Istanbul

Kelly and I celebrated the anniversary of one of Hungary's many unsuccessful attempts at revolution with a weekend trip to Istanbul.

Being the crazy that I am, I asked Cem for a detailed itinerary. Which I highlighted.


We stayed in Sultanahmet, the old town and touristy part of the city. Calling Istanbul colorful would be an understatement.


Spurred by my newfound love of the hookah following my trip to Dubai, we took the metro to Tophane, a neighborhood home to about 30 identical sisha places.


Everyone was incredibly friendly and generous, if sometimes a little pushy. When we asked the waiter how to get to Taxism, he called over his friend whom walked us part of the way there.


In Taxism, we tried guvec and drank raki, basically Turkish ouzo. We also met Affans & Omar, our new friends and tour guides for the rest of the trip. They taught us a few Turkish words; Kelly did well, but Affans told me I had a "lazy mind." I maintain that I just have problems rolling my r's.


Our new friends drew us a map for Sunday's excursions.


We began the day walking through Gulhane Park ("flower farm") to have breakfast overlooking the Bosphorus.


After touring Hagia Sophia, we took off our shoes, converted our pashminas into head scarves, and checked out the Blue Mosque. It was gorgeous.


I have no idea why I refused to show my teeth in all pictures this weekend.


The bazaars were much more colorful and bustling than the ones in Dubai. Turkish D was a disappointment, but the "hygiene" fish sandwiches and baklava were delish. On an unhygienic note, I WISH I had taken the picture of the bathroom in the cafeteria where we ate. Consider yourself lucky.


Affans read the remains of the Turkish coffee. Kelly hoped this was just a superstition because his reading went something like "Alex is jealous of Kelly and will try to harm her in her sleep." Lazy yet dangerous.


Budapest and Istanbul are both known for their bathhouses. In Budapest, you lounge around in the pungent thermal baths, trying to ignore the couple getting it in on next to you. In Istanbul, you are assigned a large Turkish woman who looks you in the eye and informs you that you are now her baby. She then proceeds to wash, scrub, and massage you while you lie on a marble platform in the middle of a steamy room.

I arrived back in Budapest...very clean.