Istanbul, Turkey (Day 8)

Well, we arrived in Istanbul a few hours later than expected. We were on a train for like 27 hours straight! When we walked out of the train station, we saw a lady on the ground with an ambulance and lots of people around her. We were not sure what was going on, but after three days in Istanbul, I am convinced I know what happened. Istanbul has some crazy drivers and some crazy pedestrians. They cross when and where they want to cross, and the drivers speed around like no one's business. Anyways, by the end of our time in Istanbul, I learned to get behind a local to get across traffic faster (If anything were to happen, they would get hit first since they were closer to the car than me. Luckily this did not happen!)

Just like when we arrived in Budapest, the first thing we did was get money out of an ATM and then find our hostel. Their directions were not as good as the hostel in Budapest, but we knew to look for this big tower because it was located right below it. Thankfully, we saw the tower right away and headed over the bridge to our hostel. After climbing up many steep stairs, we arrived at our hostel to learn that our rooms were ready. We were able to change clothes and look at the map to plan out our day's activities. Layne had planned Istanbul, and we were to see both of the large mosques, the cistern, and the grand bazaar the first day. Although the lady at the front desk of the hostel was not convinced we could fit this all into one day, we had confidence and set out.

We basically had to retrace our steps to the train station and then walk a little farther to get to the main attractions in Istanbul. The first thing we came across was the Hagia Sofia, but the line was out of control. While we were walking around there, a lot of men tried to convince us to get a guided tour that would allow us to skip the line and of course cost extra. We politely said, "No thank-you," and moved on. One man was particularly persistent (we would see him 4 separate times that day!) and informed us that if we waited a few hours that the line would die down. We took his advice and walked the short distance to the Blue Mosque. Unfortunately it was during prayer time, so we were not allowed in and had to come back later. It was interesting to hear the call to prayer loud and clear while standing in the courtyard of the mosque. We did manage to grab a picture from the outside:

At this point, we were both a little bummed because we had struck out twice in a row and decided to try our turn at the Cistern. Finally, we got in somewhere! The Cistern was pretty cool, but it was very difficult to capture a picture of what it really looked like. There were massive fish in the water and lots of coins because you are supposed to throw the coin over your shoulder and make a wish. We walked around the Cistern and tried to get a good picture.

 This was the best we could get, and it doesn't really do it justice.

 You were supposed to stick your finger in this hole and make a wish!

After the Cistern, we ran into our 'friend' again and mentioned that we weren't sure if we could go into the Blue Mosque without a head scarf. He said that they had some, so we left him and headed back to the Blue Mosque. This time we were able to get in, and it turns out that you did not need to wear a head covering at all. But, you did need to remove your shoes and carry them in a plastic bag while you toured the Mosque. (Unlike the Hagia Sofia which is only a museum now, the Blue Mosque is still an active mosque.) We spent time in the Blue Mosque and finally realized why it was called the Blue Mosque. The outside is entirely gray without a sign of blue, but there are many pretty blue tiles inside. Again it is hard to see from the pictures, but it was very ornate.

 Even though we did not need to, we both used our hoodies as makeshift head coverings.

With our shoes back on, we decided to see if the line at the Hagia Sofia had died down, and luckily it had! While we were waiting in the short line, we grabbed a quick snack from one of the street vendors. Once inside, we really got to see the size of the Hagia Sofia: it was huge! Like the Blue Mosque, it was very ornate and pretty. Here is a picture a nice couple snapped of us:

People said you could spend hours in the Hagia Sofia, but we only spent 45 minutes or so. Everything began to look similar, and we saw everything within the mosque. Our next mission was to find point zero located right outside the Hagia Sofia. Although it was so close, we had a hard time finding it because we did not know what it looked like. And if you guessed that our 'friend' somehow found us again and pointed it out to us, you would be right! So, we had to get a picture of him at point zero!

With point zero checked off, we decided to tackle the Grand Bazaar. However, we had to make a pit stop at our 'friend's' carpet store. We told him we would see it, but that we were not going to buy anything. He gave us a lesson between the different carpets and offered us tea. We declined and headed towards the bazaar. On the way we saw a dondurma (their special ice cream) stand, and Layne wanted some. Of course I never turn down ice cream, so we both got one. The guy put on an entertaining show, and the dondurma was pretty tasty. 

When we finally reached the Grand Bazaar, it was overwhelming! There were so many stands that seemed to sell the same things. And everyone wanted you to stop and look at their products. Sometimes we would stop and ask how much an item was. Almost always we got the response, "Not much!" This made us laugh. I think my dad would like the Grand Bazaar because it all about haggling the vendors down to their lowest price. We learned that if you walked away, they would often call you back and give you the price you asked. Layne and I were both looking for gifts for others, and some were very difficult to shop for! With most of our gift shopping done and the bazaar closing, we tried to find our way out (much harder than expected!). In the bazaar, I saw this purse I liked, but did not buy it. At one of the stores on the outskirts of the bazaar, we saw some similar purses in different colors. We stopped in to take a look, and they asked if we wanted some apple tea. We were told that we had to try the tea at some point, so we said, "Sure." The tea was really good, but they did not have a purse I liked, so we ended up leaving empty-handed.

On the walk back, this Hungarian lady was selling hand-made items on the street. When we stopped to look, there was this man standing there that was helping her bargain a price. After I bought an item (cannot reveal what just yet), this man invited us to his carpet store. Layne wanted to go because she said that everyone told her that we needed to be entertained by a carpet salesman while we were here. We walked the short distance to his store. As we sat down, another man brought us another apple tea. Although we made it very clear that we did not have money or the need for a carpet, this man tried relentlessly to get us to buy a carpet. Throughout our stay there, it became apparent that he had become fond of Layne and did not like me. It was actually pretty funny how he shushed me whenever I tried to talk and only wanted to talk to Layne. Before we finally escaped, Layne took a picture with her boyfriend.

We decided to drop our purchases off at the hostel before grabbing a bite to eat for dinner. A lady on the train had recommended this street with many restaurants, so we attempted to find it for dinner. We even asked the people at the hostel for directions and headed out. There are lots of little streets in the area where we stayed and somehow we got lost. We could not find this street and finally gave up and just decided to walk down a street that looked popular. It turns out we think we stumbled upon the street without knowing it! Anyways, we chose a popular restuarant with lots of people for dinner. We decided to order two things and split them to be able to try more of the local cuisine. Here was dinner on the first night:

Spicy meat, Turkish meatballs, french fries, rice and veggies.

 With a full stomach, we both realized how tired we were and headed back to the hostel for a hot shower and warm bed. It was a tiring first day, but also lots of fun!