Thursday, 15 August, 2013; 11:29 PM; Orient Hostel
We have to wake up early tomorrow, so I'll have to keep this as short as I can. I might go halfway through and finish in the morning.
Anyway, we started off today with walking. We went to the Topkapi Palace, which is now a museum exhibiting.... itself, really, because it's AMAZING.
Ways To Tell Your Empire Is Rich:
1. there are hand-painted tiles in everyone's room.
2. You have four thousand cooks in the palace.
3. The palace is not one but multiple buildings.
4. You inscribe the BLADES of swords, because the handles are encrusted with palm-sized emeralds.
5. The maces (the weapons, not the spice) are gold-plated and the spiky bits are semiprecious stones.
WHO CAN AFFORD THAT? The Ottomans.
Oh, yeah:
6. "What 20-something karat emerald? Oh, you mean my cigarette case?"
7. "What 87-karat diamond? Oh, you mean my headpiece's little embellishment?" (WHO HAS FREAKING 87-KARAT DIAMONDS? The Ottomans, apparently.)
For real, though, the Palace was really cool. It's MASSIVE, with a bunch of courtyards and different areas and buildings and stuff. We saw the treasury, where basically every gem under ten karats is called a trinket and stuck on as an accessory to something.
After the treasury, we went to the Harem. It's where all the wives, the concubines, and the royal family lived. The Sultan could have up to four wives, and whichever one bore him a son got some sort of special status. If they all bore him sons, they all got it, I guess. Or it could be the one that bore him the first son.
Anyway, the Ottomans didn't do primogeniture (A/N: for those who don't know, primogeniture is where the firstborn gets the throne), so if there were multiple sons, they did a lot of battling of politics and blood, and whoever came out on top was the Sultan. The Sultan Mother was actually very influential.
Later on, the custom changed from killing brothers to submitting them to cage life for life, so even if they outlived their sibling they'd be unfit to rule (because they wouldn't know squat about the goings-on of the world. Personally, I think this is worse than being conspiracied to death). It's brutal, but I feel like it might have worked a bit better. I could be wrong on that point, though.
Anyway, I'm going to bed. I'll finish up tomorrow on the bus, hopefully.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
"When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable." - Clifton Fadiman (Entry 9, Day 4)
Wednesday, 14 August, 2013; 10:34 Pm; Orient Hostel
Today has been amazing. the last half-hour was the most informative and aazing for a personal level, some of which I probably shouldn't put here, or at least on the blog when I type this up.
STOP BLOGGING HERE.
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blahblahblah bla blah bla bla bla blah blah. Blah. YOUR FACE.
START BLOGGING HERE.
Right, so this morning, we went to a synagogue, which was really cool. There's a ton of security you have to go through before you can actually go in - passport, metal detector, the works. once we were in, we had to wait around a little fora guide to show us around. We also had to wait because the Olympics Application Committee for 2020 was doing a little bit of filming there while we were there.
Once the guide arrived, he talked a little bit about the symbolism of the various things (which I don't really recall) and how the various ceremonies were held. He did the talking in Turkish, so Mert and Can had to translate.
Once we left the sanctuary-type area, we went out into a lobby-tpe place where he talked about kabbalah (spelling?), of mysticism and intellect and such. It was really quite interesting.
As we were leaving, we asked about where the guide was from. His family came from Spain during the Inquisition, as well as another place I can't recall. His family his been in Istanbul for over 600 years, and we learned, on the tail end of the tour, that he also spoke Spanish. (Of the group, not counting the Turks, 5/6 of us have a functional or better level of Spanish).
After that, we went to a museum aboutJews in Istanbul. It was interesting, from what I read. The Turks were very good about being a known haven for the Jews during the Inquisition, and provided refuge for many Jewish families who didn't want to convert and didn't want to die at the hands of the SPanish. I don't recall what it said about World War Two, but I think that was a bit of a different sort of situation.
We had a really good lunch of beans and rice and yogurt and bread and deliciousness.
We went to a mosque afterwards. It was enormous and beautiful. There's an intricate amount of tiling and carving, all the way up to the top of the dome (well the inside of it, anyway).
We stayed there fora while, and it was really nice. We hung around on the grounds as well, which looks like a college campus, if your back is to the mosque. The courtyard, on the other hand, is a place that no college campus can afford - unless they can afford a crap-ton of marble and a time machine to go back and replicate how the people back then did it. There are pillars all around the edge, and above them were blue and white tiles - large ones - invoking the various names of Allah (Allah all-loving, Allah all-powerful, etc) After the mosque, we made a quick stop by the hostel to drop off Katie, who wasn't feeling too well, and to maybe change shirts before we went to Batu's house for dinner. We left an hour late, but we wound up getting there half an hour early.
