Istanbul was amazing! The trip there, however, was not so great. We decided to take an overnight bus because it was cheaper than any other form of transportation. It was really nice: it had comfortable reclining seats, televisions, and even it's own attendant who brought drinks and snacks. The drive was awful though. The main road that took us from Sofia's bus station to Turkey's border was filled with potholes and bumps. The driver would slam on his brakes for the tiniest bump, so it was next to impossible to sleep. Then we got to the border. Christ...the border! They took our passports, passed them back. Then we all had to get up from our warm seats to the 2 degrees Celsius outdoors to show our passports ourselves to border patrol. We piled back in again after about 25 minutes in the cold, where they took our passports again! Then, because we were the only ones on the bus without Turkish visas, the 4 of us Americans had to get out again, walk in the cold to a little visa bearer, wait 15 minutes for the 99-year-old to put 4 fuckin stickers on 4 passports (heaven forbid she put her cigarette out to place the stamps!), then back to the bus. Oh, but that's not all. After re-boarding the bus and removing our jackets, we crossed the border and got about 3 feet into Turkey when we stopped again. Now it was time for everyone to do their duty-free shopping for the holidays! We waited another 20 minutes for everyone to buy tax-free booze. Dylan couldn't take it anymore and went to buy a bottle of Jack Daniels to help him relax, and I couldn't blame him. This was bullshit! This is when Jordi and I had our infamous bathroom trip. We had to pay to use what they call a "water closet." This is merely two footholds with a fucking hole in the ground for you to do your business in. Now, I am notorious for peeing wherever I need to, be it a bush or a curb. But this was just fucking disgusting. I literally gagged the entire time I went pee. This made port-a-potties look like thrones for a king! So we get back on the bus, remove our jackets and get comfortable again. But what do you know? We have to get back off again! It seems what we thought was the border was just a tease. This time we had to remove all of our baggage from the bus, open it, and wait for an "inspector" to "inspect" our bags. After waiting another 10 minutes in the cold, the "inspector" merely glanced at all of our bags and waved us off. I wanted to throw Dylan's bottle at the inspector, but Dylan would have probably killed me. So we boarded again and FINALLY crossed the border, where they took our passports and passed them back for the final time. The whole time I was thinking, "This country better be worth it." And it was.
When we arrived at the bus station in Istanbul, the scene was kind of disturbing. Not only was it 6am and freezing cold, but there were Turkish men everywhere yelling at you to buy their wares. Call me crazy, but if you shout at me continuously to come look at your products at six in the morning after a hellish bus trip, I am going to either ignore you or murder you. At that time, Turkish prison wasn't looking so bad. And on top of all this, we heard this eerie sound coming from loud speakers. We later found out that this is a Muslim chant they do on loud speakers throughout the city, 5 times a day every day. Each chant is really loud and lasts about 10 minutes. The first one of the day is at 6am, so we were thrilled to hear the morning's prayer. (Sarcasm, people.) I thought Dylan was going to get another bus ticket and head back to Bulgaria after 5 minutes in Istanbul. This whole scene was very intimidating, and again I wondered if this was the right destination for our family vacation.
We finally got a cab to our hotel, The Blue House. Jordi and I were to share a room, and the second we dropped our bags, we collapsed onto our respective beds. It was so nice to be lying horizontally, in a still and quiet place! We slept for about 6 hours and it was one of the deepest sleeps I think all of us had been in. We even slept through another loud chant!
I woke first, and I was thrilled when I looked out of our hotel room window. The sun had come up, and it was so warm, comparatively speaking. The narrow roads were made of old cobblestone and there were people of all races and colors milling about. Istanbul has a population of about 16 million, about 2 of which are tourists, so it is a very busy city. When everyone was dressed and ready, we went for some lunch at the famous Pudding Shop. This is a restaurant that started in 1959 and was made famous by the hippies. It is said that the hippies would come here to plan their treks to Nepal and Afghanistan, all uniting to drink beers and share their adventures with one another. It is now in a more modern and classy form, but it felt cool to sit in a place that holds that kind of '60s and '70s history. The employees were knowledgeable and warm, and it was so nice to hear that they all spoke perfect English.
Our hotel resides next to the famous Blue Mosque, where Muslims go to pray 5 times a day (during the daily chants). The Blue Mosque is absolutely stunning. It is named for the beautiful blue Iznik tiles that cover the interior, and it was constructed in 1617. We visited this mosque that first day, and I was blown away. Dylan didn't want to attend, but the 3 of us put our head scarves on, removed our shoes and entered the historic mosque. The domes covered in the blue tiling and the numerous chandeliers leave you breathless. There were several Muslims praying in a fenced-off area and it was fascinating to watch as they went from their knees to their feet, and back to their knees again to touch their foreheads to the carpeted floor to praise Allah. The Turkish prayers inscripted in gold were mesmerizing. Although we couldn't read them, the writing was very interesting, and we took several pictures.
