From the Bazaar to the Bizarre

The Süleymaniye Mosque is the largest mosque in Istanbul.

The monkey was wearing a diaper. Its diapered bottom was sitting on the shoulder of a man wearing traditional Turkish clothing. Together they were strolling down Divan Yolu, one of the busiest streets in old town Istanbul. I was so shocked I didn’t even have time to get my camera before the walking stereotype disappeared into the street crowd. But believe me, Kirk can attest to the truth of the diapered monkey. Who can make that stuff up?

The world's best sales pitches

We went to the Grand Bazaar today, but weren’t quite feeling up to the challenge of facing the hordes of people and the shopkeepers pressuring you to buy. Instead, we took a couple of side trips down the quieter, outer side alleys of the Grand Bazaar. And though it was quiet, the sales pitches were rollin’ in.

Here are the top five sales pitches we have heard so far in Istanbul:

1. From the corn-on-the-cob street vendor: “Zero-calorie food for the lady? (Not sure how corn-on-the-cob drizzled with butter is zero calories, but OK.)
2. From the man in the rug/Turkish lamp/pashmina shop: “Would you like some pretty pashmina?” Me: “No.” Him: “Say yes sometimes and make people happy.” (Wow, that's almost profound.)
3. Man in front of rug store: (Looking at Kirk): “Where are you from, Tokyo?” Kirk: “No.” Man: “Osaka?”
4. Man in front of ice cream shop: (Looking at Kirk, where he  had paused to admire the ice cream.): “Ne ha ma, would you like some ice cream?” (thinking he was Chinese).
5. Another rug salesman: “How many rugs are you going to buy today?” Us: “none.”

Mosque mania

The interior of the Süleymaniye Mosque is awe-inspiring.

We continued Mosque Mania and saw another one today. This one was bigger than the Blue Mosque. It’s called Süleymaniye Camii and it sits on top of one of Istanbul’s hills like a domed, stone fortress over the city. Süleymaniye Mosque is past the Grand Bazaar and up the hill from Istanbul University. We walked a little ways up the hill, saw a mosque under construction and thought it was Süleymaniye. It was covered in scaffolding and we couldn't quite make out the architecture, but thought, “oh well, we’ll still go inside and give it a shot.” 

While several men were taking off their shoes, washing their feet and going through their cleansing ritual before praying; we grabbed a nearby seat, took off our shoes and I covered my head with my scarf. We walked inside and it took us about 2.5 seconds to realize we did not belong. We had walked into the main prayer room where several people were in the middle of praying in a very small mosque. This was not the Süleymaniye Mosque, and there were no tourists here.

We rushed outside, put on our shoes and walked the rest of the way up the hill until finally, Süleymaniye Mosque came into view. This was definitely it this time. It was peaceful, there were hardly any tourists and the grounds were beautiful. Bonus: there’s a restaurant behind the mosque, where you can sit in a beautiful outdoor courtyard. The food is delicious, the price is cheap, the bathrooms are clean and at least one man on the wait staff speaks perfect English. The Turkish coffee is good, too!

So far, we've checked so many Turkish must-do's off our list. Mosques? Check. Saying no to pushy salespeople trying to be your best friend? Check. The Grand Bazaar? Half-check. Watching a whirling dervish? Yes, we saw one! On the walk back to our hotel, we spotted a man performing the whirling dervish at a cafe near the Blue Mosque. Although it is supposed to be a ritual, this one was clearly "made for the tourists." You can watch a man spin himself into a trance (without falling over) all while enjoying a nice dinner.

Me and Kirk behind the Süleymaniye Mosque where the mosque's namesake is buried.