ambling in arequipa

when planning our trip to peru i stumbled upon arequipa and photos of its lovely monastery. after that, i knew it had to be on our itinerary. and i was not disappointed. the city charmed us, from the picturesque plaza de armas to the lovely monastery and the tasty food. it was also a refreshing change to explore a city that was so compact and easy to walk around in.

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we arrived on our flight from lima and were greeted by a driver from the hotel. i had thought arequipa was a much smaller city but the drive from the airport took us through the outskirts, which seemed pretty sizable. no matter where we were we could see the mountains looming in the distance. when we arrived at the hotel, katari, it was still quite early (because of course we had another early morning) so i quickly went up on the roof to catch the last of the morning light. the view from the hotel was stunning - the plaza de armas and cathedral beyond and the volcanoes in the distance. we had a bit of breakfast as we enjoyed the view and waited for the sun to warm the city up.

corn, corn, and corn

even after breakfast it was still early and our room wasn't quite ready. so we wandered the streets a bit, making our way to the market we had read about. it was a covered market with foods organized by aisle - stacks of cheese in wheels as big as a 45, pyramidal piles of fruits, dead chickens with their claws in the air, burlap sacks filled with dried chilis, and of course many varieties of corn. we surreptitiously took some photos as the vendors started to set up and start their day. we could see several people having their breakfast at little stands peppered throughout the aisles.

spectrum

outside the walls of the market we continued exploring the streets. we seemed to be in the workaday part of town, with little electrical shops and convenience stores. the streets themselves were colorful but dated, with peeling paint and old doors - just how i like them. we popped into a church along one of the streets. fairly typical, with ornate (bordering on gaudy, some might say) gold altars throughout the stone structure. before long we had walked around all the streets south of the main square and were back at the hotel. just next door was a little grocery store (which we always love to explore on trips) so we popped in to poke around and get some sodas.

sabor del peru

by this time our room was ready so we went there to relax a bit. nicely appointed with antique furniture and with a view out onto the main square (although through a little arcade). we took some time to enjoy the room, complete with robes and slippers, and put our feet up before venturing out again. relaxing turned into a catnap (which we probably needed) and when we woke up it was about lunchtime. we ventured out, passing up a few more touristy places (boasting french, italian, turkish food) we opted for a spot that looked authentic - with old painted walls and smooth wooden floors. we saw a few other tourists and a couple of locals who seemed to be on their lunch break. they had a modest prix fixe menu which started with salad and soup. for an entree mom tried an orange chicken while i had alpaca meat with quinoa (can you get much more peruvian?). the alpaca meat was quite tough but it was nice to try at least once. for dessert we got little cakes that tasted a bit like the arequipe coffee i'd had in lima.

our next stop was my most anticipated - the monastery de santa catalina. i'm not totally sure why it's consistently referred to as a monastery; only nuns seemed to have ever lived there. in fact, nuns do still live there. we were surprised that so many of the nuns had their own private rooms - some were almost apartments, really. but of course there were kitchens, gardens, and some other gathering places as well. the center was closed to the public for almost 400 years but, fortunately for us, opened again in 1970. the complex is enormous - so big that there are entire streets within it, most of which are named for cities in spain. cordoba streets, for instance, is lined with begonias in little flower pots. what was really arresting, though, were the bright colors that covered every wall. it was a feast for the eyes and even moreso for my camera lens. i think this place can better be conveyed by those photos rather than me so i'll let them take over:

bright colors just inside the entrance

cloisters are even more lovely in blue

simple steps

lantana outside a window

lovely built in cabinet within a nun's room

calle cordoba, naturally

the mountaintops beyond

gorgeous little flowers were peppered throughout the grounds

nuns still live in the apartments on this street

nun spotting!

not sure what those little white bits are

snapdragons

chambers

such a variety of tones

flowers in the sun

lines in the wood

in the rose garden

wouldn't you want to live here too?

reaching up towards the sun

sevilla street

painted doorway

little cactus near the small orange grove

view of the church near the end of our visit

so there it is - a gorgeous complex and a wonderful afternoon exploring - we hardly ever encountered more than a couple other people. i really didn't want to leave!

