Let's go see what's out there...

Travel Blog

[alinathemermaid]

Contemplating life (at Dudley Pond)

[alinathemermaid]

[alinathemermaid]

[alinathemermaid]

[alinathemermaid]

8-8-13

So we took a bus to Split which was six hours but the mountain scenery made up for it. When we got to Split we met Martina at the theatre in the old Diacletian's Palace and walked to her apartment. It's a two minute walk from the palace which was great. The apartment is to ourselves and I think she lives with her parents right next door. The apartment has air conditioning and wifi. We settled down for a bit, and got wifi working because Genevieve had lost her credit card at the ATM in Zagreb. We walked around in the old Diacletian's Palace and got dinner at this nice cafe outside. We got two bottles of wine to try to unwind and to eat we got smoked ham sandwiches, dumplings (which were actually sausages, but still tasted really good) and salad. Our waitress wasn't so friendly to us and she didn't speak English so we had trouble ordering. We sat there for a while and drank the wine, then we walked to the beach by following the coast and we had a great view of the ocean. We sat at one of the bars and got another glass of wine. It's pretty cheap and we seem to get a lot for our money. With the Kuna you just divide the amount by six and you get the USD amount. I finally figured out how to call my mom which was a relief. The Verizon guy told me that in order to dial the plus sign you have to hold down the 0. I was surprised that no one told me this. This morning we walked around the street market. I got a really good raspberry croissant and I bought a peach at the open air market before we headed to the beach. We spent a couple hours there sunbathing, swimming to the rocks at the far end and jumping off, and just sitting in the shallow water while the waves crashed over us. The sun was pretty intense, much more so I thought than Istanbul, but it was really fun to see locals hanging out at the beach. 

[alinathemermaid]

Prayer calling at Ayasofya!

[alinathemermaid]

We absolutely fell in love with Istanbul! The kebabs, the water pipes, beautiful water, the mosques, the exotic culture.... everyone needs to visit Istanbul at some point in their life!!!

[alinathemermaid]

8-7-13

We met Ubed for dinner at a nice local vegetarian restaurant near the Galata Tower and ended the night early cause we were really tired. When we got back to the hostel we wanted to get a water pipe and apple tea so we just sat there for a while. First we got melon and then we decided to get a second one with the milk in it which somehow makes it so good! Smoking a water pipe is definitely one of the best culture features of Istanbul and I can see why it's so relaxing. We got up at 5.20, hopped in a taxi and got to the airport. We just arrived in Zagreb and we're either taking a bus or a train to Split. Already the language here sounds Slavic or half German, which is interesting. Croatia here we come!

[alinathemermaid]

Looking up at the Ayasofya ceiling

[alinathemermaid]

8-6-13

This morning we walked around one of the main streets in Sultanamet. Elizabeth and Genevieve got kumpirs but I wasn't that hungry. We sat out on the terrace of the cafe. Then we went to Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia) and we decided to do a guided tour. A lot of the mosques and major museums don't have signs so it's really useful to do a guided or audio tour because otherwise you have no idea what you're looking at. But inside it was beautiful! It used to be a catholic church which I was surprised about and you can still see Christ and Mary alongside arabic writing of the different prophets. I find all of the museums and mosques here so striking and beautiful; a different kind of beauty I've never seen before. Elizabeth and Genevieve decided to go back to the hostel but I wasn't that tired so I went shopping near the Grand Bazaar. I wanted to find a dress and I ended up finding one where a lot of Turkish women shop which was really cool to see. I didn't even mind that I stood out as American. They seemed very nice in the non-touristy areas as well. I got a chicken kebab while I walked back and it seemed like they didn't try to sell you as many things if you had a wrap in your hand. For once it was nice that they were so aggressive trying to sell you things!

