Istanbul, Turkey
How to describe this city populated by roughly 15 million inhabitants? An endless source of entertainment mixed with deeply layered history that is rooted in ancient civilization. Arriving with the notion that Beirut could not be beat, visiting the world’s religious cross roads between Judaism, Islam and Christianity was like nothing I’ve experienced before. Minarets pepper the vast city and enormous Mosques appear like giant octopus breaching the ocean’s surface with their long tentacles reaching tall and mighty. World spirit infuses the air as one wanders in awe of neighboring Mosque, Church and Synagogue.
Stefan and I spent our three days together constantly intrigued and entertained by the city's notorious landmarks. We visited the awe-inspiring Hagia Sofia and the watery depths of the ancient Cisterns (ie. previewed on Bachelor episodes); got lost (literally) and slightly manipulated in the Grand and Spice Bizarres, where they sell everything from knockoff designer bags to gold bracelets and neon signs; we attempted and I slaughtered the Turkish language with the locals (Stefan was better than I was:); tasted the subtle, yet complex flavors of Turkish cuisine; and one of my favorite activities, we toured the Bospherus by ferry and waved to both Europe and Asia at the same time from the boat.
Practical things learned in Turkey:
Always bargain. I discovered I’m not half bad at haggling. I even coined my own slogan with a shop keeper when he asked about my asking price for four dishes: “By three, get one free.” He thought that clever of me and gave in to my price.
Watch out when you buy an ice-cream. You will be committing to silly antics of the sultan dressed vendor. He will seem very professional, stirring and shaping the puddy like mixture with a long tool, only to begin playing tricks on his customers with his product. For example, he will use the long mixing tool to bring the icecream up and let it ooze down to the point to where it looks like it will touch the ground. Just then, he whips it back into the air and places a scoop size into the cone. He will seemingly hand you the cone and then whisk it away, leaving the customer grabbing for air and wondering where his cone went. After 2 or 3 minutes of these antics, you may or may not walk away with your order.
Never trust the scale of a map. Stefan and I learned this the hard way on the first day together. In attempts to find a popular mezze restaurant with views of the sea, we ended up on an involuntary 4 hour walking tour, parched and hungry, and touring some not so nice neighborhoods. Both of us were sun sick that evening.
Try as many new foods as possible. While walking through the Bizarres, it is typical for the shop keepers to approach you with samples of everything from Turkish delight, dried fruits like dates and figs, exotic spices and teas like lemon sea salt and love tea (major aphrodisiac) to cheeses and pickled eggplant and sweetpeppers. Taste the country’s infinite flavors!
Stefan learned (and most men will learn at some point) that you should never except tea from a carpet salesman. It is their ploy to get you in their shop and listening to their frantic banter about carpets...from what I hear, this can be a very long and exhausting process for both the salesman who is sweating with effort and the hijacked customer.
Always check the accuracy of the bill. On two or three separate occasions, we received a bill with chicken scratch and pricing for items we never ordered. The confrontation did not always make for a happy ending in restaurants and bars.
Travel for the most part in Lebanon and Turkey is safe; especially in the summer during high tourism season when most political disputes in Lebanon come to rest in efforts to respect the economical benefits of tourists in the Middle East. However, on the way back from Istanbul, my flight was delayed 5 hours, putting me in Beirut's airport at 3am. As a woman, it is not the best idea to be alone at that hour and haggling a cab. I was very worried and hoping some good fortune would come my way that would solve this problem. As God always does take care of me, it just so happened that a woman with whom I was practicing my Lebanese, introduced me to a student at AUB from Syria who was on my flight and fluent in Lebanese. We shared the cab ride into the city and I returned to my apartment in one piece and at a more than decent price.
Hey Lauren, Be sure to teach Stephan how to ask for "spare change", talk about being "practical". ;-)
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