For a while I had been contemplating where my next (and probably last trip) would be. The only area of the country that I had really not travelled to was the Mediterranean area and the center of Turkey. I wanted my last trip to do a little of both. I actually started this trip earlier than I anticipated, which caused a few (not insurmountable) logistical issues.
My aunt and uncle had some family friends in Columbia who actually had family in Turkey. They gave me their number so that I might explore the possibility of meeting with them and staying with them during my time there. When I called, indicating that I wanted to visit, Besim answered. He explained to me that if I wanted to come and visit, it would be best if I came within the next couple of days. I said ok and began to pack quickly (which was no small task because I anticipated this being a jumping off point for a minimum two week trip). To make matters worse, I discovered that my debit card had been lost (for a second time), causing me not to have an easy way to obtain more money (as most places in Turkey refused to take credit card). Rather than have my dad send me my banking card again, I developed an ingenious solution to the problem. I would link my Turkish bank account to one email address and my American account to another email address, allowing me to transfer money internationally. The bad news was that paypal takes out fees when you pay someone and so I ended up losing money in the process (but it would allow me the ability to get money, which was important).
The bus company, thankfully, took credit card (minimizing the amount of cash I should spend would be best since it was in limited supply waiting for the transaction to go through). I boarded the bus and began the journey to Çeşme. The trip would take approximately 12 hours and I would be doing the trip over night. The next morning I was told to get off at Ilica, a small town right near Çeşme, where the family I was meeting lives.
I arrived early in the morning (around 8 or 9am) and was completely exhausted from the bus ride. Besim picked me up from where the bus drops people off and took me back to their home (which was located near the very luxurious Sheridan hotel just off the beach). The family I was staying with was a Jewish family, the second one I had the opportunity to spend time with in Turkey. Jewish people in Turkey are pretty much exclusively limited to Istanbul and Izmir (and surrounding areas). This family actually had two homes: one in Izmir and one in Çeşme. They usually stay in Çeşme in the summer and in Izmir in the winter. The area of Çeşme, which is a peninsula extending out into the Aegean Sea is absolutely stunning.
I arrived at their home and was shown to my room. I put my stuff down and went to their patio which was outside. The table was set and breakfast was almost ready. I patiently waited for what promised to be a delicious breakfast. I wish I had taken pictures of the meals I got over the next couple of days here. The food was absolutely amazing and was unlike anything else I had anywhere else in Turkey. The way it was explained to me was that the food was a mixture of Jewish and Turkish food. Clearly, this was a microcosm of something I wouldn't have been able to find pretty much anywhere else. I had hoped one day that Naomi would be able to teach me to cook some of the dishes she prepared, but it didn't seem like there would be a chance.
After a delicious meal, I was extremely tired and I needed to take a nap before we did anything else. So I fell asleep at around 10ish and slept for a little while. I woke up and Besim took me down the street to have an official kumru sandwich. Many of you may remember reading about the kumru (Umut taught me how to make them as he is also from Izmir). The kumru sandwich was actually invented, not in Izmir, but in Çeşme. I went to the very place of its origin and it was so delicious. Definitely better than anything I could have made myself in the grocery store. Besim, unfortunately, had a prior commitment and needed to go to Kuşadası (the same port where I first entered Turkey on a cruise two years prior). Besim was a tour guide and would often take foreigners to the ancient city of Ephesus.
In Besim's absence, I would be shown around by his mother Naomi. The family themselves have a pretty interesting history. They immigrated from Spain after the Spanish Inquisition. Naomi can speak Spanish, French, and Turkish fluently. Unfortunately, the one language she could not speak was English, which meant this would be an interesting couple of days for me. Actually, it would turn out to be really good for me because it would force me to practice my Turkish in a way that could not be simulated anywhere else.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
More Istanbul Adventures
So after my trip to Bursa I came back to Istanbul and decided to take advantage of staying there again for the next 3-4 days. In addition to seeing my friend Kerem, who I wrote about in the last post, I got a chance to see some more great sites of Istanbul. Because most of my friends were either gone back to the US or had classes, I had to do the sightseeing alone. By this time, I had learned my way around the city so navigating wasn't a problem. It just would have been nice to have someone with which to share these experiences while they were happening.
As winter melted into summer, this is what my daily walk to class (and to Bebek) every day. This is from the point near the entrance to campus over the Bosphorus.
Sigh...paradise, right? This site and the path to Bebek was required for my first Istanbul mini-adventure: the Rumelihasari.
Rumelihisari translates to "The Fortress of Europe" and was built by Mehmet the Conqueror before his conquest of Constantinople in 1453. It was from this site that he launched his attack on the city. The fortress itself is built on the narrowest point of the Bosphorus, making it an excellent strategic fort as well. The outside was built of stone and resembled the typical conception of what a medieval castle looks like. I had been wanting to explore this place ever since I moved there in February. On my first attempt, I discovered (on a Wednesday) that the place is closed on Wednesdays. The inside was cool, letting you climb up the stairs to see all the parts of it. The striking thing about the place (from a safety standard) was that most of the stairs did not have any rails or ways to keep you from falling. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Rumelihisari (by the way, my neighborhood, Rümelihisarüstü, is named after this fortress).
