Christmas in Turkey

I was going to name this post “7 Days in Istanbul,” but I thought that sounded too much like a movie title (and I’m certainly not Brad Pitt!).

As the title indicates, I traveled to Turkey for Christmas. Getting there was surprisingly easy. On Christmas Eve I boarded a plane in Chisinau and about an hour later I was in Istanbul (my shortest international flight yet). My reasons for going to Turkey were several: 1) I was afraid that if I stayed in Moldova, I would be homesick and depressed. I knew traveling would be a good way to prevent that. 2) One of my best friends, Amy, was going home to Istanbul for Christmas, so it was an opportunity to see her. 3) I got to stay with Amy’s family—if you’re a poor PC volunteer who can’t afford to go back to America for Christmas, staying with an American family is the next best thing!

So I spent seven glorious days in what Moldovans refer to as Turcia. I got to see Dolmabahce Palace, home to some thirty-odd sultans of the Ottoman Empire (and their harems) and the place where Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, lived and died. I saw the famous Hagia Sophia (unfortunately not from the inside—they were closed that day) and visited the Blue Mosque, another well-known mosque. It was very surreal to stand in a crowd of tourists, quietly observing Muslim men across the room as they kneeled and bowed toward Mecca. As a person who is used to being in Christian houses of worship, it was a sobering experience.

We also visited the Grand Bazaar—endless shops and vendors selling everything from rugs to refrigerator magnets. This was a very touristy part of Istanbul, and I got more than a little annoyed with men pestering me in English to buy something. I wished I could brush them off in fluent Turkish like Amy, who had grown up in Istanbul. As someone who doesn’t like shopping to begin with, it was all a bit overwhelming. But, happily, I got a genuine Turkish scarf out of the excursion.

Another visit was to the Basilica Cistern, a huge reservoir of water below the streets of Istanbul, which had been constructed during the time of the Romans. It was a bit eerie to be underground in relative darkness, but it was beautiful. One of the Basilica Cistern’s claims to fame is its possession of two stone heads of Medusa—one upside down and the other sideways—as bases for columns. No one knows for sure why they were put there. That added to the eeriness.

Amy’s family lives on the Asian side of Istanbul, so I had the opportunity to cross the Bosphorus by ferry on numerous occasions in order to see the sights on the European side of the city. We also visited thermal springs, went out for traditional Turkish cuisine (I’m in love), visited with some Turkish friends of theirs, went to their church (where I learned that there are only a few thousand Christians in the whole country), and explored the neighborhood around their apartment. I knew that I was getting to see much more than a normal tourist would have, and I felt very privileged as a result.

As if learning Romanian (and hoping to start learning Russian) isn’t enough, I also became enchanted with the Turkish language. I spent the whole trip learning basic expressions and sounding out every Turkish word I saw, amusing everyone around me in the process. Amy told me I sound like a Russian trying to speak Turkish—that’s good, right? ;-)

As I knew it would, the week in Istanbul passed far too quickly. It was the perfect defense against homesickness, especially because I got to talk with my own family via Skype on Christmas day. The chance to see a foreign country from the comfort of an American household was, for me, ideal.

And so I have fallen in love with yet another country. If my wallet allows, I have dreams of going back again to see more of Turkey, hopefully in warmer weather. Ah, the things I would do if money didn't get in the way...