No body's business but... mine

I went to Istanbul (not Constantinople- sorry but I had to) last week.  It was good. I have the time to write all about it because somehow I caught a very disgusting stomach thing.  It could be a combination of trying everything anyone gave me at the Grand Bazaar and Egyptian Spice Market or my roommate, Anna had caught something from her 2 ½ year old brother which she suffered from toward the end of the trip.  I don’t know but it has definitely calmed me down for these two days. It’s fine though.  A few weeks ago, I was complaining to Alex, about the Globul thing and some other things that were going wrong, and I asked him why do things have to be so fucked up.  And he responded, so that you recognize when they are not.  This was the best advice I had heard in a long time.  So when I am completely on the mend, I will recognize it and be so happy that I am keeping food down and no longer a fevered mess.

1. I have met many Europeans and they have all mentioned KenLee- a Bulgarian girl on an Idol-like show singing Mariah Carey.  Everyone knows it and loves it.  I am never on YouTube just surfing but just in case you have never seen it please check it out.

2. Don’t compliment people’s (read: my) teeth.  It’s too weird and makes me feel like a horse.  Some of my time here in Sozopol but ALL of my time in Istanbul, people were obsessed with my teeth.  And asking if they are real or what I do to them or pulling someone over and saying hey show this guy your teeth is not a compliment.  If I talk about my teeth, I will have a dream about them falling out and they hurt in the dream and then hurt in life.  It is nerve racking.  Say nice smile and that’s it. Honestly, you could say nothing and just be kind to me and I will be happier.  Finally, I am darker, so I think it’s just contrast anyway and that my teeth aren’t nearly as white as I would like them to be.

3. Istanbul is chaotic. It is only about commerce. You can pay for anything using any legitimate currency: Turkish Lira, US dollar, BG Lev, Euro.  Because they knew I was American, they gave me the price in dollars. I think its odd to not value your own nation's currency above another's. I took out Lira at the ATM, so I was using Lira.  And I had to haggle for everything.  The merchant gives an incredibly elevated price and then I have to half it and people are giving me tea and messaging my shoulders. I was way too handled. I don’t like my shoulders to be bothered and someone to be behind my back. I was uncomfortable the whole time.  I lost an earring in the sea at Sozopol and so I was hoping to buy 2 pairs of gold hoops but I couldn’t find them. This is mainly because I wasn’t allowed to look in silence and think. As soon as I turned my head a bit, people were asking me where I was from, what’s my name, do I want some tea and tampering with my shoulders!  I bought spices, a dress, a shirt and a carpet bag. I also bought some jewelry, Turkish delights, and key chains for gifts. But I am really sure that part of my current unease, comes from the stress of the purchases.  The landscape is not so lovely either.  I have become accustomed to seeing Mt. Vistosha or some lovely natural thing and I didn't in Istanbul. Just stores and the streets were littered with individual vendors, selling bootlegged or stolen or fake goods.  There was nothing beautiful to look at- save the Bosporus which was heaven.

4. In the Columbo episode “The Bye-Bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case” a member of a mensa-like club kills a fellow member and best friend.  Of course, the murderer looks at Columbo and thinks he’s an idiot. He’s poor and scruffy and not a member of the club. But as the episode continues, he realizes that Columbo is brilliant and at the final scene he gives him an IQ test.  It is one of my favorite scenes of all the Columbo episodes.  The murderer is bemoaning being born smart and how he had no friends (although he fails to mention that he murders his friends) and then Columbo talks about working hard and trying, keeping his head down and being a good person. It is a lovely scene.  But the IQ test is which one does not belong: uncle, asphalt, delight, leave.  The answer is asphalt because there is Dutch Uncle, Turkish Delight, and French Leave.  That episode ran through my head the whole time I was in Istanbul, it was great.