After the mosque, the three of us walked around the city to take pictures and immerse ourselves in the culture. Everywhere you turned, another Turkish man was prodding you, trying to convince you to come to their shops to see "the finest silk carpets in Turkey" or "the most beautiful pashminas you have ever seen." It reminded me of a cleaner, nicer Mexican bazaar. Unfortunately, the Grand Bazaar was closed for festivals, but that did not stop us from going into the many shops that line the streets of this wonderful city. Bargaining is a must, as they will try to charge you the most outrageous prices for the the cheapest things.
That night, I convinced everyone to go see a Dervish dancing ceremony. This is a traditional show in Turkey. Basically, they played music for about 30 minutes, which was beautiful but eerie. Then the dancers came out. There were 5 men dressed in traditional long skirts and tall conical hats. When they came out, I was really excited. This was supposed to show us how many people choose to kind of transcend the human body into this spiritual state, leaving the body to earth and the soul to Allah. I hate to simplify this method of praise, but all they literally did was spin around with their hands in the air. It just goes to show you that you don't always have to understand something to totally respect it. After the dancing (which no one was too amused with), we went back to the hotel and called it a day.
The next morning, we had breakfast together at the hotel. We collectively decided that day to leave one day early. Dylan was unhappy there, and it wouldn't have been worth it to stay if one of us was not enjoying themselves. So Mom and Dylan went to the bus station together to successfully change our tickets home from Sunday night to Saturday night. When they arrived back at the Blue House, Mom came and got Jordi and I to go see Aya Sofia and Topkapi Palace.
When Aya Sofia was built in AD 537, it was the largest building in the world. Built as a church, it fell to the Ottomans in 1453 and was then converted into a mosque. It remained as such until 1932 when Ataturk declared it a museum. This mosque was amazing as well. Its austere interior magnifies its awesome size. Again, the domes were incredible, donned with detailed mosaics and paintings. Unfortunately, they are doing continuous restoration to the mosque, so the scaffolding on the inside sort of took away from the beauty, but this did not stop us from enjoying the scenery.
Next stop was Topkapi Palace. This palace was built by Mehmet the Conqueror from in 1458-1465 and is divided into a series of courtyards. It was all very beautiful, but our favorite was the 400-plus-room harem. These detailed rooms are covered in floor-to-ceiling decor. It is all very elaborate, as these were the headquarters of the sultan, the sultan's mother (the most powerful woman of the harem), and all of the sultan's concubines. It is said that if a particular woman attracted the sultan's affections or if the sultan spent a night with her, she would be promoted to "odalisque" status. This meant she had to stay in Istanbul forever, but got nicer quarters in exchange for her undying allegiance to the sultan. Walking down the same halls and entering the rooms the harem occupied was such a cool feeling I will never forget.
After the sightseeing, we grabbed Dylan from the hotel and went to shop. I loved bargaining with the locals, and we were all able to purchase things that will forever remind us of our memorable trip to Istanbul.
The bus ride home was much better than the journey there, and we arrived safely to Mom's flat, where we all fell into bed just as easily as we did at the Blue House. Although I already miss the warmer weather and the kind people, it is really nice to be back in Sofia. Now we will be able to enjoy our first white Christmas together.
When we arrived at the bus station in Istanbul, the scene was kind of disturbing. Not only was it 6am and freezing cold, but there were Turkish men everywhere yelling at you to buy their wares. Call me crazy, but if you shout at me continuously to come look at your products at six in the morning after a hellish bus trip, I am going to either ignore you or murder you. At that time, Turkish prison wasn't looking so bad. And on top of all this, we heard this eerie sound coming from loud speakers. We later found out that this is a Muslim chant they do on loud speakers throughout the city, 5 times a day every day. Each chant is really loud and lasts about 10 minutes. The first one of the day is at 6am, so we were thrilled to hear the morning's prayer. (Sarcasm, people.) I thought Dylan was going to get another bus ticket and head back to Bulgaria after 5 minutes in Istanbul. This whole scene was very intimidating, and again I wondered if this was the right destination for our family vacation.
We finally got a cab to our hotel, The Blue House. Jordi and I were to share a room, and the second we dropped our bags, we collapsed onto our respective beds. It was so nice to be lying horizontally, in a still and quiet place! We slept for about 6 hours and it was one of the deepest sleeps I think all of us had been in. We even slept through another loud chant!
