Prayers for Istanbul

"Ubunutu.  I am a person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours."

-Zulu proverb



I'm not even sure where to begin when it comes to yesterday's attacks on the Istanbul airport.  My heart is so heavy for the Turks and for everyone involved.  

Yesterday after the attacks, text messages started pouring in from friends to make sure Mike was okay.  Thank you so much.  It makes me feel so good that you all care as much about Mike as you do about me.  Luckily, he was in Izmir with friends.  Those friends were supposed to go to Istanbul today, but their flights were cancelled and they are spending another day in Izmir with Mike.  We are so thankful for their safety, but also heartbroken for the people who were not as lucky.

As all of the texts were pouring in, my best friend and I were talking and she said something that rings so true for this attack, as well as the attacks in Orlando, Paris, Belgium and around the world.

"It's just really sad that this is how people feel they need to act to insight the change they desire/have been inspired to think this is honorable." -Anna

It's so true.  It is so sad that people must resort to violence and anger to get their point across.  Fighting fire with fire does not solve any problems, it just makes the fire grow bigger. People in Turkey and around the world are now angry and heartbroken after yesterday's attacks.  Yesterday did nothing but make the divide between terrorism and the rest of the world deeper.  My biggest fear is that, as more and more violent attacks happen around the world, people will associate Turkey with violence and anger and  I would hate for the minority to be seen as the majority.   I have so  many fond memories of Turkey and of the people there, none of which involve violence or anger.

Right before I left Turkey for good, Mike and I went to the local bazaar where most people do their shopping.  I wanted to get some souvenirs, so our first stop was the ceramics shop.  As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the owner, Can.  In English, he said "Welcome brother Mike!"  and expressed his gratitude on meeting me. He offered us tea, talked with us and helped us pick out some ceramics for us and our friends and family.  We were treated like family.

After the ceramics shop, we went to the carpet shop where we met Can's uncle.  We were once again offered tea and things to eat.  We looked at carpets, but we also sat and talked with Can's uncle. We talked about our lives in Turkey, why Mike and I didn't have children yet ("You have been married nine months yes?" said Can's uncle) and about the world.  I will probably never forget our discussion because religion came up.  This man, a devout Muslim, wanted to know about our beliefs.  When Mike told him some of his hesitations when it came to religion, he nodded his head and said that he too had had reservations.  Then, he said "Whenever I have questions about whether God exists, I think about the wind.  You cannot see the wind, but you can feel it's effects.  Just like the wind, you cannot see God, but you can feel His effects."  The passion in his eyes and his love for his religion was so apparent, it brought tears to my eyes.  He was not trying to push his religion on us, but yet explain something that was so important to him.  I could tell that his beliefs were his guiding light and the reason for his peaceful and accepting demeanor.

After experiences like the one in the carpet shop, I am constantly reminded of Ubuntu.  I hope that when people think of Turkey, they think of people like Can and his uncle, not of the terrorist activities that take place there.  There are almost 80 million people in Turkey and my humanity is tied to theirs. My year there made me a more open-minded, loving and accepting person because they were open-minded, loving and accepting to me.

I just hope that terrorist groups will realize this too.

Inshallah.  God willing.

Istanbul Bombing

I like to give myself some time to process when something like the bombing in Istanbul happens.  I need a good 24 hours to get my thoughts together, otherwise it comes out like whydidallofthishappenandwhyarentpeoplemakingabiggerdealaboutthisandwhyandwhyandwhy.

Yesterday, there was a suicide bombing in Istanbul.  Ten people, including the bomber died. Perhaps the scariest part about this attack was the location, the Sultanahmed District, which is the hub off all touristic sites in Istanbul.  Just three weeks ago, Mike, Poorna and I were there.   Previous attacks in Turkey have targeted Turks, whereas this was a blatant attack on tourists.  While there have been other bombings and violence in Turkey, this attack definitely scared me a little bit more.

It's always interesting to watch the aftermath of something like this. Sometimes, I am overcome with the amount of love and support for the victims and the people of the country.  When the bombings in Paris happened, there was an outpouring of support for the victims via social media.  People changed their Facebook profile and updated their statuses with condolences. Other times, I'm heartbroken with people's anger and lack of understanding.

