Two Continents in One Day

This blog post got delayed due to a faulty email. It was written on my second to last day in Turkey. Enjoy! 

            We started our day by purchasing our jetons (ferry tokens) and hopping on a ferry that went from Eminönü (Europe Istanbul) over the Bosphorus Sea to üsküdar (Asia Istanbul.) We eagerly got off the boat and took our first step on Asian soil, at which point we realized we knew nothing about the area we had just entered. After picking up a map we headed for the Fethi Pasa Woods. The term "woods" is used loosely in Turkey; we were expecting actual woods but found a cute park that had a few trees sprinkled throughout it. Despite the lack of woods we were overly excited about this discovery because we all missed nature! It sounds strange, but on the ship there are not any plants and we dock in big cities that are not very green or fresh. Trees, flower and green grass are rare occurrences it the countries we've visited. We sat on the bench and enjoyed the semi-fresh smelling air. We walked around and discovered that the woods were the main attraction so we headed back to the ferry and officially checked Asia off of our continents-to-visit list. We tried to get a ferry to the Princes' Islands (another one of my favorite places in Turkey) but the ferries were far and few between. With the strong possibility of getting stranded on the island, we decided to not take that chance. Instead, we headed to our new favorite shopping area. Although we've spent a lot of time in the Grand Bazaar you have to remember that there are over 1,700 shops and it is not set up like a mall in America. Think of a treasure hunt in an old antique store- now multiply that experience by 1,700. You never know what you will find as you purposefully get lost on the tiny paths that twist between shops. We later went to the Spice Market- my dad's favorite Turkish market. It has less than 100 shops and is much less overwhelming than the Grand Bazaar (despite the occasional power outage.) All of the shops sell a large variety of spices, teas and oils. You barter for prices here as well and we received a few interesting prices. One man would give us a discount if I went on a date with him- I didn't accept that offer. Another shopkeeper would give my friends a discount if she dated his son- she didn't accept. The best quote was, "ladies, make your life easier and just find yourself a nice Turkish man." I don't think that I am going to take this advice, but we have one day left so it's not too late :)

             I'm going to miss haggling for prices once I'm back in the states.

~Tori