I woke first, and I was thrilled when I looked out of our hotel room window. The sun had come up, and it was so warm, comparatively speaking. The narrow roads were made of old cobblestone and there were people of all races and colors milling about. Istanbul has a population of about 16 million, about 2 of which are tourists, so it is a very busy city. When everyone was dressed and ready, we went for some lunch at the famous Pudding Shop. This is a restaurant that started in 1959 and was made famous by the hippies. It is said that the hippies would come here to plan their treks to Nepal and Afghanistan, all uniting to drink beers and share their adventures with one another. It is now in a more modern and classy form, but it felt cool to sit in a place that holds that kind of '60s and '70s history. The employees were knowledgeable and warm, and it was so nice to hear that they all spoke perfect English.
Our hotel resides next to the famous Blue Mosque, where Muslims go to pray 5 times a day (during the daily chants). The Blue Mosque is absolutely stunning. It is named for the beautiful blue Iznik tiles that cover the interior, and it was constructed in 1617. We visited this mosque that first day, and I was blown away. Dylan didn't want to attend, but the 3 of us put our head scarves on, removed our shoes and entered the historic mosque. The domes covered in the blue tiling and the numerous chandeliers leave you breathless. There were several Muslims praying in a fenced-off area and it was fascinating to watch as they went from their knees to their feet, and back to their knees again to touch their foreheads to the carpeted floor to praise Allah. The Turkish prayers inscripted in gold were mesmerizing. Although we couldn't read them, the writing was very interesting, and we took several pictures.
After the mosque, the three of us walked around the city to take pictures and immerse ourselves in the culture. Everywhere you turned, another Turkish man was prodding you, trying to convince you to come to their shops to see "the finest silk carpets in Turkey" or "the most beautiful pashminas you have ever seen." It reminded me of a cleaner, nicer Mexican bazaar. Unfortunately, the Grand Bazaar was closed for festivals, but that did not stop us from going into the many shops that line the streets of this wonderful city. Bargaining is a must, as they will try to charge you the most outrageous prices for the the cheapest things.
That night, I convinced everyone to go see a Dervish dancing ceremony. This is a traditional show in Turkey. Basically, they played music for about 30 minutes, which was beautiful but eerie. Then the dancers came out. There were 5 men dressed in traditional long skirts and tall conical hats. When they came out, I was really excited. This was supposed to show us how many people choose to kind of transcend the human body into this spiritual state, leaving the body to earth and the soul to Allah. I hate to simplify this method of praise, but all they literally did was spin around with their hands in the air. It just goes to show you that you don't always have to understand something to totally respect it. After the dancing (which no one was too amused with), we went back to the hotel and called it a day.
The next morning, we had breakfast together at the hotel. We collectively decided that day to leave one day early. Dylan was unhappy there, and it wouldn't have been worth it to stay if one of us was not enjoying themselves. So Mom and Dylan went to the bus station together to successfully change our tickets home from Sunday night to Saturday night. When they arrived back at the Blue House, Mom came and got Jordi and I to go see Aya Sofia and Topkapi Palace.
When Aya Sofia was built in AD 537, it was the largest building in the world. Built as a church, it fell to the Ottomans in 1453 and was then converted into a mosque. It remained as such until 1932 when Ataturk declared it a museum. This mosque was amazing as well. Its austere interior magnifies its awesome size. Again, the domes were incredible, donned with detailed mosaics and paintings. Unfortunately, they are doing continuous restoration to the mosque, so the scaffolding on the inside sort of took away from the beauty, but this did not stop us from enjoying the scenery.
Next stop was Topkapi Palace. This palace was built by Mehmet the Conqueror from in 1458-1465 and is divided into a series of courtyards. It was all very beautiful, but our favorite was the 400-plus-room harem. These detailed rooms are covered in floor-to-ceiling decor. It is all very elaborate, as these were the headquarters of the sultan, the sultan's mother (the most powerful woman of the harem), and all of the sultan's concubines. It is said that if a particular woman attracted the sultan's affections or if the sultan spent a night with her, she would be promoted to "odalisque" status. This meant she had to stay in Istanbul forever, but got nicer quarters in exchange for her undying allegiance to the sultan. Walking down the same halls and entering the rooms the harem occupied was such a cool feeling I will never forget.
After the sightseeing, we grabbed Dylan from the hotel and went to shop. I loved bargaining with the locals, and we were all able to purchase things that will forever remind us of our memorable trip to Istanbul.
The bus ride home was much better than the journey there, and we arrived safely to Mom's flat, where we all fell into bed just as easily as we did at the Blue House. Although I already miss the warmer weather and the kind people, it is really nice to be back in Sofia. Now we will be able to enjoy our first white Christmas together.
