First full day = burnt out Ethan and Andy

Well, today we woke up and had breakfast on the roof of our hostel, overlooking the Blue Mosque. At that point we went out, saw the Blue Mosque up close from the inside (it was interesting to see a mosque, this trip has done the whole religious tour very well, we need to go to India next), after being sufficiently wowed and awed, we walked across the street, saw the most famous Byzantine church in the world (it's about 1400 years old, used continuously as a church->mosque->museum) by far the oldest non-ruin that we have seen (think the pantheon in Rome except bigger, taller, and with minarets and mosaics). All of this is now outside of any art/architecture I have studied, being too "eastern". However, the influences are clear and I found it very interesting to see a place that people have worshipped within continuously from AD 500 to the 1900s. Next we saw a giant underground cistern Emperor Justinius built in the 6th century AD.

Clearly this wasn't enough for before noon, so we went over to the Topkapi Palace (giant Ottoman sultan habitat) and waltzed into the Archological Museum. We somehow managed to spend about 4 hours there, I could easily have spent 4 more, best 5 turkish lyra I have ever spent. It turns out that during the Ottoman empire (14th century to early 20th century) every cool thing people dug up in the middle east, turkey, or Bulgaria got sent to this museum. We casually strolled past Byzantine art from the 10th century, Roman friezes from the 5th century AD, Syraian tombs from around the 1st century BC, Greek statues from the 4th century BC, Hittite caravan records from the 14th century BC, Assyrian marriage contracts and IOUs from the 19th century BC, Babylonian art and pottery from the 23rd century BC, and some stoneage tools from about 8,000 BC. It was our ancient empires class come alive, and I learned details of cultures that I never even knew existed (Assyrians and Hittites were from class, Phrygians and Thracians sounded familiar, but Karamans were new to me)! This museum was probably the most amazing part of the entire trip for me. Many of the exhibits are arranged cronologically so that you can see how artistic styles changed over the centuries. Also, the posters provided an excellent background on the civilizations being displayed.

Having not eaten for 10,000 years (or at least for 6 hours non-museum time), we were starving and started exploring streets at random away from the tourist areas for a place to eat. Andy kept us going, I vetoed a buffet-style place, and we turned a corner to find a little hole-in-the-wall where the guy did not know English, but was very friendly and offered good food. We pointed to what we wanted, and I got an absolutely delicious kebab with rice, pita bread, and salad, similar to my meal of last night, but for only about $3. Andy was equally pleased with his meal and we went off happily to the Grand Bazaar to get Andy a backgammon board.

The Grand Bazaar: it reminds me of the guy at the beginning of Aladdin who tries to sell you the lamp. Those guys are good, really good. Andy thought he was getting a good deal until the add-ons for wood pieces, high quality boards, and rustproofing added up. The guys in there are good. Istanbul is on the border between two rather important continents, and it shows, they trade, they haggle, they bargain, they plead, they cry. They can see right through you and they can smell your fear. After getting run through the wash by these guys over a backgammon board or two, we crawled, panting, out the gate to the bazaar and found a nice icecream vendor who refueled us while we sat in the shade. I decided against trying to buy two embarrassingly shiny slippers for Hannah and we wandered the streets for a while before wandering across this internet cafe. Tonight the plan is to head across the river (not the strait, we'll stay in Europe) and find a good place to eat. Andy says this is where the locals eat, so this is where we will eat!

One other note on the city:

Turkish rugs, apparently buying one of these things is a multiple-hour ordeal. Today we have managed to make it through about 2,000 rug offers, apparently we don't look enough like students with no money and no place to put a rug. If you walk down the street, someone will try to sell you a rug, if you stand still outside, someone will try to sell you a rug, if you express the slightest interest in a rug, you are practically dragged indoors. We are trying to blend in with the culture, so I tried to sell Andy a rug earlier this afternoon. He didn't seem interested, but I will keep trying. I think I have the perfect thing for him, handmade by my own family, very high quality. I will give him the student discount because I like his attitude, good price.

Andy and I have been developing a top 10 list of things NOT to say in Istanbul, as each will result in being swarmed by guys selling rugs. We haven't gotten to 10 yet, but you should get the idea:

1) "That rug is perfect for me"
2) "I like that rug"
3) "I wonder if I should get a rug"
4) "I will not punch anyone who tries to sell me a rug"

Tomorrow we will try to camouflage ourselves, perhaps as camels, maybe even as rugs (although I dread buying that disguise). That should help reduce our travel time in the city.

Future plans include a ferry ride up the Bosphorus Strait, a visit to Synagogues/Aqueducts/Palaces/Universities that we have missed so far, and possibly a day trip to a fishing village. I am exhausted from just being in this city, but we are having a wonderful time and are starting to get the feel of the loud, hectic, haggling place that is Istanbul (Constantinople?).

In other news, a Monsoon hit London, emergency committees and severe flood warnings. That's our next stop. Nothing is ever easy, but everything sure is fun!