It's called the Grand Bazaar for a reason.

   Stepping into the Grand Bazaar at first feels like any other flea market I've shopped through. Weird goods and items all over the place, people weaving in and out from each other, smells of old collectibles and fresh food. However -it is MUCH more impressive...obviously, it's the Grand Bazaar for a reason. This place is gigantic, I mean, this place is HUGE. I didn't feel like I was walking around some flea market barn; I felt like I was walking around a small town. It's like an entire village of shopping with tucked away courtyards where 200 year old grapevines drop presents into your lap (this actually happened while having tea), more Turkish china and rug vendors than you could remember and of course the necessary slogan t-shirt shops with one's like "I'd google it but my wife already has an answer". The ceilings as you can see are adorned with decorative painting and wide arches only adding to the surreality of the environment.

   Below you find Turkish lamps. These are quite common in the bazaar and I'd really like to bring one home to hang in my bathroom. I stayed in a hostel that had some in the sleeping quarters and the light coming from them was really impressive. 

    The famed Turkish spices in this picture below! I was sure quick to waft the scent from some jasmine tea before the shop keeper tried to sell me some. Which leads me to my next point about shopping in the bazaar -Turkish shop keeps (and restaurateurs) are aggressive sales people and can be very persuasive if you are a timid person. Humor and smiles are a great way to deflect their advances as well as haggle prices with them.

    Below we are introduced to the renowned Turkish Rugs. Ever since I was young I have been enthralled by the woven artistry of these impressive textiles. It is my distinguished goal to leave with one or more of these as they are said to last a respectful 200 years therefore making them family heirlooms. BOOM BABY.

    Please, take a moment to admire the patterns. This picture shows you the colors that attract me but ohhh there are many many many more options. The dealer first will invite you in with friendly conversation and charming English which he speaks very well. This particular dealer goes by the nickname "George Clooney" because he looks like the star and "it's much easier to pronounce than his Turkish name". He was a great character and even better salesman, I bought five rugs and blew my entire first two months budget!! Ha just kidding. He was good though and I'll be sure to be back.                                                  

   So after the conversation begins and the guests have taken a seat, classic turkish tea is brought out and then the show begins. Rugs are pulled from walls, and the floor, and here and there, and all of a sudden your mind is reeling after design and design, and color, and type, and all this information is overwhelmingly brought to you from this savvy Turk. Needless to say, it was quite impressive. I wish I could shop like this more often, although, it takes over an hour -so maybe not.

                                             
 This Turkish Rug Experience is over and we continue moving along. The bazaar opens to an outdoor market and now I'm not even sure if I'm still in the bazaar but then boom here I am, as I exit the alley, back in the bazaar. Not sure what happened there but below is a glimpse of the outdoor alley market.

    Oh -and what Grand Bazaar would be complete without the opportunity to let leeches suck the bad juju out of your blood. Didn't try that one...wtf.

Finally the Grand Bazaar tour is over and I have this great photo taken of me in front of the Nuruosmaniye Mosque. Profile Pic.

I'd like to give a huge thanks to the University of Cincinnati, their International Department, and also the School of Planning within DAAP for making this trip happen. It truly is a life changing experience and I recommend the opportunity to travel abroad to anyone. All you have to do is ask your University Faculty how to make it happen and they will help TREMENDOUSLY to get you visiting and studying where ever it is that you want to be. Stay tuned for more of...

First Days A Tourist

First. We start with getting to Istanbul. After a 24 hour period of flying and waiting around in Airports I arrive to Ataturk International Airport. At first it is a bit overwhelming but calm takes over and I begin to give thanks for signs having an English translation. I discover from a man with broken English the only place to get wi-fi is in the Airport Cafe upstairs. This is the first time I've had to carry my bags and the first moment I've realized I may have packed too much. I only have one large rolling bag and a smaller roller carry on but combined they must weigh close to 70 pounds which has proven to be exhausting to pull around an airport and later the city of Istanbul. In the cafe I take a cup of Turkish Tea served in an hour glass shaped clear glass cup with a gold dipped rim. Here I plot my train route into the city of Istanbul. 

