Journey to the Black Sea...

Friday and Saturday were pretty lazy days. On Friday we went to a typical Turkish mall. Completely different from anything like a U.S. mall but it had some great shops. We grabbed some food at the food court and then shopped for a bit. It was a clam Friday.

Saturday was rainy and icy. We thought we would go to another mall but with all the traffic and trying to get over to the European side, it was too late so we just had dinner. It was great. They brought out about 7 different plates of yummy appetizer/spreads and tons of bread. The place is known for shishkabobs so of course we had some. And then desert. O my goodness the desserts are great here. Such different tastes but still wonderful.

Sunday morning we got ready and decided to go to the Black Sea. I really wanted to see it before leaving Turkey.

We left about 2 p.m. and took the scenic way up, along the Bosphorus. It was so pretty. On the way there were many little villages. We stopped in one called Kanlica, pronounced kahn-li-ja, to go to a little arts market. It was so chilly but we did get lucky and find a couple really cool things. Aunt Nancy and Cindy bought me this gorgeous ring that has variations of the "Blue Eye"which is a symbol to ward off evil and bring success and good luck (I really like the idea behind the blue eye), and a cute little sterling silver elephant charm.

After looking around for a bit we were off to the Black Sea. I was so excited to be on this adventure! On the was there was lots of green space, meaning  there was a lot of military areas. We were driving to the coast where there wasn't much around.

We drove out to a point and got out of the car. We walked over to a ledge and there it was, the gorgeous Black Sea. The wind was blowing pretty hard and the air was bitting cold but I didn't care. Being on that ledge was so peaceful and beautiful. It made me so happy.

I am one happy girl.

Looking from one side you could see the Bosphorus going back into the city. 

When you looked in the opposite direction you see the opening into the Black Sea. It was amazing.

We only stayed at the ledge for about 10 minutes because it was just too cold. Cagri took us to a great little seafood restaurant right on a little harbor. We sat next to the window and looked out to see old boats run up on shore, others docked, and a little beach. We had a great dinner and headed back into the city where I had the pleasure of meeting Cagri's mother, Umet. She is such a sweet lady. We stayed a while and she brought out scarfs she made. She said take as many as I'd like. I ended up with about 6. She was so happy to give them to me and wanted me to bring some to friends. I was amazed at how wonderfully knit they were. Some lucky people might have a present waiting for them when I get back. 

Today we went to the Grand Bazar, the oldest mall in the world, but that is tomorrow's post. Until then, goodnight x

Crossing the Bosphorus

Yesterday was absolutely fantastic.

Cindy and I dropped Adelia off at her aunts and we took a little bus down to the Bosphorus, where we caught a ferry across. The view was breathtaking. It was sunny and clear with a crisp breeze in the air. As we left the dock you could hear three different Ezans, reciting prayers for people to hear.

The current running through the Bosphorus was incredibly strong. It joins the Sea of Marmara with The Black Sea and it is the body of water that separates the European and Asian continents. Boats were struggling trying to get across.

Here is a little tid bit about the Bosphorus: "Its English name comes from a Greek legend: Zeus had an affair with a beautiful women named Io. When Hera, his wife, discovered his infidelity, she turned Io into a cow and created a horsefly to sting her on the rump. Io jumped clear across the strait. Thus bous =cow, and poros = crossing-place: Bosphorus = "crossing-place of the cow."- www.turkeytravelplanner.com

The whole trip across took about 30 minutes, just enough time to really see how gorgeous the views are from either side. Cindy lives on the Asian side so we crossed over to the European side of Istanbul.

Once we got over, we took the train to the Blue Mosque and Ayasofya. Before we went inside the ancient places, we had a great lunch overlooking a pretty little park. I tried my first bit of Turkish food and it was great. The food was so light. We had yogurt that tasted similar to sour cream, a piyaz, which is a bean and carrot salad with a hint of lemon, and kofte, which is Turkish meat balls. It was great way to start our adventure.