glowing light and a chill in the air

finally we pulled ourselves away and made our way back to the hotel, stopping once along the way to admire (and buy) some alpaca scarves. i was anxious to go up to the rooftop terrace to catch the golden hour on the cathedral. i got a coca tea, which is said to help with the adjustment to the altitude, and took photos intermittently as the sun started to set. the temperature was dropping quickly but the hotel attendant working the small bar kindly brought over a blanket that helped keep out the chill. he also took care of the trio of businessmen who were at various stages of incapacitation, one slumped over in his chair and another completely passed out on the table. maybe it was the altitude but i have a feeling it might have been the pisco sours on the table. in any case, the view really was stunning, with the sun glowing on the steeples, then slowly lifting from the tips of the mountains and finally the lights coming on in the plaza below.

golden glow over arequipa

lights coming on

chupe and pisco

by the time the sun was down and it was totally dark we were about ready for dinner. we went out in search of chupe de camarrones, a shrimp soup that we had heard was a specialty. the helpful hotel staff directed us to one of two places, the latter of which seemed less crowded. we had the place almost to ourselves, the old stone walls now housing a little bar and a few handcrafted items for decoration. we ordered the much-anticipated soup and were not disappointed. the broth was creamy but not too thick and the rice, egg, beans, and peruvian cheese made it quite hearty. that in addition to the bread and herb butter we were served made for a filling meal. (i should add that after several days of smaller appetites than usual we realized it was a side effect of the altitude medicine we'd been taken.) we washed it all down with pisco sours, the peruvian cocktail par excellence, complete with a few drops of aromatic bitters over the foamy egg whites. a perfectly pleasant meal.

church interior

the next morning we were pretty excited to be able to sleep past 3am, the first time in three days! we figured we had already been to our principal destination and there were only a few other stops on our list so we decided to make it a leisurely day. our first stop was the iglesia de la compañia, just next to the hotel. it didn't stand out much. next we made our way up the street and across the square to teh cathedral. we had to take a tour, which turned out to be quite good. we couldn't take pictures of anything but the interior of the church.

think the P tilted in an earthquake?

the other rooms we went in housed beautiful vestments (many made by nuns in local convents like the one we'd visited the day before) and other religious objects. according to the guide many of their more valuable pieces had been stolen over the years before the church had any kind of security. seems like a pretty big oversight... the church itself is much more modern than i anticipated, but to be expected because it had been rebuilt several times following earthquakes. it also had a huge organ at the back that we got a good view of from the second floor. we were also able to go up to the roof of the church, where we got up close with the giant bells within the steeples.

café con leche with lovely linens

from here we walked up the nearby street in search of the 'casa ricketts' which supposedly was an old home (now bank) that had elaborate decoration. we finally found it and were somewhat underwhelmed. there were a few carvings over doorways but nothing worth writing home about. we left and stopped in a nearby alleyway with some lovely cafes where we lingered over drinks. hot cocoa and café con leche seem even more appropriate in the land of coffee and chocolate. after our break we walked farther north in search of other places to explore. there was another church at the end of the road but it was closed in the middle of the day so we walked on in search of lunch instead. mom was in the mood for something different so we stopped for crêpes in the courtyard of the local alliance française. they were unremarkable (i don't think france would have approved) but decent enough.

francis' courtyard

from here we decided to part ways - my mom went to the museo santuario andinos the archaeological museum where the so-called 'mummy girl' is housed. i killed a little time popping into little markets before making my way back to the monastery we had passed before, the complejo san francisco. i got there just as it was starting to re-open and followed along on a tour with a very sweet girl who was working there. she started the tour in spanish then switching to english after she realized i might follow that better. the tour was quite good although the monastery itself was a little dark. the courtyard was simple, as i imagine most franciscan cloisters are. in the center was a statue of saint francis surrounded by trees with lots of birds, which i thought was fitting. i even spotted a little hummingbird among the branches. the church itself was simple too, especially compared to the ornate, gilded church altars we'd seen before.

ice (cream) cubes

i made my way back to the hotel where my mom recounted her visit to the museum. she really enjoyed learning about the incan rituals of human sacrifice so she was glad she went. as we i was dismayed to learn that there had been another convent just a few blocks from the monastery where i'd been that looked lovely but hadn't come up in any of our research - the monasterio santa teresa, for the record. otherwise i think we made the most of our two days in the city. we again spent the sunset up on the roof, taking in the changing views. afterwards, not terribly hungry, we asked for a nearby restaurant to get some soup. we were directed to la boveda, a very old little restaurant and evidently one of the only ones on the main square that isn't awful (according to the hotel staff anyway). we had some soup but decided to cap off our meal with arequipan ice cream - a very unusual substance that came out in cubes and was made from cheese. it was pretty good but even so we barely seemed to make a dent in the massive pile of it we were given. not a bad end to our brief exploration of this charming city. next it was on to the andes!

