Adventure
After unpacking at the flat in Amman, Christina and I set off for a new adventure in Istanbul. We were still struggling with jet lag when we got to the Amman airport, and we ate Popeye’s fried chicken and fish for lunch, and toured around the brand new airport (built and opened since we were here last year). It was interesting to look out the window and compare the old airport that was being demolished with the new surroundings. So often we’re challenged with this contrast of realities.
We had a brief layover in Cairo, and it made me nostalgic for times I’ve spent there and frustrated that I wasn’t allowed to leave the airport. Christina and I peered through the plane windows wistfully while we likened ourselves to Edward Snowden as he remained in transit in Russia until he was granted asylum. You are half-way in and half-way out of the country in which the airport sits.
Arrival Conundrums
After our layover in Cairo – which consisted of many fussy children, loud phone calls, and people smoking in no smoking areas – we continued on to Istanbul. When we arrived (with a beautiful view of the red-roofed buildings from the plane) it had been 8-9 hours since we left Amman, and we were feeling the exhaustion creeping up on us. We had to stand in a line to purchase visas, and that went smoothly, but the next line (passport control) was another story. We stood in the line as one after another got their passports stamped, and when there were three people left in line in front of us, the passport control workers began giggling and closed their window, waving us on to the next one. Our ire was roused but we sulked to the next line that had lines upon lines upon lines of people waiting to get through. We made it half-way through (which took 15 minute) when a short, aging Turkish man threw his bag over the rail and attempted to cut in front of us. I said “excuse me sir” to get his attention, but he pretended to ignore me – I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back and said “NO!” and stepped in front of him. He picked on the Arab family behind us because they didn’t want to confront him, but he kept kicking his bag against our legs until we finished in the line. Don’t pick on a tired Julie, man.
After we finally made it through the line (likely an hour after we landed), we entered the arrivals area where there were over 100 hosts waiting with the names of clients as they walked out. Christina had booked us beds at the Bahaus hostel in the old city of Istanbul (Sultanahmet neighborhood), and they were waiting with her name on a placard as well. We fished around looking for them, but didn’t find them. There was no internet at the airport, and there was no way to find out if they had left us after our delay. A gentleman waiting for another guest eventually helped us, and we found a young boy of about 12-14 years old waiting for us. He said the driver was stuck in traffic, so we waited for awhile until we loaded into a bus with another family. It was rush hour traffic. We drove another family on the bus to a hotel nearby, and then oddly, our driver pulled over on the side of the busy road and told us to get out. There was another van waiting with its back doors open and we shuffled over to it hoping we weren’t about to be abducted and never seen again.
Eventually we arrived at the hostel, paid the driver, and walked inside. The area was beautiful. Cobblestone streets juxtaposed to brand new cars and a tram system, old hotels and buildings rising up along narrow streets, all with red roofs and painted in many colors. We met one of the hostel hosts, Bahre, who wore “Aladdin pants” and made the hostel “go ’round” with walking tours and nightlife. He was one of the most Turkish individuals we met while there, and worked to make the stay fun for everyone.
We were shown to our beds – we had the top and bottom bunks by the door to the 14-bed room. All the rooms were air-conditioned and had coded door locks and lockers for our stuff. We met a bunch of our roommates – from all over the world: Slovenia, Ireland, England, Italy, Canada, Spain, U.S. including Hawaii, Australia, India, and Mexico. The rooftop of the hostel was a bar and lounge area, and the bartender, Wes, was from Atlanta. We had a lot to talk about regarding Atlanta as he had just left the states for a few years of adventure before he began his career in earnest.
When we checked in to the hostel, Bahre informed us that there would be a “pub crawl” that night at 11, so we rested awhile and headed out in a bus with around 20 of the 70 hostel guests. We went to Taksim (an area near Taksim Square) where the Istanbul night life thrives. We stayed out exploring for a few hours, and then went back and crashed at the hostel.