Çamlica
In the afternoon on the same day as I visited Rumeli Hisari, I visited Çamlıca. Çamlıca is the name of a large hill (and consequently governing district) on the Asian side of Istanbul. Çamlıca is the highest point in Istanbul and from here one can see the entire rest of the city (from Topkapi in Beyoglu to the skyscrapers in Levent to both bridges crossing the Bosphorus). No bus (that I could find) goes directly to Çamlıca. I took a bus to the Asian side and got off near the entrance. From there, I hiked up almost a mile (all uphill) to the top of Çamlıca. By the time I had reached the top, I was quite hungry. There was a place at the top which served kumpir. Kumpir is basically a Turkish stuffed potato. It had cheese, sour cream, and several other types of ingredients. I LOVED kumpir because they put bulgar in it (truthfully I could probably make it in the US but I haven't tried). After my lunch meal, I walked the rest of the way to the park. The park overlooked an amazing view of Istanbul. I am glad I was able to come see it. Here are some selected pictures from the place:
Princes' Islands
On another day, I took a day trip to the Princes' Islands and specifically to the largest island, Büyükada. The islands are a short ferry ride from Istanbul. The ferry ride to the island itself was a treat. From the water, I got to see the historic peninsula. On the other side we passed the island where Abdullah Ocalan (former leader of the PKK) is being held. The approach to the islands is really pretty too. I only really had time to go on the largest island, even though there are several other islands available to visit. As I stepped off of the boat, there was a little town near the harbor full of overpriced restaurants.
Büyükada, itself, is a very touristy place, so this is not surprising. The island has traditionally been an important place in Turkish history (royalty were exiled here and Leon Trotsky from the USSR lived here when he was exiled from the Soviet Union). There are many ornate houses on the island because it became a retreat for the wealthy during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Motorized vehicles of any kind are strictly prohibited on the island and so the only way to get around is by walking, bicycling, or taking a horse drawn carriage. I decided to walk. The island itself has two peaks. The furthest one from the ferry is where I went. The monastery at the top was called Ayios Nikolaos. The hike to the top was really tough (the hill was pretty steep). I actually had to stop a few times and sit down. Stupidly, I had forgotten to take water with me.
I was rewarded handsomly by the view at the top of the mountain. There was also a pretty church to go inside. I actually was very lucky. At first the Greek monks were not going to let me enter because I was wearing shorts. The inside was very ornately decorated, like many other Greek Orthodox churches. I also took some amazing pictures from the top of the mountain
From the top of the mountain, I hiked back down and found a private beach nearby. I was going to go swimming, but then I found out that it cost something like 20 Lira to swim there and decided that I didn't need to swim that badly. Instead, I ate lunch at one of those local restaurants. I then walked about half way back towards the ferry before I realized that I had left my wallet at the place where I ate lunch and had to go all the way back to get it. Then, I made my way back to the ferry and came home. Honestly, the islands were very pretty, but it would have been more enjoyable if I hadn't been alone. I think I would like to come back and visit again with company. I will say, I did enjoy going and seeing the island (as it was quite beautiful) and I got a lot of exercise walking all over the place!
Sunday Brunch
The last of my little day trips was more of a morning trip. As a side job, Elif tutors Turkish people in English. Elif happened to mention me to one of her students and said that I would be available one morning for breakfast if she wanted to have the opportunity to talk to a native English person (she had never had the opportunity). I was more than happy to have an excuse to go to the Asian side of Istanbul, meet a new person, and have free food. :) It was nice of Elif to suggest it to her student and to invite me along. After an hour of traveling (traveling to the Asian side is always a hassle), we made it to their home. Did I also mention that I had to get up at 7:30am? Grrr...
Anyways, we got to their home and the woman had a really nice leisurely sunday brunch prepared for us. At first she was rather quiet and only talked to Elif. I think she was nervous, but Elif prodded her a bit and told her not to be. I decided that it would be my job to try and help the situation, so I started asking her questions. Basically, any question I could think of (from the instruments on the walls in their house to what she did for a living to her likes/dislikes, favorite foods, etc). I was doing anything I could to get her to speak English. Overally, she came out of her shell a little bit but didn't talk to me too much. I hope Elif didn't think it was too much of a waste to have me there. Surprisingly, her husband spoke perfect English. I guess he didn't want to teach her or didn't have the time between his job and other things in life. I actually had some sympathy for the woman. After living in her country and being in many situations where I couldn't understand what was going on and people pushing me to speak (it was good for me but often nervewracking and awkward), I could really understand where she was coming from. All in all, I was happy with the experience because of the free food and I had fun meeting one of Elif's students.
As winter melted into summer, this is what my daily walk to class (and to Bebek) every day. This is from the point near the entrance to campus over the Bosphorus.
Sigh...paradise, right? This site and the path to Bebek was required for my first Istanbul mini-adventure: the Rumelihasari.
Rumelihisari translates to "The Fortress of Europe" and was built by Mehmet the Conqueror before his conquest of Constantinople in 1453. It was from this site that he launched his attack on the city. The fortress itself is built on the narrowest point of the Bosphorus, making it an excellent strategic fort as well. The outside was built of stone and resembled the typical conception of what a medieval castle looks like. I had been wanting to explore this place ever since I moved there in February. On my first attempt, I discovered (on a Wednesday) that the place is closed on Wednesdays. The inside was cool, letting you climb up the stairs to see all the parts of it. The striking thing about the place (from a safety standard) was that most of the stairs did not have any rails or ways to keep you from falling. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Rumelihisari (by the way, my neighborhood, Rümelihisarüstü, is named after this fortress).
Çamlica
In the afternoon on the same day as I visited Rumeli Hisari, I visited Çamlıca. Çamlıca is the name of a large hill (and consequently governing district) on the Asian side of Istanbul. Çamlıca is the highest point in Istanbul and from here one can see the entire rest of the city (from Topkapi in Beyoglu to the skyscrapers in Levent to both bridges crossing the Bosphorus). No bus (that I could find) goes directly to Çamlıca. I took a bus to the Asian side and got off near the entrance. From there, I hiked up almost a mile (all uphill) to the top of Çamlıca. By the time I had reached the top, I was quite hungry. There was a place at the top which served kumpir. Kumpir is basically a Turkish stuffed potato. It had cheese, sour cream, and several other types of ingredients. I LOVED kumpir because they put bulgar in it (truthfully I could probably make it in the US but I haven't tried). After my lunch meal, I walked the rest of the way to the park. The park overlooked an amazing view of Istanbul. I am glad I was able to come see it. Here are some selected pictures from the place:
Princes' Islands
On another day, I took a day trip to the Princes' Islands and specifically to the largest island, Büyükada. The islands are a short ferry ride from Istanbul. The ferry ride to the island itself was a treat. From the water, I got to see the historic peninsula. On the other side we passed the island where Abdullah Ocalan (former leader of the PKK) is being held. The approach to the islands is really pretty too. I only really had time to go on the largest island, even though there are several other islands available to visit. As I stepped off of the boat, there was a little town near the harbor full of overpriced restaurants.
