Twenty One in Turkey

  Midterms should always be rewarded with a week long escapade in Turkey.  That's a fantastic stress reliever, though doesn't motivate homework that is due before our adventure in Turkey.  All that reading went out the window, because I was boarding a plane no matter what I read.  Or didn't read....Anywhoo, everyday was very much action packed.  Also, I counted this trip as a kind of birthday present to myself, as I turned 21 the day before departure.

21 Baby (Not 12, Hebrew reads right to left...
Bask in my culturalness)

We sure got our money's worth on this little trip.  We had a guide to instruct us along with our knowledgeable professors.  My favorite part about Turkey was the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Wait, the private sunset Bosphorus cruise. Okay, scratch that-seeing the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque in person instead of in a textbook. Maybe seeing Troy was pretty neat too. Or eating Dundrum (chewy, sticky marshmallow ice cream) outside of the Pergamum.  Also, the genuine fake watches in Ephesus.  There were several surprising observations on this trip to Turkey that were revealed.  One major one was the fact that I still have friends despite the long bus rides in which I fell asleep and various classmates encountered the "Emily is not a morning person" phase.  So that was cool.  Lucky for me, this was an 'out of country' field trip so we were allowed to listen to our ipods.  Thank heavens.  Bus time resulted in many hilarious stories, and also gave a sharp insight to a lot of people.  At one stretch, we played "iPod Idol" where students willing volunteered to blast their iPod headphones and sing into the bus's microphone, for the 'enjoyment' of all the other riders.  Also, some girls wanted to make things interesting and painted some sleeping boys' nails black.  It was fantastically funny. We must have supported the local population of tiny Turkey towns on the money we spent on these delicious chocolate filled shortbread cookies and coke. And Magnum bars.  Us kids love those Magnum ice cream bars.

Istanbul Glamour Shot

  Onto more important details-I found the best baklava.  I did it.  In the Hamdi Restaurant in Istanbul, we found it.  I haven't yet been able to eat the pistachio baklava in the Old City, but I'll probably succumb.  But man, oh man, it felt good to find that little gem.  I highly recommend all the bazaars in Turkey.  My favorite parts was the food-surprise surprise.  I found these delightful dried figs and this amazing apple tea I had sampled earlier in the week.  Unfortunately for my family, the figs did not make to Jerusalem. They taste like fig newtons, but 200 grams is 2 dollars.  Sweet.  The mosques I think were my favorite part about Turkey.  I loved all the tiles in the Blue Mosque, and just seeing the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque right across from each other was pretty cool.

Blue mosque-Also all my really cool friends

The really neat thing about the mosques was how it captured the slice of the Muslim culture.  I loved putting on the headscarf and taking off my shoes to walk around on the padded carpets.  The bazaars were so cool-we found the silk market of the Bursa Bazaar and had a mad dash through the crowded aisles in order to make the bus on time-running through the bazaar last minute is up there on the list of “coolest things I’ve done”.  

I have been a bit melancholy about missing fall in Utah because it is my favorite season.  I adore my wardrobe, the weather, the food (that’s a surprise) and the general atmosphere.  But to my surprise, Turkey reminded so much of a solid Utahn autumn, but so much cooler.  The leaves were just about to change, and the weather was cool, but the afternoons were warm when the sun hit your face.  Dark evenings city streets were lit up with pinpricks of cigarettes smoked by the little red and white striped stands of men roasting chestnuts. It was a bit sad to leave Turkey, I had become quite attached to both the big cities, the little European/Asian influenced towns and looking at the window on long bus rides, rocking out to some pretty chill music.  Our flight landed pretty late, and after a stressful time crunch through security and an hour delay, we got into the Jerusalem Center around 2 am.  It was a strange sensation to walk through the Tel Aviv airport thinking, “It’s good to be home”.