Shopping!

I've gotten used to the fact that people selling food often run onto public busses.  Usually, it's a small boy with a bucket of water bottles.  Today, it was a man with a sombrero full of sandwiches.  He placed his hat/platter on a stool and literally set up shop in the middle of a moving bus.  

Rachel and I were on this specific bus to Taksim because we wanted to look for old jewelry.  Old jewelry we did find as we made our way into the section of town dominated by antique shops.  At one store, we talked with the owner for quite a while.  Over tea, we taught him some very important English phrases: "I am hungry," "I am not married," "I am divorced," and "will you marry me?"  In return, he taught us some phrases in Kurdish, all of which I have unfortunately forgotten.  

We also found a basket full of very cheap old Turkish coffee cups.  Aside from two very nice ones (2YTL each!), I also got one that has coffee beans around the rim, a Mexican man in a sombrero (seems to be the theme of the day), some Greek writing, some Russian writing, and a stamp that says it was made in Japan.  Rachel pointed this one out but refused to buy it.  It had to be bought by one of us, though, so now I'm stuck with it.

Then I proceeded to buy every CD in Istanbul.  This is a slight exaggeration.  I am pleased with all of them, most of which I had wanted but hadn't been able to get in the US.  The one I had not planned on buying, well, when the store owner recommends (based on your other choices) an old Turkish Tango album, you can't not buy it.

I came here thinking I wanted to study Armenian music and musicians in Istanbul, but since I have trouble not buying each and every Karadeniz CD in sight and am learning kemençe, I am thinking of changing my topic to Black Sea music.  On the other hand, a lot of those artists sing in Armenian or have Armenian band members so it may not be that much of a change.  Kim bilir...

Tomorrow Michelle, Rachel, and I are finally going to see Topkapı Palace, so expect pictures.