Istanbul….wow. Warning: this blog post will be long. Waring #2: you will hear a lot about the food we tried, and the words “delicious” and “yum” will probably be used repeatedly in describing them. Warning #3: There is no way my words will possibly be able to do what I saw and felt in Istanbul justice, but try I will.
I had heard about such a thing called Turkish hospitality, but didn’t expect it to begin on the airplane on the inexpensive flight we bought from Lyon, France to Istanbul, Turkey. Complimentary pillows and headphones were on our seats, and a movie began on the screens shortly after taking off. I had gotten up early that morning to get ready for the trip so I decided to lay down for a bit. A while later, I was woken up to Ania telling me to get up so I could grab us some of the treats the flight attendants were bringing around on a tray. They were these gummy, crunchy, sweet treats like nothing I had ever had before, but what I would come to know as “turkish delight,” which is EVERYWHERE in istanbul. Delicious. I laid back down and again was woken up by Ania telling me they were walking around with a complimentary dinner and drink cart. Safe to say those have been the only two times I have been happy that someone was waking me up. (Keep in mind this is an under 3 hour flight and we were being served a full on meal.) The dinner was DELICIOUS too, unlike normal “airplane” food: chicken satay with rice and grilled vegetables, beans in olive oil, a hot roll, crackers, cream cheese, butter, and an amazing almond cake for dessert, and white wine. (On the way back: Salmon filet with mashed potatoes, vegetables, hummus and tomato tapenade with cucumber, dinner roll and crackers, and a chocolate mousse.heaven.) Also, the view of the plane at take-off was the prettiest one I’ve ever had- we left just at the start of a stunning sunset, which colored the sky all different shades of orange. Such a great beginning to what we hoped would be an incredible adventure…
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Night one (Thursday, November 6, 2014)
First impressions (Taksim Square): dirty, busy, poverty, alive, exciting, different
We arrived and headed straight for the Starbucks near taksim square to meet up with Ania’s friend Risa who is doing her study abroad program in Istanbul, and was meeting us to show us to our hostel and take us out on the town. We checked into the hostel, and put ourselves together quickly before heading out to meet Risa’s friends at a bar off the main street which is full of bars, people, street food, restaurants, cafés, shops, etc. We went to a few bars and a club, and got back around 3:30 in the morning after spending a perfect first night getting to know Risa and all of her awesome friends, the club photographer, and experience Istanbul’s amazing night life. (highlight: trying the street food mussels on our walk back: mussels with rice and lemon juice squeezed on top. Soooo good.)
The main street, which is decorated in Christmas lights despite being an Islamic State…
The next morning, the owner of the hostel, typical of turkish hospitality, brings Ania and I complimentary tea, called çai, which turkish people drink ALL day EVERY day, and a hot fresh breakfast bread that had something delicious and savory in the middle, but couldn’t tell ya what it was. Then our guide, history teacher, social planner, food expert, and (my new) bff Risa walks in, bright and early at 9 a.m. with Turkish bagels and nutella, and waters in hand to fuel us for the full day she has planned for us. Before you read any further, Risa is the kindest, most amazing guide anyone could ask for and planned an entire weekend from morning to morning (essentially, by the time we got back from going out it was morning again..) to show us around the city; without her, my experience in Istanbul would have been a fraction of what it was and I am so incredibly grateful to have had her as our personal tour guide for the weekend. ( I mean she even had a transportation card for us COME ON.) Also, after having a 3 day turn around between our ten day italy trip and having to constantly pull out a map, plan how we were getting from point A to point B etctera for that many days, sitting in the backseat as Risa guided us throughout the massive and stunning Istanbul was the best gift. Risa Rocks. Okay, I’m done for now, but seriously.
To get to where we were going, we took the metro and got off right before this bridge that goes over the Bosphorus strait. Fishermen line the entire bridge and were there when we crossed it in the morning, and still there on our way back at 10 p.m. Walking across this bridge provides a stunning view of the water and of the city.
Our first stop was to the spice market, which gave me a perfect first taste of what Istanbul foods, people and culture is like. We sampled enough turkish delight to last us a while, and were in awe by the beautiful colors, glass lanterns, and spices.
Turkish Delight!
We also couldn’t help but laugh at the hilarious lines dropped by the vendors. Our favorite:
Vendor: You dropped something
Us: *looks around frantically”
Vendor: It was my heart.
yep, so that happened.
Afterwards, we wandered around the city for a while, and Risa had us try the freshly squeezed pomegranate juice that you can find at street stands all over Istanbul. We also stumbled upon a street sign where it was once believed to be the center of the world. It even had “Lyon” on it and Ania and I thought it was so cool to see a little piece of “home” in Istanbul! We also took in all of the gorgeous mosques surrounding us, the fountain, and the beautiful day.
