Every day we set out on an adventure not always knowing where we are going. We have somewhat of a routine now of getting up, having breakfast, dressed and walking to the Blue Mosque / Hagias Sophia since there is a beautiful fountain there and a central location for whatever we may want to do. Some of our best adventures have started from there – like the day we discovered Emigran Park and the Tulip Festival I talked about in my Getting Lost in Istanbul blog. Regardless it is a great way for us to start the day and this day was no different. We decided we wanted to venture to Ortakoy Mosque since this is our favorite place to get Kumpirs (loaded baked potato).
One thing I have to say about Istanbul is their public transportation system is great! We can go just about anywhere via a bus, tram, or ferry for about 2.30 Lira or $0.64 USD. Today we chose the ferry since both of us have a love for water and it as a nice sunny day and nothing really we wanted to do. The ferry first takes you to the Asia side and then you catch another ferry to get to the Mosque and park area surrounding it. While doing our transfer, we came across what looked to us like a spring festival. There were booths set up and they were all selling items such as Turkish towels and robes, shirts, shoes, jewelry, hand carved wood items – just about anything you can think of they had. As we walked around we noticed what would be contraband items in prison in a glass case and we slowly learned from talking with someone that the festival was actually supporting the prisons. Everything for sale was made by inmates! To say some of the work was incredible is an understatement.
Now, let me tell you about this program. The festival travels all over Turkey and stays for a short period of time in each area. Inmates are taught how to make the items that they are selling. The guards are involved in rehabilitating the inmates by showing them how to make the items. Everything is made by hand – whether it was sown, carved, woven. Jewelry was put together piece by piece. The plates and stoneware you see everywhere over here were all hand painted. The guards and inmates work together as a team. You could see the relationships between the them almost as if they were friends as opposed to authority / inmate. The inmates are released with new skills back into society where they have a fighting chance at life again. I couldn’t find it for sure but, I would assume the money generated from this event was put back into the prison system in order to help pay for the expenses incurred by the inmates. The vibe of the whole place was great. We walked around it again with a totally different prospective. I can’t tell you enough how much I think the US would gain by implementing programs like this.
Had we gone on our normal tram and bus ride to this area we would have totally missed out on this experience. So, yet again, just by stepping out of our normal routine we found something that will stick with us forever. Don’t forget to check back often and follow us on our journey along the way. You never know where we will end up next. Don’t forget to 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.