Today was fun, if not too taxing (so far). We all got less than 6 hours of sleep due to bad mattresses, jet lag, and an obnoxiously long 4:30am call to prayer. Seriously, it lasted about 20 minutes because the muezzins don't all synchronize their watches. There ought to be a law! Anywho, breakfast was four crackers and some raspberry jelly. The Turks call them ahududu. Try saying that, it's fun. We all got new roommates today as more foreigners arrive to the program. Michael and I haven't met ours yet, but there was more water in the fridge when we got back than when we left, so unless we have a stalker with a key, there's a new dude here. Some of the girls got a Japanese (they say) roommate who doesn't really speak English. We set out to get everyone some Akbils (the awesome equivalent to the SmarTrip), but everywhere we looked today they were SOLD OUT. We suspect a city-wide conspiracy, or at the very least a ship carrying them sank somewhere in the Black Sea. Months from now, millions will wash up along the shores of the city, to the delight of children and parents alike.
Bus led to tram, which meant air conditioning, and that took us to Sultanahmet, the über-touristy spot that has the coolest stuff ever: The Blue Mosque, the Aya Sofya (closed today), and the Basilica Cistern. We got pictures of the first two, and will be back to go inside, but the goal today was the Cistern, which is honestly alongside the Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia) as my favorite spot in the city. It used to be the underground reservoir for the city when it was Constantinople, and was built by the Romans. It is huge, and used to hold a lot more water (see James Bond paddle across it in "From Russia, With Love") but is now empty enough to allow people to walk along elevated paths. The acoustics are incredible, the lighting perfect, and the columns beautiful. There is usually some nice flute music playing over some speakers, which really completes the vibe for me. I don't think pictures really do it justice, since they often turn out poorly due to the lighting, so I took some video. Although, I must say, my new camera is kickass, and has a max ISO setting of 3200. Bam. Instant daylight. Here is a bit from my slow walkthrough:
NOTE: Sorry, apparently this site decreases the video quality, so it actually is really dark. I will try to upload a better version to Flickr.
There are two columns that have huge sculptures of Medusas at their base, each turned to a side or upside down to prevent her spell from turning onlookers to stone. The explanatory plaques, which are always hilarious, consistently referred to the "rumour of Medusa" rather than the "legend." Hilarious. This from a language that has an entire verb tense designed for gossip. The irony of having ancient statues of a woman who turns the men who ogle her to stone sitting in the middle of this city is lost on most Turks, I gather. Lunch found us in a place called "Coffee Me," but I had them "Akdeniz Pizza Menü" me with an iced tea for 8.50TL. I should point out that the Y has been dropped from YTL, and now we just say Türk Lirası. Apologies for the inconsistency, I was clearly out of the loop. Two African Americans college-aged kids from Oakland, a guy and his cute girlfriend, sat next to us, and we chatted briefly about their trip. They loved Amsterdam, hated Frankfurt, and love Istanbul. That was honestly the first time I had met a black American tourist here, and it was refreshing to know that this place isn't just the refuge of dusty white Ottoman historians and sock/sandle-wearing Germans.
We checked out the Hippodrome and chatted with a simit seller there about his trade and hometown. He asked me if my parents were also Turkish after talking to the Turkish girl in our group. Ha! Mark that well, folks. Gringo here can be a Turk, too. He asked me what I wanted to gain by studying Turkish, and I suspect he was skeptical, since he had just finished talking about how bad Europe was for Turkey. So I just simply said I wanted the two countries and cultures to get closer. That seemed to surprise him, and we left it at that. I am probably going to sport a V-neck sunburn this week, albeit a subdued, or "shallow" one. Maybe I'll start wearing a huge Kyrgyz akkalpak. One of the huge felt hats that look like a sunhat. If I find one...
TODAY I MUST BUY AN ALARM CLOCK, and if I can, a mattress pad (döşek yastığı), and some more t-shirts. There is still time. We have a meeting in an hour, and then tomorrow morning is our placement test. Hopefully I don't embarrass myself.
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