Büyükada, itself, is a very touristy place, so this is not surprising. The island has traditionally been an important place in Turkish history (royalty were exiled here and Leon Trotsky from the USSR lived here when he was exiled from the Soviet Union). There are many ornate houses on the island because it became a retreat for the wealthy during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Motorized vehicles of any kind are strictly prohibited on the island and so the only way to get around is by walking, bicycling, or taking a horse drawn carriage. I decided to walk. The island itself has two peaks. The furthest one from the ferry is where I went. The monastery at the top was called Ayios Nikolaos. The hike to the top was really tough (the hill was pretty steep). I actually had to stop a few times and sit down. Stupidly, I had forgotten to take water with me.
I was rewarded handsomly by the view at the top of the mountain. There was also a pretty church to go inside. I actually was very lucky. At first the Greek monks were not going to let me enter because I was wearing shorts. The inside was very ornately decorated, like many other Greek Orthodox churches. I also took some amazing pictures from the top of the mountain
From the top of the mountain, I hiked back down and found a private beach nearby. I was going to go swimming, but then I found out that it cost something like 20 Lira to swim there and decided that I didn't need to swim that badly. Instead, I ate lunch at one of those local restaurants. I then walked about half way back towards the ferry before I realized that I had left my wallet at the place where I ate lunch and had to go all the way back to get it. Then, I made my way back to the ferry and came home. Honestly, the islands were very pretty, but it would have been more enjoyable if I hadn't been alone. I think I would like to come back and visit again with company. I will say, I did enjoy going and seeing the island (as it was quite beautiful) and I got a lot of exercise walking all over the place!
Sunday Brunch
The last of my little day trips was more of a morning trip. As a side job, Elif tutors Turkish people in English. Elif happened to mention me to one of her students and said that I would be available one morning for breakfast if she wanted to have the opportunity to talk to a native English person (she had never had the opportunity). I was more than happy to have an excuse to go to the Asian side of Istanbul, meet a new person, and have free food. :) It was nice of Elif to suggest it to her student and to invite me along. After an hour of traveling (traveling to the Asian side is always a hassle), we made it to their home. Did I also mention that I had to get up at 7:30am? Grrr...
Anyways, we got to their home and the woman had a really nice leisurely sunday brunch prepared for us. At first she was rather quiet and only talked to Elif. I think she was nervous, but Elif prodded her a bit and told her not to be. I decided that it would be my job to try and help the situation, so I started asking her questions. Basically, any question I could think of (from the instruments on the walls in their house to what she did for a living to her likes/dislikes, favorite foods, etc). I was doing anything I could to get her to speak English. Overally, she came out of her shell a little bit but didn't talk to me too much. I hope Elif didn't think it was too much of a waste to have me there. Surprisingly, her husband spoke perfect English. I guess he didn't want to teach her or didn't have the time between his job and other things in life. I actually had some sympathy for the woman. After living in her country and being in many situations where I couldn't understand what was going on and people pushing me to speak (it was good for me but often nervewracking and awkward), I could really understand where she was coming from. All in all, I was happy with the experience because of the free food and I had fun meeting one of Elif's students.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
My friend Kerem
So this post isn't really about something I did, but it is a shorter one about one of the friends I made in Istanbul. One of my favorite people I met was Kerem. He was in my Intro to Turkish Politics class. We met through that wretched group project that I described in an earlier post. We ended up being in the same group because I asked some random girl that I sat next to on the first day of class to be in her group. Truthfully, I asked her because I thought she was attractive and thought being in her group would mean I got to see more of her.
So through this group, I started talking to Kerem. I really liked that he was an intellectual guy and he didn't mind talking to me about Turkish politics or other things I was really interested in. Sometimes, I think some of my friends at Bogazici got tired of the questions I asked and wanted to talk about lighter subjects. Kerem was never like that and was always a wealth of interesting information. We also shared an interest in music and he sent me a couple of neat Turkish music stuff to check out. I was also amazed at how well he spoke English. With the exception of Elif, who actually lived in the US for a while, Kerem was probably the best English as a second language speaker I met in Turkey. He taught himself by reading the Harry Potter books (and even spoke English with a slight British accent).
We worked on our project and at one point I got to spend the night at his house, which was fun. Unfortunately, I wasn't very studious and had difficulty staying up past 3am or so. I forgot what his mom does for a living, but his dad is a trader on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. I thought that was pretty darn cool (bc I am interested in stocks). Also, every member of their family was fluent in English, which was kind of surprising. Their house was really nice too (they lived in Sariyer)
Although Kerem was a pretty studious guy and we only hung out sometimes, I enjoyed his company. Over the summer we met up one day and he took me to Taksim Square. We went to dinner and then to a dessert place. The dessert place was particularly cook because in addition to dessert they give you a little appetizer of coffee bean dipped in different types of chocolate (white, milk, and dark). It was delcious. Kerem also took me on some side streets of Taksim, allowing me to see some places I hadn't seen before (and the pedestrian path all the way to Kabatas).
Kerem is one of those people I still keep in touch with after my time in Turkey. Actually, he was helpful during my honors thesis writing process. He still has another year to go at Bogazici but he definitely has a bright future ahead. I am glad I met him in Turkey and hope we continue to keep in touch.
