Seeing Everything for the First Time

I have been out of the states for a month now. I can’t explain enough how amazing it is to see and experience other things for the first time. My boyfriend loves introducing me to new things simply because it’s that pure joy and happiness you feel when doing so. He says the smile on my face when I see or try something new is priceless. I have learned to trust him when it comes to trying new food and to go with the flow when he wants to do something I haven’t done before. Why? Because it usually tastes really good and I have a blast doing whatever it is.

I never really understood what he meant about how it made him feel so happy to see me experience things for the first time until a couple days ago. Americans are few and far between over here so when you hear someone speaking English you tend to notice it and a couple of days ago we did. We were doing our normal morning walk to the Blue Mosque to see the progress on the carpet of tulips they were putting in when we heard them. We quickly stopped them and introduced ourselves gave them a few pointers on how to navigate the city and some must see places. We talked for a little while, pointed them in the direction of where they were originally going and before leaving them exchanged numbers in case they needed anything while they were here. We have spent the last 3 days showing them around Istanbul and even though they have been traveling for 7 months already to different places to take them and show them some of the amazing places we have found on our journeys has been beyond amazing. Seeing their faces light up, or pure amazement of some of the things around us I understood what my boyfriend was talking about for the first time.

View from the street on Price Island

One of the places we took them to was the Prince Islands – well it was supposed to be the Bosporus Strait tour but, we made a mistake in getting the tickets so off on a new adventure for all of us. it’s nothing new for my boyfriend and I to go get lost somewhere and make the best of it but, now we have others with us to join in the fun. So, after about an hour boat ride we arrive to Prince Island, get off the ferry and just pick a direction to go. We walked through the town and saw some gorgeous views of homes along the water and some beautiful flowers. Even though the island was on our list of things to visit it was funny to watch them experience for the first time as well. After spending a couple hours on the island, we head back and took them to one of our favorite restaurants in the plaza – Burgerilla’s. it’s a must try if in Istanbul by the Grand Bazaar. We all agreed the company was nice and to meet up again in the morning.

Inside the Fethiye Museum

The next day we did the Chora Museum and Fethiye Museum.Now I will say this – if you plan to be in Istanbul and go to any of the museums while here the pass is well worth it. You have the opportunity to see 12 museums within 5 days for the price it would cost you to see 2 of them. All of the museums we made it to on our passes were great for the history of the culture here along with some great art pieces. With that said having already been to these places I knew what to expect so I just sat back and watched as their faces dropped in awe when they would walk into the different places. It’s things like that here that you have to see for yourself to be able to truly appreciate them. It’s not just seeing though it’s the feeling you get when you walk in and you realize you are standing in the same place as Emperors, Kings, Queens, Prince and Princesses once stood.  To read about each individual place and how it was built and by who. These are things you can only experience in person and in my opinion much better than reading about them in any history book.

Every day we took them on a new adventure and every day I got to see them light up with pure excitement and joy in everything we showed them. It was nice to share part of this experience with a couple we got to know and will now be lifelong travel friends. As we all continue on our journeys throughout the world the brief moment in time we got to spend together will forever be part of all of us – Just like the thong they call the travel bug.  Don’t forget to check back often and follow us on our journey along with showing your support by following us on the blog Trapped In Neverland and Instagram Shutterflypro for more beautiful pictures and adventures we are having around Istanbul.

Getting Lost in Istanbul

Imagine all you hear about growing up is how traveling is dangerous and hard to do. That there are bombs going off constantly overseas. It’s a constant war zone. If you go overseas they will hunt you down and kidnap you or even worse kill you just because you are American. There is no place safer than the United States why do you think everyone wants to come here? How sheltered I was. How ignorant can us as Americans be? To say I feel safer in Istanbul Turkey than the United States is almost unreal but, very true. Let me explain.

We have no car here so we generally walk or use public transportation every day. We often go to places outside the tourist areas just because we are here, we want to see everything possible. We love getting lost on a daily basis and in doing so we come across the best places.One of the things that amazes me is we come across many parks in our travels and every single one of them kids are playing freely. The parents are sitting and having picnic’s and talking to each other not playing on cell phones or sitting in silence. There is laughter all around. Food vendors everywhere you go.

Right now, the Tulip Festival is going on. Tulips are planted everywhere you look. They are being respected. People aren’t trampling through them or throwing trash in the flowerbeds. They are appreciating their beauty. Walking by them taking pictures. Kids are playing around them to not destroy them. One day when we got lost we came across a park – Emirgan Park. To say this was one of the best places

One of the 31 areas in Emigran Park

we have stumbled upon yet would be an understatement. It was like the yellow brick road in the movie Wizard of Oz except it was full of tulips. There were several different areas set up to incase different designs they created with the tulips. Thirty-One areas to be exact. It w
s something you had to truly experience to understand how amazing it was. Again, it was full of families doing nothing but, spending time together.

