While the girls explored the Asian side by boat with some other hostellers, I stayed close to my temporary home. I chilled out at a local cafe talking to an Asian guy from Australia that used to live in England for couple of years. Good convo, but the purpose was to hook him up with a very close gay friend of mine back in England. He did not seem that interested in my friend. His loss. The rest of my time was spent finishing up Harry Potter. Great book! One of the girls is pissed that I read the last book without reading the two previous books. Oh well. My intention to buy the last three books in hardcover form, since I have the first four back home in the States.
Once the girls came back we packed up our rucksacks (aka backpacks) and headed out the door. We had to take two local trains to get to the bus station. We paid for our bus tickets to Skopje which is located in Macedonia. The bus (think Greyhound) was more comfortable than I expected, however it had a deficiency in its design.... no bathroom. As I had hoped there were stops along the way. Unfortunately toooooo many stops. How the hell is someone supposed to sleep on a 12 hour overnight bus trip if there is an almost 2 hour stop at the Turkey/Bulgaria border! I was so damn tired of getting off and on the bus as well has having to give up my passport and wake back up again to get it back. Ugh! Oh let me tell you about the bathrooms. So at the Turkey/Bulgaria border you have to pay to use the bathroom. The bathrooms were nasty and would you be surprised about the lack of toilet paper. Not I. I was prepared...baby wipes are blessings from on high. I did take a pictures of the bathroom sign, the bathroom, the toilet and the guys out front who collected your money. We had to get off the bus again at the Bulgaria/Macedonia border. This time we had to take our stuff from the storage area on the bus and put them on tables. I was a bit upset that no one checked our stuff, but more happy that I did not have to unstrap my rucksack. I got a chance before heading back on the bus to do a quick swish in the mouth with some toothpaste. Loved that minty flavor.
Once we made it into Skopje we took another bus ride, this time only 30 minutes, to Tetovo where a friend of mine is in the Peace Corps. He was not in town yet when we arrived, so we hung out at some local cafes. Lemme just say that Tetovo is not on any tourist map. It is a small town with mosque and a couple universities. Nothing really going on out there. I think that we actually shook the town up. Folks were probably calling there friends to tell them about the wierdos wearing backpacks walking through town. Also...just in case you were wondering...no one looked like me at all. So I know that the majority of folks were checking me out in all my luscious goodness enclosed in sweaty clothes.
We met my friend at a bus stop near his home. This is only after one of the girls had a beggar child attached to one of her legs. I mean attached like his arms and legs were wrapped around her leg. I had to extract him after she called out my name in fear. I was not very social worky extracting him considering the language barrier and locals in their cars just staring at us. I will just say that he and the other beggar children left us alone. This incident happened after the girls gave food to two other beggar children who then told a friend.
Anyway, my friend, who will hence be called Gandhi, had another friend in town visiting him as well. Another Peace Corps volunteer on vacation from Dubrovnik (located near Croatia). One of Gandhi's local friends came by to say hello. So me, the girls, Gandhi and his two friends enjoyed a lovely evening at his home. We (or should I say I) did a bit of drinking while eating some delicious nachos. The best part of the night for me, had to have been finally being able to take a decent shower. That is after I cleaned the bathroom. Gandhi's definitely is living a bachelor's life.
The night ended with me falling asleep on the couch in a drunken stupor. Lovely way to end an exhausting day.
Ok, so here's the story line. Roughly 1 year ago, an amazing woman from South Central Los Angeles decided after receiving her Master's degree to expand her horizons and venture off to London. So over the course of the next couple of years she will hope to bring two continents together through the eloquence of her words...ok that is complete and utter bullshit! Your not doing shit so just stay a minute for the hell of it!
Location: In a London borough not far away from 3 tube lines, England
About me: 1. Lover of all things Chocolate 2. Terrified of Texas flying Tree Roaches 3. New lover of roundabouts 4. The world is my oyster...w/out the fishy smell 5. God, does not like ugly...so rearrange yourself and your face
Monday, August 13, 2007
This morning we got up and headed to the Blue Mosque, which was closed for prayers. We did get to peak through the windows like the nosey, disrespectful tourists that we are. The mosque was absolutely beautiful. No, I did not have a spiritual awakening, but I was definitely overwhelmed. It was huge and the architecture was awe-inspiring. The reason it is called the Blue Mosque is because the tiles are blue. (See your history lesson below.)
