So what have I been up to lately…It’s been a while since my last post and it’s been a time filled with adventures, lots of food, parties, and a number of deadlines. So here are the highlights—my parents came to town! My dad and stepmom came to Istanbul to spend Thanksgiving with me. It was wonderful! We went on a number of adventures—shopping, sightseeing, cooking classes and more. Such a great time and this closed with a in-house party, where everyone brought dessert and wine—including my parents bringing two pecan pies—and all going around the room to say what we were thankful for. Other highlights include my turning a fellowship proposal for next school year (which happened to make it past the first round!), giving an in-house presentation on my research, and going to a couple of pub quizzes—even winning one night (180 TL for Zalpa Fire!!!). So here is a story in photo form…
Arrival on Monday night--we met, I showed them around the building and then we went for dinner and drinks in the neighborhood. An early night to recover from jetlag. Then a day of shopping. We walked down to the Spice Bazaar--
Otherwise known as the Egyptian bazzar, it is a covered shopping market built in 1660 with 88 rooms of spices, jewlery, Turkish delight and more. It's brightly colored and amazingly scented. It's great practice for the overwhelming Grand Bazaar that awaits.
Spices :) We bought spices from Turkish Putin (as my dad kept telling him)
Turkish delight and nuts! So good and so many free samples
Olives! Yum!
From the Spice Bazaar we meandered through the narrow cobble-stone streets, themselves bustling with shoppers and lined with stores of every kind, numerous toy shops, kitchen utensils, wedding dresses and more. Until we finally arrive at the Grand Bazaar, one of the world's largest covered markets. It was built in 1461 and holds over 4000 shops, restaurants, a bath, and two mosques. It is famous for jewelry, ceramics, and carpet shops, but also has tons of scarves, leather shops, and so much more. One should always go in with a good spirit and a willingness to negotiate because you are taken in at every corner...still is is so much fun and it was great opportunity for me to practice Turkish. Every shop owner we went to, I chatted with, which seemed to get them to lower the price just a little. It's also fun (and annoying) because every shop owner calls you into their place and they all speak so many languages...so they try to guess what nationality you are. My dad got spanish all the time. Or even Turkish because of his Turkish mustache (they said).
Love this scarf shop! We made it out of here with 4 scarves :)
Our ceramics shop. Also, the carpet dealers don't like it when you tell them that you can buy rugs in America for $200
We bought scarves, bowls, some cute necklaces (I'll take a photo), table cloths, spices, and my dad bought me a really nice tea set (I'll post a photo), so you should come by for tea sometime!!!
After surviving the bazaars, we had a late lunch, and then shopped around Galata tower, where we saw a number of animals!
That night, we took a ferry to the Asian side (Kadikoy). We strolled the evening streets, ogled some desserts at bakeries, got hassled by restaurant owners and then had some mezes with Raki, before heading back home.
Galata Tower
Sulemaniye at night with Galata Bridge
Topkapi--night time ferry is the best way to see the city--and it only costs 2tl!
Asia
Just a little chilly
The next day was one of sightseeing adventures as we made our way to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cisterns, and then attended a fabulous cooking class! First there was the cab ride--for anyone who has ever ridden in a cab with my dad, you know that he loves to talk to cabdrivers and Istanbul was no different. He sat right up front and chatted with every cab driver we had. The first few minutes tended to verge on awkward, since my dad speaks no turkish and the cab drivers speak little to no English, but my dad would just keep going in his jovial way and after about 5 minutes, somehow--by some laugh or word that just landed--they would both be laughing and talking to/past each other. It was pretty magical.
First stop--Sultan Ahmed Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque. Built between 1609-1616 and it includes 20,000 handmade Iznik tiles.
Courtesy of the internet :)
The courtyard
Sign Cat!
Me and Sign Cat!
