More Adventures!

Thanks to an email from Mom I have finally remembered what we did on Thursday! After talking to another guest at the hotel, she recommended that we get an early start to the day to avoid hawkers and shop owners on the street. It seemed that everywhere we go shop owners would be standing outside their stores yelling at us and trying to encourage use to go in inside and spend our money. Bailey, the typical New Yorker, was able to ignore their pleas; however, Mom and I were more apt to engage in conversation. Regardless, Thursday started with another delicious breakfast at the hotel and then a return to the Grand Bazaar. As this was our second visit, I was under the impression that the Bazaar would be a quick visit for Mom and Bailey to go back to the same scarf store from Tuesday to search for a few more. However, the minutes slowly ticked by and when they were finally ready to leave it had been an hour. Let's hope everyone likes their scarves!

After the Grand Bazaar we walked through the cobble stones streets towards the water where the Spice market is located. The spice market is a long hallway full of small shops/stands selling dried fruits, teas, herbs, spices, and many different varieties of nuts. The best part was that many shops offered small samples of their different foods. Every shop seemed to sell the same thing. All I could think about was how the shopkeepers would be so much better off if they created one giant store than individual ones selling identical products. However, that would completely ruin the image of the Spice Bazaar and would make it more like a Sam's Club or supermarket.

In the afternoon, we went to Topkapi Palace to visit the Harem. The Harem was home to the Sultan's mother, the concubines, the wives of the sultan, his family, and their servants. Located within the private apartments of the sultan, the Harem once contained over 400 rooms; however, our tour of the harem consisted of about 20. Unfortunately, its hard to describe the Harem so that someone who hadn't been there could understand, but suffice it to say the architecture, the design, and the overall concept of the building was quite amazing to see and imagine. Check out pictures on google and shutterfly to get a better understanding of what it looks like.

At 5, Mom and Bailey participated in a complimentary wine tasting at the hotel while I jogged away on the treadmill! Somehow, we had managed to skip lunch, and by the time the wine tasting ended at 6:30 I was ravenous. While Mom and I went to eat dinner at a "traditional" Turkish restaurant Bailey stayed at the hotel to prepare for her "date." I don't want to spoil Bailey's story and undoubtedly I won't accurately state the details, but I'll give a brief run down. On the flight from JFK to Istanbul, one of the Turkish flight attendants, Adem, took quite the liking to Bailey. It also just so happened that his best friend worked at the hotel we were staying at. Not knowing who his friend was, several nights earlier Bailey asked our waiter at the hotel if he knew Adem... turns out Adem was one of his best friends! Ten minutes later the waiter, Engin, reappeared holding the phone out to Bailey. After hearing Bailey's story, Engin had called his friend and told him what was happening! Long story short, Adem asked to see Bailey and they set a date for Thursday night.

After a quick dinner of lamb kebabs with rice and vegetables, Mom and I returned to the hotel to meet Adem before they left. We spent about 30 minutes talking with him. He was extremely nice, but very nervous. He kept playing with his hands, laughing nervously, and squeezing my shoulders. Bailey and Adem left for dinner by the water around 8:30. After a few games of backgammon Mom and I went to bed. Not until Friday morning did I learn that Bailey had been out till past midnight! Turns out Adem is not her knight in shining armor! Oh, and even more weird of a coincidence is that he also happened to be their flight attendant on the way home! Some might call this fate....

Needless to say, Bailey and Mom were both very tired Friday morning, but we still went to the archaeology museum. I think of all the places I've been in Istanbul this is my favorite museum. Unfortunately, to see everything you'd have to spend at least a day at the museum. The museum itself was endless; stretching through many hallways and floors. I thought it was never going to end. We ended up spending about 3 hours at the museum and only saw half of it. In the afternoon, Bailey and Mom went for a Turkish bath while hung out reading my new books and using the treadmill. I had been skeptical of doing a Turkish bath because the concept of it freaks me out a little, but I'm going to do it before I leave. Who knows if I'll ever be back, so I might as well do it once! After the bath, we met back in the lobby for cooking lessons. There were about 12 of us participating in the cooking lesson and we were led into the kitchen and given chefs hats and aprons. Each of us was given a cutting board and knife. I wish I could remember what we made, but I don't! I think Mom has the recipe. We made a traditional appetizer and main course. It was a lot of fun because we were all actively involved. The chef, who spoke very little English, would show us what to do and then we "attempted" to do the same. Afterwards, we were led back to the dining room and given a complimentary meal of what we had made. Unfortunately, using the treadmill had suppressed my appetite and I was not hungry until after the meal ended. With the dinner complete, I walked to a small food stand by the water and ordered a döner sandwich. Doner is the term for the rotating roasting meet found outside of many cafes and small restaurants. Traditionally, the meat is lamb, but I chose to have chicken. The meat is suspended vertically and is cut off horizontally. Next, the meat is placed between fresh bread (pita roll or french bread) and topped with lettuce, tomato, and spices. Its delicious and the meat is very tender and juicy. I topped the meal off with an chocolate and vanilla ice cream bar that was quite tasty!

That pretty much completes the week. It was awesome, and I am really glad that Mom and Bailey were able to visit. It gives me the extra push needed to make it through the last four weeks. I'm really enjoying my time here, but I'm definitely looking forward to coming home.

That's all for now. Hope everything is well at home!

Love,

Brett