It has been such a whirlwind, ladies and gentlemen! I literally woke up this morning and had no clue what day of the week it was.
DAY 1: We landed Friday afternoon and got to the hotel around 4, we immediately set out to see the sites, picking up 4 others that were to be on our tour that wanted to tag along.
the gardens of Haghia Sofia, ladies and gentlemen
We took our time strolling back, had dinner at the hotel, then decided we were too tired to bathe ourselves so we would pay someone to do it for us (you can do that here and its totally legal! even the oil rub down!). Ladies and gentlemen, let me say, I used to wonder how royalty could deal with other people bathing them, I TOTALLY get it now. Tasha on the otherhand is not sold on large naked ladies bathing her, we're working on it. It only took about an hour and she was as comfortable as the rest of us. We went to Cemberlitas a Hamam in operation since 1584, ladies and gentlemen. Not quite knowing what to expect, us girls came bearing bathing suits... not needed. Then we were given what appeared to be dinner napkins and black panties (new with tag, thank goodness), we were to put on the black panties and try to find a way to wrap the napkin around ourselves to be modest. When we walked into the Hamam we actually gasped, and then had to stifle the laugh as we were greeted with every sort of boob and belly known to man/woman. What a way to break Tasha into going topless! (Moms and Dads don't worry it is VERY segregated). Don't worry, no pictures, ladies and gentlemen. The actual process was interesting... they lie you down on a hot round stone along with many other people and use a modified brillo pad to scrub you down (apparently Chad was extra dirty, when they found out he was from New York he got "special" treatment, being held by his hair while they scrubbed his face and we all know how much Chad loves people touching his hair). Then they completely cover you with bubbles and lather you up head to toe then slap you to make you flip and do it again, then take you to a sink that you sit in front of and scrub your head and then dump buckets of water on you until you sparkle. Then they yell at you to get out, so you run pulling up your underwear trying not to slip in the 5-times too large bath slippers you're wearing all the time trying to figure out where your napkin went AND where you're supposed to go. Skip to the end.. you emerge two hours later polished and scrubbed, unsure of whether that was the most delightful or slightly freaky thing you've ever experienced. As I said... I'm sold on it... the others are still undecided.
We finished off the night with a night cap and then tucked ourselves in for a much needed night of sleep.
DAY 2: Woke up at to the call to prayer wafting through the morning mist (as
First took the tram (interesting odor on the tram, chicken soup, dirty feet and saffron, lovely smell first thing in the morning) straight to the Blue Mosque (also, interesting smell of musty carpet and again dirty feet, Chad apparently passed out) ladies and gentlemen
Then the Gardens of Haghia Sofia during the day... you may remember this from our previous discussion
Next, the Basilica Cistern (every bit as beautiful as we had heard)
Followed by our first Turkish Coffee (Tasha says it tasted like mud, but delicious with a cookie)
We went to the
Onward to
The Spice Market (Egyptian Bazaar) (We have come to learn that Tasha may not be sure what a turkey, the bird, looks like, we found her taking pictues of a pheasant while screaming "there's a turkey in Turkey!", apparently it was Genea's fault, she said "look! a turkey!" really kids, learn this in elementary school)
The Grand Bazaar (We overstayed our welcome and got locked inside. Other interesting events, everyone thought Genea was a Turkish princess, Tasha was offered love, and someone asked
We went our separate ways for dinner, the girls went to meet up with a bethelite couple, they got in a cab to Taxim Square the driver dropped them off and pointed in the direction, they stopped passersby and asked for directions and were told 300 meters that way (huh? how far?) they went what they thought was 300 meters and asked someone else and were told they passed it up 200 meters back. They did make it to the restaurant 30 minutes late, and it seemed to be their confused look that made the leaving bethelites think it may be them since they had no way of knowing what each looked like and no one thought to ask before arranging to meet up. At the end of the day, Tasha CAN identify a Turk, but not a turkey.
Ok, it’s after here and we’re exhausted, so we’re going to have to stop there, and I think this will take everyone a while to read anyway, so it should hold you til tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen.
p.s. I promise we will give you some insight into the private jokes so obviously referred to in today’s blog, along with the list of nicknames of our fellow travelers… Cookie monster, Elmo, Orange Lady, Turrets Lady, Belly-shirt Lady, Scrapbooker and Mr. Marsh Marsh.
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