Istanbul: March 5th

Monday morning we visited Bahcesehir University, a private university in Istanbul, for a lecture on the position of Greek minorities and women in Turkish society.  The presenter focused a lot on identity and how where we come from shapes a large part of that identity.  Very interesting stuff.

Afterwards, we were treated to a delicious rooftop lunch at the university.  The terrace we were on was absolutely gorgeous and had a perfect view of the water.  Since the weather was incredible, we enjoyed our time basking in the sun.

Notice that I'm not wearing a jacket in those pictures.  It's been a LONG time since that has happened, and it felt incredible.  If hanging out on the terrace wasn't awesome enough, our next activity was a cruise down the Bosphorus.  We boarded this enormous ferry-sized ship, and moments after we were all on, it pulled away from the dock.  We had the entire ship to ourselves!  It was like three floors, had a bar, and lots of comfortable lounge chairs.  Koray took to the microphone and provided us lots of informative commentary, as well as entertainment as always.  

Taking to sea (er, strait) with Conflict & Migration

All. to. ourselves.

Molly and Laurie taking a break from their usual shenanigans for a picture :)

Bridging the gap between Europe and Asia.  Literally.

Sarah enjoying the sun.

So yeah, the cruise was incredible.  Such a beautiful and relaxing way to spend an hour and a half floating between two continents.  Not real life.  Oh, and here's a quick video.  Ignore my nerdy commentary and my Philadelphia accent.

After the cruise, we boarded the bus en route to a surprise visit, which turned out to be the Greek Orthodox Patriarchy.  Basically, the Vatican of the Greek Orthodox church.  Lots of interesting issues come up when you consider that the headquarters of the church is in Istanbul and not somewhere in Greece.  Also, it comes without the hype and fanfare of the Vatican in Rome, tucked away on a small street in a traditionally minority neighborhood.  This visit was great for my small group focus, as we were focusing on Greek/non Muslim minorities.  

Outside the church

...and inside

 After taking a look around the church, we went outside and took a short walk down the street.  Like I mentioned before, it's largely a minority neighborhood, and conditions are very different from many other parts of Istanbul.

Hollowed out house

Finally, it was back on the bus to head to Biligi University, where we watched a video on Turkish politics with some students there and then had the opportunity to discuss key issues.  Aside from discussing politics, it was a great way to ask questions about Turkish culture and student life in Istanbul.  Afterwards, the students joined us for dinner and a group of them invited us out that night.  We accepted, and they took us to a bar that was converted from an old apartment building.  The room we were sitting in was furnished just like a living room, complete with couches, bookcases, and a TV cabinet.  Very cool atmosphere.  I also finally got to try the local pilsner, Efes!

Serefe!  Skål!  Cheers! 

Like I said, we went out right after dinner.  Probably like 7pm.

...The beauty of this was that Grandma Tara still got to go to bed at a decent hour

Istanbul: March 4th

Day 2 began the way most mornings on study tour do- with a delicious hotel buffet breakfast.  I've come to embrace and truly enjoy the spread of lunch meats, vegetables, and pastries that usually fill these buffets.  It sounds sarcastic, but I'm actually serious.  After nomming, we met up with Koray who would be guiding us all around the city for the day.

Oh, and this is the view of the sprawling city we saw every morning :)

To make our time in Istanbul easier, we were provided with convenient transportation cards, similar to those on the T in Boston.  They were loaded with money, and all we had to do was tap it before boarded a trolley, tram, bus, or ferry.

The tunnel tram- 2nd oldest in the world next to London!  This little guy helped out so much when traversing the steep hills of Istanbul!

We headed over to the Sultanahmet area of the city, where the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, and Hagia Sophia are all located.  So much history in such a small space!  The Hippodrome, which used to be a large stadium seating 100,000 people, has pretty much been dismantled, pieces of it being used to construct other buildings in the city.  

The original floor of the Hippodrome

As Koray shared a bit of this history with us, something life-changing happened!  A little street vendor approached our group, carrying what appeared to be thin bagels on a large stick.  Our class was unsure about this, and I was prepared to ignore this man completely; however, our professor explained that the man was selling "simit," a traditional Turkish street snack, like the soft pretzel of Philadelphia or the hot dog of Copenhagen.  He graciously purchased a few for us to sample, and since then, I have never been the same.

Bagel/Pretzel hybrid covered in sesame seeds.  THE GREATEST SNACK

...And for just 1 lira, you could pick up a simit at one of these many stands all around the city.

Alright, back to history and moving past the snacks.  We visited the Blue Mosque first, which is the largest mosque in all of Turkey.  It's called the Blue Mosque because of the original blue paint and tile work inside.

Right across the way is the Hagia Sophia, which started out as a church during the time of the Byzantine empire.  It's an enormous building, and it was constructed in just 5 years!  After 916 years, it was converted into a working mosque for another 481 years.  Now, it's a museum of sorts and attracts tons of visitors every year.

The face is evidence from the days when it was a Christian place of worship, as Islam doesn't allow human figures in mosques, etc.

From above.

