Grand Bazaar (July 30, Part I)

Today we went to the GRAND BAZAAR! We took the tram out in the morning to the Grand Bazaar. We were all dressed very conservatively and had our “wedding rings” on, because one of the girls we’d talked to who was there yesterday got proposed to 5 times, and got hassled a lot. She was covered too but was wearing no ring. Better safe than sorry! We had a BLAST at the Grand Bazaar- I loved it! We had no idea what to think when we walked in- it was so huge and there were scarves and decorated ceramics and hookahs and jewelry and carpets and pillow cases and belly dancing outfits and “poopy pants” (will explain later) and just SO much EVERYWHERE! I wish I could describe it. We started out walking around and just wanted to see how low we could bargain to see what prices should be around. We found some scarves that ended up being a really good deal, we just didn’t know it yet. After walking around for awhile and just getting a feel for how much things should be, we started getting stuff. One place in particular was our favorite. We looked at their stuff displayed outside and walked to go in, so we did (voluntarily, opposed to their opinion that they coaxed us in with their words) and started looking around. Right when we went in, a guy went to the back and changed it from American music to Turkish dance music and cranked the volume up! We were all dancing and so were the guys who worked there, and we were trying to get them to teach us how to belly dance. Then Michelle saw a journal she wanted, and they started at such a high price- I don’t remember exactly what it was. They bargained back and forth and at 30 Turkish Lyra the guy just wouldn’t budge. She even tried putting it back and walking away and that didn’t work, so finally I chimed in after hearing a story from yesterday. I knew one of the girls got something for a third of the “settled” price when she said 10 and a kiss- on the cheek, of course. She hadn’t specified, and kissed the guy on the cheek and ran. So for Michelle’s journal, I chimed in with a “10 and a kiss.” He thought about it and settled for 15 and a kiss. Then we specified on the cheek and he went back up to 30! We told him she couldn’t because she was married, and he finally took the 15 and a cheek kiss. We got it all on video- it was so funny! And she got her journal for a good price. :) We were there for about 7 hours- we bargained and walked and looked and bargained and looked and bargained and walked alllll day long! We stopped for lunch at one point and went just outside the bazaar to a little tiny restaurant. I still wasn’t feeling well, so I got bread and rice, and even that made my stomach hurt with tums and pepto bismal. I also tried Apple Tea for the first time—DELICIOUS! It’s so big there, too. At the Grand Bazaar, if you are going to make a big purchase, they will invite you in for apple tea while you bargain the price! Anyway, we were finally burnt out and decided to leave and head to the Turkish baths, which I’ll write about in the next post!

*Like I said I would, I will expand on “poopy pants,” very popular all over Europe. Think of loose pants with bright colorful designs. They are usually down to your ankles or a little higher, maybe mid-calf. Now imagine elastic at the bottom of each pant leg. Now imagine the crotch of the pants below your knees. There ya go, those are poopy pants for you! Are they really called that? No. Do all SASers call them that? Yep!

On another note, let me discuss trams. Groping happens. On the trams. Yeah, ew. In a psychology class on Impulse Control Disorders last year I learned about a sex addict disorder where people rub themselves on strangers, and it often happens on trains in Europe. I didn’t think I’d actually have to experience it, or even see it. Did I mention ew? Anyway, yes, we experienced this on crowded trams and it was very hard to avoid. What can you do when the person has literally nowhere to go? You do what I did and ELBOW him in the stomach, slowly, constantly, until it starts to push him AWAY from my friends. And when it happens to you, you do a really fast elbow in the gut and basically lunge forward as fast as you can to get AWAY. It was disgusting, let me tell you. And you make it very obvious that you know what he’s doing. Okay, enough on that. Just had to acknowledge that it happens! Luckily we were warned about this in pre-port, so we weren’t taken completely off guard. And getting on and off the tram, we learned to put our hands over our rears to prevent from more grabbing. Okay, now I’m really done!