Air Conditioning and Other Inconveniences
That night is when the “air conditioner wars” began, between those who wanted to sweat the night away and those who wanted a cool sleep. In the middle of the night throughout our stay, some individuals would wake up, turn off the a/c and then an hour or so later one of us would get up when it got too hot to sleep and turn it back on. No-one ever knew who did which, and Wes instructed Christina and I to turn it on and hide the controller, which I did until the other person discovered how to turn the main power of the unit off by climbing on a nearby table.
Another persistent inconvenience with our stay was the 9:30 A.M. cutoff for breakfast, which seemed unreasonable to all of us for 20-somethings staying in a hostel. Speaking of breakfast, a Turkish breakfast is comprised of white cheese, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, sliced turkey sausage (turkey not Turkey), hard-boiled eggs, olives, and sliced bread. I, of course, could not eat the bread, so I ate the rest of it.
Another daily challenge was that there were what I like to call “road hounds” trying to get passing tourists to eat at their cafes along the main tourist drag, and there were other assailants near the Blue Moque and Aya Sofia that would follow you and stuff boat information into your hands.
A Bit O’ The Empire(s)
One of the funnest things about Istanbul is that the sprawling beauty of the old city is mostly walkable, and what you can’t walk to you can take public transportation to. I keep bragging about Istanbul’s public transportation system, and friends complain that I repeat the transportation story or they brand me the public transportation geek….BUT it’s pretty darn cool. You can use the trams, buses, ferries, and metro system all over the city and outside the city by using one card that is charged with credit. Pretty awesome.
Another intriguing aspect of the old city is that throughout the landscapes, old is contrasted with new…cobblestone streets and state of the art public transportation systems run side-by-side and are complementary to one another.
The morning after we arrived, Christina and I went to visit the Aya Sofia. This beautiful lady was originally a Greek Orthodox church, built in 36 A.D. by Constantius II. Following its inauguration, it served as a church for several denominations until the Ottomans conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453. 
The church, which had gone through several transformations, was turned into a mosque under the Ottoman Empire. The Aya Sofia is currently a museum that shows Christian and Islamic architecture and tradition side by side, another contrast of differing realities and times.
Literally across the gardens from the Aya Sofia is the Blue Mosque, or the Sultan Ahmet Camii. The mosque rooftops shine blue at certain times of the day, and the hand-painted tiles that line the inside are also themed in blue, giving it its name. The mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 during the reign of Ahmed I. I first saw the mosque by night, and it really takes your breath away.
But it is equally as beautiful during the day, and morning, evening, and on the inside.
The next day we spent in Istanbul, we visited the Topaki Palace and the Sultan’s Harem on the palace grounds. The palace sits protected within two stone walls and overlooks the Bosphorous.
We visited the harem, the ultimate gilded cage for the beautiful young women that were brought from across the empire at the pleasure of the Sultan. The windows were all barred, and the walls high. Eunuchs were maintained to deliver food to deliver food to the women and make sure they were looked after.
The inside walls of the harem and the palace are all decorated with more hand-painted tiles in beautiful patterns.
In addition to the harem and main palace grounds, there was a treasury area to walk through and look at emeralds the size of your hand, and the relics area held the Prophet Mohammed’s beard, Moses’ staff and old religious texts. The palace tour took us a whole day, and Christina was beginning to feel sicker – finding it almost impossible to swallow. The long lines (sometimes 30 minutes long), and heat were making it worse. We found a public park that used to be part of the palace grounds, and discovered a statue of Ataturk so we visited with him for awhile, then ate lemon cheesecake and drank green tea at a nearby cafe.
More Adventures
Besides the normal tourist areas, we explored other places of interest. One evening we walked along the esplanade to look over the Bosphorous with a strong wind in our faces. We also discovered a new definition of “casserole” as there is a purely Turkish way of making a casserole with spices, meat, and cheese on top. It was one of the most delicious meat dishes I have ever had, and my favorite dish from Turkey.