So through this group, I started talking to Kerem. I really liked that he was an intellectual guy and he didn't mind talking to me about Turkish politics or other things I was really interested in. Sometimes, I think some of my friends at Bogazici got tired of the questions I asked and wanted to talk about lighter subjects. Kerem was never like that and was always a wealth of interesting information. We also shared an interest in music and he sent me a couple of neat Turkish music stuff to check out. I was also amazed at how well he spoke English. With the exception of Elif, who actually lived in the US for a while, Kerem was probably the best English as a second language speaker I met in Turkey. He taught himself by reading the Harry Potter books (and even spoke English with a slight British accent).
We worked on our project and at one point I got to spend the night at his house, which was fun. Unfortunately, I wasn't very studious and had difficulty staying up past 3am or so. I forgot what his mom does for a living, but his dad is a trader on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. I thought that was pretty darn cool (bc I am interested in stocks). Also, every member of their family was fluent in English, which was kind of surprising. Their house was really nice too (they lived in Sariyer)
Although Kerem was a pretty studious guy and we only hung out sometimes, I enjoyed his company. Over the summer we met up one day and he took me to Taksim Square. We went to dinner and then to a dessert place. The dessert place was particularly cook because in addition to dessert they give you a little appetizer of coffee bean dipped in different types of chocolate (white, milk, and dark). It was delcious. Kerem also took me on some side streets of Taksim, allowing me to see some places I hadn't seen before (and the pedestrian path all the way to Kabatas).
Kerem is one of those people I still keep in touch with after my time in Turkey. Actually, he was helpful during my honors thesis writing process. He still has another year to go at Bogazici but he definitely has a bright future ahead. I am glad I met him in Turkey and hope we continue to keep in touch.
Mt. Uludağ (Day 3)
We slept in a little bit later today and didn't live Elif's house until around 10 or 11. We took a walk and went to a local sandwich shop near Elif's house. In Turkey, sandwiches that are heated with the cheese melted are called tost. It's not quite the same as the toast here obviously. At the restaurant I also tried the uludağ soft drink. I don't remember what the carbonated beverage tastes like exactly but I don't think I liked it that much. We ended up chatting with the owner of the shop and he gave me some advertisements for his restaurant. The advertisements were squares of cardboard with pictures of different menu items from his shop. I think he was hoping that I would be some free advertising for him in the United States. :) At the very least it would make for some decorative coasters back home. I have them in the garage or I would have written the name of the restaurant here.
Then we headed to the center of Bursa. I had told Elif that one place I absolutely wanted to see was the top of Mt. Uludağ (Great Mountain). Between the ulucami and Uludağ I think we have learned a new Turkish word, haven't we? At any rate, in retrospect it was probably not the best use of our time and resources (to go to the top of the mountain) but its what i wanted to do. It has to do with my love of mountains and my unfulfilled desire to visit Uludağ during the ski season. We decided we were going to take the cable car (teleferik) to the top! After we got to the base of the cable car in Bursa, we discovered that there was some sort of maintenance occurring and the cable cars were out of service. If we wanted to head to the top, a dolmus would be the only way. The ride up took about 30 minutes or so. When we got to the top we just kind of walked around a bit, took some pictures of the view, and got some snacks. The view was great but the experience was a little anticlimactic. If we had planned for it, it would have been fun to take that 3 hour hike to the summit from where we were but alas, it would have to be another time. We could see the summit from where we were and there was even still a little bit of snow up there! Truthfully, the air was a bit cooler than the steamy air in Bursa, so it was nice to get a break from the heat.
We made our way back down to the bottom. Elif suggested that we make their parents dinner that night, which was fine with me. Since I was there, she wanted me to try and make an American meal. I asked what sort of American she wanted and she said she had been missing a really good cheeseburger. I told her I would do my best with the supplies available, but couldn't promise much. We went to the store and bought some supplies. We were able to get real ground beef for the burgers, bread for the buns, and a cheese which was like smoother like a mozzarella cheese (but not quite). Oh well, it was the best we could do. We also bought potatoes to make french fries. So that's what our traditional American meal would be...cheeseburger and fries. Of course, I didn't think it would be quite the same without the Worcestershire sauce.
Elif's house did not have a grill, meaning the best way for us to prepare it was to cook it in the oven. I prefer this to the cooking on the stove method because it actually cooks the inside better without burning the outside (like the oven does). So we cooked the beef in the oven and melted the cheese. Surprisingly, it turned out ok and was more like a cheeseburger than any of the kofte burgers (which they called cheeseburgers) they sold at local places. More importantly, Elif's mom liked it a lot. I was glad to make her happy. Elif told me that this was especially good for her because usually after she works all day, she has to come home and cook for her father (her father doesn't cook even though his job is a lot less taxing). Anyways, it was good to make her happy and make her life a little bit easier.
After dinner, some relatives of Elif's came over. Then, Elif told me she needed to go out for a while. Apparently, Egeman (her boyfriend) had invited her out to spend time with his friends. He specifically told her not to bring me, even though he knew I was in town. I actually thought this was incredibly rude of him. I am Elif's friend and I am visiting. If they are going out with a bunch of his friends, its not like they were going to have a romantic evening or anything. Elif thought it may have been because they would speak Turkish the whole time and I might be bored. Perhaps she was right...I don't know. Either way, it should have been my choice and I don't think he should have said that. I was also pretty frustrated with Elif for going. I thought it was kind of rude for her to leave me even though I was visiting her. However, I did understand that it was her last night in town before she needed to go back to Istanbul and I am sure she wanted to spend time with Egeman. I guess even Turkish hospitality can have its limits sometimes. I shouldn't complain though, because she did invite me over and offer to show me around Bursa. It was still frustrating for me though.
