Strays, Sultans, and Scarves on My Head: Days 3 and 4

I resumed my journey through Istanbul Sunday morning at 6 AM. We woke up at the break of dawn in order to make it to the Hagia Sophia Mosque right at opening. My best friend from back home, who's travelled through Istanbul, told me that nothing in the world compares to standing under the golden domes before the loud rush of tourists. And boy, was she right.

But first--I had to make a friend.

HEY THERE, BUD.

Hundreds of stray cats and dogs roam the streets of Istanbul. They're often very friendly and well-fed, as bowls of dry pet food and of water line the corners of the streets. It's so cute--it's like the city of Istanbul has its own pets (: But back to the mosque:

WOAH.

All alone... Humbling experience

Beautiful, right? The Hagia Sophia used to be a church in the Byzantine time but was converted into a mosque in the Ottoman period. I enjoyed sitting on the marble steps soaking in the history and the two religions that have graced these halls.

Next up--the Basilica Cistern. This underground water source provided the fresh water for dozens of wells around the city. It was a cavern right out of Indiana Jones, and it was probably my favorite place in Istanbul!

Catfish swimming around the columns!

Me and the columns! Woo!

Medusa statue on which a column rested. The Medusa head was purposely turned sideways as a symbol of Christianity's victory and quashing of the pagan Roman religion. Cool!

After the Cistern was a trip to a Turkish bath. No pictures of that, since it was a spa, but wow--it was like being transported back in time! My two friends are I were the only non-Turks in the bath, and there were only, like, three other girls under the age of 50 in the bath. It was so relaxing and so exotic. I adored the soothing massages and the steaming water to loosen my tense muscles. Highly recommend this experience to all! There was also something beautiful about this calm and quiet gathering of women. Most women walk around Turkey covered at least in headscarves and often with hijabs. It must be so freeing to release one's body from the folds of fabric in the warm, affectionate, and comfortable atmosphere of the bath. 

We made our way back to our hostel using public transportation--boy, what an experience. I stood on a crowded subway and felt people pressing in on all sides of me. Then--I kid you not--I felt somebody CUPPING my BUTT. 

Oh HELLLLLLL NO! 

I turned around in shock and saw this pathetic middle-aged man hastily pulling his hand away. I smacked him and said "Don't you DARE," then gave him my most withering look of disgust. He tried to look innocent, but he probably wasn't used to women calling him out--they don't have much of that firey Creole spice in Turkey. And the worst part? His 7 year old daughter was hanging onto his waist the whole time!!! I was revolted. How can a father of a young daughter grope a teenage woman in front of her?!!! As you might guess--not my most favorite of male-female interactions I've encountered thus far. But I think I taught this guy not to mess.

Anyways, that night, my friends and I explored the suburbs of our hostel with a few Scottish girls we met. We find a nice pizza place that took FOREVER in getting our food. We had terrible service and were barely paid attention to. Probably because the waiter's salary don't depend even the slightest on tips. So there's one benefit to the American custom--waiters and waitresses have smiles on their faces!

We went to sleep, then woke up the next morning after some sleeping in. We decided to explore some of the lesser known mosques away from the touristy parts of the city, and we found some absolute gems, my favorite being the Rustem Pasha Mosque.

Stunning

The walls are blue and white, meant to represent the reach of the heavens. The carpets were red to represent the earth. I felt close to the same peace and calm in this church that I'd experienced in Christ's jail. I really did love this mosque! 

We then visited Suleymayine Mosque, which is said to rival the Blue Mosque.

I loved the grandeur of this mosque. It was heavenly. My friend and I, though, both felt a similar severe disillusionment when we saw the grand emptiness of the main mosque as the men prayed--and a woman in a back cell wearing full hijab praying even further from the main altar than the tourists were. It left our stomachs in knots for reasons we later articulated. If nothing else, this culture of a combined religion and state inspired incredible conversations about culture, religion, sexism, human rights, and God with the other girls I was with.

From the mosques, we visited the best silversmith in the world as well as a man whose family has melted gold into jewelry for the last few centuries.

Standing in front of the silversmith shop

What a guy!

Melting the gold!

From these two shops, we headed back to the hostel to change into some nice slothes and walk to the Harvard Networking Night in Istanbul. The view was stunning--

artsyyyy

--and the drinks were flowing. At least, until the Istanbul Club president left--then the bills came out to all of the recent graduates and alumni. LOL. Classic Harvard, I've gotta say. One of the incredible alumni, whom my friend and I had been talking to for about a half hour, covered our frappuccinos, so we were pretty stoked. We stopped at a beautiful chocolate place where we continued to discuss our opinions and beliefs. By the time we returned to our hostel, it was about 11 PM. We headed to the airport shuttle, which dropped us off at our airport around 1 in the morning. Since we had to check in for our flight around 4... We decided to sleep in the airport!! Felt just like the movie The Terminal.

Hehehe. 

We made it to a Starbucks on the top floor and flopped out on the couches. Our dear friend Ahmed watched out for us as he cleaned the Starbucks area. We slept for about 2 hours then sat there in slightly delusional exhaustion. We made it onto our plane and crashed for the hours it took to get back to Israel. After a few hours, I arrived back at my home. It was so exciting to walk up the steps and open the door. I started gushing right away to my host mother, who said the whole family had missed me--probably not as much as I missed them!! And when I finally walked into my room--I started crying!!! It was bittersweet, I think. Slightly bitter, because all I wanted to do was speak with my mom and dad. But incredibly sweet, because I felt like I was home. After three weeks here, this house on Nordau Street has become my home. How lucky am I?!

