zindagi migzara

the past few days have been quite the whirlwind! and the next few should be equally so. Yesterday we got up at 7:30 am to take a bus to Bursa, which is a historic town in Anatolia (the big asian side of Turkey). It was about a 3 hour drive and we had to take a ferry across the Sea of Marmara to get there. Bursa is one of the former capitals of the Byzantine Empire and is still a very historic city. It is in the mountains which was very beautiful to drive through. Driving through the outskirts of Istanbul and then through the mountains, I felt like we were seeing the real Turkey. Poverty was much more apparent as was western influence. Also, outside of Istanbul almost all women wore hijab, which is the headscarf Muslim women have the option of wearing. In Istanbul, although there are a large number of women that do wear hijab, most don't. But in the more rural areas it is much more conservative and seeing women without one was rare. In fact, after we left a few mosques (where you must wear a headscarf no matter what) I kept mine on just to fit in because I felt like I was being stared at otherwise.

In Bursa we mostly visited some mosques, which like I said are beginning to look all the same). We also had a chance to go to the bazaar. Bursa is famous for its silk and I bought a few silk things, although I can't say what because they are souvenirs for some people :) But for the most part, the bazaar in Bursa was quite different from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. I would say that the grand bazaar is more touristy with lots of kitschy trinkets for sale, while this one in Bursa actually catered to real Turkish people (what?! haha). A lot of the shops sold practical items like mattresses and furniture. Therefore, I didnt really find much to buy. All in all thought, it was a very pleasant town to visit and it was nice to get out of smoggy, crowded Istanbul. After we got back to the city we went to a Mexican restaurant (where the sour cream tasted like non flavored yogurt and the salsa was quite literally chopped up tomatoes) and then we PASSED OUT the second we got back!

Today we went on a cruise of the Bosphorus which was very cool. The boat pretty much travelled the entire length of the Bosphorus, which is the channel of water that separates the Europe from the Asia side of Istanbul and which also connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara (the sea of Marmara eventually leads into the Mediterranean). We stopped at a small town near the area where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea and went to a fish restaurant for lunch. And as you all know....I absolutely love fish so i was in heaven (can you detect the sarcasm????). But everyone else said it was very good....however I have a problem eating things in which you must full out the eyes and spine.

Tomorrow is out free day, but a group of about 11 of us have planned a trip to Ephesus, which is the site of some Roman ruins in southwestern Turkey. It is about 12 hours away so we arer actually leaving on a bus tonight at 10 pm. Hopefully it will be a little bit warmer since we will be on the Aegean Sea! I will definitely take lots of pictures and post some....it should be very beautiful!

Love, Laura

posted by Laura @ 9:16 AM