Istanbul, Turkey

Sunday November 15th
After having a nice breakfast on the rooftop terrace of our hotel two of Tim’s cousins who live in Istanbul picked us up for the day and showed us around all of Istanbul. Their names of Nilgun (wife-related) and Fazil (husband), their daughter goes to a University in the United States and their son is in high school and studying hard to get into a U.S. university as well. They first took us to one of the smaller bridges that crosses the Bosphorous near the area known as Eminou. There are many otopark (parking lots) all around the city, but Fazil just drove their car right up onto the sidewalk and said ‘Turkish Otopark’ to us, it was great, even with the language barrier between us and only Tim has our translator we managed to communicate pretty well. There was one fisherman after another on both sides of the bridge! We took some stairs down from the top of the bridge and there was restaurant after restaurant under the bridge! We all had fish sandwiches that we know were very, very fresh! We completed are meal with cay (Turkish tea). After lunch and the bridge we drove to an area known as Taxim, it is a long pedestrian street with lots and lots of shopping, some high end stores mixed in with bargain shops that you can actually bargain for lower prices! While at Taxim we met up with another one of Tim’s cousins, Handan and her two children. We had coffee at Gloria Jeans, they called it their ‘Starbucks.’ Mom and I shared a white hot chocolate and Dad and Tim had Turkish coffee. Turkish coffee is not filtered so at the bottom of your cup you are left with coffee grinds and there is a Turkish tradition of fortune telling when you turn over your cup and let it dry and the pattern of the dried grounds are read. For dinner we went back to Nilgun and Fozil's place, where they have a great view of the giant bridge that crosses the Bosphorous and links the continents of Europe and Asia! We had Turkish pizza, called Lahmajun, it is a much thinner pizza, with mostly herbs and meat pushed into the crust and then you squeeze lemon juice over it, put some lettuce/salad mixture on it and wrap it up like a burrito! After dinner we drove around the area under the bridge on both sides of the Bosphorous and we were able to take some really nice night pictures. For dessert we went to a locals place were you get yogurt in the original plastic container and there is a bowl of powdered sugar on the table that you add to your yogurt. We yet again found another delicious way to eat yogurt!!!

Monday November 16th
Tim’s cousin Handan picked us up this morning and we tried to go to the Dolmabahce Palace but when we got there we found out it was closed on Mondays which we had not seen anywhere in the information on their website. That did not stop of grand tour of more site-seeing around Istanbul. We drove up and down along the Bosphorous and stopped at several places along the way that had wonderful views of the area and a new food or drink for us to try. We began at a fancy café in a rich area of town. We had salep which is a warm milk drink that is a mix between white hot chocolate and eggnog. It is served with cinnamon on top. To go along with our drinks we had two desserts, rice pudding and a more traditional Ashure, which has a jello like consistency and is made with cereal and different fruits, nuts, and beans. It is a religious dessert that is made with whatever is on hand in your house and then if you can afford it you give it out to those less fortunate around you. The next area we stopped at was right along the water with lots of little shops and eateries. We were not extremely hungry at this point in the day so we ordered one Kumpir for all five of us! Kumpir is a backed potatoes loaded with anything and everything: cheese, meat, mushrooms, corn, ketchup and mayonnaise. Without us knowing Handan also ordered two other entrees for us all to share and try. We had Guzleme which is like Borek, it is made with thin pastry layers and cheese, meat or spinach. We also had Durum a burrito like food. After introducing several new foods to us and showing us around the area Handan dropped us off at the ferry to cross the Bosphorous and meet up with Nilgun and Fozil again. They took us in the car to see where they both worked, dropped us off at an outlet mall for a little bit while they finished working and then picked us up and took us back to their place for another dinner. The mall was complete with an ice rink, bar, media market (like a best buy) and a grocery store on the lower level. On the way back to their house the traffic in the city was very heavy, at one point a taxi driver cut us off and Fozil said, in his best Italian accent “Professional Driver.” This goes back to a story I had told earlier on the trip and did not even realize they had caught on or that Tim had translated it, but it was about my first taxi ride in Montepulciano, Italy when the driver was going 100-120 in a 50 zone and he could tell I was worried. The taxi driver told us “Do not worry, Professional Driver.”

Tonight we had Monte, which is one of Tim’s favorites, or at least it was until our eating tour through Istanbul. Now I’m not sure how I could choose a favorite. Monte is a meat filled pasta dish served in a yogurt sauce with a drizzle of spicy red sauce and a little parsley on top. For dessert we had lots and lots of fruit. We had this one thing that you were only supposed to eat the very center part. Well we didn’t know that at first and ate the other parts, it makes you tongue and teeth very dry. Fozil drove us home even after we tried to tell him we could take the ferry back. Well as it turned out half way home Fozil got a phone call from Nilgun that I had forgotten my camera at their place, I felt so bad but he kept reassuring me that everyone forgets things sometimes. After getting the camera and on the way back toward the hotel we got stopped at a police checkpoint. Unfortunately Fozil had also forgotten something, his license. We sat there for a few minutes and then finally Fozil got out of the car and talked to the police officers and somehow we were let free with no ticket or anything!

Tuesday November 17th
Today was our last day in Istanbul. Mom and Dad would be headed to the airport tomorrow and Tim and I were headed to Kusadasi, Turkey, a coastal town. We used our last day to tour the Hagia Sophia and visit the Blue Mosque. We walked through the park of Topkapi Palace towards the Bosphorpous and ended up back at the Grand Bazaar, spice market and other shopping stores to finish up some last minute souvenir and gift buying. My study abroad had ended on November 4th, but I had one last paper to turn in by the 18th. That night we got carry-out from the place we ate dinner the first night. While I finished my paper Mom, Dad and Tim got dinner and then we ate it on our rooftop terrace. We quickly packed up the rest of our stuff and Mom and Dad took anything extra of ours that they had room for and we headed to the street car tram to head to the bus station. Tim and I took a bus that left from Istanbul at 10pm and was 10 hours to get to Kusadasi, Turkey. The bus was similar to an airplane because they served us snacks and drinks. There was even wireless and an outlet so we could use the laptop! Luckily the bus was not very full so we were each able to lay out across two seats to sleep off and on for most of the ride.