Turkey

The Blue Mosque

On the Bosphorus

Grand Bazaar

Cappadoccia

 I am writing in the Qatar airport! The man next to me just bit into his apple from the top- stem and all and went to town on the core. I'm typing away trying not to crack up. Qatar airlines is fancy shmancy. Economy class never looked so good. I accidentally sat on my cup of water and it looked like I peed myself, they brought me an extra pillow and hot towels to sit on. Felt like a queen in my wet pants. Our time in Turkey felt much longer than the week we were there, but I see that as a good thing. I am feeling much better- I had the flexibility to eat vegetarian so my stomach is back to normal and was able to run everyday! I think that's why I couldn't sleep in Morocco, my legs and mind aren't used to not running and get too restless without one. Each morning I did five miles along the Bosphorus. Turquoise water on my right, the Old City wall on my left and the Istanbul skyline ahead. It was such a cool way to get to know the city. I am absolutely not a city person, but I loved Istanbul. For one its a coastal city and I love anywhere near salt water. Two, it is gorgeous. So colorful, the architecture was different than anything I've ever seen. Three, the food. Even just the street food. Why don't we have stands of watermelon bowls, spiraled apples, cashews and pistachios, gelato and sesame twists instead of corndogs? And the fresh seafood- whole fish with scales and eyeballs. I went native and ate a fish eyeball for a year of good fortune. Not worth it. And the baklava... I've come to terms with the fact that I'm gaining weight on this trip. I ate a lot of baklava. Our days consisted of Turkish development discussions from 9-1 at Kadir Has University, where we debated issues such as Turkey's undecided identity and standing in the world, as well as issues it must address if they hope to continue to rise as a global power- the Armenian Genocide, the Kurdish national struggle, the potential danger of a single, extremely powerful political party. It was so interesting. We spent the afternoon doing as much sight seeing as possible- there were too many beautiful things to be seen. We often stopped for apple tea and coffee in the Taxim. I loved how you couldn't get anything to-go. It's not an option. It is expected that you'd want to sit down, outside under the lanterns, to enjoy the tea and the day and the company of your friends. The highlight of Istanbul was the Turkish bath. Six of us girls went and together we shed our clothes and any barriers between us. We got totally naked, herded by another naked, extremely large and in charge Turkish woman into a furnace of a room where we sweat our body weights, then taken by the hand and told to lay flat on our back as we got scrubbed- more like sand papered, head to toe. When they say full body they mean Full. Body. No part of me went unscrubbed. Rolls of black, dirty, dead skin came flaking off- and I'd showered that morning! When she was doing my arms she kept yanking them, and as a result, my face into her very prominent belly and chest. Definitely full cultural immersion. Afterwards she sent me to rinse myself with buckets of cool water and then laid me back down for a full body massage. Quite possibly the best 30 minutes of my life. Then you go to a large communal bath, the sauna for a second time,and then back to the bath. I've never felt so clean or comfortable in my own skin. There was no shame or vulnerability in it at all. We were just a group of women bathing together. No one was looking, judging, comparing- everyone has a body and bodies are beautiful because they are different and not perfect. My lady gave me a bear hug before giving my towel and sending me to change, really topped off the experience. We spent the weekend in Cappadoccia, which is in Central Turkey. I never imagined such a place existed on the world. Google image it, my pictures and words can't do it justice. Only description is it looked like valleys of drippy sand castles. Or Atlantis, except not underwater. We explored underground cities from the 6th Century, visited ancient Christian sites, and hiked and climbed the huge rock formations. Shan- everyone was so weirded out by me hiking barefoot, I said this earthy Dominican girl rubbed off on me. I hope to come back to Anatolia someday. I haven't mentioned how much I like my group. Everyone is funny, low maintenance, and scary intelligent. They're the best. Doha, Qatar, tonight and Colombo, Sri Lanka by morning!