 

One of the many stray dogs you come across sleeping on a bench in the marina

Another great thing I see here is they take care of their stray animals. Me being a huge animal lover loves seeing this. There are cats and dogs everywhere you turn along with food put out for them. They don’t bother you in fact, they are some of the most well behaved animals I have seen. The dogs don’t bark at you as you walk by. They don’t beg for food as you sit outside eating at restaurants. They simply mind their own business. The stray dogs are tagged on their ears to show they have been vaccinated. There is even a great program in place in certain areas where you put a plastic bottle into a recycle bin and cat and dog food is provided below. Cats here are considered clean animals and you will often find them inside of Mosques as you are walking through them. Again, like the dogs they mind their own business, aren’t begging for food just simply living.

Walking the streets of Istanbul

An interesting thing we see here is people begging for money. The interesting thing is that the next day you will walk by the same place and the same person and they are now selling tissues or whatever it is they could buy with the money they made the day before. Here they have a sense to want to earn money as opposed to sitting on street corners simply begging. Today I saw a mother and child sitting outside on the street – mind you it is a chilly 52 degrees here and rainy but, a food vendor walked up to them and gave them a plate full of food and the look on the mother’s face was priceless and the little girl was so appreciative you knew they really needed it.

It the little things you see around here that make you appreciate what you really have in life. The fact that the US is a free country and we can come and go as we please. However, the sense of community and loyalties you see here are not something you can experience in the US. I am enjoying my time here in Istanbul and learning the culture. It’s an amazing world out here. Get out and explore. Take a chance on life and see where it leads you. In the meantime show your support by following us on the blog Trapped In Neverland and Instagram Shutterflypro for more beautiful pictures and adventures we are having around Istanbul.

Living the News Vs Hearing the News

Our main reason for going to Bursa for the weekend was concern over the referendum that was being voted on. It’s also nice to get away every once in a while.  There are many positives and negatives to the vote and with everyone we spoke to saying it was going to be a close call we figured it would be a good idea to get out of a heavily populated area. Us as Americans are so worried about traveling overseas many of us let that fear get the better of us. I can honestly say I feel safer over here than I do in most places in the US – even with the current referendum going on. Aside from the fact I am liking living the news as opposed to seeing the side the media wants us to.

So, what is the referendum you ask? It’s a simple yes or no vote. Or is it that simple? A yes vote allows for 18 amendments to the Turkish Constitution. A couple of the bigger changes consist of the Prime Minister position to be abolished and replaced with a Presidential system. The number of seats in Parliament would increase from 550 to 600. Giving the President more control over Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors. The people who agree with these changes say this change is necessary to strengthen and stabilize Turkey.

There are two sides to everything so those who are opposed to this referendum known as the No campaign argue that it allows the President to have too much power and dismantling the separation of powers by taking legislative authority away from Parliament. They believe that it leads the country to an elected dictatorship with no accountability which will eventually lead the country to democratic suicide.

Now, being here in the weeks building up to the election was very interesting and defiantly an experience to be had. Just about everywhere you went you would hear the propaganda music playing. If you were sitting in the plaza on any given day you would hear both sides playing their side of the story they wanted to be told – except Sunday. I never found out why but, on Sunday the No campaign was not allowed in certain areas only the Yes. None the less it made walking through these areas interesting. Some days one side would have a stronger support than the other. You would see them waving flags around in the air, singing the songs of the story that was being told. An interesting sight was seeing the campaigns plant themselves within a couple hundred feet of each other. One thing we never saw was fights erupt between the two parties. You never saw people having heated arguments over their beliefs. It was all done in peace.

The vote happened on April 16^th and it was a very peaceful process. Very similar to our Presidential elections in the United States. We walked the streets that night peering into restaurants throughout to see how the vote was going. The streets were calm and peaceful. People were out walking around with the sense that they made their vote and what ever happened is how it was meant to be. The results came in shortly after 10 with a 51.23% victory for the Yes campaign. Now, with the voting being that close of course there is question of voter fraud. There is a little talk about recounting but, no rioting, no looting nothing even close to what we experienced in the last election in the United States. Imagine that the people have spoken and respect they won or lost and are dealing with the issue properly. That is why I feel safer here than in the United States. They have reasonable laws. They follow those laws and not everyone is out to sue or get rich quick.

Now, me I am loving living the news as opposed to seeing what the media wants me to see on TV. I am learning that traveling overseas isn’t as scary as I once thought. That there are people in the world who can obey laws whether their side wins or loses. Its an amazing world out here and I encourage others to start doing the same – Get out and live life and not be afraid of everything. I can promise you it’s an experience you wouldn’t understand until you do it and once you do it you will be surprised at how differently you view the world. In the meantime show your support by following us on the blog Trapped In Neverland and Instagram Shutterflypro for more beautiful pictures and adventures we are having around Istanbul.

Bursa Checked Off the List

Another beautiful place in Turkey – Bursa. We spent just a couple days there and while it was not big like Istanbul it still had some of the magical touch. We started off our day like most walking to see what we can find. We did have a couple places of interest we wanted to see like the Green Mosque, cable cars through the mountains and the Grand Bazaar other than that it was a let’s get lost and see what we find. I have come to realize getting lost is so much more fun than planning everything and it isn’t as scary as I once thought.

