headin west

tonight is our last night and i hardly know what to say. i absolutely cannot believe we've already been travelling for three and a half months, and yet i also am amazed with how much we've done, what we've seen, and how many people we've met. i can easily say that istanbul is high on my list of favorite capital cities, (though i admit i don't really have such a list, but you know, if i did...) though even after nearly a week here i feel like we've hardly scratched its surface. today took a ferry all the way down the bosphorous out towards where it opens into the black sea, getting great views of both europe and asia the whole way down. the european side has more magnificent sea-side houses, some remnants from the ottoman empire, with their wooden frames built out over the edge of the water, flaunting their grandiosity. we stopped at a little fishing village just past the edge of what is still considered istanbul (it's absolutely massive) with ruins of a 14th century byzantine castle looming over it. now it functions as simply a grazing area for local sheep and goats and a stop for tourists like us searching for a glimpse of outer istanbul.
in the past few days we've covered all of the big sites - the hagia sofia, the blue mosque, topkapi palace - and some smaller ones such as the military museum, where we saw a reenactment performance of the mehter band, the ottoman army band who inspired all of europe and beyond, and the modern art museum, which was showing a lovely collection mixing eastern and western art. we also did tons of wandering around the various neighborhoods back and forth across the galata bridge over the golden horn, and just around the old city/sultanahment, where we're staying. we went in and out of the grand bazaar and the spice bazaar numerous times, getting reeled in by the overwhelming number of turkish delight stands, carpet peddlers, scarf sellers, etc. i can't even think of the number of times we heard something like "hello, how are you, where are you from?" from people wanting to sell us things. we also heard a number of more interesting takes on that line, such as, from a restauranteur in a sad little voice, "you look hungry," or from a man standing near an atm we just used, "you get money, now you buy carpet." no, no, no thank you. aside from all of that business though, istanbul really is an amazing city. everywhere you look you see the mineret of another gorgeous mosque, every street is teeming with people, groups of people walking every direction and within the same group you can see a woman wearing a full burka, one in a colorful headscarf, and one wearing trendy western european looking clothes and no scarf. the most interesting though is the incredibly trendy women who wear matching scarves, often out of color-coordinated satin. this all adds to the unique feeling that is alive everywhere in istanbul.
it will be strange to be back (tomorrow....) but also very nice - travelling has been wonderful, but i'm rather tired, and i think ready to be home. so, that said, happy holidays to everyone, and thanks for reading! i'll let you know if i decide to keep blogging somewhere else about my life stateside....