His house is SO NICE. the rooms are HUGE. The family is so nice, especially his mom. It's turkish custom to give gifts to a host as well as to a guest. Also, she made THE MOST AMAZING FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD EVER. The appetizers were stuffed grape leaves (not at all like what you might get at Lebanese Taverna - they too much olive oil on, and I can't stand olive oil), as well as these things where the outside was sort of like a croissant and the inside had melted cheese and Turkish bacon. Then was the salad. Then was THE BEST RICE EVER as well as this... I don't know what the outside was, but it was stuffed with meat and deliciousness (A/N Update: it was eggplant). Also, for anyone who says that rice is only good with salt or sauce has clearly never had Turkish rice. Seriously. I don't know what Batu's mom did to it, but I didn't know rice came like that. It actually has flavor. Who knew rice could have flavor?
Dessert was three types of baklava that were all homemade, and it was the most amazing baklava that I've ever had. You could tell that it was fresh because it wasn't super duper dry and flaky and hard, like you get a a grocery. It was a bit dry and flaky, but it was clearly not hard, and calling it 'dry' is a bit of stretch. it was so good.
On the way back to the hostel, we had an interesting discussion about politics after we dropped off Can and Mert at the transit they needed. I put in a little bit (the topics were gay rights and abortion), but it was interesting to see Alex and Sean go at it. Alex has done many debate tournaments, so she knows about current events, and Sean is Sean, so he knows a bit about everything. Also, Sean is used to discussing points at length.
Also, when we got back, Jim found his camera, and the case in which he had left an exorbitant amount of money. Huzzah!
Today has been amazing. the last half-hour was the most informative and aazing for a personal level, some of which I probably shouldn't put here, or at least on the blog when I type this up.
STOP BLOGGING HERE.
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blahblahblah bla blah bla bla bla blah blah. Blah. YOUR FACE.
START BLOGGING HERE.
Right, so this morning, we went to a synagogue, which was really cool. There's a ton of security you have to go through before you can actually go in - passport, metal detector, the works. once we were in, we had to wait around a little fora guide to show us around. We also had to wait because the Olympics Application Committee for 2020 was doing a little bit of filming there while we were there.
Once the guide arrived, he talked a little bit about the symbolism of the various things (which I don't really recall) and how the various ceremonies were held. He did the talking in Turkish, so Mert and Can had to translate.
Once we left the sanctuary-type area, we went out into a lobby-tpe place where he talked about kabbalah (spelling?), of mysticism and intellect and such. It was really quite interesting.
As we were leaving, we asked about where the guide was from. His family came from Spain during the Inquisition, as well as another place I can't recall. His family his been in Istanbul for over 600 years, and we learned, on the tail end of the tour, that he also spoke Spanish. (Of the group, not counting the Turks, 5/6 of us have a functional or better level of Spanish).
After that, we went to a museum aboutJews in Istanbul. It was interesting, from what I read. The Turks were very good about being a known haven for the Jews during the Inquisition, and provided refuge for many Jewish families who didn't want to convert and didn't want to die at the hands of the SPanish. I don't recall what it said about World War Two, but I think that was a bit of a different sort of situation.
We had a really good lunch of beans and rice and yogurt and bread and deliciousness.
We went to a mosque afterwards. It was enormous and beautiful. There's an intricate amount of tiling and carving, all the way up to the top of the dome (well the inside of it, anyway).
We stayed there fora while, and it was really nice. We hung around on the grounds as well, which looks like a college campus, if your back is to the mosque. The courtyard, on the other hand, is a place that no college campus can afford - unless they can afford a crap-ton of marble and a time machine to go back and replicate how the people back then did it. There are pillars all around the edge, and above them were blue and white tiles - large ones - invoking the various names of Allah (Allah all-loving, Allah all-powerful, etc) After the mosque, we made a quick stop by the hostel to drop off Katie, who wasn't feeling too well, and to maybe change shirts before we went to Batu's house for dinner. We left an hour late, but we wound up getting there half an hour early.
His house is SO NICE. the rooms are HUGE. The family is so nice, especially his mom. It's turkish custom to give gifts to a host as well as to a guest. Also, she made THE MOST AMAZING FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD EVER. The appetizers were stuffed grape leaves (not at all like what you might get at Lebanese Taverna - they too much olive oil on, and I can't stand olive oil), as well as these things where the outside was sort of like a croissant and the inside had melted cheese and Turkish bacon. Then was the salad. Then was THE BEST RICE EVER as well as this... I don't know what the outside was, but it was stuffed with meat and deliciousness (A/N Update: it was eggplant). Also, for anyone who says that rice is only good with salt or sauce has clearly never had Turkish rice. Seriously. I don't know what Batu's mom did to it, but I didn't know rice came like that. It actually has flavor. Who knew rice could have flavor?
