Aaaahhhh!

Had a Hamam (Turkish bath) this afternoon! It's quite an experience. You go in and pay your 30 lire and they give you a loofah and direct you to a room upstairs where you get your clothes off and wrap a towel around your waist. Taking the loofah with you, you come back downstairs and go into the bath room. The room is hot and full of steam, with sunlight streaming in from the skylights above. You lie down on a round heated marble slab in the middle of the room where stay for about 20 minutes, sweating away and breathing in the warm steamy air. Eventually you're directed to the edge of the slab, where a bath attendant lies you down and scrubs you with the loofah. You're then doused with suds and given a good scrub down. After you've had a few bucketfuls of water thrown over you, you get the massage, where the knots in your muscles are forcefully pummelled and kneaded away. You're then directed into another chamber where your hair is washed and you're subjected to more massaging. After you've showered off at the end, you're wrapped in a fresh set of towels and are free to go back to your room where you can lie down for a while before heading back outside feeling refreshed and invigorated!

I've managed to fit quite a bit into these last few days. Been doing some more walking (and getting lost) around town, gone for a boat ride on the Bosphorus, seen the Aya Sofya (which is absolutely amazing), Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar.

I've also been sampling some of the local food--if you're in Istanbul, try an Iskender Kebab from the "world famous" Pudding Shop on Divan Yolu, but avoid a place called Cennet, further up the road. They look the part, with the musicians and the old ladies in the middle making the pancakes, but their servings are tiny and the food is ordinary! Overall, the food has been great, though.

The tour started yesterday evening, when we had our first orientation meeting. We all went to Topkapi Palace this morning before our Hamam, and tonight we're getting on a sleeper train to Thessaloniki.

A few more photos...



Inside the Grand Bazaar


On a Bosphorus Ferry


A fish sandwich stall on the jetty

There's a few more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sajaraki/