Inside the subway tunnel I am introduced to Turkish tiling for the first time. Notice the use of flowers, this is the common Turkish motif when it comes to their tiles. I hop the subway and meet two Spanish travelers on their way back to Spain after a day layover in Istanbul. They help me transfer my heavy bags over to the tram line that takes me to the area my hostel is in. Cheers is the name and it's ranked the #1 hostel in Istanbul. Probably for it's laid back atmosphere and cozy setting. Take a look below.

Cheers took care of me. There is a bar on the top floor where a view of the Hagia Sophia sits behind drinkers as they are entertained by the bartender "Mani" as I'll call him because his name being so unfamiliar kept escaping me. A shorter Turkish guy in his thirties with a bit of gray hair and the style of a man who wishes to stay young for maybe too long, he was keen to let me step behind the bar and make a delicious gin drink for him to try. It turned out to be good and so he gave it back to me as a gift and I closed out the night with a cheerful mood. Well done!

The following day was touring day. It's funny how people will sometimes step into a line without knowing where it goes or what the options are. Museum multi passes are available that grant access to all the common cultural sites for a discounted price and this was the best option for two friends from the hostel and I. Behind this selfie you can see the inside of the Hagia Sophia. A great site that has sat nearly 1500 years, it is not nearly as glorious as it once was. Murals are peeling, marble stones leading to entrances have been shaped by foot traffic and ancient mosaic no longer is in tact. The natural light baths the main chamber and thousands of tourists look up with cameras following the same.

Next stop -The Palace. No longer a palace for a prince but instead for tourists. Above you see the layout. Large sycamore trees and Cypress trees spot the grounds with lavish tile work decorating the Harem, Armory, and Treasury. I liked to imagine the grounds empty with no more than palace staff on grounds. I imagine the palace gardeners offering fresh picked flowers to royalty as or guards as they pass. I imagine royal instructors choosing a shady area for a day's lesson. I envisions guards making jokes to each other as they watch over a less visited part of the grounds. 

Above, this cage would have protected the windows of the royal family's quarters. 

Above, a guards outpost. On this day a man sat talking to himself.

Detail decorates each level and layer of this palace structure. As a fan of architecture and curious traveler I found these to be enchanting.

A day visiting The Palace, Hagia Sophia, and Blue Mosque (there are no photos above) has been a great introduction to the style of the Turks and also to how busy the tourists have made this city become. Istanbul has a population count of around 14 million as of 2013 and with tourists I'm sure it goes up towards 20 million.

Istanbul Not Constantinople!

Whelll Whelll Whelll!! I just bought my ticket. I began the search with the standard model: look for the same flight on as many different websites as possible, compare prices, and find the cheapest. Turns out that going directly through the flight company was my cheapest option!! I went from the cheapest flight being $1308 to saving over $200 with a final purchase price of $1,011!!! That's amazing!! Also, because I have great credit I was able to postpone my payment to a later date so that as soon as my financial aid comes through I can use that money towards my flight thus eliminating my concern that I'd have to pay out of pocket! SO MUCH GOOD NEWS!!!

   So as one can see this city is an old one -the terra cotta roofs and low lying tight corridor housing could have given that away. The port city has been a cross-roads of East and West for centuries. The Greeks occupied this city in the 7th century and King at the time (Byzas) named it after himself as Byzantium. Later the Romans settled and King Constantine renamed it after himself -Constantinople. He made it the capital of the Roman Empire and as we know the Romans were very powerful. Constantinople became a center for commerce, culture, and diplomacy and has continued on that path through today.

 
   1453, the Ottoman Empire took control of the city and renamed it Istanbul making it their capital city and so investing into the city with icons such as the great bazaar, and royal palace as is seen today. Finally after the Allies claimed Istanbul following World War I, the new Republic of Turkey was formed with the Father of all Turks: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk being the one to usher in a new modern era for the city and the country. Today Istanbul is the cultural epicenter of Europe and I am pleased to have been accepted to study there.


   My flight departs August 25th and I arrive back home to Cincinnati January 8th. Nearly 5 months abroad will be my longest time out of America yet, a thought that is both exciting and nerve wrecking, but I know it will change me as a person for the better. I hope to leave this experience a global citizen and to be comfortable living anywhere but more importantly I hope to have a better understanding of both European and Middle Eastern culture. As our nation and it's neighbors globalize our position as American's becomes one of global importance and being able to navigate an international social climate will only help my goals to work globally in the future. I have always been intrigued by travel as well as foreign people so for me this is a huge step toward a traveling lifestyle.

