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I've been back home for a couple of days now, and am starting to recover from my whirlwind month of travel. I don't know if I will ever get around to writing a detailed synopsis of my trip, there was just too much, but overall it was fabulous, particularly Istanbul. Istanbul rocks! You all should go. Amsterdam was also great, so it was good to begin and end on high notes.
I have as many memories about great food on the trip as great art. There were some fabulous art highlites such as the Vermeers in the Netherlands, the Ghent altarpiece, the Klimts in Vienna, and the Aya Sophia in Istanbul. But also some great meals, notably Indonesian food in Amsterdam, Indian food in a 50s style restaurant in London (more yummy residue from colonialism), and Ottoman type food our last night in Istanbul. Not to mention the kebabs, described by the lone guy on the Turkey portion of the trip as "the closest thing to an orgasim that this trip has provided". I told time by the kebabs, they are all over the place, huge vertical rotisserie sticks piled high with slabs of meat, that they just shave off when you want a kebab. In the morning they are huge, sort of like the top portion of an exclamation point, and as the day progresses they become thinner and thinner until only the skewer is left. Mmmmm kebabs (and I'm not a big meat lover).
Besides mosque-viewing, the Istanbul portion of the trip provided us with a lot of time to "experience the culture" i.e. shop and go out. Major shopping purchases included an (expensive in my world) handmade Turkish carpet. It was a long involved buying experience which included lots of apple tea, but the rug should last me for 80-90 years and is only the second new item I've ever bought for our apartment (the first being our bed). I also bought Denis a pocketwatch made in the former USSR. It's very cool and pocketwatches ended up being the popular gift for loved ones among our group.
I also tried two new drinks: fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice and raka/raku (can't remember the exact name). The juice was fabulous, very rich and tart. The other is the national alcoholic drink of Turkey. It's clear, but turns milky-white when mixed with water (which is how it's served) it's also served with a glass of water because you must chase it after each sip. It's licorish flavored (like Jagermeister aparantly, but I've never tried that). I was the only person in the group who liked it, it was like drinking black jellybeans, but it was also deceptively strong, after two glasses I was qute drunk.
I also went to a Turkish bath (which as my prof. pointed out is totally for tourists and something no self-respecting Turk would ever do). I looked at it as a cheap spa treatment for tourists rather than something authentically Turkish. It was heavenly.
For 25 million lira (about $16) I got a bath and massage, which means you undress (I was a prude and left my panties on) go into this big room and lie on a raised circular heated marble slab with all the other women. It's steamy like a sauna and had a domed roof. Then a middle-aged Turkish woman in black bra and panties comes and dumps warm water on you, then massages/scrubs you with a loofah (I could see 3 weeks of travel grime come off my skin), then covers you in these huge fantasy-type bubbles and massages you all covered with soap, then washes your hair and rises you off and leaves you on the slab. It was great, like being a little kid and being washed by your mom. Your're all warm, comfortable, unself-conscous about your nudity, and being told what to do in a very professional yet maternal way (i.e. roll over, sit up). I felt so much better afterwards.
It's great to see Denis, but I do wish I were still in Europe. In a perfect world Denis would just come to Istanbul and we would continue on from there. No homework looming in the future (classes start on Thursday).
More trip details will probably emerge in later posts, but that's all for now.
I have as many memories about great food on the trip as great art. There were some fabulous art highlites such as the Vermeers in the Netherlands, the Ghent altarpiece, the Klimts in Vienna, and the Aya Sophia in Istanbul. But also some great meals, notably Indonesian food in Amsterdam, Indian food in a 50s style restaurant in London (more yummy residue from colonialism), and Ottoman type food our last night in Istanbul. Not to mention the kebabs, described by the lone guy on the Turkey portion of the trip as "the closest thing to an orgasim that this trip has provided". I told time by the kebabs, they are all over the place, huge vertical rotisserie sticks piled high with slabs of meat, that they just shave off when you want a kebab. In the morning they are huge, sort of like the top portion of an exclamation point, and as the day progresses they become thinner and thinner until only the skewer is left. Mmmmm kebabs (and I'm not a big meat lover).
Besides mosque-viewing, the Istanbul portion of the trip provided us with a lot of time to "experience the culture" i.e. shop and go out. Major shopping purchases included an (expensive in my world) handmade Turkish carpet. It was a long involved buying experience which included lots of apple tea, but the rug should last me for 80-90 years and is only the second new item I've ever bought for our apartment (the first being our bed). I also bought Denis a pocketwatch made in the former USSR. It's very cool and pocketwatches ended up being the popular gift for loved ones among our group.
I also tried two new drinks: fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice and raka/raku (can't remember the exact name). The juice was fabulous, very rich and tart. The other is the national alcoholic drink of Turkey. It's clear, but turns milky-white when mixed with water (which is how it's served) it's also served with a glass of water because you must chase it after each sip. It's licorish flavored (like Jagermeister aparantly, but I've never tried that). I was the only person in the group who liked it, it was like drinking black jellybeans, but it was also deceptively strong, after two glasses I was qute drunk.
I also went to a Turkish bath (which as my prof. pointed out is totally for tourists and something no self-respecting Turk would ever do). I looked at it as a cheap spa treatment for tourists rather than something authentically Turkish. It was heavenly.
For 25 million lira (about $16) I got a bath and massage, which means you undress (I was a prude and left my panties on) go into this big room and lie on a raised circular heated marble slab with all the other women. It's steamy like a sauna and had a domed roof. Then a middle-aged Turkish woman in black bra and panties comes and dumps warm water on you, then massages/scrubs you with a loofah (I could see 3 weeks of travel grime come off my skin), then covers you in these huge fantasy-type bubbles and massages you all covered with soap, then washes your hair and rises you off and leaves you on the slab. It was great, like being a little kid and being washed by your mom. Your're all warm, comfortable, unself-conscous about your nudity, and being told what to do in a very professional yet maternal way (i.e. roll over, sit up). I felt so much better afterwards.
It's great to see Denis, but I do wish I were still in Europe. In a perfect world Denis would just come to Istanbul and we would continue on from there. No homework looming in the future (classes start on Thursday).
More trip details will probably emerge in later posts, but that's all for now.
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kebabs do indeed rule.