After a packed morning, it was time for lunch.  A few of us set out down a small side street, where we were beckoned by a waiter from every single restaurant.  Although a little overwhelming and unexpected at first, we were finally sold on a restaurant that promised a roof top terrace with a view of the Blue Mosque.  It didn't disappoint.  And the food was pretty delicious too.

Thennnnn we met up with our class again to visit the Topkapi Palace, the former residence of the Ottoman sultans.  It's now home to collections of jewels, weapons, and the most beautiful tile I've ever seen in my life.  (Regardless of the fact that this tile is located in the former harem where all the sultan's 300 concubines lived.)  

 

 
AH so much blue and green and teal.  All my favorite colors.  The pictures don't do it justice.

We had some more time to explore, so we took that opportunity to stop for some Turkish coffee!  I had been super excited to try it- it's a lot different from normal coffee.  It has a much stronger flavor, combined with a semi-sandy consistency, and it's served in an adorable little cup.  The idea is to finish your coffee, then turn the cup upside down on your saucer, wait a minute or two, and then read your fortune via the coffee grounds.  It's an acquired taste, but I enjoyed it.

Somewhere in there, I saw an ice cream cone.  I wonder what that says about my future..

The next stop we made was the Basilica Cistern.  With only 20 minutes before it closed, we decided to duck in, and I'm SO glad we did.  It's basically a huge underground room that was discovered while the city was doing unrelated construction.  And it can hold a ridiculous amount of water.  The atmosphere was so cool, and they had really ominous/new age music playing in the cool darkness.  

Down in the Cistern, we ran into a bunch of our classmates and we all met back up in front of the Hagia Sophia to walk to the Suleymaniye Mosque, then to a performance of the Whirling Dervishes.  The whole tradition is a ritual dance based on Sufism. 

As they spin, they keep one hand up to God, and the other down to distribute God's goodness to the earth.

Incase you're still curious, I was able to get a short video.  Enjoy.

Phew, well there you have my whirlwind first day in Istanbul.  SO MUCH FUN.  But don't worry DIS, academics started bright and early on Day 3...

Istanbul: March 3rd

I'm finally back from a much needed week of traveling!  It felt so good to be out and about in the world again, and my travel bug is officially back.  This semester for long study tour, I was lucky enough to get to travel to Istanbul with my Conflict & Migration program, and I am definitely in withdrawal from the magic in this exciting and enchanting city.  Going into this trip, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had heard only good things.  On our trip, we would not only get to experience the unique culture of this city, but also take a more academic approach, looking at how the meeting of Eastern and Western culture in the city affects the balance of the population.  Eventually, our class is going to write up a new "mock" constitution for Turkey, addressing the concerns which we would witness first hand.  We were broken up into groups to examine specific aspects, and my group's task was to observe Greek, Armenian, and Non-Muslim life in the city.  Armed with some key preliminary research, we were ready to start our adventure.

Day 1 wasn't nearly as dramatic as last semester, as I all my toiletries managed to make it into my suitcase, and I didn't have to take another 6am frantic run back to the apartment.  Fortunately, our flight didn't depart until 12:30, so my housemate Molly and I were able to stop for coffee on our walk to the Metro and actually made it to the airport before anyone else in our class- YAY punctuality.  After meeting up with our classmates, checking out bags, making it through security (where I was pulled to the side to be patted down/tickled to death) we boarded our flight, which treated us to a delicious meal of mushroom ravioli.  Before we knew it, we landed in Istanbul!

Soon after, we met up with our guide for the week- Koray.

From the start, Koray proved to be the most entertaining tour guide ever.  He and our professor go way back, so he's been helping out with DIS study tours for a while.  On our bus ride to the hotel, he gave us plenty of practical information about Turkish culture, including a warning against making flirtatious eye-contact with people out at the bars, as this could be perceived as overly suggested.  Unfortunately, this tip lead to everyone in our group avoiding eye-contact at all costs and probably looking crazy.  Oh well, better safe than sorry.

Our hotel was gorgeous, and in such a great location.  We took a short walk to the main walking street, where our restaurant for the night was located.  On the way there, we witnessed a minor fist-fight on the street (the cause of which Koray explained probably had something to do with someone's mother being insulted, I guess "Yo Mama" jokes aren't appropriate in Turkey?).  No worries though, we arrived safe and sound and began my favorite part of study tours- DINNER.

The first dinner was a bit eclectic and included an assortment of spreads, fried fish, and mystery fruit saturated in honey, but it was tasty nonetheless!

The world's best baba ganoush! 

Tiny little fried shrimp

Little fishy who you were supposed to eat, bone and all.  I did some dissecting instead..

After dinner, it was time to get some rest before our packed day of cultural visits!  ...But not before stopping and picking up our first authentic Turkish delight from the candy store we would continue to frequent for our five days in Istanbul.

Here comes the sun!

I'm done a busy week of midterms, and I'm ready to kick the winter blues and welcome spring to Copenhagen!!  Lately it's been cold and rainy, which has rendered me cooped up inside my apartment.  Today, however, was the most gorgeous sunny day that it left me filled with lots of hope, lots of fresh air, and lots of vitamin D!

......just in time for long study tour, where Conflict and Migration will be visiting a city where it's been snowing all week.  What a swap.

Can't complain though- I'm so excited to be traveling again.  I'm ready for more adventures!