Istanbul (not Constantinople)

We have a special treat for this entry. Our guest bloggers from Vancouver, Kelvin and Chris offered, (after some pressure) to craft this account of their visit with us.
_______________________________________________________

Baaaahh to Istanbul!

If you like eating lamb, this is paradise. Lamb kababs, lamb soup,

lamb in Boraks, lamb Baklavas (seriously), lamb everywhere. Non-lamb eaters resorted to vegetarian dishes such as chicken – yes, chicken is considered a vegetable in Turkey.

Welcome to the first (and probably only) guest installment of the Jen & Adam Adventures Blog! Most Excellent, dudes! Don't worry – everything we learned about writing, grammerization and blogging, we learned from Lisa (see previous blog entries).

So… We went to some touristy stuff. it was cool. Really, just look at the pictures. We'll try to just hit the most important stuff; namely drinking and nakedness (Kelvin refused to partake in the
nakedness because he wasn't allowed to join Jen in the ladies section of the Hamam… and because he wanted to "stay dirty", so Adam and Chris relayed the censored version of their experience).

The bath experience was remarkable. But, we have to say, there was much more nudity over in the women's side. Anyway, picture a large, ex- Eastern Bloc Olympic wrestling team member pummeling you and then scratching you with 50grit sandpaper. It's kind of like that,
but with more soap bubbles. This is all capped off by the complimentary underwear, which is fortunate since we would have had to change ours after that experience (if we had any on in the first place).

Drinking the local Effes beer became the regular pastime, with the occasional glass of wine. Definitely no hard stuff, which is taxed heavily as we found out after happening upon a locals' bar out of the tourist district. (It's easy to spot when you leave the tourist districts; the piles of burning garbage and crumbling buildings are a dead giveaway) Jen was a hit at the bar, being the only woman there. Actually, the only woman to be seen within a 5 block radius.

Istanbul is a fascinating city even without the booze and baths. Folks are generally very friendly and helpful, and while they'll drive a hard bargain, upsell, or overprice merchandise, there's no cheating.

And then there's all the amazing history of a city situated with one side in Europe and the other in Asia. The regular melody of the call to prayer blaring through loudspeakers all over the city, and the domes of the mosques perched on the many hills of the city are sounds and sights that will not be forgotten.

This was certainly a memorable trip; Istanbul is a city full of character and life! We had an amazing time and we're so glad to have been able to share a week with Adam and Jen in their trek (almost) around the world! We thank you… "from the Hut!".

_______________________________________________________________

Thanks for the blog Kelvin and Chris. But a few pictures need some explaination.

• (1) Yes that is Kelvin sticking his finger into a hole in the Mosque. It has the reputation of curing you of your ailments if it was moist.
  
  
• (2) This is Chris at the Grand Bazzar trying out his new Hockey Helmut


• (3) The boys behind bars.


• (4) One of the largest and perhaps most beautiful Mosque's in the world, Sultan Ahmet Mosque
  
  
• (5) Fish for sale along the bridge. (Who knows what chemicals they contain from the water)
  
  
• (6) Chris buying spices and Turkish Delight at the Spice Bazzar
  
  
• (7) Spices at the Spice Bazzar
  
  
• (8) Team sporting the latest "Evil Eye" glasses. Used to keep away evil thoughts.