Day 39...How Bazaar was the Grand Bazaar!

Day 39, July 23rd:

Istanbul Day 4!

Today was definitely a different look at the Grand Bazaar!  I began by going rug shopping!  First, I went into a store and looked at millions of rugs trying to find out what I really wanted, or even liked for that matter.  I found a few that I liked, but none that I really loved.  I wanted to see how the bargaining process worked, so I got the rug down from $1,200 to $600 (and could have kept going) but I really wanted to keep looking at other stores.  I then went to grab some lunch, met up with Daniel, Clark, Hannah, Brittany and some other girl that I can never remember her name.  After lunch, Daniel and Clark split off to go see the Spice Bazaar and the rest of us went around buying up all the goodies in the Grand Bazaar.  I got numerous gifts and definitely looked around a lot.  I really don’t know how I feel about the bargaining aspect of things.  I like being able to walk into a store in the US and know if I want to pay the price on the sticker without having to bargain my way down to see what the item really costs.  If the price is too high then you don’t buy it, but in Turkey every price is too high so you must bargain to get a real price.  You can’t really comparison shop like at home.  If you like something you just buy it at whatever price you negotiate. 

After we filled our hands full of bags and emptied our pockets of money, I went to find another rug shop.  This one is frequented a lot by SAS!  He asked me if I was a SASer!  Anyways, he began showing me millions of rugs and I really liked one of them.  I then began the countless hours of bargaining.  He started with $1,400 and by the time I left he was down to $625.  I really was up in the air about this rug because I kinda felt like the guy was still trying to rip me off and it wasn’t an ancient rug.  I think it may have been a machine made rug like we could buy in the US.  With all of these instincts, I decided to email mom and she said that it definitely was not something I wanted.  By this time, I was just dazed and overwhelmed with rugs.  Someday, I will just have to return to Istanbul and pick out my own rugs once I get a house and have a place to put them.  I need to do some more research too. 

After a full day of shopping and bargaining, Danielle and I returned to the ship to meet up for dinner with her extended family.  I became an adopted member of the extended family and went out to eat with them too.  We went to eat at a restaurant named Doy Doy located right behind the Blue Mosque.  We ate on the outside terrace on the roof (aka 4th floor) and there was a great view of the mosque.  It was just beautiful!  Danielle and I split a Meat Pizza  (called “pide” in Turkish) and a chicken kabob.  Both were actually pretty good, but nothing too exciting.  I just don’t like Turkish food! 

After dinner, we stayed in the hippodrome/park right by the Serpent Column, Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia to use the free Wi-Fi.  I then wanted to get some dessert, so we went just up the street to another MADO; however, this time I got a baklava sampler platter and a scoop of raspberry ice cream.  It was DELICIOUS!  The various baklavas were amazing!  Some had pistachios…they all were just AMAZING!!!  My favorite desert place by far!  I also got to Skype with my grandparents and then played on facebook/caught up with friends.  It was a great night! 

While we were sitting in the park using the Wi-Fi, there was this younger kid around 8 years old that was selling corn on the cob from a little roadside stand.  He was so cute!  He kept hollering out to all of the people passing by to come buy his corn.  He was only speaking Turkish, but it was like we could understand exactly what he was saying to the potential customers.  His dad sat on a bench 20 feet away from the stand, watching and laughing at his son’s actions and marketing skills.  He sold a lot of corn that night!!! How could you say no to a little boy working so hard to sell his corn. 

Another unique thing about sitting in the park was observing the local people.  Several families went and bought corn from this kid and then sat on the nearby benches and curbs to eat it.  Several of the families would take off their shoes before eating the corn.  I thought that was pretty unique.  I wonder if that is part of the religion or the culture (you can’t wear shoes in the house or in the mosque either). 

We finally were ready to go just after midnight, but what we didn’t know was the metro stopped at 12:30.  It took us half of the way to the ship and then they told us all to get off and get a taxi.  It was pretty funny actually.  Danielle and I didn’t want to have to deal with a taxi, so we just walked back to the ship.  We got back around 01:00 and went straight to bed.  It was another good day in the neighborhood!