Mid-section, Istanbul

(I know this is way overdue....I've been home over two weeks now!)

The midsection of my time in Istanbul was just as busy and enjoyable as the first few days. On Friday, Baris and I headed to Büyükada, the largest of the Prince's Islands. It was a nice boat ride out, and it took about an hour and a half.

On the ferry to Büyükada

 We were interested to see what the island was like, as we knew there were no motor vehicles allowed. The main methods of transportation are horse and buggy, bicycle, and feet, of course! We'd been given conflicting reports as to the status of the horses on the island. One source had told us to expect a certain manure stench to emanate from the island, while another claimed that the real horses had been replaced by electric horses. I know, this seems an unlikely story, but our source (Arda) insisted he had heard that the carriages were now being drawn by some sort of fake horse. I can't describe our anticipation as we approached. I mean, an area with no cars is interesting enough in itself, but to think we might actually see electric horses...Istanbul was getting wilder and wilder for me. :-) Baris was on high alert as the boat docked. He says that he stared intently at the first couple of horses he spied, just to see if there was an ear twitch or tail flick. And there were both twitches and flicks coming from the real-life horses harnessed to carriages. What a disappointment...no motorized horses. So, we opted for a real horse and buggy ride. We jumped on and headed into and up the island. The goal was a monastery perched high on the island's peak. The buggy only took us most of the way there, and we still had a one kilometer high (pretty much straight up) to see the monastery. It was tough going in the extreme heat, but we made it to the top and spent more than a few moments enjoying the amazing views.

Buggy-ing it up

VERY sweaty at the top

We rewarded ourselves with a lovely lunch and some lokma (deep-fried dough balls, yum!) before grabbing the ferry back to Istanbul. And now for another cultural aside. Let me tell you about the stray dogs and cats in Istanbul. They are everywhere! You cannot walk five minutes without seeing at least three cats. In this heat, they were usually lounging in odd positions on stairways, sidewalks, and patches of grass. (How uncatlike of them, I know.) The cats were never a problem for me, save the one who quasi-pounced on me during dinner one night. No harm done, but I sure yelped. :-) The dogs were a little more intimidating, and there were a few moments when Baris and I had to steer clear just in case they were unfriendly. Apparently the city's process for fixing and vaccinating the dogs is quite efficient and effective. I escaped unscathed by the animals, and I will admit they add a certain something to the wildness of Istanbul.

Baris and Arda. Apparently neither of them can smile like normal boys. 

Out for soggy hamburgers (so good!!) and yogurt/water/salt drinks.

That night we met up with Arda again, and we definitely let him know he had some faulty info regarding the status of horses on the island. He swears he wasn't pulling our legs, but I'm not convinced. :-) We spent the evening enjoying some food and drinks, of course, and somehow we ended up at a reggae bar. That's a first for me. "Rasta Cheryl" was unleashed. Must say I never imagined I'd be doing it up reggae style in Turkey. The surprises just keep coming!

Saturday was a pretty chill day. We slept in and then headed to the mall. The highlight was eating Iskender, a mixture of melted butter, tomato sauce, thinly sliced beef, melted butter, yogurt, melted butter, bread and melted butter. Did I mention the melted butter? It was delicious, although I think it took me a week to digest the meal. I joked with Baris that I'd have to claim a pound of butter at customs on the way home. This was one of my favourite dishes, but I don't think I could manage it too often (without looking like a pound of butter, at least).

Me and my Iskender....

Back at home Baris' mom, Suheyla, read our cups. The tradition is to enjoy a lovely cup of Turkish coffee, then you turn the cup upside down on the saucer and let the grounds cool. Suheyla examined the pattern of grounds on the sides of the cups, dumped the grounds from the plate back into the cup, then looked at the plate. It was really interesting, and we'll see if any of her predictions come true. (I can't tell you what Baris' future will be like; they spoke in top-secret Turkish for his reading. :-))

That night we headed out with a whole gang of B-man's friends for some drinks. Dinner wasn't really on our minds as we were still stuffed from our lunch. We spent a few hours enjoying a rooftop terrace, and then stopped for some soup and Turkish pizza on the way home. While we were slurping away at our soup, I said "yum yum", and Baris informed me that that means cannibal in Turkish. Hmmmm... This prompted me to poll the group to determine what one says (or grunts or moans or utters) in Turkish when something is delicious. I was surrounded by six Turks who all thought deeply for a moment and then performed their unique variations on "Mmmmmm..." These involved some stomach patting or rubbing, some head bobbing, some smiling. It was a great moment. It's not very often you see six people making the same gestures while going "mmmmmm." It made me laugh hysterically.

Some of the gang...Baris has known most of them since elementary school. 

We hopped in a cab, and I instantly started complaining. I was so tired and just wanted to be in bed! It was after 4, and my collective exhaustion was at a high. Baris let the cab driver know our destination and we sped off on what should have been a 20 minute drive....but ended up being about three times as long. The road we needed was closed for construction, and the taxi driver wasn't sure of another route, so he just started driving. This might be an effective approach in a city where the streets are parallel and perpendicular to one another, but it wasn't getting us anywhere in Istanbul (or rather it was getting us everywhere in Istanbul, except for home). You should take a look at a map of Istanbul....it looks like a giant plate of spaghetti pre-sauce. We finally realized the driver had no idea where he was going. Baris convinced him to stop and ask for "directions"; this happened at least three times before we arrived anywhere near our destination. As soon as we were close enough to walk we paid the driver and leapt out of the cab. We still had a 15 or 20 minute walk, and I recommenced my complaining. I think Baris was slightly annoyed (but not really), as he threatened to turn me over to the police or feed me to the dogs or give me to the spirit of Atatürk if I didn't stop. We FINALLY made it home at about 5:30 and I was out like a light.

On that note I'll quit for this post....and save the final two days for a final post!

TTFN