Istanbul in a Nutshell....or a kebab

Istanbul was full of surprises!  I was really just going to meet up with my long lost IIPP buddies. Before arriving in Istanbul I had a completely different idea about what it would be like.  I thought it would be more conservative, slightly boring, and way too antique for my tastes. Boy, was I proved wrong!  Istanbul is very liberal, for a Muslim country, and very much Occidental.  They have taken their award of "European Cultural Capital" very seriously.  It is apparent in the country that there is a sort of identity crisis between the trendy urban, eurocentric lifestyle, and the traditional conservative culture.  More than half of the population is composed of young people between the ages of 18 and 25; making for a very lively nightlife.

I was very pleasantly surprised by a number of things.  The food was superb and very freshly made everywhere. Most restaurants, and sometimes right on the streets there were these huge Turkish women, sitting in a pile of flour, making pita bread from scratch. So cool! I was very tempted to take pictures, but I resisted because I thought that might be slightly rude.  I had my fair share of lamb, which I don't usually eat, but it is the country's staple meat and is utterly mouthwatering.  I also enjoyed many kebabs, which are not what we Americans no as kebabs, but rather REAL kebabs that are similiar to our gyros, or often just a messy plate of meat, rice, and veggies Turkish style; nice! Every day in Istanbul, I took it upon myself to indulge in the freshly squeezed exotic juices sold on the streets. (Sidenote: food on the street is often the best, but usually hit or miss) This juice was amazing and extremely refreshing. I'm quite not sure exactly what fruits went into it, but I know there was a huge metal juicer pumping out juice by the second. The pastries in Istanbul were also to die for, very unique mixtures of flavors and Turkis delights of course; which I have yet to discover an accurate description for. I just know that they are indeed delightful. Finally, I tried this random drink on the streets called Sahlep. I guess it can be described as Turkish hot chocolate. It contains milk, cinnamon, vanilla, honey, cream, and some other mystery ingredients which made my heart smile.  I have successfully talked about food for a whole long paragraph like a true fat kid/foodie.

Another pleasant surprise about Turkey was the people. Everyone was so friendly and open. I learned a lot from the countries and its people. I also had the most random encounters, where I met people from all over the globe who I chatted with for hours: Asian journalist from Norway, Greek street vendor/jewelry maker (AKA, male Gigolo), a group of Spaniards of course, a girl who is from Chicago but lives in Atlanta like me, a group of gorgeous Syrian girls who told me I looked like their cousin, and a slew of other interesting people.  I also reaffirmed the fact that I have a sort of "unique universal" look I guess, because everywhere I go people tell me I look like someone from their family. Funny.

In a nutshell (or a kebab), the highlights of my trip were seeing my friends of course, my amazing ancient Turkish bath, and my New Year's extravaganza at the underground reggae club.  A 200lb Turkish woman bathed me with an exfoliating sponge and lots of suds, while I lay naked in a huge marble-floored sauna; followed by a hot oil massage ;-).