BOOM BABY

It's 1 am...1:03 sorry. I am whipped, exhausted, tired, slipping, tipping, breaching, pushing for...for what? Well I am hoping all this exhaustion pays off someday ha! I have no promises, no guarantees that I will be successful but I had some great advice from a speaker that came into one of my campus group meetings.

" The key to moving up in life, whether at your job, in school , whichever pursuit you want to excel at - the key, is to take on more responsibility."

" I got where I am today because anytime there was a position to be volunteered for I took it, and what happens when you have too many projects for one person? They give you people to work under you and help you with those responsibilities."

So that's where I'm at. Push to be uncomfortable, if there isn't a weight on my shoulders how will I grow strong enough to carry more?

Imagine a person on the ground curled up in a fetal position but with forehead touching the ground and arms wrapped around knees those knees and their toes also touching the ground. A pressure from all directions, think of it as a cloud or a cloth like weight of some sort. In order to stand you have to first uncurl your body. You have to force your back against this pressure that encompasses you. Eventually you work enough to be able to stretch out your body fully, then, to be able to stand fully erect.

You push on this cloud opening and creating a space around you, now you can walk around in a small area. The cloud is still all enveloping , completely surrounding you infinitely in all directions. You can push on it here and there and you create more space for yourself. You can walk, in fact now you can skip a little . You have pushed a great distance for yourself after time , and now you can run!

This weight, this pressure, this cloud of darkness infinitely surrounding us is life. It is the world around us and if we are content in that fetal position on the ground, if we never push up against the pressures and difficulties of life, we will never be able to stand. For those who decide they want to run though and for those who want a space so vast that they sometimes forget where they began...for those people, a lot of work is required and a lot of strength is built, because after awhile you get used to the pressures of life and you get used to constantly pushing out and constantly building strength. This is my life and I'd like to be able to run. I will not settle having my forehead pressed to the ground.

I'm learning appreciation. That's what I'll say.

Have you ever stayed up for a full day or two? Maybe pulling an all-nighter studying or working on a project and then having to fill a full day of work after that? Have you ever participated in a truly exhausting workout? Or maybe a long distance run?

Theres a feeling of exhaustion that comes over one's body after events like these. Where we push our mind to it's limits. We test our own will. But we know. We know that we can do it. And the feeling afterward is a satisfied exhaustion. The accomplished depletion. That's where I am at right now.

It's almost Eight O Clock on the third day and my legs are tired. My eyes stare longer than they should and my stomach insists on my attention. Day one was much easier than I expected.

I hear Johnny's words- "It's not for the weak of heart, It'll test you".

I had a feeling it would get to be like this. I did a small amount of research. It goes that the human body can survive up to 30 days without food.

I'm on a three day fast. I've never done a fast before. No food, just water. I try to keep the water to a minimum too. First day one glass. Second day about two and a half glasses. Third day, water is much easier to drink, and much more inviting. I'm asked "Why?"

"Why do this?"

The thought first looked my direction about a month ago. There's a bartender at The Blind Lemon-where I work- who has been there ten years...Johnny. He is a tall guy about six foot or more with a young face , pale complexion, curly hair, about thirty years old. Not at all flashy and a good guy at heart: this is apparent  when you first meet him. So in one of a few conversations Johnny brings it up..."So once a year I do this thing."
                        "What thing?"
"I do this 3 day fast. No food, just water. 3 days"

I'm intrigued at this. I knew fasting as a spiritual thing and I know Johnny is not a believer in God.
"Really now?" I have to ask, and we can imagine my eyes beginning to open a little wider than before.
" I have to know Johnny, why? It's obviously not out of faith."

He smiles a sheepish grin, a dash of pride at the corner. " I do it every year- it's just a thing I do."
Of course I understand him.
The man who doesn't believe in god is inherently a good man, and good men have spirit. I understand the fast as a way to get in touch with one's spirit. A way to stay humble. A way to pray for nobility. What I have learned though is that after day one, I began to understand.
After day one  I didn't crave food, in fact it seemed all desire had faded. I had a calm inside of me. Desire for food, for drink, for women even. Faded. It was as if the food was pushing these clouds into my mind. We know this is not a scientific fact, but that's almost how it felt.