After lunch, we journeyed over to the little courtyard in the middle of the Blue Mosque and Ayasofya.
It was gorgeous. In one direction you could see the stunning Ayasofya, which was built by Byzantine emperor, Justinian, between 532 and 537 A.D. and the opposite direction you could see it's competition, The Blue Mosque.

We first went into the Blue Mosque because it was getting to be prayer time and you can't enter while it's going on. That is also when the Ezan is recited. We had to take our shoes off so we did not bring any impurities inside. You used to have to cover your hair and cleanse the body before entering too. Now it's not as common but we did see a few people do it.

It was absolutely breathtaking inside. The ornate detail of all the mosaics and stained glass windows were two of many fascinating things about the mosque. Women are to pray in the back so man won't get any impure thoughts when the women bend over. They are bound to an area that is mostly closed off.

Where the women pray. 

The architecture was so elaborate and ornate. Every little detail was gorgeous to look at. After walking through, we went out to the courtyard which was just amazing. The minarets looked gorgeous against the blue cloudless sky.

Next stop was the Ayasofya. I was very impressed by it. Everything about the ancient church was magnificent --the way the light lit up the inside, the mosaics that lined the walls, the history behind it -- getting to experience it was just amazing. The Ayasofya was my favorite of the day.

The Ayasofia was proclaimed a mosque by Mehmet the Conqueror after his conquest of the city in 1453. There is so much history in both places, but Ayasofya started it all. Without it, the Blue Mosque might not have been built because Sultan Ahmet I, wished to build an Islamic place of worship with more grandeur than Ayasofya.

After the two tours through history, we went to the Basilica Cistern built by Justinian after 532. It stored water for the Great Palace and surrounding places. Erased from memory, many forgot about the Cistern until Petrus Gyllius, rediscovered it.

Once we walked through the cistern we grabbed dinner at a little Turkish restaurant called the Pudding Shop. It was really good and we had to get dessert of course. That was the best part. We had pistachio baclava and rice pudding. 

We took the train back to the ferry docks and caught the ferry back. The day was amazing. I still can't believe all that we did and saw. The history behind it all is just amazing. 

Hope you enjoyed learning about all of this as much as I did.

To see all the 256 pictures from yesterday click here.

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Asia and Europe

Right now I am sitting in Asia, did you know that? There is a European side and an Asian side of Istanbul and Cindy lives on the Asian side. The Bosphorus splits the two sides. I can now say I have been to Europe and Asia on this trip :)

The Bosphorus

Cindy and I driving from the Asian side to the European side.

Ok enough with a lesson, on to what we did, but I do learn something new everyday!

I am loving the family time in Istanbul. It has been so nice seeing everyone and getting to know Jon and Adelia. It seems like everyone has been sick in the house so on Tuesday night, 5:30 p.m., we went to the doctor for the kiddos. She even took a look at me, so I could finally start feeling better.

Little Miss Adelia, waiting to see the doctor.

After the doctor we headed home. Like I have said the traffic and parking is horrendous here, so it took a good bit to get home. We all relaxed for the night, hoping to feel better. 

Yesterday, was a lazy day until around 3. Cindy came back from her hair appointment and she and I went out. 

Cindy took me a central square where thousands walk. Istiklal Caddesi, Independence Avenue in English, is a big walking street with a lot of different shops and restaurants. We went and grabbed a Starbucks to keep us a little warmed up and we were off. We first went into a little photography gallery with gorgeous shots of Istanbul that were panoramic.

We hopped on a little trolly that goes down the middle of the street. So many people covered it. As we rode down the street, there was police with batons and barriers, as we looked a little further there were protestors. We rode on in the little vintage trolley but had to get out because the protest was bigger down the way. There were so many people blocking the way. 

After we got around the protestors, Cindy and I walked through the little streets, stopping in some shops and seeing what there was to see. She took me to the Galata tower, one of the landmarks on Istanbul's skyline. 

We walked back up to the top to meet Cagri, Cindy's husband, but as we came to the top, a big protest had erupted. It was a little scary but nothing too intense. It seemed more peaceful but the police were standing, ready to act. 