Recently, I've seen a lot of stuff on Facebook about how Islam promotes violence and that Muslims hate non-Muslims. That scares me more than the bombing yesterday or in Paris because it's just not true and beliefs like this are what is fueling the violence around the world. I think it's so important to know and understand the basics of the world's three main religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) because religion plays a huge role in our world. Not understanding the basics of each religions allows groups such as ISIL and Al-Qaeda to claim representation of Islam, when they are as Islamic as the Westboro Baptists or Hitler are/were Christian.  

As President Obama said last night in his State of the Union Speech, 
"When politicians insult Muslims, whether abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid is called names, that does not make us safer.  That is not telling it like it is, it's just wrong.  It diminishes us in the eyes of the world." 

His sentiment was echoed by Nikki Haley who gave the Republican response to the SOTU when she said "During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices.  We must resist that temptation.  No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country."

I know that people are scared.  I am. But I also know that people are scared in Syria, Iran, Iraq and the rest of the Middle East.  I think about the eleven year old in my Turkish class who is from Syria. She doesn't understand why her cousins must take a "jet ski" to move to Greece and why they must leave in the middle of the night.  I think of the Syrian scientist featured on Humans of New York who lost half of his family, but still wants to make a difference through research.  If I'm scared, I can't imagine how the innocent people living in these war torn countries must feel.

I don't believe that people are born bad.  I look at my former students, my God daughter, my friends' nieces and nephews, and the thousands of Turkish children every day and I know that people are innately good. I also know that a religion that says

Indeed, Allah enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred; and forbids indecency and manifest evil, and wrongful transgression.  He admonished you that you may take heed. (Al Quran 16:91)

and who's name, Islam, derives from the word "peace" in Arabic is not the cause of the evil in the members of ISIS.  It's not the cause of the ten deaths yesterday and the hundreds of lives that have been lost in terrorist attacks in the past year. Instead, it is a love for power that has caused these horrific acts. 

 I don't like to think of the members of ISIL or Al-Qaeda because that's what they want and that's what fuels their power.  I try to think about the Turkish newlyweds who provided dinner for 4,000 refugees instead of having a wedding reception or about my students who have welcomed me to Turkey and have spent endless number of classes trying to help me adjust to their culture while learning about mine. These are the people who are representing the true beliefs of Islam. So, while I am still scared and struggling to make sense of yesterday's attacks, I'm also trying to remember all of the good that has happened and of the millions of people both in the United States and around the world who exemplify the true meaning and beliefs of Islam.

I hope that yesterday's attacks are the last. I'm realistic and I know that they probably aren't, but I believe in a god who promotes peace and has the power to make anything possible.  My prayers and thoughts are with the families of the victims yesterday and for all of those who live in fear, both in Turkey and around the world. 

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." 
-Jimi Hendrix

Istanbul with Poorna

Once Christmas was over, we packed our bags and headed for Istanbul! My friend, Poorna, had been in India for a wedding the week of Christmas and decided to stop in Turkey for a few days on her way home! We were meeting her in Istanbul, spending the weekend there, and then all coming back to Izmir for a few days.  I was super excited to see her and to have a visitor and her visit didn't disappoint!

The day after Christmas, Mike and I headed to Istanbul so we could meet Poorna at the airport.  Our flight got in about the same time as her and we found each other pretty easily at the airport.  We had rented an AirBnB for the night, so we headed that way so we could drop off Poorna's bags.  I love the idea of AirBnB, but we always seem to have a few issues.  We waited for the owner to come and let us in for what seemed like a half an hour. There has to be a better way to arrange meeting the owner, but Mike and I haven't figured it out and always seem to have a few issues.  Once we met the owner and were let in to the apartment, we were pretty content with the size and the location.  

By that point, though, we were starving and were  in desperate need for lunch.  Our apartment was pretty close to a bunch of restaurants and we found one that had traditional Turkish food.  Mike got an Adana kebap, while Poorna and I both got the mezze sampler.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I'm still dreaming of that sampler.  It had hummus, yogurt, baba ghanush, stuffed grape leaves, and pita bread.  Both Poorna and I were in heaven.  Mike said his kebap was delicious also. 