Next, we headed off to see the Topaki Palace, which was the primary residence of the Ottoman empire sultans for about 400 years of their 624 year reign. It is just one of many examples of the Ottoman influence and style of always showing their power through extravagance and being over the top. The palace was just massive. We walked through some old rooms that used to be the kitchen, and the size of the pots and cooking utensils alone looked as if they could hold enough food in them for about 100 people. There was an entire room dedicated solely to dessert called the confectionary room…(I wouldn’t hate having one of those in my home someday…on point, ottomans.) The other highlights were the stunning tiles, ceilings, and JEWLERY. Also, there is a part of the Palace that leads out to a large balcony that looks over the Bosphorous strait and gives a stunning view of Turkey. The best part is you don’t know that the next room is about to be this stunning view, so it kind of sneaks up on you and is the best surprise. Sometimes there are no words, only feelings, and that is how I feel about looking out on the bosphorous strait, which stretches endlessly, and flawlessly. Absolutely mind-blowing to see such a massive estate, and know that people ACTUALLY lived there…
Next we headed out to get some food at a rooftop restaurant. I got “meze” which is essentially appetizers/tapas. I don’t know the specific things of all the dishes I ate but my meze consisted of a giant circular piece of bread accompanied with dishes of a yogurt type dip, two different kinds of eggplant dips, spicy tomato tapenade, olives, fried cheesy yummy things, and stuffed grape leaves. A great way to try a bunch of different turkish flavors in one sitting!
After lunch we set out to see the Hagia Sophia, Blue mosque, and Basilica Cisterne.
Hagia Sophia
The Hagia Sophia was a former greek orthodox basilica, and was one of the largest in the world for a number of years. It was then converted into an imperial mosque, and is now officially a museum. You can still see the crosses underneath some of the paintings, despite their best efforts to cover them up in converting the basilica into a mosque. There is also a visible mother mary and jesus painting right next to an arabic allah symbol. This museum was absolutely incredible. It is a clear symbol of the clashes between eastern and western religions and fascinating to see this first hand.
Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque is an active mosque, and is thus closed for 90 minutes during prayer times. You know when it is prayer time because the call to prayer booms loudly over the entire city six times a day, and no matter where you are, you will be able to hear it. The mosque is known as the “blue” mosque because of it’s blue tiles that surround the interior of the mosque. To enter, women have to cover their heads with a scarf and men and women have to make sure their knees are covered. Also, everyone has to take off their shoes before entering. If you didn’t bring a scarf with you, they have tons of blue cloths to lend to visitors. As we were walking around the mosque, we separated a little bit, and with everyones heads covered it was hard to find each other, especially Ania who borrowed one of the cloths and didn’t have an original scarf to distinguish her. This had me thinking about the controversial topic of the scarfs, burkahs, etc as coverings and gave me an interesting insight. When Risa and I were searching for Ania, we now could no longer distinguish her from the shirt she was wearing, and her blonde hair. In a way, the scarf head covering causes one to lose their identity, while strengthening it all the same. What I mean by that is others can’t recognize you based on key features, and therefore your identity is a much more personal and sacred thing. Also, I noticed the same type of paradox in the way prayer is done: there is a largely individualistic aspect of prayer, yet everyone is called to prayer at the same times, and goes through the motions together, but not in sync. This was my first real taste of seeing the Islamic religion and I would love to learn more about it after visiting several mosques during my trip.
Basilica Cistern
One could easily walk past the small building that is the entrance to the Basilica Cistern without so much as a glance. However, what they would be missing is the subterranean structure built by the Justinian Empire, and used as a water source to serve the Great Palace and surrounding buildings. This is the largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul and was constructed using 336 columns, many of which were salvaged from ruined temples and feature detailed carvings. We were in awe of the beauty in the architecture of something that essentially no one even sees! Wooden planks sit above the water, (and would make an excellent venue for a stellar runway show) in this dark, mysterious underground cave-type structure. You can feel the water dripping from the vaulted ceiling as you walk through and can observe schools of HUGE carp fish swimming in the water. amazing.