So while she went out to spend time with Egeman and friends, I was to stay at home. Elif's mom's family came over (I think it was her sister and her sister's husband). They also had a baby. They were actually really nice. The only problem was that no one could speak English. So I was sitting out there on their balcony with them at a family gathering unable to contribute much to the conversation or anything like that. It was kind of an awkward situation. I did break out my good old pocket Turkish dictionary and tried to talk to them. I learned a bit about their family like where they were from, what they did, etc, and they asked some basic questions about me like how long I had been in Turkey, what I was studying, etc. I don't remember exactly what we talked about, but I don't think the conversation was too complex. After about an hour and a half, I excused myself and walked down the street to a local restaurant with internet access. There, I ordered a drink and caught up on emails and talked with some people. Elif came home around midnight and we packed for the journey.
The next day, we were taking a high speed ferry from Bursa to Istanbul. It only runs twice a day (or something like that) but it is a car ferry with a very comfortable place to sit down (it even came with a show to watch on TV). It was kind of like an airplane on the water. The high speed ferry (that's what it was called - hizli feribot) only took 90 minutes to get to Yenikapi, where we found a taxi and went back home to Rumelihisarustu.
Then we headed to the center of Bursa. I had told Elif that one place I absolutely wanted to see was the top of Mt. Uludağ (Great Mountain). Between the ulucami and Uludağ I think we have learned a new Turkish word, haven't we? At any rate, in retrospect it was probably not the best use of our time and resources (to go to the top of the mountain) but its what i wanted to do. It has to do with my love of mountains and my unfulfilled desire to visit Uludağ during the ski season. We decided we were going to take the cable car (teleferik) to the top! After we got to the base of the cable car in Bursa, we discovered that there was some sort of maintenance occurring and the cable cars were out of service. If we wanted to head to the top, a dolmus would be the only way. The ride up took about 30 minutes or so. When we got to the top we just kind of walked around a bit, took some pictures of the view, and got some snacks. The view was great but the experience was a little anticlimactic. If we had planned for it, it would have been fun to take that 3 hour hike to the summit from where we were but alas, it would have to be another time. We could see the summit from where we were and there was even still a little bit of snow up there! Truthfully, the air was a bit cooler than the steamy air in Bursa, so it was nice to get a break from the heat.
We made our way back down to the bottom. Elif suggested that we make their parents dinner that night, which was fine with me. Since I was there, she wanted me to try and make an American meal. I asked what sort of American she wanted and she said she had been missing a really good cheeseburger. I told her I would do my best with the supplies available, but couldn't promise much. We went to the store and bought some supplies. We were able to get real ground beef for the burgers, bread for the buns, and a cheese which was like smoother like a mozzarella cheese (but not quite). Oh well, it was the best we could do. We also bought potatoes to make french fries. So that's what our traditional American meal would be...cheeseburger and fries. Of course, I didn't think it would be quite the same without the Worcestershire sauce.
Elif's house did not have a grill, meaning the best way for us to prepare it was to cook it in the oven. I prefer this to the cooking on the stove method because it actually cooks the inside better without burning the outside (like the oven does). So we cooked the beef in the oven and melted the cheese. Surprisingly, it turned out ok and was more like a cheeseburger than any of the kofte burgers (which they called cheeseburgers) they sold at local places. More importantly, Elif's mom liked it a lot. I was glad to make her happy. Elif told me that this was especially good for her because usually after she works all day, she has to come home and cook for her father (her father doesn't cook even though his job is a lot less taxing). Anyways, it was good to make her happy and make her life a little bit easier.
After dinner, some relatives of Elif's came over. Then, Elif told me she needed to go out for a while. Apparently, Egeman (her boyfriend) had invited her out to spend time with his friends. He specifically told her not to bring me, even though he knew I was in town. I actually thought this was incredibly rude of him. I am Elif's friend and I am visiting. If they are going out with a bunch of his friends, its not like they were going to have a romantic evening or anything. Elif thought it may have been because they would speak Turkish the whole time and I might be bored. Perhaps she was right...I don't know. Either way, it should have been my choice and I don't think he should have said that. I was also pretty frustrated with Elif for going. I thought it was kind of rude for her to leave me even though I was visiting her. However, I did understand that it was her last night in town before she needed to go back to Istanbul and I am sure she wanted to spend time with Egeman. I guess even Turkish hospitality can have its limits sometimes. I shouldn't complain though, because she did invite me over and offer to show me around Bursa. It was still frustrating for me though.
So while she went out to spend time with Egeman and friends, I was to stay at home. Elif's mom's family came over (I think it was her sister and her sister's husband). They also had a baby. They were actually really nice. The only problem was that no one could speak English. So I was sitting out there on their balcony with them at a family gathering unable to contribute much to the conversation or anything like that. It was kind of an awkward situation. I did break out my good old pocket Turkish dictionary and tried to talk to them. I learned a bit about their family like where they were from, what they did, etc, and they asked some basic questions about me like how long I had been in Turkey, what I was studying, etc. I don't remember exactly what we talked about, but I don't think the conversation was too complex. After about an hour and a half, I excused myself and walked down the street to a local restaurant with internet access. There, I ordered a drink and caught up on emails and talked with some people. Elif came home around midnight and we packed for the journey.
The next day, we were taking a high speed ferry from Bursa to Istanbul. It only runs twice a day (or something like that) but it is a car ferry with a very comfortable place to sit down (it even came with a show to watch on TV). It was kind of like an airplane on the water. The high speed ferry (that's what it was called - hizli feribot) only took 90 minutes to get to Yenikapi, where we found a taxi and went back home to Rumelihisarustu.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Mudanya (Day 2)
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.
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.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Bursa (Day 1)
After I had returned to Istanbul for a few days (I think a total of 2), it was time for another trip. A really good friend of mine, Elif (the same one I traveled to Eastern Turkey with), invited me to come and visit her at her home for a few days. I appreciated the offer and thought it would be a great chance for me to see another city in Turkey that I may not have otherwise seen. I also thought it would be fun to hang out with Elif for a few days, since with traveling and with her doing summer school stuff, I wasn't sure when we would see each other again.
