Sultanahmet, Istanbul

It's been a few day since I've updated...but I've met like a dozen new friends in the last two days and have been busy running all over the city! I'm a little exhausted and have not had much time to rest. Hopefully I'll have a nice respite in Bursa soon!

If it's one thing I love about Turkish culture, it's their willingness to treat you like a family member or close friend within the first few minutes of meeting you! My second hosts name is Buket and she has really been such a bright spot in my trip...endless energy and enthusiasm. I got lost on the way to her apartment but after about half an hour trying to speak Turkish to my cab driver, I made it! We stayed up for hours drinking tea and talking. Buket studied abroad at the University of Michigan and goes to the same university as my first host, Cenk. (Something about those BosphorusU people :) ) She had some friends come in this morning from her home town of Eskisehir (pictured in the new photos I posted) and we all sat around Buket's table and had a proper Turkish breakfast....seseme bread, feta cheese, Nutella, cucumbers and tomatoes....and tea ofcourse. I asked why they eat breakfast this way. Their reply...."because it's easy!". Anyhow, I'm okay with bread and cheese pretty much anytime of the day : )

After I left Buket's, I decided to roam around Sultanahmet a while to see the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. Sultanamet is the most "touristy" spot of Istanbul and I have been putting it off, not wanting to fight the droves of camera yielding yabanci's (yabanci is turkish for "foreigner!). But it was actually one of the most amazing experiences I have had so far.

I spent the first hour or so walking through the streets (somewhat lost because I didn't want to take the overcrowded Tram) and happen to stumble upon a cafe called Maya's that was next to The Kybele Hotel. I sat down to order a cappuccino, but just ended up getting a mineral water after I found out it was going to put me out 8 TL (6 bucks). While I was flipping through my dictionary and trying to arrange some Turkish sentence in my head, the guy at the table next to me began to chat me up. He was a man about 50 or so, completely dressed in linen, with a rambo-style scarf around his head, and Birkenstocks....definitely not your typical Turkish guy! Turns out he was the owner of the hotel and the most prolific Turkish carpet dealer in Istanbal. (Authentic carpets sell for upwards of $50,000 or more). His hotel also has a merchant art museum full of hundreds of lamps and other authentic goods he has collected in his travels over the last 30 years. Seriously, the craziest thing I've ever seen. The room was like a bungalow COVERED wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling with the most rare and interesting goods from the Middle Eastern region.

While I was visiting with Mike (he made that name up haha) he introduced me to his close friend, Mimi, who was a Bulgarian journalist from San Francisco. Apart from being one of the most genuine people I've met, she also leads an extraordinary life. As a investigatory film maker, she is currently in Istanbul as an undercover prostitute to expose the dealings of the Kurdish mafia's sex trade and prostitution industry. She has been working on this project for 7 years and is one her last trip to finish the film. I was immediately intrigued! (And no, it's not exactly like the movie Taken...I'm in no danger Mom and Dad.) Although most of the women are their by choice or the result of addiction and poverty, some are Kurdish women who were forced into prostitution and brought to Istanbul....where they speak no Turkish and have no means to free themselves. Mimi hides cameras in her clothes and dresses in disguises to do her reporting.

I sat and talked to Mimi for 2 hours and she told me about some of the things she has witnessed over the past 7 years. Her report covers all parts of the world, including Mexico, Asia the Middle East. Aside from these fascinating stories, Mimi also shared with me practical life advice about living in Turkey. Most of the things I was already aware of, but she made me feel more confident about my choice to come here. Even after her work and all her travels, Istanbul is her favorite city in the world! She proceeded to go on and on for another hour about Turkey and her favorite spots to go! I took notes : )

That was kind of alot. But it would have taken me days to recount that by phone.

International calling is so expensive. Goodbye Blackberry addiction! : )

Talk soon!!