Enjoying everyday life

As I was searching for my next activity to blog about, I concluded I should just write down the routine that I have found myself getting into comfortably. Every morning, I wake up with a cup of Turkish coffee. I have perfected the ability to make this thick as mud coffee, though I believe the caffine content can only be half of American coffee! The mornings are often spent cleaning the top floor of the hostel where the living room and kitchen are situated. Next, it is time to make a plan for the day. Plans often included walks to parks around town, to random museums, or to venture into one of the many markets in search for a good deal. Here are some photos of the past week or so of events! First, this is the Islamic Art Museum. This museum is in the main tourist square called Sultanahmet Meydan.
It is housed in a palace that once belonged to a sultan. There are hundreds of small rooms with chimneys in each, along with a few large ballroom size expanses. The collection included beautiful Turkish rugs (some dating back to the fourth century), a lot of Islamic calligraphy in Arabic letters, and many relics from archeology digs from around Turkey.
Next up, there are the incredible markets here. This is the Saturday organic market, that this past week was covered in snow. It is always a beautiful site with kind people to try to practice my pathetic Turkish!
Another of my favorite pass times is jumping aboard one of the dozens of ferries that cruise between the European and Asian coasts. Transporting the citizens from home to work and then back again. This is a photo from sunset today off from the ferry back from Kadikoy!
These are the two most famous mosques in Istanbul. The one on the right is Hagia Sophia (now turned into a museum) and the other Sultanahmet (which gave its name to the area of town that it is located). This photo also includes some of the hundreds of seagulls that follow the ferries on their trek across the water in hopes the passengers aboard throw them some bread!! In writing this post, I know the next of my topics will be food (yemek) of Istanbul. My mission now is to do some research!

Greatest Turk ever?!?

The snow has been falling here in Istanbul for over four days now, covering the whole city in a blanket of white. It has given a certain magic to an already beautiful city. The snow could not stop me from wandering the steep, slippery sidewalks for the first couple of days, but as the snow continued to fall I started to look for activities to do inside! With some persuasion from my friend and the owner of the hostel, Kanber, we headed to the military museum. To my surprise it was an educational and interesting experience.
Upon arrival, a concert was underway by Mehter, a Ottoman military band with international recognition. Along with a small crowd, we sat and listened to the drumming fill the auditorium with sounds of the battlefields of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans definitely held the mustache in high regards, as all of the men in the Mehter band sported them, a few looking ridiculous wearing thick fake ones.
After the concert, we marched through the halls of what was once the Ottoman military college, looking at old artillery, paintings of sultans, and a classroom of were the first President Ataturk once was a student. This room alone with its creepy looking mannequins all positioned facing the front of the classroom, raised many questions for me. Who was this Ataturk with the crazy eyebrows? Here is what I found out... The Ottoman Empire came to an end in 1922. As an undefeated Ottoman general, he quickly rose to power, as the founder of the Republic of Turkey. Now here comes some interesting information. Before this time people in this area never had surnames, they simply had their first name and then their father's name. Some people had several first names, but never a surname. Ataturk required all Turks to go and file for surnames at the government offices (sometimes the choice of the President himself), but first, he wanted a suiting surname for himself... Ataturk, translates into "greatest Turk ever!!" In addition, the man also changed the country's language (to rid it of foreign influence), their alphabet, and dismantled the entire Islamic court system. Any questions about todays history lesson?!

History comes alive

Look! I can see Asia from here! Today was a great day to walk through Istanbul. With the sun making an appearance I headed to the part of the city called the Golden Horn. Istanbul is divided by several bodies of water, splitting the city on two different continents. I added this map to give an idea of the layout. The circles in the center are where I am staying. If you click on the map you can zoom in on the thousands of mosques, the routes of the ferries, and the multiple bridges, but make sure to include in your imagination the large hills (seven in all) that make every walk in the city a test of endurance.








After spending the morning in a beautiful park, the time came for a cup of nar, fresh pomegranate juice. A bowl of chorba (traditional lentil soup) served as a perfect lunch. This tour of the city included boza (a thick drink of fermented grapes mixed with the perfect amount of cinnamon dating back to the fourth century) in a place that has been specializing in making only this drink for nearly 200 years. Istanbul is never at a loss for history.
This is a church converted to a mosque (with some of the ruins burried underground) and on the left is an Valens Aquaduct built in 368 AD. It still runs half of the original 3,000 ft through the city.

I came to dance

On Saturday, the city was even more crowded and buzzed with higher intensity than usual. For 2010, Istanbul was awarded the European Captial of Culture. There were events on Saturday throughout the city to celebrate. The largest event was a huge concert set outside in Taksim square, by Turkey's biggest pop superstar, Tarkan. As the rain fell and fireworks shot up from several locations around the city, millions of people, packed side by side in the square belted out pop lyrics in sync with the flaboyant man dancing on stage.
From Taksim, there leads a steet named Istiklal. This is where all the main clubs are and where Istanbul's night life thrives. There are hundreds of clubs that line the street and alleyways. Clubs that specialize in Turkish pop, punk, or rock, Latin music, American 80's music, or my favorite was Nayah, which played world reggae until past three in the morning. Dancing in a few of the clubs on Istiklal, I realized a very important lesson, the fist pump is a dance move that can be used with all styles of music! So, to celebrate all cultures of the world, listen to this Tarkan jam and throw you fist in the air with the beat of the music.

Finding my way

Allah Akbar! Do you hear that? It's the call to prayer. It is what woke me up today around 7:30, which is lucky because the first call sounds at 6 am from loudspeakers mounted on the mineret of the closest mosque. Depending on the day and my mood, this call to prayer can sounds like angels echoing through the city of hills or a sick dog howling after its leg has been run over by a car. So, the day has begun with the sound of angels or dogs, your choice!
In the northern section of Istanbul lies a fifteenth century fortress by the name of Rumeli Hisari. This was my destination for today. The premises was virtually abandoned except for the dozen or so police officers scattered among the cobble stone walk ways. Climbing the thousands of stairs gave me an opportunity to overcome my fear of heights, but also provided incredible views of the always busy Bosphorus River. One of my main goals in the time I spend here in Istanbul is find isolated destinations that one can feel alone in this city of over 20 million people.

Splish, splash, I was taking a bath

Upon arriving in Istanbul I knew I wanted to document my journey, but was growing sceptical of my ability to write an entertaining blog. I was lacking inspiration. I found all the inspiration one could hope for today during my trip to the hamam (a Turkish bath). Not knowing what to expect, I entered carrying my shampoo, an assortment of fruit, and an open mind. Once in the door, I undressed in my private dressing room and wrapped a sheet around myself. Feeling a bit out of place, I headed in the direction of the echoing voices. I entered a room tiled in marble, with marble basins filled with warm water along the walls and in the center a heated marble platform. The domed ceiling had a dozen holes that allowed the light to pour in. As I entered this sauna like room, I scanned the other women and noticed no one wearing a towel and everyone was wearing only their underwear. I reversed my course back to the dressing room to grab my underwear before joining the women once again. The room was filled with women scrubbing themselves or being scrubbed and massaged. I got my massage and proceded to take in this relaxing pass time with the occassional cup of warm water poured over my head. My largest concern during the two hour event was hair!! I have found that the majority of Muslim women shave or wax EVERYTHING! I feared these women would hold me down and try to shave my legs and armpits yelling, "Infidel!" No need to be worried, they all treated me kindly while I sat there sweating among them.