Istanbul on a Saturday

Entrance to the Harem

Saturday was a touristy whirlwind of Istanbul.  The night before,
Jess and I went to bed at 10pm after our very long but very fun food tour of Istanbul. We set off on foot at 8am morning to catch the tram from Kabatas to the Sultan Ahmet area. The morning was sunny and cool, so we first wandered through Taksim square to locate the bus station where we catch a 4am bus to Sabiha Gokcen to fly to Cappadocia. Our breakfast consisted of Simit and another buttery,  sesame seed laden pastry that is sold from a cart for 1 Turkish lira. Istanbul is a city of meandering streets and very few direct routes to where you need to be.

As our tram crossed the Golden Horn and entered the Sultan Ahmet area, a black cloud settled over the city and heavy drops of rain began to fall. We had no umbrella, no jackets, so we took refuge in an overpriced café where we drank turkish coffee and bought an umbrella.  (Our umbrella has a purple handle with a clear top that has teddy bears and cheery sayings like "let's have a party" printed across the canopy.)

With the protection of our happy teddy umbrella,  we crammed under the canopy and headed to Topkapi. Whether it was the rain or our early arrival,  there was no line to enter the palace and we managed to see at least the harem without a mob of other tourists around us. We learned Harem means forbidden and also refers to the sultan's living quarters,  not just his concubines' quarters.

Copper pots from the Topkapi kitchen:the kitchen
produced meals for up to 10,00 people

 Topkapi is a palace devoted to demonstrating the splendor of the ottoman empire as well as the pleasure of its inhabitants.   At every turn there is a view of the Golden Horn, Bosphorus, or a lush garden.

After Topkapi we ate a well deserved lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Blue Mosque and then headed to Arasta market for our first round of turkish shopping.  From the Arasta market, we entered the mosaic museim which encases a pavement of a peristyle court, dating to the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I (r. 527-565).

We chatted with the ticket vendor before entering the mosaic museum and on his break he came into the museum to walk us through the mosaic.  The mosaic huge, the size of a tennis court, but had many missing parts; yet the vendor acted as a guide explaining to us the scenes of cotidian Greek life and of various animals and mythologic creatures depicted in the mosaic. It was a treat to be led through a piece of art by an enthusiast.

Lunch with a view of the Blue Mosque

As described above, today we experienced the friendliness of Turkish people. Jess and I are friendly, pretty American girls; it's easy to be friendly to us, yet our interactions seemed genuine and meant to make a connection,  no matter how transient.  As we walked past a carpet shop, the vendor flagged us down to encourage us to admire his wares.  We quickly told him we were students who could certainly not afford a fine Turkish carpet. He still invited us in, offered us apple tea and chatted to us about life in Turkey. It was relaxing to sit among the carpets and chat to a Turk near our age.  Next stop, on the hunt for harem pants,  we entered a shop that had a fair selection of colors.   I saw the price marked on the hanger as 85TL.  I turned to Jess asking if she thought the price was real.  The shop keeper interjected with a dry remark about prices varying with who is buying.  The humor and self deprecation started a conversation,  leading to another invitation to tea. We made plans with the second shop keeper to meet later that night at Galata tower and smoke nargili and play backgammon.

Sweets made of honey and pistachio in Arasta

Then Jess and I walked to the Emonunu harbor to eat a fried mackerel sandwich off the fishing boats.  By walk, I mean we wove, dodged,  and shoved our way down the crammed streets of the Sultan Ahmet and Emonunu areas. For all of its pedestrians,  Istanbul lacks wide side walks and appropriate number of crosswalks to its major thoroughfares.  The key to crossing a road with a steady stream of traffic is, of course, good timing, and releasing the fear of being hit in the knees by a turkish cab. At the moment of lull, you jump into the street,  and take the quick gazelle hops to cross.  In Istanbul there is no clear distinction between pedestrian and vehicle areas, thus Jess and myself have walked down busy,  narrow streets 3 cm from a car. It's like walking with large herd animals like cows: as the human, you have to be aware of the strength and proximity of the animal. You can be safe as long as you don't forget the danger and remain ready to move out of the way.

Emonunu

The docks of Emonunu are another mobbed and frenetic area of Istanbul.  In this city,  on the European side, most public gathering places are uncomfortably full. I think the city feels uncomfortably full to me  because I reside in Galveston,  a place where I literally walk down the middle of an empty one way street on my way to school.  If car does drive past, I see it from afar and it's never closer enough to touch like a beast of burden.

Fish sandwich

Tons of families, couples and the characteristic groups of men were milling and seated all over Emonunu. Almost every person had a fried fish sandwich in their hand. Jess and I ate our sandwiches sitting on cement steps looking at the Golden Horn and Galata bridge which was covered by citizens fishing off the rails.

Fishing on Galata bridge

Finally we walked back to our hostel in Beyoglu from the Emonunu docks, and because we are in Turkey,  we stopped and ate baklava at Karakoy Gulluoglu. We finished our day in Istanbul by meeting up with 2 Turks to drink tea and play backgammon.  Jess and myself learned the game as we played against each other while being coached by the pros. It was a relaxing evening to an incredible day in Istanbul.