it's OK to be a bit lost...more Turkish delight!

It's been two weeks since we officially started our trip and sometimes I have the feeling that we've been "running" a bit too much, mostly because we were overexcited to see this part of world which most people very seldom consider, maybe because it's not "fashionable" as London, Paris or New York would be.

But let me tell you more about Istanbul, the thousands of cats we crossed on our way (I still want to go back there and take them all with me!) and the spell it might cast on you as soon as you cross the city gates.

• Istanbul smells damn good. I really mean it. Whenever we went out somewhere we could smell chestnuts, Turkish coffee, hookahs, clovers, saffron and dried fruits, no matter where were we.
• With less than 10 liras you can have a proper meal almost everywhere. There are two cafes in the lower part of the Galata Bridge where you can taste a spartan, but delicious mackerel sandwich with a view over the Golden Horn. All for the price of a Starbucks latte or less.
• The whole city is a great maze. You can get easily lost but you cannot mind much as the things you find are far more interesting than finding the right route.
• CATS GALORE. EVERYWHERE. You can have a çay in front of a çay evi (tea house) or çay bahcesi (tea garden) and find yourself surrounded by those little meowing furry balls which we all adore (no excpetions, whoever claims to hate cats is a liar and that's all). Just look for the smallest cafes, the ones with tiny chairs and possibly in slopy alleys. They're cheap and excellent and kitties are free of charge.
• Turkish food is great. From simit (which I mentioned in my last post-you can find them anywhere in the city from street vendors with tiny red chariots), to manti (Turkish hand made raviolis served with a yogurt sauce. Lots of restaurants now have the habit of exposing a lady making hundreds of mantis from scratch in front of everyone. Though this normally proves the genuine production of this delicacy, the best ones are made in a proper kitchen), to, ça va sans dire, lokum and baklavas for dessert.
• The Grand Bazaar. It's not necessary to look something to buy here: a view in the late afternoon, as soon as they switch the lights on, is the greatest of souvenirs.

Here's some spare pics, as promised:

The Grand Bazaar is astonishing from floor to ceiling. Literally.

  

The Blue Mosque, indeed my greatest crush so far.

The Galata Tower was our personal good morning view.

 

 I'm sorry for the picture placing inconvenience...though I like it, and you?
Talk soon!

They gave us evil eyes but we didn't mind

On Friday we arrived in Izmir passing through the Greek island of Chios and the frontier town of Çeşme. It was real! We really were in Turkey!
As someone who barely had the chance to travel much and barely set a foot outside her city borders, you can imagine my excitement as the officer at the frontier put a stamp on my passport:

Once we got off our minibus we felt a bit disoriented as the streets are not organised like anywhere else! It took us a while to find our hostel and figure out where were we exactly :)

The history of Izmir is really engaging: born as a small village, in the 8th century BC starts founding colonies in Syria, Lebanon, Greece and the Black Sea.
In short, this city has met plenty of invasions from every possible intruder, it has been destroyed and rebuilt dozens of times, it was Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, Genoan, from the 15th century Ottoman, before passing to Greece for a few years and then became Turkish after the revolution lead by Atatürk.
This constant change of identity let Izmir mature up one of its own, it became a city where no one was a stranger. It was a model in the Ottoman Empire for being a multicultural, multiconfessional and polyglot city.
This let a new category of inhabitants grow, a mix of Italian, French and Mediterranean blood, called levantines.
Before the Great Fire in 1922, it was possible to notice the striking difference between Turkish and Levantine quarters, especially in the house architecture.

A place you should absolutely visit is the Ethnography Museum, the entry is free of charge and offers lots of inspiration material regarding Turkish costumes and habits.
They explain how evil eye charms, carpets and felt are made, and they have reproductions of n old Ottoman house and some workshops, as everything is disappearing due to industrialization.
There is also a rich section about camel wrestling (!!!), very popular among Nomads of the Aegean region.

Evil eyes and an old chemist laboratory

Camel wrestlers (yes sir) (we obviously dissociate from this kind of animal exploitment)

Carpet loom and crafts

And just next to it there is the Archeology museum, entry is 10 Liras (about 3,60 euros), where you can find a rich detailed history of Izmir and nearby cities (Ephesus, the twelve cities and islands of the Ionian League, and towns as Gryneion and Myrina, founded by the Amazons), with a great section about jewels and ancient money (we were not allowed to take photos there - but I hope you can get there and see them yourself!).

Hygeia (Greek goddess of health)

Bronze bust of Demeter

 You can find them both in the Konak area, not far from the famous Clock Tower and the Kemeralti bazaar.

So, I hope I gave you an idea of what you can find here, and maybe for the next Mediterranean holiday you might pop down here sometimes and see by yourself the richness of this town :)
Next time I will tell you about Istanbul! Hoşçakal!