Dessert was three types of baklava that were all homemade, and it was the most amazing baklava that I've ever had. You could tell that it was fresh because it wasn't super duper dry and flaky and hard, like you get a a grocery. It was a bit dry and flaky, but it was clearly not hard, and calling it 'dry' is a bit of stretch. it was so good.
On the way back to the hostel, we had an interesting discussion about politics after we dropped off Can and Mert at the transit they needed. I put in a little bit (the topics were gay rights and abortion), but it was interesting to see Alex and Sean go at it. Alex has done many debate tournaments, so she knows about current events, and Sean is Sean, so he knows a bit about everything. Also, Sean is used to discussing points at length.
Also, when we got back, Jim found his camera, and the case in which he had left an exorbitant amount of money. Huzzah!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T.S. Eliot (Entry 8, Day 3)
Tuesday, 13 August 2013; 01:28 PM; room, Orient Hostel
Well, as predicted, I didn't sleep well last night - when I slept at all. I'm in for very deep sleep tonight, though. It's been a very long day.
I woke up at 7:15 and went to shower, change, and eat. We were ready to go by the designated time of 9:15.
First we went to the AFS offices to get the orientation of the office and to learn what we'll actually be doing ths week, before we go off to our host families.
We ate lunch at the office. I don't remember what exactly it was that we had, but it was good (also, spicy). There was also this yogurt lassi-type drink - basically, drinkable yogurt - and it was really good, but really salty. Lunch, in general, was good.
Then we went to the mosque of an Islamic sect that I don't recall the name of. They're the sect with the people who dance as part of their worship (they might be the whirling dervishes, but I'm pretty sure that's not right). Anyway, this particular sect is very open-minded and is willing to serve anyone who needs help. For some reason, I think they aren't seen as a "real" sect of Islam by the other sects (I don't recall why - maybe because during the prayer service, they pray in a circle, not facing Mecca). They also call the prayer leader the Dada, which I think translates to 'grandfather' or something. The title is hereditary. You are born a Dada, and I think it's always men who hold the title.
In Islam, theres a similar concept to the Christian idea of the Second Coming of Christ. In Islam, it's Ali's last grandson (I think). (Ali is the son-in-law of Mohammad).
After that, we went to St. Georg, an Orthodox Catholic population of Austrians who are funded by the Austrian state because of their mission for education. They're a very small population, with a core of about 30 people, but they have more when bigger groups come through and worship with them. I find it kind of cool that their patron saint is the guy who killed a dragon. Of course, the dragon is a metaphor for all evil, but whatever. The point remains.
Anyway, they're trying to channel a bit of Evil Fighting by being a part of an unofficial coalition of Christian churches unofficially helping the refugees (I think they're not allowed to officially help the refugees because of legal issues, maybe - something to do abut the separation of faith and state and sensitivity and social programs and... I don't remember a lot of it). They're not technically doing "mission" in terms of "missionary," but I think they're something close, but couldn't technically call it "mission" for the sake of getting funding.
They're also a school - private high school, to be exact. They teach in German but follow Turkish curriculum when necessary. That led to a really interesting discussion about the Turkish school system.
So, basically, the Turkish students have two placement tests: one for high school and one for university. If you get a perfect 500 on the test, you can get access to the top schools and get first pick when you go for schools - you can get early enrollment, in other words. If you get a lower score, you make a list of your top schools and hope that you're matched up well, based on the score you got. When testing for college, you can always wait a year and test again, but the downside is that you put your schooling off for another year.
While we were at St. Georg, we told our guide a bit about the walk-in mission and ASP.
Then our guide told us about an ASP-type thing that goes on in war zones in the Middle East (A/N update: not sure if it's actual war zones, but it's definitely areas where people's houses have been bombed or the residents have otherwise been displaced). When people's houses are bombed, the program - an interfaith one - will send a group of youth to rebuild the houses and also build faith relationships. It was a really spiritual moment - knowing that there are people on the other side of the world who also remember that Christianity is not all about ritual and "We're The One True Faith" and all of that - that Christianity is about Love Thy Neighbor and Help Thy Neighbor.
After St. Georg, we went to Galata Tower, which was once a warning/ lighthouse way back when. It's a great view from the top, but it was kind of narrow and crowded and the platform tilted down, so it did not agree with my heights and lack of affection for them.