busy in bursa

not pictured: bread and tomatoes

after a great first day in istanbul i arose to an amazing sunday breakfast spread, courtesy of büşra's lovely roommate fatima. apparently she just likes to cook. a great quality in a roommate, i've always thought. the potatoes, cheese - really everything - was just delicious. a great way to start off another full day of sightseeing and traveling.

i bid farewell to büşra headed downtown to meet courtney. we hadn't planned every aspect of our trip (more exciting that way) so our first stop was to the information center - located, conveniently, in taksim square (how 'bout that) where we had a nice encounter with a very helpful employee. as it turned out we were able to take a boat most of the way to bursa, our first stop. we hadn't thought the boat schedule would work on a sunday but as it turned out, it was the cheapest and most direct route. and we got a boat ride out of it. so we hopped back on the tram, made our way to the little dock and had a few drinks at the little cafe while waiting. side note: our boat was continuously referred to as a 'bus', to the point that, when we were boarding, we weren't at all sure what we were in for. yeah, turns out it was just a boat.

surprise lunch companion

a very pleasant boat ride thanks to comfortable seats, dramamine and contraband chocolate (okay the chocolate wasn't prohibited in particular, just eating in the seats). before we knew it, we were in bursa. or at least on a short bus ride to bursa. we weren't exactly certain where to meet our couchsurfing host so we just went to the center and town and tried to find some lunch. we quickly found a place that fit the bill. we had some delicious iskender kebabs (the local specialty) and, as a bonus, an adorable puppy that popped out of a box and spent the remainder of our meal endearingly nibbling at our bags. i don't know what it is about lamb, tomato sauce, yogurt and bread that can be so mouthwatering. my money's on the grease. the people (in addition to the animals) at the kebab stand were very friendly and let us use their phone to contact our host. this whole not having a cell phone thing, very inconvenient. as it happened we had to get back on the tramline that we were on before (did i not mention that? right, we were on the tram) and head all the way to the end.

a hammam, perhaps? and that beautiful sky

our couchsurfing host, erdem, took us back to his place which as it turns out was filled with other students like him. they were from all corners of turkey and it was amazing how different they all looked, features-wise. courtney and i later took turns guessing which european country they could have each been from. we all relaxed and chatted a bit, and shared a meal they had prepared for us. erdem's surprisingly simple carrot dish was a sleeper hit. after our mid-afternoon meal we headed back into the city - with a short walk, shuttle and tram ride it was about an hour in all. then came the walking. from the center of town we headed uphill, enjoying sights of small brick mosques and a gorgeous sunset.

in a whirl

finally we made it to our destination, which ended up being the whirling dervish lodge, or karabish-i veli. (i say this because sometimes with our host's english/accent we weren't entirely sure where we were going sometimes. hm, that makes it sound weird) in any case, this ended being a fantastic outing. as we approached the building (which has recently been renovated and reopened) and surrounding gardens twilight was setting in and we had a few minutes to spare. so we enjoyed a leisurely a cup of çay amidst trees and roses (which seem to be everywhere!). then it was time for the ceremony. courtney and i were so delighted to get to watch - we had hoped to attend one of the whirling dervish 'shows' (as opposed to the ceremonies, i'm making the distinction) in konya but couldn't find a way to get tickets. luckily for us we had a host who took us to the real thing. we filed into the small building, taking off our shoes an climbing the stairs to sit in the women's section. our host stayed below, with the men (i'm still not sure who i think had the better view). the music began, and each of the devout began spinning, one by one. first with their arms folded, and then slowly raising them out and up. it really was mesmerizing - we were amazed at the way they could move so fluidly and in such perfect harmony. the youngest was probably no more than 13! truly incredible to witness. and i have seen quite a few religious rituals in the past year..

