Turkey/Bulgaria 2011: Istanbul Part Two

The bus ride from Plovdiv to Istanbul was disconcerting. The bus company overbooked and we almost didn't get seats. A lot of people had to stand in the aisles and the bus ride was lengthy. When we arrived in Istanbul, we decided to explore the infamous bazaars. The Grand Bazaar is a huge indoor marketplace, overloaded with rugs, lamps, pashminas, jewelry, and other trinkets. I bought myself a pashmina and another one for my friend Kathryn. I also bought my mom, sister-in-law, and some other friends hand embroidered coin purses and evil eye bracelets. After that, we went to the Spice Bazaar, a smaller marketplace that sold hundreds of spices, teas, nuts, fruits, pastries, and Turkish Delight. I bought some spices for my parents and a half-kilo each of Turkish Delight for my brothers, dad, and grandparents.

While in Turkey, we also visited the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia was beautiful and it was interesting to see the Christianity versus Islam wars that occurred there. I think that it would have been more beautiful as a church, mostly because that was how it was originally intended and I thought the iconography of the church was incredible. Spending Christmas Eve in Turkey was strange, not only because it is a predominantly Muslim country so Christmas isn't acknowledged, but because I wasn't with my family. I chose that day to venture out on my own while the others went to a museum. I headed back toward the Grand Bazaar and ran into Jack, an American staying at our hostel that I had met the night before. He was travelling by himself because he had been on the Israel Birthright trip and decided to explore more of the world while he was able. We went to the Bazaar together and I haggled for a handmade, hand painted bowl for my mom. Then we walked around, splitting off near the University. I met up with Emily, Brice, and Andrew again. We decided to go to a Turkish hookah bar and spent the evening walking around.

The following day, we walked around another part of the city. We saw some Roman-style aqueducts. Andrew split off and the rest of us returned to the Spice Bazaar for more Turkish Delight and spices. After he left, Emily Brice, and I walked along the Bosphorus before returning to the hostel. Since it was Christmas day and our last day to spend in Istanbul before our flight the next morning, we all decided to splurge on a traditional Turkish bath. The men and women were separated and luckily our group consisted of two members of each sex. Emily and I decided to fully embrace what we thought was the norm in Turkish baths and went in with just our towels on. To our slight embarrassment, we discovered that most of the women were in their underwear. We started in the sauna, gripping our towels very tightly. However, once we were called out to start our baths, the woman in charge of us ripped our towels off of us and we decided to embrace the situation. The Turkish bath was the perfect end to this trip, I have never felt so clean in my life. We were each fully scrubbed down and exfoliated, our hair washed in warm water. It was also nice to feel so warm and clean after having been in the snow and cold rain for so many days. We returned to the sauna afterwards and ended up spending a few hours there longer than the guys. That night, we had a nice dinner and prepared for the long journey home. 

Events occurred: December 23-26, 2011

Turkey/Bulgaria 2011: Istanbul Part One

One of the best things about OAR is the amount of cheap, accessible international travel. One day, an email to the list serve popped up on my phone screen with information about a ski trip to Bulgaria, going through Turkey. I had only ever left the country once, a trip to Niagara Falls, Canada when I was 12. Back then, you didn't even need a passport to go to Canada; I just walked across the border with ease. I had also never been skiing before and didn't know the first thing about it. I had only seen snow a few times in my life. Still, I found myself buying a plane ticket and applying for my first passport. I was particularly anxious to go to Istanbul in Turkey. My father is Greek and my family came to America from this city, which they still call Constantinople (as do all Greeks... I catch myself saying it every now and then). I had never been even close to Greece and the thought of connecting with my family, even superficially, was appealing. I wanted to see everything, to appreciate the land my great grandparents had left behind so many years ago. The city did not disappoint. Since our flight was in and out of Istanbul, our time spent in Bulgaria was sandwiched between two trips to Turkey.

When Emily, Andrew, and I first arrived, I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open on the metro from the airport. Our hostel was conveniently located near the Hagia Sophia and several other special monuments and museums. After a full day of flying and no sleep, I hardly remember that first day in Istanbul. We decided to just stay awake and keep going so that our bodies would adjust to the new time zone, which was seven hours ahead of Florida. We walked around near our hostel and then went to an archaeological museum. Honestly, I passed out in a chair and took a nap. I was mostly entranced by the ancient Greek artifacts and the ancient Greek writings on statues and tombs. That night, we took a sunset cruise down the Bosphorus. The illuminated buildings along the shore glittered and provided a beautiful backdrop to the churning water.

The next day, we had plans to meet up with our fourth group member, Brice, who had to take a later flight because of finals. We walked around a bit more before he got there, crossing one of the bridges by foot and walking along a bustling street that contained many consulates and shops. That night, the four of us took a 12 hour overnight bus to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Waking up at 2 AM to cross the border, which was encapsulated in an ominous fog, was intimidating. We all made it through though, officially entering the European Union.   

Events occurred: December 14-16, 2011