After that, we went to St. Antoine, which is a complete antithesis in scale to St. Georg. I think the former is French, and Gothic style, and enormous (and Catholic, I think). It's all the classic things you think of when you think of old cathedrals - stained glass, vaulted ceilings, statues, a layout like a cross on the ground. St. Georg is, as previously stated, a core congregation of thirty, and the chapel space matches that.
Afterwards, Can, Mom, Sean, Alex, and I went to the main square where all the protests have been, while Katie, Mert, and Jim stuck around and didn't walk an extra 45 minutes.
Before that, though, we ran into Batu, completely by chance. Batu was an exchange student this past year to a school in southern Maryland, and he was on his way home from working at a museum, when we were on the street getting ice cream. The ice cream sellers always do this really big show of pretending to give you the ice cream before you actually get it.
Anyway, we're going to dinner at Batu's tomorrow. He lives on the Asian side, sooo.... FIRST TRIP TO ASIA!! WOOHOO!!
Well, as predicted, I didn't sleep well last night - when I slept at all. I'm in for very deep sleep tonight, though. It's been a very long day.
I woke up at 7:15 and went to shower, change, and eat. We were ready to go by the designated time of 9:15.
First we went to the AFS offices to get the orientation of the office and to learn what we'll actually be doing ths week, before we go off to our host families.
We ate lunch at the office. I don't remember what exactly it was that we had, but it was good (also, spicy). There was also this yogurt lassi-type drink - basically, drinkable yogurt - and it was really good, but really salty. Lunch, in general, was good.
Then we went to the mosque of an Islamic sect that I don't recall the name of. They're the sect with the people who dance as part of their worship (they might be the whirling dervishes, but I'm pretty sure that's not right). Anyway, this particular sect is very open-minded and is willing to serve anyone who needs help. For some reason, I think they aren't seen as a "real" sect of Islam by the other sects (I don't recall why - maybe because during the prayer service, they pray in a circle, not facing Mecca). They also call the prayer leader the Dada, which I think translates to 'grandfather' or something. The title is hereditary. You are born a Dada, and I think it's always men who hold the title.
In Islam, theres a similar concept to the Christian idea of the Second Coming of Christ. In Islam, it's Ali's last grandson (I think). (Ali is the son-in-law of Mohammad).
After that, we went to St. Georg, an Orthodox Catholic population of Austrians who are funded by the Austrian state because of their mission for education. They're a very small population, with a core of about 30 people, but they have more when bigger groups come through and worship with them. I find it kind of cool that their patron saint is the guy who killed a dragon. Of course, the dragon is a metaphor for all evil, but whatever. The point remains.
Anyway, they're trying to channel a bit of Evil Fighting by being a part of an unofficial coalition of Christian churches unofficially helping the refugees (I think they're not allowed to officially help the refugees because of legal issues, maybe - something to do abut the separation of faith and state and sensitivity and social programs and... I don't remember a lot of it). They're not technically doing "mission" in terms of "missionary," but I think they're something close, but couldn't technically call it "mission" for the sake of getting funding.
They're also a school - private high school, to be exact. They teach in German but follow Turkish curriculum when necessary. That led to a really interesting discussion about the Turkish school system.
So, basically, the Turkish students have two placement tests: one for high school and one for university. If you get a perfect 500 on the test, you can get access to the top schools and get first pick when you go for schools - you can get early enrollment, in other words. If you get a lower score, you make a list of your top schools and hope that you're matched up well, based on the score you got. When testing for college, you can always wait a year and test again, but the downside is that you put your schooling off for another year.
While we were at St. Georg, we told our guide a bit about the walk-in mission and ASP.
Then our guide told us about an ASP-type thing that goes on in war zones in the Middle East (A/N update: not sure if it's actual war zones, but it's definitely areas where people's houses have been bombed or the residents have otherwise been displaced). When people's houses are bombed, the program - an interfaith one - will send a group of youth to rebuild the houses and also build faith relationships. It was a really spiritual moment - knowing that there are people on the other side of the world who also remember that Christianity is not all about ritual and "We're The One True Faith" and all of that - that Christianity is about Love Thy Neighbor and Help Thy Neighbor.
After St. Georg, we went to Galata Tower, which was once a warning/ lighthouse way back when. It's a great view from the top, but it was kind of narrow and crowded and the platform tilted down, so it did not agree with my heights and lack of affection for them.
After that, we went to St. Antoine, which is a complete antithesis in scale to St. Georg. I think the former is French, and Gothic style, and enormous (and Catholic, I think). It's all the classic things you think of when you think of old cathedrals - stained glass, vaulted ceilings, statues, a layout like a cross on the ground. St. Georg is, as previously stated, a core congregation of thirty, and the chapel space matches that.
