Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it. -Claude Monet-

The funny thing in this city is that although Turkish people do not celebrate christmas a lot of shops decorate their windows with christmas stuff. Cevahir, one of the hugest shopping malls in Istanbul, is completly in christmas fever, from inside as well as from outside. Everywhere you find lights, christmas trees and presents. Unfortunatly I missed the German christmas market organized by the German grammar school. I heard that Glühwein and gingerbread were sold there. Luckily I have a dear friend how brought me along some filled gingerbread hearts, thank you so much Gülşah! I also recieved a real chocolate Nikolaus from Germany, that really made my 6th of December!

So grab your self some Spekulatius and open yourself for the impressions of christmas feeling in Istanbul, ho ho ho!

December Istanbul'da

I was always floating around the city
Going with the flow without ever knowing
where I wanna be.

Ok, I have to admit that the weather is not always that nice as on this very nice moment I caught on the ferry on our way to Bebek. Bebek by the way is a very nice district of Istanbul where the rich and famous are home so it was obvious that we had to discover this place ;) The Starbucks there has a beautiful view over the whole city. We were sitting on the 2nd floor with our beloved brownies and watching the sun setting down and all the colourful lights turning on. Especially the two Bosphorus bridges looked amazing (you have not often the chance to see both of them together). 

Unfortunatly it is also raining a lot in Istanbul and the streets are definetly not made for rain. So after one hour the streets are full with mass of water. People in Istanbul never go out with an umbrella. As soon as it starts to rain the streets are full of shouting people who are selling umbrellas. But the thing is that the umbrellas they sell a so trashy that they only last for maybe one rain, and when there is wind - you are screwed. That's the quality you get for 5 Lira. At least we don't have minus degrees and there is no snow, which I actually imagine myself very beautiful on top of the mosquees..

The best thing you can do when the weather is bad is to go shopping ;) As I don't have so much time anymore before I fly back home to Germany I started to buy souveniers. Although Istanbul offers you a variety of nearly everything it is not easy to find the suitable things for your homies. And I don't like just to buy something that I got at least something, you got me? Of course I also bought something for myself. Do you remeber my post about the braclets? From time to time I got much more of them also because I discovered a little shop that sells every accessoires you can imagine. It is always croweded with fashionable Turkish women and sometimes their boyfriends are standing outside, kind of bored, smoking and carrying all of the other shopping bags of their girlfriends.


I also started an experiment I was very scared of all the month. But I could not handle the fact anymore that my hair is growing longer and longer. So I finally went to the hairdresser at our University (yes, we have one at our University because the spoiled Turkish girls go there nearly every day, sometimes just to have their hair straightend or curled, unbelievable). Luckily I went together with my Greek roomate who can at least talk Turkish. But how do you explain what you want when you first don't really know what you want and second you don't have a language in common? Ok, so I got first my hair washed and then he started to cut them. Shyly I told him that he can go on a bit and cut some more - which really surprised him. As I was satisfied with the result he washed them again (for what reason ever) and started to dry them and put every kind of care products and hairspray inside that he could find. Suddenly he realized that my hair is to thin for all this stuff and I looked like I had put my finger into the socket. So what to do no? Yes, wash my hair again. Maybe for an excuse or for a favor he also massaged my head and told my how beautiful my eyes are. After one and a half our and 35 Lira poorer I left the store again and finally I have to admit that he did a good job.

I Listen To Istanbul

I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
First, a light wind blowing
A soft wind swaying
The leaves in the trees,
And far off in the distance
The tinkling cups of the water-seller;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.

I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
Now the birds are passing
In high clamoring flocks,
Nets are pulled in at the fisheries,
A woman's feet graze the water;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.

I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
The cool covered bazaar,
Mahmutpasha, the courtyards
Filled with warbling pigeons,
Hammer sounds from the docks,
Smells of sweat in my lovely Spring wind;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.

I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
An old world drunk in its head,
A waterfront palace with a dark boat shed,
The humming of the lodos ceases inside;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.

I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
A pretty young girl walks by
Chased by taunts, come-ons and curses,
Something falls from my hand—
Surely a rose;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.

I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed:
A bird is fluttering in your skirts,
Your brow is hot, I know,
Your lips are wet, I know, I know,
A white moon rises behind the pistachio trees—
I understand the pounding of your heart;
I listen to Istanbul, my eyes closed.

Orhan Veli Kanik

 

WELCOME TO THE MOST INSPIRING CITY IN THE WORLD

Do you know the moment on the airport when you stand in front of the big door where all people who arrive are passing through and you wait for the ones you love? You are excited every single time the the door opens and just in the moment you expacted it the less they are standing right in front of you. Emotions are overwelming and the best thing to do is to stay hugged as long as possible.

