Birthday in Istanbul

Five volunteers and myself met up at Brett's place in Kurdjali. On Monday we traveled to Istanbul by bus. When we arrived at the border everyone had to get off the bus so the guards could check passports and look through our luggage. The guard that checked luggage waved us through and let us get back on the bus since we were American. The special treatment we got throughout our trip makes traveling nice, but it doesn't come without costs as we later found out.

You say your American and you get top notch service, but they also charge triple the normal rate. We had to haggle over prices for everything. We haggled at the hostel, we haggled when buying things at stores, and we haggled over prices at dinner. It's interesting to see the market forces alive in front of your eyes, but at the same time very tiring. Every time I walked into a shop I felt like I was being ripped off and I hadn't even bought anything yet. Even when you take all the precautions, there is still a chance of getting screwed as we found out one night at dinner.

At a nice seafood restaurant everyone perused the menu trying to decide what to have for dinner. I proposed we get a big mixed seafood platter and share it. The waiter assured us that the 40 million lira (it sounds like a lot, but it's only about $30) plate would be enough to feed all of us. After confirming three times that the charge would be 40 for the whole thing and not 40 per person, we ordered the dish. The huge patter displayed all kinds of fish. The waiter dished us all a plate featuring a little of everything. Nobody went hungry that night, but after checking our bill, a fear had come true. They charged us 40 per person. We knew we'd have to haggle with the waiter. He dropped 40 off the bill instantly, but still unsatisfied we continued to bargain over the price for an hour. At one point the waiter told us to leave and that he would pick up the tab. A few minutes before he said that we saw the police zoom up to the end of the wharf, so we decided to stay put. The waiter eventually dropped 60 off the bill as we originally requested. We paid and left, but not before getting a receipt with his signature on it.

Haggling over prices occurs everywhere in Istanbul, but the most fierce display takes place at a huge bazaar. The aggressive sellers shout out to you as you walk by. There is no such thing as window shopping here. Don't even glance at anything or you'll be bombarded with sales pitches. We spent a day there. Nobody bought anything until the afternoon. I think we were all a little nervous about getting ripped off. It's probably true that I overpaid on most things I bought in Istanbul, but I did get the sellers to bring down the price and by American standards I made some good deals.

I bought so many things, I had to buy a bag to put it all in. I am happy to say my Christmas shopping is complete and it's not even summer yet. I was able to get some some art and music, which is what I plan to do in every country I visit. Everyone speaks English there so communications wasn't a problem. One of the things the sellers do, and I've noticed this in Bulgaria as well, is ask you where you're from. I think this gives them an idea of what to charge you. If I say I'm American the price goes up at least 300%. Often times I said I was from the Czech Republic or Bulgaria. I was a little nervous about saying I was from Bulgaria because it is so close and they might know better.

Bulgarian did come in handy sometimes. We spoke Bulgarian when we didn't want others to understand what we were saying. When I got to the bus station to buy my ticket back home, I walked up to the counter and said English. The women behind the desk said no, but when I asked her if she spoke Bulgarian, she replied in Bulgarian. Also, when I was at the Grand Bazaar I met a sellar there from Macedonia. Bulgarian and Macedonian are almost exactly the same. So I spoke Bulgarian and he spoke Macedonian and we understood each other perfectly.

We had a great time exploring the area. We took a boat ride down through the Boshperus, visited old mosques, and museums filled with ancient artifacts. On my birthday we headed over to an area called Taxim. There is a lot of night life there. We ate dinner pretty late and since most of us were tired from the day activities, we decided not to stay out too late. We did go to this Jazz bar though that featured a saxophone as a beer tap.

I was also able to take a ferry across the Bosphorus to the Asian side. It's not far just a 20 minute boat ride. That side is less touristic and I didn't have to worry about being charged 4 million lira for a little bottle of water that should only be a half million. So now I can say I have been to the Middle East and Asia and it only took one trip to do it.