Like peeling an Onion

 Everything has layers. Our skin, the Earth, history, and so much more. Layers typically go from general to specific, from top to bottom. Take your skin for example, the epidermis. It is the thickest part of the skin and the part that you can easily see. They say that it can be as thin as .5mm on your eyelids to 1.5mm on your palms and soles. You are probably wondering what layers of the skin would have to do with architecture or even my trip to Istanbul. Well, just as we are doing in Rome, in Istanbul we were discovering the layers of the city fabric. As a tourist, you typically see the first layer of the city. You need to visit the well known spots, the popular restaurants, and the best shopping. It's all within the confines of the top layer. Very rarely, does one have an opportunity to go beyond the first layer.
  My favorite part of our week long trip to Istanbul, Turkey was that we were able to go beyond just the first layer. We spent the first two days exploring all the must see places such as the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Spice Market. But what is so fascinating is that there is so much more to the city outside the confines of the "tourist" street. There is a culture of people in their everyday lives. They are small shop owners, cooks, teachers, and carpet experts, you name it they are keeping everyday life going for people in Turkey. It is very rare that you get to experience the culture as the residents do. There is just never enough time. This trip was an exception.

  After touring the "hot" spots (hot in quotes because Istanbul weather was SOOO cold), we went to the smaller mosques, the ones that the people use. We walked through parts of the city that no tourist would ever think or even know to go to. The experience is so much more when you can fully embrace the culture and lifestyle and see it for yourself first hand. There is layering within architecture as well.  Rome is one of the best examples of layering. In italian, the word is inglobare meaning incorporating the old with the new. If you compare the architecture near the Hagia Sophia to the architecture near the Mahmut Pasa Camiis it is drastically different. Everything around the Hagia Sophia is pretty, well kept, and clean. It is somewhat "fake". Not the Mosque, but the area. The Mosque is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture I have seen. It is the only Mosque in Istanbul that is not in use as a mosque but as a museum. The use of arches, pendentives, and domes is truly remarkable. While things have been updated, and make for visitors, they still remain what they used to be and for that they remain old. You can see the same thing happening throughout the other parts of the city. A mixture of old run down buildings are being torn down to make room for the new.


  I think one of the most interesting parts of the trip was meeting Ismet. Ismet is a expert Turkish carpet salesman who is a friend of Eric's. He has been in the business of carpets for over 40 years. And everyone in Istanbul seems to know him. He gave us his card and wherever we went, he told us to tell the shop owner we know him and they will give us money off what we purchased. The best part is, it worked! Meeting the locals is another aspect of the going beyond the layers. Ismet and his assistant Ilhan were able to show us the best places to buy scarves, towels, Turkish delight, and even Baklava. The culture in Istanbul is very much in your face. Shop owners are constantly calling you over to look at the items they are selling and restaurant owners run out of their restaurants to catch you before you walk past. They all want to offer you a good price and somehow, every shop is dramatically cheaper then the next, or at least thats what they tell you... The most commonly used phrases: "My Friend", "Very Thank You", "Hello... I am here, let me help you spend your money here", and the best one, "I give you very good price". No matter where you went, you would here these phrases from the shop owners and restaurants.

The apple tea and chai tea was incredible. All they do is drink tea all day long. It seems like they have quite an obsession with tea and sugar. All of their desserts were covered in sugar from the Baklava to the candied fruit, vegetables, and even olives. Yup, I never thought green olives could be a dessert but in Turkey they can! There was just so much that we got to do that it would take 5 blogs to write it all down. If you ever get the chance to go to Turkey, I recommend the Hammam. The Hamman is a Turkish bath. It was definitely something that was added to the bucket list and checked off the bucket list as 

quickly as it was added. Overall, the trip was a once in a lifetime experience and I continue to thank our professors for taking us there because I know that if I had not gone with the group, I probably would never think to travel to Turkey. We explored the layers of the city and the people. We immersed ourselves in the culture, and even met a popular Islamic rock band sitting in the same room as us as we smoked hookah. Next thing we knew, they were giving us their cd and we were singing the Beetles with a turkish twist. I continue to thank everyone for their support and encouragement as I remain on this journey. I   am truly blessed.