We then headed off to the Grand Bazaar. Basically it was a big indoor shopping centre with a maze of little shops selling you the latest designer knockoffs. Anyone need any Prada, Dolce, Chanel, or Gucci? It was disappointing, because I stupidly thought that I was going to find merchandise from the locality. I went looking for a water pipe, a gift for Jackie, and something touristy for one of the kids I work with. If yall ever go, be prepared to haggle your ass off. So I found a cute blue/yellow water pipe for 65 lira-- I paid 25 lira. I found some cute brown knockoff Pumas for 55 lira---I paid 30 lira. I got Jackie's gift, now I just need her address. (JACKIE, I NEED YOUR ADDRESS! LOL!) . Please don't think that you won't find Turkish scarfs, clothing, rugs and knicknacks, but just be ready to be overwhelmed by the western junk.
After the Grand Bazaar we headed for...gasp!...gulp!...Starbucks. I personally was ready to sit at a cafe under a leafy canopy surrounded by some local folks. However the girls needed sustinence and coffee. So we chilled out with our desserts, iced caffeine and read our books. Around 7pm we headed back to the hostel to meet up with some folks that were interested in doing a fieldtrip to the Turkish Baths. The girls bailed on me at the last minute due Aunt Flo paying them a visit. So I headed off with 19yr old chick from Canada that had just checked into the hostel and about three guys. Once at the Bath we separated into our respective gender specific areas. Me and the youngster were not pleased when we realized that we had to get butt ass naked for the Bath. Poor North American females are not automatically able relinquish our cloth armor that protects us from showing the world are not so perky breasts, chubby guts, thunder thighs, stretch marks, and cellulite. Oh well when in Turkey do as the Turkish. LOL! So after giving the 19yr old a pep talk and bestowing on her the wealth of my 11 extra years of wisdom...we...gulp...shed our towels and laid butt ass naked on a circular marble platform with all the other naked women in the room while our bodies sweated profusely. Very liberating experience. Yes, there were some beautiful women with bodies I would have killed for in the room, but there were more regular 'love handles' having women there as well. So the expectation is for you to lay out for a bit on the marble while you sweat. Then a woman wearing only panties slaps you either on the leg or the ass and gestures for you to move to the edge of the platform. She scrubs (exfoliates) and washes you without placing her hands in those 'wait til the lights are out' areas. You could have her wash your hair, but yall know me...that shit was not happening. Yes, I was the only person in the room that looked like me and had a nipple ring. Talk about standing out. The 19yr old and I both left feeling clean and relaxed. We felt that we had a accomplished a great feat that we would rub in the faces of our North American friends in order to show just how worldly and culturally adept we were at having a Turkish Bath. So...ha!
Once back at the hostel we each shared our experiences with the other hostellers. The guys I went with were not that impressed with the Bath and wanted it to be longer. So once conversation moved on to other topics, I turned my attention to reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Gallows. I only stopped reading to take pictures, sip on some alcohol, and have short chats with folks nearby.
Blue Mosque History Lesson
After the humiliating Peace of Zsitvatorok and the unfavourable result of the wars with Persia, sultan Ahmed I decided to build a large mosque in Istanbul to placate Allah. This would be the first imperial mosque in more than forty years. Whereas his predecessors had paid for their mosques with their war booty, sultan Ahmed I had to withdraw the funds from the treasury, because he hadn't won any notable victories. This provoked the anger of the ulema, the Muslim legal scholars. The mosque was to be built on the site of the palace of the Byzantine emperors, facing the Hagia Sophia (at that time the most venerated mosque in Istanbul) and the hippodrome, a site of great symbolic significance. Large parts of the southern side of the mosque rest on the foundations, the vaults and the undercrofts of the Great Palace. Several palaces, already built on the same spot, had to be bought (at considerable price) and pulled down, especially the palace of Sokollu Mehmet Paşa, and large parts of the Sphendone (curved tribune with U-shaped structure of the hippodrome). Construction of the mosque started in August 1609 when the sultan himself came to break the first sod. It was his intention that this would become the first mosque of his empire. He appointed his royal architect Sedefhar Mehmet Ağa, a pupil and senior assitant of the famous architect Sinan as the architect in charge of the construction. The organization of the work was described in meticulous detail in eight volumes, now in the library of the Topkapı Palace. The opening ceremonies were held in 1617 (although the gate of the mosque records 1616) and the sultan was able to pray in the royal box (hünkâr mahfil). But the building wasn't finished yet in this last year of his reign, as the last accounts were signed by his successor Mustafa I.
