grand bazaar, turkish spa, and some mosques

This week I have a few days off because my family is busy, so yesterday I went out to the historical city center with two other au pairs, Natalie and Hunter, and we had a wonderful time together!!

First stop: Spice Bazaar

A glimpse into the Egyptian Bazaar aka Spice Bazaar. Spices (surprise!), teas, and Turkish delight were the most common goods sold here I'd say, but there was quite a variety. I don't exaggerate when I say almost every shop worker tries to holler and get your attention and get you to stop for conversation or to sample something or to look at something as you walk by (and the place is made up of probably a hundred small shops? I don't know, I'm a horrible estimator but they're packed in there). It could be taken as annoying and overwhelming, or it could be taken as humorous and interesting, and I generally took it as the latter. :)

If you don't know, these my friends are hookahs (aka waterpipes). They are everywhere here and even on some restaurant menus different kinds of hookah are offered. You smoke flavored tobacco called shisha with them, but it doesn't include the nicotine and many other chemicals that cigarettes have. They are very popular here. My au pair friend bought one, ha.

Next stop: one of Istanbul's most famous attractions, the Grand Bazaar. This thing is massive. And it's practically chaos.

This place is huge and it is very easy to get lost. The hollering shopkeepers translates to this site as well. Many stores sell the exact same goods, but some are completely unique and have handcrafted items, so you just gotta search. Bartering is generally expected or else you can get majorly ripped off. Most common shop products: scarves/shawls (some called shatooshes), genie lamps and other brass-type knick knacks, ceramic tiles and dishware with painted designs, jewelry, hanging beaded spherical lighting things (I have no clue what they're called or how better to describe them haha), and carpets.


From here we went to a hamam, which is a traditional Turkish bath. We went to one somewhat out of the way that was more authentic and less touristic. It cost about 50 liras plus tip, which ended up being about 30 USD. SO worth it. So what was it like? Well, Hunter, Natalie, and I (who barely know each other) got handed towels by a large older woman who only spoke Turkish and ushered into a small room with a bench in it. We figured we were supposed to undress but didn't really know what was going on so we asked some other girls who had just come out and they gave us the lowdown on what to do and expect. In the nude we then sat in a sauna room with sinks lining the walls and plastic bowls. The Turkish lady showed us we were supposed to sit on the floor and pour the water on ourselves using the bowl. After about 45 minutes she came back in and (for some reason I was first) had me come lay on a table in the middle of the room. She used a kese which is a scrubber thing that I bought at the bazaar (we knew we had to buy these and bring our own or else they'd use a communal scrubber and we didn't want that) and basically scrubbed off all the dead or mostly dead skin off my whole body. Then she came back and lathered us up with soap and then gave us massages! It was wonderful. It was also awkward, but not to the degree I'd have expected. Obviously this woman does this for a living and it was completely normal to her, so it was ok. Then she came back again and washed our hair for us. That was it! I felt incredibly clean and relaxed; we all really enjoyed it and I would recommend it as something anyone visiting Turkey HAS to do. (There's a separate part of the hamam for men).

Me, Hunter, and Natalie at Lucca's, a restaurant in the trendy neighborhood of Bebek after a long and wonderful day together.

Today I ventured into the same area alone, having some souvenir shopping to finish up on and some mosques to see. This is the "New Mosque".

I thought I should take a picture of this stand since it is one of the most common sights on the streets in Istanbul. These circular bagel/soft pretzel things are the #1 street food and snack in Istanbul, called simit.

Suleymaniye Mosque - same architect as the Hagia Sophia; much more quiet and less busy. I really liked the location of this mosque, away from all the hustle and bustle. It felt a lot more like a place of worship and less like a mob of tourists.

All mosques require you to take off your shoes and cover your legs, arms, and head (this is true if you're a woman; the men must have their legs covered and that's all I think - ha, that guy on the left isn't following the rules I guess, easier to get away with in a more "minor" mosque such as this one). I managed to forget about this yet again when leaving the house today so I didn't dress properly... I may or may not be utilizing souvenirs I bought for other people in this picture. Oops.

This little mosque was a hidden gem. It's called the Rustem Pasha Mosque. This is the exterior - those beautiful tiles again!

And finally, this is the interior of the mosque called New Mosque (exterior pictured way above).

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do tomorrow, and I'm actually running out of top-sites to choose from. There are a lot of smaller things I could see, but I have successfully packed a lot into these two weeks!
Some people have asked me what a typical day is like for me ("typical" day has only actually occurred maybe 5 times so far haha). Here it is:

I said some of this before I think, but when I'm not off like this week I meet Ella for breakfast at 9 and eat with her. I play with her (we try at least one board/card game and to do a bit of one of her preschool workbooks) until 12pm which is when I have a few off hours until 3 (and my lunch on my own time). At 3 I resume my care for Ella. Usually at some point we go to the playground nearby with Muhteram (Denis's nanny who unfortunately only speaks Turkish) and Denis. I play with her until 6 which is when I feed her dinner in front of the TV. Then she usually watches TV or plays a bit more until 7:30, which is when I help her with bath time. Then we read 3 books and I tuck her in, and I'm off the rest of the evening. Usually I sit in the house and use the wifi or read (I'm currently reading Les Miserables :) or journal. So that's my typical workday!

Hope you enjoyed these pictures! With all of these places though, you really have to be there to fully appreciate them. You have to smell the spices, hear the salesmen, and see the mobs of tourists to fully appreciate the bazaars, and you have to be in the mosques, smelling the foot odor and feeling the carpet under your bare feet, hearing the silence, seeing the devoted pray-ers on their knees with the traditional coverings to fully appreciate the mosques.

But maybe this blog will do for you, at least until you can get here yourself, eh? :)