Once we were fed and rested, it was time to start sight seeing.  Mike and I are pretty familiar with the touristy section of Istanbul, so we knew where to go and what is worth seeing, but Poorna later said that she was pretty confident she could have done this by herself if we hadn't been there because Istanbul is so easy to navigate. Our first stop was the Aya Sofia, which is basically in the middle of the tourist section.   Despite the fact that it hasn't been taken care of very well, I still think you can see the beauty that was once there.  Instagram filters help, too :)

Thanks Poorna for letting me steal your photos! I forgot my camera.....

Our next stop was the Blue Mosque.  We couldn't go inside because it was time for prayer, but we did walk around the courtyard and admire it from the outside.  Honestly, I think the outside and the courtyard are the best parts.  The inside is beautiful, but if you don't see it, you aren't missing that much. 

Why, hello Blue Mosque! Aren't you just beautiful?

Afterwards, we still had a little bit of time, so we went to Topkapi Palace, which I think is a must-see in Istanbul.  It's just so massive and there are so many different rooms and views to see when you're there.  We've been every time we're in Istanbul and I think we've finally figured out that you must get there early in the morning.  Despite the lack of crowds everywhere else, there were still lines to get in to the room with the jewels (the Treasury) and some of the other more popular places.  We didn't end up doing everything, but I feel like Poorna got a good feel of the palace.

When we were finished there, we were all pretty exhausted and needed to recuperate before dinner, so we headed back to the apartment for a little relaxation.  Mike found a Thai restaurant that we wanted to try so after an hour or so of rest, we made our way there.  There isn't a lot of ethnic food in Izmir, so we always try to eat ethnically when we're traveling.  Despite having to walk up the world's tallest hill (or at least it felt that way), the food was totally worth it.   I had a duck dish, Poorna had chicken and Mike had steak.  We split a bottle of wine and by nine o'clock, we were all completely full and ready for bed.

Mike's steak at the Thai restaurant

The next day, we had the morning to sight see before we had to check out of our AirBnB and get to the airport.  Mike and I try to do or see something new every time we have a visitor, so we wanted to do Dolmabache with Poorna since we hadn't been there and had heard rave reviews.  It's a little removed from the rest of the touristy sights, but it's totally worth the metro ride.  

So, for a little history lesson...Topkapi was the old palace of the Sultans and then Dolmabache was the new palace.  It's where Attaturk, the founder of modern day Turkey, died.  Topkapi is interesting because there is so much to see, but Dolmabache is incredible because of how extravagant it is.  It is usually grouped with Versaille and other big palaces. It's beautiful!   I can't imagine living somewhere like that.  The secretary's room was as big as our master bedroom! INSANE!  It's definitely worth the metro ride out there and I'm os glad we took the tour.

Never would have thought the girl I met in Yearbook would be my palace exploration buddy.
photo cred to Poorna :)

Once we picked our jaws up off the floor and finished the tour, we still had a little bit of time before we had to catch our flight.  TripAdvisor recommended doing the Little Aya Sofia.  Honestly, I thought it was pretty, but nothing special.  Maybe I'm getting jaded, but I just didn't think it was anything too incredible.  

We grabbed lunch at a Chinese restaurant and made our way to the airport to head to Izmir.  I feel like Poorna definitely got a good taste of Istanbul and Turkish culture during her first two days.  You could probably spend weeks or months in Istanbul, but you can also spend two days and get a good taste of the city, which I feel like she did.


After a little fitbit hiatus due to battery issues, I'm back and tracking each step!

Saturday: 30,565 steps!
Sunday: 18,188 steps

Kelly's Visit: Leaving Istanbul

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After showing Kelly around Istanbul for a day (read her recap here), we loaded up the car and headed out, but not before a stop at Chora Church. Little did we know, this was the start of Mike's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  Everything that seemed to go wrong did go wrong.

Let's start from the beginning with Chora Church. It's located on the outskirts of Istanbul, so it's kind of hard to get to if you don't have a car. When we pulled up, we parked in a parking lot around the corner.  As we were walking up the street, a shoe shiner approached us and tried to direct us to other sights because the church was being restored.  After getting us kind of confused, he told us that the church was just around the corner, which is where we were headed in the first place.  As we were walking away, he asked us if he could shine our shoes (even though we were all we wearing flip flops) and, ultimately, get us to pay money.

