Bazaar happenings

It was our first morning in Turkey, and I woke up refreshed from the air conditioning provided in our dorm at the Turkish university. Classes in Istanbul were held differently than they were in Rome. During the day, our class would travel via bus with our trusty tour guide and visit important sites around the city together. We would then record our observations in our journals—long gone were the days of studying in the classroom.

Turkish dorms have bunk beds.

The theme for this morning was the Byzantine era, the age of the new Roman Empire that was centered on Constantinople. We first stopped by the Theodosian Forum to see the massive hippodrome and obelisks. Along the way, many of the street merchants tried to sell us their products as we passed them. Some of them were as young as eight years old, trying to make a living off of selling overpriced water bottles and spinning tops. After much perusing, we then drove along the city walls and had lunch at a local culinary institute. The food was unusually strong in flavor (yogurt soup, parsley salad, super spicy chicken breast, lemon jelly, etc.), but filling.

Sunny weather near the forum.

After lunch, the class was taken to the grand bazaar to spend money of souvenirs.  To say that the place was crowded was an understatement. There were over 4,000 shops in the vicinity. This was truly the place to practice one’s bargaining skills. I was personally able to haggle items that normally sold for 120 lira for only 20 lira. However, many of the vendors are desperate for attention and will do whatever it takes (flattering/begging/isolating/choking/grappling a customer) to land a sale. And it was important to keep an eye out for fake knock-offs. I noticed a couple of shoes that looked way too sketchy to purchase. If there is one thing I learned today, it’s that this city is full of surprises.

One of the gates of the bazaar.