So here is my little blog to chronicle my adventures in Istanbul. I debated having separate blogs for random slices of life here and something which I really wanted to do, which was create a blog for cooking abroad. You know, recipes that work almost anywhere, exploring local fruits and veg as well as cuisine, and links to good resources. But then I realized that I probably won't post enough to justify two blogs. And I'll likely post a lot of "this is my life" stuff at first and then more "this is me cooking" stuff later, so I guess it'll work out. I mean, it will be vastly entertaining and incredibly interesting so you should visit all the time.
I had all these great ideas for posts in my head but now I can't think of any so I shall tell you about my day. (We're on holiday for Kurban Bayramı so I've been running around doing interesting and/or touristy things.)
I went to the Museum of Science and Technology in Islam which is awesome. Um... maybe not up everybody's alley though? Let's put it this way. Do you like looking at astrolabes? Would you enjoy reading a bunch of signs on the invention of algebra and calculus, even if there are few actual items to look at? If the answer is yes, then oh man do you need to go here. Also, it's super cheap ($2.50 USD) and short enough to do in two hours (um... probably shorter for normal people). It is located in Gühane Park near Topkapı Palace, in the old town area. (Note to admin at museum: Please let me correct the English on your signs. Please, it would be the culmination of everything I have ever enjoyed in my life. Oh, I could attempt to translate them into Russian, too! You wouldn't really have to pay me even, just let me live in your museum and throw me some bread once in awhile. Please.)
Then I wandered around the park but it was a bit chilly so I went to find a restaurant. At all of these places they have wait staff hanging around out front chatting you up, trying to pull you in. At the third I approached, a lady did the whole "Oh, where are you from" bit, I said I was American and she responded in kind, saying she was from Georgia. "Before Soviet Union Georgia."
I didn't know exactly what she meant so I replied (in Russian), "So you don't speak Russian then?" (Thinking maybe she meant her family had come over before the USSR.)
She just stared at me and her eyes got real wide and she said, "Of course I speak Russian. Uh... how do you know Russian?"
And then she praised my Russian skills so I had to go to her restaurant. Which was decent enough. Overpriced in general but cheaper than the other restaurants in the touristy area. I got free tea, yay. (They always offer me tea and it seems to be a crapshoot as to whether or not I'll have to pay for it. So far it seems young men that may or may not be hitting on me and kind Georgian ladies happy to speak Russian both give me free tea.) Anyway that was nice as I got to use more Russian than I did in some places in Moscow. She did inform me that there were no good Georgian restaurants in Istanbul, sadly. (But they do have pide here-- more on that later.)
It was here that my day took a turn downhill, sadly. I walked through the cold drizzle to the tram stop, was all excited that I got a seat right away, and this thirteen or fourteen year old kid sat next to me. He starts crowding me into the wall a bit-- I thought at first he was just being oblivious and rude as teenage boys sometimes are-- but no, he's definitely trying to feel my leg up. I unfortunately forgot how to say "You should be ashamed" in Turkish (it's definitely in my flashcards), debated saying it in Russian (it's scarier than English), and ended up going the language-free route of physically shoving him away from me. As he was only like 13, he got scared and ran off the tram at the very next stop. Teenage boys. Ugh.
(I would like to found a culture where men give up their seats to women AND they don't grope them on public transport. But if I have to pick one or the other, I'd prefer to not get my ass or thigh pinched, thanks so much.)
Then I braved The Mall. The Mall is scary because it is across a major thoroughfare and you have to walk up stairs and then across a really high bridge and then all the way back down and I am so terrified of heights you don't even know. I get vertigo really badly and often can't stand up straight. And I faced it ALL BY MYSELF, go me. I tried the elevator on the way up but it moved so slowly (and had glass sides) so it was actually scarier than the stairs.
Anyway. I went to MediaMarkt to find a charger for my camera because even though I found it at home and even put it aside I apparently neglected to actually pack it. So I have a camera with no charge and no way to put pictures on my computer even if it did have a charge. I finally found a guy who spoke English and he told me that even though they do sell a similar camera they do not sell the cables separately and I need to order them from the internet. Which means finding a Turkish site or waiting for forever to get one from... well probably from my parents because Amazon does not ship to Turkey. They ship to Russia now, but not Turkey. And it has to be sent to the central office and blah blah blah TL;DR it's going to be a pain in my ass.
I went to Carrefour (large fancy chain of supermarket), but even finding pesto (yay!) and cheddar (not so sure it'll be good...) could cheer me up.
Then I had to face The Mall Bridge all over again and tried to take a shortcut home because my feet hurt and my bags were heavy (buying all of your water + needing extra water due to meds = I should have awesome biceps soon). Of course I got lost. And this country is like most countries in the world in that apparently street signs are like taboo or something. Honestly, most differences and even the lack of things that I am used to don't really faze me, or if they do they don't certainly upset me. But I was lost and tired and I just wanted to punch Turkey in the face because there is absolutely no good goddamned reason why I should walk nearly a kilometer on a main road and not see a single goddamned sign to tell me what street I am on. I mean, really.