Afterwards, Can, Mom, Sean, Alex, and I went to the main square where all the protests have been, while Katie, Mert, and Jim stuck around and didn't walk an extra 45 minutes.
Before that, though, we ran into Batu, completely by chance. Batu was an exchange student this past year to a school in southern Maryland, and he was on his way home from working at a museum, when we were on the street getting ice cream. The ice cream sellers always do this really big show of pretending to give you the ice cream before you actually get it.
Anyway, we're going to dinner at Batu's tomorrow. He lives on the Asian side, sooo.... FIRST TRIP TO ASIA!! WOOHOO!!
Monday, September 2, 2013
"The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (Entry 7, Day 2)
Monday, 12 August, 2013; 11:17 PM; Oriental Hostel
Right.
I think another think is that the merchants here aren't as loud as those in Cusco. At the same time, they don't need to be - at least, not on a night like this. Maybe because nobody's back from Ramadan. Maybe because tourism isn't the #1 industry in Istanbul. Maybe nobody in the Super Cusco-Loud Crowd is in this neighborhood, or in this city. Maybe it's a cultural sort of thing.
Okay, forget a little bit of what I said about the hooligans not being on this street. I forgot that the hostel is attached to a bar. The guys coming up now aren't loud, but they're audible, which is distracting. I took my meds before I set my watch forward, so I took them way later than I'm supposed to, so I'll have a lot of energy.
Okay, forget what I said about the barfolk not being obnoxiously loud. They're louder than the last lot that came up.
Guess who might not sleep well tonight?
Right.
I think another think is that the merchants here aren't as loud as those in Cusco. At the same time, they don't need to be - at least, not on a night like this. Maybe because nobody's back from Ramadan. Maybe because tourism isn't the #1 industry in Istanbul. Maybe nobody in the Super Cusco-Loud Crowd is in this neighborhood, or in this city. Maybe it's a cultural sort of thing.
Okay, forget a little bit of what I said about the hooligans not being on this street. I forgot that the hostel is attached to a bar. The guys coming up now aren't loud, but they're audible, which is distracting. I took my meds before I set my watch forward, so I took them way later than I'm supposed to, so I'll have a lot of energy.
Okay, forget what I said about the barfolk not being obnoxiously loud. They're louder than the last lot that came up.
Guess who might not sleep well tonight?
"The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (Entry 6, Day 2)
Monday, 12 August, 2013; Oriental Hostel; 10:30 PM
Exploring was fun. We saw what was about and what we can do on the street. There are a lot of restaurants about, with the guys who come up to you in the middle of hte street to get you to go eat there. One of the guys asked me to dance. Since he's significantly older than me and I didn't want to randomly dance with a complete stranger in the middle of the street, I said no
Anyway, back to the recap.
At the AFS offices we met Cemre, who does host family coordination and Becet (Why did I call him that? We all called him Mert), who is also going to be hanging out wiht us this week - he, too, did a year in the US. He's from Ankara, the capital, which is significantly smaller than Istanbul, from what I understand.
Anyway, at the AFS office, we had dinner - Turkish pizza, or Pide. It's on flat bread and doesn't normally have sauce between the bread and the toppings. It's still really good - better than American pizza, anyway. Pide isn't cheese-based, which is different - like, the veggie ones were just veggies and pide and maybe some oil to hold it together.
Anyway, the hostel is really cool. The stairs are tightly winding and sort of steep, but not impossibly so. Since this is a hostel, the room is kind of small, but it works out well enough. We have four beds: one set of bunks (I'm on the top) and one set of twins. From the street, we have a really cool view of the Blue Mosque, or the Sultanahmet Cami (the computer doesn't do the 'i' right! Gah! The 'i' isn't supposed to have a dot on top). According to the guidebook, it was built to rival the Aya Sophia visually (well, it wasn't intended to, but it does anyway). There are 260 windows, and has the largest courtyard of any Ottoman mosque. The original stained-glass windows were Venitian.
Anyway, that's all for that.
When we wandered around tonight, I found it interesting how few people were out and about. Cemre said that it's even a good day for traffic because everyone is out of town to celebrate Ramadan, and are probably staying out a few extra days. Istanbul is definitely a lot more quiet than Cusco or Lima were. This is probably in part due to Cemre's hypothesis and also partly due to the fact that Cusco and Lima were in Super Celebration Mode when we were there. Also, I think Cusco is way more into tourism for he economy, so more people are trying to sell you stuff and yelling and honking and everything else.
Will pause now - need to bed prep. Write in a few.
