Handmade rugs, apple tea, Sufis, and Harry Potter

So the last 2 days have been pretty fun! The second day in Turkey, I just hung around the ship recovering from the last month of non-stop going!! Semester at sea really wears you out, but it’s so fantastic! After recovering all day and just hanging out with a few friends, I had an FDP to a Sufi Dervish ceremony. It was really cool. We went to this building with a dome roofed that was an old Turkish bath. IT had tapestries hanging from the wall and was lit by red lights. In the center of the floor was a round stage with colored lights around the outside and a section in the corner where the musicians/singers sat. It definitely was not what I was expecting. There were 4 guys singing/chanting and then 4 guys playing different instruments. They started off with a song where the singers and the musicians all played then one guy chanted a section of the Qua’ran. Then the dancers came out in white skirts and vests and a black robe. The whole ceremony was really interesting. I had never really watched any videos of it except for a few short videos in class. It was really interesting comparing it to catholic religions ceremonies. We even had a chance to talk to one of the dancers at the end and it was great how he explained what the symbolism was in the ceremony. They are taking knowledge from their God and giving it to the people – one of their hands is facing the sky and one looks like it’s dropping something. Learning about everything first hand was really great. Haha again there are just no real words to describe this trip and Turkey in general!

Yesterday I went to the Bazaar from around 9:30-2:00pm. It was so overwhelming! There are over 4000 stores there! I picked up a few gifts and things for my apartment. It’s really fun bargaining with the people selling things. I’m getting a lot better at it. Some of my friends are really good at it and get things for really good prices. You just have to be really sure of yourself and not settle for anything. Most of the time they are making money anyway, so it’s easy to just walk away, usually they yell a better price after you. But there are so many places selling the same thing everywhere, that you can just shop around for the best price and the nicest salesperson. We hung out with this one jeweler yesterday. He was listening to some Reggeaton! It was really fun talking to him and listening to music. We had an authentic Turkish lunch. It was pretty delicious. We got french-fries and they came with mayo and ketchup. The ketchup definitely wasn’t Heinz. It had an interesting tang to it… We then walked around some more and went back to the ship to get ready to see Harry Potter.

The trip to the movie theater wasn’t bad. We took the tram, but it really wasn’t necessary. A few of us walked back to the ship after the movie and it took maybe about 35 minutes. But it was SUCH a nice night outside. Yesterday was really nice. It was overcast and way cooler than it has been, which was definitely a relief. And it’s only going to get hotter… and hotter… and I’m going to have to cover more and more. Fun stuff!! Anyway, we went to the theater, got our tickets, which were cheaper than seeing a movie at home (I’m beginning to see a trend in this in Europe.. tickets are far less expensive.. but that may be because they all have subtitles.. or the US just likes to overcharge for movie tickets). Regardless, we were early and so we walked around, bought some Turkish delight and then got some authentic Turkish ice cream. Don’t think I’m going to attempt that again. It has marshmallow in it to keep it harder and stay on the cone. It is the weirdest consistency ever and expands in your stomach when you’ve finished eating it. So it feels like you ate way more than you actually did. An experience certainly…

The movie was OK. They left out a LOT. I’m not going to say anymore though, just in case you haven’t seen it yet.  We headed back to the ship and now here I am! Everyone went to the bazaar again this morning or to see the mosques and such. I wanted to avoid spending money, so I refrained from the bazaar and since my tour the first day was soo good, I have seen all of the mosques and the historical sites. This isn’t really a great city for wandering around alone, but everyone will be back soon and I have some papers to write! Woo hoo! Good thing they are interesting papers to write and not lab reports!

Tomorrow I might hit up the bazaar for some last minute things. We’re going to a hookah bar tonight to just chill near the ship. It’s going to be fun I’m definitely looking forward to it!!!!

I really love Turkey and am going to need to come back here!! I want to make it to Cappadocia eventually and to visit the Asian side of the city/country. Probably my favorite country so far. I do love Croatia and felt very at home there, but I don’t think I had the authentic Croatia experience there and I know I’m going back there. Turkey just has so much history and such huge cultural differences. It’s so great!!!

Anyway, off to stop procrastinating!