We forged ahead and entered the church.  It was gorgeous, as all of the churches in Turkey have been. A lot of it is being restored, so we couldn't see the majority of it, but it will be beautiful once it's all done.

After the church, we got back in the car and were ready to leave Istanbul.  Little did we know, it would take a good hour to get out.  We missed a turn and ended up in a neighborhood with narrow streets that were mostly one way.  We would try and make a loop around a block, only to realize that the neighborhood wasn't laid out in a grid and most of the streets were one way.  At one point, we could see the main road, but the street we turned down ended up being one way. Mike had to reverse uphill, which is not fun, especially when you're on cobblestone streets.  If I thought Mike was frustrated driving into the city, this took it to a whole new level.

When we finally made our way out of the city, it was like the roads opened up and we were cruising.  After an hour or so, we were ready to stop for lunch since it was around noon.  As I've said before, finding food isn't easy on the highway.  First, Turks like to enjoy their hour long lunch break, so fast food isn't really an industry here.  Regardless of what is going on, they will take their hour lunch break to enjoy lunch and tea.  This makes stopping for lunch on a road trip pretty difficult.  We made it to what we thought would be a big city according to Google Maps in hopes of finding a quick restaurant.  As it turned out, it was a pretty small town.  As we drove through, Mike noticed that none of the restaurants had women eating at them.  In the United States, this would probably just be a weird coincidence, but in Turkey, there could be underlying reasons and I was not about to find out why.  We stopped at a gas station to top off and ended up just buying chips to hold us off.  It was less than ideal.

As we continued on our journey, Google Maps got creative with it's route.  We ended up going on these tiny back roads that didn't really save us time.  In fact,  as we were driving down a back road, Google told us to turn right on a road that didn't exist. Thanks Google. You're great.  Not.

After navigating the back roads, we ended up at Galipoli and Chanukkale.  This is where the Australian version of Normandy took place and is like a rite of passage for lots of Australians.  The battle fields are pretty far out of the way though, so by the time we made it there, Mike didn't want to drive the extra 30 minutes to see them.  Instead we just boarded the ferry to take us to the island of Bozcaada.

Luckily, we didn't have much trouble with the ferries.  It was the one thing that really went well for us that day. You have to take two ferries when coming from the north and we made both of them.  Thank goodness.  When we finally made it to Bozcaada, we found our Air Bnb and dropped our stuff off before heading back into town.

We chose to come to Bozcaada this weekend with Kelly because we heard that there was a wine festival this weekend.  As I mentioned in my last wine tasting post,  there are strict laws about alcohol here that make getting information about anything wine related very difficult.  Finding out information about this festival proved near impossible and we had to just hope and pray that it actually existed.

I guess we didn't say enough prayers because when we made our way back to town, there was no festival in sight. Some of the wineries had shops in the little downtown area, so we stopped in to ask them about it. All they said was that the festival was on the streets.  We had seen a few stands selling jewelry and little nick nacks, but nothing even close to a wine festival.

After realizing that this wine festival wasn't really a thing, we decided to do a tasting.  We had done one in Izmir and Bozcaada was full of wineries, including downtown, so we didn't think this would be a problem.  Wrong-O.  We stopped in the wine shop of one of the bigger wineries and asked if we could do a tasting.  The girl behind the counter replied that the president had banned wine tastings in Turkey.  We left completely confused since we had done a wine tasting in Turkey, but were hungry enough that we settled on a bottle of wine with dinner.

I wish this is where it got better.

We found a cute restaurant on a side street that had seating all in the street.   We ordered some mezzes (appetizers), a fish to split and a bottle of red wine.  The wine and mezzes came shortly after were seated and we were happy to be out of the car and with a bottle of wine and food.

cute little street of restaurants and outdoor dining

As we were enjoying the fresh air, I went to reach over to grab some calimari and knocked over my glass of red wine....all over Kelly. It was one of those times where you watch what is happening in slow motion, but can't react fast enough to divert it.

