turkish delight on a moonlit night

Dec 22

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the months leading up to this trip went by in a flash, but as soon as we stepped into chicago’s o’hare airport to embark on our month-long journey to the middle east, we found ourselves stepping into a new dimension of slow motion.

after 2 hours waiting to check in, 3 large bottles of water, 1 mediocre airport sandwich, 2 scooby-doo episodes, a restless 2 hour nap on the airport floor, and a 10-hour flight to istanbul, we arrived in search of the hotel representative who was supposed to be there for our complimentary pickup.

we were finally escorted through the airport and across the street to our hotel car by a large, aggressive turk who we had to run after to keep up with.

we soon discovered that we had exchanged our much-dreaded chicago winter for an istanbul winter – complete with sleet, rain, ice and serious wind.

the first day proved to be the most challenging, as we had traveled without most of our winter gear. because we were staying in the perfect location, everything worth seeing was within walking distance. we resolved to get out into the city on foot, despite the raging weather, and spent much of the day searching for a store that would sell hats and gloves.

mad was a trooper, as always, finding the fun in everything (so grateful i brought her warm things, at least)

after a somewhat disheartening day, we found warmth in both our newfound gloves, and an indulgent indian feast at a neighborhood restaurant called dubb. after a satisfying meal we wandered back to our hotel, feeling the day had been successfully redeemed by some seriously delicious food.

the next morning, we set out to explore istanbul’s marvels – the famous mosques and ancient citadel. first stop was the citadel, and the accompanying cistern – the underground water channel system.
the dripping cavern looked like something straight out of clash of the titans -- the lair of medusa, complete with a massive stone carving of medusa’s head at the base of a pillar (inverted and to the side to prevent the power of her gaze, of course).

next stop was istanbul’s most famous and renowned mosque – Hagia Sophia. over 1400 years old, and enduring 2 clashing religious remodels, hagia sophia was absolutely incredible -- a true merging of eastern and western cultures & values.
we explored the excavated christian murals which lay covered beneath layers of muslim artistry.

from there we explored the Blue Mosque, which was my personal favorite.
over 400 years old, its design was intricate and its colors vibrant. until recently, the muezzin, or prayer-caller, had to climb a narrow spiral staircase five times a day to announce the call to prayer. today a public address system is used, and the call can be heard across the city, echoed by other mosques in the vicinity. large crowds of both turks and tourists gather at sunset in the park facing the mosque to hear the call to evening prayers, as the sun sets and the mosque is brilliantly illuminated by colored floodlights.

istanbul’s Grand Bazaar was a fantastic spot for both bargain shopping and escaping the icy weather. located just down the street from us in the Sultanahmet neighborhood, we visited it twice, looking for precious hand-made treasures and a good haggle (and souvenirs for everyone in maddi’s class. we ended up getting everyone their own evil eye jewel).

the Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the entire world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops, and the market itself if over 500 years old. incredible!

one of our ‘off the beaten path’ excursions led us to the Suleymaniye Mosque, on a 20-minute walk outside the more bustling tourist zone. using our map (and animated body language), we used the locals as our mile markers, asking if we were on the right track.

as we climbed the steep streets which seemed to be at a vertical incline, we passed a shoe-shiner who dropped his brush on the sidewalk. pat picked it up and handed it to him, and the man thanked him, insisting that he shine our shoes. pat politely declined and we tried to move on, but the man set his little stool down and sat on it, insisting that he shine pat’s shoes.

(in our previous travel experience we’ve learned to never accept a service you wouldn’t be willing to pay for, no matter how generous the vendor seems — and if you do choose to accept, you must always agree upon the price before the service begins. this is the loophole that many locals use to trap tourists in their services and demand unreasonable payment upon completion, at which point you have no choice but to comply.)

being fully aware that we had neither the time nor the desire for getting our shoes shined, we firmly insisted that he let us pass and continued on our way. interestingly, on our way back from the mosque we passed a different shoe shiner, and as we approached he too dropped his brush on the sidewalk. pat and i shot each other a quick glance and smile and continued on our way, this time stepping over the dropped brush.

Suleymaniye Mosque was a quick stop for us -- getting there proved to be adventure enough. we made the trip to see the graveyard, which was rumored to hold tombstones that matched the exact height of the person buried beneath them at the time of death. the mosque was closed for renovation on our visit, and we got only a mere glimpse of the graveyard through the bars of the stone enclosure.

istanbul eats were interesting! – from lamb kabobs on the street to [sketchy?] stuffed mussels straight off the fisherman’s dock, we found the food to be just satisfying enough to fill our tummies and get us through our active days.

turkey was a fantastic stop— or more accurately, start. it opened the curtain to our month-long journey into the middle east…