the title of this post is CATS, or water water everywhere and not a drop to drink, or thoughts on istanbul

hello friends and family!
let me preface this post by saying that yours truly has absentmindedly forgotten the cord thingy that connects my digital camera to my computer. so, until i can figure that situation out, i will be looking for appropriate substitues to the Real Thing on the world wide web (a pretty good resource, it turns out).

so tonight is our (my dad and i) last night in istanbul, a WONDERFUL city. after 4 very full days, i am really starting to feel settled in, and dad and i have developed a bit of a routine: awake early to the sound of the call to prayer coming from the minaret just outside our window, stop by the little bakery across the street for some tea and baklava from a man we can miraculously communicate with (he knowing no english and us knowing only "thank you" in turkish), walk up the hill to the blue mosque and go from there. i can find my way around easily now, at least in Sultanahmet (the old city) where we are staying. i even ventured off on my own today (i got annoyed stopping in every single rug shop with dad just to "admire the craftsmanship") and only had to pull out my map once!

here are some of the many things we have done/sights we have seen so far:
-the BLUE MOSQUE, an ottoman structure that contains over 20,000 handpainted ceramic tiles of blue tulips and gorgeous calligraphy

-the hagia sophia (ayasofya), just across from the blue mosque. an equally imposing structure that looks like it's from the planet of naboo. it is 1,500 YEARS OLD and was originally a church, then a mosque, and is now a museum.


-the grand bazaar (the largest covered bazaar in the world) and the egyptian/spice bazaar. i was very overwhelmed by the number of stalls selling the same thing (rugs, linens, ceramic ware, lanterns, evil eyes... what makes one person's better than the others'?) and the aggressiveness of the salesmen ("can i help you spend your money today?"). i have found that i am TERRIBLE at bargaining, and so i only bought two small souveniers. after bargaining for them, i walked away with a pit in my stomach, feeling as though i had robbed them, when in reality it was probably the other way around.


-topkapi palace and all its historical artifacts (including a lush harem, emeralds the size of my fist, and hairs from muhammad's beard).

-crossed the galata bridge to the new city, climbed the galata tower for panoramic views, and walked along istiklal cadessi in the beyoglu neigborhood, a huge promenade that, on a tuesday night, felt busier than new york city.

-took a boat tour of the bosphorus, the stretch of water that connects the black and mediterranean seas and divides the european and asian sides of istanbul.

-ran into dad's old college buddy!! in istanbul, of all places.

-just walking around you stumble upon relics from the byzantine and ottoman periods. the modern turks (masters at economizing space) have built in, around, and on top of memories of a distant past. sometimes it's hard to know whether you are in the year 2011 or 1611!

here are some first impressions/gross generalizations about a fantastically complex capital city:
-THERE ARE STRAY CATS AND DOGS EVERYWHERE. I MEAN EVERYWHERE. it is both my paradise and my hell: cats galore, but i'm not supposed to pet them because they are diseased.
-everyone wears black in the winter. i felt even more out of place in my red and black checked lumberjack jacket.
-the street food is pretty homogenous: roasted chestnuts, corn on the cob, pomegranate/orange juice, and a turkish bread treat (a name i forget) were about the only things i saw.
-if you stop for more than 10 seconds to try to find out which direction to walk, or pull out a map, you will immediately be approached by a kind stranger ("not a tour guide, don't worry") who will point you in the right direction, then invite you to his rug shop for some apple tea and a look around. to my father's chagrin, i was too polite not to let this happen to us... thrice.
-the roads are not meant for pedestrians (or, rather, they were never meant for cars). i have started to feel comfortable with coming within an inch of my life on a daily basis, and have learned to trust turkish drivers. you just have to go for it... the drivers go off of a reasonable expectation of your next move and adjust accordingly. i have come closer to more vehicles (cars, motorbikes, TRAINS) in the past 4 days than ever before in my life.
-everyone smokes like a chimney.
-ataturk's face is EVERYWHERE.

tomorrow we are off on more adventures, this time in egypt!!! amman is still 11 days away, and i am getting anxious/nervous/excited. i am READY FOR THIS SEMESTER (oh, except for the 2 books i forgot to read and the 5-8 page paper i need to write... whoops!).

until next time, i remain faithfully yours,
molly