We got up in the morning and decided to head to Mudanya for the day. Mudanya is a town a few kilometers away from Bursa on the Marmara Sea coast. It was also the site of the armistice agreement signed at the conclusion of the Turkish War for Independence in 1922. The seaside town used to be home to a lot of Greeks, but was replaced by Muslims from the Greek island of Crete following the population exchange after the War of Independence.
Elif had some cousins who lived there. We went to their flower shop because Husniye's birthday was in a couple of days and I needed to order flowers for her. I had no idea how flower delivery worked in Turkey, so it was great that they were there to help. The helped me by writing my message for me and assisted in picking out the right flowers to send. They also only charged me the amount of money it cost to buy the flowers and ship them because I was Elif's friend (meaning they did not make any profit off of me). It was really nice of them to do that for me and I really appreciated it! Actually, this happens a lot in Turkey. If you know someone or are friends with someone, you can get perks or better deals than one would ordinarily get. This is true in the United States as well, but in my opinion it seems more true of Turkey. At any rate, they did a great job and the flowers went over well. If I ever need another florist in Turkey, I know who I'm calling!
After the flowers, and a visit with Elif and her relatives, we went to the barber shop. As you may have been able to tell from my pictures, I was in desperate need of a haircut. By this time in Turkey, I could do most things pretty easily. If you gave me a Turkish menu, I could order in order. I could shop in a Turkish grocery store. (Notice how all of the things I am self-sufficient in in Turkish involve food). I could also compare fares between bus companies and haggle with them. However, every now and then one gets a reminder of why its so important to be fluent in the language where you live. One thing I still could not do was adequately explain the type of haircut I wanted. Ok, maybe I COULD have, but I don't want to see what it would have looked like in the end.
Elif graciously agreed to accompany me and translate exactly the type of haircut I wanted. Going to the barber in Turkey is actually a cool experience. I stepped inside and immediately felt like I had gone back to the 1950s. The only anachronism was the electric razors. As soon as we walked in, everyone stared at us. I figured it was because I was foreign, but quickly figured out that that was not the reason. Contrary to the US, in Turkey, the barbershop is very segregated by gender. No other women were in the barbershop. Elif explained to me that this was normal here (which surprised me since women accompany men to the barber all the time). Elif didn't seem to feel uncomfortable, though. In fact, it seemed like she kind of enjoyed it. She told me that she liked to challenge and defy cultural norms in Turkey (such a true statement!). So this was fun for her! Yay for defying cultural norms.
Anyways, so she tells them what I want and he starts to cut my hair. In addition to the haircut, he also offered to trim up my beard for me (just like they used to do in the old barbershops). Here's the interesting part. Instead of using an electric razor, he pulled out a single bladed razor (like the old ones they used to use) and used it to trim my beard and trim around it. It took some serious skill to do as good of a job as this guy. It was like one of those razors used to make Mrs. Lovitt's meat pies (Sweeny Todd). The best part was that the haircut (including the beard trim) was only 7 Lira (and no tip required)! Awesome!
After my haircut, we went to a pool owned by a hotel in Mudanya. Elif's mom has been trying to get Elif to meet up with her friend's son who was in town. I think he either just finished the military or is just about to start his required military stint. I am not sure which. Anyways, he met us at the pool to hang out. I didn't mind too much at first. However, despite the fact that he knew English, he spent most of the time talking in Turkish to Elif. Considering I was there, I actually thought it was really rude. Elif thought his opinions were kind of out there and didn't like talking to him that much supposedly, but given how much they were talking, you'd never know it. Eventually, I got tired of listening to them and went swimming and became occupied with my own thoughts. I was definitely not happy with the situation.
After our day at the pool, the three of us changed clothes and headed back to Bursa for dinner. Despite my frustration with the previous events of the day, we were about to go eat my favorite dish in the whole wide world. And what is that you ask? Iskender kebab! What's more, we weren't about to have just any old kebab. We were going to Kebapçı Iskender. The owners of this restaurant are descendants of the infamous Iskender Usta himself (the inventor of the Iskender kebab). Bursa, and specifically this restaurant, is known for its iskender. We went inside and sat down and ordered drinks. My mouth watered in anticipation. What is a good appetizer for the best iskender ever you ask? None other than homemade ayran of course! By this time, I had actually acquired a taste for ayran and decided I rather liked the stuff (and it goes great with a lot of Turkish meals).
Finally, after lots of anticipation, the iskender came. The meat plate was a combination of döner, lamb, and şiş meat! The plate itself was like any other iskender plate in looks, complete with the green pepper, tomato, tomato sauce and yogurt on the plate. The one difference between this one and normal iskender was the top. Generally, iskender is served with butter already on top. At this place, the waiters come around with cannisters of melted butter and pour it on top of the iskender right at the table. I took a bite. Heaven in my mouth. All of my frustration from before melted away with the butter. I was happy. Unfortunately, since iskender is such a hot commodity and we were at the best iskender restaurant ever, it was a little more pricy than a normal Turkish meal. We ended up paying 20 TL per person (quite expensive for a meal in Turkey) but worth every penny! After dinner we parted ways with Elif's new friend and retired back to her house.
nyways, he met us at the pool to hang out. I didn't mind too much at first. However, despite the fact that he knew English, he spent most of the time talking in Turkish to Elif. Considering I was there, I actually thought it was really rude. Elif thought his opinions were kind of out there and didn't like talking to him that much supposedly, but given how much they were talking, you'd never know it. Eventually, I got tired of listening to them and went swimming and became occupied with my own thoughts. I was definitely not happy with the situation.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand this. You have no idea how many times I felt this way while in the states. It happens... You should be happy, at least people here, speak your language. I was all alone with my Turkish over there!
Anyways, we love you!