I felt terrible. I would have felt even worse, except that literally two minutes later, Kelly knocked over her glass of wine and ended up breaking the glass (it didn't spill on anyone though).  At that point, Mike was completely embarrassed by the two of us and Kelly and I couldn't stop laughing.  Every time we though we could compose ourselves, we would look at each other and burst into another fit of laughter.

We managed to make our way through dinner without any other spills, although I'm pretty sure Mike never filled our glasses even remotely close to where they were at first, just out of fear.

After dinner, we tried to grab a cab so Kelly could go back and change her clothes before returning to downtown, but there was no cab to be found.  Not at the cab stand. Not driving around town. Nothing.   The bad luck just kept coming.

Kelly finally settled on the fact that she would just have to be covered in wine for the rest of the evening (sorry!!) and we found a bar where we could sit outside and enjoy a bottle of wine.  We were determined to try the wines from this island, even if we had to create our own wine festival. By the time we finished a bottle of wine, we were all exhausted after a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and were ready for bed.  By that time, we were able to find a cab to take us back to our Air BnB.

Overall, the day was pretty much a disaster.  Everything that could go wrong pretty much did.  It was truly a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  Maybe we should move to Australia.

Kelly's Visit: Istanbul Day Two

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After a very restful night of sleep, we woke up early prepared for a big day of sightseeing.  Since Mike and I had done Istanbul before and Kelly had a list of things she wanted to see, we were pretty organized when it came to planning out our day.  This definitely helped us and we were shocked at how much we were able to get done.

We were up and out of our Air BnB by 8:30am.  We stopped to get coffee and breakfast at Starbucks (we're so international) before heading out to Topkapi.  Mike and I were there with Jason a few weeks before and were SHOCKED by the lines.  These lines took waiting to a whole new level, so we didn't get to see everything in Topkapi.  This time, we were determined to get there right when it opened.

After buying our museum passes that would get us into the majority of the sights in Istanbul (well worth the 80 TL!), we entered Topkapi and were pleasantly surprised at how small the crowds were. There wasn't a line in sight.  We jumped on the opportunity to see the Treasury first, since that had the longest line.  We also went to to the Harem, where we

A little dark, but the Hogan siblings have been reunited

Too dark, but we were so glad to have a photographer!

Mike didn't quite grasp the concept of taking a mirror selfie. Kelly and I were in full force.

After Topkapi, we made our way to the Hagia Sofya.  Last time, we completely missed the entrance to the upstairs.  This time, the crowds were significantly smaller and we headed upstairs first.  Mike was pretty underwhelmed last time with the entire museum, but this time, he was loving it.  It's undergoing a lot of restoration and needs a lot of work, but the upstairs is in much better shape and you get a better view of things from the top.

A lot of the walls and mosaics look like this.  They need a lot of restoration, but if you can look past that, it's pretty incredible.

 Next, we stopped at the Basilica Cistern, which used to provide water for Topkapi.  When you walk in, you walk on basically a boardwalk that allows you to walk over the water as you make your way to a big Medusa statue.

There were fish swimming around in the water...weird.

Pillars in the water

The Medusa pillar

 After the Basilica Cistern, we made our way to the Blue Mosque.  Because it was Friday, we couldn't go in until 2:30 (Friday is the Holy Day is Islam).  We were able to see the courtyard last time, but the line was so long that we didn't get to go in the mosque.  This time we were prepared and were there right when it opened.  I also brought scarves for Kelly and I to cover our heads so that we didn't have to wear the ones that the mosque will loan you (I'm personally not a fan of head lice, but maybe that's just me).  Kelly ended up having to wear a skirt that they gave her because she was wearing leggings, but we did wear my scarves.  The mosque is beautiful and definitely worth going into.  It's truly an architectural piece of art.

Once we were done, we made our way to the Grand Bazaar.  I love the Grand Bazaar and think it's a great place to get souvenirs.  You can usually get pretty decent stuff there and the vendors are always willing to haggle.  We showed Kelly around and she ended up getting a tea set after Mike haggled down the price for her.  We were pretty tired at this point, so we went back to the apartment to drop off Kelly's tea set and took a nap.

Our last tourist stop was the Museum of Modern Art.  I really like modern art, even if it gets a little weird at times (just imagine the Parisian MOMA...things got weird).  It's always unique and makes you think about what should be considered art.

