping at the Grand Bazaar, which is...overwhelming and it wasn't even super crowded when we were there (so can't imagine what it will be like when the weather is warmer). Think of it as a huge inside markets with various permanent stands of different products like pottery, lamps, jewelry, scarves, bags, carpets, the list goes on.The thing with Istanbul is that everyone is vying for your attention and calling you out in any language they can think you can speak. For us, the most common languages we were greeted with were German, Dutch and English. It was quite impressive how the Turkish people running the shops and stands knew how to communicate in so many languages.
Side note: A funny recollection is how this one shop owner recognized me on the street. On Sunday when we had first passed by he kept calling me Lady Gaga and that I shouldn't leave with him, that I was his baby. Iris just said, no she is my baby and it was quite funny. Then on Monday when we passed by again where he was just calling out to us randomly to try and get us to go into his shop when he said "Oh wait, Lady Gaga! Lady Gaga I remember you! My baby, come back to me! Lady Gaga!" Oh gosh, we had such a good crack-up after that. It was crazy all the different names they call out to you. Definitely a boost to one's self-esteem even if they are just trying to sell their products.
One thing about purchasing items in Istanbul was that you had to haggle the price down even though you may think it quite reasonable. Andrea was a pro at this because she had lived in India for 5 months. It was fun to watch her haggle for one of the lamps and she got it down to an really good price. On the other hand, I was able to haggle prices down a little, but am overall bad at this type of thing. I was able to come away with a really nice bowl depicting tulips from a shop run by Kaan Yapar, which is probably nigh impossible to find away in the Grand Bazaar. 
After all that shopping we really wanted to sit down and so found a local hookah bar/cafe called Palatium that was over an archaeological site. We had some excellent hot chocolate and then some Turkish and apple tea. That night we ate at a restaurant in the more tourist section, so it wasn't the best but we enjoyed sitting outside underneath heat lamps and making friends with a cat who took a particular liking to Iris.A word on cats: Cats here overran this city, they were literally everywhere! It was funny how they would flock to Iris though, especially since she was not approaching them whatsoever. The first night this one cat just forced itself onto her lap and didn't allow her to eat or drink for awhile. Monday night, the cat we made friends with was a little less forceful and took a long nap between Andrea and Iris while we were eating our meal.
Tuesday
Though it was rainy and cloudy all day, we decided to take a river cruise along the Bosphorus River to a small town on the Black Sea. There were lots of little towns all along the river, which the ferry stopped by. At the last town we got off and walked up to an old Roman fort where we could have had a nice view of the Black Sea if it hadn't be so foggy. For lunch we enjoyed some fresh fried calamari and I got some homemade Baklava, which was really good. Once we got back to Istanbul, we walked across the Golden Horn to the Galata Tower neighborhood. Along the way, I stopped in one of many shops and got a beautiful plate of deep blue and yellow and of course a shot glass. 
At the top of the hill was a long wide shopping street that was quite European-influenced. There were not many tourists in this part of town and many locals and youths were out walking and shopping. It had started to pour, so to get warm we sat at a random bar and played cards for over an hour, much to the amusement of the bartender (he was staring at the game we were playing the whole time). When we got hungry, we found a local restaurant that had live Turkish music. I think I got a little tipsy from the beers and wine and on the way out accidentally missed a step and fell into one of the musicians, though he was quite nice about it - so embarrassing!
Wednesday
This was the day Iris and I left Istanbul, as Andrea's boyfriend from Paris would be joining her for the rest of the week. It started snowing today and was getting quite chilly. We still managed to go back to the Grand Bazaar one more time to spend the last of our money. I was able to buy a beautifully painted tile of the Istanbul skyline, which was I quite happy about. Upon leaving from the airport, instead of flying back to Amsterdam, I flew to Berlin where I went to meet up with Yvonne, who had just arrived back from America to finish up her master's degree at the Hertie School.
I found Istanbul to be a mix of Eastern and Western cultures as they were trying to
balance old traditions with Muslim religion and the workings of the modern-day world. The people were very tourist oriented having learned to communicate and have basic conversations in multiple languages. The fresh orange and pomegranate fruit stands with juice were everywhere and so appealing, I wish I had partaken more in drinking in the juice, so cheap! The pastries were very different from those found in France, I don't know quite how to describe it, you just have to try Baklava and Turkish delights and then you will have some idea. Football (soccer) is of course a huge sport there with jerseys of many teams sold in this knock-off clothing market.
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