JenScoobySnacks

Today was a big day for me because it was all about SHOPPING!! I was so excited about going to the Grand Bazaar. It is one of the biggest in the world. As you walk down towards the Grand Bazaarwhich is walking distance from our hotel, the shops already start popping up. One after another after another, I guess there are thousands of shops in this area of the city. One of the first shops that we went into had Turkish lamps that I love so we started talking to the younger merchant and he had an odd accent we couldn’t figure out. Jared said “that is the weirdest Turkish accent I have ever heard” and he said ” I was taught English by an Australian.” It was hilarious. He had a strange Australian Turkish mix accent. funny. We promise to only buy a lamp from him and move on. I am freaking out at the prices of the clothes and costume jewlery. Incredibly cheap and I am thrilled. The souvenir type things are another matter however; bowls, hookahs, lamps and such are very expensive. I end up buying a skirt for $10 and a dress for $10 and I keep telling Jared that I can’t believe I just bought a dress and a skirt for $20. I am sure he got sick of hearing it. I also bought a whole bunch of bracelets and beaded necklaces for 1 lyre each which is 66 cents. I was in heaven.

We entered the section which is the Spice Bazaar and started shopping the teas. We ended up getting several different kinds including apple, vanilla, black cumin, orange, traditional Turkish. these are all loose teas and crazy aromatic. It was really fun watching them try and get our business too. We also got several spices. We got the meatball spice which is what the use in the Kofte(lamb) all the time, kebab spice which they also use all the time, and the third was an Ottamen spice which you also come to recognize after eating here for a few days.

We ended up also buying shoes and jeans because designers are so cheap here and a couple hookahs as well just because they look cool as souvenirs for friends. I was glad to have the day come to an end because we walked like crazy and I was exhausted. I have no desire to shop again…..well at least for a couple days anyway.

We got up in the morning and had breakfast which is provided by the hotel. Breakfast in Turkey mainly consists of olives and cheese and different breads. Tomatoes and cucumbers are served with every meal. The Blue Mosque is right across the street so we went there first. It is incredibly beautiful inside. Jared took a lot of photos. You had to take your shoes off and leave then outside and women had to cover shoulders and head. If you did not have a scarf ( I made sure I brought one) they provided them for you to wear. The entire interior was covered in several giant Turkish rugs. They were plush and immaculate in condition. The outside of the Mosque is just as magnificent and crowds of people are milling around the area.

A short walk away is the Hagia Sophia which is one of the most admired architectural feats in the world. The inside is massive and an amazing mirror into the history of the area. There are giant Arabic signs all around but also as you walk around the perimeter you see the Christian Icons still on the walls and the mosaics. The building is huge and there is something to see practically every square inch of it.

Across the street is the Basilica Cistern. It is very damp and wet but welcome when you consider how hot it is here. It was much more interesting than I thought. Dozens of columns still based in water illuminated by just a fraction of light gives an amazing visual. Two Medusa columns in the back attract the most attention and they are worth it. Jared got some good photos of them. I am just using my Iphone for pictures so I did not take many pictures down there because it was too dark. I plan on borrowing his when he finishes processing to show everyone. If you ever end up in Istanbul definitely put the Basilica Cistern on your schedule but wear tennis shoes or you might slip and fall.

Then we went around the corner to the Topkapi Palace. This palace has a very well kept Harem section which illustrates the way of life at the time. The tile work is incredible throughout the palace. The main attraction to this palace however is the religious relics. They have Moses’ staff, King David’s sword, and Mohammed’s footprint to name a few. Everything is very well displayed. A lot of pushing and shoving was endured during this visit though.

We ended the day with a really nice dinner served by a very friendly waiter who liked talking to us in English and he was very sweet. It was a really great day!!

By the time we arrived at the hotel it was already 5PM so we decided to just walk around for awhile and find a place to eat dinner. We are staying in Old Istanbul so most of the street are stone alleys. We walked across the street to the Hippodrome (we are talking old school NASCAR ) where the used to have chariot races. The Blue Mosque is adjacent to it and it is so beautiful. We walked over to the Hagia Sophia and looked around as well. It was to late to go in to either of these places so we just walked through some of the shops for awhile. We found a small place to eat dinner and it wasn’t bad. Of course it was lamb. They don’t eat pork here so when they say meat they generally mean lamb. Meal was lamb rice and beans and some awesome rice pudding. I was so ready to crash after dinner since I had not had a decent sleep in two nights. Fell asleep before it was dark but was woken at 10PM by the call to prayer. When it is time to pray a man comes over a speaker and sings and it can be heard all over the town and then other Mosques answer each other and you can hear them in the distance, It is really quite amazing to hear. I got up and looked out the window and The Blue Mosque was lit up and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I wanted to wake up Jared but he had had a couple rough days too. I’ll point it out to him tomorrow.

Before I even talk about Istanbul I have to explain that I was extremely nervous about traveling here. I get very anxious when I am anywhere that I am not familiar with. I was especially nervous about Greece. Morning flight to Atlanta was no problem at all. I did have a five hour layover in Atlanta however which was eternal. The flight to Greece was 11 and a half hours which seemed longer because a nine year old little girl was next to me. She stood up on her seat to turn on her light, talked incessantly, and said excuse me to every flight attendant that walked by to ask them for something. The best part: her mother was sitting right next to her and never said a thing. I did manage to fall asleep for about 2 hours but that was all i could manage.

Greece was a little hectic but it turned out I did not have to recheck my luggage. I did have to check in at the front but it was fairly slow airport at the time so no problems. Finally off to Istanbul and it was a quick flight only an hour and I was happy to be done with the air travel. Jared met me outside of customs with my name written on the Ipad which was cute LOL. He also met me with a surprise: No ponytail!! I was so happy and impressed because I know it was a sacrifice.

Is there anything better than watching the original “Friday the 13th” by myself under a blanket with the AC on FREEZING. I think not!!

Gonna post a video tonight. Been busy getting ready for the trip. Getting nervous…………….

“To deny that something bad has happened is to deny life – but to be consumed by it is also to deny life”

I don’t like…….I LOVE “Big Brother”. As usual it is not disappointing me. The cast directors are geniuses on this show.

I have to admit that I am burning out on Facebook. I much prefer Twitter lately. I just find that if I am on the computer or home that I have tendency to keep it open. It just takes up a lot of time. It seems that if you have 130 friends; 50-60% are literally never on it, then there is that awesome 35% that junk up you newsfeed with every single application they can find and when you block some apps it seems these same people find other games and apps to junk up your news feed, that leaves you with the 15% that you actually would like to keep up with and you can’t ever find their status updates because I am too tired of having to go through 4 pages of frontierville to see what people are up to. Oh and also have actually been chastised by friends when I didn’t notice certain status updates. What? Gee I am a busy women I didn’t realize I was supposed to study the updates in case of a quiz. My friends know that they can call me when ever they need me and often they do(in the middle of the night lol) John called me up at 2Am last night because he needed to talk and you know what? I prefer that. Let’s face it a huge percentage of your Facebook friends aren’t really very good friends, they are acquaintances. Twitter is awesome and simple you see what you want and there is limited personal access. Facebook is good for pictures and keeping up with certain things and people and I still play Mafia Wars but even that is starting to get old. Twitter is just uncomplicated fun!! So if you want follow me on Twitter @jenscoobysnacks and I will follow you back!

Eli Roth tweeted about this site and I love it. I am kicking myself for not thinking of it and forcing Jared to make me up a website. Another opportunity thwarted Dammit!!

http://horrorcrush.com/