Back on that mirror selfie game. Mike kind of got the idea this time.

Up close

Far away

I want this in our apartment.

After the museum, it was dinner time.  Mike is suffering from good beer deprivation (a self-diagnosed case) and had found a microbrewery in Istanbul that was owned by a Brit (Kelly's people!).  There was hope for good beer! We headed there and were pleasantly surprised with how good the beer and burgers were, both of which are hard to find in Turkey.

We ended the night by meeting up with Dale, an Olmsted Scholar who is in Istanbul.  He's in the class ahead of Mike, so he's been here for a full two years (he did his language school in Turkey as well).  He's really nice and definitely understood all of our trials and tribulations that have come with this whole experience.  

Overall, it was a much better trip to Istanbul this time and I feel like we really got to see everything we wanted in one day.  Kelly got to see most of what was on her list and we were able to see a few new things that we didn't get to last time.  Istanbul is so big that I'm sure we can find stuff to do, regardless of how many times we've been there.  I think our next visit we'll try and do the Asian side....

Kells Visit: Istanbul

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We're currently enjoying a lot of nothing after a road trip to Istanbul and Bozcaada with Mike's sister, Kelly.  After our last visit to Istanbul with Jason (here and here), we were much better prepared and organized when it came to planning out the sight seeing and knew where to stay in order to maximize the city.

Our first day was mainly driving since it's about 7 hours from our house in Izmir to the outskirts of Izmir.  Factor in another HOUR AND A HALF to get into the city and you've got yourself a full day of driving and a somewhat grumpy Mike.  We wanted to drive so that we could stop and see some of the sights along the way, as well as stop on the way home.

Driving in Turkey is tough.  First, there are random road blocks (read: goats crossing) that you have to stop for suddenly on the highway after going 60+ mph.  Then, Google Maps will decide to cut 5 minutes off of your driving time by taking you down a winding road, which actually adds 25 minutes to your driving time.  And finally, there are not a lot of places to stop along the way for necessities like the bathroom or lunch.  The luxuries of having fast food or even gas stations every couple of miles were left in the United States.

When we were driving, we saw a Burger King about an hour into our trip.  Even though it was too early to stop for lunch, we were set on having it for lunch that day because the thought of having Kofte (Turkish lunch) for another meal was nauseating. Burger Kings aren't that rare and we usually see them every couple of hours when we're driving.  Well four hours later and well into my Hangry (hunger induced anger) state, there was no Burger King to be found.  We boarded the ferry with hopes that there would be food.  Sure enough, there was. Lots and lots of Kofte.

Driving did have some perks though.  We got to take the ferry....

and drive over a bridge that connects Asia and Europe.

After eight and a half hours of driving and a few stress-induced arguments over navigation, we finally arrived at our Air BnB.  I thought Mike might kiss the ground he was so happy to get there. We had never stayed at an Air BnB before, but since we had Kelly, we figured it might be more economical than renting two hotel rooms.  So, when we pulled up, the little old man who was the building super greeted us and gave us the keys to the apartment. From the way he talked, it sounded like this apartment was solely rented out for people like us.  He knew the routine. He also thought Mike's name was Robert (Mike's middle name), so he proceeded to call Mike Robert for the entirety of our stay. I told Mike I'm going to start calling him Robbie.  He didn't seem too thrilled. 

Kelly was flying in around six, but she was flying in to the airport on the completely other side of town.  We knew there was no way we'd be able to pick her up (even the thought of getting back in the car put a look of rage on Mike's face), but there were easy directions from the airport to the Air BnB, so she texted us when she landed and let us know she was on her way.  What we didn't realize was that it would take her three hours in rush hour to cross the city.   By the time she got to us, she was pretty exhausted and I don't blame her. 

While we were waiting for Kelly, Mike (or should I say Robbie) and I grabbed dinner at the restaurant that is rated #1 on TripAdvisor in Istanbul.  It was pretty good, although I don't know if it deserved to be number one.   Kelly finally arrived and we dropped off her stuff before going out for a drink and late dinner. 

I think all of us slept very well that night after a long day of travelling. 

