A Day Full of Surprises, Paints, and Kilims

We finally got to sleep in today! We have been up relatively early almost every day we've been here so it was very nice to get some extra rest. Once we (Alisha, Ron, and I) had finally decided to meet the day, we went on our usual walk to buy breakfast. Alisha and I had a sudden craving for fruit. Alisha wanted a peach, and I wanted a banana. However, Ron kept insisting that we, in fact, DIDN'T want fruit, which was odd. After a while of our insisting, Ron suddenly said, "You guys ruin everything! I already bought you guys fruit!" Of course, us being girls, we awwwwed and said what an amazingly sweet gesture that was. We were sorry we had somewhat ruined the shock factor, but it was still a very nice surprise. It was a very good thing that we had had a filling breakfast because tile painting was the next activity for Rachel, Cait, Alisha, and me. Tile painting may not seem like much work, but I can assure you that it is very detailed. Regardless of it's tediousness, I thought it was absolutely amazing! I loved it! The process was somewhat similar to doing ceramics. Rachel, Alisha, and I painted plates. Cait painted a tile. We each began by choosing a design. We used transfer paper and charcoal to put the image on our objects. Then we traced the images in pencil. This part actually took quite a bit longer than the actual painting! However, it was still very enjoyable. It was peaceful to just sit still and enjoy an ancient Turkish art. Once our tiles and plates were completed, we headed to a kilim repar store. A kilim is a flat-woven carpet or rug that is often made in Turkey. We learned how difficult it is to repair these kilims. Some of them are very old, so it takes a lot of work and patience. All of the kilims were very beautiful as well. We concluded the day at Dubb: Ethnic Restaurant, which provides Asian, Indian, and Turkish cuisine.

It was a wonderful day in Turkey, Istanbul! And, it's only the beginning! I'm excited to see what more this beautiful country and these kind people have to show me.