Day 2

It's only Day 2 and ALREADY there has been talk of "wondering what it would be like to live here", and "how much it would cost to ship out our belongings from home"...

Obviously, we're smitten with Istanbul.

We woke up at around 4 a.m. to the haunting chant of the morning call to prayer blaring from the speakers of the Blue Mosque's minarets. The responses were various in nature. Nolan reportedly snapped out of bed, slammed the window, and was back under his covers in two seconds flat. Ariel did more of the muttering and murmuring in half consciousness about how it "sounded like people dying" outside. Apparently, Ivan heard nothing and slept through it all, and to this hour wonders what the big problem is...

A little later in the morning, after recovering from this culturally shocking experience, we awoke at the more decent hour of 8, some 9, to have breakfast on the top floor of our hotel and then proceed to meet in the lobby at 9:30 for a debriefing of the day's events. The first thing on the agenda was called "The Hippodrome", which was only a couple blocks down in a nearby plaza. It was once, as Amanda pointed out in her presentation, one of the main forms of entertainment for the city, as it was a racetrack where the most popular rivaling horse and chariot teams would race. Today, there remains a road where the track once stood and inside the track are three obelisk-like structures remaining from the days of "Hippodrome glory".



The second place on the agenda was the Basilica Cistern which was unlike anything I have ever seen before! It is what remains of an underground cistern, however it is more like an underground palace, with 300 some columns holding up the structure, sitting in several feet of water that now only inhabits a variety of surprisingly large fish! (Fortunately for us, there was no memory of the cistern's smell from days past, which I can imagine could have been rather overwhelming.) There are wooden bridge paths above the water so that tourists can walk around inside without fear of getting wet..except for the occasional dripping from the ceiling.





It's dank, cool, atmosphere is just as eerie as the darkness accompanying the dripping ceilings, but the lights that have been strategically placed around the columns made for some fascinating photos. I believe Dr. Clark won our friendly competition of who could capture the best photos of the columns. Perhaps one day when we are no longer students and can also afford an amazing camera....

But I digress.

Next, we headed up to a small restaurant area that used to be an Islamic school, and had tea and lemonade under the draping canvasses outdoors while discussing some cultural differences we had noticed in the environment around us. We also discussed the learning approach we wanted to take while here and decided we would be flexible to whatever opportunities may present themselves to better know the culture, rather than just plowing through a checklist of touristic sites.



After finishing our little rendezvous, we meandered up to a Calligraphy and Marbling Shop owned by a friend of Dr. Mallery's named Josh. He was more than willing to explain to us his trade and even offered to make free posters of each of our names in special calligraphy to give to us when we return again to visit tomorrow. We also got an offer to check out an authentic shop of nomadic Turkish art, but whether it was our rumbling stomachs, or our distracted attitudes, Dr. Mallery decided that it would best be left for another day in favor of taking us to lunch.

For lunch, we ordered a variety of lamb or chicken kebabs or lentil soup which, I can personally say, was one of the best soups I've ever tasted...much to my surprise. We've been trying to be adventurous in trying new things and our drinks included Cherry Juice, Turkish coffee or Tea, or Aryan...a plain sour yogurt drink with salt and water added. A common treat around the area. I ordered some and, after making it through half the glass, graciously decided that I did not need to drink all of it and could share it with absolutely anyone who was willing to take it off my hands...in the name of generosity of course...my stomach has yet to recover.

After lunch, us, women, donned our beautifully colored scarfs that we had purchased earlier that morning, and all of us made a trip to the Blue Mosque that had so intrigued us from the moment we saw it's towering minarets and dome. We followed suite as those in front of us took off their shoes, selected a plastic bag from the giant bin on our right to put them in, and passed through "inspection" to make sure they were properly dressed to enter. The woman inspecting me, made sure my scarf covered all of my hair, and draped properly over my chest, covered though I was. Girls passing by me in shorts or tanks ended up coming out of inspection looking like walking bed sheets as they had to juggle holding shoulder shawls in place as well as sheets around their legs like towels.



We walked in and it took our breath away, (perhaps because of the overwhelming smell of bare feet), but ALSO because of the huge carpeted expanse in front of us littered with faithful Muslims praying towards Mecca in a very deliberate repetition of standing, kneeling, and bowing to the floor. The huge dome structure inside was amazing, with mosaics and huge low-hanging chandeliers that cast a friendly light on the red flowered carpet below.



We looked around, listened to a review of several Islamic concepts we'd missed before, and sat near one of the four powerful pillars inside, just taking in the atmosphere. We drifted into a discussion on whether, perhaps, there was some merit to the strict women's dress code, therefore eliminating distractions and causing a different, more spiritually focused environment in the mosque...not that we would jump to implement it at home, but it was an interesting topic to consider.

At this point in the afternoon, jet lag had once again begun to set in and everyone was looking rather tired, so Dr. Mallery anounced that we would be allowed free time until dinner, which most of us used to slip in a nap. For dinner, we went nearby to a restaurant with an excellent view of the Blue Mosque on the roof patio where we were served, and as our stomachs were a little wary from earlier gastronomical adventures, most of us decided to settle for the known: cheese pizza and fruit juice. It was beautiful weather and we had a great time laughing and talking on the patio.



As the day's agenda was pretty much over, we were free to do as we wished and most took the opportunity to turn in for the night or contact family on the few computers we have with us. Six of us decided we weren't done exploring the city and headed out to get a taste of Turkey in the evening hours, after Ramadan. We took a pleasant walk around the different streets, encountering some areas where the Turks lived without touristic interference, checking out a Turkish soccer game, observing the groups of men sitting around drinking tea and playing backgammon, and finally coming back to the Hippodrome, from earlier in the day, to find it alive and bustling with nightlife and music. We walked around the different shops and restaurants, dodging the restaurant hosts persistently trying to serve us food, and stopping here or there to listen to a group of musicians or watch the curious, almost humiliating tease that takes place at every ice cream stand.

In the midst of it all, we just happened to meet up with Josh, the calligrapher, from this morning, who greeted us cheerily and, at our request, suggested a nice spot to hang out where a close friend of his worked. We found ourselves seated in white couch-like booths, drinking tea and juice and chatting with Josh about some good places in Turkey we must see that tourists don't usually get to hear about. The soft jazz playing in the background, along with the soft murmur of those talking around us, beautifully complimented the cafe area we were seated in, close to the road, yet intimate and set apart, enough to have some privacy. After Josh regretfully left, to "paint more in order to sell tomorrow", we lingered a bit, enjoying the atmosphere and then decided it was time to head back home, but not before buying a copy of the relaxing jazz tracks that had charmed us throughout our visit.

It is late, true, but the streets will still remain alive until 1 or 2 in the morning when the shops and restaurants will finally close down and traffic will finally start to grow thin. It's been a second charming day in the city of Istanbul and it's time to get some rest for tomorrow's adventures, whatever they may be.

(Rebecca)