turkey trot

in leaving india fulbright told us they would cover our airfare - for any layovers we had to pay the difference. basically a two-week vacation for total transportation costs of $180. yes please. so, while i was of course upset at having to leave india, the blow was softened by a little side-trip to turkey and, better still, getting to meet up with my best friend and travel buddy courtney.

i arrived in istanbul (via london - i know!) and was presented with the prospect of having to get myself - and my three giant bags to taksim square. luckily i managed to find the right bus that went directly there and i could even stow my luggage below. glorious. i ended up on a street right off of taksim square, the heart and soul of the city waiting for my friend büşra (ş='sh') to meet me. i got a bit nervous when i realized i had no way to contact her and that i was much later than expected. luckily, she was too and eventually we were reunited after parting two years before in jordan, where we'd met.

büşra was very sweet and graciously helped me cart my enormously heavy bags through the turnstiles and down to the metro. we carted the things onto the train at rush hour, back outside and into a cab that we eventually hailed not far from her place. her place, as it turns out, is wonderfully situated very near her school, boğaziçi university. her place is on cute residential street with several small cafes populated by students. i was amazed as the size of her flat - the living room was enormous. and the bathroom! i could probably do a handstand in there. you know, if i could do a handstand. and best of all she generously offered to hold my heavy bags for the duration of my trek around turkey. definitely a huge load off - literally.

we caught up over a glass of çay, then went out walking. at a nearby restaurant our waitress was an american (from fairfax, no less!) speaking flawless turkish. another place, another fun language to learn. i did at least get the basics of pronunciation down (that funny ğ? it elongates the letter after it). we ordered some traditional turkish fare, including dolma and ayran, the yogurt drink of choice. after dinner we went for a post-dinner stroll, where büşra showed me the incredible view of the bosphorus from their university. stunning! and really gave me a good idea of just how huge the city really is.

we were both exhausted - büşra from her finals and the stress of coming to get me, me from 20some odd hours of travel - and slept like the dead. büşra took me to a little breakfast place on the corner for a cheese pastry to go (real cheese! real pastries! heaven!) which ended up being the perfect morning snack.

it's got it all.. gold, tiles, stained glass, carpets

i managed (with lots of coaching) to successfully take the bus and then tram to the center of the tourist area and eventually wound up at topkapı palace where i was meeting courtney. i wasn't sure what entrance she'd be at but apparently she spotted me from across a big field (the giveaway: i was scrunching my hair, oh geez). after more than 19 months apart being reunited was almost surreal! we got caught up over a glass of juice and then made our way into the palace. it was courtney's first time here but also nice for me to revisit after being here seven years before. it was as beautiful as i remembered, and courtney and i were quite content taking pictures all over the place. between roses, tiles and carpets, there was no shortage of colorful subjects for us. once we had tramped all over and read about its various inhabitants we made our way out through a pleasant park on the opposite side of where we had come in.

we were in search of lunch somewhere nearby. well, apparently we picked the wrong exit. we ended up on a highway next to the bosphorus. but we walked on, figuring we'd eventually hit some sort of commercial street. indeed we did. we wandered into a little restaurant that, upon closer inspection, appeared to have garnered some acclaim from local newspapers and food guides. the food was just what we were looking for - some eggplant and lamb in nice tomatoey sauces, bread and rice.

lights all around

by then we weren't far from the spice market. we walked on, passing mosques with all sorts of domes. the spice market itself was as frenetic as you would imagine a spice market in istanbul to be on a saturday. since we weren't really looking for foods just yet, and didn't love being hassled and jostled, we made our way out and on toward the süleymaniye mosque. i was particularly excited about this first because it was designed by the eminent sinan and second because i had neglected to visit it the first time around (because, in my defense, i didn't know who sinan was at the time). it was up a bit of a hill but the mosque itself was dazzling. courtney commented on how much quieter it was than the blue mosque, in the midst of the tourist area, since she'd visited there just the day before. it certainly was pleasantly tranquil inside. and, although i realized the carpets were much more comfortable, that slight odor of feet made me thankful that temples in india all have stone floors.

see what i mean about the weather?

after lingering a bit to admire the view from the small hill, we went back down and boarded the tram to cross the river. from there we walked up another hill to galata, an area that reminded me a lot of the croix rousse in lyon, a little artsy with some neat little shops and cafés. we made our way to the galata tower, which looks very italian romanesque. paid a few lire to get to the top and were rewarded with a view of the sea and the red roofs of the city. beautiful weather, i might add.

old streetcar on its way to taksim

we made our way back down the hill and towards taksim, or so we thought (we had to get reoriented a few times..), as the sun began to go down. we walked along istiklâl caddesi (the c? it's pronounced like a j), one of the big pedestrian streets, admiring shops and searching for a nice place to sit outside and people watch. we eventually found a spot down a side street where we could enjoy our kebabs outside, which we did happily. after a leisurely meal we arrived in taksim, still buzzing with energy. undeniably the nerve center of the city. we were hoping for more people watching and settled on a little bistro just off the square where we enjoyed some wine and surprisingly good live jazz. a perfect spot to sit and watch the light fade from the city. eventually we went our separate ways and agreed to meet back in the morning.

next stop: bursa!