Things

This blog post is going to be photos that I can't justify writing an entire blog post about. So bear with me as I bring your attention to some random things that I've found amusing. First, Sperry's.

Yes, Sperry's have made their way to Istanbul. I have to say that the guy wearing these Sperry's looked very cool in his red pants. Much cooler than this Canadian Mountie wannabe:

Look at this buff dude crossing the road safely within the crosswalk! He seems a little over-prepared to me but if you walk as he walks, you will make it to the other side of the street safely. Promise. Next:

Ads for Nutella have been making there way around Istanbul in the past month or two. I see them mostly at bus stops but I saw this one last night on the Metro. It is touting Nutella as "Morning's energy." This makes sense because if you eat sugar for breakfast, you will feel energetic. Give it to your kids! Similarly, the American Nutella commercials tell you that you can get your kids to eat wheat bread if you smother it with Nutella. Sugar - it masks the taste of healthy food and makes you hyper!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, one of the wireless networks near our house is titled "Beam Me Up Scotty."

I have not idea who this funny person is or where they live but I take comfort in the fact that a Trekkie lives nearby. 

A Poor Man's Live-Blog

Tonight I was supposed to meet my roommates at Bodrum Mantı in Arnavutköy, which I've taken to abbreviating AVK because I'm cool like that. I decided to try a new route and walk straight from Etiler (near Akmerkez) to AVK without going back home to Bebek. The walk was long, and at some point I decided to "live-blog" it. Kind of, I mean I began audio recording my thoughts and the time at which they occurred. Here you go!

6:21 - I am walking down Arnavutköy Yolu. I don't actually know where this road leads but I'm hoping that Turkey has the same tradition that America has of naming the road after the place where it goes.

6:30 - I have been walking for nine minutes. I'm following the signs!

6:31 - We're in a very residential area; I'm glad I walked through here or else I wouldn't have known that all these houses are here. Abby and I are always trying to keep our eyes out for good places to live.  It's pretty windey, and it's getting steeper. 

 6:32 -  Ok, I can see the back of Akmerkez, which means I haven't gone very far. There's a cat. It's running away from me. I'm happy about that.

6:33 - The road is still curving. I have no idea where I'm going to come out in Arnavutköy. I've lost my mental map of where I am in relation to, well, everything. 

6:34 - Puppy! I haven't learned how to say, "Can I pet your puppy?" yet so I just go ahead and pet them and make the owners stand there and indulge me.

6:35 - I'm walking by a mosque, and it might be one that I usually see from the bottom of the hill. If so, I've regained my bearings. (Spoiler alert: It wasn't the mosque.)

6:36 - A bus stop! Man, I gotta figure out this bus. It would be perfect.

6:37 - Shortcutting my way through a park! (Spoiler alert: It wasn't a shortcut.)

6:38 - Approaching civilization! Wait, the signs say I'm still in Etiler. This might be a longer walk than I thought it would be. 

6:54 - I have arrived at my destination! Bodrum Mantı! Out of sheer exhaustion I forgot to take a picture. And the exhaustion wasn't from walking, it was instead from trying to simultaneously record my thoughts, take pictures, and deal with the crazy looks I got. I lead a very hard life. 

Lights

These are pictures that I took when we were at Galata the other night. I like the lighting in both of them. 

This is a picture of Galata Tower from the base. It was built in the 14th century! Now, it's a tourist site all on its own but it also gives you one of the greatest views of the Old City in Istanbul. This second picture is of a building that is always lit in blue. I don't know what the building is but it's pretty!

This is on the path down the hill that Galata Tower is located on. The building is white and when its bathed in blue, it's ethereal. 

Indecision!

On Monday, I featured my favorite star in Istanbul. But then today, I saw this one. Now I have no idea which one I like better. 

We were at Akmerkez, a mall, looking for winter accessories that will go with my new coat. There are several stars within the mall but this one definitely caught my eye. Far away it just looks silvery-blue. But then close up, it features Istanbul landmarks. Look!

