Day 40...Spice Bazaar

Day 40, July 24th:

Istanbul Day 5!

Have you ever been able to smell spices from all over the world all in one location?  If you answered yes, then you have probably been to Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar!  It is a very distinctive place.  There are many merchants selling everything from gold jewelry to lace bedspreads to saffron.  It is remarkable.  I could smell the hundreds of spices that fill the air full of glorious scents for hours after I left the bazaar.   It was truly an experience.  The spice stores have various teas, nuts, dried fruits, and concoctions of spices for various dishes, as well as liquid extracts and oil essences.  

There are several stands outside of the Spice Bazaar selling various animals, including roosters, chickens, baby chicks, geese, rabbits, dogs, cats, ducks, turtles, tropical fish, and even birds.  Some were definitely going to be bought for food and others for pets.  It was really pretty sad to see how they treated these little animals.  There were hundreds of ducks in one cage crawling all over each other, for example.  The geese were way too big to be in a cage that size and they managed to squeeze two of them into one cage.  I just wanted to go open all of the doors on the cages and let them run free.  It was really sad.  I just had to keep walking! 

After our wonderful discovery of the cruelty to animals, we decided we were done with Turkish food and we went back to the ship to eat lunch.  We couldn’t come to the fact that one of those guys might die because we ate their brother.  It is one of those mental things…you don’t mind it unless you see it personally. 

After lunch, we headed in search of a grocery store near the ship.  We stocked up on potato chips and canned beverages for the rest of our voyage, since it may be the last port in which we find edible food and drinks.  I wrote out a few postcards to home and got them in the mail just before on-ship time.  After dinner on the ship, we had another lifeboat drill, so we all had to wear long pants, hats, and our life jackets out to our muster stations on the 5th deck.  During the role call, I actually got in trouble for taking pictures!  Whoops!  We were taking roomie pics and the guy didn’t think that was very appropriate.  Our cabin had already been called and we were still in our correct spots and not disturbing anyone else.  You have to capture the moment!  See I do get in trouble every once and a while…

The ship pulled away from the dock about 20:00 and the view of the city was AMAZING!!!  The sun was setting so beautifully behind the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.  It was very beautiful to see the Golden Horn glisten in the golden sunset (I now know where the name “Golden Horn” comes from)!  What a beautiful port from the sea!  I wish all of you could have seen it!!!!! I then spent the rest of the evening catching up on all of my blog writing.  It is amazing what I do for all of you readers back home…spend hours of my day writing to let you know what you are missing!!!  Hope you enjoyed Istanbul as much as I did!!!!  Up next: EGYPT!!!!! But first, two more days of class…