Day 11: September 15, How Bazaar!

We started off the day by going to the bazaar district. As it was along the metro line, we were able to take the 100 % discouted student metro ticket on the way there. Ok, we walked.

Once there, we entered a never ending maze of shops and vendors. I was looking for a scarf and alicia was looking for a table lamp. The lamps were made of glass mosaic and looked especially beautiful when you entered a store full of them. We walked and looked for a long time, all the while with our bargining faces on. Unfortunately it didn't stop everyone from yelling "yes please," "hello," or just whatever english they knew when we walked by. We even had someone yell "1,2,3,4" to us yesturday. So once I'd found a gorgeous scarf, we grabbed a water (when its cold we call it nector of the gods) and headed to the spice bazaar. It was much smaller than the grand bazaar but we both thought it was really great. The spices, candy, and dried fruits all smelled amazing. So far Turkey's smells have caught my attention more than anywhere else I've ever been. We bought some dried dates, a few delicous walnut baklava morsels (tastes like the nut dessert for everyone who knows what I mean), and then some what turned out to be some not so delicious turkish candies. We can't help it when it comes to trying sweets. After having some tea, we decided to go back to the grand bazaar to find a lamp once and for all (and for a good price of course). At least looking is free everywhere, or so they all kept telling us.

By this time we were pretty tired, so we sat down by the ferries while we tried to figure out our next move. We wanted to see how we could take a ferry to the train station on the Asian side of Istanbul. While looking at ferry times, a waiter offered to help and to sit and have tea for free at the restaurant. In need of some refreshment and a bathroom we warily accepted. Turns out he was just trying to be nice in the spirit of Ramadan. After this we went to buy our train tickets to Ankara for the next morning at 10 am. But first we decided to check out this beautiful mosque that was right by the water. It turned out to be absolutely stunning. Unlike the Blue Mosque, right by the Hagia Sophia, this mosque was mostly decorated with painted tile rather than painted walls. It was smaller but it felt airy yet cozy. A good find overall.

From here we walked up towards Taksim square along the lively street from the night before to find the restaurant we never made it to. It was a little more expensive than we thought, so we went looking for another eatery. We found a place and ordered wraps with meat filling. It wasn't enough to fill us so we ordered a bowl of soup. They thought we were nuts for getting the appetizer after the main course. Oh well. The soup was delicious.

After dinner we checked out some turkish icecream. I have to preface this with saying that occasionally you will walk by an icecream vendor and they will stick a rod into the icream and pull the whole glob of it out and swing it around in the air a bit and then put it back. Turns out that their icream is like a frozen goo, and to eat it you can't use a spoon. You have to pretty much bite the icecream off. We both decided that the chocolate was the best if we had had to eat it again.

It was another long day. Check back tomorrow.
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