Istanbul-Chapter 2

Our first full day in Istanbul started like this: Dave woke up early and went to investigate the city while I slept late (the only REAL way to start a vacation). He was walking around the park and met a Turkish man about our age, named Sabri. They started talking and Sabri told Dave that his family owned a rug store just around the corner. (I know, it sounds like the beginning of an international murder-mystery movie. Dave does not believe that you are not supposed to talk to strangers.) So Dave went with Sabri to the rug store and of course they had tea. Sabri wanted to tell Dave about the rugs, but Dave said that they should wait because I would want to hear about them too. Dave comes back to the hotel, we eat lunch and go back to the rug store to talk about rugs, or so we think. First, of course, we must have tea and conversation. The rug store is a huge operation and really nice-not a basement in a back alley. Sabri wants to know how we like Istanbul, what we've done so far (not much yet), and what are some of the things we want to do while we're there. He also has some suggestions of things we might enjoy that aren't quite so touristy. He says he'd love to show us a few of his favorite places. He has time right now, if we're not busy. Don't worry, we'll talk about rugs later and we shouldn't feel obligated to buy one. He's going to call the store driver and set it up.

Time out. Everything about who I am says RED FLAG. This man is way too nice. We don't know anything about him and he's ready to drop everything to take us sightseeing? Shouldn't he be working? We are definitely going to be kidnapped and sold into prostitution. However, I actually think that I might be over-reacting. This is a REALLY nice store with plenty of customers. Everyone speaks English. Nothing sketchy has happened-not even close. You can't build a reputable business in a touristy area by kidnapping all of your customers and selling them on the black market. Fine. I'm going to have to live outside my comfort zone today-that's why I married Dave.

The store driver picks us up and takes us to a beautiful mosque in a non-touristy part of town. Then we take a ride up the side of a mountain (in one of those ski-lift things that holds a bunch of people). At the top is a beautitul view of Istanbul and a restaurant that overlooks the city. (I wonder if he's going to push us off the mountain and leave us for dead?) We sit at an outdoor table and have tea and coffee. It's getting dark and cold, so we decide to head back. The driver picks us up and drops us off at the store. It's probably 7:00 and we started at 2:00. We must come in and enjoy a glass of wine while we talk about rugs. Are we hungry-maybe we need some snacks? Sabri introduces us to his boss (whose name I can't remember) and we drink wine and talk about rugs for the next 3 hrs. He has 3 helpers who bring out rugs of ALL varieties, beginning with an 18"x18" silk rug that costs $35,000. It takes 6 or 10 years to make (I can't remember). It's amazingly beautiful, but this man is barking up the wrong tree-we are SO far away from purchasing $35,000 rugs at this point in our lives! I try to explain this, but he's not interested (this man could sell swampwater to Floridians). He tells me that I must take off my shoes and socks and walk on the $35,000 rug. Telling this man 'no' is no longer an option-he never gets tired of the challenge of wearing you down. Fine. I walk on the rug.

Eventually, they start bringing out less expensive rugs, and Dave is having a blast. He is wheeling and dealing with the rug man. Now the rug man is telling me how beautiful and fantastic I am because he knows that Dave probably won't be buying a rug unless I'm on board. I don't really want a rug (although they are amazing) because we are on a grad-school budget. But now Dave AND the rug man are trying to sell me a carpet. "It will be a family heirloom!" Also, we are on our 2nd or 3rd bottle of wine (again, it doesn't matter if you say 'no' they fill your glass anyway) and my resolve is wearing thin. At this point I realize that we WILL be leaving with a carpet, so it might as well be one that I REALLY like.

We have purchased a rug, and assume that we are headed home, but we would be mistaken. Now we MUST join the rug man for dinner at his family's restaurant. Holy smokes. This day has not gone even REMOTELY like I thought it might when I woke up this morning. Cont.