Spring Break- Istanbul

Good Tuesday morning everyone! Turkey Kate is back. I can't tell you how many drafts I have that I started and never finshed and posted. But, the house is cleaned, Tim's at school, and the laundry is running, so I have time to write. I am still doing laundry from when Tim's parents were here. Because I'm lazy? Oh no. Four words sum it up. Turkish washer and dryer. Inefficiency at its best. It's never taken so long to get the kabab smell and cigarette smoke out of our clothes. Well actually, up until this year the kabob smell in my clothes wasn't a problem:)
As the fried fish smells of Amasra, the sizzling Iskender from Istanbul, and stale cigarette smoke wash out of our clothes, I find myself reminiscing about our time with Tim's parents. Family visits are always bittersweet. It's so wonderful when your family is here, but very hard when they leave. They remind you of how much you love and miss your family. Ok, enough sappiness. Onto the tales of our Spring Break!
We started out here in Ankara, visiting Ataturk's mausoleum, the base and school, Ulus (the oldest part of the city that was the original village) and the Museum of Anatolian History (the kind of history you can't quite wrap your head around). While we were in Ulus, we ran into a bunch of Americans in a souvenir shop. Turns out they were Obama's secret service agents. They only confessed this information to Tim's dad, who has some supernatural power that makes people spill all their secret information to him. We saw him display this gift over and over during the week!
After a day in Ankara, we headed to Istanbul. We chose to drive this time, rather than taking the train. I was proud of Tim for maneuvering around Istanbul with our car. It is not easy!!! It is a huge, confusing city, full of crazy driving. While in Istanbul, we went to Topkai Palace, which was especially beautifully because of Obama's impending visit. The landscapers were placing perfect single tulips directly into the soil. Fun fact: Tulips are a symbol of Turkey. We also went to the Blue Mosque (that you probably saw Obama at the day after we were there) and the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is an underground maze of shops. Turkish vendors call to you from every angle, speaking in different languages until they figure out which one you understand. Though it's a colorful world in the Bazaar, I'm easily annoyed by the constant barrage of comments. "Hello My friend." "I am still here." "Ahh, you are back." "I have been waiting for you, my friend." "I make very good price only for you." "You look like a movie star." "I remember you." And on and on they go. The only things we ended up buying was a bunch of different kinds of tea and some coffee at the spice bazaar. The spice bazaar is my favorite part. Spices from all over the world greet your nose and eyes. It's a wonderful place for the senses- mustard yellow saffron, bright red pepper, pea green-colored tea... This time around in the bazaar, I could actually speak Turkish. I loved to see the shock on the Turks' faces when a blonde, blue-eyed American spoke to them in Turkish. Now, my Turkish is far from good, but the fact I can say anything goes a long way!
You know what else goes a long way? Tim's dad's special powers (as previously mentioned). Not only can he get people to spill their secrets, but he can get the annoying vendors to leave you alone. Often these guys on the street will approach you, and start talking to you and walking alongside of you. They are often trying to guide you to their carpet shop or give you a personal tour that you will later pay for. Most people ignore them (my usual plan), but that often doesn't deter them. Tim's dad, however, takes the friendly approach. He starts talking to them about all sorts of things. So much so, they can't get a word in edgewise and they finally give up and leave us alone. Pure genius!
I almost forgot! We went to a professional soccer game while in Istanbul. Soccer is HUGE here. We saw one of the top teams play. Not all the players are Turkish. They recruit good players from other countries. We all really enjoyed hearing the Turkish national anthem (very minor sounding) and all of the other singing that occurred during the game. For all the disorganization in Turkey, one thing that is organized is the cheering during soccer games. It's astounding. They actually have official cheering sections with a leader who organizes each cheer and song. They also have drummers in the cheering section. The different cheers and rhythms that go on around the stadium create this cool piece of music.
When Tim ordered our tickets, he made sure we weren't in the cheering section. You cannot sit there and not cheer and have your face painted. They would get really angry. They don't mess around. You know how much they don't mess around? They are policemen EVERYWHERE!!! There is actually a whole line of policemen that sit between the home fans and the away fans. They sit in a single line all the way down the bleachers, with night sticks and huge shields. The policemen may have to deal with crazy, obsessed fans, but one thing they don't have to deal with is drunken fans. No alcohol in the whole stadium, folks. For once it was nice to go to a game and not have someone spill a beer on you. They didn't even sell sodas. Only water and hot cay (tea). Vendors actually come uround with those boxes around their neck filled with steaming hot tea. Instead of peanuts, people chew on something that looks like sunflower seeds, spitting them out in whatever direction they feel like. There are hotdogs in the stadium. Ballpark franks they are not. They are all beef (remember no pork allowed), very slim, and have a reddish tint to them. If you put enough ketchup and pickles on them, you can trick yourself into thinking you're back at the Braves' or Nationals' Stadiums:)
You know when you travel, often the most fun and memorable times are the unplanned ones. We were so careful to plan each step of Tim's parents' visit, but you can't plan the weather. So, our last afternoon/evening in Istanbul it poured. There wasn't a whole lot we could do, so we decided to go to a movie. The movie wasn't that good, but we had a great time anyway, especially walking in the rain on the way home. We had $5 clear plastic umbrellas that we'd bought from a street vendor. We walked past the famous Aya Sophia and Blue Mosque, getting wet and laughing hysterically over things I can't even remember now. Tim's mom said that was one of her favorite parts of their trip. And I think it was mine too. A random, unplanned moment, just enjoying being with each other in this famous and historical city, with rain soaked socks and stomachs that hurt from laughing so hard.