Istanbul Scrapbook, Day 5

In all the upheaval in the last few weeks (lots of work on the apartment and associated cleaning), I have been really happy to get back to making things. It’s difficult when things are not in the places where they normally live, but time and again I find that not making things is sort of like…not showering for me. Well, less smelly, of course, but I really really miss it when I have been away. I have some fairly new scrapbook stuff that I bought for crazy cheap (no, ridiculous cheap) at Big Lots, and I was excited to use it. A lot of it is travel-themed, which is perfect for me and my million peregrinations.

It is kind of crazy that I am just now scrapbooking something that happened a full year ago, but I maintain that in twenty years, no one will care when I made it. The point is that it’s made. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! I tried a new type of picture-mounting here, since this paper is very busy. I love its travel theme and general crowdedness, but it was making the pictures hard to see. I like these mini-mats and the tiny bit of journaling space they provide.

One of the places I was most excited to see was Orhan Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence. There aren’t really words to describe how much his novel of the same name moved me, stirred me, filled me with breathtaking anguish. I can’t even remember the last time that happened to me. I wrote a little bit about the experience here, but obviously being here and seeing this in person was pretty overwhelming.

What I love best about the novel (as if it’s possible to only love one thing above the others) is the deep understanding of the importance of everyday objects as reliquaries, as repositories of memory. I believe in that so deeply–that tiny little things hold entire worlds within them–and seeing it in the novel and in the flesh was just…incredible.

After visiting the museum, we had a nice wander through vine-laden Cihangir. So very lovely.

We saw this horse-drawn wagon weaving its way through the narrow streets, its cart piled high with splotchy yellow and green melons for sale. A treasure.

This was a big day, since next we were off to the Grand Bazaar! I don’t know of a girl in the world who wouldn’t want to look at all the shiny and beautiful things there, but there is also so much incredible history in this little city of shops.

It was so crowded that we didn’t take too many pictures inside, but this is one of the main gates.

Just outside the bazaar was the book bazaar, and that is a place I could never pass up.

And neither could Eric.

In other news, I could not stop taking pictures of these beautiful images of old Istanbul, posted at the tram stops. I would’ve gladly bought the whole series. (Also! Do you see that little compass? I love it.)

I had too many awesome things to fit on just two pages, so this bonus page for day 5 is full of them. With a purple sequin border at the bottom for extra funz.

This was our ticket from the Museum of Innocence. Swoon.

Kiva Han, a traditional Anatolian place where we ate for dinner, was stuffed to the gills with pretty postcards and such. So, naturally, I took one of each.

Just gorgeous, no? And thus concluded another day of fantastic adventures!