The Walking Tour Takes The Cake
The day after visiting the palace, Christina was painfully ill and popping pain killers, and then I started to get her symptoms. Lots of interrupted sleep, hot nights, lots of stress, travel, and walking was taking its toll. Some other girls at the hostel wanted to visit the hospital because they had strange red bumps all over their bodies, and Christina and I decided to go along whenever they went to be checked and given medicine.
That day, we had committed to a walking tour, normally a 7-hour affair, and Bahre decided he would take us to the hospital after guiding the tour. We set out around 11 in the morning, and explored the old side of the city. He took us up onto a rooftop where we looked over the city, and our entertaining British friend Tom brought along his horse and hippo heads. We found an amazing view over the city, and spent some time relaxing and enjoying the view.
And then the craziness began. We started with jumping photos from a rounded rooftop, and it looked like we were flying over Istanbul. Then Tom coerced us into wearing the heads, and I jumped with the horse head, Christina with the hippo.
After hanging around and taking multiple jumping photos, we found some figs growing on a tree that reached the top of the roof, and ate them. Later, Christina reminded us that we could be eating parasites that would later make us violently ill. No matter, and so far no parasite. We listened to the call to prayer coming up from the city, echoing off the hillside we were on. I’ve heard the call to prayer hundreds of times, but this was stirring and a vivid memory of being surrounded by the city and the sound.
We hiked up from Istaklal (independence) street towards Taksim Square, where the whole street and square were filled with walkers and a small red tram.
We reached a historic lighthouse that overlooked the city, and we toured the Grand Bazaar (the largest covered market in the world) and historic Spice Market where they sell uncounted types of Turkish Delight in bulk. I bought some spices, with which we have flavored up our new home cooking with in Amman.
After the markets, we took the metro to one of the tallest residential buildings in the world, and one of the tallest buildings in Istanbul. It had a 360 degree overlook and restaurants on the top floor, and a cheesy “helicopter” ride that toured Istanbul.
Our grand finale hospital to the 9-hour walking tour was our visit to the hospital. Christina had been a good sport all day even though it was extremely painful to swallow, and I was beginning to be in pain as well. After we finished the Sapphire Building tour, we left with the two Australian girls with strange bumps, and walked to a nearby German hospital.
Just Christina was diagnosed to save on cost, and the doctor determined that we had bacterial laryngitis and gave her a prescription for over-the-counter antibiotics. We left, did some more walking, and then took the tram back to Sultanahmet. By the time we made it back, though, all the normal pharmacies (Eczanas) were closed. Bahre sent us along to one that was “5 minutes walking” along the Bosphorous, and we set out walking to it. Three sets of directions, and 30 minutes later we finally found it in the ferry terminal. We got two times the prescriptions, but when we tried to pay the store didn’t take any of our 4 credit cards. So, we went back out, found an ATM, and took cash back to pay. We were beyond exhaustion at this time, and began ripping pill packages apart to take them right then and there. We couldn’t take the antibiotic, though, because we hadn’t eaten recently, so we trudged out to find a taxi to take us back up the hill to the hostel.
The first taxi tried to charge us 40 Lira for a 5 minute ride – we laughed in his face and found another that charged us 7. Once we were back in Sultanahmet we went to Defnet restaurant, one near the hostel that gave the residents discounts. When the waiter pressured Christina to order something she didn’t want, she finally had had enough and burst out crying. I had to wave the guy away aggressively before he would leave her alone.
That night, we crashed and slept until around noon the next morning, then went back to sleep for another few hours in the afternoon.
Underwater Cistern
Another famous location Christina and I visited was the underground Basilican Cistern. It is the largest underground cistern in Istanbul, and was built under the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. The cistern provided a water filtration system for the residents of Constantinople (which had a very state of the art water system for the time). The ceiling is held up by over 300 marble columns, and it’s estimated that around 7,000 slaves were used to construct it. The cistern can hold over 2 million cubic square feet of water. Today, only about one foot of water remains, and lots of creepy cod are swimming around in the dark. Two Medusa heads are found hidden in a corner, thought to have been removed from a Roman temple when the Ottomans took over the city.