After our day of adventure and sight seeing we set out to try more…..food. So, I grabbed some street roasted chestnuts as a snack, then we headed to a restaurant that served hot, fresh, hummus with pita. Next we set off for dessert #1, which is Turkish ice-cream. Turkish ice-cream is made with goats milk and has the consistency of taffy/marshmallow. Also, this was not your ordinary ice-cream experience. The guy scooping our ice-cream did so while loudly yelling, swinging the ice-cream scoop ladle in the air and hitting a bell, playing tricks by switching out cones, pretending to shove the ice-cream in our face, etc. It was a slightly traumatizing experience, and drew in crowds of people laughing at us as we were a part of this 5 minute show of tricks and loud noises and chaos, all to get a g dang ice cream cone. I can’t say I would jump to eat turkish ice-cream or have this experience happen to me again, but it was definitely a great experience to have nonetheless. Then, we headed out for dessert #2 at a famous bakery near our hostel. We all got something different so we could try a bunch of different things. I got hazelnut baklava, Ania pistachio baklava, and Risa Kunefe. Kunefe sounds like the weirdest combination of a dessert but is SO delicious. Kunefe is vermicelli noodles prepared in aluminum circular molds with melted cheese, a sweet syrup, and turkish cream on top. Digging in with a fork and getting a piece with the hot melty cheese strands, combined with the sweet crunch of the noodles is an experience everyone should have. Mmmmmm, salivating writing about it…Oh and of course we munched our desserts accompanied by piping hot çai.
After dessert, Risa, Ania and Risa’s friends were ready to call it a night and get a goodnight sleep before sight seeing day 2. (and as we were all on about 4.5 hours of sleep, made sense.) However, you only istanbul once, so I decided not to call it a night. I met up with my british/turkish friend I had met in Lyon, Serge. We went to a bar and sat outside and people watched on the main street while catching up over a few pints of turkish beer. Serge speaks turkish and has been going there ever since he was a kid so it was cool getting to learn more about the country from him and hear him speak the language. He also told me that there was a famous Turkish sports commentator at the table behind us! Then, we headed to a turkish club and even though I didn’t understand most of the songs, since the majority were in Turkish, it was an awesome experience. I was quite tired the next day, but it was another great night out and so worth the little sleep.
Day 2:
Four hours of sleep/ slight hangover cure? Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latté. Size? Venti. I have not had Starbucks since leaving the States and since it is pretty popular in Istanbul I did not hesitate when Risa suggested heading there for a coffee before another long day began. Such a yummy treat and taste of fall and home ❤
Stop #1 was the new mosque, which is the only mosque that allows visitors in during prayer time. We took off our shoes, covered our heads, and walked in, sat down, and just took in the stunning architecture of the mosque, and beauty of the prayer taking place before us. The prayer is a full body movement that reminded me of a yoga sequence. Like I said before, I need to learn more about the Islam religion.
Then we headed to the market of all markets: the Grand Bazaar. This is also a place with no words, just feelings, and I could have legitimately spent my entire day just walking up and down and through the maze that is the Grand Bazaar. Another note on Turkish hospitality: I was in one shop looking at beautifully decorated coin purses with Ania and Risa, and they decided to head out for a moment to go find an ATM so they could purchase their items. I stayed in the shop, bought some coin purses, and 
then myself asked the shop owner where I could find a place that exchanges euros for lira. He stops what he’s doing, leads me around the corner to an exchange place, explains in turkish to the people there what I need, and then takes me back to the store and offers me a chair while I wait for my friends to get back. I was blown away with the kindness of Turkish people all weekend, and it taught me a thing or two about the way I should treat other, especially strangers. 
When we finally decided to call it a morning at the market, I grabbed a delicious street kebab, and then we went to go see the Turkish Unviersity where Risa Studies.
Risa’s University!
The university was GOREGOUS and reminded me a lot of my American University back home: beautiful buildings, a big, green “quad” where people were having a picnic and throwing a frisbee, and dorm style living for the students. In France, school is just for school, so my Unviersity is just a single building with no “campus,” so seeing this University was a refreshing reminder of school back in the states. Next, we headed to the town of Bebek. We walked down a huge, winding, steep hill and where we ended up was breathtaking. The hill lead us seaside, where there were boats, fisherman, and cafés galore. Risa took us into this chocolate shop which had amazing chocolate samples that we did not hesitate to try and then she bought us these yummy treats with hazelnuts and three different types of chocolate in them. She is a SAINT.
Starbucks views!
Next, we headed to the FOUR story Starbucks just to get a better view of this stunning town, and take it all in. We left the top of the Starbucks to set off for an even more glamorous and breathtaking view of all of Istanbul: Istanbul Sapphire. Istanbul Sapphire is located in the modern, business area of Levent, and is a skyscraper that is the tallest building in all of Turkey, and 7th tallest building in all of europe. This is another one of those no words, just feeling moments, standing on the top of an open air rooftop with a panoramic 360 view of all of Istanbul with all of its splendor and beauty and lights, a huge turkish flag blowing in the wind in the center of the rooftop. Chills. We spent about an hour and a half up there, taking it all in. You can see the Bosphorous Bridge, which resembles that of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco and is the bridge that connects Europe and Asia, and was just stunning to see all lit up at night. Also, the moon that night was one of those giant, full, orange moons, adding to the magic of this evening. We sat at a table on the interior part of the building for a while and had one of the best conversations I’ve ever had just about travel, public health, life, etc. That experience in its entirety will stick with me for a very, very long time.
