It's Istanbul, not Constantinople

So my Nook and phone failed me in my many attempts to document my five day trip to the beautiful city of Istanbul, Turkey. Instead, I'll be writing up three separate entries to sum up my travels. I should be putting my sleep-deprived and jet lagged self to my own bed for the first time in seven nights, but I'm am clicking away at the keyboard instead.

The thing with Istanbul is that you are hit with sensory overload almost immediately. You can't escape the sight of brightly colored lamps glinting in store windows, the pungent body odor of weary and woefully ignorant Turkish tourists, the beautifully soft touch of cashmere pashminas lining store shelves, and the fresh aroma of lamb kabobs grilled right on the street that make you drool on the spot. It really doesn't take long for Istanbul to hit you on all sides once you leave Ataturk International.

Within a few hours, I quickly made note of a few things.

First - Eid weekend brings out thousands upon millions of tourists from across Turkey, so things like personal space and my no-touching policy were going to have to go out the door. This wasn't hard to adjust to because I've been to Pakistan on numerous occasions and survived. Second - not everyone speaks English. I know, this probably makes me sound like an arrogant American, and I wasn't exactly expecting the Turks to roll out red carpets everywhere we went, fawning over our "American-ness", but I thought it would've been easier to communicate with the locals. Instead, I had to resort to various forms of miming, and attempting words in Urdu and Arabic, hoping something would stick (which they didn't). Third - the vendors will attempt anything to drag you into their stores to buy their wares, hoping to dupe foreign tourists into grossly overpaying for something. The sellers and merchandise even attempt to capitalize on generalizations made by foreigners, like the common use of the whirling dervishes as a motif or by dressing in "cute and adorable" folksy Turkish clothing that most Turks would find revolting. The most common attempt is to sucker you into what may seem to be an innocent and harmless conversation. No sir, I don't need a rug. I'm not sure how you expect me to transport this thing home. And calling me beautiful lady that's breaking your heart doesn't change anything.

Fourth - The city is very clean. This must be due to the fact that every corner seems to have a designated trash picker. There are even organized piles for litter so that people who'd prefer to toss their water bottles onto the street can have their cake and eat it too. And lastly - there is a ridiculous stray cat situation. I'm talking cats on top of cats, hidden in every nook and cranny of the city. I'm pretty sure I accidentally pet a dead kitten.

Tables sagging from the weight of bras.

Interested in reenacting the Crusades? Try a friendly game of chess.

Apple tea. Perfect for when you come home sick from your first time in Turkey.

Coming soon - my attempt at putting the beauty and majesty of Byzantine and Ottoman architecture into words.