Thanks to Mert and Husnu for the free all-day boat trip on the Bosphorus to the Black sea!

Thanks to Mert and Husnu for the free all-day boat trip on the Bosphorus to the Black sea!

When I win the lottery...

When I win the lottery...

Expensive homes on the water

Expensive homes on the water

Rumelihisari Castle along the Bosphorus

Rumelihisari Castle along the Bosphorus

The non-students at the fish restaurant

The non-students at the fish restaurant

Swimming in the Bosphorus - it's SPIDERMAN!

Swimming in the Bosphorus - it's SPIDERMAN!

Husnu and me

Husnu and me

Relaxing on the boat-VA Tech Study Abroad Students

Relaxing on the boat-VA Tech Study Abroad Students

---------------------------Exterior of shop - cottage industry - Anatolian - Asian side of Istanbul

---------------------------Exterior of shop - cottage industry - Anatolian - Asian side of Istanbul

Craftsman at oven where wood is shaped and dried. He's been doing this since age 13.

Craftsman at oven where wood is shaped and dried. He's been doing this since age 13.

Frame made of chestnut

Frame made of chestnut

Raw materials - this is what is woven over frame

Raw materials - this is what is woven over frame

Finished product

Finished product

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Very nice kebap place and sharp instruments

Last night I went to a very nice restaurant called "Venge". We dined outside. The food kept coming for hours and it was delicious! Salad made of tomatoes and green onion, eggplant with cheese, all kinds of meats, goat cheese, caramelized pearl onions...then plates of fruit and later cake, and then Turkish coffee (I passed on that)

Another example of how small the world is: I was at a place in Taksim (area of Istanbul) the other night when a woman I had never seen before approached me and said, "Briget?" It turns out, she is the one who saw my ad on craigslist and gave it to Nihal, they are best friends! She recognized me from my picture and she called Nihal and said, "There is someone here who looks JUST LIKE your Briget." Nihal asked her where she was, and said, "Briget is there right now! That must be her!" So she came over to say "hi" :-)

I learned a new Turkish superstition today. Don't hand any sharp instruments to another person (scissors, knives, etc.) Put it down and let them pick it up. If you actually hand it to another person it means you will have an arguement :-) Yesterday Ece was walking around the house with an open umbrella...it took all I had not to say "That's bad luck!! Stop it!"

2 comments:

Pat said...

Ummmm! Wish you could send me some of that delicious Turkish food via computer! Was the meal like what we had with Husnu? I don't know why those people aren't all big as buses.

Briget said...

Hey Pat - it was very similar but not as rushed...people weren't gobbling down their food because of Ramadan :-) It was a very pretty enclosed outdoor cafe. I'm learning to cook Turkish food! Last night we had stuffed eggplant, OMG it was delicious!