(a bulleted and illustrated tale)
Sarah Murray is graduate student at Stanford and she works on something to do with the late bronze age and early iron age of Greece. Sarah and I met a few years in Korphos, Greece. We were worked together for two summers on a survey of Bronze Age harbor, Kalamianos. This was an amazing project—I worked there for three years and always had the best time—but it was made even better by the presence of Sarah Murray. I like to think our friendship is the stuff of legend because it seems to be the case that every time we get together, there are adventures and they are epic. Perhaps, even worthy of song, but I have yet to put it all to music. Istanbul was no different when Sarah and her friend, Foivos, came to visit—all because they found cheap airfare--for a week in November. Here is a taste of our adventures.
My friend, Sarah Murray
Wednesday, Nov. 2
We drank bad homemade raki and caught up in the RCAC bar
Beers on a rooftop, beers in a bar and saw a fat cat (I still him in the neighborhood)
[a different cat, but you get the idea]
We came up with the greatest AIA panel ever: the mock panel—where all the papers, participants, and audience take on the persona of every annoying type that you’ve experienced at a conference. Call for papers to be circulated soon.
We played football (I believe, you know it as soccer) and totally dominated….or at least didn’t humiliate ourselves. Best women they’ve ever seen play.
We went to Meyhanes with fellows and had good raki
We had brunch in Ciangir. A cat sat in my lap the whole time. I had huevos rancheros
Bienali. Art festival. Saw a cubed watermelon. Ate an apple. String messages and string panoramas.
Tea on the coast. Crazy fishermen—still not sure what they are catching. Water game, where you shoot balloons. Turns out, they are real guns
Happy hour.
Tapas.
A night of epic karaoke: Between my apartment at Taksim square (10-15 min. walk) there are 6 karaoke bars. We sampled five of them. Went into each one, sang a song, drank a beer and then left.
Bar 1: Livin’ on a Prayer
Bar 2: Don’t Stop Me Now
A Whole New World (too brilliant for words to express how much we nailed this one)
Bar 3: Sweet Caroline
Got popcorn—it was awful
Bar 4: Lame, we left
Bar 5: Say My Name
Total Eclipse to close the night
A little college football. I fell asleep before the LSU v. Alabama game (2am my time)
Flew solo in Ciangir with a leisurely lunch, saw a guy in a reindeer sweater with fur trimmed hood (apparently this is the ‘in’ look this winter—place your orders now!), wandered around the vintage stores, made friend with a local jewelry artist who loves Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Sarah for happy hour. KFC dinner. Party at the Ritz.
Roll into the Ritz, through security. Totally gansta. Swimming pool, hot tub, steam room, sauna. Those places get really hot!
Beer run. There was something about two girls coming to meet a guy at the Ritz, hanging out in the hot tub and then leaving after two hours that made the security guards laugh.
Best breakfast that ever existed—huge table of bread (fillers), 6 kinds of olives, ten kinds of cheese, yogurt, cereal, smoothies, juices, fruit, meat (including salami!), and a hot bar—omelets, heart-shaped waffles, pancakes, hash browns, hallumi cheese, and bacon!!! Amazing, wonderful bacon!!! I had two platefuls.
Ferry to the walls. We found a Turkish carnival!
Turkish carnival music is crazy techno music. Interesting.
We pass the Istanbul motorcycle police force, whose mascot appears to be a dolphin. Motorcycle police dolphin—it’s just begging to be made into a movie!
We walk the walls, which span across the peninsula that stretches into the Sea of Marmara and houses the Old City. These were the ancient city walls built by Theodosius (5th century AD). A vast majority of the wall circuit remains intact and is incorporated into the urban fabric of the city in a variety of ways. It was only with the use of gun powder and cannons that the walls were able to be over taken (1453). While sketchy at times, and not always clean, the walk is super fun. About 5.6 km.
[the beginning of the walls]
[local neighborhoods]
[Lazy Sarah already needs a break]
[admiring excellent restoration]
[stopping to smell the turkish roses]
getting our swoll on
Don't cry for me Argentina/Istanbul...
Pigeon market!
box of birds!
Child jousting!
Ancient and modern
Wall Kitten!
Shopping!
Wall garden
creepy scarecrow
An interesting traffic predicament
A touch of fall
Inside the walls
The end of the walls!
When we finally finished, we bought beer and sat down in a park to drink and figure out how we were getting home. A gypsy woman came by, asked for a smoke. She sat down and brought her two gypsy dogs over. One came up to me. He put his head on the bench seat, and I pet him. He put his head on my lap, and I pet him. He put a paw on my leg, and I pet him. He put both paws on the bench and I started freaking out. He decided to get playful, chewing on my arm and leg. I stealthily distracted him with my foot, so he started chewing on my shoes, but it was clear that our break was over and we were determined now to get a cab home instead public transportation.
We made it home. Met up with Foivos. I made friends with three Turkish women at the bar who toasted being single and went on and on about how rude and unromantic Turkish men were. Sarah and I said that it wasn’t just Turkish men J We laughed. We went to dinner. Meyhanes, raki. Discovered the ridiculous mark up on liquor by paying way too much for Grey Goose…this was after a hilarious incident at the ATM where I ended up depositing 10tl before taking out 100 because I couldn’t understand the Turkish instructions. A late night at the RCAC.
Wake up late. Into the old city. Monday-Wednesday of that week was a national holiday in Turkey (Bayram). I had the week off and it seems that all of Turkey did as well because the city was flooded with Turkish tourists. Istiklal was packed—more than normal, especially for a weekday night—and the walk to Sultanahmet was almost unbearable. Wall to wall people, pushing. And the street peddlers were at full swing with fish sandwiches, street meatballs, and every kind of knick-knack, clothing item, or crazy possessed robot kitten. Had a laid back night—a few drinks at the Red River bar (a John Wayne style touristy bar in the Old City), pizza in Ciangir, wine bar in Cihangir, then back to the institute.
Overall, an amazing and exhausting trip, which adds to the ever-growing legend of Sarah Murray. I can't wait til our inevitable meet up in Athens come January J
Oh yeah. And then I made chili. And then I made chili cheese nachos.
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