Between Two Continents- Istanbul (Days 1 and 2)

I know it has been awhile since I've posted and I have yet to write about my time in France, but I thought I'd go ahead and write a post about my amazing trip to one of the greatest cities in the world, Istanbul.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to my friend Doga from IU.  I met Doga last year and she's currently subleasing my apartment in Bloomington. I've told her before about how much I want to go to Turkey and also how I want to do some traveling while in Europe and she suggested that I go stay with her family in Istanbul. So within a few hours I had asked my German host family if I could go away for a long weekend, looked up plane tickets and pretty much confirmed my trip.  Doga was so helpful.  She loves Istanbul and knows a lot about the city so she made me a touring schedule, convinced her brother Olcay to be my guide (or just told him he would be?), and had a place for me to stay. So within a couple days I bought my plane ticket and prepared to go to Turkey.

On the Ferry

On Friday morning after breakfast, Matthias and I took the girls to school then I headed to the airport.  I hopped on the train, then on a plane and was off.  I arrived in Istanbul around 4:00 on Friday and Birsen (Doga's mom) and Olcay were there waiting from me.  We recognized each other right away from Facebook pictures and I was so excited to see them.  I was so appreciative that they traveled about an hour and a half from the Anatolian (Asian) side of the city to pick me up at the European airport.  We got on a metro then on a couple of buses to get back to the house.  It was so amazing to cross over the Bosphorus.  As we were driving over the bridge, the sun was setting and it was beautiful. And then, for the first time, I was in Asia! When we got to the house in Göztepe I put down my things, freshened up, then we headed out to the big shopping street in the region, Bagdat Avenue to go to a restaurant with great lahmacun (like Turkish pizza). It was really good! It was nice to walk around a part of the city that wasn't full of tourists.  When we got back to the house I had my first simit (kind of like a soft pretzel) & çay (tea). That's a really popular  combination in Turkey, so I found out.

Sultanahmet Mosque

Saturday morning Birsen made us a big breakfast of eggs, simit, and other Turkish breads and rolls that I can't remember the name of, and of course hot çay.  After breakfast Olcay and I headed out for a day of touring.  First we got on a bus and headed to Kadiköy where we walked around a bit before boarding the ferry to Eminönü (a region on the European side).  I was so, so excited to be on the ferry for the first time in Istanbul.  It was beautiful! It was so, so amazing to be standing in between two continents! The Bosphorus water is blue and the city is beautiful.  After arriving in Eminönü we got on the metro and headed to the Sultanahmet area.  There we went into the Sultanahmet (Blue) mosque and also saw Hagia Sophia, and looked at the beautiful architecture in that area. All of the mosques were so beautiful and it was interesting to go inside Sultanahmet. While still in the Sultanahmet region, I was told that it was mandatory that I ate the Sultanahmet Kofte (meatballs), so we had those for lunch. They were so, so good!

The "greatest salesman" in the Bazaar and Olcay

After lunch it was time for Kapaliçarsi (Grand Bazaar)! I was so excited and overwhelmed upon entering the Bazaar. For a girl who loves to shop and really loves getting a good deal, it was almost too much.  I felt sorry for Olcay right away, because I didn't see any way of me getting out of there quickly.  When I have a chance to bargain, I get pretty serious.  I had not planned on purchasing anything right away but at one of the first booths I was at I saw a pretty purple candle holder I like and the salesman was nice so the three of us ended up chatting for awhile. He gave me a "student discount" and sold me the candle holder for "much less than usual". The sale was pretty quick, so I highly doubt I got the best deal, but I didn't really care.  The guy was fun to talk to and he gave Olcay and I tea so we stood and chatted for a bit.  After that we walked around and I contemplated my purchases, tried on shoes I knew I couldn't afford, and made some purchases.  Olcay helped me bargain by using Turkish and together we got some pretty good prices and I got a few gifts for my family.  Olcay talked to a guy about music while I was picking out earrings, more salesmen gave me "the best price ever" and after about 3 hours we were finally leaving the Bazaar.  I think we both ended up having a good time.  I loved it!

Fortune Telling

After Kapaliçarsi we started making our way to Taksim (one of the liveliest areas of the city). Along the way we walked along the Bosphorus, watched the ferry boats and people fishing, and got yummy lokma (like a donut).  The lokma was great, but really messy.  We arrived in Taksim in the evening.  It was Saturday night and the area was full of tourists and locals.  That seemed to be the main shopping district and there were a lot of clubs and cafes and restaurants.  We took an adorable trolley down the main, crowded pedestrian street and met some of Olcay's friends.  We down a side street to what seemed to be a pretty hidden restaurant, but when we got there it was full of locals.  It was a really cool place. We sat out in the garden and drank Turkish coffee and then told fortunes using the designs formed by the last of the coffee left in our cup.  I'm just going to say the fortunes weren't true, because if they were, all of us have some pretty bad things coming up in the near future ;) After coffee, they decided to go to Burger King.  I felt funny going to get "American" fast food while in a city with tons of great food, but it was still nice to have french fries and pepsi, I suppose. After eating, we went to a trendy cafe where I had some yummy Sahlep (seemed to be hot milk with cinnamon).  After that Olcay and I went back to Taksim square to get a bus home where we had simit and çay with Birsen before going to bed.  It was such a wonderful day.

Istiklal- Main street in Taksim

So, that's an overview of my first two days in beautiful Istanbul. Within the next day or two, I'll share about the rest of my time Turkey. :)