"If I ever suggest driving to Istanbul again, please slap me." -Mike as we're sitting in traffic trying to get into Istanbul

Istanbul: Day Two

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Remember how I said I hadn't slept well the night before (and really the whole week before. I was averaging about 3 hrs of sleep a night)?  Well, that all caught up with me our first night in Istanbul. We got back to the hotel around 12:30 and by 12:31 I was asleep.  I slept until nine and I think the only reason I got up was to go to the bathroom.  I felt like a whole new person! It was one of the best nights of sleep I've had in a long time and I felt fifty million times better than I had the day before.  I've always been a big advocate of sleep, but this confirmed any doubts I had about needing a full night's rest.  

Feeling recharged and ready to conquer the world, we met up with Jason to start exploring.  Our first stop was the tombs next to the Aya Sofya.  This was the first place that I've had to cover my head.  Luckily, they have scarves that they let women borrow and wear while they're touring the tombs. It wasn't the most flattering, but it worked.  I think I'll just pack my own from now on, though....

Jason and I outside of the tombs.

Honestly, the tombs were pretty underwhelming.  They were covered in felt and just looked like...tombs.  Some of the mosaics on the walls were pretty amazing, but I'm not sure if it's worth it.  

After the tombs, we headed to the Blue Mosque, but because it was Friday (the holy day in Islam), it was closed for a few hours for prayer.  We decided to go to the Dolmabahce Clock Tower, which is far away from all of the other touristy sights (a metro ride).  We ended up at an Irish Pub for lunch, which was actually really good before venturing to the the clock tower.  When we got there, though, the line was incredibly long.  I think my jaw dropped when I saw it.  The guide books and stuff aren't kidding when they say the lines are long in the summer.  By that time it was almost 3:00 and the tower closed at 4:00.  If we had made it in by four, we wouldn't have had a lot of time to explore, so we just gave up and sat at the cafe outside on the water drinking some tea. 

Once we were done, it was almost time for the Blue Mosque to open back up, so we headed out.  When we got there, we were again amazed by the long lines to get inside the actual mosque.  We decided against it again, just due to time, but we were still able to go inside the front of it, where there is an open area for people to hang out.  It was beautiful and, just like everything else, I was awestruck.

Inside the Blue Mosque. There is a huge open area where people seem to just hang out after they are done praying. 

We also were there right as the call to prayer was happening.  I can hear this from my apartment, but it's usually in the distance.  This time, we were right next to the mosque and it was an incredible experience.  It's so moving and I can see how it would be a spiritual calling.  I know it's not quite the same, but click on the video to listen.

Jason was staying at hostel that was having a barbeque that evening, so we headed back that way and made our way to the rooftop where there was a bar and they were starting the grill.  I stayed at hostel when I was in London, but I was with a big group and we didn't really socialize with the other people staying at the hostel. Plus, I had swine flu, so....

Anyways, we hung out at Jason's hostel that evening with all of the other people staying there.  We met people from all over and it was so cool.  There were two Australian guys from Sydney, an American who was teaching in Abu Dabi, and Irish man, a college student from Chile studying in France and a man from Washington, DC.  It was so cool to talk to them and hear about their travels.  The girl who was teaching in Abu Dabi had incredible stories of the culture and the lifestyle, while the student from Chile was asking us all about Izmir and trying to plan his trip there. It was a great way to end the trip to Istanbul.

Overall, Istanbul was a great city.  I think Mike was a little underwhelmed, but I absolutely loved it, maybe more than Izmir. There was so much to do and see.  It's the fifth largest city in the world and it felt big, but not overwhelming.  While Izmir has the contemporary architecture and modern city feel to it, Istanbul was the opposite.  The miles and miles of cobblestone streets and ancient buildings made it feel like we were taking a walk through history. There were many more women in hijabs, niqabs and burkas in Istanbul, but the plethora of tourists and Europeans made me feel comfortable and accepted. 

We'll be back in Istanbul in a few weeks for a visit when Mike's sister comes to Turkey and hopefully the high tourist season will be fading and we'll get to see some of the places we missed out on, as well as some new ones. 

Tomorrow, I'll be posting about our first day in Cappadocia.  Check back!
 