The journey to Bursa from Istanbul is a fairly short one. It takes a little over two hours to get there by bus. The best part is that you get to take a fairy over the Marmara Sea. If one looks at a map of Turkey, the location of Istanbul is a small slither of land separating two much larger seas. Bursa is just inland from the coastline on the bottom sea (Marmara) and so the best way to get there is to cross the sea. Crossing on a car fairy (this one took about 30 mins to cross) reminded me of my days as a younger kid in Florida. Sometimes when we would travel to Mayport (in northern Jacksonville), we would go the long way down State Road A1A. To cross the St. Johns river, they used a car fairy instead of a bridge. I am pretty sure it is one of the few car ferries left in the United States. Suffice it to say, it had been a while since I had ridden on one.
On the bus I had been working on my blog posts and trying to catch up. I exited the bus to enjoy the scenery and the cool air from the salt water. The area around the sea is kind of mountainous (a lot of earthquakes happen in this region) and so it was pretty to look at. Another interesting thing that you could see were the famous brown jellyfish. Apparently, the year I was there was an especially bad year and they were all over the place. It certainly made me think twice about swimming the Marmara. While outside admiring the ocean I met a brother and a sister from Bursa. At first I felt like they were making fun of me, but I ended up talking to them for a little bit. The conversation was of course limited by my Turkish (so they could still have been making fun of me and I just don't realize it).
Once we crossed the Marmara Sea it was only another 30-45 minutes before I arrived at the bus terminal in Bursa. I exited the bus and stepped out into the hot sun. I was immediately struck by how hot and humid it was. It felt as if my two hour bus ride had actually taken me back to Florida instead of just across the Marmara. I stepped out of the bus and went into the terminal to find Elif waiting for me. Her dad was waiting for us in the parking lot and he came to pick us up.
Her dad drove a yellow car, which resembled one of those taxi cabs. It actually made me chuckle when I saw it. I put my stuff in the back of the car and got in and we drove to Elif's house. Elif's dad was an interesting guy. He wasn't like other Turkish people I met. It's not that he was rude...but he wasn't overly friendly either. I liked Elif's mom a lot. She was a really nice lady. My opinions may have been tempered by Elif's own relationships with her parents (as she was translating for me and commenting on them herself). Her dad helped keep up a mosque near their home while her mom worked for a bank as a supervisor. This was surprising since usually the gender roles in Turkey are reversed.
Anyways, we put my stuff in their guest bedroom and Elif and I set out towards the city center of Bursa. Our first stop was the Ulu Cami (Great Mosque). This mosque truly lives up to its name. Built between 1396 and 1400, it is primarily Seljuk architecture. The building itself has 20 domes. The inside has a large amount of open space and is one of the biggest mosques I have ever seen still in operation (the only one bigger that I have seen is the Blue Mosque). However, my favorite aspect of the Ulu Cami was definitely the fountain in the middle of the mosque. Inside the mosque is a fountain and it's awesome. I'd never really seen something like that insider a place of worship before. Elif showed me a spot where apparently anything you pray for will come true. When she was a senior in high school she knelt there and prayed to be accepted to Bogazici (and now she is a current student there), so maybe it works!
After the mosque we walked over to see the Tombs of Sultans Osman and Orhan Gazi. On the way there, we walked through the markets of Bursa. These markets were historically significant because Bursa lies on the infamous silk road. Here in these market (even today) there were items from places in the far East. It was cool to be on the Silk Road. We didn't stay too long because most of the items for sale were silk scarves and other types of clothing items and I'm not really much of a shopper.
The tombs of Osman and Orhan Gazi were pretty amazing to see. Similar to the way the tombs in Eyup were decorated, the tombs of these individuals had a green cloth draped over them. Additionally, to enter the building that houses their tombs, one is required to take off their shoes just like in mosques. These tombs are so important because Osman and Orhan were essentially the cofounders of the Ottoman Empire. Before the Ottomans took Istanbul in 1452, Bursa was their capital. The function as a capital allowed Bursa to grow and develop for the 70 or so years prior to the capture of Istanbul. Additionally, Bursa is seen by many as the birthplace of modern Turkey. It was clear that I was in the presence of history in the tomb and I am glad I got to see it.
We then continued to walk to Tophane, which is the highest point of Bursa inside the city. It had a really neat view of the city and of part of Mt. Uludag (Great Mountain). Elif and I enjoyed the view and snapped some nice pictures before eating at a restaurant up there nearby. I took Elif out to dinner (I think we had some kebab something or other...I just ordered whatever she told me to have) to thank her for inviting me to her place and showing me around. After dinner we came back home and hung out in their house.
The journey to Bursa from Istanbul is a fairly short one. It takes a little over two hours to get there by bus. The best part is that you get to take a fairy over the Marmara Sea. If one looks at a map of Turkey, the location of Istanbul is a small slither of land separating two much larger seas. Bursa is just inland from the coastline on the bottom sea (Marmara) and so the best way to get there is to cross the sea. Crossing on a car fairy (this one took about 30 mins to cross) reminded me of my days as a younger kid in Florida. Sometimes when we would travel to Mayport (in northern Jacksonville), we would go the long way down State Road A1A. To cross the St. Johns river, they used a car fairy instead of a bridge. I am pretty sure it is one of the few car ferries left in the United States. Suffice it to say, it had been a while since I had ridden on one.
On the bus I had been working on my blog posts and trying to catch up. I exited the bus to enjoy the scenery and the cool air from the salt water. The area around the sea is kind of mountainous (a lot of earthquakes happen in this region) and so it was pretty to look at. Another interesting thing that you could see were the famous brown jellyfish. Apparently, the year I was there was an especially bad year and they were all over the place. It certainly made me think twice about swimming the Marmara. While outside admiring the ocean I met a brother and a sister from Bursa. At first I felt like they were making fun of me, but I ended up talking to them for a little bit. The conversation was of course limited by my Turkish (so they could still have been making fun of me and I just don't realize it).
