Monday, June 30, 2008

Tulip and Marmara Guesthouses in Istanbul



I hope that at least someone will benefit from this post. I looked online for a hostel or guesthouse in which to stay when I arrived in Istanbul. Upon finding a few reviews on the Tulip Guesthouse, I finally booked a room there. Being out of singles, I chose a double for 45 Euro. When I arrived Emret, the manager, informed me that he was out of rooms but had gotten me one next door at the Marmara Guesthouse for 40 Euro a night.



Well, that ended up being a blessing as well, because the manager Elif was very nice. She told me about a few places to eat that were within walking distance. She also arranged for her brother to take me to the airport at 3am. The room and bathroom were very clean. There were towels laid out on the bed.



The two windows opened over a ledge with another bright orange guest house across the way. The guest house across the street on the other side, is a night club until about 1am. They play American music which was a nice feeling to hear something from home. All in all, the ambiance was really quite amazing. I had never been so relaxed in my life. With the breeze coming off the Black Sea, the air was just cool enough to be comfortable. I would definitely recommend either of these guesthouses if you are ever going to stay in Istanbul.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Wandering about....

Today, I made a promise to post more pictures of campus and of things that I am eating. So, to be true to my word, I am posting all three of my meals today, as well as a few pictures I was able to snap around campus on my way to and from the office.



As always, I started off my Saturday with breakfast at the place I've been at all week. I decided that I wouldn't go with any of the pre-made sandwiches but with more veggies. From the top left and going clockwise, there is a roll that ended up having a dap of a spicy sauce wtih diced onions in it, a roll filled wth goat cheese and topped with cilantro, cucumbers, tomatoes, and cheese, and then a wanton like thing stufed with goat cheese. Toped off with turksih tea, it was a great meal.

I would like to point out that the tomatoes are amazing here. I have never witnessed such red and ripe tomatoes other than ones that were home grown. Being from California, you would think we would get better tomatoes, but no, we don't. I have gotten alright ones at the Davis and Livermore Farmers' Markets but still nothing like these.



Walking to work, I thought I would take a picture of the small mall we have on campus. This three story building has several restaurants, a clothing store, a pharmacy, a bookstore, and a stationary store. I pretty much eat here for dinner every night. There is a small Italian restaurant closer to my guest house, but I think I'm going to wait for Sertan (the grad student who I'm paired up with) to try it. I ate dinner right underneath the right most green umbrella. That place was pretty good, but more on that later.



I got lunch at a stand that serves fish sandwiches. There are about 5 selections (I am working on getting a picture), and you can also get fresh squeezed orange juice. For 6 YTL (New Turkish Lyra), I was able to get the white fish (not sure what type) sandwich and a cup of the freshly squeezed juice. In fact, I watched the guy squeeze the juice right in front of me. It is really nice to take a small walk in the middle of the day to get something good to eat. For you Davis folks, it's walking to the Silo but actually eating good food.



On the walk back, I decided to cruise by the campus stadium which is mainly used for Football matches (Yes, I mean soccer ;-) ). This weekend however is graduation, so the field has been setup with many white chairs to accomidate everyone. I think the Undergrads graduate on Saturday night, and the Graduate students on Sunday. I am going to attend the graduate student ceremony at the behest of Prof. Bayram. She thought it would be a good way to see some of the Turkish customs that many people don't get to see just because graduate happens only once a year. So with luck, I'll have lots of pictures to share from that. The picture above is of a the statue that is at the entrance to the stadium. You can clearly see the man reaching upward, but there is also a woman doing the same thing on the reverse side.

I worked most of the day in my office (I'll post on my lab a little later) to make sure I have enough information to submit a proposal for the work I would like to do over the Summer. At about 5 pm, I left for my guest house to go for a run. It is a little different running here than in Davis. First, they don't have running paths like the Green Belt. Second, drivers have the right of way. People are relatively careful driving, it just makes it a little difficult running on the sidewalk all the time. The sidewalks here seem like they haven't been repaired since they were constructed in the 1960s. Third, the campus is really hilly. It's a really great work out, so it makes up for it. I run from my guest house to the Aeronautical Engineering building which is about 1.5 miles away. A good three mile run with lots of hills will keep me in shape for Ultimate come the fall.

