Saturday in Istanbul

I forgot to write about what I did last night. I had a Turkish bath at the Cemberlitas Hamami, which was built in 1584. I was bit hesitant, given that I had no idea what to expect, but after traveling like this I have become accustomed to occasionally throwing caution to the wind. It turned out to be one of the more awesome things I have ever done. The men’s and women’s areas are completely separate, with only men working in the men’s area and only women in the women’s area. You go to your locker, put on your bottoms, and go lie on this huge, naturally heated marble slab. It is crazy relaxing. Before long, a Turkish woman comes over with a bucket of warm water that she got out of the small bathing fountains in this very large, circular room. She grabs the exfoliator that each person is given at the entrance, and proceeds to scrub you down like you haven’t been scrubbed since you were 4 and your mother threw you in the tub after you spent all day playing in the dirt. You get the idea. Then the lady takes you to the fountain, where she washes your hair and sticks your head under the fountain. She then proceeds to dump buckets of fresh water on your head.


Then you can go swim in the pool, or get in the naturally heated hot tub. I elected to also have a massage, facial, and have my nails done. Total spoilage. It was heavenly, and I felt squeaky clean when I left. There are many, many reasons to come to Turkey, and the Turkish Bath experience ranks near the top.

I loved the separate gender envioronment, because I was able to observe different generations of women, young girls with their mothers and grandmothers, all hanging out on a Friday night at the bath together. Islam emphasizes cleanliness, and thus these bath served a very important purpose before most people had the ability to bathe at home. The one I went to was commissioned by Nurbanu Sultan, the wife of one Sultan and mother of another, and built by the famous architect Sinan, who did some of the mosques around the city. The domed ceiling in the heated room (the sicklik) above the heated marble slab, called a gobektasi, had little stars that allowed in a tiny bit of light, giving the impression of having lit stars on the ceiling. Even though I was there by myself, I loved observing all these women there together, and loved feeling a sense of camaraderie with all the women who have come to this hamami since 1584. The women who worked there, realizing I wasn’t Turkish, spoiled me like crazy, checking out my blue eyes and trying to guess where I was from. French and Russian kept coming up; no one guessed American. I had heard that sometimes the women who work there like to sing, but I didn’t hear any of that. I would do this again in a heartbeat.

When I came back from the hamami, I was surprised with presents: a Turkish flag, and a framed photo of Attaturk. Awesome. We went to dinner in the Sultanhamet neighborhood.

Saturday AM

Against my better judgement, I signed up for a tour. I detest organized travel tours. I don't even like cruises for many of the same reasons. I thoroughly researched the do it yourself ferry system but given that I had begun to feel I was crunched for time (there is so much to do here) I felt it might be more efficient to take a tour.

The tour began early this AM with a cruise on the Golden Horn (the inlet that divides the European sections of Istanbul), followed by a cruise on the Bosphorus (which divides the continents of Europe and Asia).

After reboarding the bus, we went to the house where Pierre Loti (a 19th c. French writer) lived. His home is now a cafe and has a beautiful view of the European side of Istanbul. I purchased some of Loti's books (I love travel literature) and then we took a cable car down the mountain, travelling over thousands of graves carved into the hillside.

I have really gotten into the Turkish coffee.

After driving around and viewing the old city walls, which date to the Byzantine Era, and the Aqueduct of Valens, we drove to what was described in our tour brochure as "optinal shopping opportunity."

This optional shopping opportunity was not really optional, and included a full on fashion show with "beauitful Turkish models" at a Turkish leather outlet. I was followed entirely too closely by this salesman who knew I was American. Although I was deterred from buying anything by my forced visit to the fashion show and outlet, the salesman who followed me sealed the deal. There was no way I was going to buy anything in this place. Some of these people just went nuts when they recognized 2 Americans.

After the fashion show, we drove back to the boat to have lunch. It wasn't bad. Then, we drove to the Dolmabahce Palace.

I was extremely excited abut visiting this palace. For several years now, I have been semi-obsessed with Mustafa Kemal, more commonly known as Ataturk. This man really deserves a separate posting.

So, this palace is where Ataturk lived in his last few years and the tour included his study, bathroom, and the bedroom where he died in 1938. The clocks remain stopped at 9:05AM, the time he died on November 10, 1938. His bed is covered by a huge Turkish flag and a Turkish carpet/rug with his depiction hangs next to the bed. It is a beautiful palace built as a summer palace in 1843. It is only used for very important state events now. The most recent event held at the palace was when Obama came to Istanbul in 2009.

After we left the palace we got back on the bus to cross the Galata Bridge and then the bridge over to Asia. I had never been to Asia before and so I was looking forward to this. On the way over, traffic was heavy and moving very slowly but drivers were still being very aggressive (drivers in Istanbul seem to be crazier than Ukrainian drivers).The Asian side of Istanbul looks very similar to the European side, except it seems to have more green spaces. I enjoyed our brief trek over to Asia.

Rest of day:
Shopped at Arasta Bazaar behind the Blue Mosque. Had coffee and tea and nargileh while watching a whirling dervish at Cafe Mesale. Looked at more rugs. Had dinner rooftop overlooking the Hagis Sophia and the Blue Mosque. The service was bad bc our server (who I heard speak at least 4 languages that night) kept flirting with the 2 British young women backpackers at the table beside us, but the view of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia was excellent.

I am in Asia!!

I think these massive, inflated (they are hollow) pieces of crispy bread are fascinating.

I still love this place. It is Saturday night and I have one day left in this amazing city. We have lots planned!

Observations: Cats everywhere. Love the call to prayer.