We had dinner at the Kitchenette, a great little restaurant. Afterwards we grabbed dinner and called it a night. 

Today was amazing but will update tomorrow. Until then x.

Understanding the Ezan

Islam is by far the biggest religion in Turkey. According to turkeytravelplanner.com, "99% of Turkey's people today are Muslim, and Turkey's history is principally that of an Islamic people, their empires, architecture, arts and literature." 

In Turkey, an Azaan, or more commonly known as Ezan is called out, which is the Islamic call to prayer. The muezzin, the person who calls out the prayer, recites it on each occasion, passing it to the locals, inviting them to the prayer.

An Arabic word, the Ezan is recited five times a day. This is what it sounds like:




The muezzin, calls out to the people to come to the mosques, which are scattered throughout cities, and share in the prayer. He or she climbs up the minaret, the tower next to or built into the mosque, to recite into loud speakers, allowing the city to hear.

I have heard up to three at a time, since being in Turkey. Tapes are not allowed, someone must recite it.

The Blue Mosque with 6 minarets.
photo cred.

The information below is from www.allaboutturkey.com and shows the times of day the prayer is recited:

Every Muslim, male or female, must offer at least five daily prayers in time, if is no lawful reason for exemption, combination, or temporary delay, They are:

1. The Early Morning Prayer (Salatu-l-Fajr), which may be offered any time after the dawn and before, a total period of about two hours.
2. The Noon Prayer (Salatu-z-Zuhr). This prayer may be offered anytime after the sun begins to decline from its Zenith until it is about midway on its course to setting. For example, if the sun sets at 7:00 p.m. the prayer time begins a little after 12:00 noon and continues until a little after 3:30 p.m. Soon after that the time of the next prayer begins. However, there are accurate calendars telling the time of each prayer. But if there is none available, one must resort to one's best judgment.
3. The Mid-Afternoon prayer (Salatu-l-Asr), which begins right after the expiration of the Noon prayer time and extends to sunset.
4. The sunset prayer (Salatu-l-Maghrib). The time of this prayer begins immediately after sunset and extends till the red glow in the western horizon disappears. Normally it extends over a period of one hour and twenty to thirty minutes.
5. The Evening prayer (Salatu-l-Isha), which begins after the red glow in the western horizon disappears (nearly one hour and thirty minutes after sunset) and continues till a before the dawn.

Every morning around 6:30 I hear the first Ezan and throughout the day I hear the others. It is different in Turkey but I love getting to know the culture of each place I visit. Hope you enjoy learning about this, I sure did. ❤

Off on ANOTHER adventure ♥

I am already on one awesome adventure to Germany but I arrived in Turkey yesterday for another adventure!

My cousin, Cindy is married to a Turkish man, Cagri. They have two little ones and her mom, my Aunt Nancy, lives with them in Istanbul, Turkey.

I flew direct from Berlin to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. It's a great company and they we really accommodating. Instead of giving you peanuts or pretzels, they passed out hazelnuts, which is one of their commodities from what I understand.

I arrived around 3:30 p.m. but before I knew it I was already turned around. I went into the passport line,
but evidently I was supposed to get a visa before that line. I was lost. The guy was not too nice about it. After I got a visa for 15 euro, I went back into the passport line to finally get entrance into Istanbul. Cindy was waiting.

We killed sometime by stopping at Starbucks, of course, where we caught up on life and the last three years. It was so good to see her. I have always looked up to Cindy. She is a driven person who has accomplished a lot. and now has a wonderful family.

After a chai latte and splitting a piece of lemon cake we went to go pick up Cagri from work. He had sent his driver home and the three of us were going to dinner.

We left the airport at 5-5:30 and didn't get to his work until 6:45 p.m.

The traffic is unreal in Istanbul. With close to 16 million people, you can only imagine how bad it can get. Istanbul is like the New York of Turkey, people everywhere and really tall buildings with lots of flats and apartments.

