Istanbul, Turkey!
Nope, not the animal! The COUNTRY!!! Our first day began with a presentation from a Bologna Expert, Dr. Burak! WHAT?!! You don’t know what the Bologna Process is???!!! Well that’s ok, neither did I before I started studying international higher education on this voyage. In (very) brief, it is the higher education program that began in 1999 that is followed by a 47 European countries! The program is designed to promote employability, create comparable degrees, facilitate mobility, and increase competitiveness as a student. My favorite objective of the program (as highlighted) is the fact that the involved parties value offering their students a simple way to become a global citizen by studying somewhere outside of their home country! This mostly shocks me because the US complicates the transfer process so much that it is difficult to study outside of the states, let alone another country! I whole heartedly believe that the US needs to learn something from this Bologna Process, especially because we are now falling behind in education in comparison to many others around the world! …ok so enough rallying for a Bologna Process (if you’re interested you will have to come talk to me latter… or look it up… it’s fascinating)! He was a really great presenter and really gave us a chance to pick his brain on the process that we had been studying… but eventually we wanted to hoop off the ship to explore Turkey!!
We were told that we had an excellent location for the ship this time but we had no idea we would be this close to EVERYTHING! It was fantastic! Of course our first stop was to the ATMs to pick up money… but I don’t like the exchange rate and I found the Western Union bank right next to them and popped in to exchange for free :D I love saving $ especially this late into the trip! Then it was time to explore! Of course we also had a mission in our exploration… which was to find a Turkish Bath! We first crossed the Galata Bridge. Only half way through the bridge we had already been stopped about 8 times by the little restaurants on the lower level of the bridge to join them for dinner… we decided that we would be walking the top half more often! Here (2nd level) there were a few mindful venders selling sunglasses and water… other than that, about 100 guys fishing off the railings… I wanted to borrow one and fish for a bit, but thinking back… I can’t really think of any of them that caught a good size fish… Any how, we continued on and of course the first building we see is a Mosque! The winding walk way did not allow us to go straight to it though so that would be an adventure for another time. Onward we went up and down the winding and narrow roads of Istanbul and, as we were warned, we found ourselves lost! With no plans for the day and no huge rush for anything in particular… we got a little more lost and just enjoyed the scenery and people J! This country was a bit different language wise because, unless they worked with tourists (and even then…) they didn’t know very much English… try asking for directions or just figuring out where you are without words!!! Eventually, we just kept wondering and found ourselves in what looked like some sort of market area. I looked down at one point and saw this weird backpack… kind of shaped like an L with the shoulder straps on the tail end ( L <-this side) that didn’t make since to me… but when I saw a guy with it on his back… and the hugemungus box (probably with items for his shop) I noticed that it was used as a support mechanism to help them lug large items around. Like I’ve mentioned already, the roads are narrow and windy and you can’t get a car through them… so it has to be people! After seeing these little guys with their massive boxes work hard to get to work we discovered that we had made it to a main road! Basically we walked a block and stumbled upon one of the most famous Hamams (Baths). Relieved we went in and checked it out! It looked great! After finding it we just wanted to explore some more and did a little price shopping for random things around the area.
Eventually it was dinner time and after seeing the prices on the main street, we all decided to go up an ally to find something cheaper. We were very happy to come across a quaint little restaurant. We were warmly welcomed (unlike the others who just insisted we sit) into their restaurant! The food was DELICIOUS!!! I had a traditional meatball smothered in some yummy sauce! At the end of our meal our wonderful waiter, Fehmi, asked us if we had tried traditional Turkish Tea. Of course none of us had and he brought us out a free round J It was really good! He was soo sweet!! He even offered for us to come back later for Naglina (hookah), but we wanted to head out to check out more of Istanbul. After Tiana got our waiters number J we headed out and explored more!
Eventually we found ourselves in Sultan Ahamet Square… right in the middle of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia! By this time it was already getting pretty late and the sky was a lit but dark blue and with the Hagia Sophia lit and the wonderful waterfall in front the view was just beautiful!!! We all decided that we needed to return but that mosques were for another day J We continued on to find a “Water Closet” or WC… or as y’all know it restroom! In most of these countries, they are not too common AND you have to pay!! …oh and it’s always good to bring toilet paper! Any how we found one next to a hookah place and decided to stay there… where we all tried some hookah as we enjoyed a performance form a worling Dervish. Basically, this is a religious dance where the “performers” wear a white gown that covers everything neck down, and a tall brown furry hat. They spin and spin and spin without falling for a long time and while they spin they are in deep prayer. I have a lot of respect for them because I would fall for sure… and he didn’t even loose his balance when he stopped! And that wrapped up day one as we headed back to the ship for a good nights sleep!