in the mihrab looking up

the next day it was another trek back into bursa and a full day of exploring. while at times it was odd having our host with us all the time, planning our day, ultimately he was indispensable in leading us to great sites in the city and navigating all over. we started off walking through the downtown and over a little bridge of shops, much like a smaller ponte vecchio (where we scored some cool jewelry!). then farther into the old city. oh did i mention bursa was the first capital of the ottoman empire? hence its appeal as a destination, famous kebabs notwithstanding. when i hear ottoman capital i automatically think beautiful architecture, so i was particularly excited. when we approached the first of our architectural sites i was pretty giddy. i mean, just look at those beautiful turquoises! (if you know me, you understand how i feel about tiles) the picture at right is from the mausoleum known as the green tomb, or the 'yeşil türbe'. it's a small octagonal building covered in glazed tiles. inside the tombs, walls, and niches are all covered with beautiful geometric tiles in turquoise and gold. we spent a good while exploring every one of those eight sides, probably to the chagrin of our good-natured host.

catnap

just across the way was the yeşil cami (cami, pronounced jami, meaning mosque - interesting because in india the jami masjid is the friday mosque. fascinating right?), a 15th-century mosque. outside was a lovely wooden fountain, complete with sandals for ablutions. and to cap off the picture, a cat taking a snooze on a carpet draped on a wall overlooking the city. we shelved our shoes (nice little cubbies, and everything. a welcome change from the massive piles in india), scarf-ed ourselves and went in. there was a friendly man inside who gave us an impromptu little tour. the building is an unusual t-shape, as opposed to the normal rectangular mosque. and the giant, tiled mihrab - exquisite! as it turns out the man has a ceramics business and has done renovation work for various sites and museums.

mosque and mihrab

naturally, he had a shop which we were invited to (i know, i know) but he seemed on the level and it wasn't far. plus, we're always up for shopping. it turned out to be a worthwhile stop. the building itself was several hundreds years old and just lovely - bright yellow walls, carved wooden ceilings. we got to see all the floors, including the top one which was devoted to only the finest carpets (his own personal collection, for the most part). there were beautiful ceramics, some hand-painted, some factory-made, all over the bottom two floors. we enjoyed perusing and left with a purchase or two.

tomatoes, pre-iskender

my mouth is still watering

 more walking, up hills and down, fortunately led by our trusty guide. past some newer smaller mosques and courtyards, near old cemeteries and through markets where we saw shining red tomatoes and cherries (a town nearby is famous for them), dripping honeycombs and that thin stuff they make knafeh with. finally we arrived at our next destination: lunch! another iskender kebab from one of the most famous establishments, bursa kebapçisi, or as we called it, 'the pink building '. the kebab was delicious but not tons better than the (much cheaper) one the day before. the view, though, on the garden terrace, was quite pleasant. after thoroughly enjoying our piles meat we continued on.

han by night

on our way back down the hill we made a stop in the balibey han. hans are markets, formerly known as caravanserais (one of my favorite words) and this particular one is quite impressive, primarily for its three-story arcade. we had passed it on our evening walk the night before and it looked quite impressive all lit up. this time, though, the little shops were open. it's now more of a collective of artisans' workshops. that makes it a coveted (read: expensive) space, but also a nice place to see a lot of turkey's traditional crafts in one location. we saw a lot of nice examples of ebru, or marblized paper (originating from turkey!), wood carving, calligraphy, puppets and more. we even shopped into a small glass studio where i got to make a bead. it was.. unique. swirly and orangey/blue. much harder than it looks, naturally.

karagöz and hacivat

we wound back through some of the other markets, including the larger covered one. we were on the lookout for karagöz shadow puppets. they're usually made of leather and were traditionally used for puppet shoes during ramadan. the show itself is named for one of the two most prominent characters (much like punch and judy shows) who are often making mischief. the puppet shows apparently began in bursa (as the story goes, during construction on the ulu cami) and not surprisingly the most famous puppets are from bursa. like many old cultural practices, their production seems to be fading (although the practice itself is now on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list). we had heard that there was one shop in the bazaar where we could find a family that's been making the puppets for generations. we managed to find the stall, karagöz anitkaci, only to find the owners missing. apparently the elder brother was out. this time when we went through we managed to track down a brother - or at least someone who indulged us with a brief show. short though it was, we could see the intricacy of the puppets' cut outs and how nicely the subtle colors shone through the white sheet. and, despite the language barrier, their antics made us chuckle too.

