May 10th

View of seagull family from my window

I sat at my window, looking out at the view, watching the mother  (or maybe father) seagull and her chicks, wondering, “What is my most important lesson this trip?” Sometimes this is a difficult exercise for me on the Global Studies trips, for these trips for me are so much about providing opportunities for others. I love to travel and often the Global Studies trips do not satisfy that “travel urge” which I hold so dearly, for I am often overwhelmed with logistics and responsibilities. My love for travel is only partly about the experience of another culture, for the journey I crave is an inner one – those moments of inspiration that so often occurs when traveling. But for me, it is not just traveling that provides this opportunity, but traveling alone.

Sometimes one’s most important lesson is not understanding something new, but re-looking at something I already know, and seeing it in a different way. For what is that knowledge but an accumulation of experiences that validates the biases one already holds.

So I looked out the window and wondered. My love for traveling alone is a big question in my mind. Why is this such a significant drive in my life? What came to mind this morning is how contrary this is to my nature. I am a Virgo. My father is an accountant and my mother is a bookkeeper. I am a math teacher. I am “the rock” in my family, as my wife refers to me. I am, by nature, analytical, responsible, dependable.

The experience that came to my memory of this trip was the one hour of freedom I had in Antakya, and my choice to wander and try to get lost, being guided through the small, winding streets of the old city by “laundry shots.” This is an experience I have had all my life – trying to get lost. And I asked myself, “Why is this such a driving force?” I have reflected on this question many times. Today a different answer came to mind. It isn’t about that adventure or a rebellion from my nature. Today, the answer was “trust.”

As I stopped thinking and just watched the seagulls on the rooftop across the way, the words appeared in my mind: “It is about letting go.” And then it was as if an inner dialogue occurred, with me as the observer. “Letting go of what? Why is letting go so important?” And the answer came. “It is about learning to trust. Let go of control and trust.”

And that is my lesson to me today. This is why I love to travel alone. This is why I try to get lost. It forces me to let go of control and trust.

Day three of student-led itinerary 

 New group today: Dani, Emily, Grace, KJ, and Emily

the girls' original plan was to go to Topkapi Palace in the morning, eat lunch, then "shop till we drop" - not my idea of a good time. As we were entering the palace grounds, we ran into another group, who warned us not to go at this time, for the crowds were crazy long. So, no reprieve from shopping - it will be shopping all day long!

Converse shoes

 Converse star

 pomegranate juice - yum!

 pomegranate juicer

 Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar 

from Nathaniel's report)

            Attracting a large portion of tourists in Istanbul and from around the world, the Grand Bazaar is a semi-outdoor market sporting some of the most culturally profound shops and incredibly interesting attractions found in Turkey. This is by-far one of the “must see” landmarks in Turkey and, as one traveler quotes, “it is easy to get lost in this vast shoppers paradise, so be prepared, get a map in advance.” With over 6,000 individual shops, spanning across 61 covered streets of Istanbul, practically every good and agricultural item sold in Turkey can be found under the covered overhang of the Grand Bazaar.

A brief history

Shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmet the Second ordered the construction of an edifice or place for trading textiles. Its name, “Cevâhir Bedestan,” derives from the Persian word bezet, or “cloth,” means “bazaar of the cloth sellers.” The building itself lies on a slope, and resides fairly close to the first Sultan’s palace, or the “old Palace.” Constructed in the year of 1455, both share the same location of the third hill of Istanbul. Most of the structure originated from 15^th century style architecture, and is largely made of bricks and stone pillars. Some years later, Mehmet II built another covered market, the Sandal Bedesten, and the trade of textiles was moved. Because successful shopkeepers from the original bazaar were forced to move to the newer market, it only seemed logical to connect the two “thirds” with another addition added in the middle, which is where the Grand Bazaar now stands today.

History (cont.) and Disasters of the early and latter 1700’s

Much later, in 1701, a raging fire attacked the city and market. The force was particularly stronger than several previous fires, and the Grand Vizier (at the time) was forced to rebuild several parts of the complex. In this period, (due to new laws against fires enforced) several parts of the market which lay between two Bedestan were covered with vaults. Despite the city’s efforts to reinforce the Market, two other fires battered the Grand Bazaar’s structure in 1750 and 1791. Also, the quake of 1766 caused severe damage, but then repaired by the Court Chief Architect, or “Hassa baş Mimari” the following year. The Bazaar as a whole has seen a lot of damage, but remains prevalent and is now reinforced with steel to ensure earthquakes do not exist as a threat to the heart of Istanbul’s culture.

Another section of the Grand Bazaar

 Kyle, Jacob and Andrew: another group I ran into in the Grand Bazaar

Egyptian Bazaar (from Lilia's report)  

The Egyptian Bazaar, also called “Mısır Çarşısı” meaning “Egyptian Corn Bazaar,” is Istanbul’s main trading center for spices. Back in Ottoman times, many spices were shipped there from Egypt. Back then, the only things sold in the bazaar were spices, herbs, medicinal plants and drugs, but now there are all sorts of things being sold in the market.

The building was originally made of wood and was designed by Kazim Aga. It is made up of 88 different rooms, containing and upper and lower level. It has monumental gateways at the end of each hallway with chambers above each entry.

The “L” shaped bazaar is on Hasiriclar Caddesi Street and is in the same building as the Yeni Mosque. It is right next to the New Mosque, Eminonu ferry docks, and is at the end of the Galata bridge. In the Bazaar the main thing you will find is spices, but you can also find things like dried fruit, nuts, seeds, Turkish delight (Lokum), snacks, housewares, jewelry and other marginal goods.

The bazaar is open every day of the week and it is recommended that you allow yourself an entire day to visit the bazaar. Many people said to definitely buy pistachios and Turkish delight, but stay away from any spices in a jar. 

Egyptian or Spice Market

After an exhausting day of shopping (I didn't buy a thing, though it was fun walking through all the many markets and bazaars), I decided to relax at a hamam (Turkish bath). The process is to wash, sauna, cold bath, sauna, backgammon, sauna, cold bath, backgammon, and then maybe it is time for the hamam and the "scrub down." The hamam around the corner from our hotel is very small. No domed ceilings with skylights. Just a small room where the attendant scrubs one person at a time. It was very relaxing. The coolest thing was the "blanket of soap." As I laid there quietly with my eyes closed, waiting for whatever is next, a felt myself covered very slowly and lightly in a warm blanket of  suds. It was the most amazing feeling. My plan was to finish off the experience with a 45 minute massage, but I ran out of time - very important class meeting at 8PM, laying out the logistics for our last day in Turkey. You must know that I got there at 5 PM in order to understand the pace of the hamam.