There's a mosque in that one, and in the one below, you can get a good view of the Bosphorus. We had to move really close to verify that it wasn't actually Sharpie that the artist used. This looks like Sharpie, doesn't it?

It's actually paint! And its title is "Istanbul'un Yıldızı," or "Star of Istanbul." I found the website where you can see pictures of all the stars. This one just happens to be first on the list. I think that means I have good taste? Anyway, I would highly recommend at least scrolling through them. Some are absolutely beautiful and others tend towards the cute. Now that I've seen them all, I would love to go find this one. It looks like a lot of fun. The location that it gives is apparently an 8-mile road, so I'll have to use my Nancy Drew skills to track it down. 

People, which star do you like better? Or do you like one from the website even more than either that I have photographed? To the comment section!

En İyi Yıldız Everrrr

A few weeks ago I mentioned the stars that are scattered all around Istanbul. I also promised to take a picture of my favorite star. Here it is!

I like the look of the star faraway. I always see it as I pass by Beşiktaş on the bus; in fact, today was the first day that I've ever seen it up close. 

 

It has lots of individual fish, which make up a nazar! The color blue, the fish, and the evil eye seem to do a great job of representing Istanbul.

***

(Also, the title "En iyi yıldız everrrr" means "the best star everrrr" but there's no direct translation for "the best ___ ever" in Turkish. This is a problem because I say a lot of things are the best everrrr and need a way to express that in Turkish. My solution is to say/write the first part in Turkish and then tack on the everrrr for emphasis. It's funny, I promise.)

1.75 tl tour

So I was going to write a blog post about how you can just take public transportation around the city and it's the same as a cheap tour. But here are the best pictures I was able to capture from the moving tram. 

This is a picture of The Old City. That's the Hagia Sofia there in the background. The second picture is also of the Hagia Sofia but it's pretty terrible (Update: So terrible that I mislabeled it as the Hagia Sophia. It's actually the Blue Mosque). The tram goes a lot closer to it but I couldn't get a picture.

The point is, I suppose, that you can take the tram to the tourist spots but you will have to get off the tram to fully enjoy the sights. The cheap tour only allows you to see new things, not really experience them. My favorite 1.75 tl tour is riding in the front row of the second level of a double decker bus. The whole front is a window and you feel like you're flying. You can bring a fake steering wheel and pretend like you're driving the bus but people might think you're weird. But I think it would still be fun. 

Abby and I made a plan today to take a 1.75 tl tour every weekend. We will find a bus going to a place that we've never heard of/never been to and ride it until the end of the line. Then explore slash eat lunch. Sounds like a great plan. I believe in the 1.75 tl tour. 

What I Saw While Eating My Biweekly Waffle

I grabbed a waffle and went for a walk tonight around the Bebek park. There's this swanky little cafe/bar right next to the water but also kind of in the middle of the park. 

Pretty, huh? Mariachi music was playing, and it seriously made me want some enchiladas. And a margarita. Pretty much everything listed here. But then Abby reminded me that it was unlikely that I would find good Mexican food in Turkey. I will keep a look out though. If any Turks or yabancılar have suggestions, please let me know! Past that was the park's waterside walk. Here's a dark picture of the boats that are docked. 

In the background is a big hill. There's more to be said about that big hill but it requires a better picture, preferably taken in daylight hours. For now, just look at the lights dotting the hill. Awwww...pretty. Moving right along, we come to this star!

Just like the cows that pop up in cities all over the world, Istanbul has stars that pop up all over. Sometime in September these guys appeared in the park. There are several scattered around the playground and general greenery. While this one is my favorite in this particular park, there is another. I'll take a picture of my favorite, favorite one (that I've seen) the next time I'm around it. It's in Beşiktaş. 

This has been your tour of the Bebek park at night. I hope you've loved the tour as much as I've loved guiding you. Tips are, as always, appreciated.