Next stop Hagia Sophia--the Church of Holy Wisdom; originally built in 360; it underwent two previous constructions before the dedication of the building that stands today, in 532-7 by the Emperor Justinian. After the conquest by the Ottomans, the church became mosque and the gold mosaics and church decorations were plastered over. In 1935 as part of the new Republic, the Hagia Sophia was secularized and turned into a museum, at which time much of the plaster was removed to reveal the mosaics and earlier decorations.
The Hagia Sophia is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and it stood as the largest cathedral in the world for 1000 years.
The dome is 182 ft. above the floor, supposedly you could put the statue of liberty in here and she would just barely graze the top!
The architecture of the Hagia Sophia served as inspiration for many of the mosques in Istanbul and elsewhere
Marble and architectural pieces, such as columns, were brought from all across the empire in order to decorate and equip the structure.
Holy cat--Istanbul really loves cats!
The expansive dome appears to float above the walls as its base is lined with 40 windows. That might also explain why its collapsed two times during earthquakes.
Many of the gold mosaics were plastered over when the church was converted into a mosque. Much restoration (and debate) is going on to recover these adornments.
Sweet model of the Serpent's column (from the Hippodrome)...just thought I would show it
Southwest Entrance
Mary and Jesus being presented with the Hagia Sophia by Justinian (left) and the city of Constantinople by Constantine (right)
And one last look.
Break time! Honey, banana, and walnut crepe...mmmm
Then a stop over at the Basilica cistern (see previous post for more details)
Always with perfect lighting
The famous medusa bases
And of course we had to stop and play dress-up! Dad and his Turkish mustache
Then a little more shopping before our cooking class
Did you know there were carpet shops in Turkey?
Street Duck!
Ok now, off to our cooking class: Cooking A la Turk: http://cookingalaturka.com/
A dutch woman, who's been in Istanbul for about ten years running a cite little restaurant and a great cooking school. Terrie, my dad, and I joined a few other folks (dad and daughter from Minnesota, couple from Colorado, and three friends from England/Australia). It was great--we all helped make 5 delicious dishes (see below). After a few hours in the kitchen, we all set down and got to enjoy our hard work with wine and beer. On top of that, other people from off the street came in and ate our food too! And they paid for it! I think that means that I am basically a professional chef :)
This is the assistant chef and his amazing knife! I want this knife!
Look what it does to herbs!!!
Making cookie doughs and cuttin' onions!
Stuffin' eggplants!
Semolina cookies
There is a ridiculous amount of work that goes into making dolmas...but they are delicious!
You've got to line the pan before you steam them
and then weigh them down
lentil soup and syrup-soaking-up cookies!
Chopping garlic-I learned an amazing new technique! It has totally revolutionized my salads and pasta sauces!
Ok so here was our five-course menu!
Lentil soup
Zucchini Croquettes
Imam Bayaldi (stuffed eggplant)
Dolmas! stuffed with beef, lamb, and ric
Semolina Cookies.
So that was a pretty-action packed two days. With one day left, we decided to take it a little easier by going on a Bosphorus tour, wandering around my neighborhood a little, and then a small Thanksgiving dessert party with the fellows and some pecan pie!
Rumeli castle!
The Maiden's tower--my dad loved this place!
Topkapi in the fall
Texas Pecan Pie--courstesy of my parents and Goode Co.
Everybody brought some sweets.
It was a truly magical Thanksgiving--my first one out the country. I was so happy and lucky (and thankful) that my parents could be there and also so delighted that my Istanbul family was able to celebrate with me. Once most people had arrived we all went around the room and shared what we were thankful for and how we had celebrated Thanksgivings in the past. For me Thanksgiving has always been about family food, and a lot of travel between households. It was nice to just focus on the family and food this year. My dad ended by giving this maybe-just-a-little-eye-watering speech about how the first Thanksgiving was all about different cultures coming together to celebrate with one another. Well RCAC, mission accomplished. And then to really seal the deal, we watched a little football.
A great visit. I love visitors. I love parties. But it was good to see them off because I had a big deadline and a presentation on the horizon. But more on that soon...
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