Labels: Turkey
posted by ReJoYcE at 2:51 pm
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Sunday, August 12, 2007
Well the flatmates and I have just arrived at the first leg of out eastern europe trip last night. We are currently in Istanbul, Turkey. To be more specific Sultanahmet. So the itinerary is for the three of us to stay in Turkey until Tuesday. Then we will take a bus to Tetovo to see my friend Blake who is a part of the Peace Corps in Macedonia. We will hang out with him until Friday. Blake and I will travel to Bulgaria, where I will take a flight back to the England. The girls will continue on to Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia.
So the plan today is to visit the Blue Mosque, Roxelena Bath, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi palace and the Galata Tower. The trippy part is that we will be able to travel over the Galata Bridge in order to cross over into Asia. Look at me touching down on multiple continents. One of my flatmates just joked that that we should take a boat ride to Africa.
Well I gotta go...will give an update later.
History Lesson
Istanbul historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; is Turkey's most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. The city covers 25 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus strait, and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world which is situated on two continents. In its long history, Istanbul (Constantinople) served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330-395), the Byzantine Empire (395-1204 and 1261-1453), the Latin Empire (1204-1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453-1922).
UPDATE
Okay so it is going on 6pm out here and I am beat. We made it to Hagia Sophia and the Galata Tower. Yes I did cross over into Asia. We walked by the Blue Mosque and the Roxelena Mosque. We put off going to the Topkapi palace until tomorrow, because we are exhausted. The whole point of going on vacation is to relax. So that is my plan for the rest of the evening. To chill out, read and have a couple of drinks. I might even fit in dinner.
So the plan tomorrow is to make it to the Grand Bazaar to do a little shopping. I am in the market for a water pipe. I priced one today at 30 lira. Which is roughly 10 pounds or 20 dollars. British pounds go a long way out here. We are also going to visit the places we missed out on today. At the end of the day we are heading to the Cemberlitas Bath aka Turkish Bath. There is a hot area where you are supposed to sweat out the impurities in your body. Then comes the massage. I am so excited!!! The cost is about 40 lira.
I will catch up with yall tomorrow.
So the plan today is to visit the Blue Mosque, Roxelena Bath, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi palace and the Galata Tower. The trippy part is that we will be able to travel over the Galata Bridge in order to cross over into Asia. Look at me touching down on multiple continents. One of my flatmates just joked that that we should take a boat ride to Africa.
Well I gotta go...will give an update later.
History Lesson
Istanbul historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; is Turkey's most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. The city covers 25 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus strait, and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world which is situated on two continents. In its long history, Istanbul (Constantinople) served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330-395), the Byzantine Empire (395-1204 and 1261-1453), the Latin Empire (1204-1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453-1922).
UPDATE
Okay so it is going on 6pm out here and I am beat. We made it to Hagia Sophia and the Galata Tower. Yes I did cross over into Asia. We walked by the Blue Mosque and the Roxelena Mosque. We put off going to the Topkapi palace until tomorrow, because we are exhausted. The whole point of going on vacation is to relax. So that is my plan for the rest of the evening. To chill out, read and have a couple of drinks. I might even fit in dinner.
So the plan tomorrow is to make it to the Grand Bazaar to do a little shopping. I am in the market for a water pipe. I priced one today at 30 lira. Which is roughly 10 pounds or 20 dollars. British pounds go a long way out here. We are also going to visit the places we missed out on today. At the end of the day we are heading to the Cemberlitas Bath aka Turkish Bath. There is a hot area where you are supposed to sweat out the impurities in your body. Then comes the massage. I am so excited!!! The cost is about 40 lira.
I will catch up with yall tomorrow.
posted by ReJoYcE at 9:27 am |
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