Take me back to Constantinople

I apparently have been quite busy since the last time I blogged. I no longer can remember when I did certain things and am surprised I have almost been here for a week. It seems like longer than that but oh well. I'll go ahead and give you a synopsis of the shenanigans I've gotten up to here.

Sunday: Walked to Ortaköy, a 40 minute walk from Bebek along the Bosphorus. It was a gorgeous day but kind of windy which kind of took away from the beauty of walking along the Bosphorus. Ortaköy is located right near the bridge to Asia and every Sunday they have a market where "locals" (it's kind of an ambiguous term) come and sell their wares. We stopped and ate kumpir (koomp-ear) which are giant baked potatoes that they basically pile whatever you want on them. They mash the actual potato part a bit but it's not as soft as mashed potatoes (though they melt cheese and put that in there-delicious!). I had corn, peas (...sorry, mom), lots of cheese, and some kinds of sauces that I have no idea what they were but they were indeed delicious. We ended up shopping at the little market where I bought a very nice, hand-stitched scarf that is (of course) Carolina blue and white and several other shades of blue for about 8 lira (less than $5). We ended up taking the bus back to Bebek and stopping at a delicious dessert place where they make their own chocolate. It is the oldest pastry shop in the area and possibly the entirety of Istanbul-it was founded in 1923. We had a delicious tiramisu and gawked at the chocolate. I was internalizing my desires to drool over the dark chocolate selection. We met a Turkish man there who was also an American citizen who goes to Miami when it gets too cold in Turkey. He was very nice and not in a creepy way, either. He told us rules about tipping here-very rarely do you tip more than 5% but at most places, you do not tip more than 10% and it is perfectly acceptable to not leave a tip. Very different from the US.

Monday: Went to pre-registration and got my student ID # but not the ever-important student ID (travel is cheaper in the city with an ID). Very simple and kind of a waste of time. Found the good coffee/pastry shops on campus but they are probably relatively over priced. I met with a bunch of other exchange students from around the world but there were too many to list here. We walked down the giant hill from Etiler (my neighborhood) to Bebek (...I seem to spend a lot of time in Bebek) where we took the bus to Ortaköy again. We ended up taking a cruise (like an hour long boat-ride) on the Bosphorus which was gorgeous with the sun setting. Ortaköy has a very beautiful mosque that I have taken many pictures of but have not actually been inside. Go figure. After getting off the cruise, we took the bus back to Bebek and thought it would be a good idea to walk up a giant half-mile+ hill with a steep incline back into campus. It had a gorgeous view but my calves were not very appreciative. We had dinner at a local bar/cafe/restaurant near campus that is located at the top of a building and has very gorgeous views but is over-priced.

Tuesday: Went to breakfast (...at noon?) and had tost, which is similar to grilled cheese but with crispier bread and is cooked more of a panini style. You can get it with spicy sausage or without, and I went without. It was delicious and cheap, which is always a good find. We took the bus to a metro-bus (kind of like a tram) stop where we went to Sultanahmet, a very old part of the city. The infamous Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (pronounced Aya Sophia) are located there. We entered the Blue Mosque and had to remove our shoes and carry them in a plastic bag as well as wearing head scarves (though this was a bit more arbitrarily enforced). I legitimately have no words to describe how gorgeous the Blue Mosque is-inside and out. Pictures do not even come close to summing it up, either. You'll just have to go for yourself and see! After going to the mosque, we stopped to get some döner wraps (I got chicken-tavuk) and baklava. I think this may as well be my last blog entry as I will gladly become a homeless peddler in exchange for eating delicious baklava all day for the rest of my life. They seriously do not even come close to making baklava like this in America. After gorging on baklava, we headed for the Grand Bazaar. It is indeed quite grand and a giant maze. All the different shops were selling similar things-knock-offs, lamps, bowls, scarves, and the random gold shop here and there. I bought a small hand-woven change purse (as my wallet is too bulky) for 2 lira (less than $1.50) and a small keychain for the same price. Another person haggled at a scarf shop for 3 100% cashmere scarves for 70 lira (less than $50). I remember where that shop is and will undoubtedly return if you'd like to put your orders in (seriously. It's low tourist season now and things are cheap so...if you want souvenirs, let me know). After leaving the Grand Bazaar, we took the tram and the bus back to campus (...almost 2 hours worth of travel due to awful traffic-should have been maybe half an hour). We got back to campus and had dinner near where we had breakfast. I found another cheap staple called lahmacun (lock-muh-joon-the c is equivalent to the j sound). It's almost like pizza-crust dough with mixed herbs, spices, tomatoes, and other crushed up things spread on top. They give you tomatoes, lettuce, lemon juice, and parsley to garnish it with. You wrap it up and eat it wrap-style. It is definitely one of my favorites.

Today (Wednesday): Took a friend to try lahmacun. Always good to spread the word about cheap, good eats (especially if you get similar knowledge in return!). We went to orientation which was very self-explanatory and kind of pointless as they directed all questions to their website anyways. We went to an exchange student dinner that was kind of cafeteria style but was held on top of a building with one of the best views of Istanbul. The sun was setting and I kept internally berating myself for not having my camera on me. Travesty!

I uploaded photos from the above antics to the link that I posted last.

I really love it here. Given, there are things that are very different from Chapel Hill but it's been so fun to explore around the city and meet new people. I think things will be nice when classes start, though. Very few Turkish students are here and my apartment area (it's prison-like, really) is empty.

I hope everyone at home is well (and watching the UNC game...so jealous)! Feel free to Facebook me/Skype (kellyyahner) for more stories/updates and things as updating this blog regularly probably will not happen. And really, if you guys want things from here, let me know. I'm awful at giving gifts and you're all going to get something so you might as well tell me what you want (especially pattern/color-wise for scarves). That's for you, Gretchen.

İyi geceler!