We then embarked on our journey to The Blue Mosque. Istanbul has no "true" city center besides a sprawling patchwork of intersecting neighborhoods. The traffic situation is also complete anarchy: Baha and Tolga repeatedly mentioned their fear of driving on (and crossing!) streets overrun with too many vehicles, and not enough order in the way of traffic signals and lane dividers. (I was, in fact, the unfortunate victim of such carelessness, when our taxi driver took his foot off of the parking break and let the vehicle roll down the hill onto me at 2 miles per hour as I walked behind the car!) . . .
Once at the Blue Mosque, we luxuriated in the sun on its hundreds-of-years-old courtyard and gardens, having to linger outside because of the services inside. We could, however, hear the call to pray on the loudspeakers outside the Mosque. We then ventured over to the San Sofia Church, which was made into a museum to settle the simultaneous Christian and Muslim claim to its history (or so Tolga, my walking tour guide, told me). Outside, we enjoyed more tulip-filled courtyards. Apparently (also according to Tolga), Istanbul used to be the tulip capital until Amsterdam claimed the title.
On our way to the next attraction, we stopped for freshly-squeezed fruit juice from a Turkish man who made us promise we would return for some "Turkish hospitality." Finally, we went to the Topkapi Palace: home to the Ottoman sultans and an amazing view over the Marmara Sea and Bosphorus. Inside the Palace are museums jealously guarding Ottoman Empire treasures, including an 86-carat diamond.
I feel extremely guilty to admit that, as exciting as all of this was, one of the most exciting parts of our trip took the form of good old-fashioned celebrity-stalking. After using a restroom on the palace grounds, an older American tourist informed us that Eva Mendes (aka American movie star) had been using the restroom stall next to us. We waited "casually" outside the restroom, attempting to catch a glimpse of the star's exit, to no avail. We thus ventured back outside, where Brittany glimpsed Ms. Mendes attempting to keep a low profile with sunglasses, weathered jeans and a scarf as she her private tour guide showed her the palace grounds. After several minutes of not-so-secret stalking, we asked her to take a photo with us, and she agreed: as long as we were discreet - she was undercover, of course!!
We next stopped back at the juice stand to let our Turkish juice-stand-owner follow through on his promise of "hospitality." We received free apple teas and conversation: a father and businessman now, it appears he had some rough early years after spending time in an Amsterdam prison for "hitting" a policeman. . . . Hmmmm . . .
After stopping at the requisite Grand Bazaar (formerly prestigious but now, according to Tolga and Baha, "only for tourists") we took a 20-minute ferry ride to Asia. Istanbul (and Turkey) spans two continents: Europe and Asia. We happily seized the opportunity to experience a uniquely Istanbul treat: "going to Asia" for dinner (even if Istanbul's Asian side merely appeared a slightly-more-modern version of Istanbul-Europe). We had dinner there, another label-evading meat-and-vegetables-concoction and the storied Turkish Coffee (my favorite!) for dessert. Tolga attempted to tell our "fortunes" (apparently a Turkish tradition) by tipping over our coffee cups and reading the shape of the dried residue at the bottom. Our fortunes were hilarious, if not *quite* accurate . . .
After the ferry back from Asia, the boys took us to their favorite Istanbul neighborhood -- Taxsim, "the most modern city center in Istanbul." They warned us it would be slow on a Monday night compared to Saturdays, where one could barely make one's way through the streets. It was, nonetheless, extremely lively, and the most "European-appearing" of the neighborhoods I had visited in Istanbul, with quaint, cobblestone streets and narrow, hilly paths. However, it was a dichotomy of cultures: European-appearing, but Eastern-sounding: as we made our way through the quaint streets, we could hear the Muslim call to prayer in the background. Just down the street from the European Topshop, Mango, Zara, and Nike stores was a Mosque calling conservative Muslims to prayer. Finally, after wondering the streets and ogling Turkish Delights (also, according to Tolga, only for tourists) we settled on a café for drinks. What originally appeared to be a nondescript apartment building was, after ascending six flights of stairs, a posh café-bar (named "Leb-iderya") with huge glass windows affording an expansive view over most of Istanbul and the sea beyond. Despite the slight chill, we nursed our expensive (for Istanbul) drinks to enjoy conversation and a beautiful view.
After the drinks, Tolga and Baha decided it was time for "drunk stuffs" (their wording for what one eats after a night out - usually along the lines of greasy frites or crepes). But this is Turkey, and even supposedly "greasy" fare - or what should be greasy, by other cultures' standards - was here nothing more than a baked potato and fish (albeit fried)! Here's the story: we first stopped by a late-night restaurant replete with a baked-potato bar. It had the most enormous baked potatoes I have ever seen (a prerequisite for this type of snack, as Tolga boasted, because it must fit a myriad divergent toppings!) We picked from about 20 different toppings, including traditional American baked-potato toppings like cheese and bacon, but also non-traditional ones as well: creamed corn, olives, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, beet salad. . . . We chose what we *thought* would be a disgusting concoction (and it was topped off with mayonnaise and ketchup, no less) but that turned out to be one of the most delicious "snacks" I have ever consumed in my life. Next, we were taken to a cobblestone neighborhood selling seafood "street" food. First, there were shellfish stuffed with spicy rice. Next up: fried fish on a stick, topped with cream sauce and shoved into a roll. Finally, a sandwich filled with spiced ground meat . . . delicious, until the boys informed us we were eating sheep's intestines. Yum?
Our final day took us to Cagaloglu Hamami, a 300-year-old Turkish Bath, which for only 40 euro boasts a scrub, massage, and bath (which Michelle and Brittany inform me would cost upwards of $200 in the US). It was "not very far . . . but not even close," ie., how Baha and Tolga hilariously described its location, so we had to take a taxi from the city to get there. I had to leave that day to catch my flight back to Paris (Michelle and Brittany were on another flight thanks to Czech airlines' mistake - I believe this is the same airline that lost Beth's luggage on her way from Greece to Paris. The luggage somehow ended up in, of all places . . . Egypt.)
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