Istanbul Days 1 and 2!! - Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey
We have officially been in Istanbul for a day and a half and it has been an incredible experience. There are no words to describe how amazing it has been to be in the center of a city that has so much history. It really is like going back in time but the city also blends so many cultures together so gracefully. But you'll hear me gush more don't worry I'll let you know what I've been up to! By the way I'm typing this on my iPhone so apologies for horrible grammar or weird auto corrects. Also these are pictures from my phone the camera ones will go up later so apologies for the quality. We left Copenhagen yesterday morning and were greeted on the plan with traditional Turkish music to get us in the right mindset. The food on the plan was amazing but I think our loud group stood out a little bit. We landed in Istanbul at 4 pm and took a bus over to our hotel. Inside the bus we met our tour guide for the trip who proclaimed himself our personal Jesus (so far he's been pretty great). He is hilarious and did a great job pointing out all of the sights on the way to the hotel. We saw the old city walls which he pointed out were built before our country was even discovered as well as the ocean and vacation islands where there are no cars allowed. Istanbul is an incredible city unlike anything I've ever seen. I am used to seeing beautiful churches at every turn in Copenhagen but here instead of a church on every corner there is a mosque. The domes and minarets are striking and give the city a unique feel. It is also very crowded with apartments with lots of colorful buildings stacked on top of each other kind of like what I've seen in Mexico. The mix of people is also extremely eclectic. You can see people dressed in anything from a tight clubbing dress and heels to a full covering with only the eyes showing. After we got into the city we had an exquisite dinner at a restaurant called Cezayir courtesy of DIS and as usual they hooked us up big time. The street that we walked to get to it is the main walking street in Istanbul and has over 2 million people on that one street on any given Saturday. Keep in mind that all of Copenhagen is 1.5 million people. I have had more culture shock here than in Denmark! But of course in the best of ways. But back to food We started with appetizers (I don't know what anything was called but anyway) there was this red hummus like paste that was spicy and had a little bit of garlic in it. We also had pickled peppers (ha) and the best grape leaves with spicy rice inside that I have ever had (ok I've had grape leaves twice in my life but they were amazing I promise). We then had these fried sticks with some sweet meat in the inside dipped in a sweet sauce, followed by a quiche with something like prosciutto in it. Then some halumi cheese wrapped in grape leaves. Are you full yet? Then for the main course we had a creamy risotto something that tasted a little bit like maple syrup. That had some spiced chicken and peppers on top with a side of rice. The combination of flavors was so new to me and I can say I am definitely a fan. For desert we had a cake/custard (it sounds weird, I know, just go with it) that had a chocolate fudge on the bottom and a rich vanilla tasting super thick custard with these little crunchy toppings. Needless to say I was busting out of my pants and it literally hurt to breathe. It was soo amazing though words cannot describe it. After dinner we came back I the hotel and were fully prepared to go to bed but one of the girls in our group told us that one of her friends studied here last semester and dated a Turkish man who offered to show us the town. We went to get into the cab and had absolutely no idea what the cab driver was saying. Luckily one of the hotel bus boys came out and got a few of his other coworkers to talk to the cab driver and figure everything out for us and also gave us card showing where our hotel was. That's 4 star service right there (yes my school is paying for a 4 star hotel. Thanks DIS!) well we drove in the cab for a while and the total came to 6 lira (that's $3) so ya this place is pretty cheap. Turns out we actually knew where we were but we found our friend and had the best night! We went to a club called Beat right off of the main walking street. I was taller than both of the guys and girls that we were with (I feel like a giant here it's bizarre). The brother of the friend I swear is a Turkish version of the little brother in the Disney channel movie Motocrossed (if you know who I'm talking about I love you). They were such fun dancers and the club played Elvis and jailhouse rock. We are hoping to have them show us the city more! We found our way back to the hotel with no problem and slept like babies. This morning we woke up and had breakfast at the full buffet at the hotel. We took public transportation (very smelly) to the Hippodrome which is the courtyard in between Hagia Sophia and the blue mosque where they used to have carriage races and some really old ottoman and Byzantine pillars. He said one of the obelisks was 3500 years old. That's old. Then we went to the blue mosque which was amazing. We had to cover our hair when going in. The inside was incredibly ornate with geometric figures and patterns. There are no figures because Islam doesn't believe in representing God in human form. The inside is just as incredible as the outside and Koray (our tour guide) had us all sit down on the ground to give us the tour there. He said Islam is very relaxed and during the hours when there is not prayer you can come in and enjoy the mosque however you like. The next sight is one of my favorite stops so far. Hagia Sophia. It is a place so rich with culture and innovation and history I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around how special it is. It was built 1600 years ago as a church but was later converted to a mosque. The technology for the time was amazing with "self-healing" mortar between the bricks that can withstand earthquakes. The architectural innovation was astonishing for something that old; the list of impressive new features was mindblowing. I know nothing in the states would hold up for 1600 years that well. Our tour guide was very good at putting its age in perspective. He pointed out that between you and your grandparents are three generations. Hagia Sophia had seen over 60 generations and over 107 emperors. That's a lot. It is also the only place where you can see a Muslim icon next to Christian icons. There is a gold mosaic picture flanked by the Arabic words for God and Mohamed. What a cool place. Not to mention that they slapped the whole thing together in 5 years. 5 years!! It's huge! Anyone it is incredibly well preserved and such an experience anyone who gets the chance to go there absolutely should. He said it will be around for another 1000 years barring a bomb or attack so you have some time. It's so crazy to imagine that in 1000 years when people are flying around on hovercrafts and living on the moon that Hagia Sophia will still be there with its columns that were touched by Alexander the Great. Crazy stuff. Anyway, then we went to lunch at this place called Omar cafe and fish and meat market. We had what tasted like a mild potato soup with kebab for the main meal. Of course it was amazing. Followed by the best baklava I have ever had in my entire life. Also our tour guide bought us all flower headbands that they sell at the street vendors! Then we headed on over to the Topkapi Palace where the sultans used to live. Ataturk (Turkey's main man) declared this palace and Hagia Sophia museums in order to unify the country and move away from the ottoman traditions. The whole building was filled with amazing tiles that again looked like they had just been put up even after a thousand years of wear. Even the tiles on the outside were flawlessly bright. The palace and surrounding area was huge with orange rooms and gorgeous views. I wish the pictures did it justice but I guess you will just have to go. We also went into an exhibit that had Moses' staff and the sultans' harem. In one of the rooms there was a man reading the Quran. In that room there has been someone reading the Quran 24/7 for 1400 years. Talk about history. Walking through that palace you heard the exact same thing as a sultan that lived 1400 (every Quran is word for word the same no matter when or where in time). It gave me the chills. We also had an amazing view of the bridge that separates Asia and Europe. I'm telling you this place is unreal. (If you're still hanging in there through this long post) We then ventured into a little ceramic shop that Koray found for us called Firca. One of their masters casually made a really cool vase on a pottery wheel that you kick with your foot to spin instead of using a pedal; he was very talented. They have had this shop for 7 generations. They also showed us some larger pieces that glow in the dark because they put phosphorous in them. All of the pieces were amazing and inexpensive for being hand made. They also gave us some apple tea that was delicious. Then dinner at a place Koray recommended called Otentik (when I asked what the name of the authentic restaurant he recommended he told me that was its name). I got potato dumplings and what I can only describe as a Turkish quesadilla. It was amazing and our waiter called us beautiful angels and gave us free tea. Not a bad night. So that's it for now! Honestly so far it's been unbelievable I still can't get over how amazing this place is. Definitely worth checking out. More to come later!