Un-tourists.

Maybe most people race to the Blue Mosque and Topkapi on their first day in Istanbul. Not us. We stay in and do laundry.

I woke up in the morning like a kid at Christmas. We left a lira in a plastic bag hanging on our doorknob overnight. As if by magic, a warm loaf of crusty bread appeared in the bag, and the lira disappeared. Santa never left me such a tasty treat!  

After enjoying some bread, I went out searching for food and water. I came back with some fresh fruit, in shock about the prices. Pretty spendy when compared to Eastern Turkey. I mean, crazy expensive. $3.00 for a cup of tea? It’s 80 cents in Gaziantep. Maybe it’s just our neighborhood.  

We spent the morning enjoying our sunny home, doing loads of laundry, and searching online for a nearby supermarket. It seems there are none. We finally jumped in a cab and headed to a supermarket called Migros. Turns out we could have probably gone there on foot -- it was far, but would have been a nice walk.

Migros was a disappointment. Wilted vegetables, and sparse dry goods. No peanut butter! We stocked up as best we could and took a cab back to the apartment. Then I went back out to spend another $20 at the fruit stand. He just made up the price on the fly, and I am sure I got a penalty for not being local, despite the fact I am doing pretty well with my Turkish. (I know about four words :^)

After a day spent on the mundane, we got the shopping bug. The largest mall in Europe is not too far from our apartment. I set off with no small goal: to replace everything in my backpack! I am so sick of my clothes and shoes.

The mall was not as large as I had expected, and it was really full of shoppers excitedly digging through the many sale bins. I wasn’t able to get through my shopping list, but I did find three tops (about $8 each --  all on sale!). Steve found some pants and one top... look for his new white polo in upcoming photos. Frankly I will be delighted to see him in something other than that green shirt!

We had dinner at the mall -- a salad for me and a quesadilla for Steve (about $18 including water), then we went shopping at the big, new Migros supermarket located there. Much better than our neighborhood store. Peanut butter was $8. Dang!

It was 10:30 by the time we got home. Our day of domestic endeavors has ended, and tomorrow we will be tourists again.