Istanbul:Day One

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WOW! What a week it has been.  It's been emotionally and physically exhausting, but a ton of fun.  We've been gone for the past week, so instead of doing one huge novel of blogpost, I'm going to do one for each day over the course of the next week.   We spent two days in Istanbul with another Olmsted Scholar, Jason, who is going to Brazil and then parted ways before Mike and I went to Cappadocia, while Jason headed to Bulgaria to meet up with other scholars.

First, let's back up to last Wednesday.  We went wine tasting in Urla and had a blast.  When we got home, we packed our stuff and settled in for an early bedtime since we'd have to leave for the airport around 5:00 the next morning.  Unfortunately, sleep was not my destiny that night.  I think it was a combination of our air conditioner being broken and just overall anxiousness about little miss Emma, but whatever the reason, I just couldn't fall asleep. The hours passed and it finally got to the point where I had worked myself up and started thinking thoughts like "If I fall asleep now, I'll only get (four, three, two) hours of sleep."  It was rough.  I finally fell asleep around two thirty and woke up a couple hours later, but it was not the restful night sleep I was hoping for the night before a week long trip.

Mike and I grabbed a cab and headed to the airport around five thirty and luckily made our way to Istanbul without much of a struggle.  It's only an hour flight and I slept for about 20 minutes before we landed.  We wanted to check in to our hotel or at least drop off our bags before meeting up with Jason.  We grabbed a taxi and made our way to the hotel.  When we plan trips like this, we usually use www.booking.com because it has tons of customer reviews and we have always found great hotels for cheap prices.  After a few loops around the block, we finally found our hotel. I was immediately skeptical since it didn't have a sign and almost looked like an unfinished construction sight, but the address was right and when we knocked on the door, we were greeted by the front desk man. As it turns out, the hotel was relatively new, which explained the unfinished look.  Our room was pretty nice, very clean and even had a little kitchenette.  We dropped off our bags and headed out to meet up with Jason.

We found Jason at a little cafe and had some Turkish tea, hummus and pita. So Turkish.  Since it was Mike and my first time in Istanbul, we were as much of tourists as Jason was.  We headed out to the Topkapi Palace, which was an Ottoman Palace for over 400 years.  It was EXTREMELY crowded and I don't think any of us were prepared for the lines. There are multiple buildings and museums within in the palace and we bypassed the longest lines to save time.  The gardens and the outside of the palace are beautiful, so I didn't feel too bad about missing the museums.  We did go in to the portrait room, which was pretty cool. Mike has Turkish ancestors, so we're always looking for their last name in museums.  We've yet to find one, but we're pretty positive that they'll show up in some museum somewhere. 

The view of the city from the top of the palace

We went into the weapons museum, which was pretty cool, even for a non-military person like myself.  Mike and Jason were loving it and stopped to examine every sword, ax, etc.

After the Topkapi Palace, we grabbed some lunch before heading over to the Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia) Museum.  The Aya Sofya is an incredible sight and definitely worth seeing, but it definitely has not been maintained and there are many parts which are worn or destroyed.  I was still amazed with what remained, but I think Mike was pretty underwhelmed.

After the Aya Sofya, we headed to the Grand Bazaar to kill a couple of hours.  It's quite the place and definitely worth going, even if you don't plan on buying anything. Jason collects plates everywhere he goes, so he was on the hunt for one and eventually found one he liked.  Mike and I haggled for some hot plates because we "needed" them.  Plus, they were pretty. 

 Jason said that he wanted to do a boat tour and we just happened to run into a guy who was selling tickets, so we jumped on the opportunity.  We managed to haggle the price a little so that it was only about $7 a person, which made the tour worth it.  

They offer tours all day, but the night tour was around sunset, which made the city look even more beautiful.  I think Mike and I were expecting a more lively tour, but this was definitely a sit and listen to the tour guide type of tour.  It was fine, but I'm glad we haggled the price down.   The city is beautiful and buildings like high schools look like magnificent palaces.  Definitely a life of luxury.

By the time the boat tour was done, we were starving, so we ended the night with a late dinner followed by drinks.  It was a great first day in Istanbul.   We had a ton of fun exploring the city with Jason and were amazed at the history of the city and the attention to detail that went into all of the architecture. 

My sangria came with fire spewing. Never a dull moment...