Spending time with the most important people in your life in the most incredible city is hard to describe in words. You even feel a bit proud that you have choosen such a beautiful city where you can show them your favorite places you discovered in time. Seeing the Hagia Sophia, eating the best Lahmacun, drinking cay on the grand bazaar all these things are even more impressive when you have somebody familiar you can share these moments with. - Thank you soooo much for the great time, it felt so good with you <3

Don`t count the days - make the days count

Thanks the the Indian family for the photo of the three of us

"oh, this is a really nice camera" ;)

Blue Mosque - Sultanahmet the only one with six minarets

The blue mosque is simply stunning. A peaceful atmosphere like in a living room (because you have to take off your shoes) where you can sit down, you will sit next to other people from all over the world who obviously do not have the same religion as you have but this doesn`t matter. Everyone is faszinated by the light and the warmth that is spread in this magic place. Just lay back relax, forget about the noise from outside and reflect what you have seen so for from the city and what you still want to see.

shopping at the bazaar - like real Turkish citizens 

somewhere over the rainbow 

view from the ferry to maiden tower - kız kulesi 

 

 

 

FOR FUTURE INSPIRATIONS WE WISH TO SEE YOU AGAIN

We always had time on our sides
Now it's fading fast
Every second every moment 

We've gotta make it last        

- Nada Surf-                                                                                

I think it is been a long time that I wrote something here. You can`t imagine how fast time passes in Istanbul. You spent an evening at Kafeinhouse just for going through your notes of the consumer behavior course and when you look once again on your watch it is half past 12. This is because you are sourrounded by nice people, having fun, laughing and talking about whatever. 

As I am addicted to cookies I was very happy to find some new ones. These are special ones. They are a bit similar to fortune cookies (not concerning the taste, they contain choclate of course) because they are respresenting your feelings and moods. On each of them you find a painting represeting different moods. This is a perfect opportunity for learning some important words in Turkish (midterm went very good by the way - cok mutluyum :)) Sorry for the wrong spelling, I have no Turkish letters on my keyboard.

As,k                                     Love
S,ans                                    Luck
Sanglik                                 Health
Mutluluk                               Happiness
Dostluk                                 Friendship
Is,                                        Work
Nes,e                                   Joy
Bas,un                                 Success
Para                                    Wealth



Walking around in the small streets of Beyoglu i found this little stror called Dogo. Look how lovely their special shoes are. I felt in love with the cherry blossom ones. In reality they look even better and have a writing on it. "how lucky we are to live under a cherry blossom".
http://www.dogostore.com/category/Ayakkabi-43/Ms.Dogo-44/Bootz-47/product-1622--CherryBlossom

 

http://web.stagram.com/p/252655868823047721_151890

 

Behind the Istiklal Caddesi you find a bit hidden the Fransız Sokağı, the French street which offers a great varity of bars, restaurants, wine locals and often playing live music. Everything is colorful and the atmosphere is warm and lovly.

http://www.orientblog.de/aktuell/die-franzosische-strase-rue-francaise

 

Nothing is impossible and everything can happen to you while you are walking through Istiklal Caddesi. So we found ourselves in beetween the shooting of a scene for a famous Turkish soap called Kayip Sehir and we did not realize that Ilker Kaleli was standing next to us :)
http://www.diziler.com/dizi/kayip-sehir/oyunculari

Have you heard about Leman Kültür?
http://www.lmk.com.tr/istanbul
This cafe offers you an impression of the work of famous Turkish cartoonists, the walls are full of their paintings and you are only surrounded by Turkish people because tourists don't find the way there very easily ;)

Orhan Pamuk Museum of Innocence

 

In Physics Aristotle makes a distinction between time and the single moments he describes as "the present". Single moments are like Aristotle's atoms - invisible unbreakable units. But time is the line that links them.

This quotation I saw Orhan Pamuks famous "Museum of Innocence" This museum presents everthing that the characters of the same-titled novel used, wore, heard, saw, collected and dreamd of, all meticulously arranged in boxes and display cabinets. Your imagination becomes borderless. You find yourself thinking about the time the couple spent togehter in different places around Istanbul.

Impressive is the wall of cigarette butts, 4213 pieces in detail Kemal - the hero of the novel -  colleceted all from his beloved Füsun, the woman who is his (unlucky) focus of life. Red lipstick is sticking at some of them and below you find notes like saturday night in front of the TV.

I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can.  - Neil Gaiman- 

Monet Istanbul'da

To the Sabanci family which is one of the most richest family in the whole Turkey we owe the same-titled museum in Istanbul. Right now there is an exhibition of Monet showing his latest period paintings, which are characterized by bold blush strokes and brilliant colors. Monet famously declared, "the only thing I want to paint is good weather" and he was impressioned by light, the effects of light on nature, the way water reflects reality and distorts it.

Look how close his pictures come to reality

Reminiscent of far Eastern Philosophies his approche combines opposite the big & the small, the overall & the detail, the legible & the illegible as if to better signify that they are all expressions of one single reality.
Walking through the big garden around the villa with an amazing view over the bosphorus lets the time stand still for a moments of deep relaxing.

 

Republic Day - Cumhuriyet Bayrami (but the i without the dot ;))

Happy Birthday dear Turkey - on the 29th of October we were celebrating
the 89. birhtday of the Republic.