Exploring was fun. We saw what was about and what we can do on the street. There are a lot of restaurants about, with the guys who come up to you in the middle of hte street to get you to go eat there. One of the guys asked me to dance. Since he's significantly older than me and I didn't want to randomly dance with a complete stranger in the middle of the street, I said no
Anyway, back to the recap.
At the AFS offices we met Cemre, who does host family coordination and Becet (Why did I call him that? We all called him Mert), who is also going to be hanging out wiht us this week - he, too, did a year in the US. He's from Ankara, the capital, which is significantly smaller than Istanbul, from what I understand.
Anyway, at the AFS office, we had dinner - Turkish pizza, or Pide. It's on flat bread and doesn't normally have sauce between the bread and the toppings. It's still really good - better than American pizza, anyway. Pide isn't cheese-based, which is different - like, the veggie ones were just veggies and pide and maybe some oil to hold it together.
Anyway, the hostel is really cool. The stairs are tightly winding and sort of steep, but not impossibly so. Since this is a hostel, the room is kind of small, but it works out well enough. We have four beds: one set of bunks (I'm on the top) and one set of twins. From the street, we have a really cool view of the Blue Mosque, or the Sultanahmet Cami (the computer doesn't do the 'i' right! Gah! The 'i' isn't supposed to have a dot on top). According to the guidebook, it was built to rival the Aya Sophia visually (well, it wasn't intended to, but it does anyway). There are 260 windows, and has the largest courtyard of any Ottoman mosque. The original stained-glass windows were Venitian.
Anyway, that's all for that.
When we wandered around tonight, I found it interesting how few people were out and about. Cemre said that it's even a good day for traffic because everyone is out of town to celebrate Ramadan, and are probably staying out a few extra days. Istanbul is definitely a lot more quiet than Cusco or Lima were. This is probably in part due to Cemre's hypothesis and also partly due to the fact that Cusco and Lima were in Super Celebration Mode when we were there. Also, I think Cusco is way more into tourism for he economy, so more people are trying to sell you stuff and yelling and honking and everything else.
Will pause now - need to bed prep. Write in a few.
"The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (Entry 5, Day 2)
Monday, 12 August, 2012: 8:21 PM, Turkey time; Oriental Hostel
We made it without dying, getting hurt, or any other type of malady! WOOHOO! (I did have a weird dream, but whatever).
Istanbul is so cool. We passed through a bunch of different neighborhoods - the run-down areas where you can see that there once was a second floor that no longer exists, to the super-swanky office building areas - as well as several eras of history, from aqueducts to the Hagia Sophia (from the outside) (not actually sure that what we saw was, in fact, the Aya Sophia, but whatever) to various forts and modern architecture. It's a lot of history to cram into one city.
The scenery, as a result, is amazing. When we were heading to the hostel from the AFS offices, we crossed one of the rivers as the sun set. There weren't any clouds, so it was simply a perfect orange circle hanging over hills covered in buildings reflecting off of the water in a warm glow. The mosques, backlit, are so pretty.
The flight over was very uneventful. They fed us at maybe 1 AM, as previously mentioned, and again at 7:30 AM (eastern time). I was able to get an okay amount of sleep. Nobody in front of me was leaning back, and I was able to lean my chair back because there was nobody behind me. I had a weird dream about swimming in clear blue water and teddy bears that change color based on one's celebrity status.
When we landed, we spent an hour (maybe) after the touchdown waiting to get through the passport checkpoint. Then we went to the AFS office with Jon, a returned student who had spent a year in Michigan.
Right, I nee to go unpack and brush my teeth and such. We're going to explore (maybe), so I'll write after that.
A/N: So the Turks spell some things differently from Americans. Jon's name is technically spelled Can, because C has a J sort of sound. That's not the only thing - ç is 'ch' and my computer can't type the "s" with the squiggly thing under that; it's pronounced as 'sh.'
We made it without dying, getting hurt, or any other type of malady! WOOHOO! (I did have a weird dream, but whatever).
Istanbul is so cool. We passed through a bunch of different neighborhoods - the run-down areas where you can see that there once was a second floor that no longer exists, to the super-swanky office building areas - as well as several eras of history, from aqueducts to the Hagia Sophia (from the outside) (not actually sure that what we saw was, in fact, the Aya Sophia, but whatever) to various forts and modern architecture. It's a lot of history to cram into one city.
The scenery, as a result, is amazing. When we were heading to the hostel from the AFS offices, we crossed one of the rivers as the sun set. There weren't any clouds, so it was simply a perfect orange circle hanging over hills covered in buildings reflecting off of the water in a warm glow. The mosques, backlit, are so pretty.
