safranbolu/amasra trip

even though it's the end of november, i decided to post about a trip from august.  it was my first time out of ankara and it was a much-needed trip!  so grateful i had such awesome travel companions!  i won't say much ... i'll let the pictures do most of the talking!

random ferris wheel ...

yes ... that's my shower head right next to the toilet.

old ottoman style housing

let's start shopping!

liam watching the men play backgammon

this was the best meal EVER!!

my first glimpse of the black sea ... truly breathtaking

liam was such a good travel companion!  this kid has me wrapped around his finger ...

my first hamam

what is a hamam you ask?  it's what is known as a turkish bath and is quite traditional.  even children go to the hamam!

my first time at the hamam was about a month ago.  a girlfriend invited me to the swiss hotel spa and we got a spa package known as "The Power of Zeus."  It consisted of a fabulous 60-minute massage, 30-minute foot scrub, and the hamam.  this is the hamam from our spa ... click here! and this is how it works:

you can wear a bikini, you can go naked, you can go in your underwear!  and that's exactly what i did ... i stripped down to my undies and then they placed a cloth over the girls and tied the cloth in the bath.  now this is all done in a marble steam room ... so he laid me down on the marble (left-hand side of the octagon in the picture) and started to toss water on me from the sinks lining the wall.  then he came over and started loofah-ing me all over with a pretty good/harsh scrubber.  then he brought me to my marble seat next to the sink and started pouring water on me with a big bowl.  then brought me back over to the marble octagon and started bathing me.  that man flipped me every which way and got into every nook and cranny ... but it was awesome!  then he brought me back to my seat and proceeded to dump more water on me to rinse off the soap.  then he gave me a good hair shampoo ... scrubbed behind my ears and everything!  then he poured more water on me and by this time i'm in full giggles.  i can't believe how weird this is ... how awesome this is ... and i can't believe it's happening to me!  then the giggling stopped as the water got colder with each dump ... i was gasping by the end!

i have now done it twice ... and both times at the same spa.  the first time i was in there alone but the second time there were spa members scrubbing themselves ... i tried to give them their privacy but i couldn't help sneak a few peeks!  rumor has it that if you go to a non-spa hamam ... as in old school turkey hamam actual building ... they scrub until you have no skin.  i'll stick with the spa!

shopping anyone?!

shopping in turkey is everything i thought it would be ... and i've only been to one shopping district!  my second weekend here, my new friend peter took me shopping in the district called Ulus.  Ulus is definitely where it's at.  you've seen this kind of shopping on tv ... walking down the cobblestone sidewalk with vendors on both sides of you ... with carpets or cloths draping a few feet above you.  taking a shortcut that leads you up a set of narrow stairs and it looks awfully dark and scary thru that passageway.  (i don't know how many times i told peter i didn't want to die ... and if i did i would be really pissed.  but he knew exactly where he was going ... or so he said.)  the vendors outside of their shops working on their trade craft ... one old man was sitting outside of his store "stamping" a copper bowl with his tools ... i bought it right away.  there's just so much to look at and see.  we didn't even cover all of Ulus ... prolly because it sits on a nice steep hill and we were about to pass out.  (ankara is nothing but hills ... makes for a good butt!)  here are some pictures of the day ...

(and don't forget to click ON the picture ... makes for a much better view!)

my first store ...

i wanted to buy them all ...

the turquoise is beautiful ...

say hello to peter!

another frickin hill ...

mostly nuts and dried fruits ...

i bought a mix of almonds, cashews, and dried cranberries ... yum!

beautiful view ...

can you spot the mosque?

i live right by the stick in the sky on the left ...

just a neat building ...

fully dressed is more common in this district ...

she was a neat old woman ...

such a cool view ...

the above dishes are the ones i purchased.  this is how i found out i had a balcony ... peter suggested better lighting on the balcony.  and that led to a very interesting conversation ...