Day 56 to 58 Turkish Delight

Hello again!

I am now in Turkey, Istanbul to be exact, and it is beautiful here! The chance to finally put my university degree to use is a real treat, and seeing all the places I studied has been really cool. Aside from the history, Istanbul is a very large city of 20 million, and there is so much to do and see!

I got in fairly late on Saturday, and after paying my 45€ visa fee, caught the quick and simple metro system to Sultanahmet square, the old city, where I wandered around until I found my hostel. I wasn´t thrilled with the place, pretty bare bones, but a nice man from Singapore took me around the area and ended up buying me dinner - a lovely surprise as I was starving! There I had my first taste of apple tea, which tastes a whole lot like traditional apple cider (though not like the hard kind... which I am really missıng!). I had a good sleep there, but decided to switch to another accomodation. When you travel alone ambiance can make or break a city, and I wasn´t about to let Istanbul get ruined by boring surroundings!

I found then the Old City Esma Hostel, which was very close by. Though a little pricier, it has a bar and the staff is really friendly. There are also more travellers to meet up with! I wandered around the city areas, going into Taksim where I managed to land myself smack dab in the middle of a protest! The government has passed a law requiring the euthanization of all the stray cats and dogs in the city, which I can tell you is a lot. Thing is, the people (and tourists) like the animals! People still honour the belief that cats are favourited by the dieties, and they all look sleek and well-fed, almost as if they are the pets of the entire neighbourhood! I am of course loving the abundance of kitties, being the crazy cat-lady-in-training that I am!

I also hit the Spice Market near the harbour and the Galata Bridge. Going from Kenya to here has been a big adjustment, but not more so than in the area of the food. Here there are spices galore, and every kınd of dried fruit and nut imaginable! The array of Turkish Delight candy is incredible, and the amount that I was given for free is even more so! I picked up some apple tea, some cute little perfumes, and of course a pair of harem pants which I am thrilled with!

I got back to the hostel and was invited by the owner to dinner, which turned out to be in a really nice place. We had steak, which is cooked on a hot slab of marble, and was served with olives and a great antipasto plate. Afterwards we went to an old university to smoke the water pipe, and then exhausted I turned in. Long day for me! Especially when I am used to going to bed before 9 in Kenya! Dodo has promised to set me up wıth ceramics and scarf wholesalers so that I won´t pay tourist prices for all the goodies I want to get home, hooray!

I am going today to the Grand Bazaar with a lovely German girl who I met here. I am also going to spend the day researching buses around the rest of Turkey, as I really want to go to Ephesus, Kas, Olympus and Goreme! I have plenty of time, a fact for which I am grateful. I´ll return to Istanbul for 2 nights before I leave for Poland (laden with things I believe!) but in the meantime, I´m going to explore what I can. Tomorrow I´m hoping to visit a traditional hammam and get the full Turkish bath experience.

I hope everything is good at home, I´m starting to miss all my Canadian quirks, and even little things make me nostalgic now... ah well, two months down, two to go!

I´ll write soon, tata for now!