Exciting news coming
to you directly from Istanbul --- I have successfully picked up my residency
permit and am now allowed to stay in the country legally!
If you are interested
in learning more about the wondrous world of Turkish bureaucracy continue on.
If not, there is a far more excited section on my weekend trip to Bursa, Turkey
in the second half of the post.
PERMITS -
If you want to study
abroad in Turkey…
Step 1: Obtain a Student Visa from a consulate in the U.S.
One would think that
the process would end with step one, but no.
Step 2: Upon arriving in Turkey, you must make a residency permit appointment
within 30 days of arriving in the country. However you cannot have your
appointment until you have all your necessary paperwork from the University,
which, our school's case, was not handed to us until the end of February. During
this period you are not allowed to leave Turkey because it is illegal to
re-enter the country.
Step 3. Go to your appointment at the central police
station in Istanbul.
Let me tell you
nothing is more fun than traveling 2 hours to the main police station in a city
of 14 million people. My appointment was at 5:30, but I thought, “Hey why don’t
I try and go a little early?” So, I get to the window at 4:15. No one is in
line at the window. What joy! I am going to get this done quickly! I walk up to
the window and hand them all the necessary paperwork. The man looks at the time
and says “5:30.” Well, yes, I know it says 5:30 but considering no one is in
line and you aren’t doing anything I thought I would give it to you now. He
then says to me, “Shift ends at 5:00.” Again, I don’t really see how this is
relevant information because it is 4:15 and the paperwork takes maybe 5 minutes
to process. But, alas, he hands back the paperwork goes and gets a piece of
baklava and a cup of tea and starts talking to the guy next to him.
Adjlhvasclavscjhkhgfdgksv! Are you kidding me?
So, I stand in front
of him giving him the evil eye and wait until 5. At five a new guy shows up. I
walk to the window and hand him the paperwork. He points to the time and says
“5:30. Reception Room.” No, I am not going to the stupid reception room. I am
going to stand here and make direct eye contact with you for the next half an
hour and smile at you until you take my paperwork. Its 5:21… I am still
standing in line. More people are coming and the room is getting crowded. I
hand him the paper work at 5:25. He holds up his hand saying 5 minutes. At 5:30
he takes my paperwork. Guess I just shouldn’t have come early.
After putting me into
the computer he hands me a receipt and points to another window where we have
to pay for the permit. Of course, it only makes sense that the payment office
would be open from 9:00 – 4:00 and you apply for the permits from 5:30- 9:00
p.m. This means you have to come back the next day.
After another 2 hour
commute back to my university, step 3 is complete.
Step 4:
Make the trek all the
way back to the Police Station. Of course you don’t need an appointment to pay
because they will accept your money at any time in the day.
Step 5:
Return two weeks later
to pick up your permit.
Some of my friends had
an earlier date than I did so I decided to take a chance and go with them.
Success! I picked up my permit yesterday and am officially a resident of Turkey
until June! I am now allowed to leave and enter the country freely!
BURSA -
Last weekend a group
of my friends decided to spend a few days in Bursa, a city about two hours
south of Istanbul. I didn’t really know much about Bursa, but was eager to
explore another city in Turkey. The journey consisted of a 1.5 hour ferry ride
and an hour bus ride and we arrived in Bursa around noon on a beautiful, sunny
afternoon.
One of the main sites
in Bursa is the Green Mosque and Tomb pictured below.
Outside the mosque we
met a man who offered to give us a free tour because he was one of the people who
worked on restoring the tiles. Always a bit skeptical of anything free, we
hesitantly accepted. Tour was great and afterwords he took us to his shop where
he showed us many old cermanics and rugs that he was restoring. He generously
offered us all tea and I think most of us were still thinking…. What’s the
catch?
 |
| In the Rug Store Drinking Apple Tea |
He then told us to
meet him in an hour and he would take us to a small café to listen to some folk
music.
The music was great –
one of the most authentically Turkish expierences I’ve had.
He then took us to a restaurant where we had Iskender – a Turkish dish that is known in Bursa. It is thinly sliced lamb with tomato sauce served over pita with a side of Yogurt. Definitely one of my favorite foods so far!
After dinner he asked
if we would like to see a Whirling Dervish show? I asked how much it would cost
and he said that it would be free. Free? Still? I am confused why does this 40
year old man want to spend his whole evening with a group of American college
students?
But we went to the
show, and it was amazing to watch. The Whirling Dervishes are part of the Muslim
mystic sect called Sufism. While this sect is
very small today, they are still well known for the whirling dervish ceremony. The place we went to was fairly small and again we were the only tourists. From a balcony above, we watched men and boys spin around to live music. The whole ceremony couldn’t have lasted more
than 40 minutess, but all of the participants did not stop spinning the whole time.
Let me repreat that – Spinning. Quicky. In a circle for 30 mins without
stopping. It was mesmerizing.
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After the ceremony,
our guide gave us his card. Told us that he had
a great time getting to meet us. He said that he lived with an America
for 6 years when he was a teenager and was just trying to give back. It was a
good reminder that there are still really friendly people in the world!
Instead of heading back to Istanbul, we decided to spend the night. Hooray for cheap hostels and comfortable jeans to sleep in.
The next morning I
went with four girls to a Turkish Hamam as Bursa is well known for their bath
houses. The Hamam is similar to a spa expect you also bath yourself and it has
more of a social feel. Out of the 100 + people at the Hamam, the four of us
were the only foreigners so it was nice to be able to see Turkish families enjoying
their Saturday at the bath together.
For 48tl (~$28), I
spent two hours at the Hamam. I received
a message, a Turkish scrub, spent time in the sauna and pool area. The scrub is
where you have two women violenetly rub down your body with something similar
to sandpaper to remove all the dead skin on your whole body. While the
expierence was a tad painful, my skin has never felt more smooth.
After the Hamam we headed back to Istanbul - For absolutely zero planning it turned out to be a fabulous weekend!
