Shumita, another student from Penn studying abroad at Bogazici University, moved into the apartment with Ari and me two nights ago. It's nice to have more than one turkish number in my cell phone and someone to call a friend.
On Monday, us three took a bus along the coast to the town of Ortakoy, where we checked out a market that sold various tourist items like evil eye bracelets and fake Ray Ban sun glasses. For lunch we ate baked potatoes with corn, peas, red cabbage, yoghurt, cheese, sausage, and spicy sauce inside. Apparently the market is famous for their baked potatoes. And for good reason, as the potatoes were scrum-deliumptious. After that, we walked alongside the water and passed a few famous palaces before settling down at a cafe to read.
We are each reading one of Orhan Pamuk's novels. Pamuk is the most famous modern day writer in Turkey, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. I am reading Snow. Snow is about a poet named Ka who returns to Turkey after being in political exile in Germany for 12 years. In search of the "old" Turkey he remembers, which has been washed away by the government's desire to be European as well as a fundamental Islamic movement, Ka ventures to the rural town of Kars to report for the Republican, a secular newspaper in Istanbul, about the midterm elections there as well as a growing number of young girls committing suicide for not being able to wear the veil. I will be sure to blog about my thoughts on Snow once I've finished reading it.
Yesterday, we had pre-registration on campus, which took less than an hour and consisted only of registering as a student in person.
Then Ari and I headed to the Spice Bazaar near Sultanhamet where we enjoyed Turkish delights and buttery baclava.
Entrance of Spice Market
Yummy!
After that, we walked to the town of Karakoy to catch a boat tour of the Bosphorus. It was only 10 TRL (about $5)! And a fried bass sandwich with lettuce, onions, and lemon was only 5 TRL (about $2.50). Everything in Turkey is so cheap! Anyway, the boat tour was a great way to situate ourselves in Istanbul and get a glimpse of all the waterside towns.
We're on a Boat
Border of Istanbul
However, the sun and gentle movement of the waves hypnotized us into a short slumber, and we ended up missing some prime views of the Asia-side of Turkey.
Sleepy Naomi
After we awoke to the honking sounds of the busy sea port, we decided to sit under the Galata Bridge and smoke some apple-flavored hookah.
Under the Galata Bridge
Relaxed, and in a bit of a smokey daze, we headed home.
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