Once we crossed the Marmara Sea it was only another 30-45 minutes before I arrived at the bus terminal in Bursa. I exited the bus and stepped out into the hot sun. I was immediately struck by how hot and humid it was. It felt as if my two hour bus ride had actually taken me back to Florida instead of just across the Marmara. I stepped out of the bus and went into the terminal to find Elif waiting for me. Her dad was waiting for us in the parking lot and he came to pick us up.
Her dad drove a yellow car, which resembled one of those taxi cabs. It actually made me chuckle when I saw it. I put my stuff in the back of the car and got in and we drove to Elif's house. Elif's dad was an interesting guy. He wasn't like other Turkish people I met. It's not that he was rude...but he wasn't overly friendly either. I liked Elif's mom a lot. She was a really nice lady. My opinions may have been tempered by Elif's own relationships with her parents (as she was translating for me and commenting on them herself). Her dad helped keep up a mosque near their home while her mom worked for a bank as a supervisor. This was surprising since usually the gender roles in Turkey are reversed.
Anyways, we put my stuff in their guest bedroom and Elif and I set out towards the city center of Bursa. Our first stop was the Ulu Cami (Great Mosque). This mosque truly lives up to its name. Built between 1396 and 1400, it is primarily Seljuk architecture. The building itself has 20 domes. The inside has a large amount of open space and is one of the biggest mosques I have ever seen still in operation (the only one bigger that I have seen is the Blue Mosque). However, my favorite aspect of the Ulu Cami was definitely the fountain in the middle of the mosque. Inside the mosque is a fountain and it's awesome. I'd never really seen something like that insider a place of worship before. Elif showed me a spot where apparently anything you pray for will come true. When she was a senior in high school she knelt there and prayed to be accepted to Bogazici (and now she is a current student there), so maybe it works!
After the mosque we walked over to see the Tombs of Sultans Osman and Orhan Gazi. On the way there, we walked through the markets of Bursa. These markets were historically significant because Bursa lies on the infamous silk road. Here in these market (even today) there were items from places in the far East. It was cool to be on the Silk Road. We didn't stay too long because most of the items for sale were silk scarves and other types of clothing items and I'm not really much of a shopper.
The tombs of Osman and Orhan Gazi were pretty amazing to see. Similar to the way the tombs in Eyup were decorated, the tombs of these individuals had a green cloth draped over them. Additionally, to enter the building that houses their tombs, one is required to take off their shoes just like in mosques. These tombs are so important because Osman and Orhan were essentially the cofounders of the Ottoman Empire. Before the Ottomans took Istanbul in 1452, Bursa was their capital. The function as a capital allowed Bursa to grow and develop for the 70 or so years prior to the capture of Istanbul. Additionally, Bursa is seen by many as the birthplace of modern Turkey. It was clear that I was in the presence of history in the tomb and I am glad I got to see it.
We then continued to walk to Tophane, which is the highest point of Bursa inside the city. It had a really neat view of the city and of part of Mt. Uludag (Great Mountain). Elif and I enjoyed the view and snapped some nice pictures before eating at a restaurant up there nearby. I took Elif out to dinner (I think we had some kebab something or other...I just ordered whatever she told me to have) to thank her for inviting me to her place and showing me around. After dinner we came back home and hung out in their house.
Istanbul in May
With the end of finals and the beginning of summer brings a bittersweet time for me. On the sweet side, I no longer had to worry about school and classes and could devote all of my energy to exploring Istanbul and spending time with the new friends I had made over the past 5 months. The times were also bitter because it meant that my time in Turkey was nearing an end and that I would have to say goodbye to some of my new friends I had made.
After our last final (on June 10th), a group of us (Alex, Vilena, Gorkem, Ali, Maddy, and myself) went down to Bebek to celebrate. As I have mentioned previously, Turkey is a relatively dry country due to Islamic laws and it is hard to get a decent variety of alcohol at a decent price. Despite these shortcomings, there was a brewery in Bebek that brewed its own alcohol. I think some of the other exchange students had already tried it, but I had not. We decided to go down there and I had the beer sampler, which consisted of 5 different types of beers that were brewed there (enough to give one the chance to try a little of everything to see what they liked).
I may not have talked about this group of people previously. I had only started becoming friends with many of them towards the end of my study abroad experience. Most of them found each other in the Superdorm (where all the exchange kids lived). Since I had not lived there, it was a bit harder for me to make friends with the exchange students (other than the ones I met in my Turkish language class). Maddy and I started sitting next to each other in Turkish Politics class and became friendly that way. I would say she is pretty much how I met most of the others (though I sometimes spoke to Alex outside of Turkish class).
Maddy is actually a very interesting person. Her family is of both British and Turkish origin. She can speak Turkish fluently and is a very smart person with a good sense of humor. I enjoyed spending time with her and getting to know her throughout our classes together. Ali and Gorkem are Turkish students who are enrolled in a dual program at SUNY-Binghamton. They spend 2 years in NY and 2 years in Turkey to get a joint degree from both. I imagine it will give them quite a few more opportunities in Turkey if that's where they decide to end up. Both of them were really nice guys, but also a little nerdy (yes, I realize this is coming from me and many of you would argue that I am kind of nerdy too).
Vilena is also an interesting character. She is Russian but studies in SUNY-Binghamton as well. We had a tendency to butt heads a few times because we were each very staunch in our opinions. I like to believe I am not as stubborn as she is when i am wrong, but what do I know? At any rate, I, unfortunately, don't talk to her much these days because we ended up having a falling out.
