Istanbul, baby

The guy who owned the pension was really sweet and was fascinated with my hair. He snuck up behind me at breakfast and took a picture of us together. Apparently they just don't see much pink hair in Turkey...

We packed up and went to this sort of Akropolis in the city, where there are ruins of a massive palace that eventually belonged to Alexander the Great. I'm not sure whose it was before, but we saw part of it that belonged to Helen and Paris when they fled Troy. It was pretty awesome. Everything is made of beautifully carved marble hauled all the way from the Marble Sea, and there is a throne big enough to seat maybe 15 or 20 people that belonged to Alexander himself. We also got to see this beautiful and absolutely massive amphitheater that was there.

After our quick peer into the past, we loaded up and made the long drive to Istanbul. It was pretty late by the time we neared the city, so we stopped about 50 kilometers outside at this place called Hotel Osaka. The strange thing was that it is high tourist season and the hotel is really nice, with a pool and everything, but we were the only guests. Perhaps this is why they gave us the rooms so cheap- $35 lira per person per night (which translates to about $29.50) for a big room with a nice, clean bathroom, tv, refrigerator, and even breakfast in the morning.

So the next morning we had our free breakfast and ventured into Istanbul for a full day of Sasha's tour. This means that we walked to just about every museum and place of historical interest in the city.

First, we walked to the train station so Michael could store his luggage. We then walked to the bridge and saw all the ferries and whatnot. We went to the middle of the bridge and straddled the dividing line between the European side of the city and the side that counts as Asia, so I was in two continents at one time! It was really beautiful up there. Then we walked down to the seaside and ate what I can only describe as one of the most delicious fish meals I have ever tasted in my life. There is this boat in the water, and on it is a huge grill and a master griller, who cooks fish while the sea rocks the boat to and fro. Then another guy takes the fish and puts it on a sandwich with lettuce and onions, and he throws them to other workers on the land who spread joy and happiness by serving them to customers like us! Put a little lemon juice on it, and you've got heaven in your hands.

We did a quick pass through some markets, where people yell things at you like "excuse me miss, can I show you something here?" or, one of the more startling exclamations, "marijuana, cocaine, marijuana, marijuana, cocaine!" Though my favorite had to be when I walked by a man and he smiled, saying "I celebrate you. Great hair!" There were lots of interesting things to buy, but I didn't get a change, sadly. That comes later in the tale...

we then pressed on through the palace gardens, where most of the group paid 20 lira to go in and see the converted palace/museum. Emily, Jed, Michael and I passed, and decided to sit in the grass and people-watch. After a while, Emily and I napped under the shade of some beautiful trees. It was really nice. Emily said something while we were driving through the border from Bulgaria to Turkey that kind of hit me here. It was something along the lines of how some things, no matter where you are, are always the same. Like kids. While on the border, waiting in the car, we saw two little boys in the car next to us and played a game on peek-a-boo with them. Watching the kids running around in the garden made me think of them, and what she said.

We then trekked to the Agia Sofia, another museum that Emily and I vetoed for the 20 lira charge. Instead, we walked around a bit, had a bread/pastry thing, and waited outside. My favorite part of the day came afterward, when we had this amazing dinner downtown. We put together 3 or 4 tables outside (there were 11 of us) at this little restaurant that served one of my favorite things-- duner kebab! We ate this huge dinner and had great service, and then they brought us free apple tea (the most delicious tea I've ever tasted! I bought some to take back with me...).We said goodbye to Michael at dinner, and he went off on a train to Athens to meet his family.

Afterward, we went to see the Blue Mosque. It was a stunning building, inside and out, but it was difficult for me to enjoy. As a woman, when entering, you must take scarves that they have there and cover your hair and your legs. Then, when you go inside, there is a part that is blocked off by little wooden barricades, and this part is only for the people who are praying. And by people who are praying, they mean only men can enter. Its a huge area in the center of the mosque. But where can the women pray? In a corner in the back of the building. I'm sure if I was more familiar with the religion I would have known this, but as an outsider I was taken off guard, and slightly offended. Growing up as I have, I just don't see the world the same as other people, so I reminded myself to respect the country's religion and choices, and quietly left the building.

By the time we finished there, it was nearing 8:00 in the evening, and our next stop was the Egyptian Bazaar, apparently the world's largest covered market of its kind. Unfortunately, when we arrived it was being closed. I don't know why, because its supposed to be open 24 hours a day, but alas, we couldn't do any Istanbul shopping. I settled for purchasing my apple tea, a beautiful scarf, and some baklava on the side of the road as we walked to the cars. We returned to the hotel and slept well, after so much walking!

The next day consisted free breakfast in the empty hotel, and then driving back to Bulgaria. One of the most exciting moments of the day was when poor Emily admitted to the rest of the car that she desperately had to pee. And of course, we couldn't find a bathroom for near to 20 minutes driving... However, these 20 minutes were some of the funniest of the trip. We all did our best to comfort her by yelling out of the car obscenities and cracking lots of jokes, which probably didn't help the stress on her bladder. We finally found a toilet, though, to her relief. And by the time we got there, we realized that we all had to pee.

We made it to Sinemorits shortly after, the small town on the Black Sea Coast that we will be spending quite a few days in. The rest of the group left us, and then it was down to me, Emily, Edward, Nick Lehane, and his girlfriend Lizzie. We met the hotel owner, a great friend of Sasha, named Svetlo, and his wife Donna, and asked him to show us the ATM. As we walked along the square of the tiny town, a silver car pulled up and began honking. We ignored it at first, until from behind us we heard a familiar voice say "Kinsey!" It was Ivo! He hitchhiked from his town of Stara Zagora to spend the week with us. It was really awesome...

The rest of the day consisted of laziness at the beach and another dinner of Shopska salads and fried cartoffe (potatoes).

written by  NarSisyphus on August 12, 2008 from Istanbul, Turkey
from the travel blog: Bulgaria, London, and everywhere In-between
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