If you can believe it--my four day trip cost me less than $200 including my hostel and souvenirs. The flight was $167. It's amazing how cheap this vacation was! I plan on spending the next day and a half catching up on sleep--and on the show The Americans! I love you all!

Happy to be Home,

Aubrey Noelle

How Many Words Are A Thousand Pictures Worth?--Day 2

All pictures with little descriptions tonight, because it's impossible to use simple words to articulate the beauty of this city!

Trying to scout out a good photo place near Topkapi Palace, but candid photos turn out best anyway!

Our first view of Topkapi Palace!

The Council of Ministers. They met in this building til the 19th century!

Imperial Hall, where the women of the court (including the sultan's favorite concubines) would gather and hold company. 

When the site for Byzantium (aka modern day Istanbul) was being chosen, the seeking men were told by an oracle to look for the land "across from the land of the blind." Well, when they came across this beautiful harbor with this view, they realized that the tiny little town across the harbor HAD to be for the blind--not that they'd ever actually verify!

Lunch with a view!

Because when you see a tree with a hole in it, what else are you gonna do?

You can see the Blue Mosque in the background!

Split capture photo: me and the ceilings of the Blue Mosque. It might sound strange, but I think the mosque looks better in pictures than in person!

No shoes allowed in the mosque. Off they go--good thing I got them halfway shined yesterday! (;

A kind and welcoming sign in the mosque. We sat in the Islam Information Center for about 20 minutes learning the basics. 

Onto the ferry for a cruise through the Bosphorous Strait!

Going around sunset was a good idea!

Turkish baklava--yum!

The name of this bakery/restaurant is NOLA Istanbul. I know that in Tel Aviv, there is a NOLA bakery that takes its inspiration from New Orleans pastries! I loved seeing the NOLA bakery here, but it definitely made me a little homesick for some pralines! (Hint: NOLA=New Orleans LouisianA)

And finally--you can drop me in any city in any country around the globe, and I will ALWAYS find the dog!!!

Not Pictured:

Grand Bazaar and Egyptian Spice Bazaar, where I actually successfully haggled for some souvenirs and gifts!

Numerous backstreets that showed off the residential life and hidden, non-touristy parts of Istanbul

And, the Hagia Sophia--because we wake up at 6 AM tomorrow to ensure we are the first ones there at opening!

Excited beyond belief--but definitely missing home,

Bittersweet Aubrey 

ISTANBUL! Day 1

Oh my gosh. SUCH an exhausting day of travel. But it turned into a beautiful night of exploring by the end!

I woke up around 5 to make my way to the airport for my 11 AM flight. Tragic, right? But I'd been told numerous times to get to an Israeli airport 3 hours early to ensure time for security clearance. I soon found out why.

So I took my public transportation to get to the airport, and in true Aubs travel form, I got there 4 hours early. Seriously, this happens all the time.

I go into the first terminal I see, thinking that it might be my flight--and I get bombarded with questions by a suspicious airport agent.

"Why are you here? Who are you with? What's their last name? Where are you going? Why are you going? Where are you from?"

My sincere reaction

I was about to cry. Which was not helping my whole not-a-terrorist thing.

And then--after all that--it turned out I was in the wrong terminal.

Lord help me.

"Why are you in this terminal??? Who told you to come here??? Why are you so early???"

AHHHH IM SORRY, I SWEAR IM JUST PUNCTUAL AND ON TIME, IM NOT A BAD PERSON, PLEASE DONT ARREST ME. 

I think my sincere panic and remorse convinced them of my innocence, so I was free to make my way to the correct terminal.

But that wasn't the end.

After more questioning, there was the searching of my bags. As in they emptied the entire backpack and tested every item for bomb residue?

"You sure read a lot, don't you?" said the TSA officer after seeing my three books for my three-day trip. Yeah, I guess you could say that.

Then there was the passport control booth to get out. Then the exit visa check. And finally, I was at my gate!!--two hours early.

The flight was uneventful--except for the airline charging me for coffee, ugh--and Turkey customs only took like 1 hour--as unopposed to 30 minutes, since I literally chose the longest line.

We (my two fellow interns and I) jumped on a shuttle with 6 other people to get into Istanbul more quickly than through public transportation--except it took THREE. FREAKING. HOURS.

Get me outtttt. But finally--FINALLY--we were at our beautiful hostel ready to explore!!

We saw some beautiful sights, made some friends (aka a nice Turkish fisherman) and some enemies (aka a shoe shined that tried to con us then persisted to grope us when we refused to pay-- uh uh, oh no, Sabrinas daughter was NOT standing for that. He got a firm talking-to, a finger wag, and no money.) We explored the books and cranniers of the harbor, and tomorrow we plan on being total tourists!! From here, I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Beautiful Istanbul street--a mix of European and Asian. 

So happy to be eating dinner after 9 hours of starvation!!!

Making friends with the wild animals of Turkey. Named this cat Pacific, because, of course, I have to name every creature I encounter. 

Crossing from Asia to Europe--and staying in the same city!

My first ever Turkish delight--in Turkey!

Our nice dessert spread

Watching the sun set

This Turkish fisherman saw me taking pics of the water and offered to let me hold his line. I convinced him to join in the pic with me. He was stoked about it.

A stunning mosque light display right as the sun set. 

It was a wonderful night that started off our trip perfectly. So excited to see where the next few days take me and my friends!!

From Turkey with Love,

Aubs