The flight over was very uneventful. They fed us at maybe 1 AM, as previously mentioned, and again at 7:30 AM (eastern time). I was able to get an okay amount of sleep. Nobody in front of me was leaning back, and I was able to lean my chair back because there was nobody behind me. I had a weird dream about swimming in clear blue water and teddy bears that change color based on one's celebrity status.
When we landed, we spent an hour (maybe) after the touchdown waiting to get through the passport checkpoint. Then we went to the AFS office with Jon, a returned student who had spent a year in Michigan.
Right, I nee to go unpack and brush my teeth and such. We're going to explore (maybe), so I'll write after that.
A/N: So the Turks spell some things differently from Americans. Jon's name is technically spelled Can, because C has a J sort of sound. That's not the only thing - ç is 'ch' and my computer can't type the "s" with the squiggly thing under that; it's pronounced as 'sh.'
"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey." - Babs Hoffman (Entry 4, Day 1/ 2)
Later, 12:54 AM
Well... the cheesecake was good. I'm pretty sure that's the best that can be said about plane food attempts beyond cookies/ pretzels/ peanuts - that the cheesecake is good, and that the cherry juice has an interesting flavor. It's definitely cherry-flavored, but it's cherry in the way grape juice is grape. You can definitely tell that it's grape, but it tastes a little bit different from the actual fruit itself.
Currently, Mother is watching (rather, zoning out from) a program on wildlife, it seems, that somehow involves epic mountain vistas and also baby ducklings. I don't know whether or not she's actually awake - she has the face mask on that they give you on long flights like this, and she has the blanket and the pillow too, but she also said "bless you" when I sneezed at the beginning of writing this paragraph. She may be playing the whole game of "Maybe if I cover my eyes and make it look like I'm sleeping, these hooligans will leave me alone." oN the other hand, it's after 1:00 AM now. She could be legitimately zoning out and trying to go to bed. I might try the same - no, I will try the same - once the tray is gone and the table can go up again.
But that shan't happen quite yet - right now they're coming around with after-dinner tea/ coffee/ etc, and also dried apricots in packages.
Man, for one flight from the US every day, the airline must go through a lot of waste. they have a dinner AND breakfast shift (though one would assume that people may try to eat before, but someone might have a connecting flight without food. You never know.)
Anyway, I've written enough, it seems, and Mom has sacrificed her cheesecake, so I'm stopping for now. Will write upon arrival at hostel/ end of day.
Well... the cheesecake was good. I'm pretty sure that's the best that can be said about plane food attempts beyond cookies/ pretzels/ peanuts - that the cheesecake is good, and that the cherry juice has an interesting flavor. It's definitely cherry-flavored, but it's cherry in the way grape juice is grape. You can definitely tell that it's grape, but it tastes a little bit different from the actual fruit itself.
Currently, Mother is watching (rather, zoning out from) a program on wildlife, it seems, that somehow involves epic mountain vistas and also baby ducklings. I don't know whether or not she's actually awake - she has the face mask on that they give you on long flights like this, and she has the blanket and the pillow too, but she also said "bless you" when I sneezed at the beginning of writing this paragraph. She may be playing the whole game of "Maybe if I cover my eyes and make it look like I'm sleeping, these hooligans will leave me alone." oN the other hand, it's after 1:00 AM now. She could be legitimately zoning out and trying to go to bed. I might try the same - no, I will try the same - once the tray is gone and the table can go up again.
But that shan't happen quite yet - right now they're coming around with after-dinner tea/ coffee/ etc, and also dried apricots in packages.
Man, for one flight from the US every day, the airline must go through a lot of waste. they have a dinner AND breakfast shift (though one would assume that people may try to eat before, but someone might have a connecting flight without food. You never know.)
Anyway, I've written enough, it seems, and Mom has sacrificed her cheesecake, so I'm stopping for now. Will write upon arrival at hostel/ end of day.
"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey." - Babs Hoffman (Entry 3, Day 1/ 2)
Monday, 12 August, 2013; 12:18 AM Eastern Time; plane
Okay, I admit, I didn't check up on a lot of history in the guidebook. To be fair, the guidebook is for current, not past, things to do.
Anyway, we've been on the plane for about an hour, and it's pretty standard, as planes go. It's one of those planes that have eight seats across (four in the middle and two on each side), which I haven't been in too often, at least that I remember. I know we had a plane seated like this to Switzerland, but I don't remember any other time.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen seats on a plane that are sea foam green. This is also one of the only flights I've been on that hasn't been completely freezing. I might just not notice it because I have a jacket on, but the last overnight flight I've done - the one to Switzerland - I was curling up in a ball under/ into my tie-dye sweatshirt and with maybe a blanket, but I still couldn't get to a decent temperature. I also couldn't get a proper level of comfort or leg room, period. (it might have been because the person sitting in front of me had leaned their seat back ALL THE WAY, which leads to crampiness). (A/N: also, planes.)
