Diamonds, Palaces, Bookstores, and Spices!

Merhaba!

Well, one thing is for sure: Melissa and I know numbers a lot better than we know history! We started off day two at the Topaki Palace, which turned out to be about a 5 minute walk from our hostel (confirming that we are indeed staying between several mosques and a palace). We learned that the palace was home to sultans of the Ottoman empire. It's divided into four main courtyards which progressively become more ornate and would have been more and more exclusive for the sultan's family. There's all sorts of religious and historical relics inside, which were neat to look at, but made us realize how much we have to learn. We have lots of notes with "google x," so please challenge us when we get back! We were especially taken by the 86 karat diamond surrounded by 48 "smaller stones" that was turned into a ring. If anyone is taking notes, Melissa would welcome her own marble castle. I'd probably settle for the 86 karat diamond.

Topkapi Palace

InsideTopkapi Palace

After a few hours in the palace, we were both overwhelmed with tourists and decided it was time to see more of the city, less of the tourists. We are fortunate to have friends who have either studied abroad here or have family here, and we took their advice and headed to Taksim Square. We both agree that there's no better way to actually see a city than on foot, so we set off on a journey many would have taken by cab or public transportation. We wound our way around hundreds of steps and climbed cobblestone streets that were easily at a 45 degree incline (again, the numbers thing). It was well worth it as we approached the bridge that spans the Golden Horn bay. From a distance it looked like there were tons of tourists peering off the side looking at the view, but these tourists were actually fisherman dangling their lines 60+ feet to the water below. For my Lake Erie crew, this is exactly the opposite of wading in the water to catch white bass, but it seemed like something the dads would have come up with! :-)

The Fisherman

Once we crossed the bridge, we found ourselves on Istikal Street. Imagine the number of people you would find on Fifth Avenue on Black Friday... then add more. There was an amazing amount of energy on the street. We wandered aimlessly with purpose in and out of countless high end clothing stores and pastry shops. We refer to the desserts as hairy, green, and gooey, but they are beautiful as you can see in the pictures! We also fell in love with this trendy bookstore and had a good laugh when Melissa found on AutoCAD training manual written in Turkish. I guess it's a sign I have to return to life as an engineer eventuall...but not yet.

Istikal Street

On our way back towards "home" we were drawn to a street of bright lights that we saw from the bridge. It turned out to be the Spice Bazaar. It was filled with colorful spices we never heard but wanted to stick our noses into, and then we found the tea. I know plenty of people who would consider her priceless, but if you're forced to put a price on a name, it has to be a good thing that "Melissa Tea" is the most expensive tea in the Spice Bazaar at 200 Turkish lira per kilogram!  We'll see how well it gets through customs...

Colorful spices

Melissa Tea

There ıs a second thıng we know for sure here ın Istanbul: we have been members of the clean plate club at every meal. It's hard not to eat everything when the meal comes out actually flaming. Melissa had a special vegetarian version of "Testi Kebab" (yes, we laughed too at the name). It comes out in flaming red clay pot that is carefully shattered so its contents can be poured onto a bed of rice. It tastes kind of like a creamy red curry. Whether it's luck or whether we are just humouring ourselves, we swear that every restaurant fills up after we sit down. Either way, we have not been disappointed by food or service!

After a day that easily could have taken us three cab rides but was all accomplished on foot, we welcomed some casual chilling on the roof of our hostel with more of our new insta-friends. I guess we are pretty easy to please... give us a view with water, diamonds, a bookstore with tea, and we're happy as can be!

The Travelers!

Happy New Year!

Love,
The "Curly Girls"
(Our new favorite attention-grabber we heard from street vendors)

P.S. Mom, I plan on getting my sauer kraut in Austria for my 2013 good luck :-)

First Impressions of Istanbul: Can Every Day Be Like Today?

Hello dear follower,

We're in Turkey! After a ten-hour flight that offered tons of movie selections and unidentifiable foods (is that rice or mashed potatoes?) we made it to Istanbul.

We became insta-friends with our cab driver, who knew just enough English to crack jokes with us. He even offered to let us drive. We almost died laughing when the first song that popped on the radio was Call Me Maybe - and we couldn't help but sing along.

We found our new favorite lunch spot, where we made more insta-friends. The waiters were very friendly (not too much though, don't worry Dad) and so were the French tourists who sat next to us. They referred to us as "La Petite Rouge" and "Miss USA." Alysa got to whip out her French with them and learned that Turkish wine is "just red juice with alcohol" compared to that of Northern France. They also asked if we're traveling "avec le garçon" (with a man). We should mention that these men were jolly, balding, and accompanied by their wives. Our first encounter with Turkish coffee and tea also took place at this restaurant, and let me tell you, it was fabulous. I would say that Turkish coffee is like the stout beer of coffees - thick and almost chocolatey. It was superb. Not to mention they had excellent homemade hummus and veg-friendly dishes. We'll definitely go back to the Sofa Cafe and Restaurant for the coffee, food, and friends.

Next we found the mosques. Our hostel is situated between two mosques and a palace (we think). The mosques are breathtaking - they're like Aladdin's palace combined with Cinderella's castle, but real! They were especially gorgeous lit up at night, with a glowing fountain to set them off.

One of the main mosques, Hagia Sophia

The marketplace was also unreal. It's called the Grand Bazaar, complete with hundreds of shops lining the twisty turny paths. They sold lots of gold jewelry, beautiful red carpets, and ornate china pieces. The next time I'm in Turkey, I'm definitely going to have a budget for shipping things home. Alysa found a special trinket for herself - more on that to come.

Wandering the Grand Bazaar

Alysa and I are both trying to get a hang of the language, but it's unlike any Romance or Germanic language that we've studied so it's been a bit of a challenge. We have "hello" down pat, which is "merhaba". We've done well in sounding semi-intelligent and not like self-centered Americans by presenting ourselves to the locals with a friendly "merhaba". Saying "thank you" is another story. It's pronounced like "Tay-shuh-care  ay-der-am", in two words, which is difficult to remember and reproduce. One of our new friends along the way told us to remember it as "Tea-sugar ah-dream" and that seems to be working. Haha.

Try pronouncing these words!

We definitely stand out on the street as two girls with noticeably different hair color than the average Turk. We enjoy hearing merchants who shout any English word that comes to mind when we pass by, such as "Hi! Bye!" and "Yes, please thank you!" It hasn't worked on these tough Philly girls, no need to worry. And obviously I can't say much about someone's choppy English when I have one Turkish word in my vocabulary.

One of the breathtaking streets near our hostel

It was a great day of wandering around, meeting new people, and successfully staying awake! Off to dinner and activities with more new friends at our hostel. Catch ya later :)

Our hostel in the Sultanehmet district of Istanbul

Love,
Melissa and Alysa

The Victory Lap

When people tell us that college is the "best time of our lives," we respectfully disagree. Penn was a phenomenal experience that set expectations we seek to exceed. We bring you, "The Victory Lap," where life will continue to be celebrated, stimulating, and surrounded by the best company (and food).

Thanks to all the family and friends who have helped us get to this point, and we will do our best to keep you informed and entertained in the next month!

Love,
Alysa and Melissa