Permission to be exhausted?
It could be the altitude change, the climate change, or the inability I have to sleep, but I am so tired tonight. I am rarely comfortable or able to fall asleep during a lecture or something important. I was consistently falling asleep while walking today, however. It was ridiculous! I would just close my eyes and float away.
Our first official day in Turkey began with more wake-up calls than asked for, but we got on the bus. We spent our time only in Istanbul, visiting Topkapi Palace, the Basilica Cistern, the Grand Bazaar, and the Blue Mosque. It was a busy, busy day!
After eating breakfast, we drove into the old town to visit Hippodrome Square, the scene of Chariot races and the center of Byzantine civic. From there we visited Blue Mosque. It was built in the early 17th Century and is known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles. The mosque is also unique because it has six minarets. I really enjoyed the Blue Mosque. We took a lot of picture in there! And I met a few Turkish boys around the age of ten. They were adorable. And I got my picture taken with them! The only downside to the Blue Mosque was that it smelled horribly like feet because you don’t wear shoes in a mosque. . . It was not pleasant.
The Topkapi Palace was built by Sultan Mehmet II after the conquest of Istanbul in the 15th Century. The palace housed the sultans and their exotic entourage until mid-19th Century. The complex is a group of structures which incorporates works from successive periods of Ottoman reign. The museum displays priceless collections of the imperial treasury, numerous pieces of Chinese porcelain, traditional costumes of the sultans and their families, and a special section for the preservation of the relics of the Prophet Mohammed. I enjoyed walking around the palace; I did not enjoy waiting in the long lines to look at the treasuries though. There were tour groups and Primary School field trip groups all over the grounds. It was a bit ridiculous.
The Basilica Cistern is nothing too special. It was built for wartime use by Emperor Justinian in the 6th Century to store water. The cistern is located underground and has 360 Corinthian columns that support its come.
The famous and historical Grand Bazaar, the largest “souk” covered oriental shopping mall in the world, has 4400 shops under one roof; each trade has its own street. There is a wide selection of leather, jewelry, antiques, copperware, souvenirs, and hand-made Turkish carpets displayed in the historical shopping center. It was fun to walk around, but we had no time! It was so depressing. Everyone wanted to wait around and shop; I think we were given 15-20 minutes. It was ridiculous. I found a black, gray, and white checkered scarf that I am quite fond of, but that’s all. Some people speed-shopped and bought shoes, lamps, jewelry, and more. I am the worst at speed shopping. We had so little time because we wre going to be late for our cruise along the Bosphorus.
The Bosphorus is a narrow strait between the continents of Europe and Asia, connecting the Black Sea in the north to the Sea of Marmara in the South. In the Byzantine and early Ottoman days, there was little settlement on either sides of the Bosphorus, but as of the 18th Century, it became a favorite place for the sultans and their entourage to build their kiosks and waterside residence. I thoroughly enjoyed the boat cruise! It was such a blast feeling the wind in my hair, taking pictures, and talking with friends. The boat let us off at a fish restaurant. It was delicious. However, many of the students had a difficult time. A lot of people don’t like fish, but the taste wasn’t the only problem. As they do in most countries, they brought the entire fish rather than just a fillet. A few declared their instant desire to become vegetarian. I happily ate my fish; I even made him talk. The people at my table didn’t quite appreciate that, but I had a lot of fun. In addition to my fish, I also ate one of the sardine-like fishes. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world; it was better than the fish eyeball that I ate the last time I was in Istanbul!
The rest of night was spent with Robert and Kymberly. Oh baby, we had so much fun together – as always. We walked around the square outside of our hotel, stopped to get an ice cream, walked through a giant outdoor mall, stopped for some baklava… Haha we like treats! We ended the night by playing Monopoly Deal. I failed – miserably. I don’t even know why I tried!
I feel like I should quickly mention the reason behind the glorious orange-striped shirt I wore on this day. It wasn't my idea. This is Brother Muhlestein's "Shirt of Style." It gets passed around the entire time we are in Jerusalem; the idea is to have it worn by everyone studying at the J.C. during the semester, including professors if they will play along. I was privileged to be the third person to wear it and the first person to wear it in Turkey. I feel bad for the poor soul wearing it on the last day of the Turkey trip. It won't be washed until after we return to the J.C. You can only imagine...
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