After the crazy night of dancing at the henna party, we took a little longer than usual to get ready before taking the ferry to the other side of bay that Izmir is built around. I can't remember if I already mentioned that Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey, with over 3.3 million people. What is interesting about this city, and many others that we've seen, is that the city is built out and not up. Most of the buildings are not more than 5 or 6 stories and only a few go over 20. We wandered around the fancy shopping area on our way to the jewelers to get Francesca's ring re-sized. While we were there, we all looked at the jewelry and Mom and I both found something we loved. Mine is a bracelet with a nazar and Mom's is a ring with a nazar charm. A nazar is what some people call the evil eye, it's blue, white and black, and it actually protects the wearer from evil, rather than give people an evil eye. They are quite bling-tastic, and we both have to wait for Xmas to officially wear them as they are presents we are giving to each other. We did a little window shopping before hopping back on the ferry and heading to another scrumptious meal at Nilufer's. After recovering from the enormous amount of food we had just consumed, the family went over to Erkut's aunt and uncle's house for dinner. I couldn't handle any more food, so I stayed at the hotel and watched the soccer game between Turkey and the Czech Republic in the playoffs for qualifying for the European Cup (they lost).
Saturday was wedding day (Dugun in Turkish), and we slept in, had breakfast and walked over to the hair salon with our Turkish interpreter Mine, and set up appointments for later that afternoon (all hair salons are walk-ins and are MUCH cheaper than in the US). Mom and I then walked along the bay until we reached the pedestrian shopping street. Now when I say pedestrian, that just means no cars - apparently scooters and other motorized devices small enough to get past the barriers sneak by, and trust me, you gotta keep an eye on those electric ones that are so quiet they just creep up on you. We did a little shopping, I bought shoes (what else?) and Mom bought pomegranate juice (what else?) and simit. After a little rest at the hotel, we walked back to the salon to have our hair done. The stylist Omer was a magician - he transformed us all into more glamorous versions of ourselves. Then it was back to the hotel to help the bride get ready before getting ready ourselves. Mom and I brought black dresses as they are classic, don't show dirt and travel well. When we went downstairs (the party was being held in the same hotel where we've been staying, convenient, no?), I'd say over 90% of the women were wearing black dresses - whew! Francesca and Erkut made an entrance with fireworks (literally, but they were small, but still!), and went straight into their first (well, second really) dance. Everything was beautiful, and the food was yummy, the best being the borek - so good! Basically, it was a big party with lots of dancing (mostly Turkish, but when they played some American oldies by request, we proceeded to provide entertainment for everyone by dancing to the twist and California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas). Now here come the Turkish traditions - you don't give the bride and groom gifts from a registry, you give them gold. That's right, bling. People pin coins on the couple, or just hand it to them, or give the bride bracelets or rings. Omg, what a great tradition! Next, during a special dance men throw cash at the bride and groom - not much, but still! When the cake was wheeled in (delish btw) the bride and groom cut it with a sword. Next it was out to the lobby to check out the photos that had been taken during the festivities and then printed. They were available for 5 lira, so mom and I bought a few cute ones (they had the same thing at the henna nite, but I forgot to mention it in my exhaustion and typos). We were SO glad to be able to simply walk up the stairs and put on our jammies.
Today we had a little bit of a lie in before walking down the street to a restaurant owned by a friend of Ragip. We had our Sunday brunch, hot chocolate was so yummy - european style, before heading out on a little walk around the neighborhood to help us digest. Next it was onto a friend of Nilufer's who read our fortunes in turkish coffee grounds. It was entertaining, but I never take any of that stuff too seriously. Then it was back to the hotel to start to pack as we fly home tomorrow. While I've definitely enjoyed my trip, I am starting to get tired of wearing the same clothes and I miss my own bed! For our last dinner here we walked over to Nilufer and Ragip's apartment, and Nilufer did not disappoint! She made this amazing soup, which I loved, and I don't rereally like soup. This was followed by beef cooked by Mine, again, yum, and all sorts of other goodies. It was a sad goodbye, but for some reason I think we will see them in the morning when Ragip comes to take us (me, Kristina, Mom and Francesca) to the airport. Vicki, Mike and Barbara are all staying another week. I'm mostly packed and definitely ready to go, but I must say Turkey has been an amazing place and I hope to come back and absolutely recommend it to anyone (even someone with particular eating quirks like mine - just be willing to try anything once!). I'll keep you posted on our safe arrival back to the states.
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