symmetrical calligraphy

by then we were quite close to the very mosque that gave birth to the puppets, the ulu cami. the mosque is quite large and rather spacious inside. it has an impressive twenty domes capping its ceiling and many windows. with the afternoon sunlight streaming in the center of the mosque was quite bright, while niches along the walls were more in shadow. also in the middle of the mosque was an ablution fountain, which i found very unusual but also strikingly pretty. we leisurely took in the quiet spaces of the mosque and i enjoyed deciphering the monumental calligraphy on roundels and plaques (which wasn't really that hard.. pretty much all of them said 'allah', 'muhammad' or the bismallah).

at this point we were pretty pooped from tramping all over. luckily erdem was there to decipher the bus schedule for us and pretty soon we were on our way back west. we weren't entirely sure what our destination was, although courtney and i had tried to express some interest in visiting a traditional hammam. there's a natural hot spring just outside of bursa, making it an ideal spot for turkish baths. there was a bit of a miscommunication which became apparent when we got off the bus. we were near a big fancy hammam/resort - not exactly what we'd had in mind. our host was confused as to why we wanted to see such a modern hammam and eventually we explained that we wanted to actually go in the hammam and use it (we even had swimsuits all ready). we got it straightened out and somehow - again, thanks to our friend - managed to find a women's hammam not too far down the road.

our ottoman hammam

this place certainly fit the bill. an old, unassuming brick building that had steps leading down to the entrance. and at 7TL (≈ $4), the price was right. our host took us to the door and did a little talking with the owner and her daughter, who spoke english and promised to call him when we were all finished. we felt guilty about leaving our host but, honestly, at that point he was probably anxious for a break from us. we went in to the large, tiled changing room that had three big stepped areas and hooks along the wall. we maneuvered into our bathing suits (we're all for authentic, but we have our limits), took some sandals from the floor and made our way through to the caledarium. well, that's the roman equivalent anyway. a small, steamy room with small marble tubs lined along the walls. each one had a small pitcher and a stool nearby, so we picked our spots. there were several older women who were already well into their steam baths, and they looked over at us with kindly smiles. they even indicated when we sat down at a faucet whose cold tap was broken. each had both hot and cold so you could regulate the water temperature that you're pouring over yourself. it was delightfully warm - i do love a good steam room. after maybe 30 minutes (it was hard to keep track of time) we popped out for a breath of cool air and back in for a few more minutes. once we felt nice and refreshed we made our way back into the changing room. on our way out we chatted with the mother-daughter pair who said the place had been in their family for hundreds of years. oh, and the hammam? seven hundred years old. it dates to the ottoman era! how's that for an authentic experience! (and i have to say much more comfortable than my last one..)

objects in picture may be large than they appear

when we met back up with erdem we discovered he had also made a visit to a men's hammam so everyone was feeling totally rejuvenated. and thirsty! i don't know that i've ever been so thirsty. i bought us two liters of water at a nearby convenience store and we quickly gulped down most of them. we hopped on the next bus and headed well, towards home we figured. we continued up into the hills, through woodsy areas and even past a few horses. we were utterly confused when we got off the bus at what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. we followed erdem up a little street, past a few informal vendors and arrived at the tree. ohh, the tree! we understood. earlier erdem had mentioned a famous old tree just outside the city - it was even pictured prominently on the map. we hadn't realized we were going there but it turned out to be an absolutely perfect outing. the tree itself - 600 years old - is, of course, enormous, with giant, sprawling branches and boughs that spread out low over a wide area. the locals have capitalized on the famous tree by making the space below into a lovely outdoor cafe. we saw families visiting from all over the middle east.

summer spread

and the snack of choice? summer fruits. red-yellow cherries, grapes, plums, apricots, strawberries and even what i think were gooseberries. they looked so delicious, gleaming the golden afternoon sunlight. the perfect way to rehydrate and refresh ourselves after our hammam visits. we washed our fruit down with some tea and enjoyed a nice conversation as we looked out over the valley. i think all that fructose made courtney and me a little giggly, but erdem took our goofiness in stride.

then it was back on the bus and towards erdem's place. by the time we got back we didn't have much time for dinner. we grabbed our suitcases and headed over to a nearby cafeteria. we managed to have a somewhat decent meal before hopping back on the bus. this time we were headed towards the station where we would catch our overnight bus to konya. though our time in bursa was quite brief we were able to see so much of the city - and lucky enough to visit unique places we would never have known about. all thanks to our friendly host. so thanks, erdem!