[alinathemermaid]

[alinathemermaid]

8-6-13

So last night we met Orcun under the Galata bridge and we went to a fish restaurant close by and we tried some Turkish oozoo which tasted like liquorish, which I wasn't fond of but drank anyway, and then I ordered mackerel. Elizabeth had meatballs because she doesn't like fish and Genevieve had a fried fish. We had small appetizers which were bread, yogurt, seaweed, eggplant, and calamari which were really good. After the restaurant we met Orcun's friend Ubed at his art store. He spoke English really well. While he closed up his shop we got a bottle of wine at a liquor store/cafe near the Galata tower in Taksim. Ubed met up with us and we went to his apartment which was several stories up, but the advantage to that was we went up to his terrace where you could see the whole city! It was so pretty at night! I've always wanted to go up to a friend's rooftop or terrace especially in Europe! I think we've also done a pretty good job of seeing an authentic side of Turkey which is great. We've done a lot of touristy things but we've also done a lot of things that locals would do and I always want to do that. We stayed in Ubed's apartment and drank a lot of wine and listened to music and we even got Orcun to do some "dirty dancing" with Ubed and his other roommate. They were all super fun to hang out with. So now this is our last full day in Istanbul and we're finally going to Ayasofya!

[alinathemermaid]

Shopping at the Grand Bazaar!

[alinathemermaid]

8-5-13

Today we got some juice in the morning on our way to the Grand Bazaar where we shopped for rugs and tapestries. I got a beautiful "Tree of Life" tapestry. The process of buying rugs here is very interesting because you go in and sit down on a bench, get some apple tea for free while the owner and his apprentice lay out all of the rugs and you talk to him about which kind you like. Elizabeth got a beautiful wool rug that was mostly blue, and maroon. Genevieve and I got a silk on cotton tapestry. The Grand Bazaar was huge and ran in every direction. After the bazaar we got lunch and got chicken wraps. The guy outside made a deal with us that we could get free tea which I guess is pretty normal here. Turkish people are big tea drinkers which is nice. Turkish men are always trying to sell you things and I know they are harmless but quite aggressive too in trying to hustle us. Apparently they are big womanizers too and not afraid to show it cause they get pretty jealous. I do have to admit though, they are pretty cute. After lunch we went to the underground Cistern which was amazing! There were several rows of columns with arched ceilings and about a foot or two of water below you. I was surprised to see so many fish and to see how big and old the place was. There were a couple myths about the Medusa in there and there were two stone heads at the base of the columns. Now we're back at the hostel and we are going to a fish restaurant with Orcun tonight. 

[alinathemermaid]

8-5-13

Yesterday we started around 12pm becasue we were hung over from the previous night and first we set off for lunch: kebabs, tomatoes, cucumbers, yogurt, and tomato sauce :D Then we went to the Spice Bazaar and met Orcun and his friend Charlie who was really nice. We were in another square which is beyond me but we ran into men washing their hands and their feet before entering the mosque which I had only seen on T.V. or documentaries so it was cool to see it firsthand. I love the culture here. There's something so beautiful and special here! I just wish we didn't stick out so much as Americans but what can we do? The five of us took a ferry to the Asia side of Istanbul. When we got there we took a walk along the ocean with rocks to our right and a nice park area to our left. People seem to know how to relax on this side more. We talked for a while and then got ice cream where we tried to order in Turkish which we're trying to learn day by day, at least a little. We walked through the center, bought a mussel on street and took the ferry back. We walked along the major streets to Orkyou, one of the neighborhoods I saw on the map and we all got a Kumpir, a potato filled with different things like sausages, carrots, olives, yogurt...Then we took a taxi to Taksim and let out Charlie. We went to another water pipe place called Ali Baba. They had a whole arrangement of fruit on the table if you wanted to buy them and we got a water pipe to share. It was so relaxing! We walked through the major strip in Taksim and Elizabeth and I went back to our hostel. 

[alinathemermaid]

Taksim Square riot starting...

[alinathemermaid]

8-4-13

Last night we saw a small protest with tons of Turkish police who were spraying tear gas on the main strip of Taksim Square. People were running and shouting and watching on the side of the street. It was pretty scary since we thought all of the protests were over but I guess the local guys still wanted to prove a point that they were still angry that the government was trying to build over the last public park in Taksim. After that we met up with Orcun and his brother Utku who we met on Couchsurfing.  We went out bar hopping and clubbing at Robin Hood, Faces, Arafe, and this club called the Beat which had three floors of music. We all got pretty drunk to say the least but we had a great time. Today we're meeting Orcun at the "Spicy Market."