Speaking of Ultimate, I am planning on introducing it to my lab mates sometime this summer. Sertan said they have thrown a frisbee before when at the beach, but I think they'll like it as an alternative to football. We'll see how that goes.



Like I said earlier, for dinner I went to the mall and sat outside for dinner. I was moseying along looking for a place when I got waved into a restaurant on the 2nd floor. I sat on the edge of the balcony and could see a good ways across the campus. The sun was setting so the scenery was even more beautiful and calming. It was the perfect setting of the end of a pretty good day. I wanted to get what I thought was a fish dish, but they were apparently out of whatever I ordered, the Cin Tavagu. I ended up ordering the Tavuk Nugget out of haste, but it wasn't until I looked at the picture of the menu that I had ordered beef nuggets. They were pretty good sized and coated in a panko like crust. It came with very similar things to my meal two days ago. There was of course a salad with beets, tomatoes, and lettuce with a yogurt like dressing. There were french fries and tabbouleh. And then there was pasta coated in a yogurt sauce. It was all really good. As a accompanyment to the nuggets, there was the salsa like stuff I had two days ago as well. I call it salsa like because if you replace the cilantro in salsa with basil, you would get what I have been eating. After dinner, they brought around Cay (there is a curly on the C), which is Turkish tea and pronouced like chai. When I learn exactly how to make Cay, I'll have to post on that. As you can see, Cay is served in a special cup. It is very strong, and I actually added a sugar cube to it, mostly to see why everyone else was doing it. I did take a sip beforehand, and it was very strong. I can see why people dillute with hot water in the mornings. Anywho, with that I went back to my room a very happy American. =)





I think from now on I'll make smaller postings more often. I'm sorry to have posted such a long post this time. Also, I know people are reading this, so is anyone going to leave comments? Hmm? Maybe if I guilt trip everyone? =)

Friday, June 27, 2008

Good food and friends...

With my first week here coming to an end, I am slowly getting used to things. The major one is that not everyone speaks English, so making due is the name of the game. Everyone is actually apologetic about not speaking English which I find sad because I feel that I really should know their language if I'm going to be living in their country for a while. Regardless, the Turkish people seem to be very nice. Professor Bayram and her students have been very gracious and nice to me. I have gone to lunch with Damla two days in a row. The first day was with her two friends that are in the dept, and today with Zeynep, another girl in our research group. She is trying to expose me to as much Turkish food as possible. We were laughing that it's going to make us both fat.



As far as the food is concerned, everything is wonderful. I really haven't had food like this before. Whatever restaurant you go to here on campus, they seem to really pride themselves in giving you really great tasting food. The choices are always pretty extensive, and the portions are always large. The breakfasts here are different that in the States. Instead of having heavy meals that include anything but vegetables, here in Turkey breakfast consists of small sandwiches with goat cheese, tomatoes, and peppers, or slices of cheese with veggies with a roll. If you want something sweet, there are syrups to go with bagle looking breads. The one in the picture below has a dark and dense filling. It reminds me of something very similar in the States, but it's not coming to mind at the moment. Although, it does remind me of almonds, so maybe someone has a suggestion on what the filling is called.



I have had Turkish coffee the past few days. Turkish coffee is made with special tea makers in whcih water is boiled and pured over tea in a kettle and set to steep. These kettles have resting places on top of the vessel in which the water was boiled. When the tea is done steeping, you only pour enough tea to fill the bottom section of a special tea cup. The rest of the cup is then filled with water. Well, the first day, I didn't know you needed to add water. Today, I saw the woman in front of me add water, so I followed suit. Interestingly enough, it didn't seem to change the intensity of the tea.