Hamman
One of our final stops in the city was the Cağaloğlu Hamam. This is a historical Turkish bath that was the last Hamami built by the Ottoman Empire. It was finished in 1741, and was designed by one of the head architects of that era. We paid around 200 Turkish Lira for a massage, bubble bath, and scrub.
We went with our British friend Stephanie. In preparation, we read a blog about what to do and expect – it wasn’t quite enough to prepare us for what would happen. When we went inside, we were given a cloth wrap, and instructed to undress in a dressing room, in which we locked our belongings. Middle aged women in wet-suits instructed us to relax in the bath area, which had a high domed ceiling with holes to let the light in. Other women were lounging around, and a mother was bathing her children there independently.
Once we had relaxed, and built up some steam and sweat, the women returned, and laid us down around the large marble slab and scrubbed our ENTIRE bodies down with an exfoliating glove and wonderful soap. Then, we had a massage, then a bubbly scrub, then another massage. Between each cycle, we were led by the hand to where the water was gushing out of a faucet in the wall into a marble bowl, and then we were doused by our masseuse. At the end, they massaged and shampooed our hair, and sent us away with gifts of our exfoliating glove and some soap.
During the scrubbing down process, there were varying reactions about being completely naked in public, being bathed by a stranger. But, because it was the appropriate thing to do, we all adjusted our views to include this into “normal” behavior.
Day at the Prince’s Islands
As the days in Istanbul were getting shorter, and we were exhausting what could be done in the old city, we decided to venture away from Sultanahmet and to different areas around the Bosphorous. Just a one-hour public ferryboat away was the Prince’s Islands. Found in the Sea of Marmara, they are a little grouping of scenic islands, or “Adalar” in Turkish, where many of the 25 million residents of Istanbul go for the weekend or take their kids. Of course, they cater to tourists too.
Christina and a Canadian friend from the hostel, David, set out for the ferry via tram, then chose some seats and enjoyed the scenic view of the cities.
We chose the second island, Burgazada, which means “Fortress Island,” and got off for lunch and some exploring. We wandered through quaint neighborhoods that were accessible only via horse and cart (no cars allowed on the island) or by bike.
We met some of the carts along the way, and petted the horses. There wasn’t much to see in the village, so we set off along a trail along the beach that took us up to the top of the mountain. There were amazing views and we managed to get some hiking and exploring in with amazing scenery.
Day at the Black Sea
On our final day in Turkey, Christina and I met an old friend of mine from University of Montana Arabic class days, Kayla Hoggatt, and a friend she had met in Turkey, Tiffany. Kayla is working as an au pair for a Turkish family, and she spends most of her time with their daughter teaching her English. Tiff had held the same position as Kayla the two previous summers, and they had met through their common experience. Now, Tiff works as a teacher in a school in Istanbul.
To get to the Black Sea from Istanbul, you take the metro to the very last stop, then you take a public bus out to the town where the beach is, Kilyos. It took about an hour to take the metro, and another 45 minutes to get to the beach, but it was very green and scenic – different than what we were used to in Instanbul for the most part. The beach was gorgeous, and laying around relaxing in the sand, sun, and wind was the best way to end a long and exciting trip.
Good-byes…again
After our day at the beach, we spent the evening with our new friends on the hostel rooftop, drinking “tea shots” since we were taking antibiotics. It was sad to say good-bye to yet more friends right after leaving the U.S., but we were fortunate to meet them all. After lots of talking and reminiscing about the week, we slept and left to the airport. Farid had arranged for us to have first class seats on the way back through his connections in EgyptAir, and we had the most pleasant, comfortable, and peaceful end possible to our trip. I saw Omar, who I knew from New Jersey flying school days, and he was the one who took off and landed our plane. We had more beautiful views of Istanbul as we flew away.
Fann w Chai cafe looking over the street below.
The park area surrounding the Roman Theater in downtown Amman.
The doorway to Masra7 Albalad.
A description of “Shams.”
The cast of “Shams.”
The “bull sh*t” and “I like you” texts in Arabic.
Envision. Believe. Act. 