Ha ha I’m looking at my Blog so far and its already too long J But that’s ok, most of the next days included getting lost again and shopping around. So the next day all the grad students went out to explore again J we came back for lunch on the ship and joined a few others. Evan shouted out that if anyone wanted to join him on a trip to Asia for ice cream meet at Tymitz Sqare at 2:30… how funny is it that we are able to say something like that!! “Oh, I’m just going to Asia for ice cream!” I feel SOOOOO privileged!!! I still can’t believe I’m here some times!! So, I met Evan and Jenn to do just that! We jumped on a fairy to the other side of Turkey and found ourselves in Asia… except it looked just like the other half of Turkey J Well minus all the tourists! It was nice to just get a feel for a place without getting bombarded! We strolled around looking for this “Chewy” ice cream that supposedly Turkey is known for… I had no idea what they were talking about… but when we found it I surely did! Their ice cream was like a texture combination of taffy and ice cream!! I loved it!! Mmm I want more right now!!! Yum!! After some people watching and relaxing we headed back to the ship for dinner (meals on the ship are already paid for… so we save money by eating on the ship). Jenn was exhausted for the day and still had a trip but offered to give it to me! So for the evening I got to go on a walking tour of Istanbul!
Our first stop was to experience the “Call to Prayer” in the courtyard of the “New Mosque” (built in 1600’s). It was amazing! I hope one day you can all take time to just listen to a call to prayer! After the call, we actually took off our shoes and wrapped up (women had to cover their legs shoulders, and hair. We walked in and kneeled in the back where the tourist section was. All the men would pray in the middle. Standing and bending and kneeling and into a fetal position then back up and down again as a group at first then separately! All the women would pray in the very back behind a fences wall so the men would not be distracted. The whole process was beautiful!!! We left in a different state of mind J then boarded the bus to another little part of the town where there were a number of restaurants surrounded by live music, clapping, dancing and laughter!! The next little town was Turkcity! This was kinda like our sixth street back in Austin, Tx J The main street for night life!! Then we headed back J
The third day was fantastically relaxing!! We slept in this day and left after lunch for our first (and probably only) Turkish Bath experience!!! I was a bit nervous about this (you will see why) but I thought… I don’t know another opportunity that I will have to do this.
WARNING: this part is a little more personal and some may choose to skip this, join back in where the ** is J
So I went for it! A group of us grad students entered the Cemberlitas Hamami to the right (where the women went). We were led to our locker room where we all to undress and just wrap in a little towel. In a traditional bath, you basically get naked and have someone scrub you down! I was sooo happy when the lady actually handed us a little magic bag that contained a pair of black undies that everyone wore! Wrapped and ready we headed to the bath room where there was a marble slab in the middle. We each found a spot and laid there bare and free absorbing the warmth of the room (it was kinda like a sauna to open your pores I guess). When the washing lady was ready for us she called in broken English “Lady?!” and we came to be washed. My lady called me a little baby and thought that I was Turkish J She took my little hand scrubber and scrubbed me down! It was kinda icky because she was getting rid of all the dead skin!! After that she COVERED me in bubbles and washed me J it was nice again because I was all covered and I got a little massage too! In the end of the bubbles she pored water over my head and I felt refreshed. Then led me over to the little sink where she hand washed my hair! MMmmmmm J Loved it! Then I wrapped up and headed to sit in the Jacuzzi for a little while! Once we had a little group together we headed to the little rooms that surrounded the marble slab and pored the cool waters from the sinks over ourselves! It felt amazing because it was soooo hot in there!
**When we were good and ready we headed to the next room to get our oil massage!! Which was sooo nice!!! We all left the bath ouber relaxed and glowing from the experience!!! The remainder of the day was strolling around again. We made our way back to Sultan Ahamet Square and took some time to really appreciate the Blue Mosque and all its glory! It’s called the blue mosque because they have the most blue tiles in one building. It was amazing to be able to walk into and experience! Next we walked around the Hagia Sophia J it was beautiful! Then we headed back to the ship for dinner. I stayed in to save some money and catch up on some work!
The next day were dedicated to walking around and experiencing the Grand Bazaar!! This actually put me out of my comfort zone because I had to barter with the sellers! I got really uncomfortable but eventually I got a few good deals!! J
The last day I actually got to visit Bahçesehir University and I really appreciated the fact that it was sooo dedicated to being student oriented and giving its students the opportunity to get a global experience!!! I could talk a while on this visit (I already wrote a 5 page paper on it) but I’m already at 3 pages single spaced and I’m sure you’re tired of reading by now J I enjoyed Turkey very much if you could not tell J I hope you enjoyed it from afar! Well Morocco is next! Until then…
Sea yah latter,
~Jenni
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