For lunch, Damla insisted we go to a buffet on campus. It was really good! Going clockwise from the bottom left part of the dish is kisir (like tabbouleh), then flat bread filled with spiced ground lamb, a tomator, basil, and onion salad, a Dolma, a small spongy potato patty with rosemary, parsley, and mint mixed in, and the a stuffed mushroom. In the center of the dish was a very yummy eggplant dish that had a tomato base. All of this food was really yummy. For dessert, in the upper right is rice pudding. The version has a lot less rice and is more runny than the American versions of rice pudding. Zeynep got a dessert that I think was sweetened bulgar that has been squished into a ball. It was really good as well. Well, I'm falling asleep, so I'll try to post on the street signs around here tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Istanbul and Arrival in Ankara

I have finally posted pictures to my Picasa space for anyone who wants to see all the pics I took yesterday. I'll post a few here so you don't have to trudge through them all. My guesthouse was set back between the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque, two of Istanbul's most famous landmarks. The first pic is of the Aya Sofia.

The second pic is of the Blue Mosque. You can quite literally be looking at one and turn around and see the other. The area in between contains a fountain which is very pretty as well. There are food vendors walking around selling their wares. There was even a man walking around with carafes of tea and spices in which you could flavor it.





For dinner, the manager of my guesthouse recommended a kafta restaurant called Sultanamet Koftecsisi that is right on the tramway. I was seated promptly and given a rather simple menu. For meats, the had kafta or shish kebabs, and for salads they had one with or without white beans. For those of you who don't know, kafta is a lamb meatball which is spiced using spices common to the middle east. I'll try posting a recipe for kafta as soon as I find/make one.



I think I am going to have to get used to the oily nature of Turkish food. This meal was very good and simple, but it rested pretty heavy in my stomach. The woman at the guesthouse told me that this specific restaurant was known for it's kafta, and I can see how that it true. I would have taken a picture of the small kitchen that is in front, but the cook didn't like how I was staring off into space instead of enjoying my food. I think he thought I didn't like it, so I figured it was best not to shoot a photo of him. Since I'm almost falling over in my chair, I think I'm going to write about the really great guesthouse I stayed in before leaving Istanbul tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Istanbul

I don't think I have mentioned this so far, but I will be in Turkey for three months this summer. In fact, I am here now. I got into Istanbul this afternoon at 4pm. I have already taken about 100 pics which I'll whittle down and post to google images and add a few to this site tomorrow. I would just like to say that if any one is considering visiting this country, they should without hesitation. Everyone so far has been really nice. Some vendors have been pushy but not disrespectful or creepy. In fact, I have had nice conversations with several of them. The food here is good, and I am looking forward to coming back to Istanbul at some point. I had kafta tonight for dinner, and I'll post pics and a more extensive post tomorrow. Until then, hope you all are doing well.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

YOUR MOM ROCKS!!!

Your Mom won the UC Davis Intramural Ultimate CoEd B League Championships!!! By Your Mom, I mean my ultimate frisbee team. :-P All of our hard work finally paid off this last Sunday when we won our Semi-Final game 8-6, and then our Final game 10-6 a few hours later. I have had a blast these last several months playing with some of the best people I have ever known. Here's to the next year in A league, I'm sure Your Mom will rock that as well! ;-) If you are my friend on Facebook, you should check out the several photos that were taken during the first game!!!

A Change In Direction...

It occurs to be that I haven't updated on my research since last September, or there abouts. Since I am waiting for a computer code to finish running, I figured I would update on that part of my life. At the end of December, I switched research groups into the Advanced Composites Research Engineering and Science (ACRES) Group here at UC Davis. Our group's main focuses include Non-Destructive Evaluation of composite structures, structural analysis of Bi-Stable Structures, and building a solar race car for the World Solar Challenge. The WSC is a race from North to South across Australia powering a high speed racer with nothing but solar power. My work in the ACRES group focuses on using non-destructive evaluation techniques to detect flaws or damage in composites parts, particularly ones intended for Aerospace / Aeronautical applications. I will also have the pleasure of going to Turkey for three months this summer. In fact, I leave in less than 3 weeks. I will be collaborating with a group in Chemical Engineering at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. I will be updating this site far more regularly while I am gone, so as to stay in touch with family and friends. As finals wrap up, I'll try and get this all up to date, including my trip to two different conferences. One was for the trip to Turkey, which was in Washington DC, and the other was in Long Beach for a SAMPE conference.