Beyoğlu and Grand Bazaar

I don't particularly feel like writing a whole lot about our last couple days in Turkey, as it's just weird to try and do so from my house here in the US. So this is mostly pictures, with some commentary thrown in!

Yeni Cami at sunset

Sunday evening, we tried to go to a meyhane (tavern) in Beyoğlu, across the Golden Horn. When trying to make a reservation, most meyhaneler were closed on Sunday, which should have tipped us off that it's not the night to go to one, but it was the only time that worked, so we went anyways.

Mini bazaar at the wharf

The view from Galata Bridge at sunset

Birds! Mosque! Bridge!

What a cutie

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Google Maps is basically hopeless in İstanbul, so we got lost, and ended up asking at least 5 people for directions, all of which were conflicting. It took us 45 minutes to find the place (inside a hotel, which hadn't helped the search!), and upon arriving found it to be nearly empty, with only two other customers.

Beyoğlu: a tiny slice

Meyhaneler are supposed to be rocking affairs, with music and lots of people and drinks, but I was incredibly hungry so we ate there anyways. It was a nice restaurant (free water!!!), and we got the cheese plate, which was enormous, and some sigara böreği, cheese-filled pastries shaped like cigars.

sigara böreği

bajillion cheeses

Aww

It was all very tasty, and the view was beautiful over İstanbul, but it was definitely not the experience I had been hoping for. Oh, well––a real meyhane visit is on the docket for next time!

We came across a steel drums player
on our way home, which was cool.

Our last day, we visited Süleymaniye Camii, which was recently renovated.

Imposing!

I wore my black maxi skirt and brought a headscarf, but it turned out I hadn't needed to––they had robes available for Western visitors. At least I didn't have to worry about sweating in something someone else would have to wear! The mosque was beautiful and very large; there was some gorgeous painting detailing and stunning stained glass windows, but it was overall quite simple, which just emphasized how huge it was.

Gorgeous, no?

Stained glass at the front

Concentric domes! 

Big.

Really, really stunning glass 

Main dome

It was approaching prayer time when we
were there, and before we left, the
imam started singing.

Seriously, the cutest.

I'll have to visit the Blue Mosque next time I'm in İstanbul, but I liked Süleymaniye very much!

We spent a couple hours at the Bazaar, where I found a lot of presents to bring home. If you want the best prices, don't wait until the Grand Bazaar––Marcos saw carpets for much, much cheaper in Selçuk, and we found some knick knacks for cheaper (even post-bargaining) just out on the street in front of our hotel. Still, it's worth checking out the Bazaar just for kicks!

Along the main jewelry street; we saw a 30,000 USD
diamond dragonfly pin in one of the stores. We did not
buy it, surprisingly.

Surreptitious photo of some insanely detailed ceramics

My tiles!

Just don't ask how much things cost out of curiosity; sellers will always think you're wanting to purchase and will get offended if, upon being asked how much you'd be able to pay, you answer honestly and very low, as happened to us at a carpet shop. Some people really love the process of bargaining, but Marcos and I do not count ourselves among that crowd, so I am frankly quite happy to be back in the land of fixed prices. For myself, I got a couple of hand-painted tiles; they were originally 160 TL, but Marcos bargained him down to 100 (roughly $52). They're absolutely gorgeous and I plan to get them framed to have forever more!

For our last meal, we decided to splurge and get a terracotta stew, which is cooked in fire in a terracotta sealed vase, then broken open with a knife when ready to eat.

The breaking-open process

It was an obscene amount of food, and absolutely delicious, but I ate way too much and paid for it on the flight back the next day.

He gave me more than he gave Marcos; I guess he
could sense I eat more!

Om nom nom

Oh well! We had hoped to try rakı, aniseed liquor, but after dinner I was just too tired and wanted to pack. Another thing for the next trip!

The trip home was fine, though very long, and I'm still not on a "normal" sleep schedule.

An assortment of some of the warnings on boxes of cigarettes

in Atatürk airport. They're pretty awesome.

I wonder how many people buying
cigarettes in an airport haven't yet
started smoking...

Hahahahaha, they should probably
focus on this in all the PSAs.

Marlboro kept it simple: Smoking Kills.

If you have the choice, don't fly into the US at JFK––customs and passport control there is a nightmare. Especially when you have to pee, as there is no bathroom between deplaning and exiting customs. By the time the hour and a half re-entry process had finished, I was about ready to explode. The joys of air travel...

I'll have one last wrap-up/reflections post up sometime later this week, but for now, thank you for reading!

Egyptian/Spice Bazaar

Today we woke up early (8:30) to have breakfast and check about laundry and bus tickets. We're taking the bus to Ankara tomorrow so that I can go to METU (Middle Eastern Technical University) and meet with some researchers there, and visit the TÖMER language school at Ankara University.

A mosque from our trip in last night; I'm not sure which one this is

We tried to book online last night, but the buses are incredibly full, so we had to wait until this morning to have one of the fellows at reception help us. Some bus companies don't allow men and women to sit next to each other, even if they're married (which we're saying we are, just to minimize the potential for any issues), so that restricts our choices somewhat. The trip back to Istanbul from Ankara should be easier to schedule, as there's many more spaces available––I don't know what it is about the trip there that has so many other people wanting to do it, too!

the baklava from last night (though it's probably not called
baklava)––very interestingly crunchy!

Our bus leaves tomorrow at 10:30 from the Otogar (bus station), which is a ways outside of the center of town, so we'll likely take a taxi there.We checked with the place we'll be staying when we get back, and they said it would be fine to leave our big suitcases there, so we'll drop those off before we head out in the morning. My backpack should be able to hold a change of clothes and the necessities!

After breakfast, I went back to sleep, and was joined soon thereafter by Marcos. We slept until about 3:00, because apparently, we were very tired. Once we'd roused ourselves from our sleepy stupor, we walked down to the next hotel and then to the Egyptian/Spice Bazaar. On the way, we passed the Yeni Cami (New Mosque), but I was not appropriately attired in my above-the-knees dress and lack of headscarf, so we didn't go in.

We did snap some pics of the outside, though!

Instead, we wandered the bazaar, which is smaller than the Grand Bazaar and devoted primarily to food, so you can imagine how much fun I had.

Even with all the people (though it was much less crowded
and terrible than I was expecting!)

I didn't purchase anything, though I definitely will at the Grand Bazaar, but there were a number of tantalizing delights.

Like spices and tea and Turkish delight galore!

We wandered back to our hotel and stopped at a cafe for an early dinner, where we were given an assortment of mezes (cold starters) and chicken döner and rice, which we were instructed to wrap in thin tortillas like a little burrito. It was very tasty, but the bill (50 TL) was not; we agreed we need to get better about asking about prices before we agree to eat somewhere. On the upside, we didn't spend any other money today (save a few lira on snacks [okay, mostly cookies] for our trip tomorrow, and some water), so it's not like it'll broke-ify us.

Some nice lamps at the bazaar

We spent a lot of time walking today, so I am quite tired. I handwashed some clothes, enough to get me through until we get back from Ankara, and now I think I'll do some reading. Marcos went out to do some stock footage and just got back; he said the Grand Bazaar is just beyond the mosque we can see out our window. Pity we didn't go there today!