Also, the staff is ocming around with dinner. As stated in the Peru entries, I'm not sure how much of it I actually want to eat - it's all processed, packaged, and reheated, and also probably more man-made than chicken- or cod-based (those were the options).
Okay, I admit, I didn't check up on a lot of history in the guidebook. To be fair, the guidebook is for current, not past, things to do.
Anyway, we've been on the plane for about an hour, and it's pretty standard, as planes go. It's one of those planes that have eight seats across (four in the middle and two on each side), which I haven't been in too often, at least that I remember. I know we had a plane seated like this to Switzerland, but I don't remember any other time.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen seats on a plane that are sea foam green. This is also one of the only flights I've been on that hasn't been completely freezing. I might just not notice it because I have a jacket on, but the last overnight flight I've done - the one to Switzerland - I was curling up in a ball under/ into my tie-dye sweatshirt and with maybe a blanket, but I still couldn't get to a decent temperature. I also couldn't get a proper level of comfort or leg room, period. (it might have been because the person sitting in front of me had leaned their seat back ALL THE WAY, which leads to crampiness). (A/N: also, planes.)
Also, the staff is ocming around with dinner. As stated in the Peru entries, I'm not sure how much of it I actually want to eat - it's all processed, packaged, and reheated, and also probably more man-made than chicken- or cod-based (those were the options).
Sunday, September 1, 2013
"Stop worrying about the potholes on the road and enjoy the journey." - Babs Hoffman (Entry 2, Day 1)
Sunday, August 11, 2013; 10:12 PM; Airport
Had a nice talk with Alex and Katie at Starbucks until the Starbucks people threw us out because it's closing time for all the commercial places.
Anyway, Istanbul was named such in 1453, after much tribal and regional warfare. Obviously, I'm skipping over a lot of the history of the city, but we're maybe boarding soon, so I'm going to peace out, read the guidebook, and check back in later.
Had a nice talk with Alex and Katie at Starbucks until the Starbucks people threw us out because it's closing time for all the commercial places.
Anyway, Istanbul was named such in 1453, after much tribal and regional warfare. Obviously, I'm skipping over a lot of the history of the city, but we're maybe boarding soon, so I'm going to peace out, read the guidebook, and check back in later.
"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey." - Babs Hoffman (Day 1, Entry 1)
Sunday, 11 August, 2013; 9:20 PM; Airport
We're two hours from the departure time, and I'm really excited. I think I'm the sort of traveller who only gets really excited when they're actually at the airport, through security, and listening to the random little girls playing with their dolls and such. Or it could just be the fact that I missed about half the meetings because, you know, school. Anyway, we're here, and I'm EXCITED.
We're doing a different sort of adventure from in Turkey than the one we did in Peru. This is so much more of a culture/ history thing. It's not much of an outdoorsy, danger (ha), hiking type of thing. Of course, while the whole thing is an adventure, the history in Istanbul is recorded so far back, whereas in Peru there's no recorded writing from that far back. There's pottery from 8000 BC, but there's no alphabet type of thing.
Istanbul, on the other hand, has been a center of the Roman empire and the Greeks before them. It started as Byzantium in 667 BC, named after the leader, Byzas, of the colonists from Megara. The next name change happened in the reign of Constantine, in 330 AD, who named it Constantinople and the centre of the Roman empire.
(Starbucks run. Back later)
We're two hours from the departure time, and I'm really excited. I think I'm the sort of traveller who only gets really excited when they're actually at the airport, through security, and listening to the random little girls playing with their dolls and such. Or it could just be the fact that I missed about half the meetings because, you know, school. Anyway, we're here, and I'm EXCITED.
We're doing a different sort of adventure from in Turkey than the one we did in Peru. This is so much more of a culture/ history thing. It's not much of an outdoorsy, danger (ha), hiking type of thing. Of course, while the whole thing is an adventure, the history in Istanbul is recorded so far back, whereas in Peru there's no recorded writing from that far back. There's pottery from 8000 BC, but there's no alphabet type of thing.
Istanbul, on the other hand, has been a center of the Roman empire and the Greeks before them. It started as Byzantium in 667 BC, named after the leader, Byzas, of the colonists from Megara. The next name change happened in the reign of Constantine, in 330 AD, who named it Constantinople and the centre of the Roman empire.
(Starbucks run. Back later)
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