Towards the end of day two I begin to think of food. I begin to think of food in a new light. I begin to think of food as if it were worth a little more. I search some online articles and journals to see what the benefits of a fast are and of course to read the opposing opinions. It cleanses the body apparently- it would seem that without food the body digests all the bad leftovers clinging to its parts.
The Offender says " It's bad on your body, it destroys your body, your body will begin to act in terrible cycles and eat its muscle and even liver!!"
I read The Defender's article and in the first few days of a fast the body's metabolism accelerates. In early man periods of fasting were normal and so chemicals are released in a temporary fast to make us more aware, quicker-for the hunt. Well I'm not hunting much in the city so that's about useless for me.
Instead I respond in myself to the more spiritual aspect of things.

On Day Three... Food excites me like a good holiday. I can only imagine what I will spend my earnings on after day three. I watch a documentary on Sushi...Sushi is definitely what I want to eat...for dinner. For lunch; Skyline Cheese Conies ; for breakfast, all the leftovers in my kitchen. I understand now. What it means to be starving. I have inflicted this upon myself and some would say "You make a mockery of those without food! Those who would love to have a bite , just a bite! And you deny food for three days on a whim! "

Well before, I could listen, I could watch, I could pray for empathy. But now I understand-though I'll admit not the worst. Three days is hardly a week, and not nearly two weeks , 14 days in fact. And that's not even half of thirty: the supposed time the body can go without food. I can tell you this though. After three days I appreciate my position. I appreciate food so much more. I appreciate the discipline it takes to only withstand these three days , and I look forward to the 4th day when I can eat once again.

Seasons .

Eunt .

Winter. Fall. Winter. Fall. 45 degrees. Fall. Rain. Shine. Cold again. This is Cincinnati. A macrocosm of my life. All over the place. Take a walk, on this walk turn a corner and walk seven blocks. You see that if you go straight for another quarter mile there will be refreshment waiting. But something catches your eye to the left just at the end of your eyes' focus. You decide it is worth your curiosity- it is. Again however, that refreshment comes into your mind. You change direction , refreshment in your mind once more. You are closer than you have been when you see something else slightly away from your most recent position. Once again your desire for more takes you to an off shooting path. Refreshment is never from your mind as you slip into foreign ideas. This is my college career thus far. I seek refreshment but in my mind I am not quite there. I have learnt to wait and move strategically in life, skills can be acquired with a right mind and an intuitive sense of foresight. I give a light step when its called for and a near jump if its required. I have an ambitious root inside me and as I fill the soil with rich experiences, leading , nurturing, and some times shocking bits of Life. The drive begins to pace just a little faster. The reach embodies me finer. I feel confident but I am aware- that if I do not continue and even improve this formulae- it can collapse. Everything can be ended on a stroke of Grief's harp. Only the foolish play invincible, though we've all had a sip from youth's delusions. I patiently await my season. And patience is all I can be sure of .   

Here is a picture a friend of mine  shot earlier this year. I do enjoy his style.

Summer Music Festival +  2012

Spring has Sprung!

  Spring is here and I couldn't be happier. At the end of the fall season I had placed a terrarium outside in an attempt to ditch some soil flies that had been killing off my beloved plants. Well one day it rains , floods the whole system and - being four stories up on a fire escape- I wasn't in a rush to empty it. Winter hit. What happens to water in the winter? It freezes. What happens to glass when it freezes? It cracks. So the terrarium cracked and drained.
  Lucky for me this spring I realized the entire bottom of this terrarium is splintered: leaving one solution. I'll have to sift the soil out carefully and remove the glass pieces without them dropping four flights onto and into my neighbors space. Great news is however that a flooded sapling I had thought to be dead survived the winter and so I repotted him in a brilliant ceramic pot that was on sale and he is now the supreme dignitary of my fire escape along with a currently unknown herb that managed to survive the winter season also.

  My joy of the season however , is not limited by or only applied to plants. People! I somehow find myself each winter dropping into a somber state of reclusion. This means few friends and even fewer female companions. Spring is here though and already the cards are back on the table.  As if my personality had sprang new life itself I feel happier, more confident and surrounded by more friends and ladies once again. Oh how I love the Spring and Summer :)