Mommy's Day Out

G was gracious enough to take care of A while I had about half a day (6 hours) to myself. I needed major alone time - a mommy's day out. Anyway, this post is about my day out and I've posted lots of pictures so click on each if you want a bigger and closer look at them.

First, I started off with coffee at Starbucks with a fellow mommy and dear friend, M. We met about 8 years ago overseas while serving in the same country but different cities. We became friends, eventually roommates back in the States during grad school. We each got married the same summer and had our first babies within 9 months of each other (she is now expecting their second!). Now, we're serving with the same company as 8 years previous and remarkably, of the entire world that we each could've been sent to, in the same city!

Me and M

I said goodbye to M and took the ferry to the Europe side of the city (we live on the Asia side).

Ferry

I like riding the ferry with the water, the views, and the breeze. Here are some pictures of the view:

You can just barely see the suspension bridge

After I got off the ferry and headed to the Spice Bazaar, I walked by this, one of thousands in this city:

Washing for prayers

Spice Bazaar

In the Spice Bazaar, there are tons of different delicacies, treats, herbs, and spices, dried fruit and nuts in bulk, and many different types of loose, fragrant tea leaves. Just walking by each shop treats you to an aroma of a candy or spice or flavored tea leaves. 

"Egyptian Bazaar." Sign above the entrance to Spice Bazaar

Spices

The Spice Bazaar is the oldest bazaar in the city and the center of the spice trade, built between 1597 and 1664. It was built to rent out shops and collect the rent for the upkeep of a mosque. It was called the Egyptian Bazaar back then because the spices were originally imported from Egypt.

After I left the Spice Bazaar, I started walking towards the Grand Bazaar and stopped for lunch on the way. I had a lamb kebap with fries and it was nothing to write home about. I've had better but it at least filled my stomach. Below, you can see a hunk of meat in the center of the picture, which is basically slices of lamb meat stacked up on a rotating spit, roasting. Meat is sliced off and served on a platter or in a pita wrap or in a sandwich; basically, any way you like it.

It's hard to see but I love the bright blue and green ceramic mosaics on this building 

I meandered through streets, heading in the general direction of the Grand Bazaar, window shopping. The Grand Bazaar was built and then opened in 1461. It has over 4,000 shops; in other words, it's pretty big and easy to get lost in - in a pleasant way with all of the interesting things to look at. It's a maze of shops selling a wide variety of things like lamps, candle holders, rugs, pashmina (fine cashmere shawls), colorful silk scarves, embroidery, pillows, decorated and painted pottery, carved things, wooden boxes with shimmery in-laid oyster shell, jewelry, etc. I can hardly list every single thing they sell here but that seems to be the majority. If it's pretty unique to the region, colorful, and shiny, they sell it here.

See the lamps in foreground, colorful lamps in upper right, Persian rugs in background

Lamps - tabletop and ceiling fixtures

One of many ceramic shops - the bright blue in upper left is my favorite

Hand painted pottery

Ceramics come in many shapes - plates, tiles, ashtrays, vases, pitchers, bowls, trivets, coasters, etc

Framed tile: I really coveted this for a wall in my apartment and had to tear myself away.

Pashmina and embroidered zipper pouches

Amulet against evil eye - see below

More pashminas

A shop entirely devoted to buttons.

After I came out of the Grand Bazaar to make a slow trek back to the ferry, I came onto this shop. It only sells buttons. Period. I was amazed; there must've been hundreds of different buttons! Then as I continued to walk down this street, I saw more shops with the same idea: a shop with only zippers, a shop with only rhinestone-studded notions (like buttons, bands, strips - anything that can be sewn onto clothes), a shop with only threads, etc. It seems to be a street for dressmakers although I didn't see any fabric shops.

So, I did come away from the Grand Bazaar with some loot. I bought two pillow cases which I immediately covered pillows with when I came home. Our couches are a taupe (warm gray-brown color, depending on how you look at it - it looks gray to me most of the time) and the pillows cases have a gray background so they go perfectly with the couches. I'd been looking for bright turquoise or teal for accent colors in the living room and fell in love with these pillow covers. They originally had tassels at each corner and I'm not at all fond of tassels so I snipped them off and you can see one resting on the couch in the picture.

I wanted to explain a little about the blue eye (scroll up). They're generally glass and come in every form - jewelry, keychains, eyeglass chain, accessories, pinned on babies' clothing, etc. It's printed on napkins, playing cards, cups, etc. Large ones are hung in homes - on the front door, welded into balcony ironwork, pressed into concrete such as thresholds or walls, etc. It's supposed to be a pretty ancient superstition that the evil eye wards off harmful, destructive forces. If you ever come here, you'll see it everywhere.

On the ferry ride back, the water was pretty sparkling in the sun and I snapped the obligatory sailboat picture.

My day out was too short and I already have plans for next time. Hopefully G will have a daddy's day out and take his big honking camera and take better pictures than me. I hope you enjoyed a bit of virtual sightseeing and shopping through these pictures :-)