Taxi Cab: On the way to the airport at 2am or so, we get a Pakistani driver in the north that was absolutely hilarious. This man spoke seven different languages, grew up in Germany, was half Cypriot, half Pakistani and what a character he was! He went off on how we couldn’t fall in love with a Turkish men because all they think about is bad things and they don’t respect woman… he went on and on and told us respect is number one, then love, then….. us three girls were in the back were cracking up. Next thing we know he is belting out Celion Dion with Kassidy! As if that wasn’t enough he found out Shami was born in Zimbabwe and so he goes, “now I have some music for you!” We were all a little unsure about what was about to be played and then Bob Marley started to play. Everyone starting singing and we even stayed in the car to listen to more music once we got there, after all “there was no hurry!” Way to eventful for a late night ride to the airport!
Our hotel: was perfect. We ate breakfast overlooking the water and then we were able to walk five minutes to the Blue Mosque and everything from there. They gave us slippers (still stoked about that) and helped us book our Turkish bath and all airport connections. Pretty cozy!
Adventures of day one! We walked out of our hotel with a loose idea of where we were going and then all of a sudden we were smack-dab in the middle between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (Sultanahmet Square). We were in complete awe!
We took our pictures and then started walking towards the Grand Bazaar, but not before Shami and I made our first purchase. I was SO proud of myself! It was just a little dinky Istanbul booklet with pictures and info and Shami haggled it down from 37 TY to 15ty, but guess how much I got it for? Yes, that’s right… 5TY! I felt so accomplished!
So we finally got to the Grand Bazaar and it was insane! It was so visually and mentally overwhelming, never ending. I bought so much there and felt really good about all of my purchases except for when I tried using my American money I kind of got screwed. The men workers there were ridiculous! I took some videos but their sayings to try to get you were hilarious, “where you from?... paradise?” or when you’d blow someone off the next guy would say, “I think you dropped your heart back there” and of course I would be the one to start laughing.
We dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed to the Blue Mosque. We made it in just before closing which means we didn’t get too much time in there. It was such a peaceful place to be, I wish I could have just sat down and soaked it in more than I did but I kept busy looking at all the beautiful glass work and the size of the mosque, it was massive yet had a really intimate feeling. I’ve enjoyed all the mosques I’ve had the chance to visit, but this one is my favorite.
NOW FOR THE MAIN EVENT! My Turkish Bath!
Part of me doesn’t even want to write about this experience because there is no way it would properly translate with only words, for example, “half naked men bathing people” – now how many interpretations does that give off! We get checked in and sent up to our changing hut, oh but can I mention everyone working in the lobby looked like little genie guys and it was AWESOME! So in our excited, childish excitement we had a ball in our changing room.
After too long in the room we were lead through a series of rooms, each one getting hotter and hotter. Next thing I know I can barely breathe and I’m in the hottest sauna I’ve ever been in. we sit there sweating and then finally someone else in our group turns on a sink and starts cooling themselves off and you better believe I was quick to follow and it felt so refreshing. OH! And did I mention we had little clicky wooden sandles, they were hilarious and sooo hard to walk in, they literally go “click, click, click” on the marble floors. Now for a lack of detail not to ruin it, we got a washing, peeling (scrubbing) and a full body soap massage. It was the most incredible and relaxing thing I’ve ever experienced. I’d love to tell you more in person : )
We cooled down in a normal temperature room with a cold water and it felt so good, of course we had to document the process! I don’t even know what to say about it but it makes me happy just looking back on it.
Day 2 Istanbul! We enjoyed breakfast and then headed to the Topkapi Palace, recommendations from Jenn. Constructed in 1460 it is full of history and so stunning.
(gate of palace)
But you know what, it’s not the palace I’ll remember the longest but the children we met. We were walking down one of the beautiful walk ways with colorful trees on both sides and all of a sudden we come across groups of children having a field trip. Gaining courage they started to say hello and as more children greeted us Shami turned back to me and asked if we should stop and say hello, and instantly said yes. These kids had such an innocent curiosity. Of course it was Shami that was born in Africa and then moved to the United States, and then me and Kassidy; all of us with very different appearances. Some could only say hello in English and then they would speak to me in Turkish but even so I could tell what they were asking. I would say, “Hello, I’m from America” and I’d get this innocent, lively “OOOOH, Amer-I-ca!!!” with such enthusiasm. They all had their little digital cameras and so we took pictures with them, shook their hands and bid our goodbyes as the teachers tried to get the children back into their lines. We saw these kids multiple times in the palace and they’d always talk to us and one kid didn’t not want to let go of my hand, expressing he loooooved me! So adorable.
I’ve always said I wish I could have the enthusiasm, excitement & innocence of a child and this trip and these children helped me getting pretty close to understanding that feeling years later. These children were awesome, not to mention the older Turkish family that insisted on having pictures with us three as well; 30 seconds of our time made their day.
The rest of the palace was great. We rented little headsets (how responsible) to hear about the palace and each room we went into. They have some of the oldest and most influential relics in all of Turkey, if not the world. However, I couldn’t take pictures of those so here is a keeper:
I wanted to go to the Spice Bazaar but we ran out of time because we wanted to pick up a few more things from the Grand Bazaar. My time was up in Istanbul… but first I must make note of the CRAZY driving in Istanbul! Well Turkey and Cyprus and many places around here. So in the city the roads are only big enough for one car so therefore its always best to go as fast as you can, get within inches of every car and wall and make sure when backing up to let a car go by, do it in style “gas! Break! Gas! Break!” it will passengers like me feel wonderful at the end of the ride! Now for driving on multiple lane roads, I took note of some important rules:
1. Your horn is your most important part of your car
2. When turning left across traffic it’s always best to be in the far right lane and then cut off everyone next to you and barely doge on-coming traffic without getting t-boned
3. Everyone is a race driver, that’s why the lights go, “red, yellow, GREEN!”
4. Additionally, you can’t be slow-joe so as soon as the light turns yellow its best to hit the gas as hard as you can in order to massage you’re passengers neck muscles
5. When going on huge roundabouts it best to be on the inside lane when exiting that way you can make sure everyone else’s horn works when you cross 2-4 lanes of circular traffic, especially if you’re a huge bus, that’s ideal!
Love you all, don’t ever worry about me running off mts, hiding in treehouse communities or traveling the world…. Worry about me every time I have to take a taxi ride! Haha, my life is never uneventful to say the least : )
PS: if you want a good story in person, remember to ask me about the Istanbul airport… first times for everything!
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