(So it turns out I was exactly where I thought I should be the entire time it's just that the route was longer than I had estimated. Whoops.)
I had all these great ideas for posts in my head but now I can't think of any so I shall tell you about my day. (We're on holiday for Kurban Bayramı so I've been running around doing interesting and/or touristy things.)
I went to the Museum of Science and Technology in Islam which is awesome. Um... maybe not up everybody's alley though? Let's put it this way. Do you like looking at astrolabes? Would you enjoy reading a bunch of signs on the invention of algebra and calculus, even if there are few actual items to look at? If the answer is yes, then oh man do you need to go here. Also, it's super cheap ($2.50 USD) and short enough to do in two hours (um... probably shorter for normal people). It is located in Gühane Park near Topkapı Palace, in the old town area. (Note to admin at museum: Please let me correct the English on your signs. Please, it would be the culmination of everything I have ever enjoyed in my life. Oh, I could attempt to translate them into Russian, too! You wouldn't really have to pay me even, just let me live in your museum and throw me some bread once in awhile. Please.)
Then I wandered around the park but it was a bit chilly so I went to find a restaurant. At all of these places they have wait staff hanging around out front chatting you up, trying to pull you in. At the third I approached, a lady did the whole "Oh, where are you from" bit, I said I was American and she responded in kind, saying she was from Georgia. "Before Soviet Union Georgia."
I didn't know exactly what she meant so I replied (in Russian), "So you don't speak Russian then?" (Thinking maybe she meant her family had come over before the USSR.)
She just stared at me and her eyes got real wide and she said, "Of course I speak Russian. Uh... how do you know Russian?"
And then she praised my Russian skills so I had to go to her restaurant. Which was decent enough. Overpriced in general but cheaper than the other restaurants in the touristy area. I got free tea, yay. (They always offer me tea and it seems to be a crapshoot as to whether or not I'll have to pay for it. So far it seems young men that may or may not be hitting on me and kind Georgian ladies happy to speak Russian both give me free tea.) Anyway that was nice as I got to use more Russian than I did in some places in Moscow. She did inform me that there were no good Georgian restaurants in Istanbul, sadly. (But they do have pide here-- more on that later.)
It was here that my day took a turn downhill, sadly. I walked through the cold drizzle to the tram stop, was all excited that I got a seat right away, and this thirteen or fourteen year old kid sat next to me. He starts crowding me into the wall a bit-- I thought at first he was just being oblivious and rude as teenage boys sometimes are-- but no, he's definitely trying to feel my leg up. I unfortunately forgot how to say "You should be ashamed" in Turkish (it's definitely in my flashcards), debated saying it in Russian (it's scarier than English), and ended up going the language-free route of physically shoving him away from me. As he was only like 13, he got scared and ran off the tram at the very next stop. Teenage boys. Ugh.
(I would like to found a culture where men give up their seats to women AND they don't grope them on public transport. But if I have to pick one or the other, I'd prefer to not get my ass or thigh pinched, thanks so much.)
Then I braved The Mall. The Mall is scary because it is across a major thoroughfare and you have to walk up stairs and then across a really high bridge and then all the way back down and I am so terrified of heights you don't even know. I get vertigo really badly and often can't stand up straight. And I faced it ALL BY MYSELF, go me. I tried the elevator on the way up but it moved so slowly (and had glass sides) so it was actually scarier than the stairs.
Anyway. I went to MediaMarkt to find a charger for my camera because even though I found it at home and even put it aside I apparently neglected to actually pack it. So I have a camera with no charge and no way to put pictures on my computer even if it did have a charge. I finally found a guy who spoke English and he told me that even though they do sell a similar camera they do not sell the cables separately and I need to order them from the internet. Which means finding a Turkish site or waiting for forever to get one from... well probably from my parents because Amazon does not ship to Turkey. They ship to Russia now, but not Turkey. And it has to be sent to the central office and blah blah blah TL;DR it's going to be a pain in my ass.
I went to Carrefour (large fancy chain of supermarket), but even finding pesto (yay!) and cheddar (not so sure it'll be good...) could cheer me up.
Then I had to face The Mall Bridge all over again and tried to take a shortcut home because my feet hurt and my bags were heavy (buying all of your water + needing extra water due to meds = I should have awesome biceps soon). Of course I got lost. And this country is like most countries in the world in that apparently street signs are like taboo or something. Honestly, most differences and even the lack of things that I am used to don't really faze me, or if they do they don't certainly upset me. But I was lost and tired and I just wanted to punch Turkey in the face because there is absolutely no good goddamned reason why I should walk nearly a kilometer on a main road and not see a single goddamned sign to tell me what street I am on. I mean, really.
(So it turns out I was exactly where I thought I should be the entire time it's just that the route was longer than I had estimated. Whoops.)
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