Ladies of Ambiguous Nationality

After spending time in Spain, Portugal, and Turkey, it has come to my attention that I am the proud owner of ambiguous nationality. And Joan is as well. In Spain, it's normal for people to assume I'm Spanish (I've even been told my introductory phrases sound legitimately Spanish...the basic, hi, i'm sarah, where are you from?, y cosas asi).  In Portugal, that didn't change. Joan and I were believably Portuguese.  In Istanbul, yet again, that didn't change. We were Turkish. Well, Joan more than I. Apparently she not only looks possibly Turkish, but legitimately Turkish.  And I'm believably Turkish. So when you're a Turkish man, trying to get the attention of 2 tourists in the Grand Bazaar, what language do you use? We occasionally got English, but we also got Turkish, Spanish, Italian, and French thrown at us. 

There's something about being a very dark-haired American that makes touring easier...I honestly believe it. If you're a tall blonde walking around Turkey, no one will ever think you're Turkish and you will probably always stand out.  But we could blend, and it makes things fun! It's also fun to make it into a game: Go up to a stall in some bazaar and look at something they're trying to sell. Don't say a word. Watch the vendor struggle with deciding which language to throw at you when they desperately want to convince you to buy that necklace you're looking at. And then see what they finally choose. Great fun!!!

So as you've gathered, I just spent 5 days in Istanbul! It was really cool! The city is huge (Sevilla=faux city, Lisbon=clean city with history, Istanbul=legitimate huge occasionally dirty city with lots of history), but I felt safe the whole time.  We stayed in Sultanhamet, the area of the city with all of the historical sites: 

a.) Blue Mosque: We went twice. The first time, it was PACKED. There was a sign saying that women should cover their heads (we were prepared with scarfs) and wear skirts below knee length (not sure if I own a skirt of that length), and that everyone should take their shoes off. The only thing enforced was the shoes...tons of women were wearing pants and no one (except Muslim tourists) covered her head.  So Joan and I went with the flow. It's beautiful on the inside...tons of teeny blue intricate tile designs.  There's a section for visitors and a section for worshippers coming to pray.  I personally found that it put the pray-ers on display for the foreigners, but I can't assume that they felt that way.  The second time we went was a completely different vibe.  It had very few visitors (apparently the cruise ship folks come in the morning), and most of the women there covered their heads. Joan and I followed suit.  We also were able to just sit on the floor and soak in how beautiful everything was.  Superguay.

b.) Hagia (Aya) Sophia: It was built in like the 4th century as a church, eventually converted into a mosque, and now is a museum. Also superguay (english: super cool).  Huge, awesome decorations, beautiful, the whole shebang.  We did the whole audio-tour thing, which was relatively informative.

c.) Basilica Cistern: a huge underground room filled with columns built forever and ever ago (6th century during the Byzantine (Christian) Empire) for the purpose of storing water.  When the city became Muslim, it wasn't used because Islamic societies use running water, not still.  It's creepy down there, but has 2 random columns with giant Medusa-heads (one upside down and the other sideways).  

d.) Topkapi Palace: big old palace that various sultans lived in a long long time ago.  We decided to go for paying for a tour guide, but Istanbul has an interesting system.  Random guides come up to you while you're waiting in line and try to convince you to pay them for a tour. At the Hagia Sophia, Joan and I were skeptical of this method, but realized that those are the only guides you can get; the various sites don't offer guides through the museum.  It was interesting to have a guide, but I definitely took some of what the goofy man said with a grain of salt!  Topkapi Palace is made up of lots of parts: 4 courtyards, the parliament building, a kitchen, the huge harem, etc.  The guide spent a decent amount of time telling us that he could not fulfill our fantasies; the sultans did not have hundreds of concubines! But...well, they did have hundreds of women living and educated in the harem.  The sultans mother would choose which (up to 4) he would marry, and which would actually be his concubines (in the normal sense of the word).  The palace also has several rooms filled with various treasures...including the spoon-makers diamond, I believe the 4th largest in the world.  There's another series of rooms with various religious relics, including (supposedly) Abraham's staff, Muhammad's footprint, locks from his beard, etc. There was no background given on the history of acquiring these relics, so I'm rather skeptical, but it is definitely interesting (for a religion major) that even though I might be skeptical, other people really believe that those relics are what they say they are, and really care about seeing them.