Knowing that Üsküdar is one of the favorite places to go for having the best view over the whole silhouette of the city we took the never ending bus to get there. But once more the effort was totally worth it. I have never seen anything comparable like the firework they prepared for this extraordinary day. The days before were also mostly free for the Turkish people and it seemed that Istanbul - the city that never sleep - took a little beaty nap for getting ready for this celebration. On the streets you could hardly find any traffic jam which is here as seldom as no snow on top of the Zugspitze and actually a very nice feeling.

Of course we were not the only ones having this great idea and so we ended up in a crowd of very proud Turkish people who were all singing along with the traditional folk song that was launched by loudpeakers. With the traditional sun flower seeds in our hands (I learnd how to bite them with your teeth now) we were standing and watching the breathtaking firework starting at the Bosphorus bridge. I have rarely seen something so beautiful like the colorful rage and patterns of the rockets in the sky - absolutly magnific! There were even able to make some stars and moons representing the flag of Turkey. I was just standing there with my mouth open, a litte bit absent and simply enjoying the prettiness I was lucky to see. The illuminanating lights reminded my of the song city of blinding lights by U2 and I just can agree with Bono "oh you look so beautiful tonight"

Thank you Turkey and especially Istanbul for this wonderful night I feel honerd to have been a part of this wonderful party.

Unfortunatly pictures can't describe what you could see in this night but they will give you a little impression and if you like you can also watch the video of my friend Luisa who was not getting tired of holding her heavy camea in order to keep a memory of this night - thank you so much!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzMXreDKcsU&feature=player_embedded

Türkce ögrenmek icin bir hafta zamanim var -

or how I can learn Turkish right now in the week we got no classes because of the Bayram. Kurban Bayram is the nationally celebrated holiday which is considered to be the highest Islamic celebration.
A related ritual is the butchering of a sheep - the whole citys is surrounded by a disgusting smell of these poor animals.
among these lines - iyi bayramlar

Sunday we made a short excursion (ha ha, actually we spent one and a half hour in the bus) to Üsküdar which is located on the shore of the Bosphorus. Along the dozen nice places onward the water you have a wonderful overview of the whole silhouette of the city. The atmosphere is pretty more relaxed compared to the crowed European site. Mostly Turkish people come here for simply enjoying their cay under the wind protecting sunshades. So it can easily happen that you find yourself among wedding guests. Only the mass of people who try to sell nearly everything (ok sunflower but roses, pencils and photos?!) is a bit annoying.

Finally we also baught a package of sunflowers. Being able to open them with your teeth makes you really Turkish. No matter how old you are or to which social class you belong, in Turkey EVERYBODY can do this. But please believe me - it is not that easy as it looks like. I tried it with half a package but still I did not find out the right technique.

 

Our midnight snack we had on the forth floor terrasse of the famous Mado. Their Baklava are heavenly and the view is once more stunning and marvelous.

Cappadokia - land of the beautiful horses

Distance means so little when something means so much.
Because Cappadokia definetly belongs to the great places to see before you die not even the over 10 hours long bus ride could scare us of going there.

In the middle of the arid Anatolian steppes, there suddenly appears an otherworldly landscape of bizarre rock formations and fairy chimneys: Cappadocia. The landscape appears so surreal that at first sight, you could easily mistake it for a mirage. Indeed, many visitors will tell you that the first word that comes to mind when looking at Cappadocia’s scenery is magical. The extraordinary landscape is made up of a soft kind of lava, known as tufa, which has been carved into distinctive shapes by years of winds and rains, the results of which resemble a moon-like landscape.
Read more: http://www.theguideistanbul.com/news/detail/855/Wondrous-Cappadocia

The view over the first panoram city we stopped was beautiful and stunning at the same time. I have never seen mountains and stones  in such a surreal form and it is really hard to describe it in words - hopefully the picturese will help you carry a bit of this marvellous atmosphere to your home.

A tree of the evil eye that protects you from vicious sights

In a factory of ceramic I bought one of these for the chaos of my earrings I have in my room (I was able to loose one of them in a room with not more than 15 square meters) 
The desicion was very hard - which one is your favorite and guess which color I have chosen?

Also we could not resits to buy one of these handmade dolls from the women in front of the underground city we were down. They were hardly trying to sell them and as she told me she got six children to feet I could no longer resits - a good deed done (foreven  only one lira) and I am really growing to like her - does anyone have a suggestion for a name (the right one?)  ;)

 

 We are always running for the thrill of it thrill of it
Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it
On and on and on we are calling out and out again
Never looking down I'm just in awe of what's in front of me

- by empire of the sun

little visitors I found while climbing up the hills (luckily I had my trainers on but unfortunatly my jeans did not survive the way up - no it has a little rip on the knee but those who have scarfs have experienced)

doesn't the shape of the stones remind you of toadstools apart from the color and the missing dots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had so much fun exploring the endless landscape and discover secret holes and steps upwords that we did not realize that our bus has been honking several times - but half an hour was definetifly to less time! And the photos are totally worth beeing taught off by the buddies.

Ihlara Valley

 

one of the beautiful little churces inside of the valley

 

 

Thank you girls for the wonderful weekend! 

Happrness is only real when shared