5. The trip was an early birthday gift to myself.  There was a good deal and there was a guide.  Stefan, the guide was Bulgarian but he lived in the Czech Republic for some time and knew German. Along with him was a girl who was Bulgarian but spoke Polish.  So I and this Swedish guy were the only people on the bus that needed English, which Stefan spoke.  It was really weird. After the two groups were spoken to, the Swedish guy and I had to walk next to the guy and get the info.  We had a lovely boat trip through the Bosporus.  We went to the Blue Mosque and stayed at a nice hotel.  We had typical Turkish dinner.  I went to Hagia Sofia on my own and the Archaeological Museum, which I will discuss below.  There were lots of different kinds of people in Turkey.  It was so nice to see Asians and Africans and Indians. But I must look American because I was still getting more attention than I warrant.  They must have thought I was rich.  But the very best thing to come out of my trip was I met and befriended some really nice Russians.  My roommate, Anna lives in Saint Petersburg and since I never made it up there this year, she has welcomed me anytime in the fall.  This is ideal.  I so badly want to go there. And she was so nice and normal and we have the same general temperament.  She was traveling on her own as well. She is staying at some other city along the Black Sea Coast in Bulgaria, an hour or so from Sozopol.  I met this other couple as well.  They live somewhere that wasn’t Moscow or St. Petersburg but I am invited to their place too. And the whole time I was on this excursion, I was recalling the old me. I found my old self! I was missing her for over a year now. I knew that I could make friends and be a pleasant person to be around. I am funny and kind and interesting. I knew it! I look back at my early posts and I feel so sorry for that girl.  She didn’t trust herself; she didn’t trust others.  Graduate school must really be hard. I didn’t know it then, but it must have been quite unbearable. 

6. The Museums were ok. I might be over late antique and byzantine stuff. I like Diocletian and Julian but Istanbul wasn’t really my thing.  I am so glad I went and of course things were beautiful but it is really difficult for me to imagine that city in antiquity. Maybe I don’t like it when East meets West. Mosaics are great but only when the colors are vibrant. The gold is nice but, I just wasn't awed.  So the group was going to the Aquarium. But I didn’t want to do that because I have gone to the Aquarium in Baltimore and because I am in love with that city, I refuse to see another aquarium anywhere else in the world.  Baltimore’s is just heaven.  So, I had 4 hours to play on my own.  And I was happy for the time alone. There are lots of things on my mind and I wanted to not shop in the city and see if I could like it.  Unfortunately, I was bothered by this guy, Senol. He is a dancer and quite arrogant.  He gets in free to the museums so it was not a problem for him to follow me.  I told him about my blog and he insisted that I take his picture.  I told him I would but that I would write that he was a jerk and kind of ruined my only time in Istanbul alone.  He didn’t mind, he just cared about the picture.     

The following pictures are out of order but show most of my trip

This dog followed us and protected the group with barking. Stephan makes this same 3 day trip, twice a week.

Inside the Blue Mosque

Egyptian Obelisk

Inside Grand Bazaar

Bosporus bridge

Bosporus

Old fortress at the Bosporus

I tried everything. I couldn't help it. This is why I am sick

I cook with salt and pepper. I didn't even know some of these spices existed

Anna- my St. Petersburg friend and Istanbul roommate

My biggest problem: All men carried loads on their back with that pulley. It drove me crazy.  It was heavy and cars were about to hit them and they were about to hit me. It is so hectic. I was sitting in front of hotel for 2 min, and these are the pictures. 2 guys seated behind are waiting for their loads.

I am allergic to cherries.  Not as bad as soy but my throat gets irritated and my ears itch. Sometimes my nose runs.  I bought these cherries, big and beautiful and so sweet on my outing day.  And I was a mess the whole time. I was sneezing and my eyes were watering.  Every time I put one in my mouth, I was cursing myself.  Even Senol, who couldn't get enough of me, was slowly finding me repellent but those cherries were so good 

Senol- The Jerk

Him again

Anna again.  At this point, driving back she is a bit sick getting what I later got

This is Tatiana and her husband who invited me to their place.  I should have taken a picture of the whole group because they were all so nice to me.  And when Stephan forgot to speak to me in English they would tell him to repeat for Whitney.  I actually exchanged Skype addresses with almost everyone. Of course I will be happy to admit that this is also about coming to the US and staying with me in New York, which is fine.  I can be used like that.