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"There's no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard…"
We got to Turkey on July 18th and since we don't have a visa, we are required to stay in Istanbul for the entire 5 days. This port city is unlike the rest of the trip because Istanbul is the largest city in Europe, and is actually located in both Europe and Asia. The first day a bunch of us went to the Grand Bazaar, which is a giant shopping center with over 4,000 stores, kind of like a flea market. It was kind of difficult to find because the streets are lined with stores and tables selling stuff, so it's kind of a maze full of people. You're actually expected to haggle with the stores, and they sell everything from spices to clothing to hookahs. The people working yell things at you to get your attention so you go into their shop, which is kind of annoying, but mostly it's hilarious. I was called J-Lo more than twice, so apparently all the carbohydrates on the ship are going right to my ass. I heard some of the funniest pick up lines in my life. In our pre-port meeting they told all us girls to be careful because it's a Muslim country, but I felt the city was very safe. The deans made a big deal about us having a male with us at all times, but the 5 of us girls went out and had no problems. We got some looks and a few comments, but it's nothing we wouldn't get anywhere else. I know Jess felt a little uncomfortable because she's light skinned and has blonde hair, which is very unusual for them, but that's how it's going to be for the rest of our trip. It was over 90* so I have no idea how some of the women could stand to be covered from head to toe, I would die. Jess, Kate, Nicole, and I went out to dinner at the Paradise Café, which was right outside our ship. Everyone was really friendly and hospitable, so while Nicole and I walked around the port area after dinner we got free Turkish coffee in 3 different restaurants…I pretty much didn't sleep that night.
The second day Jess, Kate, Nicole and I took a cruise down the Bosporus, which was really cool. I took a ton of pictures because you could see a ton of palaces as well as the Asia side of the city. Our ship was docked at the Galatia Bridge, which had a ton of restaurants on it, including the hookah bar with bean bag chairs we went to. After we roamed around the Spice Bazaar to find tea, but ended up finding an ice cream stand. Their ice cream is rubbery, so you can't really lick it like normal. It was so weird, but really good. That night, Jess, Kate, Nicole and I went to a Sufi Dervish Ceremony, which was actually a required trip for my human development class. The four of us had an awful time trying to find it. The manager we made reservations with gave us a map, but no one we asked directions knew what we were talking about. We ended up roaming around the city for 20 minutes being followed by a 13 year old boy with a fishing pole who had a crush on Jess. It's a traditional religious ceremony that involves music and dance that lasts for about an hour. After the ceremony we went out to dinner, then we tried to get drinks at a hookah bar, but it ended up being a Muslim holiday so we hung out and smoked hookah.
The third day Jess, Kate, Nicole and I went back to the Bazaar to finish our shopping. I ended up buying a lot of gifts for people in Turkey since we spent so much time just hanging out without a schedule. After that the four of us went to a Turkish bath, which was definitely an experience. Pretty much you get naked in a room full of other people and get rubbed down and washed by a complete stranger. The men and women have separate sections, but when you walk in there's a big marble slab in the middle of the room and little sinks lining the walls. When you get in there, you are supposed to rinse yourself, then you get assigned a women who works there. She took my hand and led me to the marble slab where I laid down. She exfoliated my skin, which was amazing and my skin was so soft after. After that she rinsed me with the tiny sink, then used foaming oil to give me a massage which was nice. She led me to the sink where she washed my hair and face with shampoo, so I pretty much felt like I was drowning. After she dumped water over my head for a few minutes, I was done and went into the hot room which was like a sauna. The entire experience was kind of weird at first because it's like nothing we do in the States.I would definitely do it again if I came back, especially to the place we went to. It's in the book "1000 Things to do Before You Die" and a ton of famous people have been there before, including Kate Moss and Jenson Button, who's a Formula 1 driver. After we got back to the boat we all got ready to go out to Taksim Square. We ended up at a Turkish Pub with a ton of other SASers which was actually a ton of fun.
The fourth day we decided to see the sights around Istanbul so we all went to the Cistern Basilica, which is actually underground. It was really cool, there were columns surrounded with water which had different kinds of fish swimming in it. There were also two columns with Medusa's heads engraved in them, which explained the myth behind the Medusa story. After that we headed towards the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque, which had beautiful stained glass windows. It was kind of random, but a couple asked to be in their picture with them. I thought the guy wanted me to take his picture with the Blue Mosque, but he actually wanted his wife to be in the picture with us. Apparently a ton of other people had a similar experience. Some of the black kids on the ship said that locals would go up to them and touch their arms because they aren't used to seeing that. That night Nicole and I went out with my roommate Julia and her friends because it was Alissa's 21st birthday. We ended up going back to Taksim Square and went bar hopping with tequila shots. We went to the Turkish Pub again and then a hard metal bar that had a band playing. This was while we made Alissa wear a white cowboy hat that said HAPPY 21st on it that Julia had bought in Barcelona. At probably our 4th bar Nicole and I wandered up the road to a Pizza Hut because we were starving, and it's so much better than the Pizza Huts at home. Sometime around 2am we found a glow bowling alley down a random street so we decided, what better way to spend a night in Istanbul?! When we got back we ended up on the smoking deck, and we noticed Alissa roaming around Customs, only to find out that Meg had her ID and was already on the ship. We tried to find Meg but she was already passed out in her room, so I had to pretend to be Alissa to get a lock out key. It was definitely a random night, but those seem to turn out the best.
The last day in Turkey I slept in to recover from the tequila I had then went to the Bazaar with Danielle since everyone else had trips that day. We had a few last minute things to get and some lira to spend before we left. I found my dad an amazing pipe made of stone and hand carved in Turkey.
This country was definitely my favorite so far, which surprised me. In pre-port for Turkey the Dean talked about how frequently the country receives terrorist attacks and how dangerous it was for women. However, I thought the people were all friendly and helpful and I had a great time here. I would definitely like to come back and explore the rest of the country.
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