Istanbul

7/17/2009

The morning we were to pull into Istanbul brought an early awakening to go up and see the sunrise.  Unfortunately, some of the professors had been advertising it, and about half the student body decided to wake up and watch.  Not quite the peaceful sunrises I had been getting used to.  The skyline was hazy, making the sun very red.  There was not much in the way of buildings along the skyline, but it was very pretty.  As the sun came further up, we started circling, apparently we had shown up early, and had to wait for the pilot boat.  After the sun was at a sufficient height in the sky, we all went back to bed with plans to wake up for breakfast, where we talked about plans for the day.  It was a much slower morning than usual, as it took the ship much longer to clear customs, and they needed to distribute disembarkation papers to everyone in order for us to be able to leave the port area.  By the time all of that was done, it was almost lunch on the ship, and we decided to stick around for another free meal, and then set out exploring.
Jon, Amanda, Athena and I left and set out toward the bridge that crosses into the main downtown area, or at least the one closest to our ship, as Istanbul is massive.  The bridge was lined with fisherman, and there were ferries and shuttle boats jetting around the water so quickly I don’t know how they avoided collision.  Turkey is the first country in which I have truly felt it was completely different.  The women were wearing head scarves for the most part, and had ankle length dresses and long sleeves, even in the extreme heat, and almost none of the men were wearing shorts.  I felt very awkward walking along, as I am in the habit of making eye contact with people I pass and smiling, and apparently in Turkey, that means I am “available”  I decided it would be best to avert my eyes slightly downward.  We were all dressed in long pants, and short sleeve t-shirts, so we did not stand out as much as some of the other foreigners parading about in their skimpy attire, but we still did stand out.  We went to several mosques throughout the morning, stopping outside to put scarves over our heads and remove our shoes.  They are very large, open spaces, but have low hanging lights so they do not feel cavernous. 
We walked around some more in search of the Blue Mosque, and ended up at one of the gates to the Grand Bazaar.  While we were all tempted, we had decided to save it for later in our stay in Istanbul, and just asked directions from one of the gate guards to get to the mosque.  It took us a little while, but we found it.  There was a grassy area between it and the Haiga Sophia, and there was a fountain in the middle.  We walked toward the blue mosque, and as we got to the entrance, the call to prayer started and the mosque closed to the public.  We sat in the courtyard for a while, contemplating waiting until it opened again, but decided against it, and headed back toward the ship.
We made it on the ship just before dinner ended, and rested for a while before heading out to a hookah bar.  I am not a big fan of smoke of any kind, and was skeptical of intentionally putting myself in a situation in which it would be prevalent, but decided it would be worth it for the experience.  We went to a bar that was on the underside of a bridge, right on the water with fishing lines hanging down, and fish periodically being reeled up.  The chairs were large, brightly colored bean bags, and there was even music playing.  I did not partake in the hookah, or water pipe as they are called, but had fun just talking and mostly observing the night life.
All in all it was a successful first day in Turkey.  After we got over the initial shock of all of the differences, we were much more comfortable.  Everyone we met was so friendly, although most of them own stores and are just trying to get business.  The carpet salesmen are the worst.  The first one we met stopped us to talk, and ended up guessing all of our heritage, and then the second tried, and failed, to invite us in for tea, saying it was okay because we had our “bodyguard” Jon with us.  Later on in the day, a salesman called out as we passed “three angels and Charlie, how can I take your money”.   Angels and Spice Girls are common terms used for non Turkish women here.  It is entertaining to say the least.  The other thing that is very different about Turkey is that they do not guess American first when you do not speak the language, and generally seem surprised when you tell them you are from the states.  It is a god surprise most of the time though, they seem genuinely happy that we are visiting.