When we came to Turkey for Paul's interview, I had noticed some baked potato stands and thought - hmm, that's an interesting concept.

After coming to Istanbul, I decided I just had to try one of these delicious looking baked potatos. I did some online research, and it comes to find out that these spuds are a bit famous in Turkey - they are known here as Kumpir.

There are Kumpir stands in various parts of town, but probably the most number of these are in Ortakoy, a little shopping area right on the Bosphorous on the European side.  Saturday we decided to get in some Christmas shopping and we went hungry so that we could have one of these delicious treats!

When you first walk into Ortakoy on the north side, you see a whole row of these stands - they all sell the same thing, so everyone is calling out to you trying to get you into THEIR stand.

As many of you know, I have a sweet tooth.  So while at the grocery store the other day, of course a box of chocolate souffles catches my attention.  Nevermind the fact that I have never actually made souffles before -it's chocolate so it can't turn out that bad, right?

I decided today would be the day to make these delicious souffles. 

Obstacle - the instructions are all in Turkish.  I recognize egg (yumurta), margarine (helpfully, it's margarin in Turkish), and milk (sut).  Good start.

I decide to turn to some websites to assist with the rest of the translation.  I especially think that the instructions are important - souffles seem to be one of those things that you have to follow the directions on.

Here's what I got:

Istanbul is a giant city, and Paul and I live no-where near the tourist sites.  Great for everyday living to avoid throngs of tourists; not so convenient when you are trying to be one of thousands in those very throngs.  This weekend, Paul and I set out on a trek to get in some sight-seeing, full of taxi's, trams, and a whole lot of walking!

Sultanahmet is great because all the tourist areas are so close together - from one stop on the tram, you are in walking distance to Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazzar.  Two stops down is the Spice Bazaar.   There are other tourist sites in this area that we missed this time (the cisterns, Topkapi palace, historic turkish baths aka hamams)

This was the first time I really felt like a tourist.  Maybe it was the fact that there were sooo many other tourists, even in the off season, or maybe it was that no one even assumed that I was a local and just spoke English right off the bat.  You are also getting hustled like a tourist - from the domar stand on the corner, to the bus tour guides, to the carpet salesman at the Grand Bazaar.  There is always something to see.

We are looking forward to having some visitors now so that we can show you the sites!

I am happy to have finally made it to Istanbul! While the tourist in me was nagging at me as soon as I got here to get out and explore, I was a bit jet lagged, and it was rainy, so rather we spent our first weekend like any other lazy weekend.

We went to lunch - I was so excited to see avocado on the menu that I promptly ordered it.  While I will say that I was disappointed (more like that "guacamole" spread you get in the Northeast), I have a feeling it may taste a whole letter better if I hadn't just gone on a Mexican food craze prior to leaving.

We went to the grocery store - we have a small local grocery nearby (Gourmet Garage) and I promptly used the excuse of having no clue where it was to make Paul go with me - nothing too unusual here except that you don't get to pick your own produce.  You tell them what you want (right now there is a whole lot of pointing til I learn more food names) and they put it together for you.

We went to the mall - where you have to go through a security detector to get into.  I feel like I'm back at Paschal High School again.

We went to the movies - they do have American films, although it seems like many of them come out much later here (except Twilight: Breaking Dawn does open next week here too!).  Best part - you get to pick your seat, so if you get there in time, you don't have to be stuck with that front row, crane your neck seat.  Also, they have an intermission with commercials.  Kind of nice if you need a potty break, or in Paul's case to get some refreshments.


So that's all (so far) folks.  More stories to come of our adventures as I work to get the dog over here (perhaps another blog this week on that fiasco), get a cell phone, get the apartment set-up, learn how to cook things without a microwave, and make my way around Istanbul without knowing much Turkish.

Güle güle