mekyria | istanbul day 4-5

Our trip was going great: little beother adted my need for sleepinf in and naps. All was well. However, our room was tiny and sleepinf on the streetside meant lots of noise and light all through the night. Heavy machines and loud cars are allowed to roam the streets at night and this didn't help. When I came in on Tuesday after the hammam, I asked if my brother was already in and the smiling guy behind the desk was all excited because He IS YOUR BROTHER!?. We were woken by a call from reception on Wednesday: other people checked out and they could offer us a bigger room with seperte beds if we wanted. YES PLEASE. I chose a room on the upper floor gacing the back that was twice as large and moved our stuff there.

Our plan was to go over the Grand Bazar, then take the metro to Taksim square and walk down Istiklal road. But we stayed longer in the bazar than anticipated because we went to May Ender's shop to try om bellydance costumes. little Brother was sat in a corner with a cup of tea and made donversation with the young shop assistant who had big dreams of travelling the world and told us about his female friend from the Netherlands with who he chatted. Her profile picture looked more at place in an add for 'older women looking for a fun time'.

I tried on four costumes, all of them were to tight in the hip area. i have been steadily putting on weight in the past two years and it was very confrontating to be faced with this ina a one square meter backroom. But! I fell in love with a yellow/bllue costume with a silk printed skirt. I also eyed the cheaper bra and belt sets as a good alternative. They hold their resell value well and are good value for money. We spent over two hours bartering with the owner of the shop and I bought the yellow one and a green bra-belt-skirt set for about 736 euro. Turkey is still more expensive then Egypt but I think I got a fair deal. The work anship is up to par with Bella, the only thing is that there are less crystals. This can be fixed.

Little Brother was on a roll and really enjoyed the bartering. By tHe time that we got to the Galata toeer it was around seven o clock and getting dark. We climbed the tower and enjoyed the view. Sue to vertigo I enjoyed the view while keeping my back against the wall and shuffling sideways. We proceeded towards Istaklal street when I noticed Emin Percussion, am excellent shop for buying quality darbukka's. I inquired about drums but soon realized that I should go home and practice on my Alexandria drum for a couple of years before buying an expensive high end darbukka. Also, it was almost eight o clock and Little Brother made a dinner eeservation at the 360 restaurant on Istiklal street. I am not much of a culinairy afficionado. I am happy to eat french fries or meatballs any day of the week. However, this reataurant made awesome food. The most memorable was my desert, aptly named 'chocolat Orgazm'. It was a marbled chocolate dome on a brownie. The waiter poured warm caramel sauve over the dome and it melted instantly, revealing a chocolate icecream core. It was delicious. They had several modern dance like performance acts, like the two dancers that did a duet while holding on to handles in the wall. Nothing like dancing six feet above the ground for a full restaurant, it made me wonder if such a thing would work with bellydance.

It was excellent and for the two of us we ended up spending 250 lira(90 euro) for the both of us. i highly recommend this place. We had a three course dinner without alcohol btw, expect to pay about 80-120 lira for a bottle of wine. It made me think of being in Istanbul with Ozma two years ago, walking home and singing after drinking organic wine with Sema Yildiz and receiving my one true dance name from her.