You already know about Alex from my description of my trip to Georgia and Armenia. Ohad is another interesting person. He is from Pittsburg, PA. He studied History at Bogazici and LOVED to take pictures. When I say photography was his favorite thing, I mean he would randomly take pictures of people on busses. He was not always popular for his picture-taking. He also was very much into the whole being Jewish and Israel thing. It was surprising to me, given this fact, that he chose to study in Turkey. All in all I thought he had good intentions and what little things he may have done that were odd, I ignored because I knew he was a good guy.
So these were some of the foreign friends I had made during my last month or so at Bogazici. In addition to the outing to the brewery, we also had an evening in Istinye Park (one of Turkey's newest and biggest malls) and found a very delicious Mongolian Grill place. This was surprising because Turkey does not have too many foreign food places (and by this time I was dying for something non-Turkish). It was exactly the same as it is here (except that it was 40 TL for all you can eat where as it might only be 2/3 that in the US). The other bonus of the Mongolian was that in America, you can't have leftovers, while in Turkey you can. I guess that sufficiently corrects for the price difference. :)
I also became friendly with Leesa, a student from Oklahoma. We met and studied together one day in Emirgin Park, which is a beautiful park to the north of Bebek just off the Bosphorus Strait. There was a giant chess board there and tons of landscaping. The highlight of the park was definitely the köşkler (big houses built during Ottoman times). Actually, the names of these houses is the origin for the word kiosk, which we use in English today. I took a lot of pictures of blooming flowers in the park and it was a very picturesque place to study. There was even an icecream place for me to get my favorite karadut ice cream (which apparently translates to black mulberry). I love that stuff and have yet to find a place here in the US that has it (much to my disappointment).
Saying goodbye to most of these friends (with the exception of Alex) was sad. It was nice to have made some new friends from all over the US and the world and I would not forget them soon.
To see some of my pictures from this, see the album entitled Istanbul in May. I also encourage you to check out the Bosphorus cruise photos which featured a lovely afternoon on the strait and produced some awesome pictures.
After our last final (on June 10th), a group of us (Alex, Vilena, Gorkem, Ali, Maddy, and myself) went down to Bebek to celebrate. As I have mentioned previously, Turkey is a relatively dry country due to Islamic laws and it is hard to get a decent variety of alcohol at a decent price. Despite these shortcomings, there was a brewery in Bebek that brewed its own alcohol. I think some of the other exchange students had already tried it, but I had not. We decided to go down there and I had the beer sampler, which consisted of 5 different types of beers that were brewed there (enough to give one the chance to try a little of everything to see what they liked).
I may not have talked about this group of people previously. I had only started becoming friends with many of them towards the end of my study abroad experience. Most of them found each other in the Superdorm (where all the exchange kids lived). Since I had not lived there, it was a bit harder for me to make friends with the exchange students (other than the ones I met in my Turkish language class). Maddy and I started sitting next to each other in Turkish Politics class and became friendly that way. I would say she is pretty much how I met most of the others (though I sometimes spoke to Alex outside of Turkish class).
Maddy is actually a very interesting person. Her family is of both British and Turkish origin. She can speak Turkish fluently and is a very smart person with a good sense of humor. I enjoyed spending time with her and getting to know her throughout our classes together. Ali and Gorkem are Turkish students who are enrolled in a dual program at SUNY-Binghamton. They spend 2 years in NY and 2 years in Turkey to get a joint degree from both. I imagine it will give them quite a few more opportunities in Turkey if that's where they decide to end up. Both of them were really nice guys, but also a little nerdy (yes, I realize this is coming from me and many of you would argue that I am kind of nerdy too).
Vilena is also an interesting character. She is Russian but studies in SUNY-Binghamton as well. We had a tendency to butt heads a few times because we were each very staunch in our opinions. I like to believe I am not as stubborn as she is when i am wrong, but what do I know? At any rate, I, unfortunately, don't talk to her much these days because we ended up having a falling out.
You already know about Alex from my description of my trip to Georgia and Armenia. Ohad is another interesting person. He is from Pittsburg, PA. He studied History at Bogazici and LOVED to take pictures. When I say photography was his favorite thing, I mean he would randomly take pictures of people on busses. He was not always popular for his picture-taking. He also was very much into the whole being Jewish and Israel thing. It was surprising to me, given this fact, that he chose to study in Turkey. All in all I thought he had good intentions and what little things he may have done that were odd, I ignored because I knew he was a good guy.
So these were some of the foreign friends I had made during my last month or so at Bogazici. In addition to the outing to the brewery, we also had an evening in Istinye Park (one of Turkey's newest and biggest malls) and found a very delicious Mongolian Grill place. This was surprising because Turkey does not have too many foreign food places (and by this time I was dying for something non-Turkish). It was exactly the same as it is here (except that it was 40 TL for all you can eat where as it might only be 2/3 that in the US). The other bonus of the Mongolian was that in America, you can't have leftovers, while in Turkey you can. I guess that sufficiently corrects for the price difference. :)
I also became friendly with Leesa, a student from Oklahoma. We met and studied together one day in Emirgin Park, which is a beautiful park to the north of Bebek just off the Bosphorus Strait. There was a giant chess board there and tons of landscaping. The highlight of the park was definitely the köşkler (big houses built during Ottoman times). Actually, the names of these houses is the origin for the word kiosk, which we use in English today. I took a lot of pictures of blooming flowers in the park and it was a very picturesque place to study. There was even an icecream place for me to get my favorite karadut ice cream (which apparently translates to black mulberry). I love that stuff and have yet to find a place here in the US that has it (much to my disappointment).
Saying goodbye to most of these friends (with the exception of Alex) was sad. It was nice to have made some new friends from all over the US and the world and I would not forget them soon.
To see some of my pictures from this, see the album entitled Istanbul in May. I also encourage you to check out the Bosphorus cruise photos which featured a lovely afternoon on the strait and produced some awesome pictures.
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