While the rain kept us inside most of yesterday, with only an excursion in the evening to replenish supplies and eat the most delicious not-pizza pizzas known to man, the day before was interesting for one point. I actually went to a sports game.
(Well, two. The sugariest bread-syrup snack I have laid eyes on)
SUGAR RUSH AAAAGHHHHH
Oh, and the game itself wasn't bad, either. Beshiktash versus Ankorah, I believe. 4-0, we won, hooray. The football match interested me somewhat, but more so the crowd. I have never encountered, nor heard of, a game where every fan of a team stands on their chairs and remains standing for the entire game. We had about ten, twenty minutes to rest during the halftime break, and then it was back to standing on seats for the rest of the 90 minutes. Truly amazing (and the cheering when we scored was deafening, even though this is apparently a more minor game). I am not surprised that the Beshiktash stadium has apparently broken the record for the loudest game (blame Jeremy if this is wrong).
I also learned how to eat sunflower seeds properly, without ever putting the shell in the mouth. By crimping down on the vertical ridge of the seed while holding it in one hand, you can split it slightly. Then you use your fingers to pinch down the ridge and it spreads out thusly:
Like the most useless fan.
Then, eat the seed in the middle.
This is an even less useful fan. Take back that other caption!
After trying for a few minutes I had this down fairly well.
The other great part of the game was, once it was finished, they turned on the Basketball game Turkey was competing in (the one the USA won recently in the finals). We left as everyone, including the staff on the field, were enraptured (I had to lend Jeremy my headphones so he could tune to a radio and listen as we watched). We were several hundred meters away when the final shot scored and the time ended at the same time, and the sound from the stadium still nearly bowled me over. It was amazing, the entire city had entirely lost it. Cars were honking constantly, people shouting and running in the streets, and it lasted the entire time we walked from the stadium to Taksim (we met up with friends there). Unbelievable.
Jeremy is unnaturally fond of football. He is seen here in his native habitat.
Still eating those seeds.
Alright, next day. was rainy and we all did boring things. The rain let up in the evening, however, and we were able to eat the most delicious not-pizza pizzas known to man (pide). See the bottom of the post for pictures.
Today, Jeremy started his job teaching English to little kids, and had to run out early. Sonia and I wound up going to the Topkapi palace. Of course, our first stop was the Harems.
Welcome to Sultanland!
Sonia has been considering brushing up her resume and applying.
TERRIBLE SHOT OF INFINITE MIRRORS HECK YEAH SON
You know, for all the sexism about it, concubines didn't have it all too bad for the times.
Don't look so stony, face!
All through this trip, I had the 'Makeover' song from Clone High stuck in my head, substituting the word 'concubine' for 'makeover'. And now you will too, presuming you've ever seen that show.
All the cabinets in this place are inlaid mother-of-pearl and some other classy, sparkly material.
Anyone want to split rent for this little place? Only infinity dollars a month!
The palace also has a drop-dead gorgeous view of the city, looking over the place where the Sea of Marmara, the Golden Horn, and the Bosporus meet.
Domes are the classiest architectural work in the world.
After this was over, we didn't really have a plan. We just decided to tour the rest of the palace, for closure. Most of those places didn't allow pictures, but that was fine, because I'll tell you right now the most important part: the gutters themselves were plated with gold, on the inside and outside.
Later, we met up with Jeremy, took a boat back to Asia, and took pretty pictures of a lighthouse.
HI JEREMY
This is roughly translated as 'girl tower' or 'maiden's tower'. Jeremy calls it 'the motherf*ing maidens tower'. I don't think he knows what a maiden is.
A brief interlude to sing to the moon. It was a crescent. It felt appropriate at the time.
Left to right: guitarist, singer, crazy-eyed keyboardist.
I did a slow exposure of the lighthouse for detail and playing with light.
We also grew extraordinarily hungry and tired, and walked FOREVER. Then we came upon some more of the delicious not-pizza pizza and a delicious variety of flatbread-like not-pizza pizza. I apologize for not taking a picture of it. I had eaten my camera. Instead, here is a picture of the delicious not-pizza pizzas from the night before this one:
Bread, a clay pot-baked thing, and a turkish thin kinda pizza.
Instead of pepperoni, they have sucuk (c's are j's here). It is a kind of garlic sausage. It is a new regret I shall have once I resume pescetarianism.
One more day is up ahead, and it's looking busy already. If you don't see me post before my flight back, I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait until Thursday sometime.
Later, saps!
-Hyde
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