Farewell Istanbul

This morning we visited the Asian side of Istanbul.  This is the area where many families choose to call home.  It is also the most liberal part of the city, with very few women donning head scarves.  This is not a tourist area and it has an entirely different feel about it.

The Orient Express originated in Istanbul, so we had a chance to visit the train station before hopping on the ferry.  It really has a charming feel of the luxurious days gone by when travel was very refined.  After taking a few photos, we caught one the ferries for a short boat ride to Asia.  

The Saturday street market was in full swing upon our arrival.  Shop after shop displayed the fresh catch of the day, with the shop owners turning the gills out to show the freshness of the fish which were displayed much like a bouquet of flowers.  There were also fresh vegetables and fruits displayed in attractive bins on the pedestrian walkways.  Candy stores with beautiful sweets competed with fresh pastry shops for our attention.  I walked into one bakery and was engulfed by the sweet smell of fresh baked croissants and cakes topped with fruity icings.  The cheese croissants finally were too enticing, so I gave in to my hunger and bought one to enjoy on the streets.  We crisscrossed the pedestrian paths until it was time to head back.  This workshop had fully lived up to my expectations as did the city of Istanbul.

With the workshop concluded, a few of us headed back to the market behind the blue mosque to do a little more shopping before heading home.  The scarves were exquisite and too hard to pass up as gifts for the upcoming Christmas season.  Others were buying Turkish towels to take home to loved ones.  Knowing I had limited space in my bag, I judiciously chose a few items and then headed back to pack before going out for one final meal.

Earlier in the week, several of us had attempted to dine at Maya, which had come highly recommended to us, but were unable to secure a table at this intimate restaurant.  Our hotel had called (or so we thought) to make a reservation for us this evening.  When we arrived, the Maître‘d failed to find our names on the list.  He was unable to accommodate us and sent us back onto the streets at the peak of the dining hour with a handful of suggestions nearby.  It seemed every restaurant was booked solid, so we grabbed a cab to try and find something in the area.  This turned into a wild goose chase, with us essentially returning near our starting point after a frustrating tour of the city.  Back at the Galata tour, we found a place willing to move a few people around in order to seat us.  It was really a fun little place where we were able to find a pizza and salad and did not let the adventure ruin the evening. 

I had an early flight, so I slept a few hours before heading to the airport on Sunday morning for 24 hours of traveling, the worst part of any trip.  This week found new friends and sharpened camera skills.  It also whetted my appetite to return to Turkey for an extended trip, hopefully to show my husband some of the charming areas I was able to explore this week.  Ira and Liza are already talking about a trip next September which hopefully I’ll be able to join along with my new friends to continue to improve my skills and discover new sites.  

Wow, I Did That!

We had an early departure so we could visit the Hagia Sophia this morning before our final critique session.  This used to be a Greek Orthodox Church before being converted to a Mosque and now a museum.  You may not realize that the Head of the Greek Orthodox Church is actually based out of Istanbul which dates back to when it was called Constantinople.  You can see the remains of the Christian church and also how many things were hidden after it was turned into a mosque.  There are beautiful gold mosaics on ceilings and the walls and hallways are also quite decorated.  It's a very beautiful and historic building.

We had about an hour to grab some lunch and look through our pictures before our last critique session.  There are several restaurants that have traditional Turkish food along the street that you can grab and go, so I opted for stuffed aubergine (eggplant) and some rice and headed back to the room.  I had to choose 10 images from the night before and this morning to present to Ira and Liza, which was tough.  I have become much more critical of my work, noticing all the background that can distract from the picture and also the composition, keeping the subject out of the center.  You simply can’t be married to a photo because of something you remember about when you took it.

We were free to roam the city for a couple of hours after the critique, so four of us headed back to the Spice Market to see if we could find some interesting things to shoot.  Behind the actual market, there’s a much bigger shopping area with streets dedicated to formal wear, scarves, children’s clothing, fabrics, pretty much anything you might want.  It stretches for blocks and we only could cover one small area in the time allotted.   Since Istanbul is a city of hills, it’s easy to get interesting photos looking up a street at the crowds.  It also gets dark very early, so the glow of the lights in the shops adds an interesting affect.  We roamed for a couple of hours before walking back through the main hall of the Spice Market for one last look.  We found a shop that had some interesting spice and tea blends that I had to sample.  We also met some girls from the US that are studying abroad from Columbia University Law School.  They seemed to be having a great time exploring.

This evening started with a lecture by Ira on how he edits his photos when on assignment.  It was good to see that he doesn’t get everything right either, having to sacrifice one element in order to capture a moment or grab good lighting while it lasts.  Next we watched the slideshow they had put together from the best of our pictures from the week.  It really is very impressive to see what we were able to capture of this charming city.  We’ll each receive a copy of it that we can show to our friends and family which is one of the best trip souvenirs I have ever received.

We hopped on the tram for a short trip to the Galata side for our farewell dinner.  The food was probably the best we had during the trip.  Before our main course, several mezes appeared at the table including stuffed grape leaves, a pepper nut spread, and a vegetable relish of sorts.  Combined with my pasta, I was quite full and enjoyed the walk back down the hill towards our hotel.  Independence Street was stuffed with Turks out for a good time on a Friday evening.  If you can imagine Times Square during the holidays you have a good picture of the festive feeling on the street.  This was a young crowd (the average age in Istanbul is 29) out for a fun evening at the clubs that line the streets and alleyways. 

With this busy day behind us, we still had one more adventure awaiting us Saturday morning, so it was time to hit the sack to grab a few hours of sleep in preparation for our last day.