Post Sapphire, we headed to a delicious little turkish restaurant near Risa’s campus. We munched on hummus and falafel and pita, all things I LOVE. Then, Risa bought a bag of doritos with a flavor only found in Turkey, which resembled a tomato/basil flavor and were delicious. We may or may not have also bought pistachio chocolate bars…no regrets.
After, we went to Risa’s to meet up with her friends and have a few drinks before heading out for our last night in Istanbul. We left the apartment around midnight and went to one bar for drinks, then a turkish reggae bar, and finished our night off at a four story club that had just opened two weeks before. Turkish nightlife, man, good stuff.
The next morning, Ania and I didn’t have much time before we needed to head out to the airport, but we enjoyed our morning. It began again with tea and fresh rolls given to us by our hostel owner, and then we set out to window shop and explore Taksim square area. We popped into a few shops, bought some last minute souvenirs, bought my last freshly squeezed pomegranate/orange juice, and then headed to the airport, pleasantly exhausted from the weekend.
This was one of the best weekends of my entire life, and I learned so much about myself, Istanbul, and Turkish people. Both Risa and the Turkish people taught me something extremely important, and that is to open your arms to others, to go above and beyond to make visitors and guests comfortable, and to show them around the way you would want to be shown around. I was so inspired by Risa and everyone I came across in Istanbul, and I am going to strive to uphold the qualities they do so flawlessly.
Risa shared with us a quote someone had told her, and it stuck with me: “You don’t study abroad to find yourself, you study abroad to create yourself.” I couldn’t agree more, Risa.
Next we headed to the pont des arts, better known as “the lovelock bridge” before making our way to Notre Dame Cathedral, where our friend Mackenzie came to meet up with his to join our tour de Paris. We walked along the river, stopping every few minutes to admire the beautiful art work and souvenirs being sold at various stands along the boardwalk, and soaked in the vibes of Pah-reee.
duration of the trip) and walked to the top of the steps leading to the Sacre Coeur, giving us a breathtaking view of the city which was sunny and bright on this december day. We walked through the cathedral, spent some more time outside enjoying the view, and then walked down a street of souvenir shops and touristy stores eating a crepe, because what else would I wana eat in Pah-ree?! Afterwards, we walked down a street where sex stores and shops lined the streets all an indication we were headed in the right direction: the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge (red windmill) famously seen in the film, was smaller than I expected, but super cool to see! We then ducked into a starbucks to grab some wifi so we could meet up with my roommate from last semester who was also in Paris coincidentally! Together we sipped on coffee and caught up on our lives from the past week of 
being apart, and then set out for more exploring. We started off at Gallery Lafayette, which is a massive multi-story mall where 8,000 euro dresses is the sale price- safe to say I’ve never felt more poor in my life surrounded by all the obscene luxury coating the racks. We came up with a game where we would have to find objects under certain price ranges and let me tell you IT WASN’T EASY. We left there with new dresses for formals (NOT), and then headed out to see the opera house, went back to the louvre area, and then decided on visiting the Musée D’Orsay. The Musée D’Orsay has about a 2 minute wait, is free, and has art more appealing to me than the louvre which is MASSIVE and a minimum 1.5 hour wait, so it was much more my speed walking through a smaller museum with less people and tons of impressionist paintings. We then met up with Mackenzie’s friend who was an exchange student at her high school and a local Parisian. We walked around aimlessly for hours, stumbling upon yet another market, walking through the student area, seeing the famous Sorbonne, and then finally settling down to eat. We ate on an outdoor area heated by heat lamps, which is one of my favorite things about France/Europe dining. Even at the very end of december, there are multiple places where you can still eat cozily outside wrapped up in your winter jacket warmed by a heat lamp and experiencing the ambiance of the street. Simply lovely. It was so much fun getting to know Ellior and discussing differences between our two cultures and telling silly stories over a delicious meal of a Croque Madame, essentially an open faced sandwich with cheese, ham, and a fried egg on top. Bon Appétit. We concluded our meal by popping into a gelato shop where Ellior treated us to dessert- gelato from him and Mack, and gelato FILLED macaroons for me (major game changer-so yummy). 
La vie à Lyon is
La vie en Lyon 