By the time we got out of the airport, it was getting dark and it had already been raining so it was hard to see the scenery but from what I could tell Istanbul is very hilly with many different structures and architecture types. Mosques have been built through out that are just simply stunning.

This is one of the many Mosques.

After about an hour in traffic we came to Cagri's school where he works. It was gorgeous and so many things surrounding it. We picked him up and off we went slowly went to dinner. The traffic in town I think is worse than on the interstate but I could be wrong, there was some different techniques of driving I will say. 

We didn't get home until about 10 p.m. Aunt Nancy was waiting up while the little ones, John 4 and 1/2 years-old and Adelia, 14 months, were sleeping. Cindy, Jon and Adelia, were all sick so I didn't feel as bad coming with whatever little cold I have but the poor little guys are so sick today. 

They're house is gorgeous. It's in a gated community with lots of amenities. They live in a four bedroom apartment that is so spacious, with pretty details.

After a couple more hours of catching up and eating sugar cookies Jon and Aunt Nancy made, it was time for bed. It was a long day, full of new sights, people, sounds, and traditions. It is so good to be with family. I have missed them so much. 

Aunt Nancy just came down for my graduation about a month and 1/2 ago but she is one of the aunts I am closer to. She is such a wonderful person and I am so glad I get to spend this time with them. 

When they told me a few years back they were moving and  "You should come visit," I always said "That would be awesome, I will look into it," but I never really thought I would really have the chance or opportunity to visit them in Turkey. Little did I know what the future had in store. Now I am here, loving every bit of family time.

Einkaufen, starbucks und Spaß

For those who don't speak German, the title is "shopping, starbucks and fun." 

I barely got any sleep last night, but that didn't stop me from wanting to go explore and of course, shop the day away.

Today was great and although I am still trying to kick whatever little cold I have going, the sun was shining, the weather was wonderful and Gina and I went out for a day of fun in Potsdam.

We started out by having a healthy breakfast with Sylvio. After relaxing from eating, we opted to walk into the city of Potsdam. We could have taken the train but the weather was nice, except really chilly for me. On the walk, I saw many fascinating things. Once again, loving the architecture and scenery over here, I took plenty of pictures.

While walking, we came across my favorite little lake, frozen and covered in snow. I love the area because it is so pretty and hidden. There is so many trees and different things to look at. 

The lake was even more beautiful with the snow lightly dusting the surface. Gina and I thought it would be a perfect spot for our first photoshoot of the day. 

After our little photoshoot, it was time to go find our starbucks so we could warm up. On our way,  I just became more and more mesmerized by the beauty of the little city, so of course I had to take more pictures. 

As we were walking down a main street, I found this gorgeous green wooden door that I fell in love with. It was the entrance into this abandoned red brick building and I knew we just had to take some shots. It was the perfect place for some fierce fashion photos. 

After our photoshoots, it was really time for Starbucks now, so we got a warm chai latte and sat in comfy green chairs while looking out the window and talking. The day was so gorgeous. Everyone was walking  around town. 

After warming up in Starbucks, it was time to go to the mall. We took the train into another part of Potsdam where there was a HUGE mall. From what Gina said, it's small, but it is way bigger than any mall I have been to. There we went into clothing and shoe stores. I found two fabulous dresses from H&M and bought something for Gina. After a little shopping, it was time for food. We chose chinese, and let me tell you, it's different from American chinese fast food, good but different. 

Tired out from all the walking, we headed back into town where I did a little more shopping for my cousin in Turkey, since I will be visiting on Monday. It was 4:30 and already dark out so we made one more stop at another H&M -it's my new addiction- where I bought a really great top for 12 euro, then we headed home. Once at the house we went to the grocery for dinner and then relaxed for the rest of the night. I caught up with the boyfriend and Miranda as well :) 

To see all my pictures from Germany so far click here. 

It is close to midnight here so I am off to hopefully get some good rest. Monday is Turkey and I am so excited. Tomorrow all the shops are closed because it is Sunday so Gina and I will have a girls day of beauty and watch a movie. Today was really fun and I can't wait to have more days like this. 

Goodnight moon. XO