So these sites were all within 2 minutes of each other and within 5 minutes of our hostel! Great location, but also obviously a very touristy area.  But you could easily escape the touristy area to do things like...EAT. Joan and I ate some of the best food ever. Turkish food is incredible, it really is.  

One day, we went down by the water (the "Golden Horn") to get some fish, as our hostel recommended. Literally, there're a bunch of boats with bizarre designs rocking with the force of the waves.  There are about 5 men on each boat cooking fresh fish like crazy.  You walk up under a pavilion, ask for a sandwich (or put up 2 fingers to show that you'd like 2 since you don't speak Turkish), pay about $2, and they throw a piece of fish on good bread with some lettuce. If you can find a table (think baby-sized, with little stools around it), you sit down and put some lemon juice and salt on your awesome fresh-fish sandwich.  Men are walking around selling drinks and fried dough with pistachios (the favorite nut of Turkey).  We had both.  When you walk across the bridge next to this awesomeness, you find tons of men fishing. Some have even set up little bridge fishing stores, with bait, hooks, etc.  Then on the other side of the bridge, you have fresh fish for sale, more men cooking fish sandwiches (but with little grills on land, not on a boat), and some fish "restaurants" attached to the fish market.  So good. Joan and I are happy that we both really like fish.

We also ate the world's best baklava. Baklava is EVERYWHERE in Turkey. And there're so many different types!  One restaurant is known to have the best.  People order like 4 pieces (minimum...for one person!) and sit there chowing down, while Joan and I managed 2 each. We decided we were dieting compared to these folks!  We tried the famous Turkish coffee there, too.  If you like REALLY strong coffee with NO cream, you might like Turkish coffee. But don't try asking for it with milk in most legitimately Turkish places...they will look at you sadly and explain that there is no coffee with milk. It's Turkish coffee.  

Kebabs and Meatballs. So good. The Turks love their lamb, and I personally love the Turks for their love of lamb. And they use yogurt as a sauce for this lamb. And they love eggplant.  All so delicious.  

One day, Joan and I took the public ferry....to Asia.  Istanbul is a city split by the Bosphorus, and on the west (where all the historical sites are), you're in Europe. On the eastern side, you've made it to Asia! We went to a restaurant we found on a blog called IstanbulEats.  More delicious Turkish food involving lamb and yogurt, and more happiness!! I'm now 5 continents down and still counting.  Although, I guess you can't really count an hour and a half in Asia and a day trip to Morocco when I studied in Cadiz last summer.

So now to analyze the religion in Istanbul! Allegedly, Turkey is like 99% Muslim.  Only about 30% of the women cover their heads.  It's illegal to wear a headscarf in public institutions in Turkey, but women absolutely wear them in the streets.  It's interesting to see that most who do want to cover themselves do so well, without any full hijab.  They'll wear a headscarf, wrapped up very neatly, and a long coat, that at least goes down to their knees, if not to their ankles.  A wise woman named Riley Brigham once told me that Istanbul is so hot in the summer. "Hotter than Sevilla."  I shudder to think of wearing a long coat (no matter how thin the material) in heat worse than Sevilla's.  In any case, I didn't stand out as someone with free-flowing hair.  There were plenty of women with head-scarves, but more without!  So I really didn't feel uncomfortable, not even once. Plus, I'm believably Turkish :)

And a last thought, the Grand Bazaar and Spice/Egyptian Bazaar are awesome.  And they know they're awesome and that they're appealing to tourists. Even still, it's fun to go and buy gifts for friends and family!!

So now I'm back in Sevilla, enjoying a week here (for the most part).  Our group is staying one night in Granada, and I get to hang with mah girl CoCo Corinne Hester!  It'll be my first Davidson contact in a long time!  Then on Wednesday night, I head to Barcelona to spend the weekend with Rachel Kilman!! Yay Davidson all over the world!!!