We did the touristy thing too and went on up to Teleferik. I had never been on any sort of cable car so this was a first for me and I didn’t know what to expect. The view was AMAZING! As we started going up the mountain you look down on the town and you realize how big Bursa really is. As you look up towards the top you see snow on the caps of the mountains. It is a fill 360-degree view of everything around you. When we got to the halfway point of the mountain we got off the cable car and walked around the little town for s little bit. We had a potato on a stick and saw some great views when we went off the beaten track and explored. Sitting in the cable car on the way back down the mountain I was thinking to myself how great this all really is. How I wished I done this earlier on in life. How I wished my kids could see and experience this too and how much they would learn from it. Once we reach the bottom of the mountain we are off to our next destination – The Green Mosque.

For those that have an IPhone I am sure you will be able to relate to this – we frequently use Siri for directions when we want to know where we are going. This time was no different however, do you ever question where she is really taking you? As we are walking towards the Green Mosque we follow the route she has laid out for us. Down the hills and stairs through places I think even Turkey has declared inhabitable. As we always say – it’s part of the adventure so let’s see where we end up. Thankfully she did lead us to our destination but, not before a quick stop for the TO DIE FOR ICE CREAM of Turkey. It’s a must have on a daily basis.

Walking up to the Mosque you see nothing but, families spending time together and kids playing in the grassy areas. You see Tulips in full bloom. Makes you wish you saw more of this. We enter the Green Mosque and like all others you immediately feel a sense of calm come over you. You look around at the artwork that was done centuries ago by hand in complete and utter awe. There are a few praying and I sit back and ask myself do they realize how magical this area they live in really is? As we walk out we notice how the door entering the Mosque is carved out into this cool little star shape which we later read was of course done by hand but, the door was built without a single nail. To think if we had craftsmanship like that today how beautiful things could be.

Now, off to the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaars are usually mazes of stores where you can literally buy anything you can think of. You need shoes – they got them. You need a prom dress – they got them. Bed linens, housewares, toys, fresh fruits and vegetables – you guessed it, it’s there. There are shops in every knock and cranny possible. Now with that said the bazaars are jammed packed. Trying to walk side by side is virtually impossible and don’t worry the little old lady walking towards you is quick to throw an elbow in order to make her way through the crowd. It is an everyone for themselves situation. My theory for the aggressiveness is items in the bazaar are pretty cheap. We picked up 5 plums for 5 Lira ($1.25). Spices are created to look like pyramids and are paid for by the kilo. My favorite is gummy bears where we can usually get a kilo for 26 Lira ($7.00). Thank goodness we walk so much.

 

We end the day walking around clueless sightseeing and getting a little lost. We didn’t come across anything like we usually do so after a little while we give up and re treat back to the hotel for the night. However, on the way back we came up with a new saying…. You can’t see that in the US. A couple examples we saw are the tram going by you as you reach out and touch it, stop signs we like to jokingly say are suggestions and cat food and water left out for the stray animals that wander the streets. So, stay tuned for the You Can’t See that in the US entry in the next day or two. In the meantime show your support by following us on the blog Trapped In Neverland and Instagram Shutterflypro for more beautiful pictures and adventures we are having around Istanbul.

Hearing Prayer Call For The First Time

While walking through the streets of Istanbul several times a day you will hear prayer call. It is mesmerizing to say the least. It’s a sweet music that is bellowed form a Muezzin man who calls the Muslims to prayer from a minaret and played over loud speakers at the various Mosques. Prayer call or what is also referred to as ezan is done five times a day and depends on things such as revolution around the sun, rotation of the earth, sunrise and sunset, along with latitudes so, it is never at the same time every day. Me being an American I had no idea what to expect when hearing it for the first time. I thought I would see everyone stop to pray. It was quite the opposite. Everyone continues on about their day as this is exactly what it is a call to prayer for the faithful followers. On Friday, late morning to early afternoon is when the group sermons and prayers take place. For non-Muslim believers, it is expected if the Mosques are “in session” you return later.

It isn’t essential people gather in a Mosque but, it I said to feel more appropriate. Since being here I have ventured into the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Chora church and a few others. They are absolutely gorgeous inside. Many of them are going through restoration right now but, the parts of them you can visit brings me back in time to things I only read about in history books. You are walking in the same places as Emperors once where. You are not only seeing history but, it is telling you its story through all the mosaics and artwork within them. Words could not describe the feelings you have when you see them for the first time. They are beautiful pieces of art and history mixed into one.

The amount of history here is beyond belief however, most of us only read about it or see it in movies. Most buildings here have been around for 100’s if not 1,000’s of years and each has a story to tell. We often find ourselves walking down a street and coming to a cross road and looking in all directions and just choose where to go. We have come across some great places doing this like the Prayer Bead museum, shops hidden in every nook and cranny possible along with some of the best food. Every single one of these places has a story – The shops and restaurants have been handed down from generation to generation. The kids are taught at a young age what it is like to help the family and appreciate their heritage.

All I can say is this place is amazing and should be put on your bucket list of places to visit.

Enough for today as there is plenty more to share in the days to come so show your support by following us on the blog Trapped In Neverland and Instagram Shutterflypro for more beautiful pictures and adventures we are having around Istanbul.