A taste of home and of Istanbul

Yesterday I went with a couple friends to find a museum downtown and go to the Grand Bazaar to pick up some souvenirs. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the museum; we decided we had been using an outdated map and the museum has since been relocated since no one in the area had any idea what we were talking about.

The Grand Bazaar was crazy as always; it gets a little overwhelming in there with everyone shouting at you since you look so foreign. But on the way back, we stopped at a cafe run by a Canadian expat and had some real French toast North American style. It was great to taste some "American" food, and the cafe was really cozy, the kind of place I'd go to even at home.

Today was one of my favorite days in Turkey. Some friends and I got invited to an engagement ceremony; our Turkish conversation tutor asked us to come as a cultural experience. It was in a very non-touristy part of Istanbul, somewhere we'd never go on our own. At first it was kind of awkward since we didn't know anyone and couldn't really communicate; since it was our friend's sister's engagement, he had to help out and couldn't translate all the time. But the actual ceremony was really cool-- the parents were the ones who agreed to the engagement, then all the relatives came by and gave the couple gifts; gold bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and pinned some coins and cash on white sashes they had put around their necks. Our friend later explained it's a way to show how happy you are for the marriage, to show that it's important. After a cup of Turkish coffee and an awesome dinner (meat and eggplant, borek, and cake), we sat with the family while they opened the gifts from the bride's family. Apparently the gifts are a way to make the families closer together; the mother got a headscarf and some linens, for example. Our friend's mother also gave us gifts-- I got a really nice pair of homemade Turkish slippers! (Don't worry, Mom, we made sure to bring them flowers).

Afterwards we went to a cafe that had a great view of Istanbul and drank tea and talked some more about the evening, the differences between Turkey and the US, and Turkey in general. It was a long but fantastic day!

I don't have any pictures now-- I thought it would be a bit awkward to take them at a stranger's engagement. The family insisted we get a picture with the bride and groom, though, so hopefully I'll get a copy!